Good Governance

Nurse Online Registration Management System

The participants got guidance from the IT expert during the training in Siem Reap province

06 July 2018

March, April and June, 2018

Siem Reap and 10 selected provinces, Cambodia

All Cambodian nurses who exercise as medical professional assistants must register with the Cambodian Council of Nurses (CCN). In order to ease the feasibility of the registration to all nurses everywhere in the country, the online registration system was developed and launched in late March 2018.

To make the new online registration system work smoothly and successfully, the CCN organized a Training of Trainers (ToT) on the Online Registration Management System on March 15, 2018 in Siem Reap province. Around 50 participants from all regional and provincial heads of the council participated to become ToT for the sub-national trainings that would be organized later.

With the intention of improving the quality of the health care services and ensure that the safety of all Cambodians receiving these health care services, the Ministry of Health (MoH) released a new law on Regulation of Health Practitioners in late 2016. This new law allows the CCN to effectively regulate their profession. The CCN wants to make sure that all nurses have the necessary qualifications and are competent to practice their profession and are easily identifiable by everyone: patients, the community, employers and education providers.

Self-practice of the participants during the training in Siem Reap province

The registration as a health professional is a basic step to start a nursing career and it’s for life; being registered means that the Council acknowledges a person as being technically trained and holding a qualification recognized by the MoH. It also means that the individual has no mental or physical health condition that will impair his/her professional practice and no criminal conviction in Cambodia or other countries. Once registered with their respective Councils, they are known as health professionals and can use the title of Doctor, Dentist, Midwife, Nurse or Pharmacist. Furthermore, to legally practice their nursing profession, nurses need to apply for a license to practice; otherwise, they are not allowed to exercise their nursing profession. Besides the national registration, in the near future, Cambodian nurses will be able to register regionally in order to work in the ASEAN Member States-AMS (ASEAN region) through the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ASEAN MRA-NS) and globally.

GIZ, the main development partner, strongly stressed out on how important the registration is and the role of nursing regulatory authority-CCN. Ministry of Health, CCN and GIZ are jointly working on ASEAN MRA-NS, which aims at enhancing work force skills, qualifications and service delivery and at promoting the mobility of skilled labour in the future.

Provincial trainer trained the Lead Nurses on the new online registration system in Pursat province

To quickly promote this new online registration system to ordinary nurses in all the provinces, especially the provinces with low rate of registered nurses, the CCN with technical and financial support from GIZ, organized sub-national trainings to all the Lead Nurses in ten selected provinces namely Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Udor Meanchey, Kampong Speu, Koh Kong, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear and Steung Treng, in April and June 2018. The ToT in each of the mentioned provinces successfully provided the trainings with the strong technical support of a GIZ advisor to ensure smooth and clear instructions. By the end of the trainings, all of those Lead Nurses were able to disseminate the information and train ordinary nurses in their work place, making them aware of the new system and able to use the system by themselves, since it helps them to save both time and money.

The follow-up sessions will be done in the next three months in those selected provinces to see the progress of nurse registrations compared to the status before the trainings were provided.

Technical support during the self-practice of the participants in Kampong Thom province

Technical support during the self-practice of the participants Kampong Cham

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ASEAN-German Cooperation Project “Support to the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)” supports implementing ASEAN agreements including Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs). The project operates in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam until November 2018.

For more information, please contact GIZ IAI Senior Advisor Ms. Kamrang Ke ([email protected])

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Disclaimer

How digital solutions facilitate the identification of poor households in Cambodia

28 June 2018

When poverty hits, people struggle to even afford their basic needs. Getting nutritious food and clean drinking water can be a challenge, compromises on education might have to be made. It can be devastating, especially when one encounters health issues.

To tackle poverty and identify those in need for support the Cambodian government with the support of its partners, Germany and Australia, implements a unique solution: IDPoor.

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IDPoor aims to reduce poverty

Since 2006, the Ministry of Planning (MoP) of the Royal Government of Cambodia implements a poverty identification mechanism called Identification of Poor Households (IDPoor). It is part of the Royal Government of Cambodia’s ongoing efforts to reduce poverty and support socio-economic development throughout the country. IDPoor uses a hybrid model to combine the objectivity of a proxy means test survey with the accuracy and affordability of a community-based selection process. The programme provides regularly updated information on poor households to many governmental and non-governmental agencies to help them target services and assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable households.

The implementation of the regular IDPoor process requires substantial human, financial and time resources to which the current government capacity is not able to accommodate. For this reason, the government is only able to reach eight provinces per year in the regular IDPoor process, causing a three-year waiting period before the same province is reassessed. For eligible families who were either absent or not identified in their respective round, or families falling into poverty in between rounds, the waiting period for the next IDPoor round can be too long.

A new on-demand identification process and use of new technologies help reaching even more poor households

As a response to these concerns, the MoP with support from GIZ has developed an On Demand Identification Mechanism (OD-IDPoor) to assess families that could not be identified during the regular identification process. The OD-IDPoor mechanism is triggered on-demand by the local level and intends to make IDPoor more dynamic and flexible.

MoP is carrying out a pilot over a period of 12 months (01/2018 – 01/2019) in the three target provinces: Tboung Khmum, Ratanakiri and Battambang.

OD-IDPoor makes use of innovative technological solutions: A digital tool allows local implementers at commune level to manage new requests, carry out interviews to determine the poverty status and print out IDPoor cards using a tablet. Data is automatically transferred to the National IDPoor database. The application has been designed for users with low IT literacy. The potential advantages are compelling: Using smart devices for data collection not only makes the process faster and more flexible but might also improve quality of data and save costs. Entering questionnaire data directly into a device makes data immediately available, saving time and costs of data entry and printing paper forms. Error messages, skip logic, and automatic score calculations simplify the process and reduce errors. Assessing these assumptions and the ability of local implementers to use these new technologies is part of the pilot implementation. Since the IDPoor process is community-driven, there was concern that if key steps in the IDPoor process require digital skills of local implementers, this might limit the participation of a significant portion of villagers. Hence, the merits of ‘quick and digital’ should not necessarily be prioritised over the value of ‘inclusive and participatory’ – IDPoor strives for a combination of both in order to maximise benefit and minimise error and cost, in line with government and community priorities.

The IDPoor Programme is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The development of the OD-IDPoor App was supported by Save the Children Cambodia on behalf of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF.

– by GIZ IDPoor

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Female Councillor Empowerment through Networking

A successful workshop opening

10 April 2018

Women holding political office in Cambodia do not have it easy. They often encounter prejudice and lack of understanding, and there is little trust in their abilities. They are also underrepresented at all levels of government. In light of this, the National Committee for Sub-national Democratic Development (NCDD-S) with support from the GIZ implemented EU Project for Decentralisation and Administrative Reform (EU DAR) has taken action. The two partners currently conduct a countrywide training programme consisting of six regional training sessions for all 445 female councillors from Cambodia’s Khan, District, Municipality and Province Councils. The trainings focus on allowing female councillors to network with each other by sharing their experiences as elected citizen representatives and also provide them with concrete tools for action that will help them to successfully take on their right of initiative under the councils’ general mandate to find solutions for the service delivery needs of their citizens.

Since there are a lot of female councillors, therefore, the training was divided into 6 regions as the following:

Region 1: Siem Reap province conducted on 27-28 March 2018

Region 2: Pursat province will be conducted on 03rd -04th April 2018

Region 3: Sihanuk province will be conducted on 24-25 April 2018

Region 4: Krate province conducted on 27-28 March 2018

Region 5: Kampong Cham province will be on conducted on 03-04 April 2018

Region 6: Capital will be conducted on 09-10 May 2018.

NCDD-S representative officially opens the training

EU DAR representative addresses female councilors

Two regional training workshops on Strengthening Female Councilors’ Voices and Networks at province, municipality, district level were conducted on 27-28, March in Siem Reap and Kratie provinces, and two others on April 02-04, 2018 in Pursat and Kampong Cham.

These workshops have the following objectives:

• Share experiences among elected councillors
• Strengthen their understanding about the General Mandate as well as Inter- and Intra-governmental Relations
• Strengthen their capacity in proposal writing and raising issues in council meetings (public speaking)
• Discuss how to create sustainable regional female councillors’ support networks
• Identified what is easy/difficult in the roles of female councillors (“Atmosphere Barometer”) for NCDD-S’ learning about capacity development needs of female councilors

Each regional workshop was participated by female councilors from different provinces:

• Siem Reap region: Female councilors from Preah Vihea, Oudor Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap provinces
• Kratie region: Female councilors are from Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stungtreng, Tboung Khmum and Kratie provinces.
• Pusat region: Female councilor are from Battambang, Pailin, Kampong Chhnang, Kompong Speu and Pursat provinces.
• Kompong Cham region: Female councilors are from Prey Veng, Svay Rieng and Kompong Cham provinces

The sharing of experiences as female councilors in action

Female councilor leads discussion at her table

There are in total 365 participants in the four regional workshops including representatives from Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Interior, NCDD-S and Council Association at Capital and Provincial Level and facilitators from NGOs.

As a result, participants are active in discussing and sharing their experiences related to their role and responsibility of being councilors​ and raising issues for discussion in council’s monthly meeting to respond to citizens’ needs.

Shared experiences of female councilors are collected by facilitators

Facilitator summarises discussion

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EU DAR is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-financed by the European Union (https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/cambodia_en) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

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Strategy planning workshop and a joint visit to the museum of auditing in Magelang

09 August 2017

In July 2017, Regional Project Support to ASEAN Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) held a Strategy Planning Workshop in Magelang, Central Java. The workshop aimed to take stock of achievements gained so far and to develop an outlook for the remaining 18 months of the project until December 2018. Especially focusing on sustainable results of the project support to ASEANSAI, emphasis was put on the development of an out-phasing strategy that will make the most of the remaining project resources – budget as well as time – in order to support partners in the best way to be the driving forces in the prosperous development of ASEANSAI and the regional cooperation within ASEAN.

The Indonesian Supreme Audit Institution, Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan Republik Indonesia (BPK RI), was invited to take part in this workshop as a key stakeholder and in their role as the ASEANSAI Secretariat. BPK as the permanent Secretariat plays a vital role in ASEANSAI and is a driving force – not only in its coordinating and facilitating function as Secretariat, but also as committed member SAI that continuously strives for the further development and professionalisation of ASEANSAI as an organisation. On the occasion of the Strategy Planning Workshop, the Regional Project Support to ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions (ASEANSAI) was invited to visit the Auditing Museum of BPK RI in Magelang, Central Java, maintained by the Public Relations and International Cooperation Bureau of the BPK RI.

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Interaction between Local Governments and Citizens: The Dissemination and Consultative Forum Season started

13 July 2017

Dissemination and Consultative (D&C) Fora aim to promote local social and economic development and alleviate poverty through greater democracy. Holding at least one D&C Forum in June or July every year, councils shall promote accountability, transparency and civic engagement within their jurisdictions. Specifically, D&C Fora aim to inform citizens about the council’s achievements and challenges as well as its priorities for the following year. Moreover, they provide citizens with opportunities to make requests to line office representatives and commune councillors, discuss district council reports, and make recommendations or proposals for further council discussions. By taking into account the needs voiced directly by their citizens, the government aims to enhance local responsibility and effectiveness of public service delivery.

The European Union Project for Decentralisation and Administrative Reform (EU DAR) which is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH supports selected partner councils in Kandal and Battambang in conducting their annual D&C Fora.

At a forum in a commune in Banan District, Battambang, the district governor and council chairperson gave a very brief but precise overview of their achievements within the last 12 months. Furthermore, they encouraged all citizens to raise their questions, give comments and actively interact with the different government officials. Without any reluctance, citizens shared concerns related to food prices, electrification, infrastructure development, illegal fishing and commune safety. One older woman raised her concern that she was always treated unfriendly when visiting the health center. The respective representative accepted her complaint and promised to bring back her feedback to the health center staff. Another citizen raised a concern about drug abuse in her commune. The local police officer offered to help and shared his private phone number to be called once the problem would arise again. Requiring coordination between the district administration and additional authorities, other issues could not be tackled directly at the forum. However, the district governor promised that the remaining issues will be discussed in the upcoming council meetings and that mechanisms will be identified to solve them. Last but not least, district authorities introduced the new opposition party commune council chief and the new opposition commune council members. All representatives from district and commune level highlighted their commitment to work closely with each other during the new mandate in order to adequately serve citizens and deliver better services.

