"Social security law talks urged", 10 October 2019

A day after the National Assembly approved the draft Law on Social Security Scheme, institutions including unions, associations and civil society organisations expressed frustration over being left out of the preparation process.

The groups claim the draft law was not made public and they were not given the opportunity to participate fully in discussions on the bill…

…, the 105 National Assembly members present unanimously approved the draft Law on Social Security Scheme, which consists of 11 chapters and 107 articles, after it was submitted by the Council of Ministers ...

A joint statement released by the institutions … said they had presented a joint letter to National Assembly president Heng Samrin … requesting that consultations take place with stakeholders on the draft law…

… The organisations also said that in line with the principles of accountability and openness, and UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recommendations that Cambodia ensures transparency in the legislation process, the public should be made aware of all draft laws…

National Assembly spokesman Leng Peng Long told … that the draft law had been submitted to the Senate. He said he hoped the Senate would consider the proposals.

Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training spokesman Heng Sour could not be reached for comment ...

Senate spokesman Mam Bun Neang told … that there was not enough time to comply with the request…