Top UN rights official calls for probe into Cambodian union leader's murder

The top United Nations human rights official today condemned the recent murder of a Cambodian trade union leader and appealed to the Cambodian authorities to do their utmost in order to bring the killers and their masters to justice.

"The highest levels of political leadership in the country must send a clear message that those responsible for this murder will be held to account," said Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan. "The problem of impunity remains a central obstacle to the process of building democratic institutions and advancing the enjoyment of human rights under the rule of law in Cambodia."

Chea Vichea, who presided over the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was shot dead last Thursday, the latest in a series of assassinations and attempted murders of prominent figures in Cambodia over the past year. Mr. Vichea reportedly had received a number of threats to his life in the months prior to his murder.

Pointing also to reports of the murders of a number of local opposition activists in the last six months, Mr. Ramcharan said, "All States have an obligation to protect their citizens from arbitrary deprivation of life, and must be active in providing this protection where an individual has faced serious threats."

He said a thorough and impartial investigation must be publicly established and undertaken, identifying both those who were responsible for the killing of Mr. Vichea, as well as those who ordered it.

"It is hoped that the prosecutions will take place in a fully transparent manner, in accordance with the due process guarantees contained in the Cambodian Constitution and the international human rights conventions to which Cambodia is a party," Mr. Ramcharan said.