CHRC Accuses Thailand of Crimes of Aggression, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity

CHRC Accuses Thailand of Crimes of Aggression, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity

Phnom Penh, 24 December 2025 — The Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) has issued a strongly worded statement vehemently condemning Thailand’s continued and intensified military attacks against Cambodia, asserting that these actions constitute the Crime of Aggression, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

According to the CHRC, Thai armed forces have carried out indiscriminate and large-scale attacks against populated areas in the Cambodian provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Pursat, Oddar Meanchey, Battambang, Preah Vihear, and Koh Kong, employing heavy weaponry, F-16 and T-50TH fighter jets, naval warships, toxic smoke, and cluster munitions.

The Committee reported that, as of 24 December 2025, the intensified airstrikes, shelling of towns, and cross-border armed aggression have killed 21 Cambodian civilians and injured 83 others, while the number of internally displaced persons has surged to 607,980. Extensive damage has been inflicted on civilian infrastructure, including homes, ancient temple sites, schools, health centers, government buildings, pagodas, bridges, markets, roads, telecommunications towers, fuel stations, warehouses, hotels, and private property.

The CHRC stressed that these acts represent not only grave violations of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also serious breaches of fundamental human rights, particularly the right to life, personal security, and property, as protected under international human rights law. The Committee further emphasized that attacks deliberately directed against civilians and civilian objects constitute blatant violations of international humanitarian law, notably the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which strictly prohibit such conduct.

The statement underscored that the cross-border use of military force against another sovereign state without lawful grounds of self-defense constitutes the Crime of Aggression under international legal statutes. Moreover, the CHRC asserted that widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, civilian objects, and cultural heritage amount to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, giving rise to international legal responsibility and the obligation of full accountability.

In response, the CHRC announced that it will submit urgent appeals to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, as well as to other relevant international and regional stakeholders, calling for unequivocal condemnation, the immediate application of all available international mechanisms, and full accountability before the law. These submissions, the Committee noted, will serve as formal and traceable documentation for investigations within the UN Human Rights Council and international human rights treaty bodies.

The CHRC further emphasized that Thailand’s actions cannot be justified under the pretext of a border dispute, noting that Thai military forces have repeatedly launched unprovoked attacks, including deep incursions into Cambodian territory by fighter jets. Such actions, the Committee stated, gravely breach international law, violate ceasefire agreements, and contravene the Joint Statement on the Peace Agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, signed in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The Committee also cited President Trump’s recent public statement — “You know they [Thailand] started with Cambodia. They started again” — as further confirmation that Cambodia is the victim of aggression and retains the inherent right to self-defense under the United Nations Charter.

In this context, the CHRC urgently called upon the international community, the United Nations, and all international and regional human rights organizations to take decisive action, to unequivocally condemn Thailand’s aggression, demand an immediate cessation of hostilities, and ensure full accountability for the illegal and disproportionate use of force against civilians.

The CHRC concluded by reiterating that peace, security, and respect for human rights cannot be achieved through violence, and that all violations of international law must be addressed through justice and accountability in order to safeguard regional peace and the global legal order. The Committee affirmed that it will continue to monitor, document, and report comprehensively on these violations, standing in full solidarity with the Cambodian people affected by what it described as criminal acts.