Almost 30 associations and organizations endorsed an open letter addressed to King Norodom Sihamoni, urging him not to sign the proposed Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO), the official guarantor of constitutional rights and watchdog for the effective implementation of international human rights treaties, to which Cambodia is a party.
The controversial bill was already approved by lawmakers of the National Assembly (on 13 July 2015) and the Senate (24 July 2015) – both times by the attending ruling party’s majority. The bill will need to be firstly approved by the Constitutional Council before final approval by the King.
The proposed bill has been widely criticized, as it is used as a political tool by the ruling government in order to restrict NGOs’ activities in Cambodia.
