CDC - Statement by the Netherlands delegation


Consultative Group Meeting., 20-21 June 2002 Statement by the Netherlands delegation

The Netherlands welcomes this opportunity to inform the Royal Government of Cambodia that for the calendar year 2002 a budget of USD 5.5 Million (grants) is available for development cooperation between the Netherlands and Cambodia. This budget will be spent to support activities in the area of strengthening good governance, further improvement of the security sector and improving the human rights situation in Cambodia. In the governance area, support will be focused on strengthening management of public expenditure through continued assistance to the TCAP program, and as I mentioned yesterday, if needed we will increase our support to this program. Secondly, we are in discussion with the Asian Development Bank and other bilateral donors to assist the Royal Government of Cambodia with the capacity building program for the newly elected commune counsels. More specifically, the Dutch assistance will be focused on “civil registration” efforts. Support to the legal and judicial reform is the third element of our governance program. However, the progress in this area has been unsatisfactory and our budget allocation has not been fully used. We are ready to continue our support for structural reform in this sector as soon as substantial progress will be made in the concretization of the Draft strategy and its implementation. In the security area, the Netherlands is committed to the demobilization efforts of the Royal Cambodian Government. We will continue our support for the next phase. The mine clearance programs and reduction of small arms will remain a focal point of the Netherlands security program. The Netherlands will also continue its assistance to human rights organizations in Cambodia. Although there is a relative freedom for civil society to do their admirable work, improvements in this area are still indispensable. Special attention will be paid to the increase of reported cases of trafficking and sexual abuse. It is important that the Royal Government of Cambodia, civil society and the international donor community further support the “Five Year Plan against Child Abuse and Trafficking”. The Netherlands considers the protection of children by strengthening law enforcement capabilities essential and has therefore decided to continue its support to the program of Law Enforcement against Child sexual Abuse, Exploitation and Trafficking. The Netherlands will contribute approximately 650.000 USD for the coming three years. Gender equality is a crosscutting issue that will be mainstreamed in all our activities as well as support through specific projects. The Netherlands continues to be strongly committed to support the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Cambodian people in their development efforts.