Written question asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 13 March 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 20 March 1998. It was answered by Derek Fatchett (Labour) on Friday, 20 March 1998 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken in respect of the request by the UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Cambodia in August 1997 for criminal investigations into cases of alleged torture and execution.

Answer: Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken in respect of the request by the UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Cambodia in August 1997 for criminal investigations into cases of alleged torture and execution. [35076] Mr. Fatchett: We strongly support the work of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative to Cambodia. We ensured that the UN General Assembly Resolution on Cambodia last December renewed the call for investigations into the human rights abuses catalogued in the Special Representative's report of August 1997. I pressed the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia strongly on these issues on 21 January. As EU Presidency, we delivered a formal demarche on human rights and the need for investigations to senior Cambodian Ministers, including Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, on 26 February. The Cambodian Government have recently agreed to accept UN experts to help facilitate investigations into human rights abuses.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 35076; 308 c770W
Session: 1997-98
Subjects: Criminal investigation Crimes against humanity Human rights International cooperation United Nations Torture UN resolutions Cambodia