Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Seventy- third session

13February–3March 2023

Consideration of reports: reports submitted by States parties

in accordance with articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant

Replies of Cambodia to the list of issues in relation to itssecond periodic report *

[Date received: 13 July 2022]

Reply to paragraph 1 of the list of issues (E/C.12/KHM/RQ/2)

1.In the Kingdom of Cambodia, international human rights laws and standards are recognised by the Constitution as stated in Article 31 that, “The Kingdom of Cambodia recognises and respects human rights as enshrined in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all the treaties and conventions related to human rights, women’s rights and children’s rights.” Thus, all national laws shall comply with the principles of Article 31 of this Constitution.

2.The review of the compliance of national laws with the principles of the Constitution is left to the discretion of the Constitutional Council who may interpret the constitutionality of laws. Citizens, through their parliamentary representation (the National Assembly and the Senate), have the right to lodge a complaint about the unconstitutionality of laws. As of today, in the Kingdom of Cambodia, none of national laws has been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council.

3.Fundamental human rights are enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, as provided for from Articles 31 to 50, and certain principles of civil rights are enshrined in national laws, i.e. the fight against torture and discrimination.

Reply to paragraph 2 of the list of issues

4.The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has agreed, in principle, to establish a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles. The draft law on the establishment of the national human rights institution has been made since 2006. With the support and cooperation of the experts from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia (OHCHR) and the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), under the auspices of the Australian Embassy to Cambodia, on 3 March 2021, the working groups of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC), the OHCHR and the APF finalised the first draft law on the organisation and functioning of the National Human Rights Committee of Cambodia (NHRCC), with 8 chapters and 32 articles. It has been made available for public consultations since July 2021 with ministries, institutions, civil society organisations, political parties and all national and international stakeholders concerned, with the participation of the OHCHR to Cambodia co-chairing this consultation process. Meanwhile, the CHRC has opened it for public comments via its Facebook page and Telegram channel. The working groups have been reviewing the comments and supplementing it. It is to be submitted to the Office of the Council of Ministers, for further proceedings, requesting the National Assembly for its adoption.

Reply to paragraph 3 of the list of issues

5.To help facilitate activities of civil society organisations, the RGC has taken steps, including establishing national and sub-national mechanisms, to deal with anything inactive and abnormal. The Ministry of Interior continues to accept all concerns, requests and suggestions of civil society organisations who have reported or requested the cooperation from the working group of the RGC or Municipal-Provincial Administrations in order to discuss, coordinate and find solutions to issues that have arisen. Through these mechanisms, local authorities are given the opportunity to provide better support and cooperation to associations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and local communities that engage in their activities.

6.The Law on Associations and NGOs aims to protect the right to freedom to form associations and NGOs in the Kingdom of Cambodia, to protect their legitimate and public interests, as well as to define the relationship, promotion and cooperation in partnership between the associations and/or NGOs with public authorities so as to develop Cambodian society and allow associations and NGOs to act in a neutral position to all political parties and with integrity, transparency and accountability. Therefore, in no way do the registration procedures under this law affect their capacity to operate.

7.In the Kingdom of Cambodia, extrajudicial killings of any person are a criminal offence punishable under the Criminal Law. All extrajudicial killings are investigated, prosecuted and punished. For example:

•The perpetrator, Oeuth Ang alias Chuop Samlab, who murdered Kem Ley on 10 July 2016 was arrested by the competent authorities and sent to court; and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment according to Judgment No. 89 dated 23 March 2017;

•The court sentenced each of 6 offenders to 13 years’ imprisonment for the murder of Suon Chan and fined 5,000,000 Riels in compensation according to Kampong Chhnang Provincial Judgment No. 27 dated 11 November 2014.

8.In the Kingdom of Cambodia, acting in accordance with the law is not an offence, but any act that is prohibited by law is an offence punishable by law. In the past, some land and environmental activists, and civil society actors were sentenced to prison and fined according to the law because they had used their professions as a means to commit crimes.

9.As regards the life-threatening land protest in Sihanoukville, it was due to the fact that violence broke out and the security forces there fired weapons for self-defence only. Those responsible were given administrative discipline, i.e. the RGC terminating two deputy provincial governors and the competent authorities continuing to investigate the incident.

Reply to paragraph 4 of the list of issues

10.As a country vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the RGC has taken ambitious measures to address climate change in accordance with “their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In this regard, the RGC has set out a long-term strategic plan (2014–2023) to achieve the vision of a society with low carbon emissions, climate change resilience, and sustainable development. To implement this strategic plan, 14 relevant ministries have developed climate change action plans according to their key areas.

11.The aforesaid strategic plan defines the following activities:

•Promote climate resilience through improving food, water and energy security;

•Reduce sectoral, regional, gender vulnerability and health risks to climate change impacts;

•Ensure climate resilience of critical ecosystems, biodiversity, protected areas and cultural heritage sites;

•Promote low-carbon planning and technologies to support sustainable development;

•Improve capacities, knowledge and awareness for climate change responses;

•Promote adaptive social protection and participatory approaches in reducing loss and damage due to climate change;

•Strengthen institutions and coordination frameworks for national and sub-national climate change responses; and

•Strengthen collaboration and active participation in regional and global climate change processes.

12.Meanwhile, Cambodia is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 64.6 million tons of carbon dioxide per year until 2030, or 41.7%, in which 59.1 % from forestry and other land use. In addition, the RGC has:

•Integrated climate change into the rectangular strategy to promote sustainable and inclusive development, including ensuring environmental sustainability and climate change preparedness, and further strengthened climate change adaptation capacity;

•Integrated climate change into the National Strategic Development Plan for the integration of climate change into sectoral plans in relevant ministries and institutions, and commune/Sangkat development plans and three-year rolling plans.

