EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Introduction CONTENT

The NGO Forum on Cambodia has conducted a review on NGO observations on the first year of implementation of the Royal Government of Cambodia’s (RGC’s) Governance Action Plan (GAP). The objective of the review was to help NGOs understand more about the GAP and to provide an opportunity for NGOs to give constructive comments on how NGOs, donors and government can further contribute to the success of the plan. Two domestic consultants were hired to work on the project. 

This report does not intend to be a monitoring tool, but rather a source of NGO recommendations for the ongoing development of the GAP.  However, some description of the reforms and assessment of the progress was necessary as the starting point for NGO discussions and the formulation of recommendations.  Nothing in this report is intended to detract from the hard work of various government officials and donor agencies in endeavoring to implement the reforms to date.  The RGC’s governance reforms are wide-ranging, ambitious, often difficult to implement, and will take time.  The progress made so far is fully recognized. 

Each chapter is divided into five main sections.  The first two sections of each chapter (Introduction and Summary of Progress) were prepared with help from the two consultants, mainly in February-March 2002, as a tool for teaching NGOs about the GAP.   The consultants then met with NGOs both individually and in focus group discussions.   Based on these discussions, the final three sections of each chapter were prepared: Summary of NGO Involvement in the Sector, Issues Raised by NGOs, and NGO Recommendations. 

The process of preparing this report has raised awareness among NGOs about the reforms, and will hopefully lead to further NGO-government dialogue on how to enhance the success of the Governance Action Plan.  This report is only a beginning, and further details of the ideas contained herein and how NGOs could contribute is expected to evolve from the ensuing dialogue. 

2. Background of the Governance Action Plan CONTENT

The RGC prepared the Governance Action Plan (GAP) with external assistance in the year 2000.  NGOs were involved in submitting comments and contributing to the contents of the GAP.  The final draft was submitted to the Council of Ministers in January 2001.  The Council of Ministers formally approved the GAP in April 2001. The GAP is considered a road map for government reform, and summarizes the plans of the various ministries and inter-ministerial reform councils involved. 

The eight areas of reform covered by the GAP are: (1) legal and judicial reform, (2) public administration reform, (3) decentralization and local governance, (4) public finance reform, (5) anti-corruption, (6) gender equity, (7) demobilization and armed forces reform, and (8) natural resource management. 

The General Secretariat of the Council for Administrative Reform (CAR) has responsibility for facilitating monitoring of progress in all reform areas.  This report is intended to reflect on, rather than duplicate, the observations provided by the CAR.  The CAR’s GAP Progress Report of December 11, 2001 has been used as the starting point for the reflections contained within this report. 

3. Cross Cutting Concerns CONTENT

By early 2002, the GAP was already one year old and short-term (one-year) activities were due for completion.  The RGC seems to have made progress on many of these short-term actions, and begun implementation of many medium-term (two-three year) activities. 

Much of the progress to date has been on technical inputs, and many of the reforms are not yet at the stage where their impacts are noticeable to the public.  Further, the reforms have been heavily reliant on donor demands, technical assistance, and financial support.  The GAP document has the potential to increase government ownership by providing an overview of the reform agenda in one coherent document, to which donors can offer their assistance. 

Ridiculously low civil service salaries continue to be the biggest impediment to the improvement of government service delivery.  Increases in civil service salaries need to be accompanied by strict enforcement of anti-corruption measures, to eliminate the widespread use of public positions for personal gain. 

Not surprisingly, the areas of least progress are those that most threaten vested interests.  This is particularly the case in anti-corruption reform, reform of public procurement, and reform of customs administration.    In the case of legal and judicial reform, gaps in donor assistance may have also been a factor. 

Reforms in land, forestry and fisheries are already at a stage where powerful vested interest may feel threatened.  Political will from the highest level, including the intervention of the Prime Minister, has been critical in achieving progress in these sectors.  These sectors have yet to fully translate pro-poor policy changes at the national level to lasting change at the local level, where powerful interest groups still hold sway.  Further and sustained political will is needed for these reforms to succeed.

