Human rights dialogues with Laos and Cambodia
The independence of the legal system and the situation of ethnic minorities were two of the human rights issues on the agenda when Sweden held its fourteenth and final human rights dialogue with Laos and its second dialogue with Cambodia.
State Secretary Bortih at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Photo: Ministry for Foreign Affairs." height="200" width="392"/>
Cambodia dialogue: Lennart Linnér and Jan Nordlander pay a courtesy call to State Secretary Bortih at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Photo: Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Despite the fact that Laos is still a one-party state and that serious human rights problems remain, the positive trend that has been seen since the dialogue started in 2002 was welcomed. In the last few years Laos has ratified some of the UNs most important human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The government of Laos has also launched a ten-year reform programme for the legal system drawn up in collaboration with the UN, among others, and with the support of Sweden. The government has also adopted a new law to make it easier for civil society to operate in the country.
In Cambodia, the situation concerning the dialogue is the opposite here, Swedens development cooperation and presence are now being stepped up, and the section office in Phnom Penh will shortly be turned into an embassy. Human rights and democratic social structures are an important area of focus for Swedish development cooperation with Cambodia, and the newly started human rights dialogue is intended to be a part of the strengthened cooperation between Sweden and Cambodia in these areas.
The situation of minorities remains a problem
A number of remaining problems were also discussed, including the situation of ethnic minorities and the situation in the countrys prisons. Representatives of the EU took part in the talks, as there are plans to transfer the experiences from the Swedish dialogue to the more regular human rights dialogues with Laos that the EU is now initiating. The reason the Swedish dialogue is being ended is that Sweden is currently in the process of phasing out development cooperation with Laos and closing the Swedish section office in the capital, Vientiane.
Sweden to intensify cooperation with Cambodia
The dialogue addressed issues such as land rights and the independence of the legal system. A few specific areas of cooperation were also discussed, including issues related to human rights training and the review of the human rights situation in Cambodia conducted by the UN Human Rights Council in December 2009 (Universal Periodic Review).
Apart from the dialogue itself, a visit was also made to a prison, and meetings were held with the local Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, civil society, the largest opposition party and representatives of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), popularly known as the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
Ambassador for Human Rights Issues Jan Nordlander and Ambassador Lennart Linnér led the dialogues with Laos and Cambodia, which took place from 28 January to 5 February 2010.
