Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).
Prime Minister Hun Manet used his opening remarks at the 20th Francophonie Summit on Sunday to say Thai troops still occupy parts of Cambodian territory after last year’s deadly border fighting.
“Cambodia did not fire the first shot,” he said, referring to two rounds of clashes in 2025 for which each country blames the other. “Several parts of Cambodian sovereign territory are still occupied by Thai troops.”
He said about 20,000 Cambodians remain unable to return home and called for existing agreements to be honored and for joint border demarcation to resume. Hun Manet also proposed a three-part “prevent, prepare and prosper” agenda for the organization: a Francophone network to mediate conflicts before they turn violent, a program to train young people in artificial intelligence, and closer business ties between Francophone and ASEAN countries.
His remarks come after Thailand warned Cambodia against raising the dispute at the summit, saying it could undermine efforts to rebuild trust.
Activists and a U.N. expert had also pressed Cambodia over its human rights record ahead of the summit. Cambodian activists petitioned the French and Canadian embassies to press the government on rights and to intervene in the border dispute. U.N. special rapporteur Tom Andrews urged the government to release more than 100 people he believes are likely imprisoned for exercising their freedoms of expression, assembly and association, and called on summit leaders to help secure their release.
The two-day summit brings together leaders from the 90 member states and governments of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). They set the group’s long-term priorities, discuss diplomacy, peace, democracy and human rights, and elect its leadership.
A rift between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the organization’s biggest African member, and Rwanda has also hung over the summit. The DRC has threatened to quit the organization if Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo wins a third term as secretary-general in Monday’s vote.
French President Emmanuel Macron, the first French president to visit Cambodia since 1993, said the organization must play a political role in a world facing numerous crises. His visit comes as France faces weeks of mass protests over living costs, public services and education, with more than 100,000 people rallying across the country on Saturday.
“Our common language calls on us to engage in dialogue and mediation,” he said. “It gives us the words and tools to ensure that the rule of law prevails over the use of force.”
In a nod to the divisions hanging over the summit, Macron also called for consensus to “preserve our unity.”
“We can be different without being divided,” he said. “We can defend our identities without setting ourselves against one another.”
He then handed the summit’s rotating presidency from France to Cambodia, which was part of French Indochina until it gained independence in 1953. Just 0.16% of its population speaks French, according to the OIF.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chann Rotana told reporters Sunday that Thailand, an OIF observer since 2008, had sent observers to the summit.
He dismissed Thailand’s objections as “their old routine,” saying Cambodia had long been preparing to protect its territorial sovereignty.
Rotana said Thai observers at Saturday’s meeting of foreign ministers had registered to speak but did not take the floor when invited. “It is their right,” he said.
The Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bangkok has said border areas its forces have held since a ceasefire last December are either frozen front lines or Thai territory. Phnom Penh says the areas are Cambodian sovereign territory.
On Monday, leaders will elect the organization’s secretary-general for a four-year term starting in 2027 and decide on the admission of new members. They are also expected to adopt a Phnom Penh Declaration and resolutions on peaceful coexistence, economic and cultural cooperation, crisis resolution and the protection of cultural heritage.
