A/HRC/24/36 environmental, social and economic impacts of the project, on compensation and on resettlement planning. The Special Rapporteur visited these communities in May 2012 and investigated their complaints. The National Assembly has approved a guarantee for financial backing of the project, and construction is reportedly imminent, but communities still lack information on the plans, and have yet to agree to terms of remedy and relocation. 59. Finally, during the reporting period there were a number of legislative developments. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the draft law on the management and use of agricultural land was under revision, and hopes that a more inclusive consultation would ensue led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with the support of the Asian Development Bank. He was encouraged by the consultation process for a draft law on environmental impact assessment led by the Ministry of Environment with the support of a public interest law firm. He regrets that the draft housing policy pending for some years has yet to be finalized and approved by the Council of Ministers. VII. Conclusions 60. It has been four years since the present Special Rapporteur took up his functions following his appointment by the Human Rights Council in March 2009. Over this time, he witnessed the country’s move forward in a number of areas. Cambodia is a forward-looking country which has benefited tremendously from the work of civil society organizations supplementing the services delivered to the people by the Government, particularly where they fall short. Civil society is increasingly vibrant in many areas, including the defence of human rights. As stated in the preceding paragraphs, having presented four substantial reports on judicial, parliamentary and electoral reform and on the human rights impact of economic and other land concessions, each containing a series of recommendations, the Special Rapporteur has focused his attention during his last two missions on the follow-up to his recommendations. While there have been encouraging developments in some areas, as outlined throughout the present report, progress in a number of other areas remains unnecessarily slow and developments in some areas disturbing. 61. Tolerance is a bedrock of democracy. However, the degree of tolerance on the part of the Government and the ability to listen to constructive criticism of its policy decisions and shortcomings seems to be decreasing. Democracy is about dialogue and that dialogue is missing especially amongst the Government and the opposition parties. Political leadership is about forging consensus on issues of national importance through dialogue and reconciliation. The Special Rapporteur urged for political reconciliation to be achieved before the country went to the polls to elect the National Assembly in July 2013. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur welcomed the granting of a royal pardon to the Cambodian opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, on 12 July 2013, just ahead of the elections due to take place on 28 July 2013. The Special Rapporteur hoped that with that development, the Government would take the necessary action in order to allow Sam Rainsy to play a full part in the national politics of Cambodia and applauded the Government for having taken that important step towards reconciliation, which was in the interests of stronger and deeper democratization in Cambodia. However, the Special Rapporteur remains of the view that the culture of reconciliation and consensus-building on major issues of national interest is very weak in Cambodia. The country could benefit a great deal if the leadership were to be more open to ideas, in the absence of which the political situation will inevitably suffer from stagnation and lost opportunities from stifled creativity. 17