The Rockefeller Foundation has asked Phnom Penh to join its 100 Resilient Cities network alongside Sydney, London, Montreal and Singapore. Its point is to form a growing network of urban centers around the world that are ready to respond to the social, economic and physical shocks and stresses that are a part and parcel of 21st century living.
“Members of the 100 Resilient Cities network are leading the world in showing that not only is it possible to build urban resilience in every kind of city, but it’s an imperative,” Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, said earlier this week.
It’s a growing list that will add some cache to a country whose reputation had been dragged out and thoroughly beaten by journalists, politicians, and human rights workers – it’s becoming harder to tell them apart – over its deal with Australia to accept recognized refugees who volunteer to come here.
Amid the scorn heaped on Cambodia were constant, and justified, references to the forced repatriation of Montagnards – also known as Degar – who sought political asylum here after fleeing Vietnam where their persecution has also been well documented, more than a decade ago.
In particular, was the confiscation of their traditional lands which were turned into coffee plantations. But they also face religious intolerance for the practice of a syncretic form of Christianity based around Protestantism.
Their plight is again in the headlines with reports that at least 13 Montagnards had crossed over into what’s left of Cambodia’s northeast jungles in search of safety, with Hanoi apparently determined to get them back – again.
Cambodia is one of only two countries in Southeast Asia that is a signatory to the UN refugee conventions and its international obligations dictate that these people have their cases heard before the proper authorities and that they be treated appropriately.
Vietnam’s attitude to the plight of its own minorities is perverse given its appointment to the UN Human Rights Council just over a year ago. The three-year appointment alongside China and Russia was widely condemned as inappropriate amid warnings it would undermine the credibility of the council.
And the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned against forced repatriation.
More @ The Diplomat
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