Cambodian rights group fears law could destroy civil society

Aug 5, 2011, 9:59 GMT

Phnom Penh - A leading Cambodian rights group warned Friday that a controversial draft law would mark the demise of civil society should it be approved in its current form.

The draft Law on Associations and Non-Government Organizations, which is designed to regulate civil society, has been extensively criticized by NGOs and donors as unduly restrictive.

This draft - the third so far - was sent to the Council of Ministers on July 29. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the body would start reviewing it next week.

Naly Pilorge, director of rights group LICADHO, said the main problem was that registration was compulsory for almost all associations and non-governmental organizations, which would have to provide financial and personal details beyond the capacity of many small groups.

Pilorge said that would damage informal networks and associations 'particularly those advocating on issues that affect the country such as land grabbing, labour and wage issues.'

'I strongly believe those groups are the first target,' Pilorge said, adding that the law in its current form would spell 'the end of an independent, growing civil society.'

Pilorge's comments followed statements released late Thursday by LICADHO and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), in which they said the draft was flawed and unnecessary.

CCHR said it was concerned that the law's purpose was 'to stifle popular movements and grassroots politics,' which it described as 'the backbone of civil society.'

'They should therefore be protected by legislation, rather than subjected to 'death by bureaucracy,' which could be the lasting legacy of the law,' CCHR said.

It warned that time was running out to effect amendments, and said the government was 'showing a resolute determination to bring civil society - one of the last independent voices in Cambodia - under its control.'

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said civil society could still funnel its concerns to the ministries of interior and foreign affairs, which drafted the law, despite earlier comments by one ministry spokesman that the door was closed.

'They still have an opportunity to challenge that law,' Phay Siphan said, adding that it was only entering the discussion phase at the Council of Ministers. 'Be patient and see what's going on.'

On Friday, the US Embassy again urged Phnom Penh to consider the views of donors and civil society when drafting the law and to 'refrain from passing any new law that restricts, rather than enhances, the important role of civil society.'