PHNOM PENH – Cambodia does not claim to have a perfect record in the area of human rights, and, while the country is developing,​ reforms balancing conservation and development are progressing, said In Dara, permanent representative of Cambodia to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dara was responding on Oct. 3 to the fifth report on human rights in Cambodia that was presented by UN Special Rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn during the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In the report that covers the period from mid-2024 to June 2025, Muntarbhorn touched upon the nationality law, which came into effect in September 2025 and enables the revocation of a person’s birthright citizenship for several reasons including colluding with foreign powers. In his report, Muntarbhorn called for the non-application or revocation of the law.

Muntarbhorn addressed the transfer of power following the 2023 national election—which he described as unfair—the detained environmental and political activists and harassed civil society through “Judicial Lawfare.”

“Judicialized lawfare casts a wide shadow over those perceived to be dissident with the justice system being used to apply laws and policies to sanction decisions from the top,” he said.

Muntarbhorn went on to say that one constructive feature is that the Cambodian authorities are committed to multilateralism, and yet, there is the “quandary” that the national system remains in the hands of the established elite.

During that period of 2024 and 2025, there were numerous instances of transnational repression and widespread cases of online fraud, scams, and human trafficking, Muntarbhorn said, adding that despite crackdowns in some areas, these issues persist and often resurface elsewhere in the country.

Muntarbhorn also underlined the lack of participation in natural resource management, and reported forced evictions and unimplemented environmental rights while stating that Cambodia is not short of laws and policies on this front.

“In practice, however, there is a quagmire of potholes,” he said. “The issue of local stakeholders demands a participatory response to ensure a more democratic process of resource management, conservation, and benefit sharing rather than unwittingly placing them in the hands of politically linked tycoons.”

UN Special Rapporteur Recommendations

In his recommendations, Vitit Muntarbhorn urged Cambodia to drop the charges against political dissidents and ensure liberalization of civic and political space.

The Cambodian government should work with the business sector to implement the UN guiding principles on business and human rights, and encourage engagement with all stakeholders to implement the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, his report read.

Muntarbhorn also encouraged civil society to monitor and advocate against the destruction of civic and political space and the ubiquitous persecution of environmental and human rights defenders, and other dissenting voices and their supporters.

Cambodia Rejects the UN Rapporteur’s Statements

In response to Muntarbhorn’s report, In Dara, said that, while engaging in this dialogue with openness and cooperation, he had to speak with clarity and conviction where the sovereignty, the progress and the voice of people are at stake.

On the amendment to the Nationality Law, Dara said that the Rapporteur had ignored both its constitutional foundation and international comparability and that the law does not silence dissent and, instead, safeguards sovereignty while affirming rights, balances national security with due process, and strengthens resilience against unprecedented challenges. The law adopted a few weeks ago lists a number of circumstances that would allow to revoke a person’s Cambodian citizenship including harming the country’s core interests.

Regarding the Rapporteur saying that Cambodia is trapped “between a quandary and a quagmire,” Dara responded, “Cambodia is not paralyzed…We are advancing, rising from war to build institutions of peace and law. To reduce this resilience to caricature is to deny the sacrifices of our citizens.”

The Rapporteur disregarded fact and law, repeating the criticisms of political opposition and civil society when speaking of civic and political space and the national elections held in July 2023, Dara said.

The elections were conducted under the Electoral Law and millions voted freely and peacefully, he said. “To dismiss their voices is not to critique government: it is to silence the sovereign will of a people,” he said.

Addressing the transfer of power following the national elections, Dara said that the report, which further questioned Cambodia's peaceful transfer of leadership, suggested that continuity was weakness. The succession was carried out in full conformity with Cambodia’s constitution and democratic process, he said, regarding Prime Minister Hun Manet succeeding his father Hun Sen as head of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and as prime minister following the national elections won by the CPP. Legitimacy is not measured by external preference but by the will of the people and the strength of institutions, Dara added.

Regarding civic space, Dara said that there were more than 6,000 registered organizations and over 2,000 media outlets in the country, with many of them openly critical of the government. Government and civil society representative meet in open forums twice a year, he said.

“These are not signs of contraction but of vitality,” Dara said. “Civil society thrives because peace and stability have given it fertile ground. Freedoms cannot flourish in chaos, they grow in peace.” No one in Cambodia is prosecuted for political beliefs, he said, adding that prosecutions arise from breaches of law/incitement to violence, racial hatred or threats to public order.

Denying the claim of transnational repression, Dara said that to label every lawful conviction “repression” is to distort justice.

Regarding online scams, Dara said that Cambodia does not deny their gravity but rejects any distortion of inaction. He then mentioned the efforts made to dismantle networks, rescue victims, prosecute perpetrators and deepen regional cooperation, which he called clear evidence of resolve.

On the protection of natural resources and the environment, Dara said that Cambodia does not deny the challenges but reforms are advancing. Balancing conservation and development are a universal test and Cambodia confronts it openly, through law, consultation and reform, he added.

“Our path is one of resilience, renewal and sustainable growth, not of quandary or quagmire,” he said. “Cambodia does not claim perfection. But we do claim progress. We rebuilt institutions after war, restored stability, cleared millions of landmines, halved poverty and broadened education and health. These are the true foundations upon which rights can flourish.”

In his speech, Dara urged the UN Human Rights Council to approach the report with fairness: recognizing achievements as well as challenges, resisting selectivity and politicization and affirming cooperation on the basis of impartiality and balance.