UN rep responds to CPP

Monday, 05 October 2009
James O’Toole and Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

THE UN’s special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia on Sunday brushed off government criticisms that he has taken a biased view of the rights situation here, three days after telling the UN’s human rights council in Geneva that “core political rights … have been undermined” in the Kingdom.

On Thursday, UN rapporteur Surya Subedi criticised Cambodia’s criminalisation of defamation and said that rule of law and judicial independence remain limited, according to a UN news report summarising the human rights council proceedings.

Speaking Sunday, Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap criticised Subedi’s remarks, accusing him and other UN representatives of holding a bias against the Cambodian government.

“Based on my observations, Mr Subedi is not different from Yash Ghai,” Cheam Yeap said. Yash Ghai preceded Subedi as UN special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia before resigning in September 2008 after a notoriously stormy relationship with the government.

In an email on Sunday, Subedi rejected the claim that he had taken a one-sided approach to his position. “I am an independent, objective and impartial person, and this is reflected in my report. I have to speak my mind on the basis of information received and personal observations made,” he said.

The Nepalese law professor reiterated his confidence that he will be able to work productively with the Cambodian government. “I hope the government will continue to engage with me and other human rights agencies as the country and the government stand to benefit from such a constructive engagement,” he said.

Weak rule of law, Judiciary not independent, Freedom of speech and assembly undermined: Surya Subedi on Hun Xen's Cambodia

Judiciary, Rights Efforts ‘Weak’: UN Rights Envoy

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 October 2009

The Cambodian government rejected a report by the UN’s human rights envoy, who characterized the country’s judicial system and human rights efforts as “weak.”

Suriya Subedi, the UN special rapporteur for human rights, replaces Yash Ghai, who had a prickly relationship with the government and especially Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Friday Subedi “did not see the whole thing.” He added: “He listened to lazy staffs who work here, and he did not check.”

Subedi said in an October report: “The rule of law is weak in the country. The judiciary is not as independent as it should be. Some of the core political rights such as the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have been undermined.”

Subedi said Cambodia’s defamation laws have gone beyond a permissible level in restrictions on the freedom of expression under the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Cambodia is a party.

Ny Chakriya, chief of investigation section for the rights group Adhoc, said that in light of the report the government should review its human rights situation.

“It is simple for the government to deny the UN’s report, but the most important thing is for the government to consider what [Subedi] raised in his report,” he said. “The government denial is unacceptable.”

Yim Sovann, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, agreed with the report, saying, “many UN representatives in Cambodia are always raising the same human rights issues in Cambodia.”

Basic freedoms restricted in Cambodia: Surya Subedi

Surya Subedi (Photo: Reuters)

Basic freedoms restricted in Cambodia, UN rights expert reports

Source: UN News Centre

1 October 2009 – An independent United Nations expert today voiced concern about the human rights situation in Cambodia, noting in particular that the judiciary is not as independent as it should be and the basic freedoms of expression and assembly are being restricted.

Reporting to the UN Human Rights Council, Surya Subedi called for improvements to the overall human rights situation in the South-East Asian nation.

“The rule of law is weak in the country. The judiciary is not as independent as it should be. Some of the core political rights such as the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have been undermined,” said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.

Mr. Subedi noted that the country’s defamation laws have gone beyond what is a permissible level of restriction on freedom of expression under the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Cambodia is a party.

He added that the spirit of the provisions guaranteeing freedom of speech in international human rights treaties is to treat any matters relating to restrictions on such freedom, including defamation issues, under civil law rather than criminal law unless such matters are of a grave nature and pose a threat to national security or public order.

Also of concern is the issue of impunity and land evictions, which he said have not been addressed as thoroughly as they should be.

Nevertheless, he said he is encouraged by the fact that the Government is willing to constructively engage with him and other UN human rights entities, calling it “a major step in the right direction.”

He added that the Council should encourage the Government to take concrete action to implement its obligations under various human rights treaties under a strict timeframe.

Mr. Subedi, like all Special Rapporteurs, carries out his mandate in an independent and unpaid capacity, and reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

Freedom of expression and assembly seriously undermined

Cambodian Center for Human Rights

Joint Media Release by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and
the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Phnom Penh, 22 April 2009
For Immediate Release

Joint submission for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cambodia’s Human Rights record - Freedom of expression and assembly seriously undermined

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) are pleased to announce that a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - coordinated by the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) and assisted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) - has made a joint submission on freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, for inclusion in its summary of stakeholder information for the purposes of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cambodia’s Human Rights record.

The submission shows that the last four years have seen freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia seriously undermined, with opinion restricted, parliamentarians silenced, the media controlled, access to information blocked, and assembly and public demonstration prevented. The Royal Government of Cambodia has breached its international and constitutional human rights obligations, and has relied on national legislation which itself breaches these obligations.

In order to improve this situation, the coalition of NGOs urges the Government to properly respect freedom of expression and assembly and to implement a series of recommendations, including:

• i. Ratify the First Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to enable Cambodians to submit complaints to the Human Rights Committee relating to violations of their freedom to expression and assembly, and other human rights.
• ii. Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression to visit and assess the situation in Cambodia, and to make recommendations.
• iii. Work with other ASEAN member states to create an ASEAN Human Rights body in 2009.
• iv. Establish an independent National Human Rights Commission in 2009, in keeping with the Paris Principles.
• v. Publicly endorse the Johannesburg Principles and work with NGOs to formulate a freedom of expression and assembly strategy as part of a wider human rights action plan.
• vi. Decriminalize disinformation and defamation in the course of reforming the criminal law.
• vii. Invite experts including the international NGO Article 19 and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assess and recommend amendments to the 1995 Press Law and 1991 Law on Demonstrations. Implement these newly amended laws.

The coalition of NGOs includes: Advocacy and Policy Institution (API); Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC); Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC); Cambodian Association for Protection for Journalists (CAPJ); Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR); Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM); Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR); Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA); Cambodian Independent Civil Servants Association (CICA); Cambodian League for the Protection and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO); Center for Social Development (CSD); Center for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR); Coalition of Cambodian Apparel W.D.U. (C-CAWDU); Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL); Community Legal Education Center (CLEC); Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC); Independent Democratic of Informal Economic Association (IDEA); International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH); Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Association (KKKHRA); Khmer Youth Association (KYA); Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC); Neutral & Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (NECFEC); People Center for Development and Peace (PDP-Center); Project Against Domestic Violence (PADV); Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA); and Star Kampuchea.

The full submission is available at www.cchrcambodia.org.