The Importance of Legal Documents for Cambodian Children and Youth

For the decades following the end of the Khmer Rouge Regime, Cambodian nationals were largely undocumented, having had their papers destroyed or lost since the Regime had dismantled the system of legal certification and identification. Since then, the Cambodian government has been working hard to ensure that all its citizens are able to obtain documents that will ensure the protection of their legal and social rights. The National Strategic Plan for Identification was launched in 2017, and in 2023, the Law on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identification was placed into effect. However, despite these efforts, some vulnerable families across Cambodia still struggle to obtain the correct legal documents for their children.
The people who can’t obtain these documents usually come from poorer areas, and may be struggling or unsupported in their living situations. Often times, families can’t afford to make the trip to a place of registration, being met with perhaps a high cost of transport and the general difficulty of having to travel the long distance to a commune office. This was the case in 2022, where parents in Pursat province gave these reasons as to why their young children were without birth certificates. Other times, families aren’t aware of the importance and significance of legal documents and don’t have the knowledge or resources to know where or how to acquire official papers.
Legal documents are incredibly important to Cambodian citizens as they provide legal protection as well as access to education and employment. Without documents, young children won’t be accepted into early learning services such as preschool or primary school and without IDs, young adults over 15 won’t be permitted access to secondary and tertiary level education. In 2024, Doung Sona, a 17-year-old careleaver in Battambang, found out that her school was not allowing her to sit her final high school exam because the names on her documents were incorrect. The orphanage where she had been living had not checked her documents and therefore Sona was considered without papers and proper legal identification. The lack of legal documents also affects people’s access to healthcare, their ability to buy property, vote, get married and travel as an adult. Without proper documentation, it unfortunately allows the possibility of exploitation, through human trafficking, prostitution, early marriage and forced labour. If people’s legal identities aren’t recognised, they are effectively without rights, and it may result in children and young people becoming victims of abuse and unjust situations.
All of these risks can be minimised and avoided through community support, NGO assistance and help from local authorities. In the case of travel difficulties, transport can be provided, as well as travel costs being covered to help families obtain their children’s legal documents; the costs of the certificates and documents themselves may also be covered in order to support the families. Another way to minimise the risks is to offer lessons to the families to help them understand the importance of these papers, providing families with resources as to how and where they can attain legal documents. Some NGOs partner with local authorities to do ‘registration weeks’, where officials visit more remote villages to register the undocumented and help them obtain legal papers.
In the 2022 Pursat case mentioned above, 179 children received documents with MRO’s help in collaboration with the local authorities. The monks of the Lor Arng Dobie Pagoda even raised funds for fuel and a generator to run a computer and printer, being able to make their Pagoda a place where people could come and attain legal documents in that area. In a similar vein, in 2025, Pastor Keo Vannak was able to get permission from authorities to be able to make his church an official venue for national ID registration, helping the youth in the surrounding areas obtain an important legal document. As for Sona, with MRO’s help, she had her documents corrected by the local authorities and was able to sit and complete her high school exam.
These legal documents are crucial for Cambodian citizens to protect their rights, and even more important for families to attain for their children. Without them, people are at risk of being exploited, their identities not being legally recognised and their rights not upheld. MRO helps vulnerable families to understand the importance of these documents, and with local authorities, are able to provide legal papers to the children and youth who need them.