United Nations General Assembly A/HRC/45/51/Add.1* Distr.: General 30 September 2020 English only Human Rights Council Forty-fifth session 14 September–2 October 2020 Agenda items 2 and 10 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Technical assistance and capacity-building Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia Comments by the State** Summary This is to comment on the Draft Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, Professor Rhona Smith upon the request of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva dated on July 06, 2020. Cambodia recognizes the roles and mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in assisting Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights. Cambodia maintains the view that the assistance or cooperation must always be driven by the needs of the relevant State and be aligned to its national objectives and priorities, taking into account the national particularities and ownership. The primacy of the role of the State as the human rights duty bearer should be in this process. The assistance and support provided by the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia to the government and people of Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights is much appreciated. However, the Government of Cambodia is dismayed by the countless accusation in this report without any evidence base, which is mostly made and provided by the opposition and their alliance. Therefore, we would like here to provide some brief clarifications to those groundless accusations as the following. * Second reissue for technical reasons (4 November 2020). ** The present document is being issued without formal editing. GE.20-12771(E) 