Hun Sen: No ‘applause’ from those seeking ‘regime change’
IN A SPEECH to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said those attempting to bring about regime change in Cambodia “at a ll costs” would never appreciate the Kingdom’s efforts at improving human rights.
“No matter how much ef for t Cambodia makes and the results
it achieves, it will never receive applause or appreciation from groups or institutions t hat have a single politica l agenda – regime change at a l l costs,” he said.
Hun Sen was delivering a speech to the 41st session of the UNHRC at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
“They always denigrate human rights practices in Cambodia, while human rights practices in t heir own countries are f ull of hatred against foreigners, racism and t he ill-treatment of immigrants.
“They are not afraid of implementing double standards i n assessing human rights practices in Cambodia, in order to slow down development and harm Cambodia’s dignit y.
“It is bizarre that Cambodia is urged to promote democracy and the respect of human rights and t he r ule of law, but when aut horities enforce t he law, t hey accuse us of restricting freedom of expression.
“Worse than this, some countries and institutions use human rights in relation to aid and preferentia l trade status to ta ke Cambodia’s economy hostage,” Hun Sen said.
Hun Sen said he regretted that human rights were currently being used by certain influential countries as an instrument to interfere wit h t he sovereignt y and i ndependence of weaker nations.
He said Cambodia was committed to cooperating and working in a constructive partnership with the UN’s human rights bodies and others to promote human rights.
However, he said improving human rights should be considered in
that the group arrived in Phnom Penh in the morning.
He said 32 of them had entered the US as refugees and had lived there for decades. The other five had entered the US much more recently as immigrants.
“As with a l l prev ious groups, K VAO is assist ing in the challenging work of building new lives i n Cambodia. We prov ide basic cultura l orientation and assist in securing needed documents and i n finding appropriate employment making use of their fluency in English and ot her specia lised sk ills,” said Herod.
He said forcible separation from their loved ones makes it difficult for them to adjust to life in Cambodia. It also causes hardships for their families in the US, including, in many cases, partners, children and ageing parents.
“These repatriations may be legal, but they are clearly immoral and counter-productive. We look forward to the day when the law will reflect these realities,” he said.
ICE said removals to Cambodia increased 279 per cent from 2017 to 2018. It admitted that there are currently approximately 1,900 Cambodian nationals present in the US with a final order of removal. 1,400 of them are convicted criminals.
Top Neth, the spokesperson for the General Department of Identification, a division of the General Department of Immigration confirmed that the group had arrived, but he did not have any updates.
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights executive director Chak Sopheap said the group had been doubly punished by being sent to Cambodia after having served time in US prisons.
“When it comes to the deportation of Cambodian Americans, t heir status as refugees must not be sidelined or ignored. The human rights of refugees must be t he first and overriding factor in determining t heir fate,” she said.
She added that in Cambodia, they were at increased risk of falling into poverty, and in numerous cases, the deportees do not fully identify with Khmer culture.
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