Cambodia's parliament on Monday, August 25, passed a law allowing the deprivation of citizenship for individuals who "conspire" with foreign states. At the same time, human rights activists fear that this law will be used to suppress dissent, reports UNN with reference to France 24.
Details
120 members of the National Assembly, including Prime Minister Hun Manet, unanimously adopted a bill that grants the authorities the right to deprive citizens of their citizenship for "conspiracy" with a foreign state.
The revocation of citizenship will be carried out by a committee established at the request of Cambodia's Minister of Interior.
A coalition of 50 human rights organizations stated that this law will have a catastrophic negative impact on the freedom of speech of all Cambodian citizens.
The likelihood of this vaguely worded law being abused to persecute people based on their ethnicity, political views, expressions, and activism is too high to be acceptable. The government has many powers, but it should not have the right to arbitrarily decide who is and who is not a Cambodian citizen
Recall
In early August of this year, Thailand and Cambodia agreed on a 13-point ceasefire plan to reduce tensions on the disputed border. The agreement was signed by representatives of both countries after five days of armed clashes in July.