Cambodia’s history shows that a lack of freedoms and equal rights have led to unrest in the past, a pattern that could repeat itself, a leading political analyst said Thursday, adding that Cambodia today is lacking in morals, making it harder for the country to develop.

“There is a gap between rights, or equity, stipulated in the constitution and the implementation,” said Lao Monghay, an independent analyst and monthly contributor to “Hello VOA.” “Practical application is impossible, one can’t exercise one’s rights, and there is abuse of power.”

“What appears is resistance, and that causes everyone’s destruction,” he said.

A similar situation led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge, civil war and ultimately the presence of foreign troops, he said. “That’s the history.”

Lao Monghay encouraged Cambodians to exert their own efforts and influence to help their fellow citizens.

“If we have the power and the means, we should relieve other people’s suffering,” he said. “Help each other, be sympathetic with each other, that’s first for society to be comfortable and stable. And if we talk about state governance, that can relieve much of the people’s suffering.”

He pointed to both Buddha and Jayavarman VII, a former Angkorian king, as models who considered the suffering of others the same as their own. Currently, he said, such morality and virtue are lacking in Cambodia’s average citizens and officials. And he said that the “supreme moral law,” compassion, pity, joy with others’ happiness, and sincerity needed to be better applied by citizens.

Robberies, murders, abuse of others, drunkenness and even traffic violations are all examples that indicate low morality, he said. Higher morals would mean less need of laws, but would also lead to the better following of laws, he said.

“Morality is just like a policeman for our selves, maintaining the individual,” he said. “And the law is like the policeman that holds us externally. There is mutual involvement.”

Today, law enforcement is not effective, he said, because the police “are not clean themselves.”

“How can it be fair for law enforcement to enforce the law without the adequate means, salaries and other things?” he said.

Ou Virak, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, told “Hello VOA” that Cambodia lacks a respect for the law; in something as simple as traffic, it leads to thousands of deaths a year, and the loss of time, money and property. Meanwhile, land grabs are still under way, he said.

“These two issues, multiple that by hundreds, by thousands of other cases in the country’s economy, products, goods and thousands of services, and we see why our country is poor,” he said. “And why others are rich.”

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Lack of Morality Hurting Everyday Cambodians: Analyst

More jobs at home and better skills training could keep Cambodia’s poor from being exploited as migrant workers, a leading opposition lawmaker says.

An increasing number of workers are seeking jobs abroad, but the work can be rife with danger, including slave labor on fishing vessels, sex trafficking and others.

Women are especially at risk, with the problem of migrant labor underscored last month when Cambodia banned workers from traveling to work as maids in Malaysia, pending an investigation into abuses there and the practice of the hiring of underage girls by recruitment firms.

“The poorest people are the most vulnerable ones to this type of human trafficking,” Mu Sochua, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, told “Hello VOA” Monday.

Most of the women seeking work in Malaysia are illiterate women from rural areas, she said.

Human Rights Watch said in a recent report as many as 50,000 women and girls have migrated for work in Malaysia, where they risk physical and sexual abuse at the hands of employers.

They are immediately indebted to recruitment firms, which sometimes pay families up front and procure passports, visas and other necessary documents, as well as training.

“Some will have to take up to three years to pay off the debt,” Mu Sochua said, adding that those who are abused in Malaysia come back traumatized.

Instead, she said, Cambodia should focus on job creation and skills training at home. In the meantime, the government needs to negotiate with Malaysia to forge acceptable agreements that ensure the rights of workers there.

Recruitment firms in Cambodia need to “clean up their businesses,” as well, she said, and make sure they are not brining in women under the age of 21. Local authorities, too, need to stop the illegal practice of forging identity documents for underage girls.

“Please stop the suffering of our children who have already suffered from hunger,” she said.

Eliminating companies that undertake dubious practices will be hard, she said, because many are supported by relatives of powerful public officials.

“They have strong backing,” she said.

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Lawmaker Calls for More Protection of Migrant Workers

Human Rights Watch is calling for new legal protections for the thousands of Cambodians who work in Malaysia as domestic workers. Rights workers say both countries must do much more to prevent an array of abuses including physical and sexual violence.

Abuse

Human Rights Watch workers interviewed 28 women who were employed as domestic workers. Nearly half reported suffering physical or psychological abuse from their employers.

Another three said they were raped – one by her employer.

The common theme is a lack of assistance or legal protection in Malaysia for the thousands of Cambodian women working there.

Human Rights Watch says in Cambodia well-connected recruitment firms forcibly confine women in poor conditions in training centers for months before sending them abroad.

