His Excellency Keo Remy, Senior Minister met with Ms Rouieda El Hage.

His Excellency Keo Remy, Senior Minister met with Ms Rouieda El Hage. His Excellency Keo Remy, Senior Minister met with Ms Rouieda El Hage.

On the morning of Monday, 28 August 2023, in the new Royal Government of the 7th legislature, His Excellency Keo Remy, Senior Minister, and President of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC), met with Ms Rouieda El Hage, representative of the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in Cambodia in order to prepare the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Human Rights Day, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is scheduled to take place on 8 December 2023, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the CHRC and the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in Cambodia.

The representative of the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in Cambodia congratulates Cambodia, the first country to commit itself to celebrating the 75th anniversary, with the appointment of the focal point for the Day and other activities, which shows the Royal Government’s willingness to promote and respect human rights.

His Excellency Keo Remy thanked the OHCHR representative for her continuous cooperation in the field of human rights, and we would continue to work together. He added that in celebration of the 75th anniversary, the CHRC has already conducted two events – two workshops – a 365-Day Campaign: the Workshop on Civil and Political Rights in Battambang province and Dissemination of the National Report on the Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Banteay Meanchey province.

In addition to discussions for the 75th anniversary celebrations, the two sides discussed the following CHRC priorities:

  1. The placement of the CHRC complaint boxes in prisons in Phnom Penh, an effective mechanism for inmates to report human rights abuses in prisons.
  2. The introduction of the CHRC Apps to facilitate the filing of citizens’ complaints in the provinces and municipality.
  3. AICHR, which the Royal Government has assigned to the CHRC to take charge; so far, the CHRC has organised and chaired important annual meetings and attended other meetings.
  4. The establishment of an independent National Human Rights Committee in accordance with the Paris Principles planned to be established in the future.

The OHCHR representative in Cambodia hopes and requests that the current CHRC be retained, as necessary, even though the National Human Rights Committee is established. She hopes that the two institutions will work together to improve and strengthen the human rights situation in Cambodia.

It should be noted that the CHRC and the OHCHR will hold a workshop to disseminate the report on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the consultation on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Finally, the Senior Minister informed the OHCHR representative that he believes in the composition of the Royal Government because he believes in the leadership ability of His Excellency Dr Hun Manet to lead the Royal Government, especially in the field of human rights.

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