Press Release: Constitutional Council must reject problematic provisions of the Law on Associations and NGOs
Paris, Geneva, Phnom Penh, July 28, 2015 –Cambodia’s Constitutional Council must reject the numerous provisions of theLaw on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations(LANGO) that run counter to the country’s Charter, the Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders said today.
TheConstitutional Council is expected to review the LANGO by the end of July.Cambodia’s Constitution empowers theCouncil to rule on the constitutionality of laws adopted by Parliament.According to Article 142 of the Charter, provisions of legislation passed byParliament that the Constitutional Council finds unconstitutional “shall not bepromulgated or implemented.”
“The Constitutional Council must uphold its roleof guardian of the Constitution and reject the numerous provisions of the LANGOthat contradict key constitutional principles,” said FIDH President Karim Lahidji.
Article 35 of the Constitution grants allcitizens the right to “participate actively in the political, economic, socialand cultural life of the nation.” In contrast, Articles 8 and 9 of the LANGOinfringe on this constitutionally-guaranteed right. Article 8 imposes amandatory and highly discretionary registration process for all associationsand NGOs. Article 9 compounds the situation, as it bans unregistered domesticassociations and NGOs from conducting any activities. In addition,Article 24 of the LANGO requires domestic NGOs to maintain an undefined conceptof “political neutrality.” This clause is not in line with Article 41 of theConstitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion.
The above-mentioned provisions of LANGOalso run afoul of the Constitution because they negate Article 31, which statesthat Cambodia recognizes and respects human rights as enshrined in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and “all the treaties andconventions related to human rights, women’s rights and children’s rights.”Articles 19 and 20 of the UDHR and Articles 19 and 22 of the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantee the right to freedomof opinion, expression, and association. Cambodia is a state party to theICCPR.
“The key tenets of the LANGO are clearlyunconstitutional. A reasoned analysis of the LANGO shows that the governmentcompletely ignored the country’s highest law when it drafted this awful pieceof legislation,” said OMCT Secretary General GeraldStaberock.
The LANGO was adopted by the National Assembly andthe Senate on July 13 and 24 respectively. On both occasions, electedrepresentatives from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which holds themajority in both houses of Parliament, voted in favour of passing the LANGO,while members of the opposition boycotted the vote to protest the draft law.
The Observatory hadpreviously called for the withdrawal of the LANGO because it was draftedwithout any meaningful consultation with concerned stakeholders. The LANGOcontains unnecessary restrictions on the right to freedom of association,excessive penalties, and grants authorities indiscriminate and arbitrary powersover registration and de-registration of civil society groups and NGOs. The LANGOlegalizes the control andcensorship of activities undertaken by domestic and international associationsand NGOs.
Therestrictions on the right to freedom of association contained in the LANGO gowell beyond the permissible limitations allowed by international human rightslaw and serve no legitimate purpose. The Observatory maintains that the legislation already in force in Cambodia is sufficient toappropriately regulate the activities of associations and NGOs and to allow theprosecution of criminal acts if committed.
TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OBS) was created in1997 by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this programme is to intervene toprevent or remedy to situations of repression against human rights defenders.
For more information, please contact:
· FIDH: Arthur Manet/Lucie Kroening: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
· OMCT: Miguel Martín Zumalacárregui: +41 22 809 49 24