Phnom penh: The Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) today sent a follow-up message to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regarding the unlawful detention of 18 Cambodian soldiers by Thai military forces. ‘The CHRC respectfully reiterates its urgent appeal, dated on 1 August 2025, concerning the unlawful detention, ill-treatment, and only partial repatriation of the twenty (20) Cambodian soldiers held by the Thai Armed Forces. As of 2 October 2025, sixty-five (65) days have elapsed since eighteen (18) Cambodian soldiers remain in Thai military custody, despite the mutually agreed ceasefire concluded between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand on 28 July 2025,’ CHRC President H.E. Keo Remy wrote in the letter to H.E. Volker Trk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, H.E. Keo Remy expressed the CHRC’s grave concern that the continuing detention constitutes a serious violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, including the prohibition of arbitrary detention under core international human rights treaties. The families of the remaining eighteen captured Cambodian soldiers continue to endure profound sorrow and uncertainty. Each passing day without information on their loved ones inflicts unbearable pain, fear, and emotional distress. Parents, spouses, and children remain in anguish, uncertain whether their loved ones are safe, alive, or being treated humanely.

‘Their collective voices form an urgent plea for compassion, justice, and your immediate attention to ensure the safe release and repatriation of the Cambodian soldiers,’ he underlined.

In this regard, H.E. Keo Remy appealed to the OHCHR, within its mandate to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realisation of all human rights, to urgently engage with the Government of Thailand with a view to securing the unconditional release and repatriation of the Cambodian soldiers in accordance with international law.

A lack of timely and concrete action risks being interpreted as acquiescence to, or tacit disregard of, grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, he emphasized, adding that such inaction would not only undermine the rights and dignity of the Cambodian soldiers, but also risk setting a dangerous precedent of impunity, thereby weakening the credibility and effectiveness of the international human rights protection system.

‘The CHRC therefore urges the OHCHR to treat this matter with the utmost urgency and to support Cambodia’s call for accountability. We look to the solidarity of the OHCHR in upholding the principles of human rights, international humanitarian law, and justice for victims of unlawful actions,’ H.E. Keo Remy concluded.