Similar political will is needed to accelerate legal and judicial reforms and anti-corruption measures. 

If political will is solely the result of donor pressure, the reforms are likely to be superficial and lack ownership.  Support for reform needs to come from the Cambodian population at large.  With this in mind, NGOs wish to reiterate the observation below, which was presented by the NGO delegation to the Consultative Group Meeting in Tokyo last year: 

“For reform efforts to succeed, there is the need for a critical mass of political will, of leadership, of education, and the freedom to openly exchange ideas and information, both on the part of the media and among the people generally. In particular, there must be provision made for real, effective participation by the public in reform efforts. This participation needs to be a two way street. On the one hand, the public needs to be kept informed by the government concerning reform efforts. On the other hand, the government must actively solicit and take seriously the input of the public. In short, there needs to be meaningful participation by the people in public decision making. Only in this way will there be created a sense of shared ownership over the reform process in Cambodia.” 

4. Cross-Cutting Recommendations CONTENT

Recommendations to Government:

  • Concentrate on pushing reforms ahead in areas that face resistance from vested interests or are proceeding too slowly.  Legal and judicial reform and anti-corruption reform should be prioritized.  Sustained political support from the highest level is needed.

  • Government should continue to work towards and, with support from NGOs, impress on donors the need for salary reforms, so that public servants will receive a living wage conducive to improving service delivery.

  • Political support from the highest level has been helpful in pushing through reforms in the land, fisheries and forestry sectors, but further effort is needed to ensure that change happens at the local level, where powerful local interests often prevail.

  • Pass a law on participation in the legislative process – providing a specified time period for draft laws to be open to public view, for the public to submit submissions, and for public hearings to occur. This should occur at both the executive branch level, where laws are often first drafted, and at the legislative level.  During parliamentary debates on proposed laws, suggestions and inputs from the public should be made available and tabled for parliamentarians to refer to.

  • Publish sufficient copies of individual laws to meet the needs of all stakeholders and make them accessible and available in libraries of the ministries and concerned institutions, and have extra copies for sale in a government bookshop.

  • Seek to further educate the public about the reforms, through televised speeches, news items and public forums.

Recommendations to Donors:

  • Donors should ensure good coordination among themselves and provide assistance to the government to undertake those reforms felt needed most by the Cambodian people.  Duplication of efforts should be avoided, and new assistance should focus on activities contained in the GAP which presently lack sufficient assistance.

  • Crosscutting issues that donors should prioritize include legal and judicial reform and the urgent need for civil service salary reform.

  • Prioritize local development, and provide support to decentralization and the Commune Funds.

  • Factor in gender in all development programs and reforms supported by donors.

  • Be actively involved in monitoring, to ensure proper use of funds.

  • Make progress in anti-corruption measures a key condition for continued assistance.  This should be based on detailed benchmarks negotiated and agreed between government and donors.

Recommendations to NGOs:

  • NGOs should seek to further educate themselves and the public about the reforms.  This report is presented as one resource for this effort.  NGOs should organize public awareness programs and public forums to inform the public and promote discussion on the reforms.  Networks that seek to protect the people’s interests, including anti-corruption coalitions, community-based natural resource management networks, and social service groups should be strengthened.

  • The best contribution NGOs can make is to set a good example of good governance themselves.  Measures should include training in proper financial and organizational management, further dissemination of a Code of Ethics for NGOs, and strengthening the role of NGO boards.  NGO peak bodies should study examples of self-regulation in the NGO sector from other countries and devise appropriate strategies for improving governance of the NGO sector in Cambodia.

5. Reform-Specific Concerns and Recommendations CONTENT

For details on the reform-specific concerns and recommendations below, please refer to the full document. 

