Dear Editor,

Your March 26 issue quotes Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith as saying that Human Rights Watch had “failed to mention which points require the amendment from the government” in our March 25 letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen detailing our analysis of the government’s sub-decree on refugees.

In fact, our letter specifically referenced how articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, and 24 could be amended to bring the sub-decree into conformity with the 1951 Refugee Convention. We urge the prime minister and relevant government officials to review our analysis and amend the sub-decree so that it will truly be an instrument for implementing the Refugee Convention and for fulfilling the government of Cambodia’s obligations as a state party.

The government should never again send people back to a country where they will face persecution, as it did last December when it deported 20 Uighurs to China.

Bill Frelick

Refugee Policy Director

Human Rights Watch