Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Feb 1993

Vol. 426 No. 5

Written Answers. - UN Group in Cambodia.

Jim O'Keeffe

Ceist:

70 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he supports giving a much stronger mandate to the UN group in Cambodia to enable it to deal with human rights violations and breaches of the Paris Peace Accords; and the steps, if any, he is taking in this regard.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

In view of the continuing outbreaks of violence and human rights violations in Cambodia in the runup to the elections in May, I believe there is a case for strengthening the operations of the human rights component of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). The present situation cannot be allowed to continue if the environment needed to conduct free and fair elections is to be established, as mandated by the Paris Accords.

The UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cambodia, Mr. Akashi, has recently addressed this serious matter. As an exceptional measure, he has set up a special UNTAC office "with powers to investigate and prosecute serious criminal acts, which are also human rights violations". He has designated a special prosecutor from within UNTAC for this purpose. Mr. Akashi informed the UN Commission for Human Rights in Geneva last week that the UN had been obliged to take these unusual and radical measures in the interests of proceeding with the Paris Peace Accords.

In addition, UNTAC convened in Phnom Penh last December the first International Symposium on Human Rights in Cambodia. The human rights groups at the symposium strongly endorsed the need for the UN to play a continuing role in support of their efforts in the difficult years ahead. Mr. Akashi has therefore proposed that the UN Centre for Human Rights should exceptionally establish an operational presence in Cambodia later this year, to follow up and monitor the various human rights programmes initiated by the UNTAC Human Rights Component. He also told the Human Rights Commission of the need to appoint a Special Rapporteur of high standing to assist the human rights process in Cambodia. I welcome and support these initiatives.