Recruitment firms provide cash advances to families, as well as food and livestock, driving the women into debt bondage. And they charge huge training fees, which takes the women months to work off.

Deceived

The title of the report, “They Deceived Us At Every Step”, conveys the scale of the dangers the women face, says Human Rights Watch’s women’s rights researcher Jyotsna Poudyal 

“The report is basically a comprehensive account of what happens when women decide to travel from Cambodia to Malaysia,” said Poudyal. “So it documents the abuses and exploitation at each step of the migration process. Our concerns are basically about women who decide to migrate must be protected, and this report looks into the recruitment steps, and then comes up with concrete recommendations of what could be done to improve the situation.”

Exploitation

Human Rights Watch says as a first step Malaysia and Cambodia should abide by and then ratify the International Labor Organization’s convention on domestic workers, which protects workers from violence and exploitation.

Poudyal says Phnom Penh must draft a comprehensive migration law that addresses issues such as debt bondage, child recruitment and other abuses common to the recruitment side of the industry.

About one-third of the Cambodian population lives below the poverty line, and there are very few jobs available locally for the estimated 300,000 young people who enter the labor market each year. That means conditions are ripe for exploitation, and unscrupulous recruitment firms have taken advantage.

Role of media

After media reports highlighting the serious abuses of Cambodian women in Malaysia, the Cambodian government last month announced a halt to sending domestic workers to Malaysia.

But Poudyal says besides the suspension, which is most likely temporary, Phnom Penh has shown little interest in tackling the problem.

“From our point of view it seems that the government is keen to promote migration, but at the same time extremely reluctant to extend basic protections to its workers,” added Poudyal. “So I would say that if Cambodia is serious about being a big exporter of labor then they have to resolve these issues in the long term.”

The abuses can begin even before the workers arrive in Malaysia.

Recent raids on recruitment centers in Cambodia have revealed a litany of abuses, including girls as young as 14 being trained for domestic work in Malaysia. False documents are used to get around the requirement that they need to be 21.

But government action is complicated by the fact several recruitment firms are owned by relatives of those tasked with policing them in the labor and interior ministries.

Human Rights Watch says Phnom Penh must prosecute any and all companies and individuals involved in abuses.

Recruiters

And, Poudyal says Malaysia must overhaul its labor law, which currently excludes domestic workers.

“So we are calling on the Malaysian government to revise those laws so that domestic workers are protected, as well as strengthening the legal assistance for workers who might have been trafficked, who are in a situation of abuse, and then basically revising the sponsorship system which ties the worker to an employer,” said Poudyal. “So for instance, if the worker flees abuse, then very likely she would be arrested or deported.

Two years ago Indonesia barred its citizens from working in Malaysia after reports of similar abuses. That action forced Malaysia to ensure that Indonesian domestic workers were awarded protections.

But Cambodians are currently excluded.

Human Rights Watch says that needs to change. Since 2008 at least 40,000 Cambodian women and girls have been sent to Malaysia to work as domestic servants.

One young woman the group interviewed said she was made to work 22 hours a day, was beaten and kicked by her employer and his wife, and was never paid.

None of the 28 women interviewed said they had received their promised salary in full. Most said they received wages that were far lower, while some reported receiving nothing at all.

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Legal Protections Sought For Cambodian Domestic Workers in Malaysia

New York-based Human Rights Watch on Monday called on the investigating judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal to “resign,” saying they had violated the legal and judicial duties set out by the UN-backed court in their investigation of two controversial cases.

In a statement, the group said judges Siegfried Blunk and You Bunleng had failed to conduct genuine, impartial and effective investigations into Cases 003 and 004, which accuse five additional regime cadre of atrocity crimes.

“It appears likely that both cases will be dropped without a serious investigation having taken place,” the group said.

The judges have come under increased criticism from court observers who worry the judges have weighed political implications into their decisions.

In April, they hastily concluded Case 003 without interviewing two suspects or visiting key crime sites. They have since said they have serious doubts about whether the five suspects in the two cases—which Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly opposes—constitute those most responsible for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge, a key mandate for the court.

Prosecutors have said the five suspects oversaw major atrocities, including forced labor, executions and other crimes.

A tribunal spokesman said the court has specific mechanisms to address such differences, adding that the courts were working “independently.”

“The investigating judges concluded their investigation into Case 003 without notifying the suspects, interviewing key witnesses, or conducting crime site investigations,” Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said in the statement. “This would be shocking for an ordinary crime, but it’s unbelievable when it involves some of the 20^th Century’s worst atrocities. The Cambodian people have no hope of seeing justice for mass murder as long as these judges are involved.”

