UN backs local OHCHR office in dispute
The United Nations is standing behind Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights country representative Wan-Hea Lee after a letter signed by Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon accused her of failing to respect Cambodia’s sovereignty. Sokhon had taken umbrage at Lee’s public request for an explanation of the government’s decision to ban opposition leader Sam Rainsy from returning to Cambodia. The letter, sent on November 4, also alluded to OHCHR’s lapsed memorandum of understanding with the Foreign Ministry, declaring the agency’s activities “illegitimate” until a new one was signed, something Sokhon said the government had made a “firm commitment” to. Rupert Colville – a spokesman for High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, who was copied on the letter – said in emailed comments on November 7 that memorandum or not, OHCHR would continue to operate.
