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I - Introduction

At the second East Asia and Pacific Regional Conference on Poverty Reduction Strategies held in Phnom Penh in October 2003, Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen said - “Poverty reduction defines and drives the substance, the content, the heart and soul of our entire strategy of government. Poverty reduction is not just a requirement of social justice, an action of conscience, but also of pragmatic economic management.”[1] In particular, the development of the rural economy was stressed as being the “key” priority for government. Statements reinforcing the commitment of the RGC to poverty reduction are welcomed in setting the NPRS at the heart of government action. These statements must now be supported by clear action on the part of Ministries and the RGC’s development partners.

The RGC is to be congratulated for its work in preparing and finalising Cambodia’s first National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS). The NGO community believes that the value of such a strategy will lie in its effective implementation and monitoring.

It is now one year since the RGC launched the NPRS.  All stakeholders now face the opportunity of assessing implementation of the strategy over this initial period. In doing so, NGOs wish to offer their opinion regarding progress on the NPRS and to suggest priorities and issues that should be addressed in the forthcoming implementation period.

In working towards a reduction in poverty in Cambodia, NGOs have a significant role to play through their own activities. These practical experiences inform the assessment NGOs make in relation to the NPRS, its implementation and future developments. This NGO Statement sets out some of the most significant issues that NGOs in Cambodia see as being of major concern at the present time.

It is significant to note that all stakeholders appear to conclude that the RGC needs to develop clearer priorities in relation to tackling poverty. The NPRS does not offer an effective agenda for action.  This is demonstrated by the fact that the costed projects within the Action Plan Matrix add up to $5.2 billion, far beyond the available resources or capacity. A failure to prioritise the wide range and number of projects set out in the matrix will allow donors to pick and chose projects. It leaves donors in control when it comes to prioritising development work.

In considering priorities for poverty reduction in Cambodia, it is also necessary to look beyond the NPRS and take account of other generally agreed goals and priorities such as the Millennium Development goals and Cambodia’s commitments under various United Nations covenants and conventions, including the Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.   These commitments need to be integrated into the NPRS framework.

Purpose of the Report

This statement is addressed to the RGC and donors in relation to the RGC’s first Annual Progress Report on NPRS Implementation. 

The aim of the NGO community in producing this NGO Statement is to provide an NGO-based response to the NPRS. The RGC is committed to participatory monitoring and the NGO community wishes to contribute to that review.

Process of Preparing this Statement

In the process of developing this statement, NGOs shared information and experiences in response to the first year of implementation of the NPRS. A number of meetings were held, and the opinions of NGOs were surveyed.

At the same time, NGO sectoral groups have prepared sectoral papers and key elements from these sectoral papers have also been fed into this Statement. The collection of sectoral papers[2] will be published separately from this Statement and will inform the NPRS reporting process as well as be available for the next Consultative Group meeting on Cambodia.

The NGO community would welcome any feedback on this Statement.


[1] Quoted in The Cambodia Daily, 17 October 2003, p.1, 14.

[2] NGO Sectoral and Issues Papers on Poverty Reduction and Development in Cambodia 2004, publ. by NGO Forum, March 2004.

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