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

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Increasing Democratic Space A number of NGOs are becoming strong advocacy organizations, but most NGOs have not matured to the point where they can do strong advocacy. advocacy organizations, but most NGOs have not matured to the point where they can do strong advocacy. Their primary concern remains with the development of their organization and programs. Areas in which NGOs have developed some capacity include research, planning, networking and lobbying, though there is room for improvement. Lack of experience explains some easily made mistakes and advocates in Cambodia are quickly learning from these mistakes. For example, the various NGOs involved in the monitoring the widening of National Route 1 were not used to having different agencies working on the same issue. Some were doing monitoring for the Asia Development Bank and others were doing independent monitoring. It took some time for the NGOs to realize that each group had an important and separate role to play. Another example of shortsighted lobbying is in the case of the community fisheries lobbying, where lobbying efforts did not stay far enough ahead in the legislative process. Both types of mistakes are unlikely to be repeated by the organizations involved in these efforts and carry important lessons learned for other sectors. There is a need for advocacy intermediaries and institutions that focus on policy formulation. Very few NGOs have this specialization and are better at collecting information from communities that is important for policy formulation. Networking Civil society organizations in Cambodia have developed numerous networks, but most of these focus on information sharing and do not have action plans or advocacy agendas. The most effective networks are those that come together for special events and groups like the Human Rights Action Committee that meets to solve particularly challenging human rights cases. Problems regarding networks include the difficulty in understanding when a network has outlived its usefulness, lack of coordination between networks, and lack of experience in building alliances. Critics of networks also cite the absence of community leaders at network meetings and failure to build in consultation with the constituencies that the networks represent. Networking at the provincial level tends to be relatively strong, probably because NGOs gain a sense of solidarity from the meetings, there is a greater probability of informal interaction, and the networks encounter difficult challenges that directly affect their work with communities. Network meetings tend to focus on information sharing, although there are occasionally examples of group advocacy, particularly among NGOs in Battambang. In one case of illegal land appropriation in Kompong Thom, NGOs successfully lobbied at the provincial and national levels to put a stop to violations. There are a number of examples of Cambodian NGOs participating in regional and international networks, although most activities center on conferences and information exchange. It is only in a few isolated cases that NGOs from Cambodia have been able to advocate for change outside of the country, as in the aforementioned example of adding trafficking to the agenda of the ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Associations. NGOs in Cambodia are learning to work with international actors, such as garment companies, donors, and international networks and beginning to earn international recognition in the form of honorary awards, particularly in the field of human rights. At the same time, there are risks involved in international representation and NGO representatives need to be sure that they are well prepared and strategic when doing international lobbying, particularly in forums that affect the government, such as the annual Consultative Group meeting of donors on Cambodia that carries sufficient legitimacy for their recommendations. It is important for civil society organizations to understand the central role of networking and to avoid limiting advocacy activities to their own programs or to participating in fragmented or weak networks. Without effective networks, it is impossible for NGOs to address larger problems that affect communities at the local level. Development organizations do not need to do advocacy themselves. By being a member of a strong network they can stay informed and lend legitimacy to an advocacy campaign. Another important strategy is to build alliances with organizations that are working on different aspects or levels of a problem. For example in the case of land disputes, some agencies work at the grassroots level assisting communities with disputes, others provide legal assistance and yet others assist with the documentation of the problem. Once a change objective has been achieved, the network or alliance can disband. The strengthening of effective advocacy networks through specific activities like creating sectoral maps and an advocacy action plan can be considered an important strategy for agencies aiming to strengthen advocacy in Cambodia. 32
influencing the legislative process Yeng Virak’s article on Influencing the Legislative Process 1 provides an overview of how laws are introduced into passed by Parliament. The article examines the case studies presented in this report to identify factors contributing to the success of civil society advocacy efforts as well as challenges encountered during the course of advocacy campaigns. This section summarizes the findings of the article. Cambodia’s recent transition from a socialist centrally planned economy to a market economy has required corresponding changes in the legal framework in order for the government to implement reform policies to rehabilitate and develop the country. The absence of laws and presence of outdated and poorly written laws are some of the root problems of arbitrary systems of governance and the cause of social, economic, and political injustice. In order to address this problem, civil society organizations in Cambodia