"Chea Chantha’s Activities are Not a Crime", 24 July 2024

…, the undersigned civil society groups, associations, confederations and unions, deeply regret that … the Svay Rieng Provincial Court decided to charge and send to pre-trial detention Chea Chantha, a leader of Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA) in Svay Rieng province. Chantha’s work … was in line with the Cambodian government’s policy on the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Despite this, he was arrested and charged with fraud under Article 377 and 378 and for conducting “activities causing misapprehension with the discharge of public functions” under Article 610 of Criminal Code…

IDEA has conducted public forums in several provinces to explain social protection schemes. These forums have also seen the participation of NSSF officials to help disseminate information to workers, street vendors and domestic workers so that they can understand and voluntarily register as NSSF members. Chantha and other activists have jointly done this work to follow the government’s vision and to be part of the association’s mission to help workers in the informal sector and for them to receive social protections…

We, the undersigned civil society groups, call on judicial institutions to drop the charges against him. His activity to disseminate the benefits of the NSSF shouldn’t be defined as an illegal act to destroy the national benefit. Instead, if the charges are dropped, he will continue his career, improve his family’s living conditions, and participate in national economic growth.

In addition, his activity was contributing to speed up the achievement of the government’s goal that Cambodia becomes a upper-middle- income country by 2030, parallel with the government’s Pentagonal Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals.