A contentious draft law aimed at regulating Cambodia's NGOs could be passed by the National Assembly as early as next month, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. "[The draft law] is a matter of disagreement, but the government has had it drafted since 2012," Hun Sen said during a speech at the Centre for Deaf and Mute Children in Phnom Penh. "It will pass through the Council of Ministers no later than May before it is sent to the National Assembly, and the draft law will be passed without any obstacles." The Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations, which has been in the works since at least 2006, has been a cause of concern for many activists who say the complex registration process and stringent annual reporting demands on finances and other activities are a thinly veiled attempt to curtail their freedom of movement. Without naming names, Hun Sen asserted that the same NGOs calling for transparency in government must be candid about their operations and funding sources, saying they could otherwise hide that they are supporting or being bankrolled by international terrorist groups or organised crime syndicates. "Previously, we dissolved one NGO suspected of financing terrorists, and another suspected of money laundering," he said. "We are going to die if[they] are financed by al-Qaeda[or] ISIS, and we cannot control it." Hun Sen also lashed out at NGOs he said have attacked Cambodia's human rights record and sent reports to the UN with the goal of obtaining funding from international donors. "In 2005, during the ASEAN-UN Summit in New York, I informed[then-UN secretary-general] Kofi Annan that I didn't expect a good human rights report on Cambodia, since a good report would mean no jobs for human rights activists in Cambodia. This is the reality," he said. Still, Hun Sen assured that the law was not meant to put NGOs out of business - just those that are not registered. "If you are not registered, you will be handcuffed," he said, adding later that "the aim of the law is not to bar the activities of NGOs; the aim of the law is to ensure transparency". While some activists agree that disclosing financials is necessary, others see the law as a bid to control a sector that has routinely picked up the slack in a country where many services normally performed by the government remain the domain of NGOs. "It is legitimate and appropriate to require NGOs to disclose their sources of funding and how the funds are spent," said Kol Preap, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia. "[But] there is concern that the purpose of this NGO law is to further restrict freedom and to control the activities of NGOs." In the view of Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) adviser Billy Tai, "Hun Sen has a vested interest in trying to legitimise the law, especially after the recent chatter around it as well as the[UN] human rights committee's concluding observations." Ny Chakrya, head of local human rights NGO Adhoc, voiced concern that the law would simply limit the work of NGOs in the Kingdom. "The government has always considered NGOs the enemy," he said. "The criticism[of the government] by NGOs shows that the government has much work to do[in terms of] respecting human rights in Cambodia." Charya further insisted that there are already many relevant laws on the books that control NGOs, so there is no use passing a specific law to monitor them. UPDATE 5 June 2015 Rights Groups Seek Consultation With Cambodian Parliament on NGO Draft Law Rights groups want Cambodia's parliament to hold a consultation with civil society about a controversial draft law on nongovernmental organizations approved Friday by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, which has long demonstrated animosity toward organizations outside of state control. Local NGOs said the government approved the most recent draft Law on the Association and the Non-Governmental Organization (LANGO) without consulting them, fearing that the legislation will restrict their activities in the developing country. Soeung Saroeun, executive director of the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, an NGO that promotes good governance, said the government should have widely discussed the draft law with the NGOs before sending it to parliament. Nevertheless, he said he hoped that the National Assembly would allow NGOs to provide their input before passing it. "We used to discuss this issue with parliamentarian Chheang Vun[spokesman of parliament] and with other members of the Fifth National Assembly Commission," he told RFA's Khmer Service. "We hope that they accept our consultation, and we expect that our three points of concern will be resolved." The three matters in question are restrictions on NGOs' community activities, uncertainty about whether unregistered NGOs could continue operating, and the disbandment of NGOs, Soeung Saroeun said. Rights groups fear that the draft law incorporates few amendments to an earlier draft released in 2011, which was later withdrawn following heavy local and international criticism. 20 years to draft law Although NGOs said they have not yet seen the latest version of the document, government spokesman Phay Siphan said the government had discussed the draft law several times with the groups as well as with the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). "We spent 20 years on drafting this law and made changes and collected data[as needed] before finally coming up with this[approved] draft law," he told RFA, adding that Hun Sen has said that the legislation aims to protect the interests of NGOs. Two main changes in the draft law will help ease the performance of civil society's work by cutting down on the red tape of setting up NGOs as well as reducing restrictions on their activities, Phay Siphan said. The government would send the draft law to parliament in one week, he said. About 5,000 NGOs operate in the impoverished nation, actively assisting with its development in the areas of human rights, democracy, health care, social work and agriculture. Many domestic and international NGOs have said they find it odd that the Cambodian government has claimed it is creating the law to protect their interests, but yet has excluded them from participating in drafting the law. At the end of last month, Phay Siphan said the government would make the recent draft available to NGOs after it had been reviewed by the Council of Ministers and signed off on by Hun Sen. UPDATE 10 June 2015 A copy of the long-secret draft law on NGOs obtained yesterday seemingly confirms civil society's longstanding fears that the legislation's language could be used to hamper, rather than help, the Kingdom's NGOs. The law on associations and non-governmental organisations (LANGO) - a draft of which was last seen by the public in 2011 - purports to be aimed at "safeguarding the rights and freedoms" of NGOs and protecting their "legitimate interests". Critics, however, say the law's provisions place an onerous burden on civil society. Despite government claims that critics would be "surprised" by the draft's friendliness and flexibility, an unofficial copy reveals a number of vaguely worded provisions and seemingly harsh restrictions. A local NGO, for instance, must have "at least five founding members .?.?.