Plagued by recent history of war and genocide, Cambodia is one of the world's least developed countries, still facing the formidable challenge of rebuilding social, political and economic institutions. Although the country has sustained considerable peace and stability over the last decade, it remains ridden with lawlessness and corruption, with economic and social inequality between urban and rural areas exposed by illiteracy, malnutrition, and high rates of mortality. Tourism and garment exports industries are the only rising sources of foreign exchange.
Following the Geneva Convention of 1954 which ended the French colonization in Cambodia, the country was ruled by the Royal Government of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. However, the upheavals experienced in the region during this period, epitomised by the Vietnam-American War, the communist movement and American President Richard Nixon’s bombing campaign, created an environment in which the downfall of the government became inevitable. This was followed by the deplorable Khmer Rouge era (1975-1979), which devastated the entire country and shredded Khmer society. An estimated 1.7 million Khmer lives were lost due to arbitrary killings, torture and starvation; those who survived suffered long-term psychological and physical effects. There was an exodus of tens of thousands to neighboring countries, where some Cambodian refugees were permitted to resettle. The Vietnamese invasion in January 1979 over border conflict with the Khmer Rouge, inflicted another 10 years of warfare and bloodshed before the United Nations intervened in 1989.
By 1993, there was a semblance of stability: the Khmer Rouge had been deposed, the first democratic election was held, the national constitution promulgated and a coalition government formed between Prince Norodom Ranariddh's royalist FUNCINPEC Party and Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). After a bloody coup in 1997, a second election was held in 1998 to mend a power-sharing conflict, in which Hun Sen became Prime Minister. The July 2003 democratic election was bloodless, with the CPP triumphing over FUNCINPEC, but lacking the two-third majority of seats to govern alone. This was followed by 11 months of political deadlock before the two parties agreed to renew the coalition government. In that time, all development plans were halted.
The majority party in the National Assembly, the CPP, continues to struggle with the multi-party system. The opposition party leader, Sam Rainsy, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity during 2005 and went into exile, leaving the country without an opposition party for nearly a year. The recent reinstatement of Mr. Rainsy’s immunity against prosecution showed a glimmer of hope for true democracy development.
Cambodia is classed as a constitutional monarchy, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia. Hun Sen continues as the Prime Minister and a newly inducted King Norodom Sihamoni is the Head of the State. The government is looking outwards to capitalize on the opportunities and support that regionalization offers - Cambodia joined the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1999 and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2003.
None of the former Khmer Rouge leaders has yet to face trial, with some enjoying their retirement in comfort. Under pressure from the international community, the Cambodian government has made the commitment to bring the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders to justice by establishing a tribunal which is due to commence trials in 2007.
The judicial system is riddled with corruption and it is widely condemned by watchdog groups and human rights NGOs. The country has become a haven of crime with impunity, suffering high incidents of child trafficking, rape, acid attacks and sex trafficking. Human Rights Watch has claimed that sporadic killings and intimidation occur in every election period. The 2003 election saw 13 killings of political activists. The murder of high-profile labor union leader Chea Vichea in 2003 marked the first time that judicial officers have taken serious action to investigate a case against the perpetrators, although their methods have been described by Amnesty as "lamentable".
The wave of defamation lawsuits made by Prime Minister Hun Sen during 2005 to silence several government critics have jeopardized Cambodia’s democratic movement, and put pressure on major donors to demand real results rather than promises to end abuses of human rights, and illegal seizures of land and natural resources. The relationship with the UN has reached an all-time low over standards of governance and even the World Bank has suspended part of its lending due to fraudulent project management. Despite these quarrels, the annual donors' meeting in 2005 generated massive pledges of over $500 million.
Cambodia’s health care system faces formidable challenges. According to UNDP, the under-5 child mortality rate between 1990 and 2004 increased from 115 to 140 per 1000 live births, one of the highest in the world. Two thirds of the population does not have access to clean water. One person out of every 250 suffers a disability due to landmines and many people continue to suffer from physical and psychological injuries from the carnage.
