Geography of Ratanakiri province
Ratanakiri
province located in the remote northeast. It borders the provinces of Mondulkiri to the south and Stung Treng to the west and the
countries of Laos and Vietnam to
the north and east, respectively. The province extends from the mountains of
the Annamite Range in the north, across a
hilly plateau between the Tonle Sesan and Tonle Srepok rivers,
to tropical deciduous forests in the south. In recent
years, logging and mining have scarred Ratanakiri's environment, long known for
its beauty.
For
over a millennium, Ratanakiri has been occupied by the highland Khmer Loeu people,
who are a minority elsewhere in Cambodia. During the region's early history,
its Khmer Loeu inhabitants were exploited as slaves by neighboring empires. The
slave trade economy ended during the French
colonial era, but a harsh Khmerization campaign
after Cambodia's independence again threatened Khmer Loeu ways of life. The Khmer Rouge built
its headquarters in the province in the 1960s, and bombing during the Vietnam War devastated
the region. Today, rapid development in the province is altering traditional
ways of life.
The Legal Issue within this province
Regarding
human rights aspect within this province, it’s recorded that most cases are related
to land issues and human rights defenders were faced many problem with local
authority. Last few years, ADHOC and CCHR staff was charged on incitement by
the powerful persons.
Recently,
on June 13, 2013 Ratanakiri provincial hall issued a letter (it’s not named the tile
of letter) to inform the chairman and president of NGOs locates within their
provincial boundary that the provincial hall WILL NOT allow to invite any level
of local authorities from town, district, commune, village and normal villagers
to attend any organizations’ event on WORKSHOP, MEETING AND STUDY TOUR because in
order for local authority have enough times to manage their jobs and let people
to get opportunities to use their political rights. This letter banned people
NGOs to conduct any event from June 27, 2013 to July 26, 2013 because it’s time
for election campaign. The letter doesn't provide any legal reference. It’s
indicated the National Election Committee’s calendar which determine the time
for all political parties to conduct election campaign from June 27, 2013 to
July 26, 2013.
This letter is considered as
unconstitutional because it’s violated article 41 “Khmer citizens shall have freedom of expression, press, publication and
assembly. No one shall exercise this right to infringe upon the rights of
others, to effect the good traditions of the society, to violate public law and
order and national security.” Is time to ban people’s rights for
election campaign? No, the election time is a great time for people to
understand all matters happen in their country therefore they are easy to
decide in which political party they should vote for. In order to reach people’s
feeling, NGOs can organize any meeting to coach them on how to vote for. NGOs
can explain people are not to fear someone threats them. Why Ratanakiri
provincial hall issue to ban this activities?
Do authorities understand the rights
to participate in political party? Do people have rights to attend any events
in the country?
We don’t accuse Ratanakiri
provincial official who lack capacity to understand the concept of political
rights or else but they should at least before issuing the letter, reading the existing
regulations and laws whether they do rights or wrong.
The
below is the legal analysis regarding this letter:
Local
Instrument:
Cambodian
Constitution: Article 31 of Cambodian Constitution stipulates that the Kingdom of
Cambodia shall recognize and respect human rights as stipulated in the United
Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the covenants and
conventions related to human rights, and women's and children's rights.
Khmer citizens
shall have freedom of assembly[1] and have the right to
establish associations and political parties... Khmer citizens may take part in
mass organizations for mutual benefit to protect national achievement and
social order[2].
As it’s mentioned above, the
constitution doesn't ban any activities of NGOs or people to participate in
order to develop the country. Article 35 states clearly “Khmer citizens of either sex shall have the right to participate
actively in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation. Any
suggestions from the people shall be given full consideration by the grant of
the State.”.
Election
Law in 1997: it
doesn’t have any article to ban people to attend NGOs’ events during the
election campaign.
In accordance
with this provision, the 1993 Constitution of Kingdom of Cambodia includes a
declaration of fundamental rights in Chapter III: The rights and obligation of
Citizens of Cambodia, Certain other provisions of the Constitution are also
relevant to the protection of human rights[3].
International instruments:
Cambodia
ratified and became members of many international legal instruments. Those are
included Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), ILO Declaration on
Fundamental Principles; Rights at Work and United Nations Millennium
Declaration…..
UDHR[4] was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
in 1948 after the end of the Second World War as a common standard of
achievement for all peoples and all nations. Apart from core civil society
rights to express associate and assemble, the UDHR assures fundamental human
rights to all people- both civil and political as well as Economic, Social, and
Cultural. The UDHR is the source from which various human rights treaties and
instruments have been developed. Although conceived as a Declaration as opposed
to a treaty, today, the UDHR is widely regarded as a part of international
customary law.
Right to form
and join association: Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly
and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association[5].
Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of
his interests[6].
ICCPR[7] is the key international treaty enshrining civil
and political rights. It addresses the State’s traditional responsibilities for
administering justice and maintaining the rule of law.
Article 19
(Freedom of Expression):
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions
without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in
writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his
choice.
Article
22 (Freedom of Assembly):
The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized.
No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those
imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic
society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order
(order public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of
the rights and freedoms of others.
Article 22 (Freedom of Association):
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for
the protection of his interests.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of
this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary
in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety,
public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not
prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed forces
and of the police in their exercise of this right.
Article 25 (Citizen Participation): Every citizen shall have the right and the
opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without
unreasonable restrictions:
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work[8]: The ILO Declaration
commits Member States to respect and promote principles and rights in four
categories, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions. These
categories are: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the
right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labor,
the abolition of child labor, and the elimination of discrimination in respect
of employment and occupation.
Article 2 (Freedom of Association): [The
International Labor Conference] Declares that all Members, even if they have not
ratified the Conventions in question, have an obligation arising from the very
fact of membership in the Organization to respect, to promote and to realize,
in good faith and in accordance with the Constitution, the principles
concerning the fundamental rights which are the subject of those Conventions,
namely:
(a) freedom of association and the effective
recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
(b) the elimination of all forms of forced or
compulsory labor;
(c) the
effective abolition of child labor; and
(d) the elimination of discrimination in respect of
employment and occupation.
Conclusion:
This letter is illegal therefore the NGOs or interesting people should file
complaint to court to nullify it because it might lead Ratanakiri province uses
its rights beyond the law said.
Please read the letter as below:
[1]
Article 41, Cambodian Constitution.
[2]
Article 42, Cambodian Constitution.
[3]
OHCHR, Cambodia country office, (2008), Cambodian Human Rights Law, p. IV
[4]See
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Staff College
Project, Human Rights: A basic handbook for UN staff, United Nations, 2000,
p.11.
Available at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/handbook.pdf
[5]
Article 19, UDHR.
[6]
Article 23-4, UDHR.
[7]
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm
[8]International
Labor Organization: www.ilo.org
•Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/
index.htm
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