Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday linked his decision to let a luxury cruise ship dock in Cambodia, after it had been turned away by other nations due to coronavirus fears, with the nation’s commitment to human rights, just days after the E.U. withdrew trade benefits over rights violations.
Cambodia’s duty-free trade access to the European market was partially withdrawn by the E.U. on Wednesday over “serious and systematic” human rights violations by Cambodia, the European Commission said.
Swedish parliamentarian Asa Eriksson told VOD in an interview that Cambodia was “breaking the rules” of the “Everything But Arms” duty-free trade scheme with the E.U. by disrespecting human rights, which could not be tolerated.
Unionists predicted muted International Human Rights Day celebrations in the years ahead, as the final time it was to be marked as a national holiday reignited debate over whether foreign pressure was justified to protect universal human rights.
The E.U. is asking too much — it’s pushing the government to break the country’s laws — so Cambodia will merely update the bloc about the easing of restrictions for on trial opposition leader Kem Sokha and other concessions, the governmental Human Rights Committee said this week.
The Preah Sihanouk provincial administration rejected a request from land dispute communities to hold a rally in Sihanoukville to mark International Human Rights Day on Tuesday, with a spokesman explaining that the communities are already given three days a year to air their concerns.
The U.N. and government are partnering to promote youth activism in line with the law, not politics, for a Human Rights Day celebration, the governmental Human Rights Committee spokesman said on Thursday.
A newly launched government service for free legal consultations could be part of the solution to the country’s judicial woes, experts said, though they also cautioned that the committee overseeing it would need to be transparent and take further steps in the future.
The European Union has called on Cambodia to protect labor and human rights associated with land titling, press freedom, political participation, trade union organizing for teachers and informal workers, and other areas of concern, in order to keep its duty-free trade access to the bloc.
The E.U. on Tuesday sent the Cambodian government its preliminary report on the possible suspension of duty-free trade over political and human rights concerns, the bloc said in a statement.
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