A/HRC/27/43 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 24/29. It describes the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia from 1 June 2013 to 31 May 2014. It covers the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. 2. The OHCHR presence in Cambodia, originally established by the Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/6, continued to provide assistance to the Government and the people of Cambodia in promoting and respecting human rights in five key areas: prison reform; fundamental freedoms; economic and social rights; rule of law, including through the promotion of the legacy of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia; and public information and human rights education. Its work on the issue of business and human rights was also expanded. 3. The past year was largely coloured by the elections to the National Assembly, held on 28 July 2013. According to the official results, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party won 68 seats and the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party won 55. The Cambodia National Rescue Party contested the results, however, and boycotted its seats in the National Assembly, calling for reforms to the electoral body and negotiations on leadership positions within the Assembly. The Cambodian People’s Party publicly pledged to undertake wide-ranging reforms, including in the areas of justice, public administration and election management. With the political stalemate unresolved, the Assembly officially opened on 23 September, with only the Cambodian People’s Party’s Members of Parliament in attendance. The Assembly proceeded to approve the newly formed Government and the State budget. 4. The human rights situation during the reporting period was profoundly affected by the political situation. Negotiations between the two parties, which at times appeared close to a resolution, took place on and off but remained unresolved at the time of drafting. Over this period, Cambodia witnessed a wave of demonstrations that was unprecedented in number and scale. Throughout the campaigning period preceding the July elections, motorized campaign rallies organized by the two main parties were daily occurrences in the capital. On 19 July, the opposition leader Sam Rainsy had returned to Cambodia from selfimposed exile and was greeted by a crowd in the tens of thousands. Demonstrations continued nationwide, and particularly in Phnom Penh, in the weeks and months following the elections. Demonstrations gathered momentum towards the end of 2013. Those by the political opposition coincided with calls within the labour movement for an increase in the minimum wage in the garment industry, the leading export sector. The year ended with the political demonstrations converging with nationwide strikes by tens of thousands of garment sector workers calling for a substantial increase in the minimum wage. 5. The reaction of the authorities to demonstrations throughout 2013 was for the most part tolerant, with the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly generally being respected and demonstrations permitted to proceed. There were tragic exceptions to this general rule, however, involving the use of live ammunition and the deaths or serious injury of demonstrators and bystanders on 15 September and on 12 November 2013. 6. The generally tolerant approach of the Government toward the demonstrations changed sharply at the start of 2014. On 2 January 2014, security forces intervened violently at an overall peaceful demonstration outside a factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, beating people and eventually arresting 10 men. The following day, another 13 individuals were arrested and the authorities used live ammunition — killing at least four individuals and injuring scores more — to suppress a demonstration that had turned 3