UN Human Rights Council must tackle deteriorating human rights situation on the ground
Published on 19 June 2006; Joint Organizations
Today, a historic moment will take place as the newly created United Nations Human Rights Council convenes its first-ever session in Geneva, Switzerland, from 19- 30 June. On this occasion, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development (ADHOC), the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)1 submitted the written statement to the Council to appeal for urgent actions on deteriorating human rights situation in Cambodia.
The statement detailed the day-to-day suffering of the people on the ground. The statement highlighted the worsening violations of human rights, in relation to repressive draft laws, attacks against human rights defenders, the recent cases of brutal forced evictions, widespread arbitrary arrests and detention, and blatant miscarriage of justice by the judiciary. The NGOs requested the Council to monitor the Cambodian government’s performance on human rights under the “Universal Periodic Review”.
“Cambodia is a State Party to 13 international treaties but the government is completely neglecting its human rights responsibilities. There is a huge gap between these international obligations and the reality at the national level,” alerted Thun Saray, president of ADHOC.
“The new Council must reduce the protection gap by taking up country-specific human rights issues to restore the credibility deficit of the previous UN Commission on Human Rights,” emphasised Anselmo Lee, executive director of FORUM-ASIA.
“To date, the government of Cambodia has not taken any follow-up actions to the recent recommendations by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia, as well as the Special Rapporteur on Adequate housing and Human Rights Defenders. Without the Council’s effective mechanism, more victims will suffer on the ground,” warned Kek Galabru, president of LICADHO.
The Council Members include 13 Asian countries of which 10 are Southeast, Northeast and South Asian countries2. Cambodia’s major donors such as China, Japan, and seven western European countries3 are also sitting in the Council.
Thun, Galabru and Lee together insisted that, “These members have special responsibility to ensure an effective human rights protection mechanism in Cambodia.”
For more information, please contact:
▪ Thun Saray of ADHOC (+855 (0)1 688 0509 or adhoc@forum.org.kh),
▪ Kek Galabru of LICADHO (+855 (0)12 802 506, (0)12 940 645 or contact@licadho-cambodia.org)
▪ Anselmo Lee of FORUM-ASIA (+66 (0)1 868 9178 or cambodia@forum-asia.org)
