Phnom Penh governor pushes for cooperation with NGOs
Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng
yesterday appealed to all local authorities to cooperate with civil society
groups and not to threaten them if they are carrying out legal activities.
He was speaking at a consultative forum, attended by nearly 1,000 NGOs, on Koh Pich to discuss resolving
issues and promoting cooperation between the government and civil society
groups.
Mr Sreng appealed to the
Armed Forces, City Hall, local authorities and other relevant parties to
coordinate and facilitate the work of registered NGOs and not threaten or
intimidate them.
. .
“The government does not discriminate against any activities of
legally-registered NGOs as has been claimed,” he said. “The government does not
suppress their freedom to conduct political or any other activity.”
Mr Sreng suggested that
representatives of development partners, communities, and NGOs should continue
to support and engage with local authorities at all levels to promote democracy,
provide social services and develop social and economic development in a more
integrated partnership with high responsibility.
He noted that there are now 5,523 local NGOs registered with the Interior
Ministry, and 419 foreign NGOs associations which have signed a memorandum of
understanding with the Foreign Affairs Ministry to conduct activities in
accordance with applicable laws, without any hindrance or barriers.
Chhem Roath, an officer
of Legal Aid of Cambodia, yesterday said that NGOs must respect the law when
carrying out activities and avoid affecting pubic order.
“The NGOs have an obligation to follow the laws and avoid any activity which
affects public order,” he said.
. .
Soeng Sen Karuna, a
senior official of rights group Adhoc, recently said
that he welcomes the consultative forum as an opportunity for civil society
group to raise issues concerning the public.
“It is good thing and we always meet to discuss issues with the
authorities,” he said. “It is a chance for NGOs to raise issues such as human
rights violation and the Law on NGOs which restricts freedom of assembly.”
“The government has opened space for civil society groups to do their work
but implementation is still a problem because local authorities are not fully
cooperating with NGOs and disrupt our work by monitoring us when we hold
meetings with villagers,” Mr Sen Karuna
added.
In November, the government established a working group to address issues
raised by NGOs regarding difficulties conducting field work. The working group is
tasked with organizing consultation meetings with NGOs and reviewing issues.
The working group also has to collect information and studies made by NGOs
and promote awareness of the law on associations and NGOs and other legal
instruments.
. .
Interior Minister Sar Kheng also ordered local authorities to allow registered NGOs to conduct their field work without the need of a three-day prior notice as stipulated in a previous policy. He said that the move was meant to strengthen cooperation between NGOs and the government, noting that the policy only applies to NGOs which are registered with the ministry.