Sectoral Groups:
Some sectoral groups chose to present findings in the closing plenary. Their recommendations are as follows:
Services for People with Disabilities
The following are needed to achieve full participation and integration of people with disabilities into mainstream society:
- · Involvement of people with disabilities in planning and development of policies and services at all levels
- · Networking and partnerships throughout the region to exchange information and expertise
- · Share resources in human resource development, capacity building
- · Organizations should lead by example in promoting employment, accessibility and promoting a barrier free environment for people with disabilities.
Contacts:Helen Pitt, Disabilities Action Council, Cambodia Email: dac@forum.org.kh
Larry Wolfe, Health Volunteers Overseas Email:hvovn@netnam.org.vn
Education - University, Graduate Work and Exchanges
Recommends the following or has identified the following needs:
- · More money for support, teacher salary, computer access
- · Suggest the creation of an educational advisory center as a clearinghouse for opportunities, scholarships, ideas, etc.
- · more and better English training for Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese students so that they can qualify for scholarships to study abroad
HIV/AIDS and STDs
different values and a new kind of relationship. Finding balance in the relationship between INGOs and host governments becomes a very real issue, and countries find they need to reevaluate the role of INGOs.
Part of the concern of INGOs should be how their own home countries perceive and relate to the countries they are working in. The amount and character of bilateral assistance from our governments directly influences how INGOs are able to work. INGOs also find they have to interpret changes in the region to home
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US Ambassador Kenneth Quinn welcomes conference participants as senior member of the diplomatic community. |
Sok An, Minister of the Council of Ministers
Finally, Minister Sok An gave his profuse thanks to all who shared their ideas, experiences, lessons and goals with the conference. After a decade of war, Cambodia is left with little other than poverty. Poverty Alleviation is a priority for the government - they have instituted a program to resettle squatters on 2 hectares of land with a small house that will allow them to begin to rebuild their lives, and the government has identified priorities for a poverty alleviation strategy:
- stabilization, Peace, Law and Order, security
- support and participation in government (democratization)
- economic development and rural development
John McAuliff, Forum Coordinator
John spoke briefly on the changing role of international NGOs as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam improve their relationships with Europe, the US, Australia, Japan and other sources of international aid.
In 1975 there were only a handful of NGOs working in the region, most of whom had come to Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam as partners, working to open new paths and communication. Today, there are hundreds of NGOs, many who come as professionals, with multi-country experience as aid givers and donors. These NGOs bring different values and a new kind of relationship. Finding balance in the relationship between INGOs and host governments becomes a very real issue, and countries find they need to reevaluate the role of INGOs.
Part of the concern of INGOs should be how their own home countries perceive and relate to the countries they are working in. The amount and character of bilateral assistance from our governments directly influences how INGOs are able to work. INGOs also find they have to interpret changes in the region to home
Observes that HIV/AIDS can be dealt with when:
- · Policy makers recognize the importance of HIV/AIDS
- · Everyone knows that HIV/AIDS is everyone's problem, no one is immune
- · People talk about sex
- · People practice safe sex
Contact:
Nina McCoy, Australian Red Cross Email: arcvn@netnam.org.vn
Civil Society
Identified the following challenges:
- · Availability of Resources
- · Clear understanding of attitudes and values which are part of building a responsible civil society
- · Attitudes and tenure of government officials
- · Time
- · Evaluation of past efforts to create civil society
Trade and Private Investment
Focused on bilateral issues and identified some things governments can or should do:
- · Provide incentives to private investment
- · Work with business to share information on business opportunities
- · Introduce up to date commercial laws to accommodate business and investments
Primary Education
Focused on:
- · Economic, social and socio-cultural reasons and factors influencing drop out, repitition and attendence, ways of dealing with them
- · Education of minorities
- · Multigrade teaching
- · Early childhood and pre-school programs
- · Teacher training
Contact:Richard Geeves, World Education - Email: wecam@camnet.com.kh
UXO, Agent Orange, Landmines
Identified the following needs:
- · Share information between Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on what progress has been made and keep each other informed.
- · Push foreign governments for financial compensation and more research on Agent Orange (esp. US).
- · Assist Agent Orange and other victims in forming their own advocacy networks.
Contact:Chuck Searcy, VVAF Email: vvaf@netnam.org.vn
Secondary, Non Formal and Vocational Education
Had no recommendations per se but focused on a few issues:
- · Literacy and Non Formal Education. Programs offering vocational skills as a way to learn literacy skills were more effective
- than those that offered literacy skills only. Problems in sustaining class numbers.
- · Vocational Training Coordination and insertion of vocational training skills in general education programs.
- · Teacher pay and ways to keep teachers from leaving the ministries and schools for the private sector.
Suggestions were to continue contact and encourage exchanges of personelle from each country's Ministry of Education.
Contact:Lucy Royal-Dawson CfBT - CAMSET Email: cfbt@bigpond.com.kh
Primary Health Care
Identified the following needs:
- · NGOs need a coordination mechanism that can work with the government coordination mechanism.
- · NGOs need to understand government priorities (communication).
