Cambodian asks for deportation deal re-negotiation with US

US and Cambodian diplomats at a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia in Phnom Penh on April 25 (Source: EPA)

Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has called for renegotiations with the US on a crime repatriation agreement that the two countries signed 15 years ago.

Under the agreement, Cambodians, who are permanent residents of the US, will be deported to Cambodia if they are convicted of a felony.

Speaking during a university graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh on April 27, PM Hun Sen said Cambodia wants that convicted felons with Cambodian heritage can continue to stay in the US after they had served their prison sentences.

He said that his country does not want to cancel the deportation agreement with the US, but requests to amend it for "humanitarian and human rights reasons", and hoped the US side will accept the request.

Some 550 convicted felons with Cambodian heritage have been deported from the US since 2002, many of whom cannot even speak Cambodian language.

The agreement has been censured by both Cambodians and Cambodian expatriates in the US. - VNA

VNA