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Opposition Nation Power Party adviser Rong Chhun on Wednesday called on French President Emmanuel Macron to press the Cambodian government on political and human rights ahead of next year’s commune elections and before the French leader travels to Cambodia for a summit.
Chhun and at least 20 Nation Power Party members walked to the French Embassy in Phnom Penh, where they handed a letter to guards. The letter asks Macron to urge Cambodian leaders to restore Chhun’s political rights, which were stripped after an incitement conviction, and to push for free and fair elections.
“The human rights and democratic situation in Cambodia has not yet shown positive development, and without a restoration starting now, future elections will not be free or fair,” Chhun told reporters.
Cambodia will host the 20th Francophonie summit, a gathering of leaders from the 90 member states and governments of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, in Phnom Penh on Nov. 15-16. Macron is expected to attend.
“The presence of the French president during these three days shows that we hope that he will push Cambodia to restore respect for human rights and democracy, especially ahead of elections to be free and fair,” Chhun said. “I also asked the president to intervene in my case when the Supreme Court ruled that removed my right to run in the election.”
The Supreme Court in June upheld Chhun’s 2025 conviction for incitement to disturb social order over public comments about online scam operations in Cambodia and the country’s border with Vietnam. It suspended his four year prison sentence, reduced a lifetime ban on his political rights to five years and placed him under three years of judicial supervision. Under the supervision order, he is barred from leaving Phnom Penh or attending public gatherings.
Rights groups have long accused the Cambodian government of using the courts to silence critics and opposition politicians. Opposition politicians have repeatedly been arrested and barred from elections under a government long dominated by the Cambodian People’s Party.
The Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in 2017, and its leader, Kem Sokha, was convicted of treason in 2023. He received a royal pardon in May that freed him from his 27-year sentence, but he remains barred from politics.
Freedom House rated Cambodia “Not Free” in its 2026 Freedom in the World report, with a score of 22 out of 100, down from 23 the year before. The country scored 4 out of 40 on political rights.
Government spokesperson Pen Bona said Cambodia “is a sovereign state and no country interferes in the affairs of another sovereign state.”
“What is important is that Rong Chhun, like other citizens, has to respect Cambodian law rather than seeking intervention from other countries to help resolve his own legal issue,” Bona said. The government has long maintained that Cambodia is a multiparty democracy.
The French Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
Ny Sokha, president of the human rights group Adhoc, raised concerns about shrinking rights and freedoms in Cambodia. He urged Francophonie leaders “to address the deteriorating situation.”
“It is an opportunity for citizens to express their opinions to show various concerns to the member countries, especially the Francophonie Summit,” he said. He added that Chhun’s case should be something all participating countries consider.
Sokha said Francophonie member countries that signed the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, which helped end more than a decade of civil war in Cambodia, have a binding obligation to help Cambodia uphold democratic principles and respect human rights.
(Additional reporting by Singha Sotonta)
