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NGO Operating Environment
And Legal Framework

NGOs want to be partners in development with the Royal Government of Cambodia at all levels. To do so, we need a transparent and supportive framework for collaboration. The proposed NGO law should provide clear guidelines for NGO operations so that both NGOs and government officials clearly understand the operating environment. Without this, NGOs may make decisions in a vacuum, or government officials may give discretionary interpretations of the status or standing of NGOs.

The NGO law should affirm the constitutional guarantee of freedom of association and encourage a pluralistic society. A supportive NGO law would enable NGOs to contribute to social stability by allowing them to respond quickly and creatively to problem situations as they occur. Programs first developed by NGOs are often adopted by government to the greater benefit of the overall population. NGOs can also be more efficient than government in service delivery, thereby freeing up scarce government resources for areas not feasible for citizens or NGOs such as developing infrastructure. A supportive legal framework will also enable NGOs to contribute to the development of a market economy and encourage citizen participation in the development of the country.

The NGO legislation needs to recognize that there are different kinds of NGOs, and that they use different approaches to leverage other resources. Thus, threshold or arbitrary budget requirements penalize the more efficient organizations and stifle the development of new ones, since they must start small to build their capacity.

Government regulation should structure a framework that provides adequate information on development activities and the fiscal impact of NGOs on the country's development. The framework should also encourage self-regulation. The right balance between regulation and facilitation should be achieved so that scarce government resources need not be committed to managing a complex regulatory framework.

We are certain that donors desire a flexible and facilitative legal framework that encourages NGOs to realize their full potential and makes the most efficient use of the donor funding provided through these organizations.