Cambodia says it will shun meetings with UN special human rights envoy

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A visiting U.N. envoy was shunned by Cambodia's government Monday after he accused the country's courts and administrators of failing to uphold human rights and justice.
Yash Ghai, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia, said many Cambodians live in constant fear of being swindled and mistreated by authorities.
"Fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts describes the plight of numerous communities and families in Cambodia," said Ghai, who was winding up a 10-day fact-finding mission in which he toured several areas of the country.
He spoke at an event marking International Human Rights Day.
Ghai's past criticisms have angered the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, which has dismissed them as untrue.
"Yash Ghai is a long-term tourist to Cambodia. He speaks as he is paid (by the U.N.) to speak and he has no competence to solve human rights problems in Cambodia," said police Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which also oversees the police force.
Because of Ghai's criticism, government officials will not meet him, Khieu Sopheak said. He said the government always respects human rights and promotes justice.
Ghai said he regretted not being able to meet any government officials despite his earlier request to see several, including Hun Sen.
He said he had met victims of land disputes and housing evictions who "have little faith" in the courts to address their problems.
Ghai, a persistent critic of the human rights situation in Cambodia, said many poor villagers have been evicted from their land by commercial developers and have no means of protecting themselves and their livelihood.
In a report Monday, Licadho, a prominent private human rights group, accused the Cambodian court system of failing to uphold justice, despite millions of dollars (euros) provided by foreign aid donors over the past 15 years for reforms.
It said the courts continue to be used to persecute the government's critics and political opponents and protect the economic interests of the rich and powerful, while allowing parties acting on behalf of the state to commit abuses without fear of punishment.
In the past 15 years, "there has been no progress whatsoever in the single most important issue affecting the courts, (which is the) lack of independence from political and financial influence," it said.
"While reform of the courts is undoubtedly in the best interests of the Cambodian people, it is not seen by the Cambodian government as being in its best interests," the report said.