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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The NGO community in Cambodia, comprising over four hundred local and international organizations, welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the third Consultative Group (CG) meeting on Cambodia. This marks the seventh occasion that NGOs participate in the annual meetings with Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) officials and multilateral and bilateral donors on development assistance to Cambodia.
As the development focus in Cambodia shifts from meeting immediate needs to medium and long-term objectives, government, NGO and donor efforts must emphasize laying the foundations of a nation. In the view of the NGOs, three themes continue to stand out as priorities:
- Development of human resources
- Alleviation of poverty
- Respect for the rule of law
The foundation for long-term development of Cambodia rests on the skills and the knowledge of its people. Donor agencies must continue to support human resource development as fundamental to the realization of all other policies. NGOs continue to recognize the difficulties faced by partner government staff who are underpaid, underemployed, and forced to find means of their own to assure their livelihood. NGOs urge donors to provide technical assistance to support administrative reform which is crucial to ending the lack of motivation, and corruption that plagues government departments.
Economic indicators show that there is a growing income disparity between sections of the population, particularly between urban and rural sectors. Specifically, agriculture has not kept up with the population growth and the corresponding increase in the supply of rural labor. Until 1997 the national economy was growing, however, the majority of the people, those living in the countryside, were worse off. Social indicators such as those relating to education and nutrition reflect the same situation. NGOs are concerned that the quality of life of the majority of Cambodians is being adversely affected and urge donor agencies to invest in rural areas – both in agriculture and non-farm sectors – to address the roots of poverty.
Another issue of concern is landlessness, a trend that is increasing as revealed by a number of village surveys. The Cambodian traditional social safety net relies on most people having enough land for subsistence farming. An increase in landlessness will aggravate the socio-economic situation of the country. NGOs urge donors to promote the protection and administration of land rights as a necessary condition to development.
Respect for the rule of law provides the confidence and impetus to invest in the future. The continued absence of the rule of law in Cambodia is the single most important obstacle to development in the country, impeding both local and foreign investment, internal trade, public confidence in the RGC, and most important -- the security and general well-being of the people. NGOs urge donors to make respect for the rule of law a fundamental objective of aid to Cambodia by supporting legal reform, especially programs that encourage accountability, strengthen the judiciary, ensure the neutrality of the police and military, and strengthen civil society.
The NGO community in Cambodia would also like to voice concern regarding the privatization of forestry and fisheries resources at the expense of local communities who rely on these resources to meet their livelihood requirements. NGOs call on donor agencies to support the preparation of legislation and policy-frameworks in the forestry and fisheries sectors, so as to ensure recognition of community needs and community participation in the management of natural resources.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic will have special implications for the economic and social well-being of the families of HIV/AIDS patients. NGOs urge donors to provide more funding for care and counseling of HIV/AIDS patients as well as to focus attention on the social service ministries which can provide services to HIV/AIDS patients and their families.
NGOs want to be partners in development with the RGC at all levels and, to do so, need a transparent and supportive framework for collaboration. The proposed NGO law should affirm the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of association and provide clear and flexible guidelines for NGO operations.
Cambodia needs concrete results in the areas of development of human resources, alleviation of poverty and respect for the rule of law in order to achieve the goal of sustainable equitable development. The NGO community shares with the Cambodian people their quest for a peace dividend in the form of demobilization, combined with increased investment in the social and rural sectors. Finally, NGOs look forward to a government which is more open and invites public participation in policy formulation.