A/HRC/33/39 II. Widening the democratic space 19. During the period under review, OHCHR continued its cooperation with rightsholders and duty-bearers to protect the democratic space in Cambodia, the space for civil society and the ability of human rights organizations to carry out their legitimate work. 20. A controversial draft law on associations and non-governmental organizations was adopted by the National Assembly in July 2015 and enacted in August. Further to its legal analysis of earlier drafts of the law in 2010-2011, OHCHR published a detailed analysis of the final draft in both English and Khmer, highlighting provisions inconsistent with the State’s international human rights obligations, such as mandatory registration, discriminatory clauses and onerous reporting requirements, or requirements for undefined “political neutrality” that, if unmet, could lead to criminal sanctions and de-registration. 21. While there are no reports of actual sanctions having been applied to date, OHCHR and civil society organizations are tracking cases in which the law has been invoked by the authorities to restrict the activities of the said organizations working on issues deemed sensitive, in particular at the subnational level. This was the case with several communitybased organizations, which do not fall within the scope of application of the law on associations and non-governmental organizations. In other cases, organizations, particularly non-governmental human rights organizations, have reportedly received threats of administrative or judicial actions under the law on associations and non-governmental organizations, including from lower and mid-level officials. The need to spend time and resources on such matters undermines their ability to function as usual, and in particular impairs their ability to monitor the preparations for the local elections to be held in 2017. In contrast to this trend, in a statement issued in June 2016, the Ministry of the Interior reported that, as at the end of May 2016, 177 new associations and non-governmental organizations had been created and registered under the law on associations and nongovernmental organizations since its enactment. In the statement, the Ministry emphasized that the Government considered associations and non-governmental organizations “key and indispensable partners”. 22. OHCHR continued to support the implementation of the universal periodic review recommendation accepted by Cambodia on ensuring full respect, in law and in practice, for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association, consistent with international law, on disseminating widely the Law on Peaceful Demonstrations and its implementing guide, and on building local capacity to comply with the law. OHCHR conducted seven training workshops for journalists, monitors from human rights non-governmental and communitybased organizations in Kratie, Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng, Koh Kong, Preah Vihear and Battambang provinces, attended by 256, including 41 women. OHCHR delivered similar briefing sessions: in March 2016, one in Phnom Penh, for 27 participants, including five women, from provincial members of the umbrella organization the NGO Forum; and in June, one in Sihanoukville, for 35 human rights defenders and activists, including five women. Trainees reported afterwards that clarity with regard to the responsibilities of organizers and authorities when organizing peaceful protests had helped them to gain confidence in engaging with the authorities in a positive and constructive manner. 23. In January 2016, OHCHR and the National Election Committee co-organized a consultation with civil society organizations on election reform. The event brought together 218 participants from State institutions, provincial and communal election committees and key civil society organizations working on election-related issues. It provided a forum for the gathering of comments and recommendations on the draft regulations and procedures on voter registration, to help the Committee to prepare the new voter lists for the upcoming elections. Civil society representatives raised the importance of ensuring the right to participate and to vote for persons with disabilities, migrant workers abroad and other 5