CHIEFS OF MISSION MEET NEW UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000426

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS, P, D, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL CB
SUBJECT: CHIEFS OF MISSION MEET NEW UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The new UN Special Rapporteur for Human
Rights in Cambodia, Professor Surya Subedi, made his first
visit to Cambodia June 15-26, and met with the heads of
several foreign missions on June 19, including Ambassador
Rodley. Subedi has billed this first visit as a "listening
tour," and an opportunity to gain operational knowledge of
the human rights issues in Cambodia to accompany his academic
expertise. He provided a summary of his first meeting with
Prime Minister Hun Sen, and sought advice from the chiefs of
mission on implementing his mandate and initiating a
constructive dialogue with the Royal Government of Cambodia
(RGC). The Ambassadors urged Subedi to cooperate with civil
society and encourage the RGC to work closely with civil
society, and stressed the importance of striking a balance
between building personal relationships with contacts and
speaking publicly about issues of concern. END SUMMARY.

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Subedi Meets Hun Sen
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2. (SBU) Professor Subedi gave a readout of his meetings
with senior RGC officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, and the Chairman of
the RGC's Human Rights Commission Om Yentieng. He
characterized the two-hour meeting with Hun Sen as
constructive. He raised concerns with the PM about land
issues, the RGC's fractious relationship with civil society,
and the need for an independent judiciary, but kept the tone
positive. Subedi said he hoped for a second set of meetings
with the PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs before departing
Cambodia, in order to discuss and agree upon a plan of action
for future visits. (NOTE: A wrap-up meeting with the Foreign
Minister to discuss areas for mutual cooperation turned into
a courtesy call. END NOTE.) Subedi said that in each of his
meetings with senior officials he has asked how he could help
those officials, emphasizing his ability to see both sides of
the human rights issues based on his experience as both a
government employee (in Nepal's Ministry of Law and Justice)
and as an international human rights activist.


3. (SBU) In public comments, the PM welcomed Professor
Subedi to Cambodia, but coupled his welcome with a warning.
He indicated it would be easy to work with the new UN envoy
as long as Subedi didn't listen to "ignorant" people. The
Foreign Minister echoed those comments, and stated the RGC's
interest in reviewing the envoy's official reports to the UN
before submission, in order to "check them for balance."

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Ambassadors Offer Advice
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4. (SBU) In their June 19 meeting with Professor Subedi,
Ambassadors from Japan, France, Great Britain, and the United
States welcomed Subedi to Cambodia, expressing support for
his mandate and congratulations on getting off to a positive
start. In response to the new envoy's request for advice,
the Ambassadors offered their thoughts on how Subedi could be
most effective in his role. The Japanese and French
Ambassadors urged Subedi to talk with NGOs, promote
cooperation between the RGC and civil society, and attempt to
work through the bad feelings that persist between the RGC
and NGOs. The British Ambassador expressed optimism that
Subedi was prepared to take on the very tough role as Special
Rapporteur, and voiced concern over the Foreign Minister's
desire to review the envoy's reports before submission.


5. (SBU) Ambassador Rodley told Subedi he was off to a good
start, and she was glad to see his optimism because it would
be needed. She emphasized the importance of building strong
personal relationships with contacts, and working through
those relationships to achieve goals, especially on the very
difficult cases. She said striking a balance between the
need to comment publicly on issues of concern and the need to
work on a private, personal basis with contacts was crucial.
She illustrated that balancing act highlighting her recent
public comments at an anti-corruption concert followed by
subsequent private meetings with officials to understand
their "allergic reaction" to her comments.


6. (SBU) Subedi thanked the Ambassadors for their thoughts,
and acknowledged that his role would be challenging. He
commented that he well understood the importance of NGOs,
especially in developing countries, and had already met with
6 groups of various NGOs to solicit their input as well. He
said he planned to keep a professional, polite attitude in

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all his interactions with the RGC. He said his objectivity
and independence came first and foremost; he would listen to
and accept RGC input for his reports, but be honest and not
allow the RGC to dictate the content of those reports. He
said his mandate was independent of that for the UN Office
for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR),and
refused to be drawn into the conflicts that persist between
the RGC and UNOHCHR. (NOTE: The RGC has a long-standing
objection to the UNOHCHR office. Subedi's visit caused this
issue to surface again; the RGC commented publicly several
times on allegations that Country Representative Christophe
Peschoux attempted in 1999 to take accused Tuol Sleng chief
Kaing Guek Eav, aka Duch, to stand trial in Belgium, rather
than wait for establishment of a Tribunal in Cambodia. END
NOTE.) Subedi ended by saying his job was to point out the
international obligations that Cambodia had willingly assumed
when signing on to various human rights treaties, and report
on Cambodia's success in meeting those obligations.

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COMMENT
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7. (SBU) Professor Subedi is off to a better start than
could be expected, given the RGC's treatment of the previous
UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Kenyan
law professor Yash Ghai. The PM refused to meet Ghai, and
the strong criticism contained in Ghai's December 2007 report
to the UN prompted the PM to call him "deranged." Ghai
resigned in September 2008, but was effectively banned from
Cambodia in March 2008 when a Ministry of Foreign Affairs
instruction to its embassies overseas required visa requests
from Ghai to be submitted directly to the MFA, where they sat
without further action. The UN Human Rights Council renewed
the special procedures mandate for Cambodia in October 2008,
but changed it from Special Representative of the
Secretary-General to Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights
Council. As such, Subedi now reports directly to the Human
Rights Council. Professor Subedi's commitment to
professional interaction is a positive first step in his
mandate, although this first visit may be something of a
honeymoon period. The true test may come during future
visits and Subedi's first required report to the UN, which is
due in September 2009.
RODLEY