 In the upcoming months, the EU DAR advisors in Kandal and Battambang will advise and coach their partner districts’ councils and administrations on how to address the issues raised by citizens during the fora. Good practices will be developed and up-scaled to other district councils and administrations facing similar challenges.

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Inauguration of One Window Service Offices at District Level in Kampong Speu Province

31 March 2017

On March 28, 2017, the inauguration of six newly and country-wide established One Window Service Offices and District Ombudsmen offices took place in Oudong District, Kampong Speu Province. The event was chaired by Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and Head of NCDD, and attended by approximately 2,000 participants including senior officials, civil servants, citizens and students.

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The One Window Service Office (OWSO) was initiated and introduced by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in the Municipalities of Battambang and Siem Reap as a pilot between 2004 and 2007. OWSO is the office which brings services closer to citizens – one of the objectives of the Sub-National Democratic Development reform. Combined in one office, several administrative services from different line ministries are provided to citizens and small businesses in a speedy and transparent way. Each OWSO is observed by an Ombudsperson who receives and investigates complaints from citizens if the service delivery does not run smoothly. Between 2009 and 2014, One Window Service Offices were expanded to 24 Municipalities, 8 Khans and 2 Districts. By now, the RGC – through Ministry of Interior – has established 46 OWSOs throughout Cambodia. Another six new One Window Service Offices have been technically established at the district level and will be opened soon. With this approach, the RGC brings services closer to citizens who live in rural and remote areas.

The former EU SPACE II project implemented by GIZ supported the RGC in developing legal framework documents which are required to open and operate OWSOs as well as the Ombudsman office at the district level. Moreover, the project and the RGC jointly worked on the publication of banners and leaflets which transparently display the fees that have to be paid for services delivered in One-Window-Service Offices. The successor program of EU SPACE, the “Decentralisation and Administration Reform Program” continues to jointly work with the Ministry of Interior on regulations and guidelines which are important to run OWSOs but also One Window Service Mechanisms at district level. The latter refers to service provision which is incorporated into the district administration. Within the next months, the Ministry of Interior and DAR Program will jointly conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of OWSO and One Window Service Mechanism in the partner districts of DAR Program in Kandal and Battambang. Moreover, partner districts will be trained and coached how to providing services through One Window Service Offices and Mechanisms in a transparent and effective manner.

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Successful Launch of the ATJW II Project on Minimum Standards and Referral Guidelines for GBV Survivors!

17 February 2017

On 08 February 2017, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs launched the Referral Guidelines and – jointly with the Ministry of Health – the Minimum Standards for Basic Counseling for Women and Girl Survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

These tools were developed and tested with technical support of the MoWA-GIZ-ATJW II project, which is jointly funded by the two Governments of Germany and Australia.

The ATJW II project’s aim is to support the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and concerned government institutions as well as civil society organizations in the prevention of GBV. ATJW II supports women and girl survivors of GBV to receive high quality legal, social and psychological services.

The Minimum Standards for Basic Counseling will increase awareness and assist service providers and health practitioners to improve the quality of service delivery to women and girl survivors of GBV. They promote a common set of principles to ensure privacy, confidentiality, safety, and respect for the rights of the survivors. The Minimum Standards pave the way towards a holistic and comprehensive response to GBV through a survivor-centered human rights approach. Service providers are professionally trained in order to implement the Minimum Standards through effective services to survivors with respect and care.

It is the expectation of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) and Ministry of Health that the Minimum Standards for Basic Counseling will serve as guidance for all service providers to be implemented in their daily work.

The Referral Guidelines are to be used by relevant service providers, including GBV Networks and Judicial Police Agents/Officers (JPAs/JPOs) of MoWA, to improve the effectiveness of service delivery to women and girl survivors of GBV. Referral Guidelines were developed in order to provide high quality services through a system of case registration, assessment of and referral to services based on the individual needs and agreements of the survivors.

The launching was presided over by the Minister of Women’s Affairs, H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, and H.E. Dr. Tan Vuoch Chheng, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, who delivered opening remarks along with the Ambassador of the Australian Embassy in Cambodia and the Counselor of the German Embassy in Cambodia.

This event was attended by approximately 200 guests representing Line Ministries, Government Agencies, Embassies, Development Partners, NGOs, and other Interest Groups.

We congratulate all partners involved in the successful launching!

Discussing IDPoor with beneficiaries and implementers at village level

16 January 2017

Cambodia’s Senior Minister of Planning, HE Chhay Than, and other IDPoor management staff visited Kampong Preah commune in Battambang province to see for themselves the outcomes of round 10 of the identification of poor households. They were shown around by the commune chief and 4 other local implementers of IDPoor – all of them women! During the visit, equity card holder Ms Srey Phal shared her experiences with the Minister. She is alone without steady source of income and taking care of her grandchildren after her own two children died. The team also met equity card holders Ms Phat Kosal and her mother and discussed with them the challenges they face in accessing health care as well as their participation in the IDPoor process. The team was accompanied by GIZ, the Australian Embassy and the World Food Programme.

(IDPoor on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k3VrKkTQB2Y)

Strengthening Female Councillors’ Voice for Serving Cambodia’s Citizens

06 December 2016

Opening of the Forum Ms. Maraile Görgen GIZ-DAR, Mr.-Sok Sothy and Mr. Khol Yuthly both NCDDS (from left to right).

What is your challenge being a District Female Councillor in Kratie? How does it differ to the role as Female Councillor in Kampong Speu? How do you raise your voice for your citizens? How do you manage to be heard in council meetings? These and other questions about roles and responsibilities of female councillors were discussed in a nationwide Female Councillor Forum on 29^th and 30^th of November. Nearly 90 female councillors from district and provincial councils all over the country met in Kampong Cham to learn and exchange about their role as citizens’ representative.

During the two day workshop which was jointly organised by the Secretariat of the National Committee for Subnational Democratic Development (NCDD-S), the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the GIZ Decentralisation and Administrative Reform (DAR) Programme, female councillors strengthened their proposal writing and public speaking skills and had the opportunity to exchange achievements and challenges they face in their daily work.

Female-Councillors-lively-discuss-and-exchange-during-the-group-work

Female Councillors lively discuss and exchange during the group work.

Mr. Khol Yuthly and Ms. Vong Sreymon from NCDD-S and Ms. May Sreylon from GIZ DAR facilitated the event and supported the female councillors with their ideas and experiences. Mr. Sok Sothy from NCDD-S opened the Forum by briefing the female councillors about the latest developments in the decentralisation reform and appreciated female councillors’ commitment. Lively discussions and intensive exchange between the participants took place during the two day Forum and contributed to its success. All female councillors appreciated the opportunity to get to know each other and to expand their network.

Ms. Vong Sreymom left and Ms. May Sreylon right interviewing a female councilor during a “Female Councillors News Show”.

DAR’s first Steering Committee Meeting and Launching Ceremony

10 November 2016

H.E. Youk Bunna, Secretary of State in the MCS and Vice Chair of the Committee of the Public Administrative Reform Service, H.E. Sak Setha, Secretary of State in the MoI and Head of NCDD-S, Mr Adelbert Eberhardt, GIZ Country Director, and Ms Maraile Görgen, GIZ DAR Program Manager (from right to left) after signing the MoU at the national level for the new DAR Program.

On November 4, 2016, the first Steering Committee Meeting of the new Decentralisation and Administrative Reform (DAR) Program took place. The objective of the new DAR Program is to support selected partner districts in Battambang and Kandal Province in delivering services to citizens in a more harmonised, responsive and transparent manner. To achieve this objective DAR Program not only closely cooperates with selected partner districts but also works with the NCDD-S and the MCS in developing and testing policies which then will be implemented at the subnational level.

H.E. Sak Setha, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Interior and Head of Secretariat of the National Committee for Sub-national Democratic Development (NCDD-S) as chair of the DAR steering committee opened its first meeting and highlighted the importance to jointly steer the Program with all involved partners which ensures a smooth Program implementation at the national and subnational levels. In the steering committee meeting, all DAR Program key stakeholders were presented: H.E. Youk Bunna, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Civil (MCS) and Vice Chair of the Committee of the Public Administrative Reform Service as well as his colleagues H.E. Chhy Vichara, Undersecretary of State, H.E. Kong Sophy, General Director, H.E. Chan Sophal, Governor of Battambang Province, H.E. Mao Phirun, Governor of Kandal Province, Mr Sok Sothy, Head of Division within NCDD-S, Ms Birgit Strube, First Secretary (Development Cooperation) at the German Embassy as well as GIZ Country Director Mr Adelbert Eberhardt and GIZ DAR Program Manager Ms Maraile Görgen.

The members of DAR’s first Steering Committee

H.E. Sak Setha, MoI/NCDD-S, and H.E.Youk Bunna, MCS are discussing during the steering committee meeting.

Ms Birgit Strube, German Embassy, H.E. Sak Setha, MoI/NCDD-S and H.E. Youk Bunna, MCS, during the opening of DAR’s launching ceremony.

Following DAR’s first Steering Committee meeting, the Program was officially launched during a ceremony with relevant partners from the NCDD-S, MCS, the Provinces Battambang and Kandal as well as with other Development Partners active in the field of decentralisation and administrative reform.

The launching ceremony was opened by H.E. Sak Setha and H.E. Youk Bunna. Both underlined the long and good cooperation between their Ministries and Germany/GIZ and highlighted the importance of delivering better services to the citizens. Ms Birgit Strube (First Secretary – German Development Cooperation) highlighted the importance of DAR Program and appreciated the achievements the Royal Government of Cambodia made in the decentralisation and administrative reform.

During the opening ceremony.

Representatives of DAR’s partner districts in Kandal and Battambang during the launching event.

The opening was followed by an introduction to the DAR Program presented by Mr Sok Sothy. He introduced the DAR’s approach to the representatives from the partner provinces Kandal and Battambang as well as to the representatives from district councils and administrations in the respective six partner districts.

The successful ceremony ended with the signing of the three Program Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) which were concluded between NCDD-S, MCS and GIZ as well as between Kandal Province and GIZ and Battambang Province and GIZ.

Mr Sok Sothy, NCDD-S, introducing the new DAR Program.

Ms Maraile Görgen, GIZ DAR Program Manager, H.E. Mao Phirun, Governor of Kandal Province, and Mr Adelbert Eberhardt, GIZ Country Director, (from left to right) after signing the MoU between Kandal and GIZ.

Ms Maraile Görgen, GIZ DAR Program Manager, H.E. Chan Sophal, Governor of Battambang Province, and Mr Adelbert Eberhardt, GIZ Country Director, (from left to right) after signing the MoU between Battambang and GIZ .

GIZ Country Director MrAdelbert Eberhardt, GIZ DAR Management Team and intern Ms Cora Roos after the launching ceremony.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal Turns to Forced Marriage

Exhibition on Forced Marriage under the Khmer Rouge

25 August 2016

GIZ Cambodia celebrates that victims of the widespread practice of forced marriage perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge are telling their stories in public hearings for the first time at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Through the Civil Peace Service program, GIZ Cambodia has been working since more than eight years with governmental and non-governmental organizations to seek justice for victims of forced marriage and/or sexual violence committed by the Khmer Rouge regime.

Due to the continuous efforts and advocacy by Civil Party lawyers of the Civil Peace Service program, the current Case 002 of the ECCC includes in its indictment the crime of forced marriage and the rapes that occurred in the context of those marriages. Furthermore, the Civil Peace Service has been supporting women’s hearings since 2012 giving victims of gender-based violence and forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge a public platform to talk about their experiences.

Forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge regime

In cooperation with the Civil Peace Service program, the GIZ Cambodia’s Access to Justice for Women program worked closely with the Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs to break-up the silence of the Cambodian Government about sexual violence and forced marriage. As a result, the issue was effectively integrated into two Cambodian national policies, namely the Fourth National Strategic Plan for Gender Equality (2014-2018), known as Neary Rattanak IV, and the Second National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women (2014-2018).

The long-standing and continuous work of GIZ Cambodia and its Civil Peace Service program to support civil conflict transformation and promote reconciliation and justice in the context of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has been repeatedly featured by international, German and Cambodian media.

Authors: Ms. Ursula Sticker and Mr. Rodrigo Montero Cano

For more information please contact Mr. Marc Smith, coordinator of the Civil Peace Service program, at

PRESS RELEASE – New Push from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to Activate Government Response to End Violence against Women

Minister HE Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi delivering remarks.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, 4^th July 2016 – The Ministry of Women’s Affairs today led a special meeting with representatives from 15 line ministries and civil society organizations to boost the implementation and monitoring of the Second National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women, the key national policy to address intimate partner violence and sexual violence in Cambodia. At the meeting, a new reporting system was established within the Government to increase accountability from line ministries and identify and tackle challenges in their responses to Violence against Women.

In her address, Cambodian Minister of Women’s Affairs Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi said, “As we speak here today women are being subjected to abuse and violence or even killed by their spouses and partners across our country. I hope that the new working methods and simplified reporting mechanism endorsed today will help line ministries to reactivate efforts and mobilize more human and financial resources to end this unacceptable human rights violation.”

Minister HE Mrs Ing Kantha Phavi delivering remarks.

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Wenny Kusuma, Country Representative of UN Women, said “We are marking today the half way timeframe in the implementation of the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women (2014-2018) with mixed feelings because much more needs to be done. According to a national survey commissioned by UN Women and WHO and launched by end last year, one in five Cambodian women aged 15-64 who have ever been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Another UN survey published in 2013 found that almost half of the Cambodian male perpetrators never face legal consequences. All this data is alarming and shows that response to Violence against Women from the Cambodian Government is far from being adequate enough.”

During her remarks, Dr. Ludgera Klemp, Counsellor of the German Embassy, said “Germany has supported the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and four NGOs (Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center, Transcultural Psychosocial Organization, Legal Aid Cambodia and Banteay Srei) to enhance coordination, quality and accessibility of services for women and girls victims of gender-based violence. In 2014 and 2015, over 4,000 women and girls survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence and their children received services in Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces. Violence against Cambodian female migrant workers and to trafficking in women and girls still remain as critical priorities. “

At the meeting, four ministries (Ministry of Women’s Affairs; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts; and Ministry of Information) also explained their progresses and challenges in their work to promote behavioral change of citizens to prevent Violence against Women before it happens. In addition, representatives from the Provincial Departments of Women’s Affairs from Siem Reap and Kampong Thom and from four NGOs presented some good practices and lessons learnt about their responses to Violence against Women and Girls at sub-national level.

The meeting was organized under the framework of the Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence, created in 2012 by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, supported by GIZ and UN Women –with funds from the German and Australian Governments- and comprised by line ministries, civil society organizations and development partners.

Officials from Ministry of Interior were attending the meeting.

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Editors

Follow the Ministry of Women’s Affairs of Cambodia in our social media here: https://www.facebook.com/mowa.gov.kh

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For further information please contact:

• Mr. Phon Puthborey, Information Department, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Email: ; Mobile: (+855) 129 905 19
• Mr. Rodrigo Montero Cano, Communications Advisor, Access to Justice for Women program, GIZ, Email: ; Mobile: (+ 855) 12 92 37 71

Ms. Mariken Bruusgaard Harbitz, Communication Officer, UN Women Cambodia; Email: ; Mobile: +855 (0)12 210 325

International Nurses Day in Cambodia

HE Dr Mam Bunheng, Minister of Health, presided over the International Nurses Day 2016.

15 June 2016

The International Nurses Day (IND) is celebrated internationally and marks the invaluable contribution of nurses to society.

The Cambodia Council of Nurses (CCN) organised the IND on the 15^th June 2016 which was presided over by H.E. Dr Mam Bunheng, Minister of Health. The over 360 participants were comprised of professional and student nurses from across the country as well as officials from the Ministry of Health, national hospitals, regional training centres and NGOs.

H.E. Dr Mam Bunheng emphasised the upcoming endorsement of a new law which demands registration and licensing of all nurses in Cambodia to become recognised legally as a nursing professional.

An information stand provided by CCN and GIZ provided further information and guiding factsheets on the registration process to participants.

Over 360 participants engaged in information sharing and discussions.

GIZ, the event’s main sponsor, further highlighted how registration strengthens the profession and the regulatory body CCN. GIZ also explained how this process  builds the foundation for Cambodian nurses to become ASEAN wide recognised nurses in future. Ministry of Health, CCN and GIZ are jointly working on the Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Nurse Services in ASEAN, which aims at enhancing workforce skills, qualifications and service delivery as well as at promoting a greater mobility of skilled labour.

Throughout the day, there were numerous presentations and plenary discussions. Participants received valuable practical advice from experienced nurses. They also learned about the regulatory framework to improve nursing. This includes the scope of practice for nurses, standards for professional nursing care and how nurses can contribute to the resilience of Cambodia’s healthcare systems.

Information stand on nurse registration and MRA implementation by CCN and GIZ.

ASEAN-German Cooperation Project “Support to the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)” supports implementing ASEAN agreements including Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs). The project operates in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam until June 2018.

For more information, please contact GIZ IAI Team Leader Ms. Stephanie Ludwig ()

Cambodia learns from the Experiences of the Civil Service in Azerbaijan

The head of the Cambodian delegation, H.E. Thor Sethana, Under Secretary of State from MCS (2nd from right), H.E. Pich Vicheakunthy, Director General from MCS (right), Mr. Vafadar Misirov, Deputy Chairman from CSC (2nd from left) and Ms. Narmin Zeynalova, Head of International Relations from CSC during the opening of the exchange visit.

20 April 2016

A delegation headed by the Ministry of Civil Service (MCS) with the support of GIZ’s Administrative Reform and Decentralization Program (ARDP) visited the Civil Service Commission under the President of the Republic of Aserbaijan (CSC) for an exchange of experiences and lessons learnt in March 2016. The objective of the visit was to learn from the experiences the Civil Service Commission had made in developing and implementing transparent and effective entry exam procedures for Azerbaijan’s citizens who aim to enter the civil service.

In close cooperation with the EU-funded and GIZ-implemented project “Support to civil service training capacities with a focus on EU affairs” in Azerbaijan, GIZ ARDP and selected partners from MCS as well as Cambodian representatives from the Royal School of Administration, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports learned from the Azerbaijan example and discussed similarities and differences in the civil service structure and management of both countries.

The visit included a mission to a civil service entrance examination center where the Cambodian delegation could collect practical experiences by joining a test-run of a computer-based entry exam. Moreover, the delegation visited the One Window Service Office ‘ASAN Xidmet’ (Azerbaijani: easy) to learn about the efficient and effective delivery of 120 public services in Azerbaijan.

Even though the Caucasian country Azerbaijan and the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia differ a lot in the setup of their state mechanism, both delegations identified parallels and joint challenges in the recruitment and management of civil servants. Learning from each other, both countries valued the open and lively discussions during the three-day visit to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

The Cambodian delegation together with representatives from CSC in Azerbaijan.

Representatives from Azerbaijan’s CSC and Cambodia’s MCS test and discuss the computer-based civil service entrance exam in one of Azerbaijan’s examination centers.

Visit in one of Azerbaijan’s “One Window Service Offices” called Asan.

Discussing about the structure of the civil service and public service delivery in Asan offices in Azerbaijan.

Developing constructive relations between state and society

Governance is the way in which a society organises itself to make collective decisions and take joint action for the benefit of its citizens. Cambodia began the process of improving governance over 20 years ago and has a way to go before all citizens benefit from a fair and equitably democratic society. Amidst relatively high economic growth, Cambodia still faces many development challenges, particularly regarding integrity, human rights, social equity and widespread poverty.

Understanding that there is no definitive path for a country to achieve good governance, Cambodia is now working towards establishing its own approach. Our role in this process is to offer options and to provide advice on how to develop a governance system that meets the needs of Cambodian people as well as the strategic needs of Cambodian women and people from socially disadvantaged groups.

In 2007, the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Federal Government of Germany agreed to prioritize good governance in their development cooperation.  Germany co-operates with the government in carrying out several governance reforms, for example, to bring government closer to men and women, to make public administration more efficient and accountable, to establish a more transparent and efficient system of public finances, and to build an independent and fair legal and judicial system.

German development cooperation also promotes good governance in all areas we work in. This includes our priority sectors – health and rural development, as well as specific programmes in the fields of decentralisation and local self-governance, women’s empowerment, access to justice, good financial governance and poverty reduction.

We contribute to improving governance by promoting citizen participation, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness, human rights and gender equality, with the aim to develop constructive relations between state and society.

Urban IDPoor Ready for Piloting

IDPoor stakeholders convene consultative session in late-September 2015.

04 December 2015

September 29, 2015 – Since 2006, GIZ has supported the Cambodian Ministry of Planning (MOP) in developing and implementing a procedure to identify the country’s poor households. By now, the poverty identification in rural areas is a well-established process that is based on a participatory approach executed by villagers themselves, which greatly relies on trust within the community. Due to different dynamics in urban communities, developing a procedure for participative poverty identification in urban areas is a challenging task that requires dedication and involvement of numerous stakeholders.

In late-September, government officials and other stakeholders such as CSOs, development partners and NGOs convened at the “Consultative Meeting to review the draft implementation manual of the procedure for identification of urban poor”. This advisory session marked a milestone in this consultative process, since it was the last step involving stakeholders before piloting the data collection procedure.

After the members of the consultative group reflected on ways to improve the implementation manual in small discussion groups, their comments and suggestions were taken into account during the last review of the manual by IDPoor Programme experts at the MOP and GIZ in October.

The consultative session was inclusive of a wide-range of stakeholders. Participants’ comments were incorporated into the final draft of the manual for procedures to identify urban poor in Cambodia.

As a result, the draft manual has been finalised and is ready to be piloted. The pilot aims to:

1. Put the procedure for identification of poor households in urban areas into practice according to the implementation manual. 2. Examine whether the procedure is well adapted to the dynamics of urban communities.

3. Identify possible bottlenecks and practical challenges in the implementation of urban IDPoor.

Three provinces will be selected to implement the urban IDPoor pilot in one Sangkat (commune) over the next couple of months. Accordingly, IDPoor experts at GIZ and MOP expect the first urban IDPoor round to begin in 2016.

The IDPoor Programme is supported by the Governments of Australia and Germany through GIZ.

To learn more about IDPoor visit:

ទំព័រដើម

http://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/17300.html

Translating decentralization into action – DM Charter supports sub-national councils in setting their own rules and regulations

11 November 2015

The National Committee for Sub-national Democratic Development (NCDD), which is responsible for the decentralization reform in Cambodia, adopted the District/Municipal Charter (DM Charter) during its meeting in August. Its goal is to strengthen district and municipal councils and to improve the performance of their administrations.

The DM Charter summarizes what is already ordained in the “Law on Administrative Management of Capital, Provinces, Municipalities, Districts and Khans” and other legislation: councils are autonomous bodies. They are responsible for the development of their constituencies, and therefore must take the interests and needs of their citizens into account, and involve them in their decision-making processes. Councils have legislative and executive powers, so governors must accept and implement their decisions.

But the reality in the districts and municipalities has been otherwise. Many councillors are not yet aware of their responsibilities and their far-reaching powers. Many governors find it difficult to hand over decision-making powers to the councils. The DM Charter, which was developed with support from the EU-SPACE program (Strengthening Performance, Accountability, and Civic Engagement) implemented by GIZ, is intended to change that. It aims to bolster the councils and to encourage them to contribute in a more active manner to the development of their jurisdiction than in the past. At the same time, the DM Charter should be used to inform the people about the roles and responsibilities of the sub-national administration.

