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| UN Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi addresses the crowd on Saturday during a gathering in Phnom Penh, which marked International Human Rights Day. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan) |
Monday, 12 December 2011
Meas Sokchea and Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post
Marking international Human Rights Day, 22 civil society organisations joined forces on Saturday to call on the government to live up to Cambodia’s international commitments.
The event, attended by more than 300 people at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park, carried the theme that “Independent judiciary and freedom of expression are foundations for social justice and respect for human rights”.
“The government institutions of this nation need to take action to stop the increasing restriction of freedom of expression and civil society participation,” a joint statement released by the 22 organisations said.
The event was attended by UN Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi, who has been in the country to gauge the state of human rights, US Embassy Charge d’affairs Jeff Daigle and King Sihamoni’s spokesman, Prince Norodom Chakkrapong, who is Prince Norodom Ranariddh’s brother.
However, only low-ranking delegates from the Royal Government, which did not organise any celebrations or events, attended the event.
Speaking at the event, Subedi called on the government to respect human rights and democracy.
“Cambodia has seen rapid development, but this development must be paralleled with respect for human rights,” said Subedi, who added he “thus far” had a “cordial” relationship with the government.
Nepalese-born Subedi told the Post he had been monitoring human rights in Cambodia since the post-Khmer Rouge regime period.
“The number one ongoing human rights issue in this country is land rights,” Subedi said. “Number two is freedom of expression, number three is impunity and number four is freedom of association and assembly.
“Cambodia has voluntarily ratified a number of human rights treaties,” he said. “The importance is in making sure that those treaties are implemented properly . . . capacity and independence has to be there.”
Daigle applauded the “peaceful human rights defenders in Cambodia”. “We know the struggle continues, but we recognise your efforts and sacrifices in service to humankind,” he said.
He said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that everyone is entitled to fair and equal protection under the law and Cambodia’s constitution makes clear that the country’s judiciary is to be independent from the other two branches of the government.
“Certainly, the Royal Government of Cambodia bears responsibility for ensuring that its citizens’ rights are upheld, but individuals and civil society organisations also share in this task,” Daigle said.
“To be effective, civil society must continue to have the space to operate, and citizens must understand their rights and be empowered to peacefully advocate for them.”
Press and Quick Reaction Unit spokesman Tith Sothea said criticisms of the government’s work to support and protect human rights were not “valuable”.
“Cambodia may have some issues with human rights abuse, but no country in the world is led perfectly.”
4 comments:
Anonymous said...
Hun Sen government is just the name only. Actually, it is the agent of Youn, speed up the process of eliminating Khmer race, and populate with Youn. Youn integrated their polices who are fluent in Khmer into villages across the nation, and follow up with youn families, school, business, and their association. Khmer villagers keep moving to others places, and those who stay behind in the same villages are so terrifying of the Youn.
Tonle Sap are infested with Youn that there is no Khmer authority can get near their communities because they have their own law, their own polices, their own armies, and they are extracting natural resources including illegally catch fishes, and take to Hanoi and Prey Nokor.
States securities and armies are now within a full grip of youn. Most Khmer generals are old and some have been passed away, and youn promote a young youn general (do not be fooled by their name and Cambodian linguistic ability)to take over the entire state security system. (Hun Sen and his people are just slave to Youn)
Senators and national congress on every level are controlled by Youn. Even all computers, electronic systems are take care of by YOun. Khmer technician are not allow to touch those computers.
Next year, Khmer is going to host the ASEAN, in reality, Youn is running the whole show. Khmer government is not asking Khmer with experiences to help put the conference together because youn will not allow to, youn will run the whole conferences, organize and run full of youn-youn gain experiences, get the money, gain the information on the expense of Khmer.
Land all around the border are being bought by youn who use the money from person like Sokong and those land are transformed over night because Youn installing light pools, pave the roads and signs in Youn (Thai do the same thing right after Hun Sen dissolved the resistant force in the border)
And there are so many horrible things that youn are doing to take over Khmer by use both soft and hard power ( soft by integrated youn into institution such as senate and congress, hard such as murder those who bring the Khmer interest with Hun Sen)
Years of Hun Sen's reign is also the last of Khmer!
Vietnam's bad intention toward Cambodia will be unmasked by the international communities.
We need to take this Cambodia’s land thief, Vietnam, to the international court of justice; otherwise Vietnam will keep creating turmoil in Cambodia.
After 1989, did Vietnam truly withdraw all of its troops back to Vietnam?
Did Vietnam comply with the 1991 Paris peace accord?
Millions of illegal and legal Vietnamese have been residing inside Cambodia after Vietnam’s invasion in January 1979, causing extreme concerns amongst Khmer people about the prospect that Cambodia would be the second Kampuchea Krom (the current southern part of Vietnam).
How much Khmer natural resource has Vietnam destroyed after its invasion in January 1979?
The killings during the Pol Pot's era were committed by the Khmer rouge, the Khmer Vietminh, etc.
Notice that the Khmer Vietminh were created and brainwashed by Vietnam to make Khmers fight with Khmers, to make Khmers kill each others. Vietnam’s ulterior ultimate goal is to make Khmer people vanish from this world like Vietnam did to Champa. No wonder, they have always seen Khmers fight with Khmers because of Vietnam’s meticulous maneuvering.
How about the K5 project, which killed hundreds of thousands of Khmer people in the 80's? This K5 scheme was totally orchestrated by Vietnam to make Khmer people disappear so that Vietnam can easily take Cambodia.
Vietnam must pay for this enormous K5 project crime. We need to take Vietnam to the international court about this K5 issue regarding Vietnam’s catastrophic action in Cambodia. Vietnam’s current dominance in Cambodia also contributes to the present majority Khmer people’s misery.
All Khmer people in the U.S. and abroad like Australia, France, UK, and so on have to write the letters to UN Security Councils, European Unions, President Obama, U.S. Senate and Congress, U.S. Secretary of States and Secretary of Defense about Vietnamese/Yuon Government, Folks smuggle and operate in Cambodia illegally (also happen Laos).
Why the U.S. and UN have not paid attentions to what the Vietnamese/Yuon folks who have continued to destroy Cambodia and committed crimes against Khmer people and how bad and evil the Vietnamese/Yuon folks are.
The U.S.Officials and UN Security Councils, please pay attentions to Vietnamese/Yuon's dirty and secret plans in the blind eyes of International Communities. Vietnamese/Yuon evil folks have played to be nice guys to trick the Khmer and Foreigners who do not see what harmful and dangerous that Yuon/Vietnamese folks who live in Cambodia illegally.
The United Nations must take the lead in calling for and enforcing the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia.
The United Nations must monitors the coming Cambodian elections to make sure it is free and fair.
The United Nations must scan for illigal foreign voters.
The coming Cambodian elections are the most vital ones, it can make or break Cambodia and it can turn Cambodia into a civil war with unpredictable consequences.
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