PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office and International Organizations in Geneva has urged UN Special Rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn to “act meaningfully and substantively” in addressing human rights amidst the border conflict, calling for clarity and commitment for future public response.  In its press statement on Nov. 29, Cambodia’s Mission pointed out that the Special Rapporteur’s news release had failed to “meaningfully” address the human rights issues in the conflict. The Special Rapporteur, who is a Thai national, is tasked with monitoring human rights in Cambodia. On Nov. 24, he broke the silence about the border tensions and human rights concerns, after being called out by Senate President Hun Sen on Nov. 17 for ignoring the 18 Cambodian soldiers held captive in Thailand for nearly four months. Muntarbhorn’s inactive engagement amounted to a violation of international human rights standards, Hun Sen said during the 33rd National Buddhist Congress at the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh. In the news release, the Special Rapporteur said he would continue supporting the two countries for peace and confidence-building measures, stressing that the implementation of the ceasefire was essential and that humanitarian assistance should be available to the affected people. Cambodia’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, however, said that the public response would “benefit from more detailed and focused attention. The broad and general nature of the remarks offered so far does not fully reflect the documented information presented or the immediate risks faced by affected civilian populations.” The Special Rapporteur has not addressed substantively the evidence and legal concerns that had been consistently submitted, the Permanent Mission said in its press statement. “Cambodia expresses its hope that future engagement will align more closely with the clarity, transparency and commitment envisaged under the mandate.” Calling out the rights envoy, Cambodia’s Permanent Mission mentioned the standards of independence, impartiality, professionalism and due diligence guiding the Special Procedures system in the Code of Conduct for Mandate Holders (HRC resolution 5/2). “The Code requires mandate holders to ensure that their interventions are objective, accurate and specific, and that they give due and genuine consideration to information submitted by all concerned States,” the Permanent Mission statement read.   Cambodia also called for more comprehensive engagement to address the risks faced by civilians, urging the Special Rapporteur to approach the matters “forthrightly and substantively.” Cambodia’s Permanent Mission encouraged Muntarbhorn to continue adhering to the Code of Conduct and to carefully take into consideration the presented concerns to reinforce the integrity of the Human Rights Council's Special Procedures system, and to respond in an appropriate and timely manner to the urgent conditions affecting civilian populations at the border. The Permanent Mission reaffirmed its commitment to constructively cooperate as to the UN human rights mechanisms, and said that it was looking forward to meaningful and substantive engagement at to the human rights concerns arising from the Cambodia-Thailand armed conflict.