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

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land law Case Studies After the 1998 national elections, representatives of rural communities began flowing into Phnom Penh to protest land grabbing (the act of privatizing community used land when ownership is unclear) in front of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister’s residence. Land disputes began much earlier, but people had been reluctant to voice their grievances in previous years and prior to the elections. Once peace was established in December 1998, citizens began to feel increasing confidence to voice their concerns, and while the demonstrations did not lead to immediate action, they did serve to raise awareness of the land grabbing problem and would eventually result in creation of national and provincial land dispute resolution commissions. The steady flow of demonstrators to the capital after the elections lent proof that the land grabbing problem was extensive. Oxfam Great Britain’s Land Study Project Oxfam GB, its partners, and other development organizations began hearing stories from their project communities about land disputes and abuse of power and in August 1998, Oxfam GB, in collaboration with four local partners, initiated a pilot Land Study Project (LSP) to study land disputes. The project began by looking at causes of land disputes, and following the research phase Oxfam held a workshop in late 1998 for NGOs and government officials to discuss the study’s findings. The workshop concluded that the main cause of land disputes was shortcomings of the 1994 Land Law, which some contend was created to serve the interests of a small group. Some of the 1994 Land Law clauses did not reflect the reality of the new market economy in Cambodia, in which land began to have more value. Under the 1994 law, landowners were required to register at cadastral offices. This requirement was Legal Aid of Cambodia conservatively estimates that 100,000 people are currently in a situation in which powerful players are trying to displace them. problematic and misunderstood, and most people, who considered themselves owners of land they were living on did not try very hard to secure land titles. This failure to secure titles created opportunities for others to take advantage of the situation and grab land for themselves, sometimes by creating fake titles for properties and evicting those living on them. Enactment of a New Land Law When the Asian Development Bank began negotiating a large loan with the Ministry of Agriculture in the mid-1990s, the land law issue arose and it became clear that a new land law was needed. Prior to 1995, the cadastral department fell under the Ministry of Agriculture’s responsibility. In 1995, responsibility for that department was transferred to the Council of Ministers. In 1998, the cadastral department prepared a first draft of a new land law. At that same time, an outcome of the December 1998 Oxfam GB workshop was the formation of an NGO/IO land law working group that met regularly to discuss the draft. The draft was divided into six or seven sections (e.g. state property, indigenous rights, possession, concessions, succession) and various organizations accepted responsibility for analyzing them. Oxfam GB provided a secretary to collect the comments. During the process, NGOs consulted with judges and officials from all levels of the Ministry of Justice in order to better understand what improvements were needed and to identify implications for implementation. In response to daily demonstrations by villagers in front of the National Assembly and the Senate, in March 1999 the Council of Ministers created a national land dispute commission with provisions for creation of provincial commissions. When communities demonstrated at the National 54
Timeline of Land Issues Over the Past Seven Years Mid-1990s ADB’s process for considering a loan to Cambodia reveals the need for a new Land Law. 1998 Cadastral Department in the Council of Ministers drafts a new Land Law. (Prior to 1995 the Cadastral Dept. fell under the MoA.) 1998 Large demonstrations are held in Phnom Penh to protest land grabbing. 1998 Oxfam conducts its Land Study Project. Dec. 1998 Land Law Working Group (LLWG) is formed. 1998-9 As the secretariat for the LLWG, Oxfam provides feedback on the proposed new Land Law. Mar. 1999 May 1999 June 1999 May 2001 Aug. 2001 Due to large demonstrations in front of the National Assembly and Senate, Council of Ministers creates a National Land Dispute Commission. NGOs present their revised draft Land Law to the Council of Jurists/Council of Ministers. Council of Ministers creates the Ministry of Land Management. Cadastral Dept. is transferred to MoLM. The Royal Government issues its statement on Land Policy. New Land Law is ratified. Ministers and discussed land issues and land legislation. Soon afterwards, in June 1999, the administrative structure for land changed when the Council of Ministers created the Ministry of Land Management (MoLM). The cadastral department of the Council of Ministers was integrated into the new ministry and NGO advocates began collaborating with the new ministry. Unfortunately, development of the original and NGO-revised drafts stalled and the new Ministry began working on a new draft. During that time the land law working group continued to meet. The new Ministry was willing to share its draft and receive NGO comments, and did incorporate some NGO suggestions. Problems with translation occurred as the original version of the document was in French and translation into English resulted in two versions that did not coincide. When the draft was then translated into Khmer, more problems with interpretation arose. Eventually however, after working closely with the MoLM, all parties involved were able to reach consensus on a final draft. The new Land Law was ratified in August 2001, more than two years after the Ministry was established, while demonstrators stood outside the National Assembly. 2001-2 WB Land Title Registration Project preparation begins. 2001-2 MoLM begins drafting sub-decree to create a new Cadastral Commission to replace existing Land Dispute Resolution Committees. Assembly and Senate, their complaints were forwarded to the land dispute commissions, but this process was generally considered to be ineffective. As a result, NGOs began helping villagers file their complaints. In May 1999, the NGO draft of the land law was presented to the deputy chair of the Council of Jurists at the Council of Ministers. NGOs presented their draft twice to the Council of Resolution of Land Disputes Despite the existence of a land dispute resolution commission, the overwhelming view of civil society is that the land law has not been enforced. Provincial NGOs regularly cite land disputes as one of the top two problems experienced by rural communities. There has been a marked increase in the number of land and natural resource violations, due to the fact that Cambodia is undergoing a massive economic change. Land is increasing in value and the political and economic spheres continue to feed the patronage network. The Cambodian government simply has not had a strong enough structure to deal with the powerful forces of change. Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC) conservatively Case Studies 55
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advocacy in cambodia: increasing de
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executive summary The Cambodian non
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Page 9 and 10: Pursat Rice Miller’s Association,
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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 and 34: communities and NGOs can work with
Page 35 and 36: influencing the legislative process
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: Future Considerations The following
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
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Page 83 and 84: healthcare. While many women know t
Page 85 and 86: losing influence. For this reason,
Page 87 and 88: plaintiffs at a disadvantage. A sec
Page 89 and 90: level to increase interaction betwe
Page 91 and 92: courses for members of the media (p
Page 93 and 94: economic issues NGOs are advocating
Page 95 and 96: come together to discuss problems a
Page 97 and 98: the issue on the government’s age
Page 99 and 100: premier center for rights-based and
Page 101 and 102: Penh. Watson, Gabrielle, 2000. Advo
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