A. Legal and Judicial Reform
In Cambodia, there remains much to be done to establish a credible justice system, to enhance the integrity of the courts and to improve the enforcement of laws. Legal reform issues addressed in the GAP include gaps and inconsistencies in legislation, weaknesses in dissemination of legislation, lengthy law making processes and excessive use of decrees and sub-decrees, lack of capacity to draft laws, and lack of participation of stakeholders in legislative processes.  Judicial reform issues addressed in the GAP include weak governance and corruption in the judiciary, lack of laws to govern magistrates, the need for reform of the Supreme Council of Magistracy (SCM), the small number of judges and lawyers, and the low salaries of judges and prosecutors. 

There has been little progress in achieving most of the above objectives.  However a notable development has been the passing of sub-decrees establishing a school for judges and a training center for lawyers, and the opening of the school for judges.  An additional 30 judges and prosecutors have been appointed, the law on the SCM has been amended, and the Disciplinary Council has started to better fulfill its duties. 

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

NGOs have been active in studying and commenting on draft legislation, conducting public awareness campaigns on laws and human rights, monitoring and investigating human rights abuses, providing legal assistance to the poor, and advocating measures to improve the rule of law in Cambodia. 

NGOs are concerned about the following issues: (i) the check and balance between the three branches of government has been unsatisfactory; (ii) lack of participation in law making process, and difficulties in gaining access to draft laws; (iii) excessive use of executive regulations, which undermines the hierarchy of laws; (iv) insufficient allocation of resources and timeframes for working on draft laws and supporting regulations, and the lack of priority given to the penal and civil codes and procedures until recently; (v) gaps and inconsistencies in laws; (v) limited dissemination of laws after they are passed; (vi) no attachment of international agreements to ratified laws; (vii) the need to strengthen the SCM and to strengthen disciplinary actions; (viii) the low salaries of judges and prosecutors; (ix) the lack of court messengers to deliver summons; (x) lengthy delays in the country’s only Court of Appeal; and (xi) the lack of trained judges and lawyers and continuing barriers to admission to the profession.  An underlying problem is the insufficient allocation to the courts through the Ministry of Justice (about 0.3% of total government budget). 

NGOs recommend that the government significantly increase the budget of the judiciary, and set a specific timeframe within which a separate and sufficient budget for the judiciary will be made.  As mentioned above, measures should be introduced to promote public participation in legislative processes, including providing a specified time period for all draft laws to be open to public view, for the public to submit submissions, and for public hearings to occur.   Laws that are already passed should be disseminated more widely.  All legislation should be available for individual purchase in a government bookshop.  The Supreme Council of Magistracy should be reformed to ensure its independence and its capacity to carry out its allotted tasks.  Legislation on the appointment, removal and dismissal of judges and prosecutors should be expedited.  Salaries of judges and prosecutors should be raised to reduce incentives for corruption, and those who commit offenses should be punished.  Additional Courts of Appeal should be established in the provinces to reduce the current backlog of cases. 

Donors should ensure good coordination among themselves, target the most important needs of the Cambodian people, and closely monitor the use of their assistance.  This includes reforming the courts, assistance to ministries to enhance their ability to draft laws, and building the legislative capacity of the legislative branch of government. 

NGOs should continue to contribute to the legal and judicial reforms, increase their capacity in legal matters, and promote moral behavior and respect for the rule of law through their own behavior and through public awareness programs. 

B. Public Administration Reform
The current issues in public administration are (i) low salaries scale in the public sector, (ii) corruption, (iii) poor quality of public services, (iv) imbalance between the numbers of “front office” staff and “back office” staff, and (v) lack of accountability and transparency in public administration.

To encounter the current problems in administration, the government has committed itself to: (i) further build the capacity of the reform; (ii) optimize the organization of the work within the administration; (iii) implement a program to rationalize and to re-deploy the workforce; (iv) establish priority mission groups of properly paid civil servants to spearhead the reform; (v) implement a program to improve motivation; (vi) complete the restructuring and implementation of an automated human resource management information system (HRMIS) and payrolls; (vii) develop and implement a program of de-concentration. 

