Dr Surya P. Subedi, Professor of international law at the Leeds University, UK, has said advanced democracies like the US and UK should extend every possible help to countries like Nepal and Cambodia as they are emerging out of the shadows of violent conflict.

Addressing a  talk programme organised by the Harvard University School of Law last week, Prof Subedi – who is visiting the US now—said that human rights, democracy and rule of law can be institutionalised in countries in transition only when they work on the basis of political consensus and collaboration.

“It is the duty of the United Nations and the international community to help create an environment so that these countries remain committed towards democratic principles,” he added.

Deliberating on the role of the UN in protecting and promoting the United Nations, Prof. Subedi said implementation of the international law could be possible only through co-existence and collaboration among the nation-states. He expressed concerns saying that the situation of press freedom and freedom of expression was not yet safe in Cambodia and that an environment of impunity persisted in Nepal.

Prof Subedi was appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Cambodia in 2009. nepalnews.com