The currently available DM Charter is a template, i.e. it serves as the basis for the districts and municipalities to develop a charter that fits their specific situation and needs. The NCDD hopes that it will now be intensively discussed in all district and municipal administrations, with the commune and sangkat councils, as well as with the citizens in the area of the respective council. The NCDD specifically emphasizes that the councils have the right to change the draft DM Charter to meet their needs. During a consultative workshop in Phnom Penh, H.E. Sak Setha, Secretary of State and Head of NCDD Secretariat, encouraged the participating key actors: “All Districts and Municipalities shall prepare their own DM Charter.”

Following discussions with the citizens and all key stakeholders, the district and municipal councils should adopt the DM Charter as a local law (DEIKA). The DM Charter will thereby become legally binding for all actors within the district and municipal administrations.

Targeting Urban Poverty in Cambodia: Accuracy Matters

17 July 2015

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – There is no room for mistakes when identifying urban poor households. As IDPoor Programme team from the Cambodian Ministry of Planning demonstrated at a March workshop, urban poor household identification requires accuracy in the questions evaluators ask and a reliable scoring system.

Developing the questionaires that determine households’ living conditions was a consultative process, agreed on by the IDPoor urban Consultative Group. Since then, the group has been putting their work to the test. IDPoor testing aims to:

1. Test the accuracy of the indicator format and the scoring system
2. Examine how the questionaire is best used to identify poor households and the design of the draft list of poor households
3. Hold consultative meetings with the local community

Urban areas in Phnom Penh capital, Banteay Mean Chey, and Kampong Cham provinces were selected to have the urban IDPoor (questionnaire) tested with 45 households, including both poor and non-poor as well as household members with disabilities and chronic/serious illnesses.

The results were presented to the  group to revise and improve the quesitonnaire. The questionaire was then finalized before the pilot began and was an introdution to future urban poor identification procedures.

The IDPoor Programme is supported by the Governments of Australian and Germany and implemented by GIZ.

To learn more about IDPoor visit:

ទំព័រដើម

http://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/17300.html

Addressing the unsatisfactory delivery of public services: New National Program for Public Administrative Reform

H.E. Minister Pech highlighting ambitious future activities of Public Administrative Reform in fields such as public services, gender, e-government, human resource management, training of civil servants and pay reform.

20 May 2015

Phnom Penh – Teachers conducting exams without asking for extra money, health stations opening for full days providing adequate services, ID cards being issued at no additional charge within a reasonable period of time – such are behaviours of the civil service desired by citizens and the vision of the Royal Government of Cambodia.

In January 2015, the National Program for Public Administrative Reform (NPAR) 2015-2018 was officially approved by the Council of Ministers. This came as a big milestone after the Royal Government of Cambodia had established the Ministry of Civil Service in late 2013 for the purpose of overseeing and reforming all matters related to the public service and its workforce. Having co-operated with the Ministry of Civil Service and its predecessor for five years through its “Decentralisation and Administrative Reform Programme” implemented by GIZ, Germany happily supported the drafting process of the new reform programme and its dissemination to all ministries and sub-national institutions.

On the 1^st of April, some 500 civil servants from across the country and the capital gathered at the InterContinental Hotel in Phnom Penh. After welcoming remarks by H.E. Youk Bunna, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Civil Service, Ms Birgit Strube, First Secretary of the German Embassy, lauded the responsible authorities in the name of the development partners for their elaborate and ambitious outline of the reform. In her speech, she also mentioned a recent study on government openness with Cambodia ranking almost at the bottom (http://data.worldjusticeproject.org/opengov/#/groups/KHM), mainly due to the absence of effective feedback and complaint mechanisms for citizens. H.E. Minister Pech Bunthin, then, reiterated the urgency of the reform and the significance the government ascribes to it.

H.E. Kong Sophy, Director General for the Department of Civil Service Policy, presented the key pillars of the reform in depth. The fields of improving public service delivery, professionalising human resource management and development as well engaging in pay and remuneration reform were vividly communicated to the participants. At the same time he emphasised the supportive role of the Ministry of Civil Service and stimulated all institutions to kick-start their own reform processes. He also acknowledged the alarmingly low ranking of Cambodia in the above-mentioned study, and reaffirmed the political will of the government to address the root causes of these findings.

In the afternoon, sector ministries such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports highlighted ongoing reforms within their institutions. The workshop also provided a valuable opportunity for participants to directly ask questions to the Ministry of Civil Service. Concerns about the pace of reform, questions regarding its implementation, matters of integrity and complaints about bureaucratic burdens were raised and with great patience addressed by H.E. Youk Bunna. Eventually, H.E. Minister Pech Bunthin concluded the dissemination workshop highlighting ambitious future activities in fields such as gender, e-government, monitoring and evaluation, training of civil servants and pay reform. He also expressed his gratitude toward the German government and GIZ for their continued support and stated a strong interest in future Cambodian-German co-operation in public administrative reform.

GIZ-ASEANSAI goes Parliament: Cooperation Agreement with National Assembly of Lao PDR

Daniel Blessing, GIZ Advisor to the ASEANSAI project, and Mr. Khampoun Phengthirath, Deputy Director General, Department of Planning and Finance, National Assembly of Lao PDR, exchange the signed cooperation agreement in Vientiane, Lao PDR

07 April 2015

A Supreme Audit Institution is a crucial institution in a state’s public finance system. They monitor how public money is spent according to rules and laws and whether the amount of money spent on certain issues is reasonable. With their annual reports, Supreme Audit Institutions provide valuable information to government, to parliament and civil society.

Established in 1998, Lao PDR’s Supreme Audit Institution is still relatively young among the other nine ASEAN member states.

“One could say it’s still a teenager: It already knows a lot, but there is still some time to develop”, said Daniel Blessing, GIZ-Advisor in the ASEANSAI project.

GIZ’s ASEANSAI project currently supports the Audit Office of Lao PDR and the Parliament of Lao PDR in improving its cooperation. Yesterday, the ASEANSAI project and the National Assembly of Lao PDR signed an agreement to forge a closer cooperation. This is the first time that the GIZ ASEANSAI project has signed a formal cooperation agreement with a parliament in the region.

“Lao PDR is a good pilot case. The Parliament is very active and the German Embassy in the country is very supportive,” explained Daniel Blessing.

The objective of the ASEANSAI project support is to improve cooperation between the National Assembly and the Supreme Audit Institution of Lao PDR, and develop a better understanding of their different roles. In the long-run the goal is to build political support for an independent Supreme Audit Institution.

However, Supreme Audit Institutions can only work effectively if it has a good cooperation with parliament. “Such institutions need strong partners. Parliament, or budget committees are their natural partners,” continued Blessing.

In Southeast Asia, GIZ is implementing regional cooperation projects, which work with ASEAN countries. The regional project, Support to ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions (GIZ-ASEANSAI), holds its main office in Phnom Penh, but it is working with all Supreme Audit Institutions in the region, especially with the Supreme Audit Institutions of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.

“Lao PDR is a country with a limited budget. It is even more important to spend each Kip in a way that supports poverty alleviation and overall national goals,” said Ernst Hustädt, Country Director of GIZ Lao PDR.

Contact Persons:

Project Leader: Mr. Alexander Beetz,

CLMV-Activities: Mr. Daniel Blessing,

Learning from Indonesia’s Experiences to inform Cambodia’s Sub-National Democratic Development (SNDD) Reform

Delegation from Cambodia exchanges experiences on the structure and management of civil service with the Indonesian Ministry of Bureaucracy Reform.

March 2015

Jakarta, Indonesia––With the wish to learn from the Indonesia’s practical decentralisation experiences, a Cambodian delegation visited Jakarta and West Java Province in March 2015. The delegation was led by H.E. Sak Setha, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior, and was interested in various topics that would contribute to their sub-national democratic development reform in Cambodia, including:

• Organization and management of Indonesia’s civil service;
• Personnel management and development practices of Indonesia’s local governments; and
• Assignment of functions, responsibilities and resources to Indonesia’s central and local government tiers.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has declared the decentralization of key functions, responsibilities and public services from ministries to elected sub-national councils a priority in the present phase of SNDD reform (2015-2017), with the objective to bring public services and decision-making closer to citizens.

With decentralization, it is expected that citizens be able to more easily voice their needs and expectations to local councils and to hold local decision-makers and service providers accountable for their actions. For sub-national councils and service providers, it will be easier to listen to citizens’ voices and to be informed about their needs and demands.

The ministries of health and education, among others, are reviewing their responsibilities in order to identify the functions, which can be decentralised. For councils to be able to perform these functions, they will also receive the necessary financial and personnel resources from central government.

In order to transfer ministry personnel to sub-national council administrations, the Ministry of Civil Service, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and NCDD-S, is presently developing a Royal Decree clarifying the status of civil servants of sub-national council administrations with Cambodia’s civil service structure.

It is against the background of these Cambodian decentralisation reform efforts that the NCDD Secretariat, in cooperation with the GIZ-implemented EU Programme for Strengthening Performance, Accountability and Civic Engagement (EU SPACE) in Cambodia, and the Programme Transforming Administration – Strengthening Innovation (TRANSFORMASI) in Indonesia, facilitated the study visit to Indonesia.

In Indonesia, the Cambodian delegates had the opportunity to exchange with representatives of the TRANSFORMASI counterparts, including:

• Ministry of Finance
• Ministry of State Apparatus and Bureaucracy Reform (KemPAN)
• National Institute of Public Administration (LAN)
• National Civil Service Agency (BKN)

as well as with

• the Ministries of Health and Culture, Primary and Secondary Education,
• Regional Government of West Java and
• Regency Government of Depok City.

Members of the Cambodian delegation included representatives of the Ministries of Civil Service; Interior; Health; Education, Youth and Sport; Economy and Finance as well as of the Secretariat of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD-S), the Association of Capital and Provinces and the National League of Local Councils.

Targeting Urban Poverty: IDPoor to expand to Cities

02 April 2015

Cambodians, both rich and poor, are moving to the cities. One-in-five call a town or city their home and the urban population growth rate is double that of rural areas (UN data, 2010-15). Social services need to keep up with the population and reach the poor in urban areas just as well as in the countryside.

The IDPoor Programme of the Cambodian Ministry of Planning identifies poor households so that they can access targeted services to help improve their livelihoods. Over the last six months, the Ministry and GIZ have organised a stakeholder consultation process to develop an urban version of the existing IDPoor approach. On 26 March 2015, the IDPoor Urban Consultative Group met to discuss the final draft of the proposed mechanism for urban poverty targeting. The meeting was presided over by H.E. Pan Bunthoeurn, Secretary of State of MOP, with participation from several ministries, NGOs and development partners.

The new procedure envisages using scores for poverty-related household characteristics, such as housing, hygiene, electricity, assets and income. There are supplementary scores added for illness, disability and debt as well as a number of special circumstances to consider when estimating poverty level. IDPoor places great importance on generating results that conform to the local perceptions of poverty. That is why the local community can discuss and amend the draft list of poor households before it is finalised.

Following approval by the Consultative Group, the Ministry of Planning and GIZ will now proceed to field test the urban IDPoor approach in preparation for implementation. The Australian and German Governments are actively supporting the IDPoor Programme in this work through a project implemented by GIZ.

