VZCZCXRO9851
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #1871/01 2890633
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 160633Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7460
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1540
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2180

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 001871 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL AND EAP/RSP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT AND NGOS BEGIN EFFORT TO FORM 
A NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  Prime Minister Hun Sen opened a two-day 
meeting in Siem Riep September 26-27 by asking NGOs to draft 
legislation to create a national human rights commission in 
one year.  Members of civil society, Cambodian lawmakers, 
government officials and foreign observers participated in 
the debate over the proposed commission's mandate.  The NGOs 
left the conference skeptical about the RGC's motivations as 
well as divided over keys points. Nevertheless, they are 
willing to attempt to craft an impartial, transparent, yet 
empowered new body.  End Summary. 
 
PM Challenges NGOs to Establish New Commission 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (U)  From September 26-27, Kem Sokha's Cambodia Center 
for Human Rights (CCHR) sponsored a conference in Siem Reap 
aimed at evaluating the potential for Cambodia to become the 
fifth ASEAN country to establish a national human rights 
commission.  Prime Minister Hun Sen began the meeting by 
asking NGOs to draft a law to establish the National Human 
Rights Commission within six months.  He then asked members 
of the National Assembly present at the meeting to help pass 
the legislation in six months so the new body could be up and 
running in one year's time.  In response to suspicions 
regarding the RGC's intent, the PM stressed that respect for 
human rights can only be fostered in a stable and peaceful 
environment.  The PM rhetorically argued that such a body 
could not have been established during the Khmer Rouge era, 
during the 1980s, or in today's Iraq.  Hun Sen thought his 
government should be thanked for bringing about the 
conditions that allowed such a commission to be formed in 
Cambodia. 
 
Beginning of the Debate 
------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U)  Om Yentieng, Chairperson of the Cambodian Human 
Rights Committee as well as an adviser to the Prime Minister, 
stressed that the new institution would not replace any of 
the four existing human rights bodies: the National 
Assembly's Human Rights Commission, the Prime Minister's 
Cambodian Human Rights Committee, the Senate Human Rights 
Committee, or the NGO-led Cambodian Human Rights Action 
Committee (CHRAC).  He reiterated that the new institution 
will be established by a law to be passed by the National 
Assembly and the law should be in accordance with the 
Cambodian Constitution and the Paris Principles.  He repeated 
the Prime Minister's one-year timetable, noting the laws of 
the four existing ASEAN human rights institutions in 
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have 
already been translated into Khmer.  LICADHO's Kek Galabru 
stressed that the new human rights commission should have 
political independence, cooperate with existing state 
institutions, be accessible to the public, and have 
pluralistic representation while being transparent and 
effective.  She wanted commissioners to be able to issue 
arrest warrants but not function as a court, be able to visit 
prisons, and have a sufficient budget and resources to do 
their jobs. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Thun Saray of ADHOC envisions a commission that is 
enshrined in the Cambodian Constitution, has members who are 
not members of any political party, and has an autonomous 
budget.  He also warned that it was imperative that judicial 
reform accompany the establishment of the national human 
rights institution.  Pen Panha, the Chairperson of the Human 
Rights Commission of the National Assembly, stated that a 
constitutional amendment is not necessary because the preface 
to the Constitution guarantees human rights. 
 
Reports from Other ASEAN Human Rights Commissions 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5.  (U)  Dr. Petcharamesree, an expert on the Thai 
commission, stated that the commission was enshrined in the 
constitution of Thailand, was still operating despite the 
recent coup, and included 11 members who have six-year 
mandates.  In her opinion, the major problems with the Thai 
commission are that it has no power to summon witnesses and 
its budget is part of the national budget (making it subject 
to possible Parliamentary interference).  Mr. Darusman, a 
member of the Indonesian human rights commission, noted that 
the establishment of a human rights commission in Indonesia 
has broken a climate of impunity by the state bureaucracy and 
the military.  Human rights violations can be resolved in 
Indonesian courts and a human rights policy has become 
engrained in the government. 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001871  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U)  Mr. Subramaniam, a member of the Malaysian human 
rights commission, explained that the Malaysian commission is 
enshrined in an act of parliament, not the constitution; the 
commission in Malaysia is organized on a thematic basis with 
17 commissioners divided into four areas: education, 
investigation and complaints, economics, and law and reform. 
He asserted that he was very proud of the work that the 
commission had done incorporating human rights into education 
in Malaysia.  He also noted that the commission in Malaysia 
has the right to call anyone in for questioning.  Dr. 
Valera-Quisumbing, Chairperson of the Human Right Commission 
of the Philippines, stated that their commission is enshrined 
in their constitution with five commissioners who serve 
seven-year terms.  She said the commission has the power to 
investigate violations upon complaint or on its own 
initiative, and has the power to call domestic and overseas 
Filipinos for questioning.  She also indicated that the 
results of its investigations must go to courts and that her 
commission has created centers of excellence in children's 
rights, women's rights and village rights. 
 
