The applicable international instruments and mechanisms for the protection of human rights defenders in Cambodia

Abstract

The human rights defenders' situation in Cambodia is still extremely concerning; human rights defenders (HRDs) frequently face physical attacks, legal harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrests, torture, and security threats due to their legitimate activities to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia. Mostly, the perpetrators of human rights violations are powerful people, rich companies or government bodies, etc. The national judicial system has proven to be not independent or impartial when addressing human rights defenders' cases. Therefore, human rights defenders need further protections from other international instruments and mechanisms, which are applicable to the Cambodian context. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the applicable international instruments and mechanisms for the protection of human rights defenders in Cambodia.