Philippine Senate Unanimously Adopts Resolutions on Cambodia

The Philippine Senate unanimously adopted resolutions last 17 September 2012 supporting the United Nations recommendations for the organization of the national elections in Cambodia and hailing the creation of International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Elections in Cambodia (IPCDEC).

Senate Resolution 873, sponsored by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Loren Legarda, stated that “…the Philippine Senate is in full support of efforts that will help promote the conduct of legitimate political activities by all political parties in a free and fair manner.”  It added that “…the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has also put forward specific recommendations to support preparations for the Cambodian national polls to be held in July 2013 and that consideration of these is crucial”.  Senate Resolution 874 introduced by Senator Francis Pangilinan, on the other hand, expressed the Philippine Senate’s support to the formation of IPCDEC and in the promotion of “democracy and rule of law (in Cambodia) more particularly in the conduct of its upcoming elections.” (read Resolution 873 here; read Resolution 874 here)

This comes a week after the launch of the International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Elections in Cambodia (IPCDEC) in Manila.

The IPCDEC, chaired by Philippine Senator Franklin Drilon, is an international organization grouping Members of Parliament from all over the world. It was formed to support legitimate demands of the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party. These demands, which are in line with UN recommendations, are: (1) the reform of the National Election Committee (NEC); and (2) the return of Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy to Cambodia to take part in the forthcoming elections.

The UN recommendations are contained in a Report by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia published last August (see full report here).  The report calls for an overhaul of the leadership and the composition of the NEC so as to include balanced representation from all political parties represented in the National Assembly, with consensus required for any important decisions (for the report’s summary relating to electoral organization, see here). The UN also calls for a political resolution of Sam Rainsy’s case in order to open the way for his return and for his free and full participation in the election process.

“I am grateful to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III for discussing the situation in Cambodia with me, and to other Filipino leaders from different political parties for their support for democracy in Cambodia, as evidenced by the Philippine Senate Resolution”, said Sam Rainsy.  “I am also grateful to Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa for receiving me last week in Jakarta and for the fruitful discussion we had”, he added.

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This post was written by CALD