By Heng Reaksmey, VOA KhmerOriginal report from Phnom Penh
25 June 2009
Cambodians still struggle with land disputes and displacement, while the three branches of government remain entangled, the UN’s special human rights envoy to Cambodia told reporters Thursday.
Surya Subedi was in Cambodia for 10 days to assess the human rights conditions in Cambodia, in his first visit to the country. While recognizing some progress, he said non-governmental agencies needed to be strengthened to properly monitor government activities.
Work was needed to strengthen the rule of law, clearly separate the power between the three branches of government and to protect the independence of the judiciary, he said.
“Addressing issues such as impunity, conflicts over land and control of corruption will contribute to the building of a more stable democratic nation and equitable prosperity in the country,” he said.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the remarks of the rights representative were “more positive” than his predecessor, Yash Ghai, whose relationship with the government severely deteriorated after strong remarks about rights abuses.
The government was working on reforming the judiciary and curbing land grabbing, he said.
Ou Vireak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, agreed with Subedi’s remarks, saying Cambodia’s judiciary remained unreformed and land issues continue to loom large.
Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, holds a press conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 25, 2009. Surya Subedi is on a ten day official visit to Cambodia, which June 15-25, 2009.
Surya Subedi was in Cambodia for 10 days to assess the human rights conditions in Cambodia, in his first visit to the country. While recognizing some progress, he said non-governmental agencies needed to be strengthened to properly monitor government activities.
Work was needed to strengthen the rule of law, clearly separate the power between the three branches of government and to protect the independence of the judiciary, he said.
“Addressing issues such as impunity, conflicts over land and control of corruption will contribute to the building of a more stable democratic nation and equitable prosperity in the country,” he said.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the remarks of the rights representative were “more positive” than his predecessor, Yash Ghai, whose relationship with the government severely deteriorated after strong remarks about rights abuses.
The government was working on reforming the judiciary and curbing land grabbing, he said.
Ou Vireak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, agreed with Subedi’s remarks, saying Cambodia’s judiciary remained unreformed and land issues continue to loom large.
Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, holds a press conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 25, 2009. Surya Subedi is on a ten day official visit to Cambodia, which June 15-25, 2009.
4 comments:
how many stakeholders do exist in cambodia? I believe there are 4 to approach:
1)King
2)Government
3)NGO's
4)Ordinary citizens
What kind of human rights should these satisfied?
Kaun Khmer
This stinky piehole giving people his gay smile....
Back to square one. The UN envoy makes his initial remarks, the softly softly approach, and the CPP government lies and says they are making progress.
More time wasted dancing around the serious human rights issues while the government abuses it's unfettered powers to rape the country.
When will the UN ever take real action?
ហេ អា ភីភីយូ (PPU) អាឯងចង់បៀម ក្ដ ឪ អា
ឯងទេអាចុយម៉្រាយ???
ពីអញ ឪអាភីភីយូ (PPU)
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