Statement by Mr. Ros Visal

United Nations Human Rights Conferences in New York, December 11, 2009

Statement by Mr. Ros Visal, Sam Rainsy Party of Pennsylvania, USA

The United Nations was established as a body for facilitating international cooperation in law, security, economic development, social progress, human rights and conflict resolution. I am here today to discuss the challenges that we in Cambodia face on each of these points. As a member of the opposition political party, the views that I will share here would be dangerous to speak of in much of my home country. But I believe it is important for the truth to be heard.

Cambodians appreciate the democratic government structure that has been put in place since the UN's engagement with our country twenty years ago. Unfortunately, the political party that has ruled the country for that entire time has done more harm than good to our nation. Today I would like to share with you the most pressing threats to the well-being of our citizens, and the serious failures of the Cambodian government to properly manage our struggles.

Let us begin with the concrete examples of forced evictions and the abuse of property rights. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, military police and civilian police officers armed with guns and lethal weapons, have been forcing tens of thousands of our citizens off of their farmland and from their urban homes. The government is engaged in a nation-wide scheme to install large agribusiness projects and commercial development. To accomplish this goal, they physically force thousands of families to leave their homes, their farms and their livelihoods. In their place, they plant the business ventures of foreign companies.

The entire process has felt like a nightmare that will never end. If a relocation site is offered, it often does not have schools or clean drinking water. Often sites are not offered, and small farmers are forced to live in make-shift tents along the side of roads. Livestock starve and die. Children become malnourished and listless. More than a quarter million of our citizens have been victims of government sponsored land grabbing. This is unconstitutional, of course, but the law is applied only to benefit the already wealthy and well connected. In a perversion of justice, the people typically sent to jail are not the thieves, but the farmers who attempt to defend access to the land they have been tilling for decades. Many of our citizens have been killed while trying to defend their plots of land from government take-over.

And what happens in our courts? Nothing. What is labeled "the justice system" in Cambodia has little to do with defending the rights of our citizens, and more to do with justifying the crimes of the powerful. Innocent people are falsely prosecuted for crimes, and high ranking government officials are above the law. Impunity is sadly the rule rather than the exception. The gravest of crimes - murder, torture, rape, the trafficking of women and children - go unpunished if the perpetrators have money or influential connections. Cambodia's justice system would be better called a justification system. Corruption is common in the police and behind the bench, and decisions regularly follow the instructions of the ruling political party.

Under such a sloppy legal regime, nothing could be easier than abusing human rights and getting away with it. As in many other semi-authoritarian states across the globe, Cambodian citizens, politicians and journalists who criticize the government face intimidation and violence. Labor leaders, community activists and journalists have been murdered, and their families sent into hiding. Many have no option but to leave the country.

In a legitimately democratic state, social problems would be debated, and the society would work together to determine solutions. In Cambodia, voices that question or criticize are silenced. The government consistently establishes rules and enacts policies to deny speech. Critics are thrown into jail, newspapers are forced to close their doors through intimidation, legal defenders of human rights are debarred, the legal rights of vocal Members of Parliament are stripped away, the size of demonstrations are restricted. At the core of a legitimate democracy lies a commitment to solving problems through mutual dialogue. At the core of the Cambodian government lies a commitment to push through what it wants while silencing any voices of dissent. While freedom of speech has never been particularly strong in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia, the situation has worsened in recent years. Many of us believe that the country faces the gravest threats we have seen to democratic development, and the future seems most likely to bring further deterioration, unless a different course is taken than what has become standard practice.

All of these points contribute to a larger conclusion, that the Kingdom of Cambodia, under its current leadership, is not a legitimate democracy, but rather a semi-authoritarian state. 1991 was a watershed year in our nation's history. It was then that the Paris Peace Agreement was signed, ending a decade of violence that followed the terrible years of the Khmer Rouge. In 1991, all the relevant parties agreed to work towards the advancement of the Cambodian nation and people, without discrimination or prejudice, and with full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. All of the rival political groups in Cambodia signed this pledge, as did the Secretary General of the United Nations, the United States of America and 18 other nations. The Cambodian People's Party, the current ruling party, has failed to follow through on its promise to the world. It has neither respected the rule of law nor kept the public well-being as its central goal. Rather, the party views the Kingdom of Cambodia as a fiefdom in which its word is unquestionable, and they back this up with force against their own citizens.

I do not believe that my country has to look like this forever. This is why I am involved with an opposition political party. I believe that with a public-minded leadership and the support of the United Nations, Cambodia's future could be bright and promising. To this end, we request the United Nations to continue their focus on Cambodia, particularly to monitor human rights abuses and to ensure the safety of Cambodian human rights activists. We need to draft and implement a human rights law, and would appreciate your support in that effort. We also believe that the UN has a role to play in pressuring the Cambodian government to accept opposition groups as legitimate actors in building a stronger Cambodia. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today, and look forward to continued engagement with the UN on securing the rights of every Cambodian citizen.