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

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and generated considerable public discussion about it. Case Studies Enlarging the Democratic Space EMOs possessed the leadership required to advocate at the highest level. Strategies included personal lobbying, roundtable discussions at the district level, workshops, and COPCEL meetings. The presence of donors, as in other sectors, did apply a certain amount of pressure on the NEC and NGOCC to be responsive to NGOs, which may not have been the case otherwise. Still, the relatively peaceful conduct of the commune elections in February 2002 and the comparatively positive response of EMOs and other observers regarding the polling process may go a long way to improving relations. It will be interesting to observe how relations between the NEC and NGOs develop during next year’s national election. The CCEL campaign received considerable media attention, and coalition groups sought to draw public attention to the issues by conducting awareness raising activities. These activities included 75 drama performances conducted by NICFEC, distribution of leaflets, showing of videotapes, and other forms of education. Although there has been no evaluation of the effectiveness of these efforts, the issues were presented to the public and will provide a foundation of public information that EMOs can build on in the future. Building Capacity of Civil Society Unlike in the fisheries or labor sectors, it is not necessary to base a campaign to change the electoral system on popular support. This is due to the fact that, while important for political decentralization, commune elections are not a livelihood issue and therefore plays a minor role in the average Cambodian’s daily life. In a country where most people have many more immediate and serious needs, it would be difficult to rally a mass movement to change the CCEL. For this reason, the emphasis of capacity building for this issue lies with election and governance NGOs. In general, the CCEL campaign was well organized and efficient. Lobbying was performed at the highest levels, and probably no other sector has been able to replicate the level of lobbying that took place in this campaign. NGO leaders met with party leaders, members of the royal family, and countless politicians to argue their case. Lobbying skills were undoubtedly sharpened during the experience. Use of the media is another area in which coalition groups gained skills. As this was the third election in Cambodia that NGO workers had been involved in (through education or monitoring), NGO staff are quickly Public education as part of the CCEL campaign: here NICFEC staff hand out brochures in Phsar Leu market informing people about commune council voting dates and times. Battambang province, January 2002. becoming veterans. Even so, the CCEL campaign differed from national elections in that in the CCEL campaign, staff had to analyze articles in the draft law and develop a new concept of commune councils. Although there was a broad understanding of the need to include women in politics, comprehensive statistics on the participation of women in politics were not available at the time. In retrospect, NGOs consider this to have been one of the weaknesses of the advocacy campaign because their arguments tended to rely on historical references. In general, parties were against a policy of encouraging women to run because they were already committed to promoting long-time supporters and active members, who in most cases were men. In mid-2001, EMOs conducted a survey of parties and discussed women’s issues with them to assess their policies regarding women and criteria for candidates. In October 2001, when candidate registration was completed, EMOs conducted another survey of parties and found that (as they suspected) most candidates were men. Some parties argued that it was difficult to find w o m e n In a country where most people have many more immediate and serious needs, it would be difficult to rally a mass movement to change the CCEL. For this reason, the emphasis of capacity building for this issue lies with election and governance NGOs. 72
The CCEL campaign was the first opportunity for NGOs to work on a long-term issue that was not likely to reap immediate results. When asked how they kept their spirits up, EMOs indicated that while it was sometimes difficult to keep themselves motivated, the prospect of real change and the knowledge that they were abiding by the people’s will buoyed them. organizations were subject to. This was not adequately done in the CCEL campaign and as a result, when the advocacy strategy moved from influence to confrontation, some organizations withdrew, causing loss of momentum within the movement. While it is not possible for organizations to always be in agreement, it is possible to identify points at which views are likely to diverge in order to avoid loss of stakeholders at inopportune moments. Similarly, it was important for CCEL advocates to identify activities that needed to be done together and those that could be done apart. In an effort to ensure consensus, especially regarding press releases, some processes in this advocacy campaign were probably too slow. Given the need to be able to disseminate information quickly, guidelines need to be established so that time is not wasted building consensus when the situation does not require it, or when immediate action is needed. candidates. The average representation of women in public institutions was only 7%. The real issue was to get women placed high enough on candidate lists so that they stood a fair chance to get on councils. In the end, 16.2% of all party commune council candidates were women, but they were placed low on candidate lists and therefore unlikely to get seats. One exception to this was the SRP, where 21.1% of candidates were women and these were well placed on the lists. FUNCIPEC had 14% women candidates, who were not quite as well placed as the SRP female candidates. The CPP had 13.27% women candidates, who were generally placed lower on the lists. Lessons Learned The CCEL campaign was the first opportunity for NGOs to work on a long-term issue that was not likely to reap immediate results. When asked how they kept their spirits up, EMOs indicated that while it was sometimes difficult to keep themselves motivated, the prospect of real change and the knowledge that they were abiding by the people’s will buoyed them. One important lesson learned was the need to understand the pressures and fears that various Future Considerations One of the challenges facing EMOs is the cyclical nature of their activities. In preelection and election periods, they receive considerable attention and funding and they implement many activities. In the interval between elections however, funding diminishes significantly. In the future, it would behoove EMOs to learn how to function like real coalitions, drawing on the resources of their members (staff, computers, cars, etc.) during peak periods, and then releasing resources back to their organizations during slow periods. EMOs view the campaign to advocate for changes in the CCEL as having just begun. They learned important lessons in their first advocacy attempt and will continue to accumulate experience with every subsequent election. EMOs possess the staying power needed to achieve success in the long run. But while they consolidate their efforts, they must keep in mind that the political context in Cambodia will continue to change – particularly with the formation of 1,621 communes. Their advocacy strategies will have to adjust to the changing landscape. References Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, 2001. NGO Statement to the 2001 Consultative Group Meeting On Cambodia. NGO Forum on Cambodia, MEDICAM, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Election Monitoring Organization annual reports. Case Studies 73
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advocacy in cambodia: increasing de
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executive summary The Cambodian non
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sectors reviewed in this document
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livelihood of populations, includin
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Pursat Rice Miller’s Association,
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Protected Forest and Land Dispute:
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implementation. Without policy impl
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drafts incorporated into the new La
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the relocation site and not at the
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Landless Families: O’thkov Villag
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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 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: communication between EMOs and dono
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
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
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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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