On 3 October 2025, Lawyers for Lawyers, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada delivered an oral statement during Item 4 of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Cambodia.
The statement can be downloaded here and reads as follows:
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Lawyers for Lawyers, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, welcome the Special Rapporteur’s report.
We appreciate the recent communication on the challenges facing lawyers, access to justice in Cambodia, and addressing concerns on lack of investment in legal aid. Combined with the reduction of international funding, this issue is leaving thousands without access to justice, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups and undermining fair trial rights.
Cambodia’s justice system requires much increased attention. The country lacks enough lawyers to meet demand, and those who take on sensitive cases are isolated, under-resourced, socially discriminated against, and harassed. The absence of a strong, independent legal community erodes trust in the rule of law.
While attention is focused on peace at the Cambodia–Thailand border, we receive troubling reports of arbitrary arrests for expressing opinions about the conflict. With no independent legal aid network in place, only a handful of lawyers are compelled defend basic rights without pay making the defense of basic rights unsustainable.
