INTRODUCTION
The NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child (NGOCRC) has
been working actively on children's issues since its formation
in 1994. Today, the network consists of 24 NGOs, a majority of
which are Cambodian NGOs. The principle roles of the NGOCRC are
to advocate, promote and monitor the right's of children in
Cambodia.
Over the past three decades Cambodia has been devastated by
civil war, which almost entirely destroyed the structure of the
economy, culture, and other infrastructures. This plight
specifically affects the lives of the children who represent
nearly half of the population of Cambodia, and in the worst
cases leads them to be malnourished, working as prostitutes,
homeless, disabled, petty criminals, drug addicts, or children
affected by HIV/AIDS.
According to the 1998 General Population Census, the present
population is around 11.4 million, of which 46 percent is under
18 years old. This rate is among the highest in the world - on
average children represent only 36 percent of the total
population.
The reconstruction and development of the country is gradually
moving forward and the future of Cambodia depends on its
children. On behalf of the NGOs and IOs working for children's
rights and the overall well being of children in Cambodia, the
National Coalition of NGOs working on children's issues (NGOCRC)
strongly recommends that the following important children's
issues be addressed in the National Development Plan of
Cambodia.
KEY ISSUES
- The Right to Education is still not a reality for many
According to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
education indicators 1997- 1998, the national government
budget allocation for the Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sports was only 10.3% in 1997. It was increased to 12% in
1998, which is still very low, particularly when compared to
a budget allocation of 52% for the defense sector. (Source:
Report of Special Representative of the secretary- general
for Human Rights in Cambodia 1999).
Dropout and repetition rates
Grade |
Repetition
rate % |
Drop-out
rate % |
1 |
41.2 |
11.9 |
2 |
26.7 |
15.2 |
3 |
19.2 |
14.9 |
4 |
12.6 |
17.4 |
5 |
7.5 |
21.1 |
6 |
4.4 |
18.0 |
- Lack of Access to Health Care Services
Presently, there are only a few pediatric hospitals in Phnom
Penh, and these are supported by foreign assistance. Just 4%
of the sick and high risk children in rural areas are sent
to the pediatric hospitals in Phnom Penh and this process
can sometimes be difficult for children because of slow
trans- portation and slow services after their arrival.
Furthermore poor people can find it impossible to send their
children from rural areas because of high travel costs and
fees charged for treatment.
Most of the government hospitals or health centers have
inadequate equipment, facilities and medicine and do not have
enough professional staff. Apart from this there are only a few
general hospitals and private inadequately trained medical
practitioners who are unable to provide a satisfactory level of
health services for children or mothers.
- HIV issue
According to a 1999 report from the Anti-HIV and AIDS
Center, the rate of HIV transmission in Cambodia is the
highest in Asia. Preliminary result estimates indicate that
180,000 people are HIV positive, 3 percent of them are
pregnant women. There are an estimated 8,000 adults with
AIDS, and 3,000 children are HIV positive. In the year 2000,
about 1,000 children will die of AIDS transmitted by their
parents. Another 10,000 children will become orphans due to
the death of their parents from AIDS.
- Lack of birth registration
The absence of birth registration affects social status with
regards to nationality, juvenile justice, sexual
exploitation and trafficking and inheritance rights in cases
where parents get divorced.
- Lack of local child adoption policy and monitoring
mechanism
The absence of any mechanism for processing local adoptive
families, the total lack of regulation of private adoptions,
and the plethora of foreign adoptions without any monitoring
of outcomes or follow-up, constitute matters for grave
concern.
- Lack of juvenile justice system
The Youth Rehabilitation Center was opened in 1995 in order
to rehabilitate children in conflict with the law. According
to NGO surveys in 1999, the center currently provides no
education above grade two and no vocational training, due to
shortage of funds. There are also concerns about lack of
clean water, shortage of bedding and food and a high
incidence of sickness, especially skin diseases related to
unsanitary conditions. Despite efforts by the Royal
Government of Cambodia article 37 paragraph (b) to (d), and
article 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child have
still not been implemented. Children continue to be sent to
detention centers or prisons without proper court judgment
and access to due process of law, and there is a lack of
basic health, education and rehabilitation services for
detained children.
- Drug abuse
Increasingly Cambodian children are facing the influences of
substance and drug abuse: street children are especially
vulnerable. These problems are caused by the influx of drugs
without effective control, particularly from Thailand. Some
children are coerced by adults or gangsters to use
substances to force them to commit illegal acts such as
theft and robbery. Some children using glue also commit
crimes to find money to pay for the glue once they become
addicted.
- Labor and sexual exploitation of children
Child prostitution is a very serious problem in Cambodia due
to the low level of education, poverty, and the need for
children to work in order to pay off family debts. Children
are coerced, raped, kidnapped, and deceived into
prostitution by pimps, con artists and brothel owners with
barbiturate use and other forms of deception.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To improve the plight of children in Cambodia and address these
issues, NGOs recommend the following:
- Provide a sufficient national budget allocation for
education in order to ensure improved quality of education
and to guarantee free and compulsory primary education for
all children.
- Establish more health centers and motivate nurses to
provide good health care services at the community level,
through increased salaries and more effective training in
order to respond to children‘s medical care needs.
- Introduce and enforce a compulsory national birth
registration law.
- Tackle the issue of adoption urgently in order to protect
the best interests of the child.
- Establish a national juvenile justice system that is
practiced all over the country.
- Take immediate measures to prevent the influx of narcotic
drugs and prohibit the sale of glue to children.
- Give priority to the implementation of the CNCC's National
5-Year Plan against commercial sexual exploitation of
children.
- Increase allocation in the national budget for children's
programs in all sectors.
The implementation of the above recommendations demands
technical and financial support for NGOs and the RGC.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CHILDREN WHO ATTENDED
A WORKSHOP ON CRC
-
Eliminate corruption.
-
Raise public awareness of child’s rights.
-
Bring offenders to justice and punish
according to the law.
-
Eliminate use of illegal drugs.
-
End violations of children's rights.
-
Close gambling dens and stop gangster's
activities
-
Establish more care and protection centers.
Workshop facilitated by the NGO
Committee on the Rights of the Child (NGOCRC), Phnom Penh, 1999
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