Cambodia: Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the EP plenary on the shrinking space for civil society in the country

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Subtitle: Speech delivered by Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell.

Thank you, President, Honourable Members,

Human rights continue to be at the centre of the European Union engagement with Cambodia. The decision taken by the Commission in 2020 to partially withdraw the Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preferences is a clear example of the European Union commitment to the human rights agenda.

As we stated at the time of the withdrawal in the [Generalised Scheme of Preferences] GSP Report of 2023 and in our political interactions since 2020, EBA preferences could be fully restored if there is a substantial improvement on the serious and systematic violations of the principles of United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that motivated the decision to withdraw. 

Civil and political space in Cambodia continue to shrink. The most recent parliamentary elections in 2023 were conducted in a restricted political and civic space. Civil society organisations are subject to the restrictive Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations (LANGO), which impose cumbersome registration and reporting procedures. Shrinking civic space also featured prominently on the agenda of the last Universal Periodical Review for Cambodia in May 2024.

Cambodia needs to do much more to overcome the violations of labour rights. For instance, stopping the ongoing harassment of trade union leaders. Cambodia must also urgently implement ILO’s [International Labor Organisation] fundamental Convention 87 on Freedom of association and Convention 98 on Collective bargaining, prohibition of anti-union discrimination.

The European Union is closely following the situation of the labour rights group, the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL). The European Union’s Head of Delegation in Cambodia has been consistently raising these issues with his counterparts in the Cambodian administration, including this specific case. The European Union also publicly reiterated its concern about harassment of non-governmental organisations and labour rights groups at the Human Rights Council in Geneva two months ago.

The agenda of the European Union’s political dialogue with Cambodia reflects our preoccupations. In March 2024, Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen visited Cambodia and met with representatives from civil society. The question of shrinking civil space also featured on the 12th EU-Cambodia Joint Committee held in Brussels on 25 April 2024. [A] substantial discussion covered inter-alia civil and political, labour and women’s rights.

The European Union will continue to support human rights and democracy in Cambodia through political dialogue with the authorities and in multilateral fora. The European Union will also continue to provide support through its cooperation instruments under the bilateral cooperation programmes.

Thank you.

• Link to video (starting at 8:23): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-264385