A coalition of trade unions and civil society groups submitted a petition Wednesday to the French and Canadian embassies in Phnom Penh, urging the two countries to press the Cambodian government to ease restrictions on civic space ahead of the 20th Francophonie summit, which Cambodia hosts Sunday and Monday.
The petition, signed by 26 unions and rights groups, including the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, or Central, raises concerns about curbs on fundamental freedoms and democratic participation in Cambodia. The signatories call on Francophonie member states to “respect and promote the core values of human rights, democracy, social dialogue, gender equality and meaningful participation of the people, which are the foundations of the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF) institutions.”
Vorn Pov, president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association, said after delivering the petition that the groups want member states to raise human rights concerns with the Cambodian government before the 2027 [commune] and 2028 [national] elections.
“We want to see that union rights and human rights are valued in democratic Cambodia,” he said. “We urged French-speaking countries whose businesses operate in Cambodia to respect union participation, and Cambodia also should open space for unions to express themselves freely in all forms.”
The groups also called for an end to the persecution of activists and for people to be able to exercise their freedoms of expression, association and assembly.
The rights group Licadho counted 110 “prisoners of interest” in detention: activists, opposition figures, journalists and others it says are jailed over their political activities, activism or speech.
Pov said French Embassy staff told him that French Ambassador Olivier Richard would raise the concerns during the summit. Canadian Ambassador Christian DesRoches met the coalition outside the embassy to receive the petition.
“I want you to rest assured that Canada continues to partner with civil society to help defend human rights,” he said. “We will remain friends, so I hope we can continue to have the dialogue.”
The Canadian Embassy said in a Facebook post Wednesday that “Canada values civic space, democratic participation, social dialogue and the protection of human rights.” The French Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Government spokesperson Pen Bona said that civil society organizations and politicians “use these occasions to cause chaos.” He said Cambodia is an independent state and other countries cannot interfere in its laws and institutions.
“You cannot rely on other countries to help you by putting pressure on your own country. It is Cambodia’s own rule of law that we need to comply with, and there are no problems,” he said, disputing Licadho’s figures.
The petition follows a similar one submitted earlier this month by prominent political activist Rong Chhun. It comes days before Cambodia hosts the 20th Francophonie summit in Phnom Penh on Nov. 15-16, a gathering of leaders from the 90 member states and governments of the International Organisation of La Francophonie. Leaders meet to set the organization’s long-term policies, discuss international diplomacy, peace, democracy, and human rights and vote on leadership positions. French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are expected to attend.
Tom Andrews, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia also called on the Cambodian government Monday to release activists such as Koet Saray, Seng Theary and five jailed members of the environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia before the summit. He said they are detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
Chhim Sithar, president of the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, said she hopes the petition will reach Macron. She urged the government to resolve the yearslong labor dispute at the NagaWorld casino.
“We cannot say Cambodia respects union rights if the government does not resolve union disputes. Laid-off union members have suffered unfair treatment such as violence, harassment and accusations, all of which shows the grim picture of democracy in Cambodia,” Sithar said.
She pointed to the European Union’s partial withdrawal of Cambodia’s duty-free trade privileges in 2020 over human rights concerns. “The countries that invest in Cambodia value human rights and union rights, so if we don’t comply, our cooperation with them will be limited,” she said.
Am Sam Ath, operations director at Licadho, raised concerns about freedom of expression and freedom of association in Cambodia, and said reports show the country’s human rights situation has declined.
“Cambodia must look into what the international community has raised about restrictions on civic space, and open space for freedom of expression and unions,” he said.