Furthermore, about 80% of the farming population works on land still ridden with landmines and UXOs. Cambodia’s contamination by landmines and UXOs is one of the worst in the world, with 5.1 million people at risk. About 2.5% of the country’s land surface areas are affected, with the highest concentration in the north and northwest. According to Landmine Monitor, Cambodia has made progress in preventing casualties, reducing the rate from an average of 12 new casualties a day in 1996 to an average of 3 casualties a day in 2005. Since 1993, mine deactivation has become one of the highest priorities in supporting the government’s MDG efforts with a target to eliminate the problem by 2012. Much of the de-mining action work is carried out by local mine action centres, and victims’ assistance and rehabilitation programs are offered by both local and international NGOs.
The scourge of AIDS is the highest in the region and is spread primarily through heterosexual contact, exacerbated by the prevalence of sex workers. The latest World Bank survey reports government commitment to strengthened institutions and policies which have helped to shrink the infection rate among adults aged 15 and 49 years from 2.7% in 1999 to 1.9% in 2003.
According to the WHO, Cambodia’s leading causes of morbidity are acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, malaria, cough, dengue haemorragic fever, gyneco-obsterics, road accidents, tuberculosis and meningitis. The leading health institution, National Institute of Public Health, conducts medical research and training and publishes comprehensive studies on the health status of the nation. Due to the incapacity of the government to provide comprehensive national coverage, various non-profit organizations such as Friends Without a Border work to promote better health care education and direct treatment.
The Khmer Empire once conquered the entire lower stretch of the Mekong Delta and in the 13th century produced one of the world’s greatest architectural landmarks, Angkor Wat Temple, now regarded as the heart of Khmer culture, alongside its dance and music. The Khmer Rouge genocide came close to erasing these art forms as nearly 90% of the Khmer professional artists were wiped out. However, in the past 20 years, the surviving master artists have come together with support from the government and have revived the Royal University of Fine Arts.
The Angkor monuments suffered large-scale looting and vandalism during the civil war. But now, with support from UNESCO, it has been declared a World Heritage site and various preservation and restoration projects have been undertaken. This is significant as Angkor Wat is one of South East Asia’s most popular tourist attractions, generating significant revenue for the Cambodian economy.
Low level infrastructure, human capacity challenges, lack of diversification in exports, intermittent drought and flooding - all impede Cambodia’s economic development and appear daunting to international investors. Government in-fighting coupled with the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s resulted in a drastic economic slump. However, Cambodia’s overall GDP growth over the last ten years remains relatively steady at 7.1% pa, and is mostly galvanized by the growth in the garment exporting and tourist industries. This improved performance led to Cambodia's inclusion in the recent round of debt relief announced by the IMF.
Poor soil quality, land ownership conflicts between owners, and irrigation shortages have all contributed to the decline of agricultural growth which support 70% of the labor force. Cambodia’s yields of rice are the lowest in the region with growth at an average of only 3.3% pa. This shift in industries has caused significant economic inequality between the people living in the urban versus the rural areas. According to the recent World Bank survey, about 13% of rural households live on remittances sent from family members working in urban areas.
The collapse of what was South East Asia’s most progressive education system, together with the killing of the country’s educated class during the Khmer Rouge regime, has created a risk of illiteracy in Cambodia, especially as nearly half of the population is under 15 years of age. The challenge is formidable given that 35% of children aged 6-14 were out of school in 1999, and between 38% and 48% of female children were out of primary and secondary schools in 2001. The 2005 World Bank survey finds that Cambodia has made significant progress in terms of primary education enrollment and completion among school pupils in both urban and rural areas, attributable mainly to government increasing the budgets for education.
Nevertheless, literacy rates and quality of education varies between large cities and rural towns, with many rural provinces experiencing high student-teacher ratios. In 2001, only 33% of students finished grade 1-9. While the government is working with donors to reform the nationwide curriculum in primary and secondary schools, teachers' salaries remain low. Little attention has been paid to the large number of students seeking higher education and employment. Some turn to private schools to satisfy their demands but few parents can afford the high costs involved. The future of high school graduates is therefore bleak and may retard plans for economic growth.
The country’s natural resources are central to future economic growth. However, the ongoing push for development and poverty reduction foreshadows environmental protection and natural resource preservation. Between 70-80% of the population is dependent on rice production, the country’s staple food. However, rice production has been declining due to unforeseen natural disasters, such as drought and flooding, exacerbated by illegal logging activities which have rapidly depleted forest coverage. As a result, across many provinces, up to 2 million Cambodians may face severe food shortages. The donor community has worked with the Cambodian government to clamp down on illegal deforestation, but progress has been slow.