To learn more about IDPoor visit:

ទំព័រដើម

http://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/17300.html

Indonesia and the Philippines share experiences on the process of functional and resource transfer to sub-national administration

08 January 2015

Phnom Penh, two experts from Indonesia and the Philippines shared their experiences on how responsibilities for basic service delivery have been transferred with the necessary financial and personnel resources to local governments in their countries with various Ministries and representatives of sub-national administrations in Cambodia. “There are good experiences in ASEAN countries and Cambodia should learn from those countries”, underlined H.E. Sak Setha, Secretary of State, Ministry of Interior and Head of NCDD Secretariat. The Secretariat of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD), which is responsible for coordinating the government wide democratic decentralization reform in Cambodia, had invited the regional experts to inform the efforts of the Royal Government in this regard. The expert visit was facilitated by the NCDD Secretariat in cooperation with the joint European Programme for “Strengthening Performance, Accountability and Civic Engagement of Democratic Councils in Cambodia” (EU SPACE), which is implemented by GIZ. Read more at the NCDD website in English or in Khmer.

Growing Numbers Call for a New Work Place

The National Audit authority is located at Building Number 5, Road Doung Ngeab III, Chambak Village, Sangkat Tek Tla, Khan Sen Sok, Phnom Penh.

02 October 2014

Phnom Penh, Cambodia –Nearly fifteen years ago, Cambodia’s National Audit Authority (NAA) was founded as an independent public institution under the Audit Law.

The authority aims to fulfil its function as an independent Supreme Audit Institution and is responsible for implementing the external audit of the Royal Government of Cambodia which consists of Financial Statements, Performance and Compliance Audits.

Realistically, the NAA in legal aspect has turned out its history by starting the public auditing operation in early 2002. During the two mandates which are the first 10 years, beside the administrative management and human resource capacity development, the achievements in terms of the audit reports showed that some negatives points were started improving and strengthening by most of ministries-institutions and audited entities according to their capabilities from year to year with accountability.

A successful ten years has led to the authority extending its operations. The longer the authority operates its mission, the more resources it requires, especially in the area of human resources. As of now, the authority’s work has expanded and staff numbers are on the rise, which created a cramped work place.

To cope with a sudden rise in staff, the authority’s management located a new office space to accommodate its growing numbers. Recently the transition has started and the authority is making home in its new facility. Operations picked back up in August this year and the authority is now running smoother than ever.

For more information, please contact Mr. Juergen Lehmberg, Project Manager of GIZ Support to the National Audit Authority Project (Tel: +855 12 333 101; )

Poverty Eradication in Progress

Seminar Discusses Poverty Reduction Policies in Cambodia and Beyond

Ole Doetinchem presents the GIZ IDPoor programme.

12 August 2014

Combatting poverty and bringing about better living conditions remains one of the cornerstones of international German development cooperation. In Cambodia, Germany, in cooperation with Australia, has been supporting the IDPoor programme for a number of years as a thematically cross-cutting issue within its good governance portfolio.

On August 12, 2014, the German Embassy and GIZ organised a session on poverty with participants from the Cambodian Ministry of Planning, bilateral and multilateral development partners and non-governmental organisations. The session was moderated by Ole Doetinchem, GIZ team leader of the Identification of Poor Households Programme support project. In a brief presentation, he outlined the key aspect of how IDPoor works and what issues the programme is currently working on:

IDPoor is a nationwide poverty targeting mechanism run by the Cambodian Ministry of Planning. It systematically identifies poor households to enable targeted poverty alleviation interventions. To achieve accurate results that are accepted by the local population, the programme has adopted a process combining means testing and participatory local consultation.

At present, the IDPoor programme is carrying out its eighth annual identification round, covering the provinces Kampong Speu, Kampot, Kep, Koh Kong, Mondul Kiri, Preah Sihanouk, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng.

IDPoor Programme Looks Forward

As a future priority, the IDPoor team is currently developing the procedures for programme extension into urban areas. Simultaneously, the IDPoor database is being moved to the cloud to enable better data access and offer web-based services to its users. IDPoor is also considering current trends in poverty and how its data may support combatting vulnerability.

Internationally, Germany has supported the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network in publishing the third Chronic Poverty Report. Dr Chiara Mariotti outlined the report’s key findings and how this report relates to poverty eradication efforts in Cambodia:

• Achieving the goal of Zero Extreme Poverty by 2030 requires a new public policy approach to understanding and acting on poverty. This approach requires three action areas: (i) tackling chronic poverty (i.e. bringing people up to the poverty line); (ii) stopping impoverishment; (iii) and sustaining the escapes people make out of extreme poverty.
• World-wide evidence, demonstrates that there are three sets of policies that work in achieving all the three goals above:

(i)                  Social assistance including cash transfers or employment programmes to help the poorest get closer to the poverty line and provide a safety net against impoverishment;

(ii)                 Massive investment in pre-school, primary, and post-primary education, ensuring access and quality to all, including poor children;

(iii)                A bundle of policies that promote pro-poor growth. These include industrial policies that promote expansion of labour-intensive sectors, coupled with apprenticeship schemes or training to match skills to opportunities; the promotion of small and medium enterprises; labour legislation that ensures that the jobs created. pay a decent salary and respect minimum health and safety conditions. These three sets of policies will then have to be complemented by more specific interventions tailored to each country’s poverty dynamics.

•  Designing the policies needed to tackle chronic poverty, stop impoverishment and support escapes from poverty requires panel surveys, which follow the same households over several years, enabling the tracking of movements in and out of poverty. Significant investment in national (and sub-national) panel data by governments, donors and international institutions need to be part of the effort of eradicating extreme poverty.

You can download the Chronic Poverty Report at http://www.odi.org/chronic-poverty

ASEANSAI Setting Clear and Measurable Goals for Success

The author (middle) sitting with workshop participants discussing indicators for the ASEANSAI Strategic Plan.

26 August 2014

When I was younger, I used to ask my mom the time she would come home from work to play with me. She used to tell me: “I´ll be there at 4.30pm; I took the car to get home quickly.” Every day, at 4pm I would sit in the kitchen, checking the hour regularly to see when my mom would arrive. If she arrived after 4.30, I would reproach her with the exact amount of minutes she was late and ask her to give a reason. If she blamed the traffic, I would try to convince her that she should take the bike next time, to avoid being late again.

Simply put, this is what strategic planning and monitoring is all about:

• Set a clear and measurable goal: be home at 4.30pm.
• Decide on a strategy to achieve the goal: take the car.
• Check on the achievement or failure: number of minutes late.
• Discuss reasons for failure: traffic jam.
• Revise the strategy to avoid future failure: go by bike.

In a regional organization of 10 Supreme Audit Institutions from ASEAN countries (ASEANSAI) deciding on strategic goals and setting up monitoring systems is much more complex, especially when dealing with good financial governance issues. Yet, the logic remains the same.

In a 4-day Workshop in May, participants from 6 members of ASEANSAI discussed how the goals of their ASEANSAI Strategic Plan can be amended with measurable indicators and what activities they needed to pursue to achieve the defined goals. As in other monitoring workshops, the challenge proved to be in the trade-off between relevance of indicators and costs for data collection. The ASEANSAI participants opted for a pragmatic solution: do not set goals too high and include proxy indicators for goals that are difficult to measure. I would like to recommend that approach to everybody dealing with monitoring on governance related topics.

For more information contact

GIZ supports Royal Government of Cambodia to Kick-off Efforts to Improve Public Service Efficiency

H.E. Keat Chhun, Deputy Prime Minister and guests attend the opening session of the National Workshop for Administrative Reform 2014 – 2018.

25 June 2015

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Parents seeking a quality public education for their children; citizens requiring an ID card or a marriage certificate; a small entrepreneur wanting to register her business; the victim of petty crime awaiting a police investigation – these people all have one thing in common:  in times of need, they are expecting efficient and effective public services from their government. Yet as everybody in Cambodia knows, this is not always the case. With the aim to provide more effective and efficient public services, the government of Cambodia has pledged to reform its public administration.

To support this process, the newly established Ministry of Civil Service is working to establish a new 5-year National Programme for Administrative Reform 2014-2018.

The Ministry of Civil Service, with the support of German Development Cooperation provided through the “Decentralisation and Administrative Reform Programme” that implemented by GIZ, organised a National Workshop on 29-30 April 2014 to review progress made on public administrative reform. The purpose of the workshop was to consult with more than 300 representatives from ministries and institutions at national and sub-national level on the next stage of the reform.

The Ministry of Civil Service commenced by outlining the three core strategies of the administrative reform: 1) strengthening the quality and delivery of public services; 2) strengthening the management and development of human resources within the Civil Service; and 3) further reforming the compensation regime of civil servants.

Representatives from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports presented their achievements in improving public service delivery in order to provide participants with insights into effective approaches and practices.

The World Bank and the German Embassy, as development partner representatives, took the opportunity to voice their support for ongoing administrative reform and encouraged the ministry to take a demand-driven approach to implementation in order to engender ownership and ensure that the reforms address ministry priorities and are harmonised with sectoral reforms.

Participants and guests at the National Workshop for Public Administrative Reform 2014-2018, on 29-30 April 2014 held at Intercontinental Hotel.

Participants were then invited to participate in discussion groups on the topics of public service delivery; human resource management; human resource development and remuneration. Facilitated discussions encouraged participants to share current practices and trends; to identify issues and constraints; and to identify priorities for the next phase of administrative reform.

These discussions demonstrated awareness of a growing demand for reform among civil servants that is driven by following points:

• Cambodian citizens are better educated and more informed; they expect improved public services and a more responsive government; and they are less willing to accept the need to make informal payments;
• Cambodia’s objective of becoming a middle-income country by 2030, and a well-integrated member of ASEAN, as well as an internationally accepted player in the global economy;
• Civil servants want to be well-respected members of a society and be appreciated for their contribution to the well-being of their nation; and
• The civil service needs to compete with a burgeoning private sector to attract and retain qualified and well-motivated staff.

In his closing speech, His Excellency Pich Bunthin, the new Minister of Civil Service, stressed that the workshop “created an important public forum to review experience and to identify in-depth actions for public administration reform”. It presented a clear message to all ministries and institutions that they hold ownership and are accountable for effective reform in their sectors, and are therefore responsible for adopting a proactive approach in implementing the National Programme for Administration Reform.

The National Workshop will be followed by a series of targeted workshops to focus on aspects of the reform programme in order to develop a broad base consensus on how best approach its implementation. It is envisaged that the national programme will be finalised in coming months, will focus on early successes to build momentum and commitment while at the same time gradually introducing more fundamental longer term reforms.

Legal Protection Guidelines to Stop Violence Against Women, Developed by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with Support from GIZ

Cambodian Minister of Women’s Affairs Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, German First Secretary Birgit Strube and manager of the GIZ Access to Justice for Women’s project Dr. Dagmar Baer along with Judicial Police Agents and officials of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

12 June 2014

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs of Cambodia, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and GIZ Cambodia have launched here today the Guidelines for Legal Protection of Women’s and Children’s Rights, which aim to improve response for cases of intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women, as well as domestic violence and sexual violence against children.

“According to a recent survey undertaken by four UN agencies in Cambodia, 25 percent of women have experienced sexual or physical violence (or both) at least once from an intimate partner,” noted Minister of Women’s Affairs Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi during launch event. “These guidelines will contribute to strengthen the law enforcement in order to facilitate access of women and children to the judicial system and to make perpetrators accountable for their acts. The guidelines are to be used by the Judicial Police Agents of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs as well as by any state and non-state service provider assisting women survivors of gender-based violence.”

Ms. Birgit Strube, First Secretary of the German Embassy in Cambodia, said “Germany has situated gender equality and women’s empowerment at the center of our bilateral and

Cambodian Minister of Women’s Affairs Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi and German First Secretary Birgit Strube deliver guidelines to one of the 137 Judicial Police Agent of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

sectoral policy dialogue with the Royal Government of Cambodia. Between 2011 and 2013, more than 2,500 women and girls survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual violence and trafficking, as well as more than 800 children of them, received basic services through a Fund led by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and implemented by six NGOs.”

The Guidelines for Legal Protection of Women’s and Children’s Rights in Cambodia have been developed under the framework of the Access to Justice for Women project, jointly implemented by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and GIZ with funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and –between 2010 and 2013- with co-funding from the Spanish Agency for International Development and Cooperation (AECID).

