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

Pursat Rice Miller’s Association, 2000.
professional associations and small local
associations, such as funeral associations, are
perceived as legitimate associations that represent
the interests of their members.
Local NGOs
NGOs differ from associations in that they
generally do not have a membership. In other
countries, they usually start as initiatives of
concerned individuals who come
together to do voluntary work. If the
initiative grows and the founders decide
to hire staff, they may choose to register
as a formal organization. It is not unusual
for founders of nascent NGOs to sit on
the first board of directors, which has
ultimate responsibility for the
management and direction of the
organization.
The history of NGOs in Cambodia
is somewhat different than that of other
countries. When international
development agencies and donors began
working in Cambodia in the early 1990s,
they looked for mechanisms to assist
rural communities or act as a service
delivery mechanism. Some international
agencies implemented their own projects
(some of which have become local NGOs
over time), while others started to fund
local initiatives. The establishment of the
majority of local development NGOs was
not based on a philosophy of carrying out
the development demands of the people
they served, rather local NGOs were
created to implement programs that
were directed by an original (often
foreign) founder or donor agency.
The local NGO sector has grown
rapidly in the past ten years. An
important consequence of this is that
NGO staff was often hired before the
organization had an independent board
or governance structure. In some cases
this led to problems of accountability and
explains why many local organizations do
not have a functioning board. Currently
many local NGOs are revising their
governance structures to include boards.
Another effect was that the voluntary
aspect of traditional non-profit
organizations is often absent and, at best,
very nascent.
In Cambodia’s NGO history,
development agencies began with
emergency and relief activities and
eventually made the transition to
sustainable development. While testing
program models, organizations had limited
human resources. Human rights organizations
were some of the first organizations identified with
advocacy activities because they conducted human
rights education activities, monitored and
reported violations, and defended clients in the
early 1990s. However, it was not until the late
1990s that the majority of local development
organizations began to understand the meaning
Civil society organizations in
Kompong Cham claim that freedom of
expression and the ability of
communities to advocate is being
stifled by the early release of
criminals and short sentences given
to certain suspects. This causes
fear within the general population
because they do not know when people
who have threatened them will be
released. Witnesses are often
reluctant to testify against
charged criminals because they are
uncertain whether they will be
sentenced or released. In most
cases of early release authorities
claim that they are working on the
case or the perpetrator has fled
the area. A related problem is the
immunity of military officials.
Kompong Cham has a large military
presence and violations by military
personnel abound but the civil
justice system and provincial
authorities have no authority over
them.
Increasing Democratic Space
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