AKP Phnom Penh, January 26, 2026 --

The Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) has submitted an urgent appeal to Ms. Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, in Geneva, Switzerland, regarding grave violations of human rights of internally displaced persons in Cambodia resulting from Thailand’s military actions.

According to a press release issued by the CHRC this evening, despite the Joint Statement of the 3rd Special General Border Committee (GBC) between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand reached on Dec. 27, 2025 (“Ceasefire Agreement”), as of Jan. 25, 2025, more than 115,000 Cambodian internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain unable to return to their homes and original communities. This situation persists due to unlawful actions by Thai armed forces, including the destruction of Cambodian civilian homes in areas they have unlawfully invaded and occupied, as well as the installation of shipping containers and barbed wire fencing that obstruct safe and voluntary return.

The actions of Thai armed forces have left Cambodian IDPs homeless and subjected to forced eviction, which constitute violations of the Ceasefire Agreement, most notably items 1, 4, and 7.

Item 1: “Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire […] involving all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas […] This agreement must not be violated under any circumstances.”

Item 4: “Both sides agree to allow civilians residing in the affected border areas to return at the earliest, without obstruction and in safety and dignity, to their homes and normal livelihoods in areas within their own side.”

Item 7: “Both sides agree not to use any kind of forces against civilians and civilian objects in all circumstances. Such actions would not only endanger communities in the border areas but also violate international law and tarnish the global image of the non-compliant side.”

CHRC emphasised that illegal occupation, destruction of homes, theft of civilian property, and obstruction of people’s freedom of movement to return to their residences constitute serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Moreover, it added, these actions have created and continue to create increasingly severe difficulties, especially for women, children, the elderly, the sick, and persons with disabilities, who are particularly vulnerable groups facing heightened risks such as poverty, loss of education, physical and mental health issues, as well as lack of access to various essential services.

The CHRC respectfully requested the Special Rapporteur to:

1. Examine and address, as a matter of urgency, the situation of internal displacement in Cambodia resulting from Thailand’s unlawful military actions;

2. Issue an urgent communication to the Government of Thailand and engage relevant United Nations mechanisms to call for an immediate cessation of actions preventing the safe and dignified return of IDPs;

3. Call upon Thailand to withdraw its forces from Cambodian territory and to refrain from any actions that consolidate military control or create further displacement;

4. Highlight this situation in reports and communications as a serious case of conflict-related internal displacement involving violations of international human rights and humanitarian law;

5. Call for reparations, including restitution, compensation, and guarantees of non-repetition, for affected Cambodian IDPs.

The CHRC underscored that internal displacement must not be normalised, and that silence or delayed action risks entrenching impunity and prolonging the suffering of displaced civilians. Cambodia has the primary responsibility to protect its population and has taken significant measures to assist IDPs; however, the international community’s engagement remains essential where displacement is caused by external military actions.

By C. Nika