Despite widespread public dissatisfaction with Cambodia’s legal system, judicial reform has yet to move large constituencies of ordinary citizens or business people to mobilize and take corrective action. Expanding constituencies for judicial reform beyond Phnom Penh-based NGOs requires focusing on issues that affect people’s daily lives, such as land and livelihood exploitation. In recent years, Cambodian village communities have become more confident in voicing concerns to environmentally unsound developments. Connecting with these critical economic and livelihood issues can provide a vehicle for Cambodian NGOs to cultivate and strengthen relationships with activist networks and rural Cambodians. Bringing a greater number and variety of voices into the reform dialogue may help shift the alignment of interests and push the reform agenda forward.

PRAJ II provides subgrants to twelve key human rights and grassroots civil society organizations. The human rights CSO partners actively investigate human rights violations, monitor detention centers and prisons, conduct human rights and legal awareness trainings, and provide legal representation to victims of human rights abuses, especially in land grabbing, land disputes, and forced evictions. PRAJ II’s grassroots CSO partners work to strengthen community capacities in leadership and advocacy at the provincial level. In addition, PRAJ II continues to support the Community Peace Building Network (CPN), a network of community representatives from all over the country that aims to promote and protect the rights of livelihoods of the communities. The CPN has collected tens of thousands of thumbprints from affected or potentially affected communities for a petition to the Prime Minister condemning land grabbing and the destruction of natural resources and is helping organize a national coordinate complaint campaign addressing this key issue.

EWMI’s grassroots advocacy work has led to a significant focus on protecting Cambodia’s natural biodiversity, and in particular the threatened Prey Lang Forest, the largest remaining low lying evergreen forest in Southeast Asia. EWMI helps communities conduct protection and advocacy activities, including forest patrols, biodiversity monitoring, and the preparation of complaints. EWMI has also begun steps to establish a formal Prey Lang Biodiversity Alliance, with the first expected output to develop a cooperative management model involving communities, government and NGOs.