¶7.  (U)  Stephen Clark, project manager for the Asia-Pacific 
Forum, and Ms. Marianne Haugaard, from the Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights' Geneva office, spoke about the 
support that their organizations can provide in helping 
establish a national human rights institution.  They 
discussed the Paris Principles on which such a body should be 
based.  They emphasized that such a body must be independent 
and transparent.  They also stated that establishing such a 
body is not an end in itself but a step in a long-term battle 
to respect human rights. 
 
Constitutional Amendment or Organic Law? 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U)  Participants later divided into four groups to 
discuss their ideas on the establishment of a human rights 
commission.  The groups agreed that commissioners should be a 
diverse group, independent from all political parties, and 
should have diverse funding sources (the national budget as 
well as foreign donors).  The participants also agreed that 
the commission should have broad responsibilities in the 
areas of education and investigations.  Agreement was also 
reached that commissioners should have immunity during their 
tenure. 
 
¶9.  (U)  NGOs and government officials disagreed, however, on 
the commission having the power to protect witnesses and 
their families.  Disagreement broke out between the members 
of civil society and the government regarding the 
commission's legal basis: should it be a part of the 
Cambodian Constitution or part of an organic law?  Members 
also disagreed over the length of a term for commission 
members as well as if the commission should set up a special 
human rights court or work within the existing legal system. 
LICADHO pressed to have the assets of commission members and 
their families disclosed. 
 
¶10.  (U)  Despite several areas of disagreement, those 
assembled resolved to establish a national human rights 
commission based on the Paris Principles.  The delegates also 
agreed to create a joint working group with representatives 
from government and NGOs that would engage with other members 
of civil society to draft the necessary laws for the 
commission.  However, NGOs continued to press for any 
legislation to be included in the Constitution arguing that 
the current government can rescind legislation at any time 
because it holds a majority in the National Assembly.  Om 
Yentieng argued that amending the Constitution was not 
possible in a timely manner because only the King, Prime 
Minister, President of the National Assembly, or President of 
the Senate can propose amendments.  By asking civil society 
to draft the legislation for the national human rights body. 
Om Yentieng said the PM had shown "the necessary political 
will" and asked the NGOs to trust the PM about the future of 
this body.  The PM's advisor recommended that an expert on 
the Paris Principles be brought in to educate the members of 
the working group charged with drafting the law.  He also 
recommended studying the four existing ASEAN commissions and 
India's commission because it has prosecutorial power. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  Since the end of the conference, the heads of 
five NGOs - CCHR, LICADHO, ADHOC, Cambodian Defenders' 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001871  003 OF 003 
 
 
Project and Star Kampuchea - have been named as the civil 
society members of the joint working group to establish the 
new body.  It must be noted that this group is made up of 
only one lawyer.  The government, however has not announced 
who will be its representatives for this joint working group. 
 NGO leaders remain hesitant over the prospect of joining the 
proposed commission once it is established; some have denied 
any intentions to become commissioners while others have 
adopted a wait-and-see approach.  Though many government 
officials and NGOs believe meeting the PM's one-year deadline 
will be difficult, crafting this legislation at a deliberate 
rather than a rapid pace may be desirable in this instance. 
The RGC's excuse that such a commission cannot be embedded in 
the country's constitution due to the lengthy time to pass a 
constitutional amendment is a dodge; the RGC passed an 
amendment putting in place a 50 percent plus one majority in 
the National Assembly in less than two month's time when it 
was convenient for the RGC to do so for political purposes. 
The local UN Human Rights Office notes that even if the law 
establishing a national human rights commission is enacted, 
such a body cannot fulfill its mandate in a vacuum; other 
institutions and laws must exist and the weakness of the 
Cambodian government is an impediment.  We worry too, that 
the PM wants to establish a national commission to bolster 
his argument that the UN Human Rights Office should be 
closed.  End Comment. 
 
 
 
 
 
MUSSOMELI