13.In response to climate change, the RGC has implemented projects to reduce the vulnerability of the livelihoods of rural Cambodians, strengthening sub-national climate change plans and undertaking priority actions:

•Increasing adaptation capacity and building climate change resilience;

•Implementing the projects of small-scale, climate-resilient, water infrastructures and increasing farmers’ incomes from the agricultural sector, as well as a wider and comprehensive sub-national investment plan and budget;

•Implementing activities related to renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy saving, and coordinating the REDD+ project in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary with the Japanese counterpart, protecting the forest, preserving carbon stocks and conserving biodiversity;

•Being prepared to educate the public by recording educational videos on climate change for children, adults and the elderly;

•Continuing to implement mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take action to ambitiously address climate change in accordance with “their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.” In the Updated NDC report, Cambodia has demonstrated its commitment to the needs for the next decade to achieve the vision of a society with low carbon emissions, climate change resilience, and sustainable development; and

•Preparing a long-term development plan for carbon neutrality, with the aim of demonstrating its further commitment under the Paris Climate Agreement.

Reply to paragraph 5 and 6 of the list of issues

14.In socio-economic development, the RGC has introduced its national policies on businesses in areas where its citizens dwell; it is compulsory to respect the rights, freedoms, traditions, customs, cultures and religious beliefs of those living in the areas:

•It is compulsory for all business or investment projects to conduct an environmental impact assessments and address the environmental impact of their business activities on agriculture, mining, hydropower and dam constructions, and deforestation in order that they are held accountable for the violation of economic, social and cultural rights and that victims are able to obtain appropriate solutions;

•Prior to the implementation of each project, the Ministry of Environment requires business companies to conduct environmental impact assessments, focusing on the economic, social and cultural rights and occupations of the citizens, and take appropriate mitigation measures.

Reply to paragraph 7 of the list of issues

15.To address the COVID-19 crisis, the RGC launched nine rounds of intervention measures with the aim of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and further stabilising businesses and corporations in the worst-affected sectors, in which the labour sector includes factories and enterprises, and businesses in the garment sector include garments, textiles, footwear, travel products and bags, and the tourism sector received a permit to suspend employment contracts from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, i.e. providing one suspended worker with a monthly allowance of USD40.

16.Factory and enterprise owners in the garment sector were required to pay a worker USD30; however, enterprise and business owners in the tourism sector were required to contribute on a voluntary and practical basis in addition to what the RGC provided. The suspension of the employment contract kept workers in an employment relationship in line with the Labour Law, without falling into unemployment and being able to return to work when businesses and corporations recovered.

17.In addition, in order for workers to maintain work performance safely and healthily, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training compiled and organised training in hygiene maintenance and measures to fight colds for officials of the 25 Municipal-Provincial Departments of Labour and Vocational Training, collaborated with GIZ to conduct training courses in COVID-19 risk, preventive measures and control of its spread to the officials of the 25 Municipal-Provincial Departments of Labour and Vocational Training for a total of 150 resource trainers, and collaborated with the Ministry of Health to train physicians stationed in factories and enterprises and those of the Department of Occupational Medicine in order for them to actively participate in the national campaign to vaccinate workers against COVID-19. In addition to the measures to prevent COVID-19 in factories and enterprises, the Ministry of Labour, along with the relevant authorities, established a joint technical working group to assess the level of risk and determine the duration of the suspension of business/production activities of factories and enterprises with COVID-19 positive cases, which was intended to prevent its spread in factories and enterprises, protect the safety and occupational health of workers and maintain job stability and business/production of factories and enterprises.

18.The RGC implemented the following social assistance programmes during the fight against COVID-19:

•Cash of a total of 51,561,320,000 Riels provided to 133,528 pregnant women and 88,159 children aged under 2 years, a total of 221,687 people;

•Cash of a total of 117,261,296,000 million Riels provided to a total of 652,484 poor families, levels 1 and 2, or 2,610,054 people (1,354,614 females);

•(a total of 27,854,967,700 million Riels) [provided to] 108,624 families with livelihood difficulties;

•(a total of 3,396,048,900 million Riels) [provided to] 12,208 families with the COVID-19 infection and livelihood difficulties;

•(a total of 408,650,000 million Riels) [provided to] 565 families whose members died of the COVID-19 disease; and

•Policy regimes totalling 3,356,280,000 million Riels provided to a total of 16,802 poor people with disabilities in 17 municipal-provincial communities.

19.In addition to providing cash assistance, the RGC has also asked the relevant authorities to facilitate the provision of other public services such as electricity, clean water, etc., checked the actual possibility of reducing its distribution pricing for clients and also called upon and coordinated measures for other stakeholders including financial institutions as well as landlords to continue to understand favourably through exemptions from or reductions in any possible formula in house rental during this transition period, which contributed to the state chain for making this systematic solutions more feasible.

20.To provide COVID-19 related health services, the RGC has promoted the implementation of a new lifestyle over the course of its spread. The competent authorities, in cooperation with the municipal-provincial administrations and communities, have disseminated information on entry and exit along the borders, entry into parking centres, the transfer of foreign passengers to be isolated or quarantined at Quarantine Centres, Level 1 or 2, or somewhere that has been designated by the Ministry of Health and relevant authorities in order to ensure equal access to COVID-19 related physical and mental healthcare services, as well as free testing, both PCR and rapid testing, vaccination and treatment in public hospitals.

21.The Ministry of Health has introduced guidelines for the treatment of the moderate level of COVID-19 at home, paying particular attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised groups, including indigenous peoples, and those living in closed areas. As of 31 December 2021, the Cambodian people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 throughout the country as follows:

•Those aged over 18: 10,150,933 people vaccinated the first dose, 9,803,802 vaccinated the second dose, or 101.51% of the total target population of 10 million, and 3,595,496 vaccinated the third dose;

•Children and adolescents aged from 12 to under 18: 1,811,243 vaccinated the first dose, 1,729,720 vaccinated the second dose, or 99.12% of the total target group of more than 1.8 million;

•Children aged from 6 to under 12: 1,996,556 vaccinated the first dose, 1,903,529 vaccinated the second dose, or 105.23% of the total target group of nearly 1.9 million; and

•Children aged 5: 303,857 vaccinated the first dose, 223,336 vaccinated the second dose, or 99.85% of the total target group of roughly 300,000, or 89.14% compared to the total population of 16 million.

