US bill targets Kingdom over Uighur case

Dana Rohrabacher (R) (Photo: SRP)

Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Brooke Lewis
The Phnom Penh Post

TWO American lawmakers have submitted legislation designed to punish Cambodia for last year’s deportation of 20 Uighur asylum seekers by barring the reduction or elimination of more than US$300 million in debt as well as the extension of duty-free status to Cambodian garments imported into the country.

The bill, dubbed the Cambodian Trade Act of 2010, was introduced before the US house of representatives on Thursday by William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, on behalf of himself and Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California.

In an email to the Post, Rohrabacher said Tuesday that he could not comment on the likelihood that the bill will be passed, and added, “Whether it passes or not is less important than drawing attention to the misdeeds of the Cambodian dictatorship.”

Last December, Cambodia deported 20 Uighur asylum seekers back to China, drawing criticism from observers who expressed concern that the Uighurs would face persecution there. Almost immediately after the deportation, China signed US$1.2 billion worth of economic aid agreements with Cambodia, fuelling speculation that the Uighurs had been returned to please Beijing.

A statement released on Friday by Delahunt contended that Cambodia’s treatment of the Uighurs had violated international protocol for processing refugees.

“Nations that expect economic benefits from the United States need to be accountable for their human rights records,” the statement read.

In an earlier display of disapproval, the US state department in April suspended a planned shipment of military lorries to Cambodia.

Less than a month later, China announced that it would donate 257 new military lorries to Cambodia, a move that Rohrabacher said on Tuesday was all the more reason for the US to take a tougher stance on the issue.

“People all over Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, should be worried about Chinese domination,” he said via email. “The Chinese dictatorship is in a cozy relationship with less than free and totally dishonest governments throughout the region. Chinese willingness to back up [Prime Minister Hun Sen] just confirms the decision we made to not ignore this mistreatment of Uighur refugees.”

He added that the US would not be responsible for any potential negative impacts the bill, if passed, might have on Cambodian garment workers.

Cambodian garments are not presently afforded duty-free status in the US.

“The biggest harm to everyone who works in Cambodia is the corrupt and repressive Hun Sen government. No one should blame anyone from the outside for any economic repercussions as a result of Hun Sen’s policies,” he said.

The Cambodian Centre for Human Rights on Tuesday released a statement welcoming the introduction of the US bill, and calling on all donor countries to include human rights conditions in aid deals with Cambodia.

Feed the future of human rights in Cambodia: CCHR

Click on the statement in Khmer to zoom in

Cambodian Center for Human Rights

PRESS RELEASE
Phnom Penh – 25 May 2010

Feed the future of human rights in Cambodia

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) welcomes the announcement by the United States (“US”) Embassy in Cambodia that the Kingdom will be included in the “Feed the Future” initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”). This initiative provides an important opportunity for the US Government to remind the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) of its human rights obligations under Cambodian and international law by including human rights conditions in this aid package.

Cambodia has received billions of dollars in aid from democratic countries since the intervention of the United Nations (“UN”) in the early 1990s. Yet the RGC has continued to violate the fundamental human rights of Cambodians, while senior officials have pilfered national resources for their own personal benefit. The crack down on freedom of expression continues, land and livelihoods are lost by the day, minorities remain excluded, and the judicial system remains corrupt and non-independent. It is time for democratic donor countries and their taxpayers to demand improvements in human rights and governance in Cambodia, in exchange for the assistance that supports those that the RGC has failed and serves to prop up the regime.

In April 2010, the CCHR welcomed the “tough love” by the US Government when it announced the suspension of a shipment of military vehicles to Cambodia following the deportation by the RGC of 20 ethnic Uyghurs to China in December 2009. That announcement was met with indifference by the RGC, and China stepped in to provide a military aid package that included a fleet of vehicles. However, despite the indifference of the RGC and Chinese opportunism, such a principled approach to aid is to be applauded. Donor governments must not be induced into a race-to-the-bottom in a battle for influence in Cambodia.

