PHNOM PENH, Thursday 12, Jan. 2012 (PRU) – Cambodia’s Deputy Prime
Minister His Excellency Dr. Sok An on Thursday briefed Mr. Juergen Klimke, a
senior Member of the German Parliament, on a number of records achieved by the
Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), including its legacy,
with all the Court’s records preserved in a documentation centre for the
benefit of academic researchers and the Cambodian public, and setting a model
of court administration for the domestic court, based on the valuable
experiences from the ECCC, .
His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister thanks Germany for its
significant financial and technical support to the ECCC with special focus on
enhancing the victims' participation, which is unprecedented among
international courts.
His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister also told German MP that
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are operating freely in Cambodia,
saying that “Cambodia is a heaven for
NGOs” given that more than 2,800 registered NGOs are operating nationwide
without restrictions.
His Excellency Dr. Sok An said that a draft law on NGOs and
Associations has been drafted and legally reviewed by legal experts and
Ministry of Interior, after taking into account inputs from civil society to
ensure the law will benefit social development.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has close cooperation with German
funded NGOs, a move that is welcomed by German lawmaker and diplomats.
Germany welcomes Cambodia’s rotating chairmanship of ASEAN for 2012,
saying Cambodia is playing an important role in improving ASEAN-EU relations.
MP Klimke told Deputy Prime Minister Sok An that Cambodia is still
firmly within the radar of Germany, given that Phnom Penh is still listed among
the 50 development partnership countries of Germany, after Berlin reduced the
number of partners from 120.
German also looks to expand bilateral cooperation, a move that would
boost various sectors, including tourism.