22.To address the disparities and inequality in access to education due to school closure and distance learning, paying particular attention to the situations of children from poor families, children with disability and children in rural communities, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has taken the following measures:

•Provide school administration equipment to educational institutions and equipment for teaching and distance learning, including computers, printers, copiers, smart TVs, filing cabinets, solar panels and Wi-Fi adapters;

•Produce instructional videos from kindergarten to grade 12 in all subjects;

•Produce homework and worksheets for self-study students in all subjects from grades 1 to 12;

•Provide packages of first grade reading materials, math materials and exercise books, and student workbooks to all schools;

•Produce teacher manuals, executive manuals on pedagogical counselling, and distribute them to professional pedagogical advisors, school pedagogical advisors;

•Live video lessons on the Facebook page of teachers of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport;

•Upload educational content on the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport;

•Upload educational content on the official social media of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport: youtube.com/moeys;

•Update the sub-websites: elearning.moeys.gov.kh and https://beep.moeys.gov.kh/; and

•Produce educational short stories on parent education programmes and broadcast them on the National Radio of Cambodia FM 69 MHZ of the Ministry of Information and the official social media of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and the National Committee for Early Childhood Care and Development.

Reply to paragraph 8 of the list of issues

23.The RGC has been preparing a draft Environment and Natural Resources Code since 2015 in the framework of the implementation of environmental and natural resource reform policies in line with its Rectangular Strategic Policy.

24.The objectives of the Environment and Natural Resources Code are to (1) conserve Cambodia’s biodiversity, ecological systems and services of ecological systems; (2) protect the environment, avoid disasters and other harm and manage natural resources sustainably; (3) preserve and promote national culture, preserve ancient temples and artefacts, as well as restore and rehabilitate historical sites and resorts within the protected areas of Cambodia; (4) guarantee and enhance the well-being of the Cambodian people in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia; (5) enhance and protect individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples in the process of managing, protecting and conserving natural resources in the Kingdom of Cambodia; (6) ensure and fully integrate environmental protection and sustainable development into national and regional economic plans for natural resource management plans; (7) implement national action plans and environmental strategic plans for natural resource management; (8) promote common approaches to environmental protection and natural resource management with the participation of the RGC, communities, landowners, indigenous peoples and vulnerable people, including ethnic minorities, women, youth, persons with disabilities and marginalised persons; (9) promote Cambodia’s international environmental responsibilities; (10) implement key principles of laws, environmental policies and natural resources; (11) encourage and promote the rights of national and international organisations in the process of protecting the environment and managing the natural resources of the Kingdom of Cambodia; and (12) enforce international legal instruments to which the Kingdom of Cambodia is a signatory.

25.The working group of the Ministry of Environment has been collecting revised input from relevant ministries and has already discussed and made the amendments and agreed with some ministries. This draft Environmental and Natural Resources Code is to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for review and further proceedings to the National Assembly in the future.

26.To ensure the management of natural resources and the conservation of biodiversity, the RGC has established protected areas, which currently cover a total area of over 7 million hectares, or about 41% of the total land area of Cambodia, including: (a) 12 national parks; (b) 19 wildlife sanctuaries; (c) 12 landscape protection areas; (d) nine common use areas; (e) five Ramsar sites; and (f) 13 natural heritage sites.

27.In addition, the RGC has introduced the National REDD+ Strategy (2017–2026) with the aim of ensuring the sustainable management and use of national forest resources by setting three strategic objectives: (1) improve the management and monitoring of forest resources and forest land use; (2) strengthen the implementation of sustainable forest management; and (3) mainstream approaches to reduce deforestation, build capacity and engage stakeholders.

28.To implement the aforesaid measures, the Ministry of Environment has been defining and allocating land management areas, demarcating border posts, registering state land in protected areas and has also been giving experts and rangers training in equipping them with necessary equipment, means and tools, strengthening patrols and enforcing legal measures against natural resource offences.

Reply to paragraph 9 of the list of issues

29.In order to ensure the right to life of indigenous communities, the Ministry of Environment has been cooperating with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, local administrations and local communities to inspect, define land management areas and register collective lands of indigenous communities living in protected areas.

30.As of 2021, the Ministry of Rural Development has officially identified and recognised 155 indigenous villages for the Ministry of Interior to register them. The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction has procedures for registering indigenous communal lands in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment in cases involving protected areas. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Rural Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, reached out to disseminate the National Policy on the Development of Indigenous Peoples in 15 provinces: Ratanakkiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie, Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Oddar Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Pursat, Siem Reap, Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, Kampong Speu and Tbong Khmum.

31.At no time are indigenous peoples dispossessed of and displaced from the lands, territories and natural resources they have traditionally occupied and used. When there is a need to do business, with the aim of developing the national economy, the RGC will resolve through consultations with them in order to reach a free agreement on their movement.

32.It is compulsory for all economic investment projects to allow those living in and near investment areas to have access to lakes and ponds, to explore non-timber forest products for traditional use in line with indigenous traditions, customs and beliefs. In addition, it is also compulsory for economic development to provide those living nearby with employment opportunities to serve as employees, workers for the purpose of promoting their daily livelihoods, and development projects are also required to build infrastructure, roads, schools and pagodas, preserve indigenous sacred sites and establish health centres as well.

Reply to paragraph 10 of the list of issues

33.As of 31 December 2021, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction registered indigenous communal lands up to 33 communities, or 856 titles, covering 33,899 hectares for 3,235 families and is in the process of registering indigenous communal lands up to 10 communities a year.

Reply to paragraph 11 of the list of issues

34.The proportion of persons living below the poverty line and the levels of inequality, defined as the ratio between the total income accruing to the richest decile of the population and the total income of the poorest 40 per cent of the population, is as follows:

•The proportion of persons living below the poverty line was 22.9%, 13.5% and 9.7% in 2009, 2014 and 2017, respectively;

•Disposable income per capita, average values per month, (not total income) by disposable income quintile groups;

Disposable income per capita, average values per month
Values in thousand Riels
Quintile group	2014	2015	2016	2017	2019/20
1st	20% lowest	46	82	59	110	81
2nd	20%	162	190	191	238	251
3rd	20 %	246	284	303	363	392
4th	20 %	359	406	449	521	582
5th	20 % highest	838	890	1 074	1,090	1 309
Share in %
Quintile group	2014	2015	2016	2017	2019/20
1st	20 % lowest	2.8	4.4	2.8	4.7	3.1
2nd	20 %	9.8	10.3	9.2	10.3	9.6
3rd	20 %	14.9	15.3	14.6	15.6	15.0
4th	20 %	21.8	21.9	21.6	22.4	22.3
5th	20 % highest	50.8	48.1	51.7	46.9	50.0

