VZCZCXRO2042
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0455 0810657
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 220657Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8227
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 0381
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1585

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000455 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, ISN/WMDT, AND T--TIM KATSAPIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER KNNP MCAP PINR PINS PARM PREL CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA SAYS YES TO GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT 
NUCLEAR TERRORISM 
 
REF: STATE 21284 
 
¶1.  On March 21, Ambassador and Russian Ambassador Valery 
Tereshchenko jointly presented the demarche on the Global 
Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (reftel) to Cambodian 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong.  The Foreign 
Minister reiterated Cambodia's commitment to fighting 
terrorism, describing terrorism not as a crime against an 
individual or a country but as a crime against humanity and 
noting that Cambodia had established a national committee to 
fight terrorism.  Cambodia will join the Global Initiative, 
he indicated, and he will ask the Council of Ministers to 
draft a letter formally indicating their desire to join. 
Post will notify the Department when we receive this letter. 
 
¶2.  Speaking on other matters, the Foreign Minister 
attributed the relative calm in this pre-election period to 
the increasing "political maturity" of the Cambodian people. 
Hor Namhong reacted positively when both ambassadors noted 
that they would be sending staff to monitor the elections. 
The Foreign Minister expressed some dismay that the Cambodia 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights focused 
so exclusively on issuing reports, when their Memorandum of 
Understanding with the Cambodian government said that they 
would be engaged in efforts to educate people about human 
rights.  Respect for human rights cannot be imposed, he 
added, and must be based on greater awareness.  The Russian 
Ambassador offered that he had urged UN human rights envoy 
Yash Ghai to pay more attention to the positive developments 
in Cambodia. 
MUSSOMELI