Reducing poverty in Cambodia: the role of NGOs and CSOs in the development policy process.

Cambodia changed forever on 17 April 1975. As the Khmer Rouge took control of the country under the leadership of Pol Pot, stringent rules of conduct were imposed on the lives of its people. Cambodia was renamed Democratic Kampuchea and a four-year purge began in which the Khmer Rouge regime tried to eliminate all signs of the educated classes. The goal was to create an agrarian society.

The result was the genocidal killing of 20 per cent of the Cambodian population. Through the use of torture and execution centres, such as Tuol Sleng and the infamous killing fields of Choeng Ek, the Khmer Rouge devastated an already poverty-stricken nation. The regime ended on 7 January 1979 with the invasion of forces from Viet Nam. Bringing the Khmer Rouge leadership to trial remains a goal of the United Nations. According to [recently retired] Under-Secretary-General Kieran Prendergast of the UN Department of Political Affairs, it has taken many years, but a court has been established through the efforts of "the Japanese, the French, the Americans and others ... and we are going to try and make it work".

The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is the first of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Royal Government of Cambodia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) are making great progress in fighting poverty and rebuilding Cambodian society. New support from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank and hundreds of other organizations that work to reduce poverty and create sustainable development are giving the Cambodian people new tools and hope for the future.

Poverty reduction became the joint focus of the World Bank and the IMF in 1999, resulting in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)--a fresh approach that requires nations requesting concessionary loans to develop their own poverty-reduction plan. This document details the specific steps that will be taken to reduce poverty, including: a poverty diagnosis; targets, indicators and a monitoring system for poverty reduction; and priority public actions for a three-year time period.

PRSP is known in Cambodia as the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS), which received approval in 2002 and was initially implemented in 2003. The Government included sectoral areas in the NPRS: agricultural and rural development; child rights; decentralization; disability and rehabilitation; disarmament and demobilization; education; electoral reform; fishery and forestry sectors; gender and women's participation; governance and transparency; health and HIV/AIDS; landmines and unexploded ordinances in affected communities; land reform; microfinance; resettlement and rights of affected people; rights and care of older people; the rule of law; small-arms reduction and management; and trade policy. Most NGOs and CSOs in Cambodia operate within multiple sectoral areas and play crucial roles in delivering services to these sectors.

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Developing a poverty-reduction plan is a challenging undertaking. There are many working definitions of poverty, which change depending on the needs of an individual organization or country. What makes PRSP unique is that NGOs and CSOs are required to take part in development and must have a voice in the development policy process. However, to include these organizations in developing a nation's PRSP is difficult and also increases the possibility of reducing poverty. These groups are often small in size, operate in remote areas and may lack the technology to be part of a larger network. It is important for Governments to recognize that these local groups have first-hand knowledge of poverty-related issues in their communities, as well as the connections needed to implement policies. PRSP development is further complicated by the lack of information about its overall success, since it has only been required for the last five years.

The language of choice for most PRSP documents is English, regardless of a nation's official language, but it can be difficult to understand, particularly for NGOs and CSOs that work locally. It is important, therefore, to provide local translations of the working documents to the people striving to develop sound policy. A few countries, such as Albania, Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda and Yemen, have taken the lead by providing documents in their local language. Khmer language translations were not provided in the development of Cambodia's NPRS, but many NGOs and CSOs were able to participate in the process of developing a poverty-reduction plan due to the efforts of umbrella organizations. However, the timing, location and scheduling of meetings remain a concern to them. For example, meetings scheduled in Phnom Penh are often inaccessible to groups working in outer provinces, and cost is also a factor. Simply funding transportation to attend policy meetings is difficult for many of the small NGOs and CSOs.

Another issue facing organizations working to develop poverty-reduction policies is the argument between participation and consultation. From an NGO and CSO perspective, participation involves negotiation and information-sharing between policymakers and community members. Consultation, on the other hand, is simply notifying NGOs and CSOs of the decision of policymakers. The IMF and the World Bank require that these organizations participate in developing such policies, but they do not give clear guidelines of what participation truly entails. Many such organizations in Cambodia feel that the Government prefers to consult, although several of the larger umbrella NGOs acknowledge that their input has been included in the final documents.

A recent study found that the age of a non-governmental or civil society organization is a factor in the belief that the NPRS development process in Cambodia was consultative. More established organizations viewed the process as being less participatory, and since older organizations have previously established poverty-reduction programmes, they might be less willing to adapt to new policy requirements. Sectoral areas addressed by NPRS are supported through the efforts of umbrella organizations, such as the NGO Forum on Cambodia and the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC), each with approximately 75 members. Comprised of local, national and international NGOs and CSOs, they strengthen communication between the various programmes operating in each of the country's 23 provinces.

The NGO Forum on Cambodia, based in Phnom Penh, is focused around a single goal for 2004-2005: that the rights of poor and vulnerable groups in the country are recognized and supported by government and donor policies and practices and by the wider community. The organization has been in existence since the 1980s and focuses on a variety of issues, including development, the environment, land and livelihood, and many others that relate to the empowerment of Cambodians. Mlup Baitong, a member of the NGO Forum, works on the micro-level to improve the country's forestry and environment. With 80 per cent of Cambodia's 13.3 million people living in rural areas and directly dependent on natural resources, Mlup Baitong strives to increase environmental awareness through education, training and advocacy programmes at the civil society level.

The Buddhism and the Environment Project has created a network of several hundred monks in Kompong Speu and Kampong Thom provinces. Drawing on a strong Buddhist environmental ethic, the programme promotes the importance of environmental awareness. A unique cross-cutting project trains local monks about seedling germination, tree planting, and water and fuel-wood management. The monks, in turn, educate their local communities about environmental issues and the importance of natural resources.

Specifically targeting the NPRS goal of gender and women's participation, Nyemo is an NGO member of the CCC, whose mission is to provide vulnerable women with the means necessary to regain their dignity and participate actively in the economic development of Cambodia. The organization provides economically marginalized women with education and training as a means of empowerment. Nyemo offers women support groups, education sessions, literacy and skill training, gender education and children's services. It currently operates a restaurant in Phnom Penh, called Le Rit's, that provides an opportunity for programme participants to further develop vocational skills. Attached to the restaurant is a store and sewing workshop.

The requirements of the World Bank and the IMF for a PRSP are still relatively new, and full evaluations of the success of this new approach to poverty reduction are not yet available. Cambodia is working to develop a strong, sustainable economy and reduce the poverty that infuses most aspects of society. The inclusion of NGOs and CSOs in the NPRS development opened the lines of communication between the Government and service providers, and optimism is high among them that the National Poverty Reduction Strategy can succeed.

Countries currently developing a PRSP should note the importance of using translated documents, scheduling meetings to encourage the greatest level of involvement, and allowing NGOs and CSOs to fully participate in policy development. Cambodia's NPRS represents the willingness and ability of these organizations, the international development community, United Nations agencies and the Cambodian Government to work as partners toward achieving the common goal of poverty reduction.

Mitch Rosin works as an editor in education publishing and has travelled throughout South East Asia, with a special focus on Cambodia. He earned a Master of Science in Public Service from DePaul University and a Master of Arts in Education from New York University. This article is based on his thesis, "The Participation and Influence of Non-governmental and Civil Society Organizations in the Development of Cambodia's National Poverty Reduction Strategy", 2004.

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