By Ya Navuth*
15 August 2011
After the recent release of third (3rd) draft law on associations and non-governmental organizations on 29 July 2011 by Ministry of Interior (MoI), Cambodian civil society are very concerned that the Royal Government of Cambodia has its desire to control civil society rather than to promote and strengthen civil society’s work because the 3rd draft introduced limited improvement over the second draft of the NGO law. Therefore, many statements issued and consultative meetings/forums conducted by civil society to collect ideas/concerns so as to recommend the Royal Government of Cambodia for thorough consideration before the 3rd draft law is passed. The following are the concerns[1] raised by civil society related to the 3rd draft law on association and non-governmental organizations:
- Registration is mandatory and complex rather than voluntary and simple;
- There are no safeguards to ensure either denials of registration or involuntary disslutions are imposed objectively;
- The law does not include a time period for an appeals process for the denial of registration; and
- Key terms in the law are left undefined and many sections are vague.
According to the Cambodian Constitution, it recognizes and respects human rights provided in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the covenants and conventions related to human rights (article 31). As noted above, the Constitution also provides the fundamental for freedom of association (article 42) and grants Cambodians the rights to actively participate in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation (article 35), however,[2] the Royal Government of Cambodia seems to significantly restrict freedom of association, provide a difficult and intimidating process for association or organizations to lawfully register, force association/NGOs to report to the government, violating independence of association/NGOs and place unreasonable restraints on foreign NGOs which likely lead to greater politicization of aid to Cambodia and give excessive powers to government officials which will favor arbitrary decision making.
Furthermore, the draft law provides more power for government officials to restrict and control the work of civil society groups and, especially to intimidate and obstruct association/NGOs which are not in favor with the government and imposes restrictions on freedom of association, including by requiring mandatory registration of all associations and NGOs, and by banning “any activity” by groups which are not registered. The draft law will undermine community development and democratic participation on a broad level, including having a potentially grave impact on the ability of grassroots communities or CBOs to participate in their own development and suppress “unwanted” activities by community-based groups or networks and individual community members themselves.
Cambodian Civil society understand the government’s needs for a legal framework to ensure social security and stability and development and humanitarian aid is delivered effectively, however, the legal framework already exists under the Civil Code, Penal Code and other Cambodian laws and regulations, but any such framework need to ensure freedom and good will of citizens in law making process without undue restrictions or burdens, therefore, in order to contribute and ensure full participation of civil society in the development of Cambodia, and strengthen rule of law as a democratic country, the Royal Government of Cambodia should consider the following recommendation[3]:
- In accordance with international standards, and in particular to protect the right to freedom of association, the government should ensure that any registration of NGOs and associations is voluntary and truly accessible with clear, speedy and corruption free procedure in place;
- In the interests of transparency and democratic participation, the government should commit to a full and thorough public consultation process over the draft law, including on whether such a law is necessary and, if so, what protections and benefits it should contain for organizations which work in the public interest;
- The draft law should explicitly articulate a transparent process for the evaluation of registration applications and the denial of registration is in writing; and occurs within a reasonable timeline. The appeal process should be explicit, including both an expedited process that permits operations during the appeal and objective legal standards for review;
- The article 44, 46 and 48 exclude or simplify reporting procedures for small, provincial, community based development organizations and alliances;
- Foreign NGOs should be encouraged, but not mandatory to collaborate with the Royal Government of Cambodia and are explicitly given the right to appeal the denial of a memorandum of understanding; and
- The draft law should incorporate a Glossary of Terms as well as Explanatory Notes for every article.
* Ya Navuth is an LLD studet at PUC; he can be reached at ya_navuth@yahoo.com
References:
1. Licadho briefing paper 2010 concerning the draft law on associations and NGOs
2. Consolidated report on the third draft law on association and NGOs by NGO Law Task Team on 5 August 2011
3. Concerns on draft law on association and NGOs in Cambodia by Japanese NGOs on 30 December 2010
4. Analysis on draft law on associations and NGOs in Cambodia by EWMI on 22 December 2010
5. Comments on draft law on association and NGOs of Kingdom of Cambodia by ICNL on 22 December 2010
6. NGO law analysis by GADNet 2010
7. CCHR’s Key Concerns and Recommendations concerning The Draft Law on Associations and Nongovernmental Organizations 2010
8. Comment on NGO law by Koy Neam 2010
9. Analysis and Recommendations on the Draft Law of NGO by Attorney Sok Sam Oeun, Executive Director, CDP 2010
[1] Consolidated report on the third draft of the law on association and NGOs in Cambodia by NGO Law Task Team on 05 August 2011
[2] Licadho briefing paper 2010 concerning the draft law on associations and NGOs
[3] Consolidated report on the third draft of the law on association and NGOs in Cambodia by NGO Law Task Team on 05 August 2011
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