The Kingdom of Cambodia
Nation Religion King

Royal Government of Cambodia
The Office of the Spokesman
Prakas No. 254

Press Release
On the Weekly Meeting of Council of Ministers
on June 14, 2002

In the morning of June 14th, 2002, the Council of Ministers plenary meeting was held at 8:30 am under the highest presidency of Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia, at the Council. The meeting passed:

  1. The Draft Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Defense of Victims.
  2. Other discussions: Request for approval from the Council of Ministers to seek ratification from legislative bodies for the Protocols on Second Package of Financial Pledge under the ASEAN Agreement on Services.

After the discussion and share of opinions, the weekly meeting passed:

The Draft Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Defense of Victims

The Council of Ministers agreed and adopted The Draft Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Defense of Victims prepared by ministry of women’s affairs and veterans in co-operation with Council of Lawyers of the Council. The draft law inputs opinions from international organization; concepts and techniques from a number of countries as well as taking into account the actual situations, traditional activities of civil societies in order to create mechanism to prevent domestic violence and to defend all victims: men, women, boys and girls. It also adds more input into existing laws on criminal codes.

The draft is to carried out together with civil law and other criminal codes. It means the victims of violence continue to have rights to file complains for compensation or other penalties for crimes under the civil laws which are in force.

The draft law states that "Domestic violence means all acts or behaviors that are contrary to social moralities. These acts effect physically or spiritually against individual and/or individuals, forcing or influencing them to committee act or acts contrary to their wills; harmed or damage the safety, health and well-being or wealth of individuals/individual or of public property protected by law.

So domestic violence means:

    1. The forcing or/and pressure that effects the wills.
    2. The forcing or/and pressure that cause damages to any living condition.
    3. The forcing or/and pressure that cause physical or spiritual damages.

The forcing or/and pressure that effects the wills.

    1. The pressure on spirit that causes serious effects in words: defaming, disdaining or any other means.
    2. The pressure on spirit that force the victims to act or fail to act contrary to their will on any thing.
    3. The absolute control, feeling of too much envy that violates the individual rights and/or the living of the individual, and or against the warning of the victims.
    4. Harassment and/or disturbance in all pictures that cause serious damages and/or feeling of strong fear.
    5. Forcing and/or prevent someone out of their own houses.

The forcing or/and pressure that cause damages to any living condition.

    1. The improper deduction of financial sources for family support.
    2. The creating of obstacles preventing the victims from making their business.
    3. The improper claims to seize property of the individuals/individual for any purpose.
    4. The violation on the property of the victims.

The forcing acts or persuaded acts that physically or spiritually effect any individuals/individual:

    1. The torture.
    2. The sexual violations that show feeling of looking-down.
    3. The invasion of victim’s house that is a different house from the offender’s.
    4. The forcing employees or servant/women-servants to overwork and no rest.

The draft law also stresses that any member/members of a family/families that torture or acts violently against another member/members in the family/families are to be sentenced to imprisonment from 5 to 10 years. The violence acts included acid attacks that cause the victim to lose their beauty and/or to be disable.

Request for approval from the Council of Ministers to seek ratification from legislative bodies for the Protocols on Second Package of Financial Pledge under the ASEAN Agreement on Services

The Council of Ministers and agreed and adopted request for approval from the Council of Ministers to seek ratification from legislative bodies for the Protocols on Second Package of Financial Pledge under the ASEAN Agreement on Services.

The weekly meeting closed at 11:10 am of the same day.

Executed June 14, 2002

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