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How Cambodia’s law on ‘freedom parks’ curtailed people’s right to protest

Illustration: How Cambodia’s law on ‘freedom parks’ curtailed people’s right to protest
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A Cambodian law designed to protect citizens’ right to peaceful assembly has instead become a tool for limiting public protest, according to human rights organizations that have monitored its implementation since it came into force in 2009. The legislation required the establishment of designated protest spaces, known as freedom parks, across every province in the country. More than fifteen years later, only a single such space has ever been formally identified.

A law with built-in limitations

Human rights groups raised concerns about the law’s provisions almost immediately after its passage. Among the issues identified were requirements that organizers predict in advance how many people would attend a demonstration — something critics described as an unrealistic and unworkable condition. The law also made no provision for spontaneous assemblies, meaning protests that arise without prior planning in response to unfolding events were left without any legal protection. Observers also warned early on that freedom parks could be placed in locations so remote or inaccessible that they would fail to serve their intended purpose of allowing citizens to be seen and heard by the public and by those in authority. This concern proved well founded when a second park was designated in 2017 in an area far from the city centre, surrounded by warehouses and industrial buildings, prompting criticism from a United Nations human rights official in the country.

Restrictions in practice

Even access to the single functioning freedom park in Phnom Penh has frequently been blocked by authorities. Documented examples include:

  • Protesters from communities facing eviction being turned away in January 2015.
  • Barricades erected in September 2020, officially justified by public health concerns during the pandemic, drawing a formal statement of concern from UN Special Rapporteurs.
  • Permission denied for a gathering to mark International Women’s Day in 2026, with organizers warned of potential legal consequences.
  • Restrictions on May Day gatherings that same year, limiting participation to ten people.

Human rights organisations have documented a pattern in which civil society groups are called to meetings where they are significantly outnumbered by government officials and given little opportunity to respond to decisions already made about their planned events.

Calls for a comprehensive review of the legislation are growing, with groups noting that the issue is likely to gain urgency as elections scheduled for 2027 and 2028 approach and political activity increases.

This article is adapted from “How Cambodia’s law on ‘freedom parks’ curtailed people’s right to protest” published by Global Voices, licensed under CC BY 3.0. Changes were made. Read the original story at the link above.

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