MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Cambodia: the case of opposition leader Kem Sokha

14.3.2023 - (2023/2589(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Anna Fotyga Karol Karski Angel Dzhambazki Eugen Jurzyca Andżelika Anna Możdżanowska Assita Kanko Zbigniew Kuźmiuk Bogdan Rzońca Elżbieta Rafalska Elżbieta Kruk Ryszard Czarnecki Witold Jan Waszczykowski Denis Nesci Adam Bielan Waldemar Tomaszewski Patryk Jaki Carlo Fidanza
on behalf of the ECR Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0169/2023

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B9‑0184/2023

European Parliament resolution on Cambodia: the case of opposition leader Kem Sokha

(2023/2589(RSP))

The European Parliament,

− having regard to its previous resolutions on Cambodia,

− having regard to the Statement by the High Representative Josep Borrell on the verdict delivered on Kem Sokha of 3 March 2023,

− having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 3 March 2023 the Municipal Court in Phnom Penh sentenced Kem Sokha, the leader of the dissolved Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), to 27 years of house arrest under Article 443 of the Criminal Code for “conspiring with a foreign power”; whereas the Court also ordered the permanent removal of Sokha’s political rights to stand or vote in an election; whereas the trial and verdict are widely regarded as politically motivated;

B. whereas the Cambodian government has been waging a crackdown against members of the political opposition ever since the Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in 2017;

C. whereas approximately 150 CNRP senior leaders and other party members and supporters have been convicted in mass trials; whereas at least 39 political opposition members or affiliates are currently in prison and members of the CNRP continue to face arbitrary arrests and prosecutions as well as violent attacks; whereas also the newly formed Candlelight Party (CP) has come under increasing pressure, with at least seven members or affiliates arrested;

D. whereas the Cambodian government is increasingly using the legal system, public threats from the Prime Minister and violence to crack down on civil and political rights ahead of the upcoming national elections in July 2023; whereas on 13 February Cambodia's leader Hun Sen has shut down Voice of Democracy, one of the country's last independent media;

 

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1. Expresses it deep concern at the verdict against Kem Sokha; urges the Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Kem Sokha and to reinstate his political rights;

2. Calls on the Cambodian government to drop the ban against the CNRP and all charges against CNRP and CP members and affiliates, and to release them;

3. Urges the Cambodian authorities to end all unlawful restrictions on people’s participation in public affairs and to create conditions conducive to transparent and credible national elections in July 2023;

4. Reiterates its call to the EEAS to closely monitor the situation in Cambodia and to raise the human rights situation in the country and the case of Kem Sokha in the dialogues with Cambodian counterparts up to the highest level;

5. Reiterates its call for targeted sanctions and urges the Council to adopt restrictive measures, including travel bans and asset freezes, against political leaders and leaders of the security forces, as well as their economic interests, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime with a view to holding to account all persons responsible for serious human rights violations and the dissolution and subsequent repression of the opposition in Cambodia;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the EEAS, the Commission, the Member States and to the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia.