UN rights envoy says judiciary fails many Cambodians

via Khmer NZ News Media

Thu, 17 Jun 2010

By : dpa

Phnom Penh - The United Nations' human rights envoy to Cambodia said Thursday the country's judiciary is failing in key areas, adding that the government must take action to ensure justice for all.

Wrapping up his 10-day visit to assess the judiciary, Surya Subedi pointedly praised Phnom Penh for introducing a series of important laws in recent years, including an anti-corruption act.

But it was the shortcomings that dominated.

Subedi blamed the judiciary's failings on a number of factors including financial and political interference, as well as a lack of resources and limited knowledge of human rights laws.

"The judiciary is facing tremendous challenges in delivering justice for the people of the country, especially the poor and marginalised," Subedi said, adding that some judges were simply not interested in upholding the law.

Cambodia's crisis of land-grabbing by the powerful was a key theme, with Subedi saying the courts were failing to deal equitably with the scourge.

"If you are poor, weak and dispossessed of your land, you seem to have limited chance to obtain redress," he said.

"They have come to see me, they have gone to knock on other doors, they have gone to queue up outside the residence of the prime minister, so they are knocking on every possible door for justice," he said of the fruitless pursuit of justice by the landless.

Subedi also criticized the government's ongoing efforts to muzzle its critics through the courts. He said the use of defamation lawsuits was disproportionate and had narrowed the space for public discourse.

He called on the government to set out a timetable to implement a series of recommendations to improve the observance of human rights.

Subedi is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report on human rights in Cambodia, and is due to submit his report to the body in September.