Strasbourg, 09/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - MEPs are concerned that the situation in Cambodia is worsening, with the persecution of political opponents, the judicial harassment of civil society and human rights violations.
In an urgent resolution adopted in Strasbourg on 9 June - the third in under a month - MEPs condemn these violations of fundamental rights and call on the EU to put pressure on the Cambodian government to recognise the rights of NGOs, unions, civil society, human rights campaigners and opposition leaders.
The Parliament calls on the Cambodian government to release all political prisoners, and to ensure the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press and of assembly. It especially asks the Cambodian authorities to revoke the arrest warrant and abandon the arbitrary legal proceedings against Sam Rainsy, the leader of the main opposition party (the CNRP), who is due to be tried in absentia in July.
The EU is Cambodia's largest development assistance partner, with a new allocation of €410 million for 2014-2020. With a view to the local elections in June 2017 and the parliamentary elections in 2018, the Parliament calls on the European External Action Service (EEAS) to make the amount of EU financial assistance dependent on improvements in the human rights situation and reforms in the country. The Parliament underlines the importance of sending an EU election observation mission for the organisation of free and fair elections.
The Parliament's resolution also urges the Cambodian government to end the forced evictions and the illegal confiscation of land. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)