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Human Rights Watch Calls on Tribunal Judges to Resign

The UN’s special envoy for human rights, Surya Subedi, has added his voice to growing concerns that a government law to regulate NGOs should not go forward as currently drafted.

International and local rights groups and other organizations say the NGO law would restrict the activities of organizations and make them vulnerable to arbitrary political manipulation, which would be a blow to development. Cambodia has an estimated 3,000 NGOs and associations.

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Thursday, Subedi said the law should be carefully reviewed and, as it stands, “may hamper the legitimate work of NGOs in the country.”

One draft of the law was already kicked back to the Ministry of Interior for more work, despite approval from the Council of Ministers, following a near-unanimous outcry from the country’s development organizations and partners.

Subedi said Cambodia itself has the sovereign right to decide on the law, but he said the country’s leaders should consider the long-term impact on development in Cambodia if such a law were passed.

Development organizations form the backbone of the country’s civil society, which helps the government in “education, health, rural development, sanitation, social welfare and the protection of natural resources and the environment,” he said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Subedi’s statements were “late,” because the draft law is under further review.

The ministry will make some compromises in the new draft, including suggestions from civil society, before sending the draft for a second approval by the Council of Ministers, he said.

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UN Rights Envoy Cautions Against NGO Law

A high number of Cambodian voters do not understand the electoral process, while others distrust the electoral system, observers say, as registration for next year’s local elections continue.

In forums conducted last year in three provinces and the capital, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights found a high number of people were not convinced elections ensured equal participation and were wary of the National Election Committee.

Cambodia is preparing for commune elections in 2012 and national parliamentary elections the year after.

Kuoy Bunroeun, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said the election process is difficult for many Cambodians, while the National Election Committee has not done enough to inform the electorate.

“We must prepare a fair election system to provide the possibility for people to have full rights in registration and voting rights,” he said.

With 460,000 of 470,000 potential new voters registered, NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said Monday that people seem to understand the process.

“New eligible voters always go to register, because of their understanding,” he said. “And more importantly, people in new resettlements are going to register. It means that they know their rights and roles in participating in the elections and the democratic process.”

However, Hang Puthea, executive director for the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said the National Election Committee must strengthen its work until the public can accept the committee’s management of the process.

“In relation to the knowledge of elections, Cambodians still need more training,” he said. “That means people will not clearly understand the election process, and they still have a distrust of the election system.”

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Many in Electorate Don’t Understand System: Monitors

Thailand’s exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said Monday he saw potential in Cambodia’s economic growth, which has buoyed in 2011 following recovery with garments and tourism.

Thaksin said in a lecture at the Asian Economic Forum, held at the Council of Ministers’ building, that Cambodia had shown strong growth compared to the region.

His talk at the forum was part of a nearly weeklong trip, which included a meetings with Prime Minister Hun Sen, economists and other economic officials on Saturday.

Thaksin, who was ousted from Thailand in a bloodless coup in 2006, recommended Cambodia bolster state spending on infrastructure and education, as well as modernizing its financial system.

The Asian Development Bank said last week Cambodia’s growth rate will likely reach 6.8 percent this year.

Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, said Cambodia has potential for even more growth, perhaps 10 percent, but that the country needs to “work hard.”

“The leaders of the Kingdom of Cambodia will be encouraged by Thaksin’s speech,” he said.

However, Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said Monday that Cambodia, which exports about $2 billion in goods abroad, only exports only $50 million in goods to Thailand, with which it has a large deficit.

“Be careful what Thai political veterans say about Cambodia’s economic situation,” he said. “We can suppose that in such a speech [Thaksin] is flattering us to gain a benefit from us.”

Kem Sokha, president of the Human Rights Party, said Thaksin may also be focused on developing petroleum resources on the coast. Thaksin’s speech was flattering of Cambodia, Kem Sokha said, “to provide opportunity for him.”

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Infrastructure and Education, Thaksin Advises

A leading Khmer Rouge scholar released a 60-page review of UN tribunal jurisdiction on Tuesday, saying that impartial investigations of atrocity crimes suspects should determine whether they are under the scope of the court.

Stephen Heder, who left the investigating judges’ office with four other staff members after its hasty conclusion of a controversial case, was referring to the views of some Cambodian judges who have argued five potential suspects were not “most responsible” for the crimes of the regime.

Questions over the handling of those two cases have divided the court, known officially as the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia. ECCC judges and prosecutors are meeting in a full session this week to prepare for an upcoming trial of four jailed Khmer Rouge leaders.

