A/HRC/41/17 I. Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, held its thirty-second session from 21 January to 1 February 2019. The review of Cambodia was held at the 16th meeting, on 30 January 2019. The delegation of Cambodia was headed by the President of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, Keo Remy. At its 18th meeting, held on 1 February 2019, the Working Group adopted the report on Cambodia. 2. On 15 January 2019, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Cambodia: Senegal, Pakistan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Cambodia: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/32/KHM/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/32/KHM/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/32/KHM/3 and Corr.1). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Australia, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Portugal on behalf of the Group of Friends on national implementation, reporting and follow-up, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United States of America was transmitted to Cambodia through the troika. These questions are available on the website of the universal periodic review. II. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. Cambodia was emerging from a legacy of gross human rights violations; 2019 in fact marked the fortieth anniversary of the State’s liberation from the genocidal Pol Pot regime. As a result, achieving the basic human rights to which every citizen is entitled was and remained the first and most important task of the Government. 6. Cambodia, previously an underdeveloped country mired in poverty and food insecurity, was now a food exporting country, one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a remarkable performer in terms of poverty reduction and improvement in social indicators. Cambodia had made significant progress in attaining the Millennium Development Goals. Since 1990, the country had more than halved extreme poverty and maternal mortality, achieved nearly universal primary education enrolment and made significant progress in combating HIV/AIDS. Cambodia had grown at an average rate of 7 per cent in the past two decades, and become a lower middle-income economy in 2016. Cambodia would probably no longer have its least developed country status after 2025 if it continued to maintain the current growth rate. 7. Cambodia had engaged with a wide range of mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights, as seen in the continued presence of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia and OHCHR, the State’s participation in the universal periodic review and its reports to the treaty bodies. Cambodia was a State party to eight core human rights treaties, which it had ratified without reservation. It was the only country in Asia to host a field office of OHCHR. 2