Buddhist monks clash with police officers as they march in front of the Senate during a protest in Phnom Penh yesterday. Cambodia passed a contentious law to regulate non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which government critics fear will be used to muzzle opposition.

DPA/Phnom Penh

Cambodia’s Senate passed a controversial bill regulating the work of NGOs and associations yesterday, in a vote that all but guarantees it will become law.
The Senate voted 44 to 0 to approve the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations - commonly referred to as LANGO - which international rights groups say will stifle the work of Cambodia’s large NGO sector.
Opposition senators from the Sam Rainsy Party boycotted the vote, ensuring that it would pass without any substantive debate.  
The final step will see King Norodom Sihamoni sign the bill into law.
The draft law has been heavily criticised by the opposition. An official copy has never been released to the public, although leaked versions have circulated on the Internet.  
Under LANGO, all organisations in the country will be required to register, remain politically neutral, and respect Cambodia’s “culture, traditions and customs” according to a draft seen earlier by DPA.
Any organisation that threatens “political security, stability and order” could be refused registration or fined.
Cambodia’s government, however, says that such a law is necessary because there is currently no legislation overseeing the thousands of NGOs and associations operating in Cambodia.
The passage of the law on NGOs and local associations  is the latest step in nearly a decade of official efforts to regulate the sector.
NGOs flocked to Cambodia in the early 1990s when it began its transition to democracy under the auspices of the United Nations Transitional Authority, which ruled the country from 1991 until 1993.
Hundreds of NGOs stayed on to fill gaps in social services and provide development assistance.  
Government figures say there are more than 4,000 NGOs operating in Cambodia, but NGO Forum on Cambodia, a coalition of major organisations, says the number is closer to 1,330.  
The sector employs around 450,000 people - including a significant proportion of foreigners - and is responsible for $600mn to 700mn in projects and aid each year, according to NGO Forum.  
“Millions of people are impacted [by NGOs] in terms of social redevelopment and in terms of community development,” said the group’s executive director Tek Vannara.   
The Interior Ministry reportedly began drafting the NGO bill in 2006, and it has been a matter of heated political debate ever since.
The government has argued that the law simply mirrors similar legislation in many Western countries, while critics fear it will be used to muzzle the NGO sector.