In his “Review of the Negotiations Leading to the Establishment of Personal Jurisdiction of ECCC,” Heder wrote that it was “logical to assume” candidates for prosecution “should be drawn among as yet unidentified or publicly unnamed members of the Central Committee, of the Government ministers and mid-level of Communist Party of Kampuchea.”

Heder said in an e-mail the paper “stands for itself” and declined to comment further.

However, Ou Virak, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the paper was discussing controversial cases 003 and 004, which are opposed by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodian judges have echoed that opposition, saying more indictments at the court could destabilize the country’s security. Critics, however, say the full prosecution of the two cases would provide a greater sense of justice and reconciliation for Cambodian victims of the regime.

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Researcher Issues Review of Tribunal Jurisdiction

Non-governmental agencies continued to express concern over a proposed law to regulate the sector on Tuesday, as the draft moved closer toward approval for debate.

The government says it needs the NGO law to better manage the thousands of organizations operating in the country, but critics say it will hamper their work and make it harder for smaller associations to form.

The Ministry of Interior’s final draft of the law was sent Friday to the Council of Ministers, which must approve it before it goes to the National Assembly for debate.

Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said most of the main recommendations from the NGO community were not put into the final draft of the law. Many organizations have said they feel the law requires a heavy amount of reporting and makes them vulnerable to closure for government dissent.

There are articles in the draft that “narrow the freedom of NGOs and associations for their establishment,” Sok Sam Oeun said. “I still do not favor this law.

Ham Sunrith, deputy director for monitoring at the rights group Licadho, said while some points from NGOs had been added to the draft, others remain “worrisome.”

The draft still contains registration and reporting conditions that many find troubling, he said.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the new draft was improved but some articles remain “unclear.”

“So with the unclear interpretation, it’s not good for the rights of participation of associations and especially individual rights,” he said.

Nouth Sa An, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior, said that if organizations want to make more recommendations, they’ll have to do so through the Council of Ministers.

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‘Worrisome’ NGO Law Moves to Council for Approval

Human Rights Watch on Friday called on the courts to drop all charges against a staff member for the rights group Licadho, who the group says has been unjustly charged with incitement.

Leang Sokchouen lost an appeal Thursday and is facing a two-year prison sentence for allegedly distributing anti-government leaflets. Licadho has maintained his innocence, while Human Rights Watch in a statement derided the “politicization and incompetence of Cambodia’s courts.”

The US-based rights group said the charges against Leang Sokchouen had changed during appeal to incitement under the new penal code, which was not in effect at the time of his alleged offense in January 2010.

“Sokchouen should never have been charged in the first place, but to have the charges changed on appeal with no opportunity to challenge them sets a new standard for arbitrariness. The government should immediately drop the charges and release him.”

Leang Sokchoeun is accused of distributing anti-government leaflets over the January 7 national holiday, which the ruling Cambodian People’s Party celebrates to mark the ouster of the Khmer Rouge, but which critics say also marked the beginning of a 10-year Vietnamese occupation.

Licadho maintains he was arrested under an erroneous warrant by police in Takeo province. Human Rights Watch said his trial was “marked by numerous procedural flaws as well as violations of fair trial provisions in Cambodian and international law.”

“The prosecution did not present any in-court witness statements or credible evidence,” the statement said. “The trial judge ignored compelling testimony raised in Sokchouen’s defense.”

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the administration has no power to interfere with affairs of the court. The case is at the discretion of the judge, he said.

“If the judge’s decision is not judicial, we must complain to that judge,” he said.

Human Rights Watch also “expressed concern about the conditions for human rights workers and organizations in Cambodia,” including an impending law to regulate NGOs that many groups say will stymie development.

“One of the few enduring gains from the massive United Nations peacekeeping mission 20 years ago was a vibrant civil society,” Adams said. “With the imprisonment of a human rights activist on phony charges and the impending passage of a law aimed at giving the government the power to shut down civil society groups arbitrarily, those gains are under threat. Cambodia’s international donors need to press Hun Sen and his government to change course.”

Phay Siphan called the statement an attack on the government and an attempt to discredit it, without “aiming to help find justice for the accused or convicted person.”

“Human Rights Watch should change its attitude for Cambodia,” he said, “This statement is an activity of interference that in our view should not happen.”

The US Embassy also expressed disappointment in the Leang Sokchouen case.

“The United States has long supported the development of free expression and freedom of speech in Cambodia as a fundamental tenet of a democratic system of governance,” the statement said. “These rights are protected in the Cambodian constitution as well as international human rights agreements to which Cambodia is party. We hope that the Royal Government of Cambodia will seriously consider the negative effect that the use of criminal prosecutions in response to the expression of political opinions can have on this right.”

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Human Rights Watch Condemns Case Against Rights Worker