[who have] never had a position of leadership of any association or[local NGO] which had been deleted from registration". The Interior Ministry can also deny a request for registration if the organisation's "aims and objectives .?.?. jeopardize peace, stability and public order or harm the national security, national unity, culture, and traditions of the Cambodian national society". Those not registered are "not allowed to conduct any activities" in Cambodia, it says. Even if approved, NGOs "must be neutral toward all political parties", and the government can request full details of activities and finances if it deems it "necessary" to do so. Any associations thought to "jeopardize peace" will be punished "in accordance with the existing criminal law". If local NGOs operate without government approval they could be fined between 5 million and 10 million riel ($1,230 to $2,460), while foreigners could face deportation "and other criminal punishment". Before being green-lighted on Friday, two articles were removed by Prime Minister Hun Sen - one stating that "administrative expenses .?.?. shall not exceed 25 per cent of the total budget", and the other ordering that an organisation "declare its agreement on aid projects to the Council for the Development of Cambodia". Both articles dealt only with international groups. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, said if passed in its current form the law will be "an unmitigated disaster for civil society". The law would serve as "an axe that Hun Sen and the government will no doubt use to chop off the heads of NGOs and associations active in protecting human rights, exposing official corruption, and demanding accountability for elites' looting of land and natural resources". But Meas Sarim of the Interior Ministry's General Department of Administration said the law had improved since 2011. "I really don't understand why NGOs are so concerned about this," he added. The opposition will meet today to discuss the draft, said CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua. UPDATE 17 June 2015 Draft NGO Law reaches National Assembly The draft of a controversial law proposing to regulate the country's sprawling NGO sector has arrived at the National Assembly, where a spokesman said it would likely be put up for public discussion before a vote UPDATE: 23 July 2015 Cambodian Opposition Party Senators Refuse to Debate NGO Draft Law Senators from Cambodia's opposition party will not participate in a debate on controversial legislation passed by the lower house of parliament earlier this month on the regulation of nongovernmental organizations that operate in the developing country, an opposition Senate lawmaker said. Kong Koam, leader of the Sam Rainsy Party, said his fellow lawmakers in the upper house would boycott the discussion of the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO), which the body's Legislation Commission is reviewing, when the Senate opens the floor to debate by Friday. Those responsible for the legislation have yet to properly consult with other stakeholders such as local and international NGOs and associations according to the spirit of the country's constitution, he said. "It's not good idea to apply such a law after its adoption," he told RFA's Khmer Service. "We want this law to have a detailed review of and consultation on every aspect first." Last week, opposition party Senators said they would boycott the vote in the upper house if their colleagues failed to amend the legislation. The legislation was unanimously approved by 68 ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) representatives in the lower house on July 13. Fifty-five lawmakers from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) boycotted the vote in the lower house. NGOs, associations, unions and land activists have demonstrated outside the National Assembly[parliament] building in the capital Phnom Penh, urging the government to drop the law. Three days after its passage by the lower house, the United Nations Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) urged the Senate to reject the legislation, arguing that it contradicts international human rights law by violating freedom of association. Opponents also say that LANGO runs counter to an international covenant on civil and political rights, which Cambodia signed in 1992. The legislation would require the 5,000 domestic and international NGOs that work in Cambodia to register with the government and report their activities and finances or risk fines, criminal prosecution and shut downs. It also would let authorities de-register NGOs if they are not "politically neutral" and deny registrations on vague grounds that the groups have endangered the country's security and stability or jeopardized national security or Cambodian culture UPDATE: 27/ 07/ 2015 Cambodia's Senate Passes NGO Law, Despite Ongoing Protests against It Ruling-party Senators in Cambodia's parliament on Friday predictably approved a controversial law that lets the government regulate the roughly 5,000 nongovernmental organizations that operate in the developing country. A majority of Senators __� 44 from the Cambodian people's party (CPP) __� passed the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO), while 11 from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party boycotted the session in protest against the bill that places restrictions on NGOs and associations. Senate President Say Chhum permitted eight CPP Senators to give 10-minute speeches in support of the legislation, during which they said would protect the interests of NGOs as well as the rights, freedom, dignity, security, safety and social order in Cambodia. The Senate will send the law to the Constitutional Council next week for a legal review before it is submitted to King Norodom Sihamoni for final approval, despite continued opposition to it by civil society groups, said Mam Bun Neage, spokesman of the upper house of parliament. About 500 civil society, human rights and land activists staged a peaceful protest outside the Senate building in the capital Phnom Penh to urge Senators to reject the legislation and return it to the lower house. They also submitted a petition to the nearby embassy of Japan, a major donor of aid to Cambodia, arguing that the law would prevent people from being able to seek justice and take away NGOs' freedoms of expression and assembly. "We think the government will enforce the law," said one protestor who declined to be named. "The law will be completely adopted as the government wanted. We think this law will strongly affect the next elections. We will wait to see whether the number of CPP seats in parliament will increase or decrease." Cambodia's next parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held by February 2018. The civil groups vowed not to vote for any parties that supported LANGO. Letter to the king The day before the Senate passed the law, Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's general secretary, sent a letter to the king, calling on him to reject LANGO, which was passed by the National Assembly on July 13. He said that the law would violate Cambodia's constitution and an international covenant on civil and political rights. The law requires the 5,000 domestic and international NGOs that work in Cambodia to register with the government and report their activities and finances or risk fines, criminal prosecution and shut downs. It also lets authorities de-register NGOs if they are not "politically neutral" and deny registrations on vague grounds that the groups have endangered the country's security and stability or jeopardized national security or Cambodian culture. The government has said the law is necessary to ferret out illegitimate NGOs and ensure they do not receive financing from terrorists.