MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Cambodia: in particular the case of Sam Rainsy
19.10.2010
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Charles Tannock, Adam Bielan, Michał Tomasz Kamiński, Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Jacek Olgierd Kurski, Ryszard Czarnecki on behalf of the ECR Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0550/2010
B7‑0593/2010
European Parliament resolution on Cambodia: in particular the case of Sam Rainsy
The European Parliament,
having regard to its resolutions of 13 January 2005[1], 10 March 2005[2] and 19 January 2006[3] on Cambodia and its resolution of 1 December 2005 on the human rights situation in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam[4],
– having regard to the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the Kingdom of Cambodia[5], approved on 4 October 1999,
– having regard to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on 9 December 1998,
– having regard to the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the Council on 14 June 2004, and updated in 2008,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both adopted on 16 December 1966, to which Cambodia is a party,
– having regard to the Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia concerning the Prosecution under Cambodian Law of Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic Kampuchea of 6 June 2003,
– having regard to the 6 October 2010 resolution of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Governing General Council,
– having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Human Rights NGOs assess that the government has used the courts to silence criticism of its responses to land-grabbing, corruption and border disputes,
B. whereas Sam Rainsy, Member of the Cambodian Parliament and the leader of his country’s second largest political party, was sentenced to ten years in jail on 23 September 2010 after being found guilty of altering public documents and disinformation and accused by the government of manipulating a map to show that Vietnam had encroached on Cambodia's territory,
C. whereas Sam Rainsy was sentenced in abstentia as he has been living in self-imposed exile in France for the past year,
D. whereas Sam Rainsy was previously sentenced to 2 years in prison in January 2010 for inciting racial discrimination and intentionally destroying posts demarcating the border between Cambodia and Vietnam,
E. whereas the Cambodian court has issued an arrest warrant against Sam Rainsy based on Article 363 of the Cambodian criminal code,
F. whereas the IPU [Inter-Parliamentary Union] has explicitly stated that both cases in which he was implicated in 2010 should never have been brought before the courts but should have been resolved instead at the political level,
G. whereas Sam Rainsy has been stripped of his parliamentary immunity twice in 2010,
1. Condemns the breaching of Cambodian law by attempting to and encouraging the dismantling of the border lines of Cambodia and Vietnam;
2. Is particularly alarmed that, if upheld, this verdict would bar Mr. Sam Rainsy from standing in the 2013 parliamentary elections and have consequences far beyond Mr. Sam Rainsy’s case as it is bound to affect the opposition as such, all the more so as the recent prosecutions of a number of outspoken opposition members have already narrowed down the political space, and hence be detrimental to the democratic process in Cambodia;
3. Reminds the Cambodian Government that it has to fulfil its obligations and commitments regarding the democratic principles and fundamental human rights which are an essential element of the above mentioned Cooperation Agreement, as defined in Article 1 of that Agreement;
4. Calls, therefore, on the authorities to explore ways and means of resolving the issues at hand through political dialogue and to enable Mr Sam Rainsy to resume his parliamentary activities as rapidly as possible;
5. Calls on the Council and the Commission to address the concerns over human rights and the rule of law in Cambodia in their contacts with the Cambodian Government;
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government and National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the UN Secretary‑General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia, and the governments of the ASEAN Member States.