37/64 Role and achievements of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in assisting the Government and people of Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights - Report of the Secretary-General

GE.18-01550(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-seventh session

26 February−23 March 2018

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

Role and achievements of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in assisting the Government and people of Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights

Report of the Secretary-General

Summary

Submitted pursuant to resolution 36/32 of the Human Rights Council, the present

report outlines the role and achievements of the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia from 1 July to 31 December 2017.

The period was marked by continuing political tension and the further reduction of

the political and civic space, including the closure and suspension of human rights and

environmental non-governmental and media organizations, the arrest of the leader of the

Cambodia National Rescue Party and the dissolution of the Party, which was the main

party of opposition. At the same time, positive developments occurred, such as the

introduction of policies related to ageing and combating violence against children and the

raising of the minimum wage for workers in the textile and footwear industries.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in

Cambodia continued its programme of technical cooperation in key areas, including

strengthening the rule of law and protecting fundamental freedoms and economic, social

and cultural rights, and the rights of people in detention.

United Nations A/HRC/37/64

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 36/32 of the Human Rights

Council. It outlines the role and achievements of the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in assisting the Government and the people of

Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights in the period from 1 July 2017

to 31 December 2017. It updates the report of the Secretary-General to the thirty-sixth

session of the Council on the same subject (A/HRC/36/32).

2. Throughout the reporting period, OHCHR proceeded with a range of technical

cooperation activities with the judiciary, the Supreme Council of Magistracy, the

governmental Cambodian Human Rights Committee, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry

of Rural Development and other governmental actors, civil society and other partners. It

continued monitoring the human rights environment, including the right to participation and

peaceful assembly, trials and places of detention.

3. OHCHR also continued working closely with the United Nations system in

Cambodia to support the mainstreaming of human rights by leading the United Nations

country team Human Rights Theme Group, supporting the integration of human rights into

the common country assessment in preparation for the next United Nations Development

Assistance Framework 2019–2023, and helping the United Nations in assessing progress in,

and supporting the advancement of, human rights in Cambodia.

II. Protecting democratic and civic space

4. The reporting period witnessed a continued escalation in political tensions and

curtailment of civic space. In July, parliament enacted further amendments to the Law on

Political Parties, allowing, inter alia, the suspension of the operations of political parties on

various grounds.

5. In September, the leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, Kem Sokha, was

arrested on treason-related charges in connection with comments made in 2013 in Australia

on his political strategy to challenge the Government. Parliament determined that the

alleged crime was committed in flagrante delicto, which allowed the case to proceed

without the need to lift his parliamentary immunity. On 4 September, the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed serious concern at the arrest of Mr.

Sokha, noting that it appeared to have been carried out with no respect for due process

guarantees, including for Mr. Sokha’s parliamentary immunity. On 16 November,

following proceedings initiated by the Minister of Interior, the Supreme Court ordered the

dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party and banned 118 senior members of the

party, including all parliamentarians, from political life for five years.

6. In October, parliament enacted amendments to legislation introducing a

methodology for redistributing the seats of a dissolved party among other parties at the

national and communal levels. Nationally, the dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue

Party permitted the transfer of its seats to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and to

opposition parties that had not won any seats in the 2013 national elections. At the local

level, all communes previously headed by the Cambodia National Rescue Party passed

under the control of the Cambodian People’s Party. Following these developments, a large

number of members of the dissolved party, including more than half of its parliamentarians,

left the country while others have joined the ruling party. Some former members of the

Cambodia National Rescue Party informed OHCHR that they were being intimidated by

the police, with some threatened with arrest.

7. The Government has accused various civil society actors, including in the media, of

plotting a “colour revolution”, and consequently curtailed their activities. For instance, in

August, it revoked the licences of independent radio stations, most of which were airing

programmes of Voice of Democracy, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America. The levying

of taxes totalling $6.3 million on the Cambodia Daily — an English-language daily

newspaper often critical of the Government — compelled it to close. In November, two

former journalists of Radio Free Asia were arrested and charged with espionage, and face a

sentence of 7–15 years of imprisonment if convicted.

