Cambodia Rebuts Thai Claims on Displaced Persons at Francophonie Council

PHNOM PENH — Oct. 14, 2026: Cambodia has rejected as erroneous a claim by Thailand's delegate that Cambodians living along the border are occupying Thai territory, citing UNHCR records showing Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand were emptied in 1999.

The intervention came before the closing of the 134th session of the Permanent Council of La Francophonie (CPF) on Oct. 13, 2026.

According to the Cambodian statement, the Thai delegate asserted that these people were located in areas Thailand had opened as temporary shelters in the 1970s, and that their presence constituted an infringement on Thai sovereignty.

Cambodia rejected the claim as inaccurate and a distortion of historical reality.

To support the rebuttal, Cambodia cited a report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which states that Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand contained no refugees as of March 1999 — after the last group of 705 refugees returned to Cambodia.

The exchange adds to a series of recent diplomatic clashes between the two countries over border issues, including the status of displaced Cambodians and the implementation of border agreements reached in December 2025.

Source: Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the UN Office at Geneva

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Reported by The Khmer Today