Donors Asked to Freeze Aid Over NGO Law
Ten international organizations including Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, and Global Witness have urged dozens of foreign ministers to consider freezing aid to Cambodia if the government passes the current draft of its proposed NGO law. In a letter sent Wednesday to 36 foreign ministers from the EU, US and Japan, among others, the groups call the draft law a threat to the future of development in the country. The government insists the law – which will require nongovernmental groups to register and file annual financial reports, among other procedures – is necessary to regulate a rapidly growing sector.