Other achievements of the Access to Justice for Women project in the last three years included police and legal training for the 137 Judicial Police Agents of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs as well as the integration of good practices for behavioural change to promote gender equality amongst young people in school curricula for 127 lower-secondary schools.

For the Guideline in Khmer, please click here

For the Guideline in English, please click here

 Further information: Dr. Dagmar Maria Baer, Program Manager, Access to Justice for Women project, GIZ [Tel: + 855 23722298; ]

Benefiting from mutual learning experiences in Cambodia – Peer-to-peer exchange visits

How can councils get closer to citizens? During the exchange visit, councilors from Aek Phnum and Chet Borei district share their best practices.

April 2014

Kratie and Battambang, CAMBODIA – In May 2014, the first term of district, municipal and provincial councils in Cambodia will come to an end. This is a good opportunity to look back and review the experiences of local government officials over the past five years.

Councillors and representatives of the administration of Chet Borei District of Kratie Province visited councillors of Aek Phnum District, Battambang Province to exchange and learn from one another’s experiences in office. The exchange was jointly facilitated by the Secretariat of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and the GIZ implemented joint European Programme for Strengthening Performance, Accountability and Civic Engagement (EU SPACE).

VSO, an international development charity works with volunteers alongside local organisations that serve the poor. In Cambodia, VSO volunteers work with several districts. EU SPACE is the technical cooperation mechanism of the NCDD-S, European Union, Sweden and Germany and is implemented by GIZ. Its objective is to promote transparent, citizen responsive, accountable and capable councils at the sub-national level.

At the event, district and commune representatives came together, eager to learn how serving as an official representative developed their careers, and changed their lives.

The power of peer-to-peer learning

VSO and EU SPACE are not strangers to the value peer-to-peer learning offers. In 2013, VSO and EU SPACE organised similar exchange visits, which proved to be a success.  The exchange visits demonstrated that peer-to-peer learning complements expert inputs as well as technical and policy advice.

Since 2011, EU SPACE in cooperation with the NCDD-S have also facilitated exchange between Cambodian and German representatives. Over the past few years, two German municipal councillors have visited their Cambodian peers.

Councillors reflect on the past five years in office

During the visit, district councillors shared their experiences on how their professional and personal lives have changed since they entered office in 2009.

What can be done better during the next mandate? Councilors jointly reflect on experiences and lessons learnt.

The atmosphere during the one-day exchange visit was relaxed and lively. The facilitators of EU SPACE as well as representatives from the two districts made an effort to make everyone comfortable and encouraged discussion from the beginning. Together, the councillors reflected on their roles and responsibilities, on their strengths, weaknesses and challenges. They shared experiences on how to better engage with citizens and civil society organisations; how to implement and disseminate decisions of the council; how to organise the planning process of councils; and how to encourage more equitable gender participation. They highlighted that the relationship between councillors and citizens has improved through the increased engagement of councillors with their local communities.The councillors discussed the impact of their political careers on their personal life. “I am quite popular in my area,” a councillor of Aek Phnum candidly shared. “There is hardly a social event in my district, which I am not invited to.”

Challenges persist

The lively discussions between the councillors also exposed the challenges local governments in Cambodia face. The councillors of both districts pointed to unclear responsibilities which hamper their effectiveness; a lack of resources; and the need to build capacity. Further, they mentioned that it remains difficult to promote the participation of citizens in remote areas.

“We will bring back many new ideas applicable to our daily work,” a participant of Chet Borei District pointed out. Participants also recommended that further exchange visits should take place in order to give more district councillors the opportunity to learn from each other.

GIZ Supports South-East Asian Countries for Enhancing Public Accountability of their Audit Institutions

ASANSAI Symposium on Enhancing Public Accountability in ASEAN”

19 January 2014

Jakarta, Indonesia. 19^th January 2014. Seven ASEAN member states (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam) reached an agreement to implement measures for improving transparency and efficiency of their Supreme Audit Institutions in a meeting supported by GIZ.

The ASEAN member states participating in the symposium ‘Enhancing Public Accountability in ASEAN to achieve Regional Competitiveness and Prosperity’, organized in Jakarta (Indonesia), have decided to take crucial steps to overcome barriers for public auditing by 2017. These measures include: 1) To amend existing laws and regulations or to develop new regulations to strengthen the institutional and organizational capacities and autonomy of Supreme Audit Institutions; 2) To engage more actively with auditees and stakeholders such as the Public Accounts Committees, civil society, media and the public; 3) To increase awareness on public accountability amongst decision makers, politicians, etc.; and 4) To strengthen networking and sharing of good practices amongst ASEAN’s Audit Authorities.

Mr Tan Sri Dato’ Setia Ambrin Buang, Auditor General of Malaysia and Chairman of ASEANSAI Knowledge Sharing Committee of ASEANSAI

Tan Sri Dato’ Setia Ambrin Buang, Auditor General of Malaysia and Chairman of ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions’s Knowledge Sharing Committee, presented a summary of results agreed by representativesfrom ASEAN member states during the meeting. The Malaysian Auditor General also highlighted a number of constraints for an effective public auditing system in the region: weak law enforcement; lack of coordination and cooperation between Supreme Audit Institutions and audited entities; limited parliamentary oversight; low transparency in public reporting; lack of mechanisms to ensure audited entities follow-up on Supreme Audit Institutions’ recommendations; and lackof qualified human resources, amongst others.Supreme Audit Institutions play a key role to promote good governance and monitor public finances. These institutions ensure that public finances are managed in compliance with state regulations in an efficient, accountable and transparent way. Supreme Audit Institutions also strengthen capacities of civil servants to ensure that their roles and responsibilities are clear as well as to facilitate their participation for monitoring governments’ public expenditures.

For more information, please visit the ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions’ website: www.aseansai.org

Key Data on Poor Households from the Ministry of Planning available

11 March 2014

A new data set on poor households from seven provinces and the rural areas of Phnom Penh is now accessible and can be used by government institutions, non-governmental organizations and specialized aid agencies in order to target services and development assistance to the people living in poverty more effectively.

With support from the Identification of Poor Households program -implemented by the Ministry of Planning of Cambodia and its provincial departments with technical support from GIZ- the Ministry has just made available more data of households identified as poor in Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Beantey Meanchey, Kratie, Oddar Meanchey, Stung Treng and the rural areas of Phnom Penh.

This data includes lists of poor households with their poverty category; details of all members of poor households (name, sex, age/year of birth, relationship to head of household); photos of poor households; poverty rates at the levels of village, commune, district and province: household-based and person-based; and aggregated socioeconomic and other special characteristics of poor households.

The data is presented in form of reports (pdf and excel formats) and maps:

• Report 10: Summary statistics (per province)
• Report 13: Poor household list
• Report 8: Profile of all household members
• Report 14: Poverty Rate Comparison Report (district, commune/Sangkat, and village levels)
• Report 15: Names and photos of poor household members (to be provided as per requested by users with approval from the Identification of Poor Households program).
• Report 16: Household data summary (to be provided as per requested by users with approval from the Identification of Poor Households program).

Access to some information is restricted due to its personal nature. In order to receive it, the user (a person on behalf of the institution or organization) will be required to register as a data user and to request permission from the Identification of Poor Households program ().

GIZ provides advisory support to the Ministry of Planning and its provincial departments in all steps of the implementation of the Identification of Poor Households program and supports relevant capacity development measures (). The Identification of Poor Households program is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), DFAT, UNICEF and the Royal Government of Cambodia.

The benefits of looking beyond borders

Marion Kütemeyer and Christian Weiser – assisted by an interpreter – discussing the role of city councils in local economic development with members of the Sangke District Council.

02 December 2013

It was Christian Weiser’s third time to travel to Cambodia, and this time Marion Kütemeyer accompanied him. In 2011, the EU SPACE programme of the National Committee for Democratic Development (NCDD) suggested, for the first time, inviting members of city councils from Germany to promote experience sharing, to improve mutual understanding of local self-governance, and to strengthen the roles and responsibilities of Cambodian councils..

They came to Cambodia at the request of the Secretariat of the NCDD, bringing along their experience as members of the council of the German city of Eppstein. Their mission: Eight dialogue forums with district, municipality and provincial councils from the provinces of Battambang and Kampong Chhnang as well as a national workshop attended by around 400 participants. This year’s topic: promotion of local and regional development.

The large number of questions and lively debates that arose during the dialogue forums provided evidence that this glimpse beyond Cambodia’s borders had been both interesting and helpful

The starting point, however could not have been more dissimilar: in Germany, there is a long tradition of local self-governance, and the councils of cities and districts elected by the people are largely responsible for the development of their localities. They are responsible for energy supply and trash collection, for urban planning, schools and the promotion of local development, just to list a few examples. In Cambodia, commune councils were elected for the first time in 2002 and district, municipality and provincial councils were established in 2009. The scope of their activities is limited, since most responsibilities are still under the purview of the central ministries.

Christian Weiser explaining the relationship of sub-national councils and administration in Germany at a meeting with the Battambang Municipal Council.

Nevertheless, the NCDD-S believes that the Cambodian councils can and should begin to develop an initiative, particularly in the area of local and regional economic development. During the national workshop the Regional Economic Development Program of GIZ (RED) showed with examples from Siem Reap, how such an initiative could work. Councils could, for example, create a profile of their district or municipality, identifying economic strengths and weaknesses. They could also invite representatives of the private sector to advise on potential improvements, and they could link experienced business people with younger less experienced ones in order to facilitate their entry into the business community.

In order to ensure that the sharing of experiences with the two members of the Eppstein city council and the RED presentation would not be one-off exercises, the NCDD-S recommended developing a handbook for the councils on the promotion of local economic development. The handbook should be created with support from EU-SPACE and the RED programme and disseminated to councils in the first half of 2014.

Apropos sharing of experiences: the Cambodian councillors were surprised that the two visitors from Eppstein city council belong to different political parties. Christian Weiser is a member of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), while Marion Kütemeyer is a member of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD). Even during the forums in Battambang and Kampong Chhnang provinces, they made no secret of their frequent differences of opinion. They were playful and quick-witted as they parried the arguments of their respective “opponents”, much to the amusement of their Cambodian audience. This exchange not only provided an important contribution to the promotion of local development, but also to improving the political culture.

The EU-SPACE programme receives funding from the European Union and the governments of Germany (through BMZ) and Sweden (through Sida). It is implemented by GIZ as a component of the German-assisted “Decentralisation and Administrative Reform Programme” (ARDP).

Transparency and human resource  efficiency central to GIZ’s support to the Cambodian National Audit Authority

GIZ and the National Audit Authority holding an evaluation meeting in Preah Sihanouk province, June 2013.

18October 2013

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Cambodia’s National Audit Authority recently agreed on a way forward to improve human resource management, as well as standards for greater transparency with the public.

In a discussion facilitated by GIZ in Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia’s National Audit Authority learned how to overcome bottlenecks hindering the implementation of guidelines for public financial auditing. Discussions also committed to accomplish further organizational changes to improve employee capacity.

Previously, GIZ advised the National Audit Authority on developing and implementing two handbooks – the Human Resource Management Handbook and Training Programme Handbook, which are considered key for building organisational and human capacity, as well as strengthening the authority’s quality assurance system.. The National Audit Authority will report on the status of the implementation of the handbooks by the end of this year, so lessons learned can be incorporated into the future performance of the institution.

In the briefing remarks to the Cambodian Auditor General, Som Kimsuor, held in Preah Sihanouk province, Juergen Lehmberg, Project Manager of the GIZ National Audit Authority Project, said, “Improved human resources management and stronger capacities for public transparency of the National Audit Authority will definitely contribute to build the trust and confidence that all Cambodian citizens deserve.”

