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Reed Aeschliman, Director Office of General Development, and H.E. Chheng Saroeun, Secretary of State (MoNASRI), sign the Memorandum of Understanding witnessed by H.E. Men Sam An, Minister of MoNASRI and Joan Silver, USAID Acting Mission Director.
Assisting Cambodia to Develop an Access to Information Policy Paper
Phnom Penh
June 21, 2007
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Cambodia’s Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspections (MoNASRI) recently signed an Action Memorandum that launched the consultancy of Dr. Sau Sisovanna and Professor Rick Snell, a world-renown expert in Freedom of Information, to assist MONASRI’s Drafting Team to develop the country’s first Access to Information Policy Paper. This Policy Paper will create the foundation for establishing the country’s first law on Access to Information.
This consultancy will support the Royal Government of Cambodia’s (RGC) effort to meet the Joint Monitoring Indicator (JMI) to “Develop a clear policy framework on access to information,” agreed to through the Government-Donor Consultative Group structure. Furthermore, the government has also recently adopted the Plan of Action for Implementing the Legal and Judicial Reform Strategy for the Council of Legal and Judicial Reform in the Council of Ministers, in which the passage of the Law on Access to Information is identified as a short-term priority. USAID, along with other development partners, are pleased to help the RGC meet its JMI commitment to develop an Access to Information framework, which will lead to the passage of an Access to Information law.
The RGC, development partners, civil society and private sectors recognize the need for an Access to Government Information Law to promote transparency and access to government’s information, thereby enhancing citizens’ confidence toward the government and public institutions. In the course of drafting the Policy Paper, Professor Snell will work closely with experts from MoNASRI and other RGC ministries, who will take the lead on writing the policy paper in Khmer and be available to provide advice on an on-going basis. We welcome the involvement of civil society groups, through the Freedom of Information Working Group, in this drafting process. USAID shares the RGC’s perspective that by getting the input of critical stakeholders in the Policy Paper drafting process, the Access to Information Policy Paper will provide a firm foundation for a quick transition from the drafting of the Policy Paper to the development of the Access to Information Law.
Professor Snell brings years of professional experience to this consultancy. He is the Senior Lecturer in Public Law at the University of Tasmania Law School and is considered an international authority on Freedom of Information (FOI). He has consulted and lectured internationally on FOI issues, served as a government FOI Officer, provided advice to governments, media, and NGOs, submitted numerous recommendations on FOI law reform, and served for ten years as Editor of the FoI Review journal.
During the seven weeks that Professor Snell is in Cambodia, he will consult widely with a range of stakeholders as part of the Access to Information Policy Paper drafting process, as well as provide workshops, trainings and one-on-one discussions on FOI with RGC officials, civil society representatives, media and other stakeholders.
Helping MoNASRI draft the Access to Information Policy Paper is being done through the USAID-funded Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption for Equity (MAE) Program, implemented by Pact Cambodia. The MAE Program works with a wide range of stakeholders, including the RGC, civil society groups, donors, media and the private sector to accelerate and expand anti-corruption reforms in Cambodia.
