Prime Minister Hun Sen is speaking in a press conference at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. Hong Menea
Prime Minister Hun Sen said the draft law aiming to place the Kingdom in a state of emergency amid the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be approved after the Khmer New Year, though he said there is a slim chance of enforcement given the current situation.
Speaking during a press conference at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, he said the bill has to be passed by the two legislative bodies and reviewed by the Constitutional Council before being promulgated by the King.
The draft law is being reviewed by the National Assembly’s (NA) two specialised commissions, which will send it back to the NA’s Standing Committee before putting it up for deliberation and approval during its plenary session.
Hun Sen said the NA will hold its plenary session on Friday. After passing the bill, the NA will send it to the Senate for deliberation. The prime minister said it may take the latter a week to approve the draft law – or longer if the Senate delays its session during the Khmer New Year next week.
Once approved, the bill will be sent to the Constitutional Council for review.
“Now [Tuesday] it’s April 7, Friday is April 10, when [the draft law] is approved by the National Assembly. April 13-16 is Khmer New Year. So, I predict the bill will become law after the New Year,” he said.
However, Hun Sen stressed that the likelihood of enforcing it is only 0.1 per cent as he was over 99 per cent sure that the Kingdom can contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Health on Tuesday confirmed one more infection, bringing the total reported in the Kingdom to 115. Of the number, 58 have been discharged from hospital.
The latest case was found in a 27-year-old Vietnamese woman who left Svay Rieng province’s Bavet town on March 2. She returned to Cambodia on March 10.
“Cambodia is not in an emergency situation, but we need to have this law in hand,” Hun Sen said, adding that he would not wish to use it as it would undermine civil rights and economic growth.
The law also has many side effects, he said without elaborating.
“When the situation gets out of control, we will need to enforce it. No questions asked. If, for instance, the government bans mass gatherings because it could transmit the disease and you don’t comply, then we will have to enforce it,” he said.
The draft law was approved by the Council of Ministers’ Standing Committee last Tuesday. Consisting of five chapters and 11 articles, it stipulates a maximum 10-year imprisonment for anyone caught breaking it.
The bill sets out formalities, procedures and terms for a declaration of a state of emergency if the country runs into danger. It aims to maintain national security and public order, lives and public health, properties and the environment.
The draft law has drawn some criticism among civil society organisations.
On Monday, four NGOs – Civicus, Forum-Asia, Frontline Defenders and Civil Rights Defenders – said they were concerned about the bill’s “draconian provisions”. They claimed it would provide unfettered power to the executive, thereby undermining fundamental freedoms with no defined endpoint.
“The government must immediately revise the draft law to bring it in line with international human rights laws and standards.
“If not, these emergency powers will be used as yet another weapon in Cambodia’s legal arsenal to quash dissent, stifle critics and silence human rights defenders,” the NGOs said.