Reply to paragraph 12 of the list of issues

35.To fight against corruption, the Anti-Corruption Unit has taken the following measures:

•Strengthen the implementation of public service standards set in the form of a joint Prakas between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and relevant ministries-institutions, including clear service fee setting, service timing, use of official receipts issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the creation of one-stop service centres, the establishment of a complaint resolution mechanism, the preparation of an annual report on revenues and expenditures of public services, and, in particular, incentives for public service delivery;

•Participate in observing and acting as a staffer for the head of a ministry-institution by providing all information on the strengths and weaknesses of the officials of that ministry-institution, which enables the management to get to know public procurement in various fields in a timely manner, including the infrastructure, health, education and the judiciary, with the aim of strengthening the transparency of their revenue collection and cost-effectiveness;

•Participate in observing the recruitment of civil servants of ministries-institutions and the entrance examinations at School [Royal Academy] for Judicial Professions.

36.In the judiciary, the Anti-Corruption Unit scrutinises all court-related complaints at all times whether they are non-anonymous, anonymous, semi-anonymous or through media networks. On the whole, the Anti-Corruption Unit thoroughly carries out two activities simultaneously or consecutively, i.e. thorough overt and covert investigations prior to forwarding case files to courts. Overt investigations include seeing actual activities, interviews, hearings, etc., while the information is collected through reviewing the declaration of assets and liabilities or having assets re-declared, inspection, etc. In the past five years, the Anti-Corruption Unit forwarded 28 case files to courts, and 41 perpetrators were convicted.

Reply to paragraph 13 of the list of issues

37.The Kingdom of Cambodia does not seem to have any plan to develop comprehensive anti-discrimination laws to address any forms of direct or indirect discrimination, due to the fact that its Criminal Code [defines] discrimination as a criminal offence that may be applied to all situations of discrimination, and the legal norms in each sector also prohibit this discrimination.

38.Article 12 of the Labour Law states that, “Except for the provisions fully expressing under this law, or in any other legislative text or regulation protecting women and children, as well as provisions relating to the entry and stay of foreigners, no employer shall consider on account of race, colour, sex, creed, religion, political opinion, birth, social origin, membership of workers’ union or the exercise of union activities to be the invocation in order to make a decision on hiring, defining and assigning of work, vocational training, advancement, promotion, remuneration, granting of social benefits, discipline or termination of employment contract.” Distinctions, rejections, or acceptances based on qualifications required for a specific job shall not be considered as discrimination.

39.The housing policy guarantees the right to affordable housing for middle-income and low-income people. The RGC is committed to implementing the principles of human rights, including the right to adequate housing for all without discrimination, especially the poor and vulnerable groups.

40.The National Policy on Primary Health Care focuses on all people and the health sector as a whole, both public and private, by promoting reproductive health, reducing maternal, infant and child mortality, improving malnutrition among women and young children, reducing illnesses, death from chronic and infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and other public health problems without discrimination.

41.Article 65 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia states, “The State shall protect and promote the right of the citizen to a quality education at all levels and shall take every measure to progressively make this education available to all the citizens.” Article 31 of the Education Law states that, “Every citizen has the right to access qualitative education of at least 9 years in public schools free of charge.”

Reply to paragraph 14 of the list of issues

42.The RGC has introduced a wide range of national policies to protect women’s rights and address gender stereotypes, including the National Policy on Youth Development, the National Policy on Lifelong Learning, the National Population Policy, the National Social Protection Policy Framework, the National Policy on Technical and Vocational Education, Training and Employment, and Green Development, including programmes and regulations on public administration reform and decentralisation and deconcentration programmes.

43.In accordance with the aforesaid policies, in order to overcome gender stereotypes, the RGC has introduced the following measures:

•Promote decent and productive job opportunities and urge employment in priority sub-sectors through enterprise development and support for small and medium enterprises in downtowns and cities, and through the Neary Rattanak Strategic Plan, launch and expand various education and vocational training programmes for women to develop entrepreneurial skills and their potential for increasing productivity and quality products, and to be able to enter national, regional and international markets in order to enhance the women’s economic empowerment, especially the development of skills in line with the needs of inclusive digital economies;

•Encourage domestic and foreign direct investment for priority sub-sectors with high employment potential, especially, for women;

•Increase the development of skills and human resources. For the development of better skills and human resources, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs considers, during a pilot phase, diversifying the functions of Women’s Development Centres in some provinces in accordance with the trend, especially the adaptation to use digital systems for developing institutions and the establishment of operating mechanisms for entrepreneurship within the RGC or in partnership with the private sector;

•Increase access to education and the TVET framework for vulnerable groups and enhance the link between education and TVET service providers with the private sector so as to reduce the skills gap;

•Promote care economy that focuses on responding to unpaid care work and transforming it into a paid employment, which will become new potential for achieving both gender equality and sustainable socio-economic welfare.

Reply to paragraph 15 of the list of issues

44.In order to improve the employment rate and decent work, with the aim of participating in achieving the vision of the RGC in the development of human resources, especially building a skilled workforce with clear professionalism, innovation and high competitiveness and ensuring that “a young person possesses at least one life skill,” the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and relevant partners have been promoting the implementation of various important national development policies and plans, in particular, the implementation of the Industrial Development Policy 2015–2025, the National Employment Policy 2015–2025, the National Policy on TVET 2017–2025, etc.

45.In 2020, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training launched a five-year master plan for the development of TVET institutions for a period from 2021 to 2025, focusing on four strategies: (1) developing and improving physical infrastructure of TVET institutions; (2) equipping tools and materials necessary for training; (3) strengthening capacity of management, relevant civil officials and technical trainers; and (4) increasing the quantity and quality of technical and vocational skills with gender inclusion.

