AKP Phnom Penh, April 21, 2021 --

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the UN Office at Geneva H.E. An Sokkhoeurn has insisted the country’s adherence to the human rights values in the fight against COVID-19.

The following is his full statement released recently:

"The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia is deeply disturbed by the recent news release of four special rapporteurs, who took their eyes off the bigger picture as to Cambodia’s race against the coronavirus. The purported experts, being not the UN staff, but serving in their individual capacity, always feel that things should have been acted differently based on their personal opinions. They take no liability if their experiment fails. However, the people-elected government of Cambodia always takes full responsibilities for its risk-based decision-making with discharged rules and criteria as follows:  

1. Across the world, the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic requires extraordinary and unprecedented actions, taking into account national circumstances. The fact that a series of combined moves, including travel ban and partial lockdown of affected zones, that Cambodia has taken, were lauded by the Regional Director and Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is indisputable.
2. All of those steps adhere to the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality. The concern over the Law on Preventive Measures against the Spread of the Covid-19 is prejudiced and exaggerated. It does not aim to castigate but encourage responsible participation of everyone in the pursuit of securing public health and precious lives for all. The punitive measures in proportion to their type of offense and intent behind it only target the rule-breakers causing the community transmission.
3. The disclosure of limited personal identity of certain individuals positive of the Covid-19 by the Phnom Penh Capital Administration is permissible in Article 4 of the above-said law and relevant regulations. It is always a tough yet urgent decision with absolute necessity to speedily break the chain of community transmission associated with the “20th February incident” in the interest of public health safety and security of the entire population guaranteed by international law.  
4. Our past experiences proved that this provisional and time-bound choice had encouraged and promoted early and timely tracing, testing and quarantine of individuals involved in order to contribute to preclusion of uncontrollable cluster infections that certain parts of the world have been terribly undergoing.
5. The call for the government’s provision of economic assistance disregards the truth that the government has put in place wide-ranging initiatives to address socio-economic impacts and to support the vulnerable groups to meet their basic needs. Among them are monthly income support for job-suspended garment and tourism employees, cash transfer program to impoverished households, utilities aid to families hit by the pandemic, food supplies for lockdown areas, and instructions given to microfinance sector for temporary payment relief. The national inoculation rollout was also praised by UNESCO, diplomatic corps and the UN Cambodia Team. 

The Permanent Mission of Cambodia affirms that the Kingdom’s fight against the Covid-19 integrates human rights values and leaves no one behind. Only full and effective enforcement of all combined health, administrative and other actions is critical to secure lifesaving, public health safety and early return to new normal life. The Special Rapporteurs have to recognize the priority and play a responsible role in a manner that complements on the ground rather than detracts from the operation of lifesaving and suppression of community transmission.”

By C. Nika