8. Moreover, the Government ordered the closure of the office of the National

Democratic Institute in Cambodia, alleging that some of the Institute’s training materials

had revealed that it was colluding with the Cambodia National Rescue Party to ensure its

victory in the 2018 elections. In September, the Government suspended for 30 days

Equitable Cambodia, an organization working in the area of land rights. The authorities

have not clarified whether the organization could resume its activities when the suspension

came to an end. Also in September, the Ministry of Interior deregistered the environmental

non-governmental organization (NGO) Mother Nature, and two of its members have since

been in pretrial detention on charges related to attempts to film suspected illegal sand-

dredging activities.

9. More generally, administrative instructions by the Ministry of Interior requiring

NGOs to notify local authorities three days in advance of all activities have been

accompanied by an increased police presence, including undercover police, before and

during activities or events. OHCHR has received a greater number of reports of

intimidation of civil society organizations, and resulting fear among their staff.

10. On 18 December, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Secretary-General stated that the

Secretary-General was concerned about the persistent narrowing of democratic space for

political parties, media and civil society ahead of the 2018 national elections, and that

democratic dialogue among all stakeholders was essential towards an increasingly peaceful

and stable society in Cambodia.1

11. OHCHR has undertaken awareness-raising and training workshops to assist civil

society work in favour of respect for freedom of peaceful assembly. It continued to

disseminate the 2009 Law on Peaceful Demonstrations and its implementation guide. It also

led three training workshops on the law that were attended by 114 members of civil society

and community-based organizations, land activists and trade unionists from Banteay

Meanchey, Koh Kong, Kampot and Kep Provinces. OHCHR was also invited by partners to

deliver specialized sessions within broader training courses, for instance on provisions of

the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations and of the Law on Peaceful

Demonstrations, as well as on human rights monitoring, reaching 121 civil society actors.

12. OHCHR continued to help strengthen the human rights capacity of Cambodian civil

society organizations to monitor progress in human rights. It conducted two training

sessions on the methodology for human rights monitoring, fact-finding and reporting, and

security and protection for 77 human rights workers from Phnom Penh, Kandal, Kampong

Speu, Takeo, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Banteay Meanchey, Oddor Meanchey,

Kampong Cham and Siem Reap Provinces. Participants appreciated the relevance of the

training to their daily work, particularly the importance of verifying information, analysing

facts, systematically documenting and being aware of risks.

13. OHCHR continued monitoring public gatherings. For instance, in July, it monitored

a gathering of about 30 human rights activists who had met in front of the Phnom Penh

Municipal Court to support land rights activist Tep Vanny when one of the cases against

her came before the court. OHCHR also monitored the aborted gathering planned for

September by the Cambodian National Rescue Party in memory of the victims of the 1997

grenade attack. It further observed a gathering of about 200 parliamentarians and supporters

to call for the release of Mr. Sokha, whose pretrial hearing was taking place at the Appeal

Court.

14. OHCHR also undertook five field missions to selected ethnic Vietnamese

communities in Phnom Penh municipality and Kandal, Kompong Chhnang, Siem Reap and

Kompong Thom Provinces to gain an understanding of the challenges they face regarding

their legal status, access to school and other basic services, and discrimination.

1 See www.voacambodia.com/a/un-secretary-general-concerned-by-deteriorating-democratic-space-in-

cambodia/4168302.html.

III. Promoting the rule of law

15. During the reporting period, OHCHR continued to support the legal and judicial

reform process to strengthen the rule of law, and to work with the Ministry of Justice, the

Supreme Council of Magistracy, judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

16. Together with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

and civil society organizations, OHCHR was involved in the consultative drafting process

for the law on access to information, which the Ministry of Information has led since 2014.

OHCHR participated in three sessions of the technical working group providing legal

comments on the draft and contributed to aligning the text more closely with international

human rights standards, in particular freedom of expression.

17. In November, OHCHR shared with the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry

of Interior and the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction a draft

discussion paper on potential reform of the communal land titling process for indigenous

peoples. OHCHR has prepared the document in the context of the possible revision of the

2001 Land Law. The paper includes an analysis of the current national standards and

procedures and contains suggestions for simplifying the process to make it faster and more

affordable for indigenous peoples. The draft was discussed with the relevant ministries at

the technical level as well as with relevant NGOs before its finalization and formal

presentation to the Government of Cambodia in 2018.

