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

the issue on the government’s agenda. There
appears to be a better chance of raising concern
of authorities at the local level by drawing
attention to specific cases.
Each year the NGOCRC organizes public
awareness events centered on International
Children’s Day. International Children’s Day 2002
will be celebrated in June in Poipet due to the high
incidence of child rights violations that occurs in
Banteay Meanchey Province. Additionally, NGOs
have produced television spots on child rights,
birth registration, and have even organized a
television quiz on the UN Convention. Since 1998,
the NGOCRC has produced and distributed a
children’s rights training kit that includes IEC
materials and a game that teaches the rights of
children.
In order to educate the media, in March 2000
the NGOCRC held a workshop for the press on
the UN Convention on
the Rights of Children
which was funded by
the Save the Children
Fund Alliance. Another
such workshop is
currently being
planned.
Although a
number of educational
activities have been
implemented over the
last five to seven years,
NGOs currently do not
have any way to
evaluate these activities
or measure their impact on changing the views of
government officials or the general public with
regards to children’s rights.
Building the Capacity of Networks, NGOs, and
Grassroots Organizations
Programs such as LICADHO’s provincial
child’s rights networks are providing opportunities
for community members, parents, and local
authorities to take action against the abuse of
children. The program aims to raise the concern
of adults while building their capacity to promote
child rights. One important aspect of the program
is that it creates a channel of information from
the local to the provincial level by which concerned
citizens can report cases of abuse and expect to
receive a response.
Some individual NGOs demonstrate high
capacity for advocating on behalf of children at
the local level, as well as for creating effective
educational materials. However, while the ILO
documents child labor problems and other UN
agencies document other aspects of the situation
of children in
Cambodia, the
documentation ability
of NGOs remains
limited.
As a network, the
NGOCRC appears to
be well organized and
Executive Committee
members are able to
clearly articulate the
problems faced by
Cambodian children
and the challenges
LICADHO educates child laborers on dangerous
working conditions and sexual harrassment
issues in Siem Reap province, January 2002.
One important
aspect of LICADHO’s
provincial child’s
rights network
program is that it
creates a channel
of information from
the local to the
provincial level by
which concerned
citizens can report
cases of abuse and
expect to receive a
response.
faced by NGOs in addressing those problems. The
network conducts field visits to member programs
and has invited key actors from the Ministry of
Interior (those who have the power to stop
traffickers) and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs
as well as CDP, CWCC,
and the CNCC
Secretary General to
participate. As
mentioned in the main
part of this report, the
NGOCRC is the only
network examined that
has produced a fouryear
action plan in
addition to producing
an annual report. Even
so, the network is
clearly aware of its
weaknesses, especially
with regard to its ability
to assess impact of advocacy activities and provide
input into draft legislation. Critics have expressed
the view that NGOCRC activities are still limited
to superficial awareness raising. Nevertheless, the
network is interesting in that Cambodians manage
it and members are highly dedicated to its
advocacy campaign.
In addition to the NGOCRC, a second
informal network of about 20 organizations exists
called the Child Welfare Group. The Child Welfare
Group holds monthly meetings at the CCC as a
forum for information exchange, and with
assistance from the Tear Fund, has produced a
directory of child welfare organizations, available
in hard copy and on CD-ROM. Though activities
have not been duplicated between the NGOCRC
and the Child Welfare Group, rather than acting
completely independently, these child’s rights
networks would serve Cambodian children best
by ensuring that they have clear communication
between them.
Case Studies
95