Cambodian Human Rights Day events canceled amid state crackdown

A leading rights group in Cambodia, LICADHO, said it was forced to cancel its annual International Human Rights Day events in the country's prisons for the first time in 20 years because of prohibitive conditions imposed by the government.

The group said it called off entertainment, speeches and the distribution of food packages planned in 18 of the country's 28 prisons to mark International Human Rights Day (IHRD) on Thursday.

Nongovernmental organizations have come under increasing scrutiny in Cambodia after the country passed a law in July that requires all NGOs to report their activities and finances to the government, with punishment for violations ranging from fines and criminal prosecutions to dissolution of organizations.

"This year [the] restrictions imposed … have rendered LICADHO's special IHRD prison activities meaningless, marginalizing prisoners even more by precluding them from celebrating this important event, which is meant for all Cambodians," LICADHO (the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights) said in a statement. It said there were no guarantees that prisoners would get out-of-cell time or receive the packages if they could not be delivered directly by activists.

"These restrictions typify the sad state of affairs in Cambodia at the moment," said the group's director, Naly Pilorge. "A 20-year tradition of providing an opportunity for prisoners to celebrate IHRD, many of whom are still awaiting trial, is being blocked, and for what?"

LICADHO said in a damning report in January that prisoners in Cambodia lived in appalling conditions in overcrowded jails and were subjected to frequent human rights abuses and illegal forced labor for private contractors.

Sok Sambath, the deputy director of the Interior Ministry's prison department, said officials simply asked for cooperation. "We just want LICADHO to sign an agreement with us and report their work and activities to us, but it did not agree," she told The Phnom Penh Post.

In March, for the first time in more than 15 years, the group canceled similar activities to mark International Women's Day because of government restrictions.

NGOs around the globe have been facing crackdowns by governments that have imposed or drafted laws that put a squeeze on their activities and foreign donations.

Cambodian law allows the government to take wide-ranging action against the country's 5,000 local and international NGOs, targeting them for such offenses as jeopardizing peace, stability and public order and harming national security, culture and traditions.

Wire services