A/HRC/21/35
clinics. OHCHR continues to monitor multiple resettlement sites included in an internal
study entitled “Eviction and resettlement in Cambodia: human costs, impacts and
solutions”, in which the Office examines several examples of evictions and relocation, both
positive and negative, and analyses their impact on the living conditions of affected
families. The study was shared with the Government for comment; input was received from
the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Reconstruction. OHCHR also
monitors the Rehabilitation of the Railway Project in cooperation with the authorities, the
Asian Development Bank and the communities concerned.
V. Rule of law
42.
Progress on legal and judicial reform was slow during the reporting period. The
Ministry of Justice and the courts continued to suffer from a serious lack of resources.
Respect for the rule of law was also hampered by ongoing credible allegations of
interference by the executive in the court system, and of widespread corruption. As a result,
impunity for serious human rights violations continued, and public confidence in the
criminal justice system did not improve. Despite indications early in 2012 to the contrary,
the process of adoption of the fundamental laws envisaged in the Constitution of 1993
(namely the Law on the Functioning and Organization of the Courts, the Law on Statute of
Judges and Prosecutors and the Law on the Functioning and Organization of the Supreme
Council of the Magistracy) remained stalled, for reasons that are unclear. OHCHR remains
of the view that the administration of justice in Cambodia will improve only when these
laws in place.
43.
Despite these challenges, the OHCHR Rule of Law Programme has continued to
assist the authorities, lawyers and non-governmental organizations in their efforts to
improve the protection of human rights in Cambodia through the legal system.
44.
OHCHR plays an important role in strengthening the rule of law by encouraging the
ratification of international human rights instruments. To this end, the Rule of Law
Programme continued to provide advice to the Government, which announced its intention
to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In order to raise
awareness about the Convention, especially among persons with disabilities, OHCHR
published simplified and audio versions of the Convention. OHCHR has also given several
presentations on the Convention to civil society actors.
45.
Given that the issue of the protection of Cambodian migrant workers abroad has
attracted much attention over the past year, the Rule of Law Programme had the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families translated into Khmer. The publication was launched in March
2012 during an event organized in cooperation with the United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and chaired by the Minister for
Women’s Affairs. The event was attended by a wide range of stakeholders, including
Government officials, representatives of civil society, recruitment agencies and trade
unions, and journalists. A member of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families also participated. Following the event,
the authorities indicated that interministerial discussions would be held on the possibility of
Cambodia ratifying the Convention. Lastly, the Rule of Law Programme encouraged the
Government to consider the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights concerning the abolition of the death penalty, in line
with universal periodic review recommendations. At the request of the Government,
OHCHR organized a technical briefing of Government officials on the provisions of the
First and Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, and the Third Optional Protocol to the
convention on the Rights of the Child.
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