A/HRC/18/47
advised the relevant authorities in several instances to ensure due process of law, which
resulted in the release of several of these individuals.
41.
For forcibly evicted communities, OHCHR continues to advocate for the adoption of
a policy on resettlement to improve current practices. This recommendation is in part based
on an extensive assessment conducted by OHCHR, entitled “Eviction and resettlement in
Cambodia: human costs, impacts and solutions,” which examines several examples of
evictions and relocation, both positive and negative, and analyses their impacts on the
living conditions of the affected families with regard to access to housing, water, education
and health care, and on the opportunity to generate income and recreate a livelihood. The
particular effects on women and children are highlighted. The study has been presented to
the Government as a basis for discussion on a resettlement framework that builds on
domestic law and local and international good practices.
42.
OHCHR continues to incorporate general principles on business and human rights
into its Land and Housing Rights programme, and advocates for State responsibility in
relation to human rights abuses by third parties, including private enterprises. In addition,
OHCHR works with selected companies to encourage them to apply human rights
standards to their activities. Future activities will build on the Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and
Remedy” Framework, drafted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on
the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises and
endorsed by the Human Rights Council at its seventeenth session (see Council resolution
17/4).
V.
Rule of law
43.
Respecting the rights of individuals to have access to justice and to participate fully
in the democratic process remains a cornerstone of the Government’s legal and judicial
reform strategy. Yet despite this commitment, progress towards reforming the court system,
strengthening the independence of institutions and promoting a transparent legislative
process remained slow during the reporting period. Systemic challenges in the justice
system, including a lack of resources at the disposal of the Ministry of Justice and courts,
ongoing corrupt practices, and the widespread influence of the executive in the court
system, continue to pose significant challenges to securing public trust in the legal system
and entrench a cynicism on the part of NGOs towards the Government. Despite these
setbacks, the OHCHR Rule of Law programme continued to support the work of both the
Government and civil society to promote and protect Cambodians’ civil and political rights
within the State’s existing legal framework, as well as to encourage ongoing reform of State
institutions and the ratification of human rights instruments.
44.
A key role of OHCHR is to support the strengthening of the rule of law by
developing the legal basis for the promotion and protection of human rights through the
adoption of international standards under Cambodian law. In 2010, the programme
prioritized working with the Government to move towards the ratification of individual
complaints mechanisms under the human rights treaties to which Cambodia is party and
eventual ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The
programme supported organizations working with persons with disabilities to adopt a
rights-based approach to their work. This included a training for the Cambodian Disabled
People’s Organization in June 2011, and the production of accessible versions of human
rights documentation, including in Braille.
45.
Complementing its work on the adoption of international instruments, OHCHR
continued to assist in making laws publicly available and accessible, as well as to increase
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