By Lauren Crothers
PHNOM PENH
A United Nations human rights envoy to Cambodia, Surya Subedi, wrapped up his twelfth and final mission to the country Friday with a parting message that although Cambodia is a “forward-moving country” attention must be paid to the reform of the judiciary and the quashing of racial tensions.
In prepared remarks delivered to the media at a press conference at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Phnom Penh on Friday afternoon, Mr Subedi—a Nepalese law professor based in the United Kingdom—said State institutions are failing to properly uphold people’s rights and are “still lacking accountability and transparency.”
“So far, the courts of Cambodia have not delivered justice in the way demanded by all Cambodians,” he said, citing the failure to prosecute state-sanctioned shootings in January 2014 and the freedom enjoyed by a former governor who is on the run for shooting into a crowd of people, despite a prison conviction.
“There have been too many human rights violations taking place without anyone being held responsible,” he said, adding that the “culture of impunity” was “troubling” for him.
He cited mounting racial tensions as a key concern moving forward; “[T]here should be no room in Cambodian politics for racism, xenophobia and discrimination of any kind,” he urged.
He said that Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy has made repeated remarks that negatively target the Vietnamese people since his return from exile in June 2013, and the number of seemingly racially motivated attacks has risen, including the torching of Vietnamese shops during garment strikes in January 2014, and mob killing of a Vietnamese man a month later.
Subedi’s mandate began in March 2009, when he was appointed as a replacement to his predecessor, Kenyan law professor Yash Ghai, who stepped down Sep. 2008 after three years at the post following a number of criticisms from Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Ghai’s predecessor, Austrian law professor Peter Leuprecht, also endured repeated attacks on his character and work and stepped down one year shy of the end of his mandate.
Subedi said in his remarks that he was glad to have been able to complete the six years, though these were not without their ups and downs, including the occasional frosty reception or cancellation of meetings.
“I was subject to harassment and intimidation, but I remained principled,” he told reporters in response to a question about his tenure.
He said he had also experienced a number of sleepless nights when thinking about the mistreatment of poor and downtrodden Cambodians at the hands of other Cambodians, often the rich and powerful.
“That deeply troubled me,” he said.
