On 19 July 2024, Indigenous Community Support Organizations in collaboration with the NGO Forum on Cambodia and other partner organizations organized a National Consultative Seminar on Indigenous Communal Land (ICLT) in Kampong Cham Province. This national consultation seminar was cooperated by relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Environment, with the participation of authorities, community representatives, civil society organizations and development partners with a total of 158 participants (37 females). Achievements and research results, challenges and suggestions were brought for discussion during the seminar. Dr. Thol Dina, Project Director of LASEDIII of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, mentioned the previous community registration, which resulted in 193 communities being recognized by the Ministry of Rural Development, 153 communities recognized as legal entities by the Ministry of Interior and 43 communities officially recognized by the Ministry of Land Management. Please be informed that Mr. Soeung Saroeun, Executive Director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF) urges consideration of planning for resource and community development projects in addition to the current dialogue. In general, the content from the discussion, suggestions and recommendations are compiled and prepared as key notes for submission to the relevant ministry leaders for further discussion and address.

First of all, we would like to congratulate the NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF) that has been officially appointed by the Royal Government of Cambodia through the Ministry of Planning, as one of the members of Inter-Ministerial Committee and Technical Working Group for preparation of the new National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2024-2028. To play this critical role, on 9 January 2024, the NGOF organized a consultative workshop on Revisiting CSOs’ Inputs to new National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2024-2028 with around 80 participants both in person and virtual who are from the Ministry of Planning, NGOF’s member organizations, networks and development partners. Honorable guests and participants applauded the process and regarded that the NSDP is the most important document to drive development process in Cambodia so that all stakeholders should put all efforts to provide inputs and develop this plan. The full-day workshop aims to raise awareness of the first phase of the Pentagonal Strategic Plan and provide up-to-date information on the NSDP 2024-2028 process to civil society organizations that are members and partners of the NGOF, as well as present format to generate inputs from participants for the NSDP 2024-2028 that will then submit to each relevant ministry, Ministry of Planning and members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee. As a result of this consultation, participants have learned about the pentagonal strategies, process of NSDP preparation, and especially provided a lot of useful inputs which will be formulated into the CSO’s inputs paper to be submitted to the Government. Participants will encourage other CSO representatives and stakeholders in their contacts to provide further inputs online until 12 January 2024. The NGOF will consolidate the first collective inputs and will submit it to the line Ministries and Ministry of Planning in the week of 15 January 2024 onward. The NGO Forum and participants also strongly encourage all other CSOs to continue to provide inputs through online until the first draft of NSDP shared by the Ministry of Planning, tentatively in the second half of March/April 2024. Relate Document: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1acpHAOzjTPpdOeo1gcfUvhNjYzS3pxcp?usp=drive_link&fbclid=IwAR3y7ivHzu6i9iVLNm2UUS1q3G3FLvidaC5V4829eGABynslBtQxxxraOUA