A/HRC/18/46 Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on 22 March 2011, seeking clarifications on the legal basis of the conviction of Mr. Kunnaka. The Special Rapporteurs expressed concern that article 495 of the new Penal Code may have been interpreted to curtail the constitutional exercise of freedom of opinion, expression and information, rather than to protect the public from the commission of any crime. At the time of writing, no response has been received by the Government. 23. The Special Rapporteur observed that courts implement laws that do not conform to the nature and scope of the rule of law in the first place and thus risk being used by the executive for political purposes. An example of this is the 10-year jail sentence imposed on opposition leader Sam Rainsy in absentia after he had been found guilty of a falsification of public documents and disinformation, a charge that was allegedly politically motivated. The Special Rapporteur had hoped that the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court would be more objective during the appeal of the opposition leader’s case. Regrettably, the Supreme Court upheld in March 2011 the verdict of the Court of Appeal, which had upheld the verdict of the court of first instance. The allegation made by the Government was that Mr. Rainsy had manipulated a map to show that Viet Nam had encroached on the territory of Cambodia. In any properly functioning democracy, such political matters would be debated in the parliament and become a matter of public debate rather than the subject of a criminal case before courts. Scrutinizing the activities of the Government and requiring the Government to respond to any criticisms of its policy decisions is one of the basic functions of the leaders of opposition parties and they should not be subjected to criminal proceedings for discharging their responsibilities in a peaceful manner. 24. On 24 August 2010, the Special Rapporteur wrote to the Prime Minister and provided him with a briefing note outlining the international human rights perspective on the use of defamation proceedings and disinformation charges. The Special Rapporteur highlighted how important it was for the protection of democratic space for public debate that public authorities and politicians, as well as members of the media and the public who participate in these debates, tolerate dissenting views and do not regard them as personal attacks. The Special Rapporteur referred to a worrying trend of restrictions on freedom of expression in the form of criminal defamation, disinformation and incitement suits that had resulted in prison terms for individuals, including journalists, NGO workers and parliamentarians, who had no intention of affecting national security. The Special Rapporteur has regularly noted that, in defamation cases, the complainant appears not to have proven that his or her reputation has been damaged (one of the elements of the crime of defamation). With regard to disinformation cases, the Special Rapporteur has noted that there was often no proof tendered to the court that the information in question endangered national security (an element of the crime of disinformation). C. Draft law on non-governmental organizations 25. In September 2008, during the fourth legislature (2008-2012), the Government decided to adopt a law regulating the activities of non-governmental organizations and associations. On 15 December 2010, the Ministry of the Interior publicly released the first draft of the law and invited NGOs and other stakeholders to participate in a first public consultation on the draft on 10 January 2011. The role of civil society actors in the political and economic development of Cambodia has been acknowledged by the Prime Minister in his speeches of 24 November 2009 and 6 June 2011, and by other senior members of the Government. Many of the civil society organizations have been playing a complementary role to that of the State in helping or delivering key social services in the areas of education, health, rural development, sanitation, social welfare and the protection of natural resources and the environment. 9