Contact:Curtis Sweezy, Counterpart Email: counterpart@netnam.org.vn
Community Development
- Participation of community has to start at the very beginning of any process
- Focus should be on people, not on projects
- Ex-pat staff cannot be directly involved in promoting the participation of local people
- More attention should be paid to gender roles and awareness
- Popular methods and appropriately cultured methods are useful and important
- Advocacy is an important role for community development workers - advocating for the needs of the poor at all levels.
Contact:Brian Heidel, CIDSE, Cambodia Email: cidsecam@forum.org.kh
Disaster Relief
Became a sectoral group of one, but the group stressed the importance of being prepared for natural disasters before they happen.
Other sectoral groups that met but did not report in the final session:
Agriculture:
All agreed that food security is the number one national goal in agriculture though the way to meet these goals varied between the three countries and even within each country. The national priorities for food security were outlined as follows:
- · Cambodia: Rice variatal improvement, irrigation/water management, diversification of farming systems, and human resource development
- · Laos: food production, cash crop production, reduction of slash and burn farming, irrigation and infrastructure, agricultural research, and human resources development
- · Vietnam: rice production, integrated farming systems, animal production and focus on poor communes.
Contact:
Sen Sovann - Cambodia, Royal University of Agriculture ssovann@forum.org.kh
Law and Legal Reform
Attended by only Cambodian participants. Among the suggestions for reform were:
- · Law: pass basic laws on Penal Code, Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure, Land Law, amend some existing laws such as labor code and press law. Educate people on basic laws.
- · Judiciary Reform: amend law on Supreme Council of Magistracy to be sure the Council is independent, strong and not linked to the Executive branch. Train judges and prosecutors, raise salaries of judges, institute court administrative reform, and establish an Institute of Justice.
- · Armed Forces reform: develop a police ordinance, ensure non-partisan armed forces, establish a Police Academy and raise salaries for police.
- · Corruption: Establish an independent police commission, develop a procedure to file action against misconduct of the police and judges, develop a procedure to bring human rights cases to the Supreme Court, establish a law on access to official information, make bribery a crime and and establish an independent ombudsman
Suggestions to develop cooperation in the region included: increase relationships among NGOS and human rights NGOS in the region, form a regional network of NGOs, invite each other to participate in workshops and seminars, exchange ideas about laws.
Contact:Sok Sam Oeun: International Human Rights Group - Cambodia Defenders Project cdplas@worldmail.com.kh
Environment and Ecology:
The group discussed each country's national policies on natural resources and the environment: what is the policy, who are the actors/partners in the area to what degree is the policy implemented and how success has the policy been. Much of the discussion was regarding Laos Hydro - electric Power schemes and the impact on the rest of the Mekong River basin. Discussion included:
- · The role of STENO (Science Technology and Environment Organization) as a coordinating agency to regulate the use of natural resources
- · STENO's efforts to get local people who will be effected by the project (in particular Nam Theun 2) involved in the project
- · Cambodia's Ministry of Environment's environmental action plan for 1995-1996 which was noted to have faced difficulties in implementation due to lack of environmental training for ministry staff and limited ability of the ministry to uphold regulations
- · Vietnam's new environmental law which required private companies to address environmental waste and the capacity at Vietnamese universities to train students in environmental sciences.
The Mekong River Commission was noted as a good place to discuss regional environmental issues though it has proven to be ineffective in implementing or carrying out programs or activities. ASEAN was noted to be proven helpful in bringing political issues regarding the environment to the table for discussion.
Contact:Steve Price-Thomas: VSO Hanoi vsohanoi@netnam.org.vn
Microcredit - Economic Development:
Issues regarding coordination and theory and practice, demand and supply, accountability, growth and sustainability and development of regulations were discussed. Some of the comments that arose:
- 1. NGOs and INGOs working in other sectors are related to micro-credit.
- 2. NGOS and INGOs hope to motivate credit unions, government banks and commercial banks to meet the need and take a more prominent part in micro-finance and micro-credit.
- 3. Need for education and demonstration of the advantage of and procedure for savings and credit working together. Savings in some form is prerequisite for borrowing, with varying degrees of formality and specific requirements.
The Web site for the CECI's Center for Micro Finance - Nepal was recommended as a good source of information on micro-credit with links to other sites: http://www.south-asia.com/cmf
Contact:Joel Copple World Relief email: world-relief-cambodia@netbox.com
Women's Organizations and Priorities:
The underlying theme in all of the areas discussed was women's participation in all areas of society, development of a gender approach and regional networking
Participants Identified to the two areas of discussion:
- 1. Income generation/women's participation and benefit in the economic sphere
- 2. Gender and Women's Rights regarding:
- · Violence against women, including exploitation in the sex industry
- · Reproduction health/choice
- · Education,
- · Access to social services.
Contact:Navy Chan, CRWRC Email: crwrc@bigpond.com.kh
Other groups that met but did not make a report available:
· Foreign Language Teaching
· National and Regional Peace Contact: MCC - Cambodia mcc@forum.org.kh or AFSC - Cambodia Email: afsc@forum.org.kh
· Internally Displaced, Resettlement of Refugees