(Phnom Penh): Pen Bona, Delegate Minister and Head of the Royal Government Spokesperson Unit, said that Cambodia strongly condemns the inhumane and unacceptable acts of violation committed by Thai authorities against Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as their serious human rights violations inflicted upon innocent Cambodian citizens, especially the enforcement of Thai law within Cambodia’s sovereign territory.
It should be stated that this mine clearance activity has been protested and requested to halt the planned activities by the 51st Infantry Brigade of the Cambodian 5th Military Region in order to await the establishment of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) between the two parties, yet the Thai side is still violating.
The actions of the Thai forces constitute serious violations against:
1. The Ceasefire Agreement:
Both parties had agreed to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire (Point 1 of the ceasefire agreement adopted in Malaysia on 28 July 2025). This implies that both sides must maintain their current troop deployments without further movement, as it was at the time the ceasefire entered into force.
2. The Spirit of GBC and RBC meetings:
Both sides agreed to maintain the current troop deployments without further movement, as it was at the time the ceasefire reached. There shall be no troop movements, including patrol towards the other side’s position (Point 2 of GBC). Both parties agreed not to use any kind of force against civilians and civilian property in all circumstances (Point 5 of GBC). Both parties agreed not to expand the scope and scale of the disputes, including provocative activities by either military personnel or civilians that may escalate tensions such as inflammatory speech and activities that encroach upon other side’s territory as it stood when the ceasefire entered into force at 24:00 hours (local time) on 28 July 2025.
3. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 2000:
Article 4 (2) stipulated that “upon the completion of the survey and demarcation of each sector, a Memorandum of Understanding shall be signed by the Co-Chairmen of the Joint Boundary Commission. A map showing the completed sector shall also be signed and attached to the said Memorandum of Understanding.”
4. The Human Rights Principles and International Humanitarian Law:
These include the rights to adequate housing and livelihood (Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), and the rights to property (Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). These rights prohibit the forced evacuation of civilians from their homes in the context of international armed conflicts (Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949, and Rule 129 (a) of the Customary International Humanitarian Law).
The Spokesperson of the Royal Government of Cambodia strongly condemns the inhumane and unacceptable acts of violation committed by Thai authorities against Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as their serious human rights violations inflicted upon innocent Cambodian citizens, especially the enforcement of Thai law within Cambodia’s sovereign territory.
=FRESH NEWS
