Cambodia vows more investment in gender equality, stronger accountability for progress (updated)

Cambodia has been committed to progress in major areas such as reducing violence against women and girls, promoting gender equality in education, empowering women in the economy, achieving the MDG target on maternal mortality, and backing the engagement of women in political affairs and decision-making.

Moving forward, major priorities will comprise increased investment in gender equality, especially through reviewing fiscal policies to generate and raise public spending, and using gender-responsive budgeting to analyse and monitor impacts on gender equality.

Other steps will boost protection of women’s rights, and aim for the full and equal participation of women in decision-making at all levels. Stronger accountability for gender equality will come through equipping government institutions with effective means to monitor progress. There will be a continued push for women’s involvement in the economy and financial inclusion.

Speaking at the Global Leaders' Meeting on 27 September 2015, Prime Minister Hun Sen said: “This meeting will indeed serve as an important platform for us to further tighten our efforts and [resolve] to achieve gender equality.” [ Speech ]

Developments since Cambodia’s commitment

In 2016, the Government of Cambodia took steps to formulate policies on gender-responsive budgeting and gender mainstreaming, with specific actions identified for 2017–2019 that include increasing public investment for gender equality, selecting pilot ministries to apply gender-responsive initiatives, and collecting best practices and case studies for knowledge-sharing purposes.

The Government also approved the Second National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women.

Moreover, measures have been implemented to increase women’s public participation, such as increasing the number of women in public sectors, extending the retirement age of women, and giving priority to replacing retirees with qualified women. [ Full update ]