Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post
LAND rights, judicial reform and the global economic crisis are to be among the key challenges for Cambodia in 2010, according to foreign donors, who have expressed cautious optimism about the government’s progress in key areas.
Speaking at the Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee (GDCC) meeting held in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, senior officials and diplomats discussed the country’s progress on the series of Joint Monitoring Indicators (JMIs) that are linked to annual donations of foreign aid.
“This meeting of the GDCC is taking place at a particularly critical juncture, as we are seeing more clearly the impacts from the global economic downturn and the slowdown in Cambodia’s economic growth,” World Bank Country Manager Qimiao Fan said in a statement released following the meeting.
German Ambassador Frank Markus Mann hailed “very positive results” in the land sector but said a spate of recent land disputes represented an “urgent” challenge to poverty reduction and equitable economic development.
Similarly, Australian Ambassador Margaret Adamson praised recent actions on judicial reform, including the government’s plan to send the long-awaited anticorruption law to the National Assembly “in the coming weeks”, but expressed concerns about the recent crackdown on government critics.
The meeting came ahead of December’s annual Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum, at which foreign nations are set to announce their aid donations for 2010, but critics have long questioned the utility of such meetings.
In a February report, international group Global Witness argued that despite promises of reform dating back to 2001, the government has failed to deliver, noting the continued lack of an anticorruption law.
Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said donors, who pledged nearly US$1 billion in aid in 2009, had the power to pressure the government on key issues, but that past experience was not encouraging.
“If they continue to do what they’ve done in past years, there will be no improvements,” he said.
Chith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum, who attended the meeting, said it was positive that the issues were being raised but that the government’s commitment would be tested in between the government-donor forums.
“There need to be further discussions between NGOs and development partners,” he said. “NGOs welcome” further discussions and dialogue.
Speaking at the Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee (GDCC) meeting held in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, senior officials and diplomats discussed the country’s progress on the series of Joint Monitoring Indicators (JMIs) that are linked to annual donations of foreign aid.
“This meeting of the GDCC is taking place at a particularly critical juncture, as we are seeing more clearly the impacts from the global economic downturn and the slowdown in Cambodia’s economic growth,” World Bank Country Manager Qimiao Fan said in a statement released following the meeting.
German Ambassador Frank Markus Mann hailed “very positive results” in the land sector but said a spate of recent land disputes represented an “urgent” challenge to poverty reduction and equitable economic development.
Similarly, Australian Ambassador Margaret Adamson praised recent actions on judicial reform, including the government’s plan to send the long-awaited anticorruption law to the National Assembly “in the coming weeks”, but expressed concerns about the recent crackdown on government critics.
The meeting came ahead of December’s annual Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum, at which foreign nations are set to announce their aid donations for 2010, but critics have long questioned the utility of such meetings.
In a February report, international group Global Witness argued that despite promises of reform dating back to 2001, the government has failed to deliver, noting the continued lack of an anticorruption law.
Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said donors, who pledged nearly US$1 billion in aid in 2009, had the power to pressure the government on key issues, but that past experience was not encouraging.
“If they continue to do what they’ve done in past years, there will be no improvements,” he said.
Chith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum, who attended the meeting, said it was positive that the issues were being raised but that the government’s commitment would be tested in between the government-donor forums.
“There need to be further discussions between NGOs and development partners,” he said. “NGOs welcome” further discussions and dialogue.
5 comments:
Oh come on now, this is total bullshit. The regime has made ZERO progress on uman rights, in fact it has gone into reverse.
The anti-corruption law was PROMISED by summer this year to the euro commissioner, and it is still just that. A promise. And has been for 10 years.
It isn't going to happen in the coming weeks, and donors should understand the only way that it WILL be passed is if they threaten, and then follow-through on cutting funding.
Particularly ridiculous is the german's statement vis land issues. This coming after Hun Sen has cancelled the land titling initiative. And of course land grabs and evictions continue.
As someone told me, either Hun Sen is not in control, or he is participating in these issues. Which do you believe?
If he has the power to summarily close down all gambling, ban red hair-dye for women, ban 3g phones (because his wife doesn't like porn), etc, etc, he surely has the power to stop these high profile land thefts, and push through an anti-corruption law.
Unless he, and his cronies are the perps...
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