On 12 February the European Commission announced it was withdrawing some trade tariff preferences accorded to Cambodia because of ‘serious and systematic violations of the human rights principles enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’, it noted in a statement. Brussels had warned Cambodia in February 2019 that it could suspend these preferential trading terms if the country did not take the necessary measures to safeguard human rights including failure to respect freedom of association and the right to organize. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) have been campaigning for this decision.
Cambodia has been enjoying full duty-free, quota-free access into the EU market for all products except arms and ammunition under the European Union’s Everything But Arms’ (EBA) trade scheme that can apply to countries classified by the United Nations as Least Developed Countries. Access to these preferences comes with the obligation to respect human rights and labor rights.
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