UN human rights envoy Yash Ghai spoke about his work in Cambodia with Cambodia Daily reporter Douglas Gillison on Thursday, the concluding day of his third official visit to the country.
Q: As of June 1, you’ve been special representative for exactly 19 months. What progress has Cambodia made in that time?
A: There have been very few changes, and it’s hard to say whether they’ve been the result of my recommendations, because many of the recommendations that I have made have been made in the past by my predecessors, by local and international NGOs, by opposition parties. The amendment to the criminal defamation legislation, which removed the penalty of imprisonment, was something that I had of course recommended. I had recommended a more far-reaching reform of that legislation, which was not really accepted. And the only real gain was that the penalty of imprisonment was abolished.
Q: The last time you were here, you said that from a human rights perspective there had been little improvement in the use of executive power since Untac. Do you stand by that statement?
A: I think so. Everything I’ve heard on this trip seems to confirm that. But I should also say that I did have a very useful meeting with the electoral commission and we discussed many issues that arise in the running of elections. It does seem to be the general view, though I guess not the universal view, that the last elections were conducted in a more peaceful and more fair way than was the case in the previous elections.
Q: Free Trade Union leader Hy Vuthy, who was murdered Feb 24, is the third FTU leader to die in three years. Is freedom of association for trade unionists under threat?
A: One could say that not only is there a threat to their rights, but in fact we know that their rights have been grossly and frequently violated. Why this is happening, I do not know. But it could be to do with the growth of the economy, the struggle for better working conditions. Unfortunately, in many Asian countries the attraction for foreign capital is low wages, a tightly controlled labor force, and this could be part of that general syndrome. There could also be political reasons behind the oppression of the trade union movement. Clearly, trade unionists are also very important spokespersons for human rights. Sometimes that is not always appreciated by those in authority.
Q: In your previous report, you described the government’s abuse of human rights as a means of staying in power. So is the government vulnerable to the criticism of its abuses? Are the two linked?
A: The government of course has been criticized for its disregard of human rights, for the impunity that it gives its friends and officials, and on the other side, the abuse of the law to victimize those who are critical of the government. So this is nothing new. I was not the first and I won’t be the last person to make these comments. So the government does very much lay itself open to attacks on its record on human rights. I’m sure these criticisms do affect the legitimacy of the government, but whether criticism is sufficiently significant from the government’s point of view that it would change its policies is another question.
Q: Last year, your remark that so much power was concentrated in the hands of one individual drew criticism from the premier, who has since refused to meet you. But one response to your reports has been that the government should see them as an opportunity to improve. Would that be best?
A: When I was first appointed, I wrote to the prime minister and made clear that I had taken this position not because of the opportunities to criticize the government, but to engage in a constructive dialogue. I drew to his attention that I had worked on human rights questions from different perspectives, as a scholar, as an adviser to governments, as part of the civil society in many countries…. I thought that maybe my experience would be of assistance in the strengthening of human rights in Cambodia, to which the government says it is committed. So I did try to establish a basis where we could have a constructive relationship, but my offer was not taken up.
