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Human rights in Cambodia could be undermined by economic policies - UN

Human rights in Cambodia could be undermined by economic policies - UN

Government policies to reduce poverty in Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world, are not in line with the country's obligations to improve human rights, a situation that calls for informed public debate, a senior United Nations official says in a report released today.

Government policies to reduce poverty in Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world, are not in line with the country's obligations to improve human rights, a situation that calls for informed public debate, a senior United Nations official says in a report released today.

"Policies and strategies allegedly aimed at reducing poverty have been developed without sufficient regard for Cambodia's obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and are hampered by problems of disbursement in the education and health sectors," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for human rights in Cambodia, Peter Leuprecht, says.

"Many problems persist in the delivery of the right to housing, such as forced evictions and the lack of adequate shelter for displaced Cambodians."

The National Assembly elections of July 2003, the third since the 1991 peace agreement, was better run and marked an important step in establishing a multiparty democracy. He expresses concern, however, about intimidation, vote buying and violence during the electoral campaign and a "perception among many state actors and institutions that criticism of the government may amount to criminal incitement."

Cambodia was set to become one of the first two least developed countries to complete its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), a move that "may adversely impact on the fulfilment of its human rights obligations," he says. "(The Special Representative) believes that there is a need for informed public debate on this issue."

Cambodia has an annual per person gross national income of $260 and is ranked 130th out of the 174 countries surveyed in the UN's "Human Development Report 2003," Mr. Leuprecht notes.

He adds, however, that the way in which trade liberalization in a WTO framework could help to eradicate poverty would depend on its form, pace and sequencing. Present areas of concern included the health-care system and related issues, like intellectual property rights.

"Some observers have commented that opening the country's health-care system to foreign health-care providers and drug companies could damage efforts to establish a viable health-care system for all," Mr. Leuprecht writes. "The introduction of intellectual property protection might also negatively affect drug prices and availability. The impact of agricultural trade liberalization could also have an adverse effect on rural lifestyles, rural employment and food security."

Large land concessions given to private companies and leading to the illegal clearing of primary forest was eroding the living standards of the 80 per cent of the population who still live in rural areas, he says, but most concessionaires failed to pay the government the required rents.

In addition, the justice system was accommodating both anonymity and impunity, especially when the perpetrators were people of political and economic influence, Mr. Leuprecht says, while the administration of justice received inadequate funds.

"Judges often hand down significant sentences for very minor offences and prosecutors often seek even higher sentences, while the criminal justice system frequently fails to deal with more grave offences," he says.