In general, the public administrative reform has made some notable progress compared to other government reform programs, although there is so far limited impact.

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

NGOs are not involved in the technical side of administrative reform. However, many NGOs are working with government counterparts or have been contacted by government to perform health or education services.  The outcome of administrative reform will affect many NGO activities in the field, and the communities they serve. 

NGOs are concerned about (i) low salaries of civil servants, leading to poor quality of public services, (ii) late payment of salaries, (iii) failure of the civil service census to identity absenteeism, (iv) imbalance of workforce in the public sector, (v) lack of skilled staff in remote areas, (vi) the growth of a poorly regulated private health sector as a result of low civil service salaries, (vii) the impact of user fees on the poor, (vii) the impact of corruption, and (viii) the need also for better governance in the NGO sector. 

NGOs recommend the government to prioritize increases in salaries and/or allowances, especially for teachers and health workers.  Financial incentives are needed to attract health workers to remote areas, and Teacher Training Centers should target students from remote areas through a quota system.

The recently announced World Bank-supported project in legal and judicial reform, to commence in approximately one year, may begin to fill some of these gaps.

The public hearing on reforming the electoral law to occur in June, planned by the National Assembly’s Legislative Commission, is a welcome development.  Not all draft laws will warrant a public hearing, but a set period for receiving public comments on drafts is needed.  The commission can then decide whether to organize a public hearing based on the extent of the comments received.

It is noted that the system of donor working groups on various reforms have been providing a very useful forum for donor coordination. One indicator of late salary payments is that, as of 12 June 2002, only 28% of the annual budget for health workers in the provinces had been disbursed.

Donors should monitor the impact of the reforms, and maintain pressure for change of corrupt practices.  Deconcentration should be supported by projects that focus on provincial or district level planning.  Donors should also consider supporting equity-funding schemes in the health sector to help cover the cost of exemptions for the poor. 

NGOs should try to build their knowledge of the administrative reform and monitor the impacts of the reform on ordinary people. 

C. Decentralization and Local Governance
The Government has determined that decentralization, deconcentration and local governance are the means to further democratize the country, to enhance service delivery and to reduce poverty, especially among the rural population.  A Commune Administration Law and a Commune Election Law have been passed, and various executive regulations have been issued or are under preparation.  A National Committee to Support the Communes (NCSC) has been established, and its six sub-committees are now fully operational.  In February 2002, the government held commune elections, establishing for the first time 1,621 commune councils across the country. 

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

The decentralization process will have a large impact on the local development efforts of NGOs across the country.  NGOs are establishing a liaison unit on decentralization within the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Local Administration to provide a mechanism for flow of information between government and NGOs on decentralization issues.  In addition, election monitor groups have been active in advocating the concerns of NGOs regarding commune election legislation. 

NGOs have been concerned that (i) NGO submissions on reform of the National Election Committee (NEC), the electoral system and women’s participation were not considered; (ii) despite improvements on last elections, there were still problems with process and pre-election violence; (iii) development of executive regulations has had limited stakeholder participation; (iv) too much power has been delegated to the commune chiefs; (v) low capacity of commune councils may lead to lack of ownership; (vi) NGOs lack information on plans to build the capacity of commune councils and on financial decentralization; (vii) the electoral system encourages council members to be accountable to their political parties rather than their constituents; and (viii) existing development committees at the village and commune levels may be affected or abolished under the new system.  An underlying concern is that decentralization will not necessarily bring about poverty reduction; decentralization needs to provide the poor with the capacity to protect their own interests. 

NGOs recommend that government facilitate open and wide consultation with NGOs and civil society groups regarding draft legislation and regulations, publicize and disseminate widely all new regulations issued, provide capacity building to those responsible for implementing and managing the new system of local government, provide training to commune councilors on commune development and foster changes in attitude. 

