European Union Statement 

112th International Labour Conference

Committee on Application of Standards

Cambodia

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)

Geneva, 6 June 2024

Thank you, Chair.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. The EU and its Member States are committed to the respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights. We promote universal ratification and effective implementation of fundamental ILO Conventions and support the ILO in developing and promoting international labour standards and supervising their application.
2. The EU and its Member States have been committed development partners of Cambodia, including through the "Everything But Arms" (EBA) arrangement under the EU’s General Scheme of Preferences, granting duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market, contributing to sustained growth and job creation in the past decades.
3. The trade benefits granted under the EBA arrangement are subject to the condition that Cambodia respects core international principles, enshrined in core UN and ILO Conventions. Due to serious and systematic violations of human rights, especially the right to political participation and fundamental freedoms, as of August 2020, this preferential treatment has been partially suspended.
4. We deeply regret that the Cambodian authorities have not provided a report this year on the application of the Convention nor on the progress made in respect of the recommendations of the direct contacts mission. The written information recently submitted by the authorities only addresses a few of the key concerns, and it does not reflect the reality on the ground.
5. We note with deep concern the new allegations of serious violations of basic civil liberties, including violence, intimidation, arrest and imprisonment of trade unionists and request Cambodia to report on these issues. We urge the authorities to stop arbitrary arrest, detention, and prosecution of trade unionists and to immediately release those detained for undertaking their legitimate trade union activity.
6. Regular training of police forces in relation to industrial and protest action remains crucial to ensure that peaceful industrial action is not repressed and to avoid the use of excessive violence. We take note of the request of Cambodia for technical assistance from the ILO to deepen and expand such trainings. We request the authorities to report on any next steps in this regard.
7. We also deeply regret the lack of information on serious long-standing issues, such as the investigations into the murders of trade union leaders in 2004 and 2007. In this regard, we urge the authorities to expedite the process of investigation and bring to justice the perpetrators and instigators of these crimes.
8. As regards the trade unionists still facing criminal charges in relation to demonstrations in January 2014, we urge the Cambodian authorities to review the list of pending cases with the unions concerned and provide detailed information on cases of criminal prosecutions.
9. The persistence of legal and practical obstacles to freedom of association is also particularly regrettable. We urge the Cambodian authorities to amend the legislation, in consultation with social partners, to ensure that civil servants, including public sector teachers, domestic workers and workers in the informal economy are guaranteed their rights under the Convention. We also encourage the authorities to address rapidly the numerous obstacles to union registration.
10. In addition, we echo the request of the Committee of Experts to the Cambodian authorities to amend relevant sections of the Law on Trade Unions and of the Labour Law, in consultation with social partners, regarding financial audit and maintenance of registration, the right to elect representatives freely, the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and the dissolution of representative organisations. We iterate the importance of holding a comprehensive tripartite dialogue on the legality of the exercise of industrial action with a view to reviewing existing regulations.
11. We underline the need to ensure effective and independent adjudication mechanisms, such as the Arbitration Council, as a safeguard against impunity and as a means to protect workers’ rights during labour disputes.
12.  Last but not least, we strongly encourage the Cambodian authorities to implement all the recommendations arising from the ILO’s direct contacts mission of 2022 and those of the ILO supervisory bodies to stop labour rights violations and embark on a constructive path of reform. To this end, we expect the authorities to achieve progress in the development of the roadmap, in full consultation with social partners and with the support of the ILO, to identify priority areas of urgent action with clear deliverables and time frames.
13. The EU and its Member States will remain closely seized of the situation in Cambodia.

Thank you, Chair.

*North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.