Mary Lawlor, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders, on Friday issued a statement to condemn a decision by a Cambodian
court to sentence three environmental human rights defenders to an 18-month
jail term each. Lawlor expressed serious concerns about the “lack of factual
evidence” underpinning the charges, saying the human rights defenders were
convicted based on a number of Facebook posts on environmental matters and
video clips which showed them raising human rights and environmental
awareness in a factual and peaceful manner.
The Australian government signed an agreement on May 10 with the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) to contribute an additional AU$4 million ($3.15
million) to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on Cambodia’s economy and
people, starting immediately.
https://bit.ly/33wFpKK; https://bit.ly/3w0fyqK;
Sweden and the EU on May 11 provided $1.5 million for a two-year project
spanning 2021-2022 to support the Parliamentary Centre of Asia’s (PCAsia)
Cambodian activities. The agreement was signed virtually on May 11.
Cambodia and Russia celebrated the 65th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations on May 13 with leaders of the two countries
highlighting their mutual trust and support, shared values and the benefits
of mutual ties and vowing to elevate relations and cooperation to new
heights.
