A/HRC/33/39 I. Introduction 1. The present report, submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to Council resolution 30/23, describes the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. It follows on the previous report submitted to the Council (A/HRC/30/30). 2. Originally mandated by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1993/6, the work of OHCHR in Cambodia is guided by Human Rights Council 30/23, a biennial Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Government of Cambodia, 1 and the global mandate of the High Commissioner, as set out by the General Assembly in its resolution 48/141. OHCHR looks forward to concluding its discussions with the Government on the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding, in accordance with the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. 3. The legal and institutional framework in Cambodia underwent some notable changes during the period under review. New laws coming into force contain provisions that could potentially restrict the freedoms of expression, association and assembly, particularly the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations, the long-awaited Trade Union Law and the Telecommunications Law. At the end of the period under review, other bills with potentially profound implications for human rights were in various stages of drafting, including on access to information, whistle-blower protection, cybercrime and State secrets, only some of which are open to public consultation. 4. The period under review began at a time of rising political tensions, in the wake of the breakdown of the “culture of dialogue” agreed to in 2014 between the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Dialogue had been a central feature of the negotiated settlement of a year-long political stalemate following the contested National Assembly elections in 2013 (see A/HRC/30/30, para. 3). 5. Some of the issues publicly raised by the CNRP in 2014 and 2015 provoked strong reactions from the Government, particularly its accusations that the CPP-ruled Government had knowingly ceded Cambodian territory to Viet Nam. Border issues and relations with Viet Nam are historically sensitive and tend to resonate deeply with the public. The current and previous Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Cambodia have expressed their concern about the use of anti-Vietnamese language by the opposition. 6. A number of judicial actions taken against the opposition and civil society organizations reflect structural deficiencies in the law enforcement and judicial institutions that have long been highlighted by human rights mechanisms, including the independence of the judiciary, lack of procedural guarantees resulting in over-reliance on pretrial detention, weak evidentiary bases for convictions, and impunity. A growing number of ��Facebook cases” are being tracked in which postings on social media are being used as evidence of the commission of crimes. 7. Following a short pause in 2014, tensions broke out again between the ruling and main opposition parties, coinciding also with a number of judicial actions against members and supporters of the main opposition party from mid-2015. In July, 11 people were convicted to between seven and 20 years of imprisonment in a so-called “insurrection trial”. 1 2 The previous Memorandum of Understanding covered the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015.