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The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) ruled on Tuesday that Cambodia violated the rights of a girl repeatedly raped by a police officer and failed to provide her justice for more than 16 years.
The decision marked the first time the committee has ruled on an individual case involving Cambodia.
The case involved a police officer who repeatedly raped an 11-year-old girl with a disability in 2010. Although the perpetrator was convicted by the Supreme Court in 2016, he has yet to serve a five-year prison sentence or pay court-ordered compensation to the victim and is reportedly at large.
CEDAW found that legal proceedings were excessively prolonged, the sentence imposed was inadequate and the Supreme Court’s judgment had not been enforced. It said authorities failed to provide protection and effective remedies, fostering “impunity and discrimination” that exposed the victim to years of harassment and intimidation and caused severe psychological harm.
In a joint statement, over 60 Cambodian civil society organizations welcomed the ruling and called on the government to strengthen efforts to prevent gender-based violence and ensure victims have access to timely and effective justice without discrimination.
“Even though the Supreme Court issued a final ruling, if the perpetrator does not serve the sentence prescribed by law, it is equivalent to not having been imprisoned through the legal process at all,” said Am Sam Ath, operations director of rights group Licadho, which signed the statement.
CEDAW said Cambodian authorities failed to engage with the committee or provide information despite three requests over several years. Cambodia now has six months to submit a written response, according to the statement.
The groups noted that Cambodia has recognized the committee’s authority under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Government spokesperson Pen Bona declined to comment. Ministry of Justice spokesperson Pen Ponnika and Ministry of Interior spokesperson Touch Sokhak did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rights groups said the ruling highlighted broader concerns about violence against women and children in Cambodia.
Licadho said it investigated 139 domestic violence cases in the country in 2024. . A national survey conducted between 2021 and 2022 found that 21% of women had experienced violence from an intimate partner, while one in ten children had encountered harm online.
According to data from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 160,000 Cambodian children – equivalent to 11% of internet users aged 12 to 17 – have experienced online sexual abuse or exploitation.
