World News in Brief: Cambodia human rights, Hormuz invasive species risk, IOM lauds 2025 progress
Concluding his first official visit to Cambodia, UN independent human rights expert Tom Andrews said he was encouraged by the government’s cooperation but remained concerned about key human rights issues such as the lack of freedom of expression.
Source excerpt
Andrews was able to meet freely with local human rights advocates and people displaced by Cambodia’s ongoing border conflict with Thailand, he said many are imprisoned for exercising their political rights, prisons remain overcrowded and some senior government officials remain involved in cyberscam operations.
“My first mission to Cambodia has left me with deep concerns: for displaced people along the border with Thailand, for those who have been trafficked, and for those who are behind bars having exercised basic freedoms,” he said.
Andrews was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cambodia.
On one hand, he acknowledged that the government has taken meaningful steps to close scam compounds, agreed to address prison overcrowding, dramatically improved economic conditions for millions and committed to many human rights treaties.
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