In response to the panel discussion on the current political situation in Cambodia, organized by the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations issued a statement on Monday stating that the panel discussion was an act of arrogance and it was also the violation of Article 2 of the UN's Charter.
"The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia registers its strong protest against such panel discussion which is politically motivated with the clear intent to mislead international public opinion. The Permanent Mission considers this arrogant and disrespectful behavior as a serious interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which runs encounter to the principle of respect for sovereignty and non-interference as stipulated in Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations," read the statement.
Charter of the United Nations - Article 2
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7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.
According to Ms. Kem Monovithya, leading member of the permanent committee of the dissolved opposition party CNRP, who was a guest speaker in the discussion, the theme of the panel discussion was «Devolution of Democracy in Cambodia.»
The forum took place on Tuesday at the office of the US Mission to the UN in New York City. Three guest speakers from Cambodia - Ms. Monovithya herself, Mr. Pa Ngoun Teang, founder and executive director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, Mr. John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch - were presented in the discussion as eyewitnesses of the current situation in the country.
"With Cambodian National elections coming in June 2018, it is important to ensure that the fundamental rights of freedom of assembly, free association and of the press be upheld and that genuine competition in a multi-party democracy be seen as the necessity that it is," read the announcement of the panel discussion.
Concerning this issue, an anonymous political analyst said that the Kingdom of Cambodia, as a member state of the UN, is also bound by the international law to ensure that Cambodian people from all walks of life could freely exercise their civil and political rights as stipulated in Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – Article 21
The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
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