AFP
The United Nation's special human rights envoy to Cambodia, who has previously drawn savage attacks from the government for a critical report, will make a three-day assessment visit, his office said on Monday.
Yash Ghai, a Kenyan lawyer, would arrive in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, said Henrik Stenman, acting director of the Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia.
"The purpose of the visit is for him to update himself with the situation in Cambodia," Stenman said, adding Ghai was scheduled to present his annual report on the kingdom's rights conditions in Geneva in June.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has demanded that Ghai, who lives in Hong Kong, be sacked after his criticism last year of the government's failure to protect basic liberties.
Other Cambodian senior officials have also lashed out at Ghai, with government spokesperson Khieu Kanharith earlier calling him the "laziest staffer of the United Nations" when asked about the global body's report in 2006.
Khieu Kanharith on Monday declined to comment on Ghai's visit.
The last UN report said Cambodia's government was using systematic rights violations to remain in power, accusing it of refusing to improve its rights record.
Relations between the government and UN rights envoys have historically been poor, with Hun Sen calling Ghai's predecessor Peter Leuprecht "stupid" - a term he also used to describe Ghai, along with "rude" and a "god without virtue."
Yash Ghai, a Kenyan lawyer, would arrive in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, said Henrik Stenman, acting director of the Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia.
"The purpose of the visit is for him to update himself with the situation in Cambodia," Stenman said, adding Ghai was scheduled to present his annual report on the kingdom's rights conditions in Geneva in June.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has demanded that Ghai, who lives in Hong Kong, be sacked after his criticism last year of the government's failure to protect basic liberties.
Other Cambodian senior officials have also lashed out at Ghai, with government spokesperson Khieu Kanharith earlier calling him the "laziest staffer of the United Nations" when asked about the global body's report in 2006.
Khieu Kanharith on Monday declined to comment on Ghai's visit.
The last UN report said Cambodia's government was using systematic rights violations to remain in power, accusing it of refusing to improve its rights record.
Relations between the government and UN rights envoys have historically been poor, with Hun Sen calling Ghai's predecessor Peter Leuprecht "stupid" - a term he also used to describe Ghai, along with "rude" and a "god without virtue."
