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

Increasing Democratic Space
Proactive and Reactive Approaches to
Lobbying
NGOs may take a proactive or reactive
approach when advocating on the legislative
process. The proactive approach occurs when
advocating agencies have as their main mission
advocacy on a particular piece of legislation. In
such cases they usually have specific change
objectives and resources are allocated towards
reaching those objectives. Examples of proactive
approaches include initiatives by women’s NGOs
to introduce a domestic violence law and update
the existing family law.
The reactive approach has been used when
advocates have not been programmatically and
financially prepared for advocacy on a particular
law because a particular bill was drafted quickly
or in a closed process that NGOs were not aware
of. This situation creates certain disadvantages to
the advocacy campaign, including limited access
to resources due to lack of planning.
Unfortunately, much of the advocacy that NGOs
have done in the last decade has been reactive,
though as Cambodian advocates gain experience
they are learning how to gain access to and
influence the legislative process at an earlier stage.
Advocacy Strategies
Strategies used by advocates to influence the
legislative process are basically the same as those
for all advocates. Information collected through
research and documentation provides critical
arguments for advocates and lawmakers alike.
While in some cases legislators may actually not
be aware of a problem, in most cases they simply
do not have resources to conduct studies and
demonstrate the degree of a problem.
Establishing personal contacts with decision
makers and engaging them in a campaign is
another important strategy for advocates.
Engaging decision makers means helping them to
understand issues, imparting them with the belief
that it is within their mandate to influence
legislation, and providing them with information
needed to further support their arguments for
change. Once decision-makers have been engaged,
advocates need to provide them with opportunities
to get a first-hand view of issues through site visits
or contact with affected stakeholders.
Another effective advocacy strategy is
lobbying the ministry most relevant to a particular
piece of legislation. Being able to give inputs to a
draft law at the ministerial level is critical to ensure
that issues of concern to the public are reflected
in the draft. Successful advocates work with line
ministries at different stages and assist them to
accomplish their mandated function. The more
ownership the ministry has of the draft law that
does not include the voice of the people through a
consultative process, the harder it will be to
advocate for it. One strategy is to let the ministry
take credit for the drafting or technical work even
though much of it could have come from civil
society. The ultimate objective is to make the
ministry or technical department an advocate for
the law.
Campaigning After Submission of Draft
Legislation
Being able to get modified or new legislation
drafted or proposed is a significant achievement,
but it is only one of many steps in this type of
advocacy campaign. Advocates need to continue
efforts to ensure that the final version of the
legislation contains what they feel is needed, and
that this version will be promulgated.
Enacted legislation usually delegates
responsibility to the executive branch, i.e. the
Royal Government of Cambodia, to pass
regulations that detail implementation of the law,
as the legislative branch does not have the time,
resources, or required expertise to specify how
laws should be implemented. Regulations issued
by the government also constitute law and include:
• sub-decrees (anu kret);
• proclamations (prakas);
• decisions (sach k’dei samrach); and
• circulars (sarachors).
With the exception of the Community
Fisheries Sub-decree, the advocacy campaigns
examined in the attached case studies focus solely
on laws passed by Parliament. Less attention has
been paid to executive regulations, which often
enumerate the most important aspects of a law.
Therefore, campaign efforts should not cease
simply because legislation is passed. Efforts must
extend beyond enactment and be closely involved
with the implementation of the law as well. For
instance, the new Land Law requires the passing
of a dozen subsequent sub-decrees that are
essential to implementation. This presents a
challenge for civil society organizations to closely
monitor the development of the sub-decrees as
well and to advocate for participation in the
drafting of those regulations.
Factors Contributing to Satisfactory
Outcomes
Establishing good relations with a ministry
is perhaps the most important factor in achieving
a successful outcome to advocacy efforts. Other
factors include lobbying parliamentarians through
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