CAMBODIA has rejected a United Nations (UN) report criticising the situation of human rights in the country, saying it does not have sufficient basis.
Cambodia's Human Rights Committee (CHRC) said the UN Special Rapporteur's report is also not comprehensive enough to assess the situation of human rights defenders in Cambodia.
On Monday, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights Mary Lawlor expressed concerns about tightening restrictions on civil society in Cambodia.
She also called for an immediate end to the systematic detention and criminalisation of human rights defenders, as well as excessive use of force against them.
According to report in the Phnom Penh Post, Lawlor referred to several cases in which human rights defenders were reportedly detained for carrying out their work.
She also expressed concerns about the detention of environmental defenders, the use of violence against families of detained activists, and the case of a Buddhist monk who was defrocked for his human rights activities.
Two human rights defenders monitoring a demonstration were threatened for filming the arrest of peaceful protesters and several trade union leaders have suffered as well, she said.
Civil society groups have also complained of harassment by officials.
The Khmer Times reports CHRC vice president Chin Malin saying the report's conclusions were based on the external view only, such as when authorities enforce the law on activists and their target groups.
"It is presumed to be a violation of human rights, but it does not analyse the actions of those target groups - whether it is a human rights defence or a crime," he said.
Malin said that the government does not persecute human rights defenders and only takes legal action against the perpetrators based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law.
He said that the government wants the Special Rapporteur to study the law in Cambodia thoroughly and analyse information from all parties to avoid receiving one-sided information that accuses the government and issues statements without legal basis.
"The government encourages human rights defenders to abide by Cambodian law for the benefit of all, rather than for the benefit of their political parties and factions," he added.
Malin said that the mercenary protests and the implementation of illegal plans of illegal organisations with malicious intent to cause unrest, and harm social security and public order do not protect human rights.
Meanwhile, the executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, Pech Pisey, told the Khmer Times that UN officials often use information that can be obtained officially from institutions or organisations that specialise in human rights.
"They generally use the information cautiously to substantiate their claims," he said.
He added that they often meet with the experts in the field and also check the situation themselves as UN officials are very careful in judging the human rights situation.
He added that all parties should find a way to address the challenges that Cambodia was facing as investments from the West also depends on it.