On March 29 and 30 Prime Minister Hun Sen mounted successive attacks on the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia, Professor Yash Ghai. The special representative had just finished his second visit to the country and in a March 28 press conference had painted a dark picture of human rights in Cambodia. He pointed out, among other things, that the judiciary is under executive control and that power is concentrated in the hands of the prime minister. Hun Sen reacted sharply, saying that the envoy does not know what is happening in Cambodia, and using abusive language, called him “deranged” and a “god without virtue” who should be sacked. He went on to call the staff of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia “long-term tourists”.
The effects of these attacks are now being seen. Although there was initially strong international defence of the special representative and OHCHR staff, including by the UN Secretary General and High Commissioner for Human Rights, at home it is a different matter. In a March 31 Voice of America radio interview, the Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith launched a further unprecedented barrage against the OHCHR staff in Cambodia, repeatedly calling them lazy and saying that the entire office should be dismissed. He said that the only benefit of the office was as a source of revenue and employment for Cambodians. He was not interested at all in its importance for the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Cambodia. The minister echoed Hun Sen’s charge that Professor Ghai did not know what was happening and blamed the UN staff in Cambodia for giving wrong information, which he called “an old song” that was good ten years ago.
The minister’s onslaught, like that of his boss, is all bluster without substance. On both visits to Cambodia, Professor Ghai has met many people, including government ministers, political party leaders, diplomats and members of the Constitutional Council and the judiciary, as well as representatives of people’s organisations, trade unions, and bilateral and multilateral development agencies. On this most recent trip he visited two provinces outside the capital: Kompong Speu, where he met with victims of land disputes and evictions; and Battambang, where he met with provincial officials, judges and members of local groups. Khieu Kanharith also conveniently ignored that the OHCHR in Cambodia has had five directors and regular staff changes at all levels since 1993. And while his call for more Cambodian law graduates to be employed there is legitimate, there has already been a growing number of local staff in the office. Meanwhile, the UN must be cautious to ensure that its independence, integrity and expertise are not compromised. Cambodians are living in a climate of heavy fear. As international human rights personnel they may struggle at times to perform the roles demanded of them.
The calls of the prime minister and information minister to dismiss the special representative and UN staff are without justification; however, they are not without significance. Their language and tactics are reminiscent of those used by Pol Pot against the Cambodian people between 1975 and 1978, when he engineered the deaths of millions. Pol Pot lashed out at the “bourgeoisie” and “enemies” in the same manner that Hun Sen and Khieu Kanharith have ranted on at “deranged” critics and their “lazy” colleagues.
The warning of what may come is clear. The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the governments of donor countries and of the state signatories to the Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia, representatives of international agencies and organisations in Cambodia, as well as all members of the international human rights community, to resist strongly any Pol Pot-style action against the UN in Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Sen and Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith must retract their comments and ensure that there are no further outbursts from government officials. A lack of decisive action now will effectively encourage further offensive attacks, which, if allowed to continue may soon cause the work of the special representative and OHCHR to be redundant. At that point, the last obstacle to renewed dictatorship in Cambodia will be removed.