Donors should recognize that decentralization will require substantial support to be successful, and provide support to decentralization and the Commune Funds, while monitoring to make sure that their funds really benefit the people.  Coordination is imperative, so that donor assistance is directed to the most needy areas. 

NGOs should seek to further build their understanding of decentralization and participate in the development of the legal framework.  NGOs may consider providing capacity building to the new local development structures, and monitor the progress in local governance and development.  Most importantly, NGOs should help build capacity of grassroots organizations to understand the role of commune councils so that villagers will be ready to participate and to hold commune councils accountable to their constituents. 

D. Public Finance Reform
Public finance reform is one of key reforms of the RGC. The reform has focused on both the revenue side and expenditure side.  There are three main issues related to public finance. These are (i) weak revenue raising capacity, (ii) ineffective and inefficient management of public expenditure, and (iii) lack of a truly independent accountability institution. 

In response to the issues mentioned above, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), with support from external donors, has prioritized reform of customs administration, tax administration and budget management. 

There has been little notable progress in customs administration.  The reform is proceeding slowly, and there is much resistance.  However, there is notable progress in taxation reform.  There has also been notable progress in budget management compared to the plan in the GAP.  A National Audit Authority has been established.  The Priority Action Plan (PAP) for the Ministries of Education, Health, Agriculture and Rural Development was a positive step and money for the first tranche reached its target, but transfers of subsequent tranches ran into difficulties. 

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

NGOs have been concerned mainly with the final impact of public finance reforms on the delivery of government services.  NGO in the health and education sector work closely with government at all levels, and have been in a good position to observe the impact of the reforms. 

The main concerns of NGOs are: (i) lack of public consultation on public finance reforms; (ii) various problems in the implementation of the PAP; (iii) the gap between budget allocation and actual disbursements in the social sectors; (iv) problems in the disbursement mechanisms to the provinces; (v) the impact of user fees on the poor; (vi) the small proportion of the budget devoted to salaries; (vii) weak revenue collection; and (viii) problems caused by reforms of the private bank sector. 

NGOs recommend that government: (i) invite civil society institutions to participate in discussions about public finance, and promote more public discussion on revenue raising measures; (ii) expand the PAP scheme to other provinces and sectors, and simplify the system for reconciling PAP disbursements, (iii) make further improvements in the system of disbursements; (iv) as a short term measure, consider the temporary use of micro-finance institutions to disburse the budget to provincial governments; (v) provide district health centers with equity funding to offset the cost of fee exemptions for the poor; (vi) create a better balance between running costs and staff compensations through additional allowances in the social sectors; (vii) improve transparency in tax collection and customs administration; (viii) reduce leakage of funds in the disbursement process; (ix) publish cash flow figures in a financial bulletin every month and report the balance of treasuries at both central and provincial levels. 

Donors should: (i) encourage NGO involvement in public finance discussions and encourage wider dissemination of and discussion on public finance reforms; (ii) provide research on the impact of financial reforms on the poor; (iii) closely monitor the financial reforms, with particular attention to those reforms most critical for immediate poverty reduction and service delivery; (iv) provide capacity building at the district level to improve financial management capacity; (v) assist the government in providing equity funding for user fee exemptions for the poor; and (vi) assist the government to expand and to improve the administration of the PAP scheme. 

NGOs should: (i) build capacity of NGOs to understand the public finance reforms, and engage in discussion with the government and donors on the social dimensions of these reforms; (ii) monitor the impact of public finance reforms at the local level; and (iii) help build capacity at the local level, including the financial management capacity and transparency of local-level financial management committees. 

E. Anti-corruption
Corruption is widespread in Cambodia, especially in government ministries, reducing the capacity of government to allocate resources efficiently and equitably. 