advocate at the legislative level through advocacy campaigns. Lobbying is a key component of an advocacy campaign and encompasses a range of activities. By studying the experiences of civil society, it is possible to identify certain patterns in doing advocacy within the legislative process. Introducing Legislation The Cambodian Constitution grants legislative power to propose, review, and pass legislation to the National Assembly and the Senate. Any member of the National Assembly or Senate may propose a law. A proposed law must be written, divided into articles, and accompanied by a statement of cause that explains why the law is needed. The proposed law is then forwarded to the appropriate commission (of which there are nine) for review. For example, the Commission on Home Affairs, National Defense, Investigation and Anti-Corruption reviewed a proposed law on the National Anti-Corruption Board. The parliamentarian who proposes the legislation has the right to present arguments to the concerned commission. Additionally, the Royal Government is granted power to draft legislation and submit it to the National Assembly for review and enactment. Passing Legislation Once a proposed law or draft law reaches a Commission of the National Assembly, the remaining steps are the same regardless of who proposed the law. The Commission has the option to forward the bill to the full Assembly. The commission may recommend that the full Assembly not consider the bill, request that the full Assembly decide whether to consider the bill, or to consider it on an “emergency” basis. It is interesting to note that of over 140 legislative bills passed since 1993, less than half a dozen were introduced by parliamentarians. The remainder was introduced by line ministries and the Council of Ministers. Members of parliament have proposed a few laws, but their efforts have been relatively unsuccessful. Their proposed laws appear to be considered wanting, particularly with respect to legal technicalities and the implications of implementing the law. This is due to a large extent to the fact that the parliamentarians have insufficient capacity and resources. Given these statistics, it makes sense for advocates wishing to promote the passing of a law to first seek to influence the relevant line ministry and the Council of Ministers. Advocates that choose to assist parliamentarians introduce a law will need to provide them with legal and technical assistance. Transparency In a democracy, with very few exceptions, lawmaking is a process carried out in public. Legislative sessions are generally open for all to observe, including discussions of proposed laws and voting by parliamentarians. Legally, the same is true in Cambodia. Interested persons are allowed to observe sessions of Parliament. However, observing parliamentary sessions and officials voting on proposed legislation does not allow citizens to affect changes proposed or draft legislation. Therefore, effective participation of civil society in the legislative process needs to begin at a much earlier stage of the legislative process. Increasing Democratic Space 33
Page 1 and 2: advocacy in cambodia: increasing de
Page 3 and 4: executive summary The Cambodian non
Page 5 and 6: sectors reviewed in this document
Page 7 and 8: livelihood of populations, includin
Page 9 and 10: Pursat Rice Miller’s Association,
Page 11 and 12: Protected Forest and Land Dispute:
Page 13 and 14: implementation. Without policy impl
Page 15 and 16: drafts incorporated into the new La
Page 17 and 18: the relocation site and not at the
Page 19 and 20: Landless Families: O’thkov Villag
Page 21 and 22: Short-term and long-term implicatio
Page 23 and 24: EMOs do not traditionally base thei
Page 25 and 26: or even fearful to solve conflicts,
Page 27 and 28: collection of information on public
Page 29 and 30: each month. Facilitating Engagement
Page 31 and 32: analyzing impact of advocacy activi
Page 33: communities and NGOs can work with
Page 37 and 38: informal contacts and being able to
Page 39 and 40: CHART OF LEGISLATIVE PROCESS (10) K
Page 41 and 42: considerable public attention, but
Page 43 and 44: lessons learned Advocates have lear
Page 45 and 46: ecommendations The following are re
Page 47 and 48: conclusion Outside of human rights
Page 49 and 50: conclusion of the forum, the govern
Page 51 and 52: level can sustainable resource use
Page 53 and 54: literature, interviews, and field v
Page 55 and 56: Future Considerations The following
Page 57 and 58: Timeline of Land Issues Over the Pa
Page 59 and 60: The new Land Law will require betwe
Page 61 and 62: labor The garment factory labor mov
Page 63 and 64: input from AFL-CIO, the largest lab
Page 65 and 66: intervene are by activating the Lab
Page 67 and 68: ights have, in principle if not in
Page 69 and 70: commune council election law The ca
Page 71 and 72: maximize the group’s collective i
Page 73 and 74: communication between EMOs and dono
Page 75 and 76: The CCEL campaign was the first opp
Page 77 and 78: in every four women (25%) aged 15-4
Page 79 and 80: estimates the number of sex workers
Page 81 and 82: elections saw an increase to 14 fem
Page 83 and 84: healthcare. While many women know t
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losing influence. For this reason,
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plaintiffs at a disadvantage. A sec
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level to increase interaction betwe
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courses for members of the media (p
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economic issues NGOs are advocating
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come together to discuss problems a
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the issue on the government’s age
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premier center for rights-based and
Page 101 and 102:
Penh. Watson, Gabrielle, 2000. Advo
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Advocacy in Cambodia: Increasing Democratic ... - Pact Cambodia

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