BRIEFING

New Draft Law on Associations and NGOs Reaffirms Culture of Control

Released in June 2015
F T M

The draft Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO) obtained in June 2015 will establish mandatory registration for all domestic and international associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), criminalizing all activities by unregistered membership organizations. The requirement to register appears all encompassing and could be interpreted to apply to all organizations from grassroots groups and community based organisations up to major international organizations. Mandatory registration could have a particularly severe impact on the freedom of association of grassroots groups and community based organizations.

This memo is a specific breakdown of the key provisions within the approved draft law that have worsened since the December 2011 draft, and the potential impacts on groups operating in Cambodia.

Resources

Prisoners of Interest

Read through the list of politicians, activists and unionists unjustly arrested for their peaceful activism.

Court Watch

Keep track of court cases against human rights defenders, environmental campaigners and political activists.

Right to Relief

An interactive research project focusing on over-indebted land communities struggling with microfinance debt.

Cambodia's Concessions

Use an interactive map to explore Cambodia’s land concessions.