CDC - STATEMENT OF THE CHAIR OF THE DONORS’ DEMOBILIZATION WORKING GROUP.


STATEMENT OF THE CHAIR OF THE DONORS’ DEMOBILIZATION WORKING GROUP. Phnom Penh CG Meeting on Cambodia June 19-21, 2002

Royal Highness Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of the Donors’ Working Group on Demobilization, I have been requested to make the following contribution to the current CG proceedings. The Government deserves our compliments for the effective and efficient way in which it carried out the demobilization of the first 15,000 soldiers last year. Recent field missions by a number of donors including the Dutch Government, the Japanese Government and the World Bank have all concurred independently that the process seems to have been well executed and that those who left the army were genuine soldiers, for the most part well known in their communities. A key finding of these missions was that the early assistance received by the veterans in the form of cash, food and household kits was useful and appreciated. For the 1,500 soldiers demobilized under the pilot project, the reintegration package provided to them has proven valuable, whether it be the motorcycles, the sewing machines or other goods they had selected to promote sustainable livelihoods. Lessons from the pilot have benefited the full project. For example, some of the reintegration package options were changed as a result of lessons learned in the pilot. The missions reported that the initial 15,000 soldiers demobilized under the full program have still not received their reintegration packages and that, although they are showing great patience in the face of this long delay, it is having a negative impact on their livelihood and that they are eagerly awaiting the delivery of these packages. It should be underlined here that the delay was due only to technical reasons and in no way reflects any lack of commitment to the project. We are happy to report that a recent World Bank mission which came to review, among other things, the fulfillment of the conditions of effectiveness of its credit, has come to the conclusion that these conditions have essentially been met and that the credit would therefore be declared effective in a matter of days. In fact, agreement has already been reached with the Government for the procurement of key items of the reintegration packages and that process is underway. The reintegration packages are financed by IDA. We would like to urge the Government to continue to ensure that the integrity of the demobilization process is maintained. Most specifically, the undertakings embodied in Part IV of the Letter of Demobilization Program Development should be maintained, including the commitment that the Government would not take any action that would have the effect of undermining the demobilization program and the achievement of its objectives. In particular, the Royal Government undertook to refrain from any actions that would compromise the expected positive and sustainable transfer of resources to the social sectors that would result from the implementation of the demobilization project. The reduction in military spending and the resulting transfer of resources to the social sectors must be made sustainable. We are pleased to note that for the first time, social sector expenditures became more important than defense/security expenditures in the 2002 budget where the budget of the four priority ministries is 3.6% of GDP and that of security and defense 2.7% of GDP. These allocations need to be reflected in the actual spending patterns. Maintaining the integrity of the progress will also require that the wider military reform agenda be pursued to achieve the stated objective of “reshaping the RCAF into a smaller, more professional military force..”. The determination of the optimal profile of the armed forces is a key element in this context. For the project more specifically, attention will now need to be turned to having an independent audit of the existing database which is the first project component. An urgent priority is to provide the most adequate reintegration assistance to the soldiers. This will entail providing health services and skills training, establishing an effective monitoring and evaluation mechanism to better follow up the results and impact of the projects/programs undertaken, and ensuring an effective coordination with on-going or planned projects by donors and NGOs in areas with a sufficient concentration of veterans so that they can be made to benefit, along with the rest of the population, from the activities financed. The donors are ready to continue to work with the Government and with active participation of civil society in this important reform area. Thank You.