Today, in advance of the fifth anniversary of the unlawful killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, the 45 undersigned organizations reiterate their call for the Cambodian authorities to create an independent Commission of Inquiry tasked with conducting an independent, impartial and effective investigation into Kem Ley’s death.
ANFREL published its June issue of the monthly brief on the countries under a restrictive environment. As usual, the brief covers issues related to elections and civil and political rights in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Hong Kong in the past month. Download here: Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment - Series #3 (June
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Sunday charged four members of the Mother Nature environmental movement with plotting an attack against the state and insulting the king, part of the targeted and outrageous persecution of frontline environmental defenders and grassroots activists by the government. Authorities should stop imprisoning and start listening to
ANFREL started publishing the monthly brief on the countries under a restrictive environment in April 2021 to provide an insight into the human rights and democracy situation in these countries. In this issue, we will cover issues related to elections and civil and political rights in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Hong Kong.
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) hosted a session in the 2021 Gwangju Democracy Forum about “Democracy under Restrictive Environment” on 19 May 2021. The session discussed the state of democracy, challenges and threats in the Asian countries that saw democratic regression in Hong Kong, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. Panelists of
Phnom Penh, 3 May 2021 - On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, we - the undersigned non-governmental organizations – recall that freedom of expression includes the right to a free and independent media as well as the rights to hold opinions and to seek, receive or impart information and
Many Asian countries, especially in South and Southeast Asia, saw democratic regressions in the pastyear. The governments took advantage of the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic tofurther tighten the restraints on civil liberties and crackdown on dissenters and political opponents. Asa democracy advocate, ANFREL will start publishing the monthly
21 July 2020 Your excellency, We, the undersigned 33 civil society organizations, urge the Governments of Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America to echo the European Union (EU) in its call for the
Today, on the fourth anniversary of the killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, we, the 30 undersigned organizations, call on the Cambodian authorities to create an independent Commission of Inquiry to conduct an effective and impartial investigation that is long overdue into Kem Ley’s death. We further
Press Release Phnom Penh, 04 June 2020 The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) annually observes on voter registration and audits Voter List. Through its observation and audit, COMFREL deployed observers to the registration stations and examined the official voter list to indicate duplicated and ghost voter names to
Phnom Penh, 04 October 2019 – We, the undersigned civil society organizations strongly condemn the decision by the Municipal Court judge to continue the investigation into unsubstantiated espionage charges against Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin. The pair were arbitrarily arrested, detained and charged for the peaceful exercise of their freedom of expression
To Members and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council 30 August 2019 Re: UN Human Rights Council should address human rights crisis in Cambodia at its 42nd session Dear Excellency, The undersigned civil society organizations, representing groups working within and outside Cambodia to advance human rights, rule of law,
[JOINT STATEMENT] 9 July 2019 (Bangkok, Thailand) --- Today, on the third anniversary of the killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, the 24 undersigned organizations renew calls on the Cambodian government to establish an independent and impartial Commission of Inquiry to conduct a thorough and effective investigation
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), after careful assessment, has determined that the conduct of the 2018 Cambodian Elections was anything but free or fair. Having observed more than 50 elections over the past two decades, ANFREL believes that this one was more bereft of truly democratic political processes than almost
We, as domestic and international election monitors, denounce the attempt by the Government and the National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia to legitimize the upcoming July 29 general election by accrediting large numbers of biased election monitors. It is our opinion that the 80,000 domestic observers authorized by the NEC show neither
As legislative elections will take place in Cambodia on July 29, ANFREL will not deploy observers in the country, since we believe the repressive political environment prejudicial to a truly democratic electoral process. In doing so, we stand in solidarity with our members NICFEC and COMFREL, as well as other Cambodian civil
Bangkok, Thailand | June 15, 2018 On June 14, 2018, the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released the report of its Pre-election Assessment Mission (PEAM) conducted in Cambodia early May 2018. The mission was conducted by five (5) international observers led by Mr. Damaso Magbual, the organization’s Spokesperson and Board Member from
Full Report: FINAL REPORT 2018 CAMBODIA PEAM INTRODUCTION Only a year after the 2017 Commune and Sangkat Council Elections, the Cambodian people are set to head to the polls again on July 29, 2018 to choose 123 members of the National Assembly. The bleak atmosphere of the 2018 pre-election period was
For Immediate Release April 25, 2018 For the PDF copy of the letter, please click link: Joint Letter on Cambodia's Political Instability Bangkok, Thailand – On the occasion of the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, seven international non-government organizations wrote a letter to H.E. Dr. Vivian Balakrishan, Foreign Minister
Bangkok, Thailand -- The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) wishes to correct and clarify the information included in articles published by Swiftnews Daily and Freshnews Asia regarding ANFREL activities as they relate to the July 28, 2018 Cambodian National Assembly Elections. The two media portals published information which inaccurately portrayed ANFREL
For Immediate Release On August 23, 2017, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry released an order for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Phnom Penh to cease its activities and repatriate its foreign members. After the June 2017 elections, domestic civil society organizations and independent media institutions have also faced hostility from the Cambodian
Full Report: The 2017 Cambodia IEOM Final Report SUMMARY Since the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1991 and the establishment of the modern Cambodian state, the country has been predominantly ruled by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). During this period, CPP’s rule has faced few strong electoral challenges – the most
Our organizations express serious concern over the threats to launch an inquiry into the activities and legality of the Situation Room on Cambodian Commune Council Election in 2017, a platform of non-governmental organizations formed to monitor the country’s recent local polls. Such comments contribute to a repressive environment which hinders the legitimate
Summary On 4 June 2017, TI Cambodia deployed 1,051 trained and accredited non-partisan election observers to observe the 2017 commune/sangkat council elections. This included 35 supervisors; 822 observers deployed to a random, representative sample of 411 sample polling stations in all 25 provinces to carry out a sample-based observation (SBO); and 200
(Initial Publication on June 6, 2017 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia) The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) congratulates the people of the Kingdom of Cambodia for their courage in turning up in great numbers to exercise their right to vote. ANFREL also commends the steps taken by the National Election Committee (NEC)
Phnom Penh, May 30 - The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) launched on May 29 its international election observation mission to the Kingdom of Cambodia’s 2017 Commune and Sangkat Council Elections to be held on June 4. The delegation aims to engage with election stakeholders — political parties, civil society
On 20 February 2017, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) enacted amendments to the Political Party Law which empower the Ministry of Interior and Supreme Court to suspend political parties, or ultimately dissolve parties upon determination of violation. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) supports the call of the Cambodian civil
For Immediate Release 12 July 2016 Bangkok , Thailand ANFREL joins the Cambodian civil society in mourning the tragic death of a prominent activist and known critic of the Hun Sen government, Mr. Kem Ley. We extend our sincerest condolences to his family, loved ones, and friends. Kem Ley was shot dead
We, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), along with our 56 member organisations from other 18 countries across Asia, call upon you to immediately drop all charges and end the legal harassment of six human rights defenders (HRDs) who are being implicated in false propaganda. These HRDs include four
Article 76 The National Assembly shall comprise at least 120 members. The number of members of the National Assembly shall be allocated to reflect the proportion of the number of voters in each constituency. You can view the file embedded in the page below: [embed width="650" height="850"]https://anfrel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Article-76-and-New-Chapter-15-of-Constitutional-Amendment-in-English-ERA-final-1.pdf[/embed] [embed width="650" height="850"]https://anfrel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Open-letter-for-ERA-Final1.pdf[/embed]
