This refers to the news item published in the March 12, 2004 edition of your esteemed

newspaper entitled "Mobile team seeks to register entire population". I

would like to add some information to that news item to clarify the role of various

partners in this project.

The Ministry of Interior (MOI) of the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia is responsible

for civil registration in the country. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is implementing

the Mobile Civil Registration Project in Cambodia as a part of the broader Commune

Council Development Program (CCDP). The Government of Netherlands has provided a

grant of US$2 million for the civil registration component of the CCDP.

The project is aimed at achieving a number of objectives including: capacity-building

of the commune/sangkat council members through hands-on training on civil registration

procedures; planning and implementation for mobile civil registration; and clearing

the backlog of 95 percent. Presently only 5 percent of the Cambodian population is

registered under the new civil registration procedures.

On the proposal of Technical Adviser to the ADB, the MOI has welcomed PLAN Cambodia's

assistance for the mobile civil registration project, which has funded the positions

of 27 UNV Civil Registration Specialists and established its project office for smooth

field coordination. Plan Cambodia has allocated around US$800,000 for this project.

The UNV Civil Registration Specialists will provide technical support to provincial

governors and commune/sangkat council members in planning and implementation of mobile

civil registration.

The Government of Cambodia adopted the Subdecree on Civil Registration on December

29, 2000 in order to introduce a uniform civil registration system in the country.

The Sub Decree was put into force on August 1, 2002 and it was decided to register

the entire population of the Kingdom of Cambodia within three years. But after almost

two years the number of registered people stands at merely 5 percent of the population.

In the first phase of the mobile civil registration project a pilot study is being

carried out in six communes of three provinces. The provinces include Kampong Speu,

Svay Rieng and Ratanakkiri. There are three UNVs supporting this phase of the project.

The second phase of the project will start in the third week of June with the arrival

of 24 more UNVs. During the main project each province/municipality will have one

UNV Civil Registration Specialist working closely with the provincial governments.

Shabir Ahmed - Adviser/Field Coordinator

Plan Cambodia's Assistance Project for Mobile National Civil Registration