In open letter NGOs call on ECOSOC not to revoke consultative status of KKF

To: Member states of ECOSOC

Re: Support for the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned group of civil societyorganizations from around the world, are writing to express our strong supportfor the special consultative status with the United Nations granted to thenongovernmental organization (NGO) Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) andits right to exercise freedom of expression of its nonviolent view regardingthe situation in Vietnam. We urge you, as a member of the UN Economic andSocial Council (ECOSOC), to vote against the draft resolution to revoke KKF’sspecial consultative status at the July 23 meeting of ECOSOC, and to supportthe ability of civil society organizations to freely participate in the work ofthe United Nations.

As you know, under ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, theCommittee on Non-Governmental Organizations is mandated to grant consultativestatus to those organizations whose aims and purposes are in “conformity withthe spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” andwhich “undertake to support the work of the United Nations and to promoteknowledge of its principles and activities.” We consider that the KKF fullymeets these criteria.

Based in the United States and operatinginternationally, KKF is a reputable and prominent NGO whose mission is to seek“freedom, justice and the right to self determination for Khmer Krom people.”KKF, which is an independent organization not affiliated with any political partiesor groups, carries out its work through peaceful and lawful means whollyconsistent with international law to promote and protect the human rights ofthe indigenous Khmer Krom in Vietnam.

KKF has been actively and effectively engaged invarious UN mechanisms over the years, participating and submitting reports atthe UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Universal Periodic Review(UPR), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), theCommittee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Expert Mechanism on the Rightsof Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), EU Human Rights Commission, and governments, inaddition to organizing various international events and conferences on humanrights and indigenous issues.

Following a consensus decision by the Committee onNon-Governmental Organizations to grant special consultative status to KKF inMay 2012, the government of Vietnam registered a protest against KKF’s application,claiming that KKF is “unqualified for a consultative status with ECOSOC” andthat it has carried out “politically motivated acts (…) undermining thenational unity of the State of Viet Nam.” In reality, the government ofVietnam’s attempt to get KKF’s consultative status revoked is a politicallymotivated attack against an independent, nonviolent civil society organizationthat advocates upholding and implementing universal human rights standards.

Regrettably, this is far from the only attempt by thegovernment of Vietnam to silence those critical of it, including byincreasingly denying dissenters their rights to free expression, association,and assembly. Bloggers, writers, human rights defenders, land rights activists,anti-corruption campaigners, and religious and democracy advocates face escalating harassment,intimidation, arrest, torture, ill-treatment and imprisonment. Since 2004,Vietnam has severely restricted internet freedom by firewalling criticalwebsites, and it is now threatening to even more severely restrict internetfreedom.

Thegovernment of Vietnam has recently indicated its intentions to run for a seaton the UN Human Rights Council. As a first step to show its commitment to humanrights principles, the government of Vietnam should end its brutal crackdown ondissent and end its criminalization of peaceful activists, including bydropping its efforts to get KKF’s ECOSOC status revoked. Unless it does so, itwill not be able to fulfill the membership criteria of upholding the highesthuman rights standards and cooperating with the council. In particular, itsattack on the KKF puts it totally at odds with the oft-stated commitment of thecouncil to cooperate with NGOs and civil society in exercising and defendinghuman rights.

Supportingthe legitimate status of the KKF as an accredited NGO will not only benefit thework of the UN in accordance with its founding and fundamental principles, butit will also provide tangible evidence that your country supports the importantwork of civil society and human rights defenders in the Asia region and beyond.We reiterate our support for KKF and its work on human rights in Vietnam, andurge your state to oppose the draft resolution that would revoke KKF’s specialconsultative status with ECOSOC.

Withhighest regards,

1. AfricanCentre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)

2. AfricanDemocracy Forum (ADF)

3. AsianForum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

4. AsianLegal Resource Centre

5. ChristianSolidarity Worldwide

6. East andHorn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP)

7. EgyptianInitiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)

8. HumanRights Watch

9. InternationalCommission of Jurists (ICJ)

10. InternationalFederation for Human Rights (FIDH) and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT),in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders

11. InternationalService for Human Rights (ISHR)

12. SoutheastAsian Press Alliance (SEAPA)

13. WestAfrican Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN)