On the occasion of the 109th International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Hun Sen called for more women in leadership positions, better law enforcement to speed up the trials involving them, and improved education for their next generation in the Kingdom.
Writing on a Facebook page on Sunday, Hun Sen said International Women’s Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the struggles of women’s fight for freedom.
He said from the day of liberation to the present day, the government had always striven to promote women’s right, as evidenced by the slogan, “Women are the backbone of the national economy”.
“The theme of the 109th International Women’s Day highlights the important role that peace plays within our society.
“This is especially true in Cambodia. Peace is an undeniable prerequisite for creating the conditions in which to promote women’s rights in society,” he said.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Hun Sen called on the relevant ministries, institutions, development partners, civil societies, the private sector and compatriots across the Kingdom to prioritise increasing the number of women in leadership roles at all levels.
He said law enforcement ought to be strengthened so that accused women’s trials were sped up.
Internet usage throughout the country, he said, ought to be effectively managed to prevent issues related to the exploitation of women and girls on the internet.
He said the Ministry of Education has to guide all ministries and institutions to implement discipline and provide opportunities for girls at all levels while parents should educate their children on good moral values.
“The ministry has to continue to invest in girls’ education, especially in the areas of science and technology, in order to keep Cambodian women up-to-date with the technological advances of society.
“The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Information and the mass media must continue to strengthen and promote social morality and the value of Cambodian women and families.
“They should do this through the development of educational programmes that demonstrate the identity of Cambodian women with dignity.
“Together we will prevent the spread of HIV and end discrimination against women and homosexuals,” Hun Sen said.
On International Women’s Day, civil society organisations including the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), the NGO-UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN-CEDAW), Cambodian Centre for Independent Media, and DanChurchAid released a joint statement calling on the government to provide priority to women’s rights.
The statement said: “On International Women’s Day 2020, we, the undersigned civil society organisations, urge the Royal Government of Cambodia to prioritise women’s human rights by taking immediate and concrete steps to implement the recommendations they accepted during Cambodia’s third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the recommendations in the UN-CEDAW Committee’s concluding observations issued after its periodic review of Cambodia in 2019.”
CCHR Executive Director Chak Sopheap said in a Facebook post on Sunday that promoting women’s rights, dignity, and value could not be effective only through verbal statements.
Instead, it demands respect and practical protection to ensure that all women’ rights are being actively engaged across social, cultural, economic and political sectors.
“Ensuring civil rights protection in assemblies and gatherings is a guarantee of national and international law that the government has a duty to ensure, not prevent and violate.
“I would like to dedicate this day to every woman who sacrificed their strength, spirit, and heart for the cause of human rights for all communities and humanity throughout the world,” he said.
