The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie meets in Phnom Penh as Congo threatens to leave if Rwanda's candidate is reelected secretary-general.
By Hermes Vector
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to attend a biennial meeting of French-speaking territories beginning Saturday in Cambodia, where he will face international political challenges as an African conflict hangs over the proceedings.
The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie is holding the three-day meeting through Monday in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The loose confederation comprises 90 member states and governments, including 53 full members, five associate members and 32 observers where French is spoken. Cambodia will take over the summit's chairmanship from Macron, who served as chair in 2024 when France was the host nation.
About 20 government leaders, including Canada's Mark Carney, Vietnam's To Lam, Rwanda's Paul Kagame and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Félix Tshisekedi, are expected to attend the summit and likely will meet with Cambodia's king as well as Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Participants will decide on Monday who will serve for the next four years as the group's leader and chief executive in the role of secretary-general. The choices include candidates from two bitterly feuding African members, Rwanda's Louise Mushikiwabo, who is seeking reelection to a third four-year term, and the Democratic Republic of Congo's Juliana Lumumba, the 71-year-old daughter of the country's martyred independence hero, Patrice Lumumba. Two other candidates, from Romania and Mauritania, are poised to serve as compromise picks.
Congo, the United States and experts from the United Nations accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, along the border with Rwanda. Rwanda's government consistently denies backing armed groups in Congo.
Congo has threatened to leave the OIF if Mushikiwabo is reelected. With a population exceeding 110 million people, over 40 million more than France, Congo is the most populous nation where French is the official language and its withdrawal would mark a significant blow to the Francophonie organization.
France is influential in the decision as the largest contributor to the OIF 2026 budget of €71.7 million ($79 million).
The outcome also could be delicate because the challenge comes on the heels of the withdrawals of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the OIF announced in March 2025, following their membership suspensions over military coups. Mali said the suspensions infringed on sovereignty, but the withdrawals also came in the context of Francophone African countries in recent decades shedding French political, military and cultural influence that they regarded as overbearing.
The summit's slogan, "Reinvest in Peace for Shared Prosperity and Lasting Stability," is seen as a reflection of Cambodia's recovery from years of war and unrest in the last quarter of the 20th century.
Before departing for Malaysia on Monday, Macron is scheduled to visit the Angkor World Heritage Site near the city of Siem Reap, where he and King Norodom Sihamoni will mark the completion of a French-supported restoration of the West Mebon temple.
Local political activists see the meeting as an occasion to press for more democratic freedoms in a de facto one-party state. U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews issued a statement pleading with summit delegates to uphold OIF values and pressure the Cambodian government for the release of detained rights activists. "No one should be detained for defending human rights, reporting on matters of public concern, or voicing critical opinions," he said.
Cambodia can lay claim to helping birth the OIF, as its late king and mercurial independence leader, Norodom Sihanouk, was one of four founders in 1970 of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation. Cambodia joined the Francophonie as an observer in 1991 and became a full member in 1993.
The secretary-general election pits Rwanda and Congo against each other amid accusations over armed group support in eastern Congo. Congo's threatened withdrawal would remove the most populous French-speaking nation from the organization, while previous withdrawals by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have already reduced the group's African membership.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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