VZCZCXRO8688
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0926/01 3510724
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 170724Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1460
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING IMMEDIATE 2586
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE 1705
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000926 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, INL, DRL, PRM 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2019 
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PHUM SNAR CB
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES UIGHURS AND DRUG 
REHABILITATION WITH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SAR KHENG 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 925 
     ¶B. PHNOM PENH 913 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CAROL A. RODLEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Ambassador Rodley met December 17 with 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior (DPM) Sar 
Kheng to discuss the Uighur asylum seekers in Phnom Penh. 
The DPM expressed disappointment at an initial lack of 
cooperation by the local United Nations High Commission for 
Refugees (UNHCR) Office with the Royal Government of Cambodia 
(RGC), but said the RGC and UNHCR were working together now 
to assess the asylum claims of the 20 Uighurs who remain 
under UNHCR protection. He repeated Cambodia's commitment to 
abide by its obligations under the UN Refugee Convention. 
The Ambassador and DPM also discussed the recent dispute 
between the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) and 
the U.S.-supported harm reduction NGO Korsang.  The DPM said, 
for his part, he supported renewing Korsang's license to 
participate in Cambodia's Needle and Syringe Exchange Program 
if no other objections were raised.  Korsang and UNAIDS 
officials fear the license renewal is in jeopardy due to the 
dispute.  END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Protecting Uighur Asylum-Seekers 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) During a December 17 conversation about the Uighur 
asylum-seekers in Phnom Penh, Ambassador Rodley praised the 
RGC's public commitment to upholding its obligations under 
the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 
Protocol.  Ambassador called the substantial media coverage 
of the situation "extremely unfortunate" because it makes the 
protection of those asylum-seekers even more difficult. 
Ambassador emphasized that despite the low profile maintained 
on this issue, the U.S. Government (USG) is following these 
asylum cases very closely and considers them very important. 
Ambassador also related the satisfaction expressed by UNHCR's 
Bangkok representative for RGC measures taken thus far and 
thanked the DPM for his efforts to move the Uighur group to a 
more secure location (Ref A). 
 
¶3.  (C) The DPM expressed disappointment with UNHCR's 
handling of the process, saying the RGC had not received 
close cooperation on the Uighur asylum claims.  He stated his 
belief that the response would have been improved if UNHCR 
had sought to work together with RGC officials from the 
outset.  The DPM said the RGC is preparing for the refugee 
status determination interviews, although a start date has 
not yet been set.  He pledged the RGC "would do our best" to 
make accurate determinations of who were refugees and who 
were not.  He also confirmed that the RGC expected joint 
management of the refugee status determination process with 
UNHCR, in keeping with the operating model that's been in 
place since late 2008. 
 
¶4.  (C) Responding to the Ambassador's question on the 
current state of security for the Uighur group, the DPM said 
his understanding is that there have not been any problems 
with security thus far.  He repeated the December 16 
discovery that two of the Uighur adults were no longer 
present (Ref A), as the group was moving to UNHCR's Site 3. 
(NOTE:  The two Uighurs who departed are still considered to 
be asylum-seekers under UNHCR protection in Cambodia.  END 
NOTE.)  Ambassador expressed the hope that the move would 
address any remaining safety concerns.  The DPM concluded by 
noting the RGC was "on the road" to finding a solution to the 
Uighur problem. 
 
--------------------- 
Treating Drug Addicts 
--------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Ambassador and DPM also discussed the 
development of a dispute between the NACD and harm-reduction 
NGO Korsang, which receives USG support, and provides 24-hour 
needle and syringe exchange services for approximately 1,200 
injection drug users as part of a harm-reduction approach to 
drug treatment and HIV/AIDS prevention in Cambodia.  The NACD 
requested that Korsang volunteer its drug addiction clients 
for participation in a study of the efficacy of a Vietnamese 
substance called "Bong Sen" in treating heroin addiction. 
Korsang reportedly told NACD authorities that its donors' 
terms required assurances from NACD and the Ministry of 
Health about "Bong Sen", the provision of safety data for 
"Bong Sen," and provision of study protocols, ethics board 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000926  002 OF 002 
 
 
approvals, and the documentation of procedures to ensure 
informed and voluntary consent of study participants.  In the 
absence of such evidence, in order to conform with donor 
expectations, Korsang refused participation in the study. 
Korsang and UNAIDS subsequently reported to USAID and Embassy 
officers that NACD officials threatened not to renew 
Korsang's license to participate in Cambodia's needle and 
syringe exchange program. 
 
¶6.  (C) DPM Sar Kheng said his understanding was that a small 
shipment of "Bong Sen" was originally given to Cambodia by a 
Vietnamese deputy prime minister, and that the substance was 
approved by Vietnam's Ministry of Health.  Following that, a 
group of experts from Vietnam arrived in Cambodia to help 
administer a study on the substance's efficacy.  He said 
following NACD's request that Korsang participate, Korsang 
asked for and received letters from Cambodia's Ministry of 
Health as well as NACD officials, but that Korsang still 
refused to participate.  The DPM did not mention any request 
by Korsang for the safety data or other information.  He said 
Korsang should not worry about repercussions from the 
dispute, and that the incident was in the past. 
 
¶6.  (C) Ambassador noted the apparent breakdown in 
communication between Korsang and NACD on what assurances 
were required by Korsang and its donors in order to have 
confidence in the "Bong Sen" study, that both parties likely 
began with good intentions, but the communication 
difficulties led to problems.  Responding to the Ambassador's 
question about the renewal of Korsang license to participate 
in the needle and syringe exchange program, the DPM stated 
his "support in continuing the license, if no other obstacles 
to the renewal are discovered." 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7.  (C) DPM Sar Kheng echoed the RGC's public commitment to 
protecting the Uighur asylum-seekers in Cambodia, which has 
been quite strong thus far.  However, the DPM's comments 
seemed to pull back slightly with the references to being "on 
the road" to a solution.  This may be a reference to the 
external pressure that has increased in recent days.  It may 
also reflect an RGC belief that the group of 20 
asylum-seekers is a mixed bag, with some persons having 
legitimate political asylum claims and some who may not.  The 
DPM's complaints of lack of cooperation by UNHCR also raise 
concerns about UNHCR's local capacity for handling the group. 
 The December 4 public reports of the Uighurs in Cambodia 
which appeared to originate with World Uighur Congress 
representatives in the U.S., as well as other activist 
groups' willingness to use the media to massage the issue, 
could present significant difficulties as the cases move 
forward, particularly if some are denied. 
 
¶8.  (C) Korsang officials said they have held off officially 
requesting the license renewal, but plan to submit it this 
week.  The DPM offered qualified support, but the 
communication problems brought to light by the study dispute 
may well be one of those "other obstacles" that could still 
impede renewal. 
RODLEY