AKP Phnom Penh, September 17, 2025 -- The protections accorded to prisoners of war are not exhausted by humane treatment during captivity; they culminate in their immediate and unconditional release and repatriation, said Ambassador Dara In, Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the United Nations in Geneva. 

The following is his statement at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in Geneva on Sept. 17:

“Mr. President, 

My delegation thanks the Working Group for its report and commends its unwavering defence of the principle that liberty is the rule and detention the exception. Arbitrary detention is not a mere procedural irregularity; it is a grave affront to human dignity and a fundamental breach of the international legal order this Council is entrusted to uphold.

In this spirit, Cambodia expresses its deep concern over the continued detention of the eighteen soldiers, seized in uniform by Thailand shortly after the 28 July ceasefire. Their legal status as prisoners of war is unequivocally affirmed under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention. Article 118 mandates their release and repatriation "without delay after the cessation of active hostilities." This obligation is absolute-neither negotiable nor subject to conditions. Any persistence in detention, whether under the pretext of interrogation or prevention of future hostilities, is without lawful basis and, under Article 130, as reinforced by Article 85(4)(b) of Additional Protocol I, constitutes unlawful confinement-a grave breach of the Convention. Such breaches entail not only to the international responsibility of the detaining State but also to individual criminal liability under Article 8(2)(a)(vii) of the Rome Statute.

The protections accorded to prisoners of war are not exhausted by humane treatment during captivity; they culminate in their immediate and unconditional release and repatriation. To delay or to condition this release is not merely a failure of protection but a repudiation of both international humanitarian and human rights law.

Cambodia therefore calls upon this Council and the Working Group to uphold these principles and to urge the immediate and unconditional release of the detained soldiers, in fidelity to international law and in the service of peace, justice and humanity.

I thank you!”