The RGC has shown increasing belligerence towards donors and development partners in recent months. Perhaps buoyed by the unconditional financial support of countries such as China, the RGC threatened to expel the UN Resident Coordinator in March over a UN statement on the rushed adoption of the Anti-Corruption Law by the National Assembly and Senate without adequate time for genuine debate. In April, the RGC also warned diplomats to “avoid interfering in the internal affairs of the host country,” claiming somewhat unconvincingly that Cambodian is not a “BANANA REPUBLIC”.

It is important to recall that the US, along with a number of other donor countries, pledged in the Agreements on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict to “promote and encourage respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia… in order, in particular, to prevent the recurrence of human rights abuses.” With this in mind, the CCHR welcomes the draft bill put before the US House of Representatives yesterday which seeks to hold the RGC responsible – through the preclusion of US trade benefits to the Cambodian garment industry – for its deportation of the Uyghurs in December 2009. A statement from the office of William Delahunt, a Democratic Representative who, along with Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher, sponsored the bill stated that “[n]ations that expect economic benefits from the United States need to be accountable for their human rights records”.

Commenting on the obligations of donors, CCHR President Ou Virak stated: “the sun has set on unconditional aid; it is no longer enough to throw money at problems and hope that this government will act in the interests of the people. If the international community really wants to honour its commitment to Cambodia and to promote and encourage respect for human rights, they must make it clear to the RGC that rights violations are an expensive business and will hit them in the pocket. Doing nothing is tantamount to complicity.”

The CCHR urges the US government to continue its principled approach and ensure that the RGC undertakes to respect their human rights obligations under domestic and international law before finalising this substantial aid package. Moreover, the CCHR calls on all international donors – including China, France and Japan - to speak out when human rights violations occur in Cambodia, and ensure that the provision of aid to the RGC is not unconditional but includes safeguards that make continued financial support conditional on the respect for human rights.

For more information, please contact:

Ou Virak, President, Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Tel: +855 12 40 40 51
Email: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org
Rupert Abbott, Director of Development, Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Tel: +855 17 50 07 78
Email: rupertabbott@cchrcambodia.org

[US] Lawmakers speak out on human rights in Vietnam

State Department asked to put Vietnam back on the Countries of Concern list on religious freedom.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007
By DENA BUNIS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (California, USA)

WASHINGTON - A group of bipartisan lawmakers Tuesday called on the Bush administration to put Vietnam back on the State Department's Countries of Concern list when it comes to religious freedom.

At a hearing on the state of human rights in Vietnam, lawmakers told a Foreign Affairs subcommittee that ever since Vietnam was granted most favored nation trading status and admitted into the World Trade Organization, human rights abuses have escalated.

"Now the Vietnamese have their desired trade status, yet they continue to harass and detain individuals who promote democracy, human rights and religious freedom,'' Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, told the panel. Sanchez and Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach and Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, urged that Vietnam be put back on the list.

But the State Department's witness said progress has been made on the religious front even in the midst of a crackdown on political activists.

Being on the Country of Concern list "really suggests a very, very severe problem in religious freedom,'' said Scot Marciel, a deputy assistant secretary of state. "Our view is that Vietnam has made significant progress and failing to recognize that progress would send the wrong message, not only to Vietnam, but elsewhere.''

But Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, who like Sanchez represents a district with a large Vietnamese American population, was skeptical about Marciel's contention that there has been progress.

"I really don't see that we're pushing as hard as we should,'' Lofgren said. "Unless we come up with some teeth to what we're saying, the nose thumbing will continue.''

The House earlier this year passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act by a vote of 414-3. The bill would curtail future increases in foreign aid to Vietnam unless progress is made on human rights and other issues.

The measure is stalled in the Senate. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is expected to hold a hearing soon on the issue.

Contact the writer: (202) 628-6381 or dbunis@ocregister.com