With such underhand, repressive tactics used to this day, the EU’s stance is that unless Cambodia executes major reforms, it will lose its EBA trade privileges, which will be bad news for industries such as garment manufacture, which makes up 75 per cent of the country’s total merchandise exports and an estimated 90 per cent of exports to the EU.
In its letter to world leaders, the civil societies reaffirm the actions Cambodian authorities must take, according to the EU, if it’s to strike the right tone for future, more fruitful engagements.
First, it’s urged that the country immediately and unconditionally releases all political prisoners, including activists, human rights defenders, journalists and members of the opposition; cease harassment, arbitrary arrests, and physical attacks against union leaders, land activists, human rights defenders, opposition members, and journalists; and immediately drop the “baseless treason charges” against opposition leader, Kem Sokha.
Further, Cambodia must: repeal the law on the management of the nation in a state of emergency; reverse the three rounds of amendments to the law on political parties that permit the arbitrary dissolution of parties and the ban of party leaders from political activity without due course; and significantly amend the trade union law, consulting the ILO and workers in efforts to this end.
Ultimately, it’s hoped order can be restored in the country which has for some time been a toxic and divided landscape. The EU, via its several branched initiatives, will look to create an open dialogue with the country, and through doing so protect the people that have thus far been punished for standing up for their freedoms.
The letter concludes: “We urge your government to call on the Cambodian government to comply with its obligations under international human rights law and to support the EU in its efforts to bring respect for human rights, rule of law, and democracy to the Cambodian people.”
The organisations which endorsed the letter are, in full: Arab Network for Food Sovereignty; Article 19; ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights; Asian Democracy Network; Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development; Asian Network for Free Elections; Asia Indigenous Peoples Act; Business and Human Rights Resource Centre; Civil Rights Defenders; CIVICUS; Clean Clothes Campaign; EarthRights International; Ethical Trading Initiative; Fair Labor Association; FIAN Germany; Forest Peoples’ Programme; Front Line Defenders; Global Witness; Human Rights Now; Human Rights Watch; International Commission of Jurists; International Federations for Human Rights; International Freedom of Expression Exchange; International Service for Human Rights; Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek; People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (Europe and Global); Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific; Roots for Equity; Struggle to Economize Future Environment; The B Team; World Organization Against Torture; Zambia Social Forum.