46.In the academic year 2020–2021, 76,004 trainees and students (38,931 females) graduated from TVET institutions–public, private, organisations and associations–throughout the country under the purview of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training for both short-and-long-term period. The Ministry has established a National TVET E-Learning Platform. As of 31 December 2021, 57 TVET institutions–public, private and associations–have used this national system; there were 1,371 editors preparing 4,164 content, 49,879 student enrolments and over 15,000 downloaders. In 2021, in the first phase, the Ministry organised a four-month special training course that was flexible and focused on qualities after finishing Technical and Vocational Degree 1 (C1), especially for workers who were suspended or lost employment due to the COVID-19 crisis. There were 6,500 trainees (3,276 females); the Ministry provided each of them with a monthly allowance of 200,000 Riels (two hundred thousand Riels) during their studies in order to give them the opportunity to gain a clear vocational skill so that they are able to seize new job opportunities in the job market that is in high demand now and in the future; they can be self-employed. In addition, the Ministry provided soft skills training to 68,000 workers (54,799 females) in factories and enterprises and at the same time developed the Standard Operating Procedures for re-opening TVET institutions in the context of COVID-19.

Reply to paragraph 16 of the list of issues

47.The Law on Minimum Wage, promulgated by Royal Kram No. NS/RKM/0718/015 dated 6 July 2018, has one of the main objectives, that is, to ensure the determination of minimum wage for all persons who fall under the provisions of the Labour Law (Articles 2 and 3 of the Law on Minimum Wage).

48.Meanwhile, the Law on Minimum Wage also guarantees the principle of wage equality, requiring employers to provide equal pay to all workers under the scope of this Law for work of equal conditions, professional skills and output regardless of origin, sex or age (Article 8 of the Law on Minimum Wage).

49.In order to increase the efficiency of the implementation of minimum wage, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has its inspectorate who has been trained as judicial police in charge of the labour sector, which is composed of relevant specialised units under the purview of the Ministry for labour inspection, including monitoring and promoting the implementation of the provisions of the Labour Law, the Law on Minimum Wage, working conditions, hygiene rules, and occupational health and safety in factories and enterprises. In addition, in the event that employers violate the working conditions or improperly treat [their employees], especially the incorrect payment of minimum wage, workers may report or file a complaint to the Labour Inspector to resolve and take action against offenders in accordance with legal procedure in force.

50.A draft law on trial procedure for labour disputes was prepared by the Technical Working Group of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training in 2015 and has been made available for public and tripartite discussions. Until 2017, the RGC decided to suspend its preparation after stakeholders had requested to strengthen the existing labour dispute resolution mechanisms. In this regard, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has amended the Labour Law in order to expand the services of the Arbitration Council for the purpose of resolving individual disputes in addition to collective labour disputes. The Law on the Amendment of the Labour Law was promulgated on 5 October 2021.

Reply to paragraph 17 of the list of issues

51.To strengthen labour inspections, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has been developing an automated labour inspection system that is being piloted by labour inspectors and to be implemented in the future. It features “preventive and predictive” systems. [It is] “preventive” because this system requires factories and enterprises to conduct inspection self-declaration in advance over the designated semester and to demonstrate their compliance through inaccuracies spotted by the automated labour inspection system. [It is] “predictive” because this system connects the exchange of data with public services in the labour market, in which the information of factories and enterprises in the labour market is controlled by information systems that can predict situations in any field and analyse them strategically. In addition, in the framework of the reform of the inter-ministerial/inter-institutional inspection team, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has established inter-ministerial inspection teams in various sectors: (1) manufacturing, (2) agriculture, and (3) tourism industry and is also preparing to set up an inter-ministerial inspection team in the construction sector.

52.In addition to developing inspection strategies, in a clear and responsible manner, with the participation of all parties, inspection work has been strengthened through checking lists and monitoring working conditions so as to ensure that all issues of working conditions, in particular, those of sexual harassment are being monitored and addressed in a timely manner. In particular, labour inspectors have also received additional training to further strengthen their specialised knowledge of laws, national and international standard letters and inspection techniques from local experts and those from the International Labour Organisation and other cooperative partners.

53.In addition to the inspection mechanism, the receipt and settlement of complaints or disputes, as well as [provision of] training to all stakeholders to raise awareness of rights and obligations in the labour relationship, and the monitoring of the implementation of better working conditions have been carried out with cooperation, especially the participation of ILO-BFC. So far, remarkable positive results have been shown to improve the working conditions; and recently, this programme has been expanded to produce goods, travel and bags.

54.As regards the progress made in improving conditions of work, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health serving as its specialised staff, from 2004-2020, organised training courses on WISCON, WISH, Work Improvement for Small Enterprises (WISE) and WIND for 1,044 resource trainers (58 females) and 6,903 workers (3,036 females).

Reply to paragraph 18 of the list of issues

55.Pursuant to Convention No. 87, the laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia do not protect violent activities during strikes or demonstrations. In the Kingdom of Cambodia, neither workers nor trade union activists have been arrested or charged with peaceful strikes and demonstrations. However, if they lead or organise a strike or violent demonstration and cause bodily harm to another person or damage to any public or private property, they are responsible before the law. Neither Convention No. 87 nor other International Labour Standards grants privileges to trade union leaders or trade union activists who commit criminal offences.

56.Never has the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training banned or delayed the registration of trade unions, even before and after the adoption of the Law on Trade Unions. According to the procedure, if an applicant completes and submits the form correctly according to the trade union requirements, the registration is considered correct within 30 days after the date of application. As a result, as of January 2022, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has registered a total of 5,773 professional organisations, including 40 unions, 257 federations, 5,464 local trade unions and 12 employers’ associations.

57.Having been officially promulgated on 17 May 2016, the Law on Trade Unions was amended and officially promulgated on 3 January 2020. Its amendments were made through a series of tripartite consultations with stakeholders and the International Labour Organisation, in accordance with the comments of stakeholders and International Labour Convention No. 87, which is welcomed by the majority of trade unions and the general public.

58.In order to urge the case files involving trade union leaders to be resolved, the RGC has established a working group to review and study the requests and suggestions made by professional organisations between the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Justice through a joint Prakas dated 3 December 2018. To date, this working group has received 138 cases that have requested for facilitating and urging the case files involving trade union leaders to be resolved, including 119 criminal cases, in which 89 have been resolved and 30 are being dealt with in court, and 19 civil cases, in which 11 have been resolved and 8 are being dealt with in court.

