Cambodia has just marked the 30th anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, which paved the way to ending the country’s long-running civil war. The agreement remains a just cause for celebration: in the previous two decades, Cambodia had suffered the CIA-backed coup of Lon Nol, the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge during which up to two million people perished, and invasion by Vietnam. The UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, which was formed to implement the accords, supervised the run-up to elections in 1993 and the subsequent assembly approved a new constitution.
In the years since, "we have reduced poverty and we have been happy with our economic growth", a spokesman for Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) government told Khmer Times. "We have had regular elections. Most importantly we have protected the people. That is why we have not allowed anybody to cause 'rain and storm' that destroy the safety and lives of the people."
That's one way of assessing the post-1991 record of Hun Sen, who in three slightly different guises has been prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. Another verdict on the results of the peace accords that he himself helped to negotiate comes from Australia's former foreign minister Gareth Evans. "We did a great job on bringing peace, but blew it on democracy and human rights," he said recently.
If there were any doubts about that, they were dispelled in 2017, when the country's Supreme Court dissolved the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the only effective opposition to the CPP. The following year, the CPP won every place in the country's 125-seat Parliament, leading a CNRP official to say Cambodia was becoming "a one-party state with one man making all decisions for the entire nation through a sham election rejected by democratically elected governments". What had happened to a state that was supposed to be a "poster child" for UN-sponsored national reconstruction that would "shepherd a long-suffering people toward the promised land of democracy, free-market prosperity and human rights", as Sebastian Strangio, author of the magisterial Hun Sen’s Cambodia, put it?
Part of the problem is that in many respects the country did appear to be on that very trajectory. The English-language media was free, civil society flourished, and elections were fiercely fought: the CNRP came close to winning the 2013 general election. Sure, there were bumps in the road, to put it mildly, and episodes of serious violence, but it would have been naive to expect Cambodia to turn into a model liberal democracy overnight.
Warning signs were not properly heeded.
In 1993, for instance, Hun Sen defied the election results and stayed on in office after reaching a power-sharing agreement with the victorious Funcinpec party. He managed to do this by quelling a secession movement in the country's east that his critics claim he orchestrated to remain in power. In 1997, he took over as the sole leader after a coup.
Hun Sen, however, always did just enough to present the necessary veneer: he went on to hold elections in 1998 that the CPP won. The veneer had vanished by the 2018 election. By then it was clear that the liberal civic society international donors thought they were helping build was no more than a "mirage on the Mekong", to use Strangio’s evocative phrase.
It would be easy to see this as yet another instance of failed "democracy promotion" by well-meaning outsiders with insufficient knowledge of the countries they were trying to help. After all, most states that have successfully made the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy in recent decades have led the process themselves, from the formerly communist bloc in Eastern Europe to South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.
But Cambodians were remaking their country themselves. It's just that neither the CPP nor the Khmer Rouge (whose remaining leaders did not surrender until 1998) could be suspected of having a deep attachment to democracy. Nor could Prince Ranariddh, the Funcinpec leader that shared power with Hun Sen in 1993, who once wrote that democracy in Cambodia "was just a phrase to be talked about in idle gossip" and that "discipline is more essential in our society".
Thirty years after the Paris accords, the record is mixed
The EU tried to put pressure on Hun Sen's administration "to restore political freedoms in the country, to re-establish the necessary conditions for a credible, democratic opposition and to initiate a process of national reconciliation through genuine and inclusive dialogue", when it withdrew preferential access to 20 per cent of Cambodia's exports to the EU in 2020.
The US House of Representatives has also passed a bill recommending sanctions, but with Hun Sen drawing ever closer to a supportive China, the window for outside influence may have shut. With the world more concerned about the military takeover in nearby Myanmar, stories of abuse in Cambodia will still make the news, but the CPP appears to be in a position to ignore them.
So 30 years after the Paris accords, the record is mixed. Democracy has faded, if it ever embedded properly at all, but growth has been strong and peace has been maintained. After all that Cambodia went through from the 1970s to the 90s, that is still worth commemorating.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
