PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – United Nations human rights envoy Rhona Smith concluded her fact-finding visit here yesterday by praising what she called the government’s support for her mandate, while raising concerns about potential threats to human rights.
Throughout the week, Ms. Smith struck a moderate tone, pledging to work with the government to advance human rights. She called her meetings “frank and informative” and refrained from criticizing the Kingdom’s record. Instead, she highlighted certain areas that could be improved.
Ms. Smith emphasized the importance of judicial reform. She met with Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana this week to stress the need for an independent judiciary.
“I concur with the view expressed that further strengthening the rule of law, developing and ensuring the independence of those bodies with specific roles in the protection of human rights, particularly the judiciary, is essential for building the stable democratic nation that Cambodians aspire to live in,” she said.
During a meeting with Ms. Smith on Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his concern about ethnic discrimination. Yesterday, Ms. Smith echoed his sentiment, saying that “the potential for discrimination to undermine respect for human rights is omnipresent.”
She praised the “frank exchanges on the progress and challenges of land concessions,” and encouraged a “continued review of concessions.”
Seeking “Balance”
Ms. Smith largely avoided the political landmines that could rankle the government. She only briefly touched on the controversial Law on Associations and NGOs (Lango), as well as cyber and trade union legislation that is currently being drafted. After Lango was passed, rights groups described the next round of laws as a continued attempt to squelch dissent.
Ms. Smith, however, was cautious in her concern, calling for a “balance” between maintaining public order and protecting freedoms.
“There are circumstances in accordance with international human rights law when it’s legitimate to limit the actions of NGOs or to require forms of registration and when it might be legitimate to limit freedoms in social media,” she told reporters. “I don’t see the passing of laws as being necessarily contradictory to pledges of cooperation.”
The rapporteur also appeared to avoid confronting officials from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party about the arrests of opposition members. She told reporters that the prime minister had mentioned arrests “in passing,” but that she had not brought these up with him. She did not have time to discuss with Interior Minister Sar Kheng the situation of Montagnards fleeing persecution in Vietnam, she said. The government has taken a hard line against the asylum seekers, calling them economic, and not political, refugees.
A New Tune
While saying that she agreed with many of her predecessor’s findings, Ms. Smith’s tone yesterday was in marked contrast with the final words of the previous rapporteur, Surya Subedi. At the culmination of his six-year term, Mr. Subedi criticized the government for what he called its lack of progress.
“Many of the state institutions responsible for upholding people’s rights are unfortunately still lacking accountability and transparency needed to command the trust and confidence of the people,” he said. “There have been too many human rights violations taking place without anyone being held responsible.”
Just beginning her mandate, Ms. Smith was more reserved, thanking the government for giving her access and pledging their support.
She will speak to the UN’s Human Rights Council next week and will release a report on the Kingdom’s human rights situation. Written in June, the report will not include this week’s findings.