Minister Warns UN Over Criticism

Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn on Friday warned the UN’s Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia against criticizing government decisions, deeming it disrespectful to the nation’s sovereignty. Mr. Sokhonn was referring to criticisms made by UN OHCHR country representative Wan-Hea Lee last month over the government’s decision to ban opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has been living in self-imposed exile in France, from returning to Cambodia. Ms. Lee had called on the government to explain its motives, which she called “unjustified and arbitrary,” but added that the government’s explanation would likely be insufficient.
 

“Such comments have crossed the red line of the UN Charter underlining the respect for sovereignty and non-interference as well as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 requiring all official business with the government to be conducted with or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other ministry, not through the media,” Mr. Sokhonn said in a letter sent to UN resident coordinator Claire Van der Vaeren on Friday. Ms. Lee acknowledged the government’s concerns but said explaining their decisions was part of their duty to the international community and to their own citizens.
 

 “At the heart of the matter is the fact that when restrictions are imposed on this or any other human right, the UN human rights committee – and indeed, the Cambodian public – will expect an explanation which Cambodia is obliged to provide through many well established reporting channels. This is not a personal view. These are voluntarily accepted human rights standards and reporting obligations,” she said. The minister added that the OHCHR’s current operations in Cambodia, including that of its country representative, were “not legitimate” because the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Cambodian government and the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights had yet to be renewed.

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