“My parting advice to the leaders of the country, both in the Government and the opposition, would be to be principled in what they do,” Surya P. Subedi, said in a statement on completion of his six-year assignment.
Noting that “the reform process and the act of governance should be underpinned by the principles of legitimacy, transparency, consultation, and participatory democracy,” he said Cambodia “reform agenda is not the business of the ruling and opposition parties alone.”
“It is a national agenda to which people from all walks of life should have an opportunity to contribute and have ownership,” the rapporteur said.
“The youth in particular, here in Cambodia as much as elsewhere in the world, are increasingly aware of their rights, and will continue to demand a better life and better performance and accountability from their State institutions to enable that to be achieved,” he said.
Commending Cambodia for having “come a long way during this time,” the rapporteur said but “still has some way to go to meet the international benchmark flowing from the international human rights treaties ratified by the country and to make the ideals of a liberal democracy a reality for its people.”
“For genuine, long-lasting stability in the country, it is crucial that the people of Cambodia feel that they are well served – served, not ruled – by their political representatives,” he said.