Phnom Penh (FN), June 16 – The National Election Committee issued a statement on Saturday in response to the UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith’s concern over press freedom in Cambodia, as the NEC announced earlier to ban journalists from disseminating information that is misleading and could cause the loss of confidence in the elections.

The NEC deeply regretted Rhona Smith’s statement dated on 15 June 2018; NEC claimed that the UN Envoy’s statement is baseless and lacks of in-depth study about NEC prior to the evaluating NEC’s statement.

The NEC wrote in the statement on Saturday that NEC’s code of ethics for journalists are made in accordance to national and international norms and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, stipulated in Article 19, “The exercise of right to freedom of expression shall carry with it special duties and responsibilities but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of others and for the protection of national security or of public order.

According to the NEC’s research, no countries in the world exercise the rights beyond border; only the ill-intended people who wish to destroy the elections do.
=FRESH NEWS