18. In December, OHCHR and the International Trade Union Confederation organized a

legal symposium in Phnom Penh, gathering approximately 80 participants representing the

Government of Cambodia, the International Labour Organization (ILO), domestic trade

unions, international confederations of trade unions, private companies and embassies to

review progress on issues related to the negotiation and fixing of the minimum wage, trade

union registration, and collective bargaining and dispute resolution. The purpose of the

symposium was to foster an agreement between relevant stakeholders on effective legal

measures aligned with ILO conventions and other human rights standards and

recommendations.

19. OHCHR continued to serve as the donor partner-facilitator of the technical working

group on legal and judicial reform, co-chaired by the Ministry of Justice. In August, as part

of the planned activities that are monitored using the joint monitoring indicators of the

technical working group, OHCHR and the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Bar

Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the South East Asia Legal Aid Network,

organized a workshop on regional best practices in the development of legal aid policies.

The workshop helped to identify some of the fundamental criteria that should be included

in the policy on legal aid to be drafted in 2018, to help guarantee that such aid is

systematically provided to all those who need it.

20. In response to immediate legal aid needs, OHCHR provided grants to NGOs to

provide legal aid to persons who had filed claims pertaining to economic and social rights,

particularly rights to land and housing, and in 152 prioritized appeal cases to help prisoners

to obtain a final judgment.

21. As part of its Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia legacy

programme, OHCHR, jointly with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia,

organized the 2017 Legal Dialogue Series. The November meeting, which had the highest

attendance of national lawyers of the whole Series, focused on building a defence strategy

and carrying out effective representation of civil parties.

22. OHCHR monitored judicial proceedings in over a dozen cases, identifying gaps in

the implementation of international human rights standards where further technical

assistance is required, particularly regarding fair trial rights. Specifically, OHCHR

monitored cases of past and current impunity where the alleged perpetrators had not been

arrested or prosecuted. This situation contributes to the loss of faith in the justice system

and, in cases of crimes allegedly committed by local authorities, has undermined the

authority of the courts.

23. Impunity for cases of mob justice remains a matter of concern. Mob violence against

alleged thieves is usually an immediate reaction to an incident of theft and simple

accusations are sufficient to incite a crowd to deadly violence, with little or no reaction by

the police. Investigations are rarely carried out following these incidents, and cases are

generally closed as the initial crime is considered to have been solved.

24. OHCHR also continued working on cases of killings of people accused of

witchcraft. Killings related to sorcery were reportedly frequent before the 1960s, and most

recently in the 1980s and the 1990s. In 2017, the number of reported human rights

violations related to sorcery decreased but remained of particular concern in some remote

areas of the country. The police are generally willing to investigate these cases but alleged

perpetrators are rarely arrested, as the police lack resources and fear reprisals from the local

population. In several instances, the police and local authorities discussed with OHCHR the

possibility of support to raise awareness on sorcery allegations and preventing mob

violence, which the Office will follow up on with the Ministry of Interior.

25. As part of the implementation of the recommendations of the second cycle of the

universal periodic review on judicial sector reform, 2 OHCHR organized a series of

meetings with the Supreme Council of Magistracy, which brought together judges,

prosecutors and heads of the administrative secretariats to discuss coordination between

their administrative and adjudicative functions, particularly in the context of the Law on the

Organization of the Courts. During the meetings, the representatives of the Supreme

Council of Magistracy and the Ministry of Justice provided guidance and answers to some

of the problems faced.

26. OHCHR continued to support the improvement of case management and access to

court information by expanding the criminal case database in six courts of first instance and

facilitating two workshops on case registration, held in Sihanoukville in July and August

and in Phnom Penh in November. OHCHR supported the inclusion of a new module to

report on cases of violence against women as part of the database update. Cases are being

increasingly registered in the 12 courts where the database is in place, although challenges

remain to ensure that their recording is timely.

27. In October, together with the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Council of

Magistracy, OHCHR conducted a regional training workshop for judges in Preah Vihear

Province on follow-up to the new pretrial detention form. The workshop focused on the

importance of providing legal reasoning when deciding cases on pretrial detention in line

with the pretrial guidelines issued by the Ministry of Justice in 2014. The regional

workshops will continue in 2018 to cover more courts.