Since 2005, GIZ has provided strategic technical support to the National Audit Authority of Cambodia. This work also comprises facilitation of learning and knowledge exchange at regional and international levels, such as the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

For more information, please contact Mr. Juergen Lehmberg (Tel: +855 12 333 101; )

“Polishing a Diamond” – Enhancing Women’s Engagement in Local Governance in Cambodia

Seventy percent of Cambodia’s population is between 14-30 years old; more than 30 percent of this young generation consists of women. However, women – and young women in particular – are not yet well represented and actively engaged in political decision-making processes of the country. For example, young women are not represented in the National Assembly and the Senate at all. Eight-teen percent of the commune councillors are women, but women at the age of 25 to 35 hold only 281 out of 11,450 commune council seats – a proportion of 2.5 percent. Of the 1,633 commune council chief positions, only 8 are held by women of this age.

Against the background of this situation, the Committee to Promote Women’s Political Participation (CPWP) has developed a study in cooperation with the GIZ-implemented EU Programme for Strengthening Performance, Accountability and Civic Engagement (SPACE) of Democratic Councils in Cambodia.

Testimonials demonstrate concerns and hopes for political participation

This case study and the accompanying film, “Polishing a Diamond – Young Women’s Political Participation and Representation in Local Governance in Cambodia”, reflects the voices, experiences, and life stories of young women. The young women interviewed are not a representative sample, but they provide strong testimonials illustrating the concerns, issues, inspirations and hopes regarding political participation and representation.

To give a few examples:

“I moved to Phnom Penh and started working in a garment factory almost 11 years ago. I work 10 hours a day, and I earn US$140 a month. I dropped out of school at grade 9. I understand what politics are: I am aware of my power as a voter and my rights as a citizen. I listen to the radio, and I understand what the commune council is about. But, I am absent from my commune and far from my daughter. I need to work and help my family.”  (29 year-old factory worker)

“I do not remember anyone ever telling me that I could be a leader […] but I have [all those] voices in my head, talking about my role as a good daughter and wife.”  (30 year-old factory worker)

“We have better education compared with our mothers; we work outside the kitchen; we have access to information, the Internet, Facebook, mobile phones, and SMS. We have CYWEN (a membership-based network for young women [100 members]), and we have more decision-making power both in our own family and in our community compared with our mothers.“  (30 year-old CYWEN member)

“I will support and encourage my daughter to consider joining local politics. I am thinking that women are doing a better job than male councilors. After 10 years of having women as council members, I can see their values. They do not waste time and they are practical. Young women would be even better. I will vote for them. Women in the past could only take care of chickens and the kitchen, but now it is different. They can be leaders, and they are doing a good job.”  (57 year-old male commune member)

“[…] I am not sure how I can do it [get involved in politics]. Political parties are not providing us with clear information and simple instructions on what the channels are for young people to obtain more information about a party and its platform, policies, and the youth/women’s movement. How can I join them or approach/contact them? What is the requirement to stand as a candidate? I feel also, it would be so strange if you just go to their office and ask for information. I am personally in the dark and do not want to walk in the dark. What I mean is, politics is a dark tunnel for me, and I need some lights before I can join.”  (25 year-old university student)

“Cambodian families expect for their sons to attain public status or high positions, and not for their daughters to do this. I am reflecting on my own experience, which my mom often reminds me of, that I should be modest and not aim for a position that may place me at a higher status than my husband. To put it simply – she wants him to shine, not me. This is not an isolated experience, but a common one among those of us with successful professional careers. We talk about it, we laugh about it, and we are working on it to change our families’ perceptions […]”  (30 year-old CYWEN member)

“I send home US$70 per month […] My dad passed away in 1997 when I was 16, and since then I have been the breadwinner of the family. I can imagine myself as a commune councilor, but I stop thinking that thought immediately […] We need to eat, pay for rent and medical bills, and […] I think then politics is not for the poor and young women like me who need to support their families. It is simple, we can’t afford it.”  (32 year-oldowner of a car repair shop)

“In 2002, who could have even imagined that in 2012, 18 percent of commune council members would be women? This will be the story for young women, too. Cambodia is changing. And change is happening (mostly) at the local level. Cambodia and people in the communes are ready to vote for a 25 year-old single woman. […] Political parties are smart, and that is why they are now recruiting young people in all the villages. Village youth leaders of different political parties are joining and attending their commune council meetings.”  (19 year-old CYWEN member)

“I am doing my best to recruit more young people for my party. We now have 12 members (youth, ages 18–25) for each village, and I must admit that they are mostly women. Young men refuse to be group leaders, but young women are interested. Women can bring votes for political parties, and both the CPP and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) are aware of this. Women can mobilize people in the village and get lots of support. They talk, and they go door to door to listen to villagers. They are so close to the community.”  (50 year-old female commune chief)

Bringing new perspectives into politics

Young women recognize the lack of their interests in politics. Their reasons have to do with politics perceived as irrelevant to their concerns, and their feelings of alienation from an arena dominated by an older generation. This older generation appears to many young women as unapproachable and hierarchical. However, young women also believe in the notion of balancing leadership by including more women and young people. They believe inherently that women will bring new perspectives to solving problems and are interested in what younger candidates might have to offer.

Locating entry points

Through the study and the film, CPWP looks into possibilities, opportunities and entry points for greater engagement in local politics and hopes that this work will serve as a starting point for further discussion and advocacy among relevant stakeholders.

About CPWP

CPWP is a non-profit, non-partisan network of local organizations committed to enhancing women’s political participation and representation in Cambodia, established in 2005. The goals of the CPWP are to promote and advocate for equal access, participation and representation of women and men in political decision-making. The findings of the case study were presented and the accompanying film launched in a Consultation Forum on Young Women’s Leadership in Local Governance with representatives of political parties, relevant ministries, elected commune councilors; youth Networks, women’s rights organizations, relevant local and international non-government organizations and development partners in early 2013.

If you would like to watch the whole documentary “Polishing a Diamond” please visit GIZ Cambodia’s YouTube-Channel!

ID Poor, RED-Green Belt and ARDP, Winners of the Gender Competition 2013 of GIZ Cambodia

31 May 2013

Phnom Penh, Cambodia –  Three programs Support to the Identification of Poor Households (ID Poor); Regional Economic Development Programme-Green Belt; and Support to Administrative Reform and Decentralisation (ARDP), have won the first ‘Gender Equality Competition’ for GIZ Cambodia. Eight initiatives from seven programmes participated in this competition with the goal of encouraging managers and technical advisors to promote gender equality and mainstreaming within GIZ’s work.

During the award ceremony held in Phnom Penh on 30 May 2013, Mr. Adelbert Eberhardt, Country Director of GIZ Cambodia said, “Due to the high quality of several proposals we have decided to award three programs, which will all be the winners of the ‘Gender Competition’ of GIZ Cambodia. I hope that all GIZ staff in Cambodia will continue making gender equality a priority in our daily work.”

The initiative “promoting women’s participation in the identification of poor households” of GIZ’s ID Poor programme was selected because of its impact on reducing gender gaps when identifying poor households; its high client demand; and potentials for business acquisition. This initiative also targeted women from socially disadvantaged groups, such as rural-illiterate women and women who are head of households.

Meanwhile, the “RED-Green Belt gender initiative” from RED-Green Belt programme was awarded based on its achievements in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women in district workshops, at quantitative and qualitative levels.

For example, participation of women in district awareness workshops increased from 20 percent in 2008 to 33 percent in 2012, while women’s participation in cross visits increased from 16 percent in 2008 to 38 percent in 2012. This initiative from RED-Green Belt programme also successfully engaged men for gender equality and is, in fact, a good example of cooperation with decentralized institutions.

Finally, the initiative, “Helping get their voice heard – Strengthening newly elected female councillors”, from the ARDP programme, was also awarded for targeting 44 women councilors in two provinces. In addition to contributing to the participation of women in critical areas, such as decision-making at the sub-national level, this initiative effectively supported women councilors to improve their skills and leadership. As a result, this initiative gained interest from different partners.

Together, four judge assessed the initiatives and made the final call for the awards: Mr. Adelbert Eberhardt; Ms. Barbara Haeming, Regional Gender Focal Person for Asia-Latin America Department from GIZ Headquarters; Ms. Cornelia Grade and Mr. Rodrigo Montero, country gender officers of GIZ Cambodia, An assessment grid was especially designed and used by the judges for this competition. All initiatives will be published in a special digital publication in the upcoming weeks.

Further information:

Mr. Rodrigo Montero Cano, Gender and Communications Advisor, GIZ project ‘Access to Justice for Women’ Phone: +855 129 237 71

eMail: ]

GIZ Supports Cambodia to Contribute to Historic Global Agreement to Stop Violence against Women

Minister of Women’s Affairs Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi and representatives from GIZ, line ministries, women’s organizations and other development partners participated on 21^st May in a follow-up event on the remarkable agreement reached at the 57^th Commission on the Status of Women to end violence against women and girls.

The historic 57^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women produced an agreement by 123 countries that paves the way for action to prevent and end violence against women and girls worldwide. Representatives from the Royal Government of Cambodia participated in this international conference held in New York in March 2013. GIZ project ‘Access to Justice for Women’ supported Cambodian Delegation by setting up an internal process within the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to prepare inputs in a participatory manner and review progresses and challenges on the fight on violence against women and girls to be reported in the international forum.

As part of the follow-up event at Cambodian level organized on 21^st May in Phnom Penh, Minister Phavi said “Cambodia will move forward with the Second National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women 2013-2017 in line with international standards and commitments such as the 57^th Commission on the Status of Women. We will make sure that perpetrators are held accountable and that women survivors receive the necessary support. Further improvements will have to be made in critical areas, such as prevention and response to sexual violence, including rape and sexual harassment.”

In fact, the unique process to develop the Second National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women 2013-2017 was shown as one of the best Cambodian practices during the international conference held in New York. The referred process has involved women survivors of violence, civil society organizations –including women’s organizations-, line ministries and development partners who have participated in more than 10 consultations at national and sub-national level in the last year. This policy plan builds on the results and lessons learnt from the First Action Plan 2009-2012 and will come into force after final endorsement by the Council of Ministers of the Royal Government of Cambodia in the upcoming months.

Dr. Andreas Selmeci, Team Leader of the GIZ project ‘Access to Justice for Women’, said during event “Interventions under the umbrella of the Second National Action Plan are expected to be more human-rights and gender responsive, more socially inclusive and more empowering. In addition, actions would target women who are at higher risk of sexist violence, such as garment factory workers, sex workers, women with disabilities, women living with HIV/AIDs, women from indigenous, ethnic or religious minorities, as well as lesbian and bisexual women and transgender people.”

Mr. Paul Keogh, Counsellor Development Cooperation of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), said during event “Violence against women is a significant human rights violation. It devastates lives, fractures communities and undermines good development. The Second NAPVAW is an example of the commitment and cooperation of the Royal Government of Cambodia with their partners to address this issue. Australia is very pleased to be working with Royal Government to help develop and implement this important initiative.”

Agreed conclusions of the 57^th Commission on the Status of Women urge all countries to strengthen legal and policy frameworks, with important provisions on ending impunity of perpetrators, ensuring accountability and access to justice for women, as well as putting in place coordinated multisectoral services that respect confidentiality and the safety of women who suffer from gender-based violence.

“In March this year, the United Nations convened the 57^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW),” noted United Nations Resident Coordinator Claire Van der Vaeren. “It offers global standards on actions to end violence against women, and Cambodia’s efforts are already in line with many of the Commission’s recommendations. The United Nations continues to support the Royal Government and development partners to prevent violence against women and girls, and to address the root causes– gender inequality and discrimination.”

In addition, H.E. Chou Bun Eng, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior; Ms. Pok Panha Vichet, Executive Director of Cambodia Women’s Crisis Center; and Ms. Sok Panha, Executive Director of Banteay Srei, participated as well in the event to highlight national responses and challenges to eradicate violence against women and girls in Cambodia

For more information on GIZ project ‘Access to Justice for Women’ please contact:

Mr. Rodrigo Montero Cano Gender and Communications Advisor Tel.: +855 129 237 71

eMail: [email protected]

National Audit Authority Celebrates Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women

7 March 2013

Phnom Penh, Cambodia In commemoration of the 102^nd Anniversary of International Women’s Day, the National Audit Authority (NAA) organized an event around this year’s theme: “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity to Accelerate Progress”. Her Excellency Som Kimsuor, Auditor General of the NAA, presided over the event while 59 women from the NAA and the GIZ project to support the NAA joined the event as well.

