‘Bullying’ of OHCHR decried
she shared the government’s disappointment with the way her comments were reported.
Then, on Friday, Sokhon issued a fresh salvo, writing an open letter to UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein threatening to shutter OHCHR’s Cambodia office if it did not sign the MoU by December 30.
Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director Phil Roberts o n y e s t e rda y de s c r i be d Sokhon’s letter as presenting “a challenge to the entire UN mandate on human rights”.
“The UN and government donors need to fight tenaciously to defend this office because Cambodia’s rights record has taken a huge dive for the worse,” Robertson said via email. “The loss of the office would be a disaster for Cambodian civil society, tearing down the last international barrier to Hun Sen’s predatory attacks on anyone who dares raise their voice against his schemes.
“[ The government is] playing both a short and a long game, aiming to either get the office out now or setting it up so it is easier to get the office out later.”
Andrea Giorgetta, director of the Southeast Asia desk for the International Federation for Human Rights, echoed Robertson’s call for the international community to speak out, and said that the loss of the OHCHR country office “would have disastrous consequences for the Cambodian people”.
Sam Zarifi, regional director for the International Commission of Jurists, said in an email that Sokhon’s letter was “a pretty blatant attempt at bullying the international community” into muting its criticism of the government.
“It’s crucial for the entire UN mechanism and its Member States . . . [to] stand up to the Cambodian gover nment’s bullying,” Zarifi said, while noting that closing the OHCHR field office would do little to hamper the UN’s ability to monitor the human rights situation in Cambodia.
Meanwhile, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani
The UN and government donors need to fight tenaciously to defend this office
said discussions with the government were ongoing: “The presence of OHCHR in any country depends on the agreement of the host country and we are looking forward to continuing to discuss with the Government the continuing presence of OHCHR in the country.”