H.E. Ambassador Dara In, Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the United Nations in Geneva, met with Madam Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in Geneva on Nov. 18 to update her on the situation of ongoing armed conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.
The Ambassador expressed Cambodia’s sincere appreciation for the ICRC’s active engagement and its indispensable role in upholding humanitarian principles.
The Ambassador highlighted serious violations committed by Thai forces, including the opening of fire on unarmed Cambodian civilians, resulting in one death and three injuries; the joint rape of a Cambodian teenage girl by seven Thai soldiers in black uniform; and other grave incidents affecting civilians and protected persons and objects.
He also expressed deep concern over the continued detention of 18 captured Cambodian soldiers, noting this constitutes a grave breach of the Third Geneva Convention. Public disclosure of repatriated POWs’ alleged mental health conditions, or coercing them to sign pledges not to return to the frontline are prohibited under the Convention and undermine the foundational protections accorded to POWs.
The Ambassador underscored legal avenues to secure the prompt release of the detainees, citing Article 118 of the Convention, which requires the “immediate and unconditional repatriation” of prisoners of war at the end of active hostilities. Any continued detention without lawful basis constitutes unlawful confinement—a grave breach—under the Third Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I. Such violations entail both the international responsibility of the detaining State and potential individual criminal liability for war crimes under the Rome Statute.
