A/HRC/24/36 25. Legal aid is mainly provided through NGOs supported by international donors. However, funding has been significantly reduced in recent years. In addition, most donor funding is earmarked for specific types of cases such as trafficking cases, cases of domestic violence, juvenile cases, etc. There is little funding available for general legal aid work. In several provinces of Cambodia, there is not a single legal aid lawyer, which raises serious problems in terms of access to justice. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, legal representation is compulsory in felony and juvenile cases, which means that if there is no lawyer available, the case cannot proceed. 26. In order to ensure access to justice for the poorest, the Government needs to urgently consider the establishment of a national legal aid system, in line with the recently adopted United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems (General Assembly resolution 67/187 of 28 March 2013). The Special Rapporteur also wishes to recall that access to justice can also be improved through measures such as increasing the number of lawyers and using paralegals in the criminal justice system, and encourages the Government to explore these avenues. 27. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that judges continue to use the provisions of the Criminal Code against human rights defenders and all those who express opinions which are not favourable to the Government. The Special Rapporteur has observed over the last few years that prosecutors have tended to abandon defamation and disinformation charges and use incitement instead (arts. 494-498 of the Criminal Code). It should be noted here that defamation can lead to a fine, whereas incitement can lead to a prison sentence. 28. Over the last year, the most high profile case that also attracted significant international attention was that of Mam Sonando, the owner of the Beehive Radio station, who was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on some spurious charges focusing on incitement to secession. His sentence was reduced on appeal and he was released. According to information received, it appears that NGO workers are regularly threatened with prosecution for incitement. IV. Follow-up to recommendations on Parliament 29. In his 2011 report to the eighteenth session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/18/46), the Special Rapporteur outlined a series of measures that he considers critical for Cambodia in order to accelerate the process of democratization in the country in relation to the Parliament. Many of them concerned specific matters that directly impact on the ability of the Parliament to function properly, to enact laws that promote and protect human rights, to be accessible to its diverse constituency, and to be a model for society in internalizing a culture of constructive criticism, the sharing of views and power, and a genuine sense of common purpose. 30. Among his key recommendations: (a) He suggested that the procedure for removing parliamentary immunity and other disciplinary actions against sitting Members of Parliament should be brought in line with the principles of natural justice, constitutional standards and freedom of expression; (b) The Government should increase the resources allocated to Parliament to enhance the overall capacity of Parliament as an independent and effective institution and the capacity of individual Members of Parliament to scrutinize draft laws tabled before Parliament by the Government; (c) He also highlighted that the Constitution of Cambodia makes it mandatory to hold a National Congress once a year under the chairmanship of the King to enable the people to be directly informed on various matters of national interest and to raise issues of 9