Friday, 19 December 2008
Written by Georgia Wilkins
The Phnom Penh Post
"hope is lost among the people ... there are no avenues in which things will improve."In vitriolic report, international body says Cambodia's record on human rights is the worst it's been in more than a decade
AN international human rights body has condemned the government for what it called another year of gross human rights violations, saying the Kingdom is now sinking into a condition "much worse" than that of the years after Untac.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission's annual Human Rights Report for 2008, which evaluates eleven countries in the region, Cambodia's human rights record has taken a turn for the worse following the consolidation of the ruling party's power.
"Hun Sen's ruling party ... has had control over the institutions for parliamentary democracy and for the rule of law and the media since the communist days. It has been able to effectively squeeze out the rival parties [and] marginalise the opposition that has remained," it said.
Speaking to the Post Thursday, Basil Fernando, director of the commission, said Cambodia's human rights record was as dire as Myanmar's.
"Cambodia has one of the worst human rights records in Asia, for the simple reason that none of its systems of protection are working," he said.
"The judicial system is primitive and rudimentary, and the police system is completely subservient to the existing regime," he said. "There is no way for ordinary people to make complaints, and the result is that they take everything lying down. People have no energy to pursue their rights. It is a type of social control, and it is getting worse," he added.
The commission's report cited the proposed introduction of a new law to monitor NGOs, the downgrading of the UN mandate and a failed legal system as the key factors behind the back-sliding rights record.
Hope is lost
Fernando said Cambodia's human rights record had returned to a state worse than the years following the UN elections in 1993.
"Hope is lost among the people, as there are no avenues in which things will improve," he said.
He said the reduction of the UN mandate following the resignation of Special Rapporteur Yash Ghai was further isolating Cambodia from standards promoted by international monitoring.
Ou Virak, president of the Cambodia Centre for Human Rights, said the most concerning marker on Cambodia's 2008 record was the introduction of the NGO law.
"Democratic space is now more limited, and it is obvious the government wants to control this space even more with the introduction of the NGO law," he said. "Things will definitely get worse in 2009 if the NGO law as it stands is passed."
He also agreed with the report's assertion that the consolidation of power by the ruling party would be a nail in the coffin of the country's fragile democracy.
11 comments:
What every bodies expect from ah uneducated Hun Sen to be a prime minister? The worse are not coming yet,koun khmer please wake up
You people at KI-Media think you're doing Khmer people a good service by "publishing sensitive information about Cambodia," but I never see you post anything about human rights violations committed by white men who come to sexually exploit Khmer women and children. I'm not talking about the occasional rape and child molestation cases that hit the newswire once in a while. I'm talking an everyday affair where Western men live and work in Cambodia to exploit our women. Just drive around and you'll see them everywhere. Human rights violations can happen in many different ways. The activities of Westerners in Cambodia are some of the most serious abuses. In fact, I'm sure many in the staff of the white-owned Phnom Penh Post love to exploit our women too. You don't care about Khmer culture being disgraced by Westerners, so don't pretend that you love Cambodia, because you obviously don't through your actions. You don't even live here in Cambodia like the rest of us.
1:37 AM. You are correct. These people serve only the Westerners. They don't want to acknowledge the positives about Cambodia. They don't like to see the progress and development in our country. They don't want to see Khmer people helping Khmer people. They don't like to see cooperation with Aian countries. Why? Because they have a slave mentality. People who have a slave mentality don't like that. They always want to serve their white masters.
1:37am, I am Khmer. You texts are written in uncalmer manner. But, you have that right to reject the present of the Caucasian race because you believe they are malficient. BUT YOU NEED TO LOOK AND THINK PASS YOUR OWN EYEBROWS.
Not every White dudes are volitionally there to make Khmer people suffer, most NGOs are operated by the foreigners -- they have been to lend a hand. For instance, the Demining Team are headed by the White folks, WITHOUT THEM KHMER POPULATION WILL BE FILLED AMPUTEES FROM UXO. My friend, Cambodia, is among the world highest with people without limbs from the UXO (unexplosive ordinances).
HAVE EVER SEEN HUN SEN CAME TRUCK LOADS OF GOODS TO HELP THE POORS? It's the White folks that came with trucks load of rice to give to the poor.
The annual donor consultive group (CG) give close to billion of US dollar? Have your ever seen Hun Sen used the funds effectively to improve Khmer Society as a whole?
I don't have to live in Cambodia to understand the impunity culture by Hun Sen's Clan. Just as I don't have to live on the Moon to understand there are billion of Stars and Galaxies.
Kone Khmer
Tuk Trey Sre
You mothefucker (2:29), if we didn't used international aids appropriately, the would be dead bodies all over Cambodia. Have you seen any such thing happening in Cambodia? If not, shut the fuck up. The only person who killed Khmer children is your stupid Goddess (Ah Scam Rainxy). So stop trying to blame others for his crimes, alright?
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LIFE UNDER
HUN SEN!
SOMETIMES HIS DARK SECRETS FROM THE KHMER ROUGE ERA RE-APPEAR TODAY!!!
BRACE YOURSELVES KHMERS, THERE ARE MORE ANGERS TO COME!
Khmer in NY
Who slamming the Khmer government?
When you made Hun Sen mad, that is what you get. Hun Sen likes to retaliate things that was against him. Everyone can study his behavior. By this time, he got so pissed-off with khem Sokha, Human Rights party. He just wants to grind this party into small pieces. So, now he is beating up people whom have been victimized without westerners or other parties to rescue. For Hun Sen he just laugh at them right now.
The Hun Sen government deserves the criticism for what they have been doing. History will write about this man and all his gangsters in the government.
We having been looking for peace for a long time and now that there is peace, we should maintain it. I know that the current government is very corrupted but think of it as an inevitable part of the process. Remember we are a very young nation, considering that we have had a new beginning not too long ago. The fact that we came to what we are today from nothing is considered as quite impressive. Remember that nothing can be perfect. Try to overthrow the government, there will be chaos everywhere again and we will be back in year zero. Now that Hun Sen is in full control, peace at last. The fight for power is over, I believe his attention is being diverted into becoming a good prime minister. Just hang on, things will get better.
Very disturbed with this 1:37 am, 2:16 am and 3:26 am. What are you implying? Not to post any thing about Phnom Pehn Gov't? until now you have no clue, do you?
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