IV. Supporting prison reform

28. The General Department of Prisons extended the authorization allowing OHCHR to

conduct prison visits from July to December. However, it retained the prohibition, instituted

in 2016, against confidential interviews with detainees. It is essential for OHCHR to enjoy

full confidential access to detainees to ensure the quality and safety of its interaction.

29. OHCHR conducted nine visits to six prisons over the reporting period, following

which it presented recommendations to the prison management concerned and raised issues

common to several prisons with the Ministry of Interior and the General Department of

Prisons. The Office worked closely with registry officers to identify priority cases for

release.

30. A “six-month campaign against illicit drugs”, launched in January and renewed in

June, led to a sharp increase in the prison population.3 In a system that was already over

capacity, this has put further strain on detention facilities and has seriously affected the

living conditions and health of prisoners, as well as the working environment of prison

2 See A/HRC/26/16, paras. 118.24, 118.79 and 118.81−118.90.

3 The total prison population increased by around 30 per cent from December 2016 to December 2017.

personnel. The number of people detained without an enforceable verdict remained very

high, with only 25 per cent of prisoners serving a final sentence as at December.

31. In August, a royal decree was issued that repealed the subdecree on the

establishment of the national preventive mechanism established under the Optional

Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment. This involves the restructuring of the mechanism; however,

implementation is pending further secondary legislation. Concerns remain as to the

functional independence of the mechanism in terms of its legal framework, the selection of

its members, its role and duties, and its funding.

32. OHCHR conducted two human rights briefings for over 100 local police and

gendarmerie officers in Kratie Province in July and Tbong Khmum Province in September.

The briefings focused on the prevention of torture, rights upon arrest and use of force by

law enforcement officials. They provided an opportunity for local officers to hold a

dialogue with the prosecutor.

33. OHCHR continued to collaborate with trainers from the General Department of

Prisons and the Professional Training Centre for Prison Officials of the Police Academy of

Cambodia to improve the training of prison personnel. In this regard, in August and

November, it co-organized two joint study visits to two prisons for 94 prison staff trainees

and their 20 trainers, which allowed them to contextualize their learning in real prison

environments. In November, OHCHR gave lectures on the prevention of torture and human

rights-based approaches to prison management for 47 new recruits. OHCHR also worked

with trainers to review the human rights content of their curriculum before compiling the

selected modules for printing and dissemination.

34. With a view to allowing sick prisoners to receive medical care without restraints at

hospitals outside places of detention, OHCHR continued to work with national and

provincial health and prison authorities to install security features in one room at the

referral hospital of Tbong Khmum Province.

35. Along with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United

Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), OHCHR advocated for the finalization of

long-awaited secondary legislation on minimum standards for prison construction and

renovation, foreseen in the 2011 Prison Law. Together with ICRC, the Office followed up

in October with the General Department of Prisons on the latest draft of the legislation and

the UNOPS technical guidelines on prison planning.

36. In addition, OHCHR supported two meetings for local police, court and prison

officials in Pailin in July and in Kampong Speu in October to discuss possible solutions to

the problem of improving the delivery of justice at the local level. OHCHR successfully

advocated with local and national authorities to ensure the release of 10 persons who had

been held in excessively lengthy detention.

V. Protecting economic, social and cultural rights

37. Economic growth has continued at high levels of almost 7 per cent over the

reporting period 4 and poverty continued to decline, although almost a third of the

population is still living near the poverty line and risks slipping back into poverty.

Consequently, it is important for economic growth to be accompanied by rights-based

policies so as to generate sustainable human development outcomes. OHCHR welcomes

the positive steps taken by the Government in this regard, such as the adoption of the

Action Plan to Prevent and Respond to Violence against Children 2017–2021 and of the

National Ageing Policy 2017–2030. In addition, the Government introduced improved

social protection for workers in the informal sector. It also introduced a lump-sum payment

scheme for pregnant female workers and announced plans to raise the minimum wage for

4 World Bank Group, Cambodia Climbing up the Manufacturing Value Chains, Cambodia Economic

Update, October 2017, p. 7.

workers in the textile and footwear industries by 11 per cent in 2018. The Government also

suspended the drafting of a controversial bill on labour dispute resolution.

