A/HRC/21/63
the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health.
20.
A further urgent action letter was sent to the Government on 4 June 2012 in relation
to the families in the Boeung Kak dispute, on the basis of information received about the
arrest and sentencing of 13 protesters from the eight families affected, the subsequent arrest
of two other representatives of the Boeung Kak community and the later arrest of a
prominent monk and human rights defender who staged a peaceful protest in support of the
community. The communication was joined by the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right
to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a
component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to nondiscrimination in this context, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful
assembly and of association, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur on
the independence of judges and lawyers, and the Special Rapporteur on violence against
women, its causes and consequences.
21.
On 4 May 2012, the Special Rapporteur joined the Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special
Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in a joint allegation letter
that focused on information concerning restrictions on the enjoyment of the right to
freedom of peaceful assembly, opinion and expression reportedly faced by organizers of
and participants in the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum 2012.
The event took place from 29 to 31 March 2012 in the Lucky Star Hotel but was subject to
restrictions and/or interference by the hotel management, allegedly at the Government’s
request.
22.
In addition to the letter on electoral reform referred to above, the Special Rapporteur
wrote to the Prime Minister on 22 August 2011 in relation to the dialogue between the
remaining communities of Boeung Kak and the municipality of Phnom Penh, which
resulted in the issuance of Subdecree No. 183 of 11 August 2011 to adjust the size of the
Boeung Kak development and provide land title to communities living on a parcel of land
of 12.44 ha in size. Regarding this as a positive step, the Special Rapporteur expressed his
hope that a similar consultation process would be undertaken in other cases of land disputes
in Cambodia and that the suggestions of relevant stakeholders in the consultation process
on the draft law on associations and non-governmental organizations would be considered
before the submission of the draft law to the National Assembly for approval.
23.
Following the suspension of and warnings issued to three non-governmental
organizations working to protect human rights in the land and housing sector, the Special
Rapporteur wrote to the Prime Minister on 26 August 2011 expressing his concern and
requesting the Government to share information in that regard. The Special Rapporteur
received a response on 5 October 2011 clarifying the situation and expressing the
Government’s views.
IV. Recent developments in human rights
24.
The Special Rapporteur has continued to monitor the general human rights situation
in Cambodia and highlights below some principal developments in this regard.
7
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