The RGC, with support from donors, has put anticorruption on the reform agenda.  In the GAP, the government committed itself in the short-term to (i) prepare and adopt enforceable codes of ethics for judges and for civil servants, (ii) prepare and submit to the National Assembly an anticorruption law, (iii) operationalize the National Audit Authority, and (iv) review arrangements for enforcement of a sub-decree on public procurement.  In the medium term, the government has committed itself to (i) prepare and submit to the National Assembly legislation reaffirming the right of freedom of the press, (ii) re-evaluate the existing legal framework for public procurement, (iii) develop and prepare a public and media awareness program on corruption, and (iv) investigate way and means to generalize publication of fees for public services and educate the public about penalties for corrupt activities. 

There has been little progress on most of the above commitments.  Codes of ethics have not been disseminated.  There seems to be little political will to finalize the anti-corruption legislation. However, the National Audit Authority has been established and has begun to operate.  Medium term commitments have not yet been addressed. 

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

Anti-corruption is an area of concern to many NGOs, especially to those who work closely with government.  A few NGOs have made monitoring or research into corruption the focus of their activities. 

The main concerns of NGOs are: (i) no sign of political commitment in processing an anti-corruption law; (ii) possible lack of independence of the proposed anticorruption authority; (iii) the need for anti-corruption legislation to guide anticorruption activities; (iv) the need for greater public awareness about corruption; and (v) the need for higher salaries to be complimented by stiff penalties and by anticorruption education programs in order to change the current culture of corruption. 

NGOs recommend that government should (i) promulgate anti-corruption legislation by the end of 2002, following extensive consultation with civil society; (ii) pass a law on declaration of assets by government officials; (iii) strengthen the enforcement of existing laws; (iv) disseminate information on anticorruption to the public through the media; and (iv) take immediate measures to improve and enforce public procurement procedures, so that noticeable changes can be observed by the end of 2002. 

Donors should support government and NGOs to speed up the process of approval of the anticorruption law and should make progress in anti-corruption measures a key condition for future assistance. 

The NGOs should participate in monitoring the government’s anticorruption programs and should play an active role in anticorruption awareness activities. Also, the best contribution that NGOs can make is to set a good example of good governance themselves.  NGO peak bodies should study examples of self-regulation in the NGO sector from other countries and devise appropriate strategies for improving governance in the NGO sector in Cambodia. 

F. Gender Equity
As part of its commitment to human rights, the RGC is focusing its efforts on the two groups of the population most at risk in Cambodia’s society: women and children.  The Ministry of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs (MWVA) has launched a four-year program which, in collaboration with other line ministries, seeks to enhance the government’s capacity to incorporate gender concerns and principles in policy formulation and in development programs and projects.  This four-year program is reflected in the Governance Action Plan. 

The MWVA has done well to implement most of its expected short-term outputs; but despite these efforts, awareness of gender in the other ministries is still low and the required changes in attitude will take more time.   A Law to Suppress Human Trafficking and Exploitation has been passed and disseminated.  A National Council for Cambodian Women was formed, headed by H.R.H the Queen. An inter-ministerial network of gender equity advocates is being strengthened, and a program to build the capacity of the MWVA has been initiated.  Programs on women’s and children’s rights and literacy have being implemented in a number of provinces, and a program to reduce discrimination against HIV-positive individuals has been submitted to the National Authority Against HIV/AIDS.  A law against domestic violence has been submitted to the Council of Ministers, but has not yet been approved. 

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

Most NGOs try to incorporate gender equity concerns into their development projects, and many NGOs focus specifically on women’s rights or child welfare issues. There are a variety of NGO networks with a gender or child rights focus.  Activities include research on gender issues, information dissemination and education, policy formulation and advocacy, implementation of gender and development programs, and networking.  Three NGOs have been asked to join the National Committee for Cambodian Women (NCCW). 

NGOs are concerned that (i) more training is needed for local public officers on the Law to Suppress Human Trafficking and Exploitation; (ii) the network of gender network focal point persons in the ministries is not functioning effectively; (iii) the draft law on domestic violence is not yet passed; (iv) the NCCW may not meet expectations; (v) government officials, especially those in high-ranking positions, still have limited awareness on gender issues; (v) there is a huge need to train commune councils on gender concepts and mainstreaming; (vi) there is weak law enforcement concerning violence against women; and (vii) the gender training programs have been limited to only some provinces. 

