Advocacy in Cambodia: Increasing Democratic ... - Pact Cambodia

executive summary
The Cambodian non-profit movement is entering into its second decade. Proponents of
advocacy estimate that it is now an appropriate time to review past advocacy campaigns in order to
identify successful strategies and mistakes that have been made in previous efforts’ design and
implementation. This study is based on a review of advocacy activities in eight sectors: fisheries,
land, labor, commune council elections, the women’s movement, urban poor, HIV/AIDS, and child
rights. These sectors were chosen for their illustrative qualities and are not intended to be
representative of all advocacy in Cambodia.
Outside of human rights issues, few advocacy activities were being conducted in Cambodia
prior to 1995. The Cambodian context presents considerable challenges for civil society organizations,
as advocacy relies on organizing groups to apply pressure on policy makers to affect and enforce
change. Thus, the absence of rule of law and lack of popular representation at important
administrative levels in Cambodia significantly inhibits this process. In addition, Cambodia does
not have a strong tradition of community-based organizations, and as such, advocacy NGOs have
difficulty mobilizing popular support to legitimize larger advocacy campaigns. Even so, civil society
has grown at a tremendous rate since associations were allowed to start registering with the
government during the UN administration. NGOs in Cambodia today are allowed to operate for the
most part without government hindrance.
Though the advocacy movement is young and the advocacy context is challenging, current
campaigns are utilizing several strategies to good effect. These include:
· Documenting problems and disseminating information;
· Raising awareness;
· Engaging in organized action such as demonstrations and strikes;
· Facilitating engagement with government officials through conferences, workshops, and
other consultation processes;
· Lobbying high-level officials; and
· Networking.
Within the Cambodian context, areas of weakness include lack of efficiency and solidarity in
networking, lack of grassroots participation in identifying and implementing advocacy agendas,
and limited or nascent experience. This last factor has resulted in some missed opportunities, such
as the failure of the first domestic violence campaign and the failure of community fisheries advocates
to lobby at all levels of the legislative process.
Of greater concern perhaps is the perception that NGOs rely too heavily on donor conditionality
as a means of influencing policy. Critics point out that this strategy of relying on international
agencies to pressure government does not guarantee genuine long-term changes. That being said,
leverage provided by international donors does create a protective environment in which civil society
can strengthen and grow. The focus in the future will need to be on allowing the advocacy movement
in Cambodia to mature beyond dependence on international agendas.
NGOs have been able to provide considerable input into new and modified laws, sub-decrees,
and other government policies. Although impact is difficult to assess, advocates are beginning to
assert the right of civil society organizations to engage in policy formulation. Issues that were once
hidden are being brought out into mainstream society. For example, prior to 1994 there was no
Khmer term for “domestic violence” and the word “corruption” was not openly used. Now however,
the domestic violence problem is openly acknowledged and NGO leaders and ordinary citizens dare
to share their views about corruption in public. This demonstrates a significant, positive cumulative
effect of the myriad advocacy and democracy activities that have taken place thus far.
Major recommendations of this report relate to increasing transparency in policy formulation
by making public information public and establishing standard guidelines on the consultative process
for all legislation. Within the civil society realm, advocacy objectives will be advanced if NGOs within
each sector come together to establish common advocacy goals and if advocacy leaders from different
sectors have a chance to exchange experiences. Other recommendations include increasing
grassroots participation in agenda selection and policy formulation in order to make advocacy
campaigns more sustainable, and exploring new opportunities to involve commune councils in
advocacy efforts, as a way of linking government officials to the advocacy process.
advocacy in cambodia: increasing democratic space