VZCZCXRO2303
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0899 3440823
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100823Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1432
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000899 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL 
STATE PASS TO USAID ASIA BUREAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PGOV CB
SUBJECT: PEACEFUL CELEBRATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS 
DAY IN CAMBODIA 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1.  (U) Cambodians in Phnom Penh celebrated a peaceful 
International Human Rights Day on December 10, marked by a 
march and a rally.  This year's march is the third 
consecutive march allowed by authorities; in prior years, the 
route had been limited to approximately 4 blocks, but this 
year authorities permitted a 3-kilometer march from Wat 
Phnom, along the waterfront area to Wat Botum near the 
centrally located Hun Sen Park.  Approximately 1,000 
participants from labor unions, NGOs, community groups, and 
donor countries marched, then joined up with several hundred 
more participants at the park for a rally.  Ambassador Rodley 
attended the rally, as did the Ambassadors from Germany and 
France, and the diplomatic representative from the European 
Union (EU).  The rally included remarks by the representative 
of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 
Human Rights (UNOHCHR), the French Ambassador, the EU 
representative, and several NGO leaders.  Neither the Phnom 
Penh Municipality nor the Royal Government of Cambodia sent 
representatives to the march or rally. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) This year's events were organized by a working 
group of 19 NGOs, led by the Cambodian Human Rights Action 
Committee (CHRAC).  Permission for the event from authorities 
came mid-day on December 9, which UNOHCHR representative 
Christophe Peschoux said was an improvement from prior years, 
in which permission had been denied by authorities, 
necessitating intervention by UNOHCHR and donor countries. 
Peschoux stated that permission this year was slow due to 
bureaucratic tangling between municipal and federal 
authorities, but never denied during the process, and 
authorities did not restrict either the route or the number 
of permitted participants.  This permitted organizers to 
stage a much longer march than in previous years.  Police 
presence around the march was light, and there was no 
official interference during the march. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In comments at the rally, the president of the 
Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), 
Thun Saray, remarked on the importance of having truly 
independent courts and a society free from corruption. 
UNOHCHR's Peschoux commented that December 10 each year is a 
day of celebration, marking the signing of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights, which was enshrined as part of 
Cambodia's constitution in 1993. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Additional activities for International Human 
Rights Day were planned throughout Cambodia's provinces, 
including Battambang, Siem Reap, Prey Veng, Kampot, and 
Kampong Cham.  The Cambodian League for the Promotion and 
Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) separately organized visits 
to 75 jailed "human rights defenders," most of whom are in 
prison as a result of land disputes. 
RODLEY