“Talking about the human rights situation in Cambodia, we believe that the democratic shrinking space is the main root cause that is undermining labor rights and human rights.”
Tola Moeun is a human rights defender and the executive director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), an NGO that supports Cambodian laborers by providing them with legal aid, and other appropriate means, to demand transparent and accountable governance on labor and human rights issues.
The Cambodian authorities often use legislation and the judicial system to restrict free speech, jail government critics, and disperse workers, trade union representatives, and farmers when engaging in peaceful assembly. The 2015 Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations imposes a range of restrictions on both domestic and foreign NGOs. Despite these dangers, Tola continues to fight for labor rights.
Learn more about Tola’s work:
https://www.central-cambodia.org/
https://www.facebook.com/CentralCambodiaOrg
https://twitter.com/CentralCambodia
About The Labor Link Podcast
The Labor Link Podcast supports workers' rights in global supply chains by sharing personal stories and perspectives of the men and women organizing the workers who make our stuff. The Labor Link Podcast is hosted by Judy Gearhart of American University’s Accountability Research Center and produced by Empathy Media Lab of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. Contact Judy Gearhart for media inquiries at gearhart@american.edu.
About the Host of The Labor Link Podcast
Judy Gearhart is a Research Professor with the Accountability Research Center at American University’s School of International Service. She co-teaches a class on Human Rights and the Politics of Inequality at Columbia University, has served as the executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum and the programs director for Social Accountability International. She got her start as an organizer in Mexico and working for UNICEF and the ILO in Honduras.
About the Accountability Research Center
The Accountability Research Center (ARC) is based in American University’s School of International Service. ARC bridges research and frontline perspectives to learn from ideas, institutions, and actors that advance strategies to improve public accountability.
Through extensive dialogue with partners and collaborators, ARC co-designs exploratory research that is relevant to their strategies and can contribute to international thinking about how change happens.
Originally published on December 9th, 2021
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