Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion concerning the ongoing civil unrest in Cambodia that led to the death of five people earlier this year, on 2 and 3 January 2014. While Cambodia has in many respects had remarkable advances over the past 20 years, progress on human rights has been disappointing. Human rights issues in Cambodia are wide ranging and include issues around land disputes, electoral reform, freedom of speech, indiscriminate use of force, the lack of equality before the law, and the lack of independence of the courts and government institutions such as the National Election Committee. I was very honoured to be able to visit a year ago and talk to many officials regarding that range of issues.

Australia continues to monitor the human rights situation in Cambodia and to work constructively with the Cambodian government for the protection of human rights. I note that in a recent article in an online publication, Project Syndicate, published on 26 February, former Labor Minister for Foreign Affairs Gareth Evans argued:

I also note that Mr Evans's article has been picked up by many Australian media outlets. Sadly, Gareth Evans has kept very quiet about Cambodia over the last couple of years and only thought to raise it right now, as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, has visited Cambodia. Mr Evans did not bother to raise his concerns with the former foreign minister, Bob Carr, when he visited Cambodia. Then again, Mr Carr spent more time visiting Angkor Wat than he did raising human rights issues with the Cambodian government, which is what he was there for.

Under the guidance of our foreign minister, Hon. Julie Bishop, Australia is in an ongoing dialogue at senior levels of the Cambodian government on human rights issues. We also raise these issues consistently through our embassy in Phnom Penh and in the UN human rights forums. During Minister Bishop's visit to Cambodia on 22 February, she canvassed Cambodia's domestic political situation with her Cambodian counterparts. While ultimately these are matters for the Cambodian people, we must encourage all parties to remain in the dialogue, and to this end Minister Bishop has welcomed their mutual agreement, on 18 February, to hold a national workshop on electoral reform. The Australian government has underlined the importance that we attach to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Indeed, during the minister's visit to Cambodia, on 22 February she raised human rights in each of the meetings with the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the foreign minister for Cambodia—hardly what I would call a 'muted response'.

In addition, Minister Bishop reaffirmed Australia's statement at the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva on 28 January. In Australia's UPR statement as of 28 January we did express concerns about restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly and association in Cambodia. We also expressed particular concern about the recent disproportionate violence against protesters and the detention without trial of some of those protesters. We recommended that the government of Cambodia assume full respect, in law and in practice, for the freedom of peaceful assembly and association, consistent with international law. We also recommended that Cambodia establish an independent national human rights institution, as was consistent with the Paris principles. We have heard many speakers here today talk about the Paris principles. But there is a long way to go. Australia stands ready to help in whatever way that we can, to ensure that Cambodia addresses some of these human rights issues in the future. The government is well aware of the circumstances in Cambodia, and Minister Bishop's diligence in having already visited Cambodia, in comprehensively addressing these issues with the Cambodian government, is something that we should commend her on.

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