UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister's letter regarding Sam Rainsy

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH

8 November 2010

Your reference: jp/RAIN16001/16100195
Our reference: MIN/1301/2010

Katy Clark MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Thank you for your letter of 6 October to the Foreign Secretary about Sam Rainsy. We are aware of his case. During his visit to the UK to attend the Liberal Democratic Party Conference in September, Sam Rainsy met with officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss the issues you have raised

As you are aware, on 29 January Sam Rainsy was tried and sentenced in absentia for damage to property and incitement to raciai discrimination following his removal of markers connected to the demarcation of the Cambodia/Vietnam border. In September Mr Rainsy was found guilty of disinformation and falsifying public documents.

The UK, with EU partners, has raised concerns with the Government of Cambodia about treatment of Opposition members of the National Assembly including Sam Rainsy on a number of occasions. The local EU Presidency raised the democratic rights of opposition parliamentarians at a meeting with the Minister of Interior, Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng, on 15 June. EU and Cambodian representatives also discussed this issue during the Cambodia-EC Joint Committee held in Brussels on 7 8 October. The UK raised concerns about the use of criminal defamation and discrimination charges at the Human Rights Council during the debate on the renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur for Cambodia on 28 September.

Concerns about the prosecution of opposition MPs, and respect for democratic norms and freedom of expression more generally, were also raised during the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in December 2009. Cambodia accepted all the recommendations made during the UPR. Our Embassy in Phnom Penh is working with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Cambodia's Human Rights Committee on implementation of the recommendations.

On 15 September, the Foreign Secretary made clear that there will be a greater emphasis within foreign policy to protect human rights. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to raising human rights issues wherever they arise and through all appropriate forums.

Yours sincerely,