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11.
The Special Procedures mandate holders brought to the attention of the Government
information they had received according to which, on 8 June 2007, the Ministry of Cult and
Religion and the Buddhist patriarch Non Nget issued a directive, which forbids all monks living
in the Kingdom of Cambodia from organizing or participating in any demonstration or strike or
carrying out Buddhist marches that affect public order. The decision also bars monks from
providing false information which may affect Buddhist religion. The directive states that monks
who do not respect the instructions strictly will be punished in accordance to Buddhist norms and
national law. The directive was adopted after Khmer Kampuchea Krom monks carried out a
series of peaceful demonstrations in Phnom Penh in February and April 2007 to advocate for the
protection of the rights of the Khmer Krom, particularly in Vietnam following the alleged
defrocking and arrest of five Kampuchea Krom monks in that country. It has been reported that
the monks who were defrocked and arrested in Vietnam were sentenced to 2-4 years of
imprisonment for disturbing traffic when they organized demonstrations to advocate for the
religious and cultural rights of the Khmer Krom in Vietnam to be respected. It is feared that the
Cambodian authorities will use the directive of 8 June 2007 to prevent monks from continuing to
carry out their peaceful protests in defence of human rights and to crack down on them if they go
ahead. Allegedly the directive is specifically aimed at restricting the activities of Khmer
Kampuchea Krom monks who protest regularly and who were under particular focus at the time
because of their activities in Vietnam.
Observations
12.
The Special Rapporteur regrets that she has not received a reply from the Government
concerning the above mentioned allegation. She would like to refer to her framework for
communications, more specifically to the international human rights norms and to the mandate
practice concerning the “Intersection of freedom of religion or belief with other human rights”
(see above para. 1, category IV.), especially the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Furthermore, the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 2005/40 “welcomes and
encourages the continuing efforts of non-governmental organizations and bodies and groups
based on religion or belief to promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and further encourages their work in
promoting freedom of religion or belief and in highlighting cases of religious intolerance,
discrimination and persecution”.
Communication sent on 30 November 2007 jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders
13.
The Special Procedures mandate holders brought to the attention of the Government
information they had received concerning the situation of Mr. Tim Sa Khorn, a member of the
Khmer Krom community. Mr Sa Khorn acquired Cambodian citizenship after he moved to and
settled down in 1979 in the commune of Phnom Denh in Kirivong District in Takeo Province
because of acts of harassment against him. According to the information received, Mr. Sa Khorn
was appointed as chief monk of North Phnom Denh temple in 2002. On 16 June 2007, Supreme
Patriarch Tep Vong issued a religious decree in both Cambodian and Vietnamese languages to
defrock Mr Sa Khorn, accusing him of conducting activities that were harmful to the CambodiaVietnam friendship. Subsequently, the Vietnamese authorities allegedly circulated this decree to
Khmer Krom Buddhist temples. On 3 July 2007, a spokesperson of the Cambodian Minister of