Reply to paragraph 19 of the list of issues

59.The 2019 Law on Social Security Schemes clearly states that the National Social Security Fund is the only operating body that provides the social security schemes, including pensions, healthcare, occupational risk and unemployment applicable to (1) persons under the public sector (officials in the framework of public functions, officials of the legislature, officials of the judiciary, officials of the National Police, officials of prisons, officials of the National Election Committee, officials of the National Audit Authority, former civil servants and veterans and contracted officials recognised by the Ministry of Civil Service; (2) persons under the provisions of the Labour Law, including personnel serving in air and maritime transportation as well as domestic workers; and (3) the self-employed.

60.The National Social Protection Policy Framework 2016-2025 divides the social protection schemes into two, i.e. (1) social assistance–a scheme that provides support to the poor and vulnerable; and (2) social security–a contribution plan that requires the participation of employees and employers in both the public and private sectors, as well as the retirees and the population in the informal economy.

61.The provisions of the Law on Social Security Schemes (SSS) covers all workers employed by employers. In this regard, the SSS is expanding its scope to employers who employ one or more workers. The law has already given a clear definition of the term “workers” in the informal economy, which refers to all kind of persons who do freelance work for immediate payments according to the nature or size of the work or the actual bargaining, and payers do not have the same responsibilities as employers.

Reply to paragraph 20 of the list of issues

62.The National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) of the Kingdom of Cambodia, with six ministries and institutions serving as members of the Inter-Ministerial Working Groups, Municipal-Provincial Committees, is jointly responsible for the fight against human trafficking. Each working group is responsible, according to their respective area, for resolving the causes of human trafficking, including:

1.The Prevention Working Group has the following duties:

•Develop policies, strategies, action plans and budget for the prevention of human trafficking in all its forms;

•Develop documentation, methods and materials for educational outreach through organising all kinds of campaigns in the curriculum, in public forums, in communities and through various media;

•Provide legal awareness and policies in relation to human trafficking to people at all levels according to the objectives of their respective institutions; and

•Raise awareness of human trafficking, its impacts, perpetrators’ human trafficking tricks, labour and sexual exploitation, the link between migration and human trafficking among teachers at educational institutions and teacher training colleges at all levels for further educating students and youth in communities.

2.The Victims Protection Working Group has the following duties:

•Develop policies, strategies, action plans and budget for victim protection work;

•Provide victims’ accurate identification information and assist them in a timely manner;

•Assist victims in having access to the right to receive appropriate and quality services that respond to the level of vulnerability, including care, legal protection, counselling, health and social services, rehabilitation, repatriation, and integration into their families or communities;

•Improve victims’ livelihoods by providing them with vocational training, occupational processing techniques, credit, moral education, life skills, etc.

•Provide legal protection by assisting in finding and/or providing legal services to victims in response to the conditions and levels of vulnerability of individuals or target groups;

•Accept victims of trafficking or exploitation who repatriate to have access to rehabilitation, services and integration;

•Monitor and manage cases systematically and compile database;

•Participate in monitoring the implementation of the activities engaged in by the institutions responsible for compiling lessons, experiences, case studies to improve the implementation of victim protection activities;

•Improve the quality of services in victim care centres in accordance with the minimum standards of alternative care; and

•Develop criteria for providing rehabilitation to victim care centres with the aim of establishing a convenient centre as a model and provide package services.

3.The Law Enforcement Working Group has the following duties:

•Monitor the situation and the evolution of crime, perpetrators’ tricks, social tendencies and problems which are factors that attract or lead people to human trafficking vulnerability, abuse and all forms of exploitation;

•Develop policies, strategies, measures, plans and budget for the prevention of trafficking offences, and victim rescue;

•Gather information that may ensure measures to prevent crime, arrest perpetrators and help victims in transnational human trafficking cases in a timely manner;

•Promote the implementation of international conventions, treaties and covenants, national laws and policies, guidelines, agreements, bilateral and multilateral memoranda, plans and standards related to human trafficking with relevant parties living in the country, abroad, regionally and internationally to be highly effective and efficient; and

•Promote the use of emergency telephone service and take appropriate action in a timely manner.

4.The International Cooperation Working Group has the following duties:

•Develop strategies and plans related to international cooperation in order to respond to the fight against human trafficking;

•Disseminate the outcomes of cooperation, as well as the situation and evolution of human trafficking, abuse and exploitation in the Greater Mekong Subregion in the member states of the Southeast Asian community and to those outside the region and international communities in order to seek measures to reduce or eliminate transnational human trafficking offences; and

•Promote the implementation of conventions, treaties and covenants, agreements, bilateral and multilateral memoranda, plans and standards related to cooperation with relevant state parties living in the country, abroad, regionally and internationally in order to fight against human trafficking more effectively and efficiently.

5.The Justice Working Group has the following duties:

•Develop procedures and plans for collecting data on sentencing of human trafficking cases on a regular basis;

•Collect data on sentencing of human trafficking cases from prosecutions and municipal-provincial courts of first instance on a regular basis;

•Strengthen cooperation between prosecutions and judicial police officers in order to collect sufficient information and evidence for fair sentencing;

•Strengthen the enforcement of laws, policies, guidelines, measures and plans related to human trafficking more effectively and efficiently;

•Disseminate, educate and train law enforcement officers, promote international cooperation in law enforcement to suppress human trafficking, including the implementation of the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition in Criminal Matters, etc.; and

•Monitor the implementation of procedures for sentencing and exchange practical experiences in order to improve the quality of the judiciary.

6.The Migration Working Group has the following duties:

•Collaborate with the International Labour Organisation in order to urge labour recruitment agencies to develop a code of conduct for recruitment, to ensure the quality and safety of labourers during labour migration, which may avoid human trafficking;

•Develop a database for the registration of agencies and labourers selected by agencies and the employment situation in the country in order for agencies to provide reports on a regular basis to the Department of Employment and Labour;

•Instruct agencies not to recruit child labourers who are minors; and

•Establish a safety system for migrant labourers.

63.To identify and address the root causes of human trafficking in relation to economic and sexual exploitation of children, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training continues to conduct labour inspections without prior notice in all priority occupations such as textiles, garments, footwear and travel products and bags, brick making, recreation services, construction and agro-industry plantations, with a focus on strengthening the implementation of the Labour Law and regulations related to the prevention of the use of child labour, forced labour, and especially debt bondage. The labour inspections without prior notice at brick factories across the country showed that there was neither child labour nor debt bondage.

