Right Livelihood’s Advocacy team delivered a statement calling attention to the unjust and arbitrary imprisonment of ten environmental activists associated with Right Livelihood Laureate Mother Nature Cambodia. The statement during the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva addressed Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, and asked how he would increase collaboration with civil society and seek accountability for abuses against activists.
You can read the entire statement here.
In July 2024, ten Mother Nature Cambodia activists were sentenced to six to eight years in prison for “plotting against the government” and “insulting the king”. Many of these activists, including Ly Chandaravuth, Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea, Phuon Keoraksmey and Yim Leanghy, are imprisoned in precarious conditions far from their families.
Expressing alarm at this situation, we highlighted Mother Nature Cambodia’s peaceful and effective environmental activism for the Council. The movement has brought the Cambodian people’s attention to the government’s hand in pollution, sand extraction scams and unsafe gold mining practices.
“Instead of recognising their important contribution, the authorities engaged in judicial proceedings without credible evidence, which concluded in unprecedented sentences and five violent arrests,” we told the Council. “[This showed] the world that the State prefers the interests of large transnational corporations over its own population.”
Mother Nature Cambodia’s tireless campaigns have educated their peers on the right to a safe, healthy and sustainable environment. With this contribution in mind, we asked Professor Muntarbhorn how he would further collaborate and protect Cambodian civil society and seek accountability for the State’s repression of environmental activists.