NGOs recommend the government to (i) invite women’s organizations to participate in further development and prioritization of the GAP and the finalization of legislation; (ii) promulgate the Law Against Domestic Violence by the end of 2002; (iii) assign at least one senior official of each ministry to be responsible for women’s issues; (iv) prepare the CEDAW report on eliminating discrimination against women in a timely manner; (v) increase the budget allocations for education and health, with special attention to the needs of women, including dormitories and scholarships for female students; (vi) increase the availability of reproductive health services; (vii) provide training to commune councils on gender concepts; (viii) redesign national data collection methods to provide more gender-specific data; (ix) Restore support to the Gender Resources and Information Programme (GRIP); and (x) provide capacity building on gender mainstreaming to the ministries involved in preparing the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). 

Donors should factor gender into all development programs and reforms, allocate special funds for women’s and children’s programs, and provide non-formal education and vocational training for women. 

NGOs should strengthen their capacity to fill gaps left by the government, continue to participate in advocacy on policies and laws affecting women and children, and continue to develop and implement programs that target women and children. NGOs that act as advisors to the NCCW should ensure that the wider NGO community is receiving feedback on developments in the NCCW. 

G. Demobilization and Armed Forces Reform
At the 1999 Consultative Group meeting, the RGC presented a revised demobilization plan called the Cambodian Veterans Assistance Program (CVAP), which consists of three stages - registration, demobilization, reinsertion and reintegration.  

A pilot project of demobilization demobilized about 1500 soldiers in four provinces. The first 15,000 soldiers under the full-scale demobilization were demobilized as planned. The first White Paper on National Defense was released for discussion in January 2001, but much more discussion will be needed to articulate the appropriate nature, size and cost of the defense forces in the future. 

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

NGOs have been closely associated with the demobilization program as official monitors. 

The NGOs have expressed concern about: (i) the need for demobilization to be accompanied by transparent weapons reduction; (ii) lack of transparency in the registration stage, leading to continuing doubts about the number of soldiers still in active service; (iii) difficulties regarding the integration of ex-soldiers into civilian life; and (iv) the need for long-term support for demobilized soldiers, through integration with existing development programs. 

NGOs recommend that the government should (i) collect and publicly destroy one weapon for every soldier demobilized; (ii) allow NGOs to monitor all stages of the demobilization; (iii) make more effort to reintegrate demobilized soldiers and provide vocational training; (iv) inform soldiers about the support packages and options before demobilization take place; (v) evaluate the usefulness of these support packages; and (vi) aim for a much smaller, but professional and well equipped, set of armed forces focused on protecting Cambodia’s borders.

Donors should: (i) provide support for vocational training programs for demobilized soldiers; (ii) integrate activities to assist reintegration into existing area development programs; and (iii) provide continued support to weapons reduction programs. 

NGO should: (i) continue to play a crucial role in monitoring and evaluate the impact of demobilization; and (ii) incorporate into their programs activities to assist the integration of demobilized soldiers. 

H. Natural Resource Management
The management of natural resources is essential to the RGC’s strategy to sustain development, reduce poverty and to enhance social justice.  Initiatives underway or planned typically address issues of access to natural resources by communities as a means to further their development and to sustain their livelihood. 

A new Land Law was promulgated in July 2001, four related laws and 14 implementing sub-decrees are being prepared, and a number of these have also been passed.  Land registration is proceeding and capacity for land administration is being strengthened.  Pilot projects of inventory of state land in districts in two provinces are underway.  Despite this notable progress, Cambodia continues to be plagued by land disputes, and further progress is urgently needed. 

In the forestry sector, the government has endeavored to bring logging activities under control at a sustainable level, develop a comprehensive legal framework for forestry development, and build capacity within the Department of Forestry and Wildlife.  Many of the reform actions are in process, but there are still signs that concessionaires are involved in illegal logging, and the “total systems failure” of the concession system continues.  A highlight of the forestry reform is the strong support given by the Prime Minister, without which the limited improvements so far witnessed would not have been possible. 

