Asian countries defend Cambodia after UN envoy critique
The U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia on September 28 hit the country with a growing list of criticisms over alleged human rights abuses, which Cambodia parried with the apparent support of neighboring states, including Burma, Laos, Thailand and China. Rhona Smith, in a presentation at a U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva, updated a report previously prepared in May with a litany of concerns over recent political events. She wrote in May that “without genuine conciliatory efforts by the two main political parties…the situation of human rights in Cambodia could well deteriorate further in the months ahead.” On September 28, she said: “There has undoubtedly been further escalation.” Doubts about the independence of Cambodia’s justice system are only mounting, Ms. Smith said, with pending cases and convictions disproportionately affecting opposition politicians and rights activists.