Advancing technical knowledge to advance women’s status

Ms. Kuoy Lang, representative of the women of NAA, conveyed the message from Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk. This year, messages focused on improving technical knowledge of women to strengthen their rights and improve career opportunities. Ms. Kuoy Lang also summarized the activities and outcomes of women’s work inside the NAA.

In addition to Ms. Kuoy Lang’s speech, Auditor General Som Kimsuor stressed that achieving “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities to Accelerate Progress” requires promoting rights and opportunities for allowing the participation of women in the country’s development. This also requires encouraging Cambodian women and men to take action and stand as champions of gender equality.

Government Commitments to Reduce Gender Disparities

The 1993 Constitution states “Men and women have equal rights before the law and enjoy equal participation in political, economic, social and cultural life. This includes equality in marriage and family; employment; and equal pay. It also includes measures to prevent and eliminate of all forms of discrimination and exploitation of women.”

Additionally, the National Strategic Development Plan and the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) highlight the Government’s commitment to reduce gender disparities in all development sectors; the need to put in place effective measures to remove barriers that women face; and to increase opportunities for women to fully participate and benefit from development.

Precisely, GIZ also applies a gender mainstreaming strategy to help anchor the gender aspects of its work. This involves managing the development, and evaluation of decision-making processes and measures from a gender perspective while also measuring the impact of interventions on the lives of both women and men.

 Poor households identified in 7 provinces and rural areas of Phnom Penh, covering a total of 4,821 rural villages

3 May 2013

Cambodia – With support from GIZ, the Ministry of Planning and Provincial Departments of Planning have successfully completed “Round 6” of identifying poor households (“IDPoor”).

Village meetings and household interviews took place in all rural areas of seven provinces including Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Beantey Meanchey, Kratie, Oddar Meanchey, Stung Treng and the capital, Phnom Penh. Up-to-date lists of poor households are now available for these areas, covering a total of 4,821 rural villages. With support from GIZ, the data will now be entered into the IDPoor database.

Equity Cards provide access to social services

Households identified as poor during the IDPoor process will receive so-called “Equity Cards” from the Ministry of Planning. The cards will enable them to qualify for and access a range of services and receive support from various poverty reduction programmes.

GIZ advises the Ministry of Planning and Provincial Departments of Planning in all steps of the IDPoor implementation process and supports relevant capacity development measures; this support is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Australian Aid.

For further information on the IDPoor Programme please visit: http://www.mop.gov.kh/Projects/IDPoor/tabid/154/Default.aspx

On-the-job banking audit training: building confidence and technical capacity, hand-in-hand

5 April 2013

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – On-the-job training is known to be an effective approach to putting technical skills into practice. By adopting this approach, GIZ’s National Audit Authority Programme helps Cambodia’s National Audit Authority (NAA) strengthen its capacity and team skills of auditors in charge of auditing at the Central Bank. Auditors at the Central Bank are mainly responsible for monetary policy and bank supervision of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Development of Audit Guidelines listed as, ‘an urgent task’

Momentarily, the NAA is working to urgently finalize the (draft) Audit Guideline for the Central Bank. At the same time, staff training is underway with the aim to raise the quality of independent audits.

In 2008, NAA initiated an audit at the Central Bank and Parliament discussed its audit findings in 2012. In coming years, NAA Central Bank audits are planned to continue. Guidelines would aid this process, and provide a foundation for auditors to work from.

Audit Working Group overcomes challenges through training

Her Excellency, Auditor General Som Kimsuor, recently established a new Working Group to conduct audits at the Central Bank to aid the process. However, as audit topics have evolved from previous ones, the newly established Working Group is anticipated to face some difficulties.

To overcome their challenges, GIZ’s NAA Programme engaged a German audit specialist, Dr. Uwe Roger Schreiner, to facilitate hands-on training for the audit team responsible for the Central Bank audit. The objectives of the training that took place on 11-15 March 2013, included:

1)     Contextualizing the (draft) Audit Guideline to better suit Cambodian needs;

2)     Training the Working Group on the audit process – from planning to reporting – at the Central Bank by providing some best practice examples from the German Bundesbank; and

3)     Drafting the Audit Programme for the audit at the Central Bank.

The result of this work will be discussed with the Working Group and included in the Audit Guideline.

Trainings deliver solutions. moving the process forward

As a result from the training, the Audit Guideline on the Central Bank will be restructured to comply with the general standards of the INTOSAI. The Working Group will continue to refine the Guideline’s content and will submit the final product to the Auditor General for approval. Training participants have not only developed their professional capacity and technical knowledge through these trainings, they also feel more confident to conduct the audit at the Central Bank.

It is a challenging task for NAA to perform an audit on a specialized institution, such as the Central Bank.  The Guideline was developed to aid this process. As the Guideline is a ‘living document’, its drafting is just the beginning a longer process ahead. To ensure its effectiveness, the Guideline must be tested and regularly updated to reflect changes in the Central Bank, and assist with the development of new audit methodology.

For more information on GIZ Support to the National Audit Authority Project, please contact:

Mr. Juergen Lehmberg Team Leader Tel: (855) 12 333 101

Email: [email protected]

Cambodian Officials Visit German Parliament to Improve Transparency of Public Finances

10 April 2013

Phnom Penh, Cambodia During a recent study visit to Germany, Cambodian officials from the National Audit Authority, the Senate and Parliament had the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge on how the close cooperation between the German Parliament and the German audit authority enhances transparency and accountability in the use and management of public resources.

Mr. Juergen Lehmberg, Team Leader of the GIZ project supporting the National Audit Authority in Cambodia, said during the study

visit “We expect that some of the best practices we have seen from German institutions will inspire participants to reflect on how similar models can be applied in Cambodia to make management of public funds more transparent and meaningful for all citizens”.

The Cambodian delegation visited Germany on March 18-27, 2013 and comprised Her Excellency Som Kimsuor, Audit General of the National Audit Authority; H.E. Chea Chet, Chairman of the Commission on Economy Finance Banking and Audit of the Senate; and H.E. Khek Sam On, member of the Commission on Economy Finance Banking and Audit of the National Assembly.

The Cambodian National Audit Authority was founded in 2000 to audit the Government’s budgeting and to guarantee proper management of public funds. The GIZ National Audit Authority Project began in 2006 with the goal of improving transparency and reliability of the Cambodian public finance system, including the implementation of regulations as part of the Second Strategic Development Plan of the Cambodian National Audit Authority.

Further information:

Mr. Juergen Lehmberg
Team Leader of the GIZ Support to the National Audit Authority Project

Tel: (+855) 12 333 101

Email: [email protected]

First Chapters of Handbook for newly elected Councilors launched

5 February 2013

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – With a series of Technical Documents, the National Committee for Sub-National DemocraticDevelopment (NCDD) aims to support the Councilors of Capital, Provinces, Municipalities, Districts and Khans to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Once finalized, the Technical Documents will constitute a “Handbook for Councils”. Recently, the Chairman of the NCDD approved the first two chapters. In two provinces, launching ceremonies marked the achievements of the contributingcouncils and the chapters’ handover.

More effective council meetings

During the last year, NCDD-S developed the handbook’s first two Technical Documents for sub-national Councils with technical support of the EU Program for Strengthening Performance, Accountability and Civic Engagement (EU SPACE). These documents provide orientation on how to conduct more effective council meetings as well as dissemination and consultative forums. During the 2-3 month modeling period, the target councils of the EU SPACE Program in the provinces of Battambang and Kampong Chhnang put the documents to the test. Councils tested their own comprehension of the documents and the degree in which they help them achieve their new roles and responsibilities.

During the launching ceremony, Mr. Sok Sothy, Deputy Head of the NCDD-S Policy Division, expressed his appreciation for the efforts and contributions of NCDD-S officials and the EU-SPACE Program. Mr. Sothy especially thanked the target councils for their contributions to the development and modeling of the documents. The councilors’ meaningful involvement helped to field-test their usefulness and improve document quality.

Mr. Sok Sothy furthermore underlined that the Technical Documents are not intended to serve as an instruction or guideline for the councils. The documents are intended as a resource for the council. The extent in which the councils follow the guidelines is their choice.

Councils appreciate capacity development support

Mr. Gereon Kaus, EU SPACE Strengthening Councils Advisor, stressed the importance of developing  sub-national council capacities, and welcomed the recent approval of both Technical Documents by Deputy Prime Minister, His Excellency Sar Kheng. He expressed his hope that the documents will help the councils to improve the efficiency of their monthly council meetings and support them to be well-prepared for organizing dissemination and consultative fora.

As representative of the councils in Battambang, His Excellency E Sarom, Provincial Councilor, shared his perspective that, ‘council meetings improved remarkably over time, with the guidance of the Technical Documents’. His Excellency E Sarom welcomed coaching support provided by the EU SPACE Program for supporting the councils’ meeting preparation.

Additionally, His Excellency Men Thoeun, Chairperson of the Provincial Council in Kampong Chhnang, asked for continued capacity development from NCDD-S, specifically mentioning the coaching approach, tested with EU SPACE support, to achieve better performances of all councils.

Rolling out the coaching approach – countrywide

NCDD-S is currently rolling out the coaching approach that was successfully tested with EU SPACE support in two target provinces.

The ceremonies marked a milestone in the efforts of NCDD-S to support the capacity development of sub-national councils. A slightly re-formatted version of the modeled Technical Documents is expected to be made available and disseminated country-wide to all councils in the upcoming months. Meanwhile, two new Technical Documents are currently being developed and will be modeled in the target councils.

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Study trip aims to strengthen Human Rights in Cambodia

10-14 December 2012

Berlin, Germany – Understanding human rights policy and implementation is a life-long activity, even for senior officials. Last month, two Cambodian Senators and three Members of the National Assembly, went on a study trip to Berlin to learn about Human Rights policies and implementation in Germany. The visit served to further strengthen the capacities of the Human Rights Commissions of both houses of the Cambodian Parliament. Organized by CIM Advisors working with the National Assembly respectively the Senate, the event was kindly supported by GIZ.

The Cambodian delegation took advantage of every moment in Berlin: they met with members of various Bundestag committees, including the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid and the Complaints Committee, and a a number of other institutions relevant in the area of Human Rights and International Cooperation.

Together, the delegations discussed issues surrounding Human Rights and good practices, the Bundestag shared their experience handling petitions; the delegation explored future inter-parliamentary cooperation with the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Group on ASEAN.

Transparency ‘backs’ anti-corruption policies

Transparency and its relevance in the context of a sound anti-corruption policy was discussed at the global headquarters of Transparency International. The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information shared his insights on the implementation of a regime of free access to public information, which is an important aspect of good governance and democracy.

Garment industry workers’ rights better understood

A further focus was on workers’ rights. The NGO Clean Clothes Campaign presented their activities that strive to raise awareness amongst consumers in western countries of garment factory workers’ precarious working conditions in Cambodia. The issue of workers’ rights was revisited during a meeting with the DGB, Germany’s umbrella organization for trade unions.

Further meetings took place with the government funded German Institute for Human Rights, BMZ, the GIZ branch office Berlin, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, and the Human Rights Centre of the University of Potsdam.

The visit was completed by a trip to Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, commemorating the period of enlightenment and how it influenced a great leader, King Frederic of Prussia.

The Cambodian Ministry of Planning has started a media campaign to inform the public and interested organisations that new data from the Identification of Poor Households (IDPoor) Programm is now available. Adverts announcing that updated information on poor households in several provinces is available have been published in several well-known Cambodian newspapers, both in English and in Khmer language. The process of identifying poor households was undertaken in 11 provinces in 2010 and in 9 provinces in 2011, so that updated information is now available for a total of 20 provinces.

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