Phnom Penh - United Nations Special Representative on Human
Rights Yash Ghai returned to Cambodia Tuesday on a three-day visit,
with uncertainty surrounding whether any senior government officials
will see him after his stinging report issued in March.
The Kenyan UN official was met at Phnom Penh International Airport
by a representative of his office and a handful of reporters but not
one representative of the Cambodian government to kick off a visit
aimed at garnering feedback on his last report, which sparked the
fury of the government for its harsh criticism of its human rights
record.
Ghai took over the position from the softly spoken Peter Leuprecht
in 2005. This is his third official visit to Cambodia in the role.
In his last report, Ghai condemned the country's judicial system
as a government-controlled tool of oppression and slammed Cambodia's
leaders for a range of alleged human rights abuses.
Prime Minister Hun Sen retorted furiously, saying he would never
meet Ghai again and advising him to return to his own country an fix
that first before advising others.
Ghai hopes to make a presentation to the UN Human Rights Council
in Geneva later this month using information gleaned from this trip
to round out that report.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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