Similarly, in the fisheries sector, the Prime Minister has instigated a reform involving the handing over of 56% of commercial fishing lot areas to community fisheries.  Establishment of community fisheries and capacity building of Department of Fisheries staff are under way.  A new Fisheries Law and a sub-decree on community fisheries have been drafted, but not yet promulgated.  While a number of policy changes have been introduced, much remains to be done to address conflict issues among the many users of the fisheries areas.  Powerful interest groups at the local level continue to thwart local level reform and poverty reduction efforts. 

NGO Concerns and Recommendations: 

NGOs implementing community development programs across Cambodia often witness problems and conflicts regarding access to land and to common property resources such as fisheries and forests.  NGO networks and local community representatives have been involved in policy advocacy and contributing to legislative development in the land, forestry and fisheries sectors.  NGOs have helped to pioneer community forestry and community fisheries in Cambodia, and have implemented various small-scale re-forestation programs.  Other related NGO activities include research, public awareness programs, and legal assistance to victims of land, forestry and fisheries disputes.

NGOs are concerned about the need to improve consultative processes in the drafting of legislation.  Despite the much-applauded participatory process in developing the Land Law, there has been a lack of open consultation in the development of the related regulations.  The were extensive consultations on the draft sub-decrees on community forestry and community fisheries, but significant changes were made to the latter after the consultations, thereby eliminating much of the community and NGO input.  Consultations on the new draft Fisheries Law, drafted in 1999, are to begin in June 2002. 

Other concerns include the recent granting of various large-scale agro-industrial concessions on forest land, occupying areas exceeding the maximum permitted by the Land Law, and extensive clearing of forest land for private ownership, leading to permanent loss of forest cover.  Obstacles to the transport and sale of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) continue to pose a significant problem for forest-dependent communities.  The sudden reforms in the fisheries sector have caused the Department of Fisheries to rush the establishment of community fisheries before a proper legal and institutional framework is in place, leading to shortcomings in the creation of the 170 fishery communities to date. 

NGOs recommend that the government: (i) provide an open consultation process on laws and regulations at all stages of the drafting process, based on set specific timeframes, and ensure that the final versions have broad stakeholder support; (ii) prepare and adopt a draft law and sub-decree on the Expropriation of Social Concessions by the end of 2002; (iii) review land concessions, imposing a ban on land concessions on forest land, and cancel agro-industrial concessions occupying areas which exceed the maximum permitted by the Land Law; (iv) remove barriers to marketing NTFPs and resin; (v) ensure wide dissemination of laws and regulations that have already been passed, including the Land Law; and (vi) make land distribution and land management the priority for land refrom, and focus land registration efforts on areas where the poor are vulnerable to being dispossessed. 

Donors should: (i) prioritize support for land distribution and land management reforms; (ii) focus support for land titling in areas where poor people are most vulnerable to being dispossessed; (iii) recognize that the current forest concession system is not working, and reorient efforts towards increasing communities’ role in managing forests and support the management of new protected areas; (iv) work with the RGC to conduct an urgent review of the impact of recent fisheries reforms on rural livelihoods and the sustainability of fisheries; (v) encourage the RGC to publish a clear, time-bound process for full consultation with local communities and civil society on outstanding laws, sub-decrees, and regulations.

NGOs should: (i) continue to participate in legislative development and ensure the involvement of community representatives in the process; (ii) provide more resources and assistance to community fisheries and community forestry projects; (iii) set up NGO working groups on land reform in the provinces; (iv) participate in land registration and monitoring and provide legal assistance to poor communities where needed; (v) conduct relevant research; (vi) provide public awareness and education on new legislation and reforms; (vii) conduct a joint NGO study on good and bad cases of community forestry, and lessons to be learnt from this.