38. Through its economic and social rights programme, OHCHR continued to work on

issues relating to the rights to adequate housing and to an adequate standard of living, to

help prevent forced evictions and to promote security of tenure and a better understanding

of the role of business in respecting human rights, including with regard to indigenous

communities.

39. OHCHR has continued to assist those subject to resettlement as a result of land

clearing for new construction and plantations. In October and December, OHCHR, in

partnership with provincial authorities and local NGOs, organized two workshops, in

Sihanoukville and Kampot, on land and housing rights, focusing on evictions and relocation

procedures and on the responsibilities of business enterprises in this context.

40. As part of the resettlement process or to provide land to the landless poor and

veterans, the Government has been issuing social land concessions to individuals and

families subject to resettlement. In December, OHCHR finalized a study assessing the

impact of such concessions on rural livelihoods, for publication in 2018. The study should

serve as a basis for advocacy with relevant national and local authorities for the

improvement of existing social land concessions and ahead of the establishment of new

ones.

41. OHCHR continued to work with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban

Construction and Planning, the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Interior,

local authorities and civil society organizations to support efforts by indigenous peoples to

secure collective land titles and to provide legal aid to communities that had been subjected

to alleged land rights violations.

42. In August, OHCHR supported an indigenous community in Mondulkiri in adopting

its community by-law as a key step in the process of obtaining collective land titles. An

event to formally mark the adoption of the by-law was attended by more than 100

participants and chaired by the provincial governor. OHCHR collaborated fruitfully with

the Ministry of Rural Development and the Koh Kong local authorities for the issuance, in

October, of the indigenous identity registration of four communities in the Areng Valley,

the site of a number of high-profile land disputes in recent years. This experience was

video-recorded to produce a video to help inform other communities about the collective

land title process, how they can use it and how they can benefit from it. The video was

launched in December.

43. In addition, in October and November, OHCHR organized two regional seminars on

the collective land title process for 140 local authorities and 20 indigenous representatives.

In August, it organized a training workshop on national and international standards relating

to the rights of indigenous peoples for approximately 35 Chorng indigenous representatives

from Pursat Province.

44. OHCHR has also been working to assist the Government and business enterprises to

provide adequate remedies for cases of violations and abuse of land and housing rights. In

August, OHCHR partnered with the NGO Independent Mediation Group to provide

technical support to indigenous Bunong communities from the village of Busra, Mondulkiri

Province, affected by an economic land concession during the pre-mediation period of the

dispute resolution accepted by the company. The support included the provision of training

on legal rights to land, mediation rules, representation skills, negotiation skills and options

weighing.

45. In November, OHCHR and the NGO Community Legal Education Centre launched

a “peace table” process for the Runta Ek community in Seam Reap Province, who were in

conflict with the Apsara Authority, which is responsible for the protection and management

of the region of Angkor, in relation to land issues.

46. OHCHR has continued to promote the dissemination of public information on

economic and other land concessions through technical and financial support to the Open

Development Cambodia website. This support has helped to revise and update the database

of economic land concession profiles and maps on the open source website, including

information on revoked and downsized concessions. This tool will serve as a basis for

advocacy by NGOs and affected communities to reclaim their land. OHCHR also supported

Open Development Cambodia in designing, validating and launching an interactive map of

existing social land concessions.

47. OHCHR continued to expand its focus on business and human rights, working

directly with national and subnational authorities, civil society organizations, community

representatives and business actors to increase their understanding of the Guiding Principles

on Business and Human Rights and their application in Cambodia. In partnership with the

Cambodian Corporate Social Responsibility Platform, the NGO Forum on Cambodia and

the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), OHCHR

organized and delivered five training sessions and peer-to-peer discussions among private

companies on the adoption and implementation of due diligence policies in Cambodia that

were attended by more than 120 representatives of private businesses, local authorities,

human rights defenders and community activists. In addition, OHCHR aired six live

interactive radio talk shows on related themes with a variety of guest speakers from grass-

roots associations, national and international NGOs, Government, United Nations agencies

and businesses, and individual experts. However, the radio broadcast of the talk shows was

prevented owing to the fact that the licence of the partner’s broadcasting radio station had

been revoked. Until new relays were found, the radio programme could continue only

online, which restricted the audience to those who had access to the Internet.