64.In addition, from 2017 to 2021, the Ministry helped 1,550 vulnerable children have access to vocational training and education, and create supplemental jobs for poor families.

Reply to paragraph 21 of the list of issues

65.To improve food security and nutrition, the RGC has launched the Second National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition 2019-2023. In collaboration with Helen Keller International (HKI) and the German International Cooperation Programme (GIZ), in 2020, at the sub-national level, four Provincial Working Groups for Coordinating Food Security and Nutrition were officially announced, including Ratanakkiri, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom and Kampot.

66.In early 2021, in collaboration with the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Alliance in Cambodia (SUNCSA), and HKI, other Provincial Working Groups for Coordinating Food Security and Nutrition were established in Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Stung Treng, Kratie, Preah Vihear, Battambang and Pursat.

67.To implement the Second National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition 2019-2023, in line with the decentralisation and deconcentration reforms, the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with the WFP, SUNCSA and GIZ, piloted training for commune councils in Ratanakkiri, Kampong Chhnang, Kampot and Kampong Thom provinces from September 2020 to January 2021. This training aims to enable commune/Sangkat councils to understand the importance of food security and nutrition and to provide them with knowledge, skills and tools in order to integrate food security and nutrition into the Commune Development Plans and Commune Investment Programme.

68.With a focus on community-led nutrition, the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with relevant ministries, the SUNCSA and donor networks, coordinated, supported and prepared the report on community food security and nutrition. For examples, [these] include the Cambodia Nutrition Project, GIZ Multisectoral Food and Nutrition Security Project in Cambodia, and various community projects implemented by the SUNCSA.

69.The community-based nutrition programmes have also responded to the crisis of the COVID-19 epidemic. For example, the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with GIZ Multisectoral Food and Nutrition Security Project in Cambodia, has provided more than 2,000 pregnant women with water filter machines and monthly nutritional packages in Kampong Thom and Kampot provinces since November 2020.

70.According to the Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) in 2014, 14% of pregnant women were underweight, 32.4% of children under 5 were stunted, 23.9% were underweight, and 9.6% suffered from thinness. The (UNICEF, World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Bank) [Joint Child] Malnutrition Estimates 2021 shows that, in 2020, the prevalence of stunting among Cambodian children under 5 decreased to 29.9%.

71.The RGC has been paying more attention to the levels of nutritional and micronutrient deficiencies on overweight and obesity, with the current prevalence of 18% for women and 7.4% for children under 5 (according to the CDHS, the second analysis of the Ministry of Health in 2014).

72.The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 shows the positive trend of food security level for Cambodia. From the reporting period 2004-2006 to 2018-2020, the average prevalence of nutritional deficiencies, severe food insecurity, and food insecurity decreased among the Cambodian population from (17% to 6.2%, 16.9% to 13.4% and 48.9% to 44.8%, respectively). Over the same period, the overall prevalence of adult obesity and anaemia in women of reproductive age increased [from] (3.1% to 3.9%, 46.1% to 47.1%, respectively). The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for infants aged 0-5 months decreased from 72.8% to 65.2%.

73.Access to food is a determining factor in food security and nutrition. The nutritional deficiency supplementary report (WFP, Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2017) shows that 20% to 66% of households–Battambang (20%), Kampot (22%), Prey Veng (25%) and Ratanakiri (66%)–did not have access to a nutritious diet. Efforts are now being made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the WFP to monitor food prices and the cost of healthy food packages with monthly updates on the Cambodian market.

Reply to paragraph 22 of the list of issues

74.The draft Law on Public Order mentioned here is only the initial preparation of the Working Group of the Ministry of Interior which is just a projection. Hence it is not official yet.

75.The government has focused on the housing sector in order to ensure that low-and-middle income and vulnerable groups have access to affordable housing. In this regard, the RGC has launched a National Policy on Incentive and Establishment of National Programme for Development of Affordable Housing, which was approved on 14 October 2017. In accordance with this policy, a number of the following projects have been implemented:

•Five affordable housing development projects: 8,331 houses and 7,256 private units were built;

•All kinds of social land concession programmes: a total of 1,353,515.32 hectares of land were allocated to a total of 486,838 families and 7,805 houses were built for the citizens. As of now, concessionaires have come to stay in 6,805 houses, or 87.19%.

76.The project of Economic Interventions for Small and Medium Enterprises includes financing programmes, especially through the Rural Development and Agriculture Bank, providing low-interest loans to support small and medium enterprises and handicrafts in the fields of agricultural processing, agro-industry and agriculture, and co-financing and risk sharing mechanisms through the Small and Medium Enterprise Bank, Credit Guarantee Fund and other financing tools.

77.Fiscal policies include tax incentives and exemptions, including stamp duty tax for purchase of houses with a value of or less than USD70,000 from the housing [development] companies registered with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, reduction [of the rate] of the withholding tax on interest on domestic and foreign loans, exemption from paying the contribution on social security schemes for occupational risk and healthcare, a delay in the payment of social security schemes, exemption from all types of tourism patent fees and no full tax audit on tourism enterprises.

Reply to paragraph 23 of the list of issues

78.In no way does the RGC have any policy or action to dispossess of and displace indigenous peoples from the lands and natural resources that they have traditionally occupied and used. On the contrary, the RGC always pays close attention to them, granting them communal or private land ownership, establishing policies on registration and right to use of land of indigenous communities, and issuing Sub-decree No. 83 dated 9 June 2009 on Procedures for Registration of Land of Indigenous Communities. As of 31 December 2021, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction has registered 856 land titles covering 33,899 hectares for 3,235 indigenous families.

Reply to paragraph 24 of the list of issues

79.The RGC has launched the [National] Strategy for Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene 2011-2025. In accordance with this strategy, as of February 2020, the Ministry of Rural Development has achieved the following:

•Rural water supply: 275 Afridev pumps constructed; 274 Afridev pumps repaired; 12 community ponds, 71 rainwater catchment ponds, 6 [pumping] stations in water distribution systems and 1 line of the irrigation system restored; and 100 water filter buckets distributed; and

•Rural healthcare and sanitation: 3,420 latrines built; and awareness of sanitary latrine usage raised to 19,812 people.

