Week 563

Tuesday, 3.6.2008: Five Organizations Sign a Memorandum with the Ministry of Social Affairs

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 563

“Phnom Penh: A memorandum for a project for a period of three years has been signed at the Ministry of Social Affairs between the Minister of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation Mr. Ith Samheng, and five other organizations – the International Committee of the Red Cross, Handicap International Belgium, Handicap International France, the Cambodia Trust, and Veterans International Cambodia, on 2 June 2008, with the goal to create appropriate employment opportunities.

“Mr. Ith Samheng said that, based on the Rectangular Strategy of the third term royal government of Cambodia, and based on the 1993-2002 and the 2003-2012 Millennium Policies for persons with disabilities, the Ministry of Social Affairs has set six strategic goals for the field of people with disabilities – first, to concentrate on promoting the basic rights of persons with disabilities, second, to strengthen and expand self-dependent groups of persons with disabilities; third, to strengthen and expand the rights of persons with disabilities to join social activities; fourth, to strengthen professional training programs for persons with disabilities; fifth, to guarantee the creation of appropriate employment. This depends on rehabilitation measures for restoring possibilities for appropriate employment, which require non-pharmacological interventions to prevent serious disabilities by such treatments which use physiotherapy, the provision of artificial and of supporting limbs, and the provision of assisting tools for mobility; and sixth, coordinate and facilitate the traveling of handicapped people to public places. Separately, the restoration of the possibility of appropriate employment is a very important service which has brought many successes.

Additional Information from page 8 of a Five Year Plan 2004-2009 of the UK based Cambodia Trust website

Millennium Development Goals

The priority for Governments, UN agencies and major development organizations, is to meet the [Eight] UN Global Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Unfortunately, the Goals do not make specific reference to disabled people. Most major development organizations have failed to include disabled people in their mainstream poverty alleviation programs.

“Eliminating world poverty is unlikely to be achieved unless the rights and needs of disabled people are taken into account.”

Cambodia’s goal

Cambodia has added a ninth target to these goals: Millennium Development Goal 9 – to move towards zero impact from landmines and UXOs by 2012. One quotation from this document is of specific importance:

“A victim assistance framework [for victims of landmines and unexploded ordnance] needs to be developed on a national scale that is rights based and not a disability model. Victim assistance must move much more into mainstream development programs and the self-help movement.

The challenge to develop victim assistance through mainstream poverty reduction programs requires developing co-operative strategies with a network of NGOs. Just as the disability sector in Cambodia needs to develop a rights-based approach, so victim assistance needs to be thought of in terms of integration with society and not as a separate group.” (Unpublished paper, UNDP, December 2003).

“Mr. Ith Samheng stressed that the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation has encouraged and facilitated international non-government organizations to provide services for fruitful rehabilitation measures towards appropriate employment. Nowadays, the provision of such services include the production, the distribution, and the repairing of artificial and supporting limbs, the provision and maintenance of wheel-chairs and other support tools to ease mobility, physiotherapeutic treatment for the restoration appropriate employment in the community, and other services like special arrangements for the provision of meals, for special housing, financial support for moving around, social sponsorships, and training.” Koh Santepheap, Vol. 41, #6361, 3.6.2008

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 3 June 2008

Chuoy Khmer, Vol.2, #112, 3.6.2008

  • Officials of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Removed Portraits of Kampuchea Krom Khmer Monks at Wat Samaki Rainsey [to investigate for fake monks who joined the demonstration in front of the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh]
  • Political Murders Have Increased to Twenty One Cases; Civil Society Is Concerned about this Effects on the Election Results


Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7, #1657, 3.6.2008

  • Phnom Penh [Municipality] Prepares More than 4,000 Forces for Election Day
  • The Military Junta in Burma Said Its Responses to the Tropical Cyclone Are Very Fast [1 June 2008]
  • Thai Opposition Group Vow to Continue Demonstrations on the Roads to Grow Much Stronger [to push the Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to resign]


Koh Santepheap, Vol.41, #6361, 3.6.2008

  • US Delivered [31] Trucks to Cambodian Troops, Twenty Nine More Will Be Delivered to Make Them Sixty
  • Five Organizations Sign a Memorandum with the Ministry of Social Affairs
  • Leaders of Germany and Japan Called on OPEC to Increase Oil Production [1 June 2008]


Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3476, 3.6.2008

  • Khiev Samphan Is Seriously Ill [according to co-defense lawyer Say Bory] at the Calmette Hospital and Might Die and Take with Him Many Mysteries [this is a concern expressed by civil organizations]
  • [Cambodian] Police Suggest to the Main Office of Interpol in France to Help Arrest the Accused Chea Ratha [by distributing Ms. Chea Ratha portraits to more than one hundred countries]


Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4605, 3.6.2008

  • Two Khmer Women Are Free from Being Sex Slaves in Taiwan [they were brought back to Cambodia by CARAM Cambodia and the Migrant Forum Asia]
  • Prime Minister [Hun Sen] Wants the King [Norodom Sihamoni] to Prohibit the Use of the Monarchy in the Election Campaigns


Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.15, #3324, 3.6.2008

  • Serey Kosal Had Sued [Funcinpec] Secretary-General Nhek Bun Chhay at the Phnom Penh Court [over the accusation of abusing the political law and violating Funcinpec statutes and internal rules]
  • Lack of the Implementation of Regulations Is a Serious Violation of Child Rights [according to the Center for Social Development]


Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #670, 3.6.2008

  • A Ceremony to Announce the Use of Book Publications and Books on AIDS Was Held [by the National AIDS Authority and UNESCO on 2 June 2008]

Have a look at last week’s editorial: Setting priorities – what to do to remove some dangerous obstacles, to get safer roads

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