48. OHCHR registered the adverse impact of the land titling process on indigenous and

other communities who claim to have lost land due to land disputes or inconsistent

implementation of government policies. OHCHR received petitions from individuals and

groups who sought its intervention and legal advice on their disputes and concerns. It

conducted field visits to ascertain facts, engaged with the relevant authorities, facilitated

dialogue among the parties, monitored the work of dispute resolution mechanisms and

provided legal and procedural advice to communities and the civil society organizations

supporting them.

VI. Supporting engagement with the international human rights mechanisms

49. OHCHR assisted the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in

Cambodia with preparations for a visit that the Special Rapporteur had requested to

undertake in December. In the absence of a response from the Government, the Special

Rapporteur subsequently requested that the visit take place in March 2018.

50. The Government has yet to submit overdue reports to the Committee on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on Enforced

Disappearances, as well as its response to the list of issues of the Committee against

Torture. OHCHR continued its technical support to the Cambodian Human Rights

Committee, the Disability Action Council, the Ministry of Interior and the Cambodian

National Council on Children for monitoring progress under the international human rights

treaties. It also provided assistance to civil society organizations on engaging with the

United Nations human rights mechanisms.

51. In this regard, with support from the OHCHR treaty body capacity-building

programme, the Office conducted two training sessions with the Cambodian Human Rights

Committee, with the participation of representatives of ministries and other institutions

responsible for implementing treaty body recommendations, to increase the capacity of

officials involved in drafting reports to treaty bodies. To continue strengthening the

implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the local

level, OHCHR supported training by the Disability Action Council of its local officials in

Koh Kong Province in November.

52. In late June, OHCHR co-organized a workshop with several civil society

organizations and the Cambodian Human Rights Committee to follow up on

recommendations emerging from the universal periodic review.5 Participants assessed the

extent of implementation of all recommendations, highlighting progress achieved, and

identified recommendations requiring action or additional measures. This event helped civil

society organizations identify and prioritize certain areas or recommendations, as the basis

for their submissions ahead of the universal periodic review of Cambodia to be held in

2019.

VII. Mainstreaming human rights throughout the United Nations system

53. The coordination of activities for the promotion and protection of human rights

throughout the United Nations system is a core responsibility of OHCHR. The Office

continued to chair the Human Rights Theme Group, which was created in 2014 and

comprises 14 members of the United Nations country team who convene in monthly

meetings to review emerging human rights concerns, facilitate inter-agency initiatives to

address them, disseminate information pertaining to the international human rights

mechanisms and respond to requests for input from regional and global human rights

initiatives.

54. Following the 2015 national conference on persons in street situations, the Human

Rights Theme Group continued to coordinate inter-agency visits to the main social affairs

centre in Phnom Penh, referred to as a drop-in centre. Overcrowding in that centre remains

serious as the anti-drug campaign continues. The Human Rights Theme Group convened

meetings with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation to

encourage the resumption of the technical working group to implement the

recommendations adopted at the 2015 conference.6 With the planned opening of a new

psychosocial rehabilitation centre for persons with mental disabilities in 2018 in Kandal

Province, the Human Rights Theme Group emphasized the importance of placing the centre

under the administration of the relevant ministry, namely the Ministry of Health, and

ensuring that it does not become a de facto place of detention.

55. During the reporting period, OHCHR contributed to the drafting of the common

country assessment and the United Nations country team exercise in October to envisage

the country’s state of development in 2030 and examine the role of the United Nations in

Cambodia in the light of that vision. OHCHR has encouraged the inclusion of human rights

and of the recommendations of human rights mechanisms in the common country

assessment.

5 This activity, while falling outside the reporting period, was not reported in the previous report of the

Secretary-General (A/HRC/36/32) as it took place after the finalization of that report.

6 The technical working group on persons in street situations was created in the wake of the 2015

conference, chaired by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, with the

aim of bringing together government authorities, United Nations agencies and NGOs engaged in

social work.