80.To address the shortcomings of the rural waste management system effectively and sustainably, the RGC has introduced the Urban Solid Waste Management Policy 2020-2030. This policy enables the Kingdom of Cambodia to have a cleaner environment, to live comfortable and healthy lifestyles, and to be attractive, in line with urban growth and rapid economic development, and aims to develop and implement a comprehensive urban solid waste management system, taking into account economic efficiency, financial resources, environmental sustainability and social aspects.

81.In order to achieve the aforesaid vision and objectives, the RGC has set the following goals:

•Increase the efficiency and expand the scope of urban solid waste management services through integrated methods, especially the RRR principle, using appropriate technology;

•Strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness in the performance of the functions of the Municipal-Krong and District Administrations in the management of urban solid waste;

•Establish institutional mechanisms, legal frameworks, techniques, technologies and financing in support of urban solid waste management;

•Implement the RGC’s incentive package to encourage private sector participation in urban solid waste management; and

•Promote education, disseminate and encourage the participation of the public in the implementation of this solid waste management obligation in an environmentally safe manner.

Reply to paragraph 25 of the list of issues

82.To address challenges in access to healthcare services in rural and deprived urban areas, the RGC has expanded service coverage and improved the quality of services in all geographic areas across the country, both in rural and urban areas, in particular, expanded the coverage of social protection mechanisms for all citizens, regardless of socio-economic status. The health system is composed of a sufficient number of personnel who have received proper training, pre-service training and are working in the postgraduate, higher and intermediate levels to become multi-skilled, have appropriate motivation and a high professional code of conduct, in combatting discrimination against and in access to economic and social rights of disadvantaged and marginalised groups, especially access to health services. The strategic objective of the Ministry of Health is to ensure that public health facilities have appropriate basic infrastructure, including medical equipment, modern medical and information technologies and telecommunication networks, water supply system, electricity, sewerage, garbage/medical waste incinerators, communication networks, means of transportation and so on.

83.As of December 2020, there were 1,250 public health facilities nationwide (there were 1,222 in 2019), 129 health posts (there were 127 in 2019) and 128 referral hospitals (there were 12 [126] in 2019), including 9 national hospitals, 25 municipal/provincial referral hospitals, and 94 Krong/district/Khan referral hospitals in 103 operational districts of the 25 municipality and provinces and mobile health posts in indigenous areas.

Reply to paragraph 26 of the list of issues

84.Despite the absence of a legal framework covering mental healthcare, the Kingdom of Cambodia has given the following priorities to the development of mental healthcare:

•Priority 1: Human resources development is the first step and the highest priority in the promotion of human rights in the field of mental health. Since 1994, the Ministry of Health has developed these training programmes: specialised training, training of psychiatrists, pre-service training at the level of Bachelor of Medicine, medical care training, and in-service training;

•Priority 2: [As regards] the development of mental health services, [the Ministry of Health] has implemented the WHO recommendations, paying attention to the provision of basic mental healthcare and treatment services, introducing guidelines for a minimum set of activities for health centres and complementary activities for referral hospitals.

Reply to paragraph 27 of the list of issues

85.To increase school enrolment, reduce dropout rates, ensure quality of education and improve educational outcomes for all children, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has taken the following steps:

•Build capacity for ICT use and social media, including Telegram, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Messenger for serving remote work, distance learning, training for education officers, provincial and district teachers, and schools;

•Meet weekly with target departments and principals;

•Improve water and sanitation, build capacity of the management board of low-ranking educational institutions based on minimum requirements for water and sanitation;

•Promote the management of menstruation of female students in schools through direct and indirect education, including digital means;

•Educational personnel receive free medical treatment, using the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) [membership] card at hospitals that have signed agreements with the Ministry of Health. In capacity building, the RGC has provided opportunities for all teachers to pursue their education in the form of tuition fees or scholarships and to be allowed to change the type of framework, and the Ministry maintains their status and salaries over the course of their studies. Teachers living in remote areas receive additional allowances, and so do female teachers on maternity leave;

•Provide scholarships to students from grades 1 to 12, including scholarships for poor students, outstanding poor students, indigenous students, dormitories, female students facing difficulties and foodstuff, using resources of the government and development partners such as the WFP, Buddhism for Development, Room to Read, UNICEF, etc;

•Provide schools with breakfast through the use of community agricultural products; and

•Establish special education institutions and accept children and youth with disabilities to attend school, as well as establish mute-deaf integrated classes.

Reply to paragraph 28 of the list of issues

86.In order to preserve, protect and promote indigenous languages, foster an awareness of the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has taken the following steps:

•Implement a multi-level primary education programme for indigenous children in Ratanakkiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng and Kratie provinces, and the languages used include Phnong, Tampoun, Kreung, Preav and Kavet, as well as mobile radio in the villages;

•Develop the alphabet of Tampuon, Kreung, Preav, Kavet, Phnong and Jarai among all, approximately, 24 languages, using the Khmer alphabet as a base; and

•Establish a multilingual training programme at the Stung Treng Regional Teacher Training Centre (Indigenous Peoples).

87.In order to protect, preserve and promote indigenous languages and awareness of indigenous traditions, cultures and customs, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has:

•Included indigenous dances in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage;

•Authorised, in collaboration with the Ministry, the Departments of Culture and Fine Arts in the provinces where indigenous peoples live to explain and teach them about traditional dances;

•Raised awareness of and explain the value of indigenous identities in order for them to have the courage to express their identities in accordance with the 2003 UNESCO Convention;

•Participated in resolving disputes over indigenous shrines in Phnom Doh Kramom in Mondulkiri province in order to preserve them as indigenous shrines;

•Prepared to open the Indigenous Cultural Centre in Ratanakkiri province;

•Displayed indigenous traditional items at the site of the ancient remnants, the headquarters at Wat Rokar Kandal in Kratie province;

•Planned to build a museum of anthropology, for the purpose of showing indigenous traditions and customs in Mondulkiri province;

•Collaborated with the Ministry of Rural Development to promote cultures and raise awareness to indigenous peoples; and

•Revived Saouch indigenous peoples in Sihanoukville who are facing complete extinction.

References

•The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia 1993

•National Strategic Development Plan 2019–2023

•Urban Solid Waste Management Policy 2020–2030

•National Housing Policy

•National Policy on Primary Health Care 2000

•Law on Social Security Schemes 2019

•Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) 2014

•Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2019/20