Outgoing UN rights expert advises Cambodian leaders to address democratic deficit

UN expert on human rights in Cambodia Surya Subedi (right) on a visit to the country in May 2012. Photo: OHCHR Cambodia

30 April 2015 – The outgoing United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia today noted that the country has come a long way over the past six years, but advised Government and opposition leaders “to be principled in what they do” to make a liberal democracy a reality for all its people.

“My parting advice to the leaders of the country, both in the Government and the opposition, would be to be principled in what they do,” Surya P. Subedi, said in a statement on completion of his six-year assignment.

Noting that “the reform process and the act of governance should be underpinned by the principles of legitimacy, transparency, consultation, and participatory democracy,” he said Cambodia “reform agenda is not the business of the ruling and opposition parties alone.”

“It is a national agenda to which people from all walks of life should have an opportunity to contribute and have ownership,” the rapporteur said.

“The youth in particular, here in Cambodia as much as elsewhere in the world, are increasingly aware of their rights, and will continue to demand a better life and better performance and accountability from their State institutions to enable that to be achieved,” he said.

Commending Cambodia for having “come a long way during this time,” the rapporteur said but “still has some way to go to meet the international benchmark flowing from the international human rights treaties ratified by the country and to make the ideals of a liberal democracy a reality for its people.”

“For genuine, long-lasting stability in the country, it is crucial that the people of Cambodia feel that they are well served – served, not ruled – by their political representatives,” he said. “The extent to which they feel their interests are served will determine whether they express their will through their representatives or search for other means to do so.”

The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to follow and report on the human rights situation in Cambodia. He is not a UN staff member, does not receive a salary from the United Nations, and does not work for any government or interest group. His task is to assess the human rights situation, report publicly about it, and work with the Government, civil society and others to foster international cooperation in this field. He undertook regularly visits or missions to Cambodia and reports annually to the Human Rights Council.

The Special Rapporteur’s status as an independent expert makes him distinct from the Human Rights Country Office, which is controlled by the High Commissioner for Human Rights and is formally part of the United Nations Secretariat.