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| Samantha Power (left), Valerie Jarrett (center), and Ambassador William E. Todd meet with Cambodian human rights organizations in Phnom Penh on November 20, 2012. (Photo from U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh, Cambodia) |
November 27, 2012
Valerie Jarrett, Samantha Power
The White House Blog
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/11/27/meeting-human-rights-defenders-cambodia
During the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh on November 20, President Obama asked us to join with U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William E. Todd in gathering Cambodian human rights organizations to discuss the state of human rights and civil society in Cambodia.
The courageous individuals we met represented many others who advocate daily, sometimes at personal risk, for the protection and strengthening of human rights in Cambodia. Much of our conversation centered around three issues: land rights, the rule of law, and free and fair elections.
Land tenure issues are a serious problem in Cambodia. Due to the lack of a dependable titling system and a weak judiciary, conflicts frequently arise over land rights. Even more troubling, the Cambodian government has at times forced families to relocate from their homes without due process or compensation. Residents who have protested these steps have been harassed, and some have been arrested and convicted on criminal charges.
Cambodia’s weak judicial system also faces many challenges. Suspects often spend long periods in pre-trial detention – Cambodian law allows for such detention for up to six months for misdemeanors and 18 months for felonies. At times, outspoken activists and opposition politicians have been given lengthy prison terms based on questionable evidence. Most notably, a well-known critic of the Prime Minister and owner of an independent radio station was recently imprisoned for 20 years based on what many observers described as inadequate evidence. Charges of defamation or disinformation – or threats of such charges – have been used as a means to intimidate journalists and human rights activists alike.
Finally, the Cambodians we met with described the steps that could be taken to improve a political system in which many Cambodians appear to have lost faith. The National Elections Committee, responsible for organizing free and fair elections, is not seen to be independent. There are also broad concerns that, during the national elections scheduled for July 2013, Cambodians may be denied the opportunity to choose from the broadest range of opposition candidates who wish to be part of the political process.
During our roundtable, Ambassador Todd and we discussed with Cambodia’s courageous human rights defenders the ways in which the U.S. Government is working to support their efforts to bring about a more just and democratic society. The United States aims to strengthen the demand for democracy, accountability, and human rights – especially among Cambodian youth – while providing support to NGOs advocating for political reform. Our embassy sponsors town hall meetings for Cambodians to discuss areas of concern with their elected officials. U.S. officials work with local NGOs to investigate land grabbing, illegal arrest and detention, and obstruction of freedom of expression and assembly, while providing legal aid to victims. And Ambassador Todd and his team are helping to build the next generation of leaders through support for youth civic education -- last year reaching over 370,000 youth through these programs.
Our message to human rights defenders reinforced that of President Obama, who, when he met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, urged progress on these very issues, stressing that the promise of Cambodia’s great people will only be fully realized when human rights are respected and all voices are heard.
Valerie Jarrett is Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement. Samantha Power is the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the National Security Council.
6 comments:
The language that Hun Sen can understand is "DRONE" language.
Don't try to talk to Hun Sen with any other language. He will not get it.
Drone won't be looking at hun sen at the moment as long he's borrowing more money and keep in check with the US.
Hun Sen and his Vietnamese boss desperately want to put Sam Rainsy in Prey Sar Prison, to break his moral and fighting spirit against Hun Sen and Vietnam Imperialist.
We, Cambodian patriots support wholeheartedly the decision of Sam Rainsy not to enter into Cambodia without security guaranteed by international communities and Hun Sen government. Sam Rainsy is the only Cambodian who dares to officially criticize Vietnam for using the following illegal treaties to annex Cambodian territory:
Treaty of July 7. 1982 on historical water agreement in which Cambodia lost 30,000.00 square kilometers of sea water and many island including Kas Tral;
Treaty of July 20, 1983 on principle of resolution of border issues which recognized the free crossing of Cambodian borders and the surge of illegal Vietnamese immigrants and settlers( to date about 4,000,000.00 illegal Vietnamese in Cambodia);
Treaty of December 27, 1985 on border delimitation which recognized new Vietnamese settlement on the demarcation of land borders between the two countries from North to South along 1,230 km of border length;
Treaty of 2005 is a supplemental treaty which legitimize the illegal treaty of 1985.
Anybody who called Sam Rainsy a coward is either a Vietnamese citizen or a Khmer Vietnamese Slave (kgnom Yurn). Why should Sam Rainsy receive the prison term as indicted by the nondependent court controlled by Hun Sen et al? He rightfully pulled the illegitimated border stick installed by Vietnamese invader.
there is a giant step in the right direction would be to accept the fact that you're still a bunch of sore losers ( ScamSR and the followers). History will also judge your performent according to your useless and weak agendas, and the history will be written ScamSR as a paranoid leader, cry baby, fugitive, and a bunch of psychopath opportunist waiting to take advantage of poor people. The world have watched you sore losers haven't done anything to make Cambodian proud of your records. There're not a single list of all the good things you have done in the past and now to uplift people life. My hero samdach Hun Sen will forgive your sorry asses if you joined the CPP for this up comming election. You potato diggers made lots of painful mistakes in the past by dividing Cambodia apart, which is shame on you sore losers. It certainly that we (CPP) would forgive you if your leader ScamSr come back to Cambodia and serve his sentences and futher improve his image as a strong leader not the fugitive one. If he didn't dare to come back than stop begging for forgiveness from my hero Hun Sen, maybe it would be wise to seek counseling from Pi Anh.hahahaahah
shit anh thank you for being an opposition get it yet?
YAWN same flippin old hand wringing & meaningless pleas. Time and again when will these NGOs learn that you can't talk democratic values to people whose only interest is in their political self preservaton? NGOs have raised so much false hope and delivered zilch to our people.. apart from even more hand wringing& meaningless pleas
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