Community Legal Education Center

Annual Progress Report 2018

CLEC Goal: The target communities’ accessibility to social

justice and inclusive development.

Introduction and Overview

The Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) was created in 1996 as a legal resource center, promoting the rule of law, justice, and democracy in . From 1996 to 2001, CLEC operated as an arm of the University of San Francisco School of Law, funded by USAID. In December 2001, it became a locally registered NGO.

Before 2018, CLEC programs supported vulnerable communities, workers and their unions by combining legal awareness, trainings, legal aid services, and advocacy aiming to empower them to legally assert their rights, mainly to labor, land and natural resources. Its trainings were designed for a wide range of target groups including local communities, NGOs and government officials. CLEC had been involved in advocating a number of significant law reform issues including the 2001 Land Law, the sub-decree on indigenous communal land titling, establishment of the Arbitration Council, the election dispute resolution process, the draft Peaceful Demonstration Law, and commentary and review of numerous pieces of legislation. Since 2004, CLEC has also embarked on a major project of high impact public interest legal advocacy, particularly in the areas of land and natural resources.

Over the period, CLEC keeps reviewing its strategic intervention, and has conducted a mid-term review of its three-year strategic plan 2016-2018 beginning from 2017 affecting both its programs and structure. CLEC has removed its labor program and maintains its focus only on land and natural resources targeting vulnerable communities involved in the protection of rights to land and natural resources (LNR) and LNR-related human rights defenders (HRDs) coming from formal and informal groups and the social workers (NGO workers). With this, CLEC has structured itself into three main programs: (1) Access to Justice Program (AJP), (2) Land and Natural Resource Program (LNRP), and (3) Good Governance Program (GGP).

The review also found CLEC’s three focused themes and strategies that the three programs need to be re-shaped and re-strengthened to avoid confusion of their duplication of their interventions and to make them complimentary and supportive to each other with their own strengths.

Strategy 1 is entrusted to Access to Justice Program (AJP) to take on a theme that ensures access to justice where the principle of equality of arms is enjoyed by the provision of legal aid by lawyers and non-lawyers (community-based paralegals and advanced paralegals) to target communities; Strategy 2 rests with Land and Natural Resource Program (LNRP) to carry out a theme on legal empowerment of the target communities for their meaningful participation and the exercise of LNR-related rights; and Strategy 3 is with Good Governance Program (GGP) on a theme of organizing multi-stakeholders dialogue or peace table to improve the governance of land and natural resources through taking the issues/cases to solve using the alternative dispute resolution process (not in judicial system) and the improvement of related policies and laws with meaningful participation and engagement of all relevant actors including competent governmental authorities, concerned private sector, civil society organizations (NGOs) and the target/affected communities.

About the CLEC Programs

As mentioned in the introduction above the three programs are complementing each other, meaning a project can be implemented jointly by the three programs, of which they have respective strategic interventions and expertise. No individual program implements a project alone, even though a program manager will be assigned to manage a project.

I. The Access to Justice Program (AJP) The objective of this program is to strengthen the effectiveness of the provision of legal aid services, the skills of existing paralegals and LNR-related HRDs so they have increased

2 significant roles in mutual cooperation among stakeholders for social-economic disputes resolution through both formal and informal justice system.

CLEC first established its access to justice program in 2003 with the intention to bridge the gap between the formal and informal justice system in a way that is effective, responsible, and accessible. In an effort to make this possible, the Access to Justice program focuses on institutionalization and the enhancement of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, with a specific focus on local authorities and the most vulnerable and marginalized people and their communities. However, in the mid-term review of CLEC’s three-year strategic plan 2016-2018, AJP takes in all legal aid services (land claims and land-related criminal charges against land activists and human rights defenders) in addition to the strengthening of local resource of paralegals (citizen’s legal advisors) to support local communities having disputes/cases. In both formal and informal dispute resolution systems.

II. Land and Natural Resource Program (LNRP) The objective of this program is to increase target communities in their active participations in holding duty-bearers accountable for tenure security of the communities’ land and livelihood- based natural resources including those in the coastal areas in fair, just and transparent manner.

In complementarity to the other two programs, LNRP focuses on legal empowerment activities; in particular, the provision of legal and skill development to target communities so that they are able to understand their rights to land and natural resources and their claims when infringed upon in a proper, non-violent and legal process. CLEC also provides opportunity for different communities with similar issues to meet and share their experiences and their learning to protect and claim the rights in a more effective, synergic, legal and safe way.

These efforts of the LNRP are made into legal awareness/training, social media work, workshop and other forms of meetings.

III. Good Governance Program (GGP) The objective of the program is to increase credible dialogues on both issues and cases related to land and livelihood-based natural resource governance and related policies in order to meet the needs of affected/vulnerable communities.

Good governance is a cornerstone of the government “Rectangular Strategy” where the governmental authorities as the duty bearers have to bear with that accountably. To support this, CLEC works to promote meaningful participation and engagement of all actors including governmental authorities, private sector, affected/vulnerable communities, NGOs and other stakeholders to peacefully talk and discuss all issues/cases on land and natural resources occurred in communities who depend heavily on the resources for their livelihoods. The policies relating to that are taking into account.

As talked earlier, this program needs contribution from the two program above in the provision of legal aid where necessary and training or awareness raising of the issues to all concerned to effectively participate in the process.

Such participatory discussion of issues/cases and policies is made under the forms of roundtable or multilateral dialogues. CLEC mostly facilitates for such gathering and

3 discussion after a thorough fact-finding is made a well-founded or evidence-based report comprising of possible solutions/options quoted from all concerned including the affected communities, the companies/powerful people, the competent authorities, concerned NGOs and other stakeholders. The more convincing/possible solutions in the report, the more support from the authorities and private sector and all actors.

About the Achievements of the Year

1: 32 criminal cases (118 villagers/clients), and 29 civil claims (land) have received CLEC legal defense and representation services During this period, CLEC has broadly provided CLEC lawyers to defend and represent land-related high profile cases both in court and out of court. At least 32 criminal cases (with 118 villagers/clients) are under criminal charges due to their activism in outstanding land disputes, while other 29 civil claims/cases related to outstanding land disputes/cases including existing and new cases are under legal action in 14 capital/provinces including , Kandal, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Oddor Meanchey, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, Koh Kong, Kampot, Kratie, Ratanakiri, and Modnulkiri.

With these 32 criminal cases, there were 118 clients of which 104 clients are under criminal charges by first instant provincial courts, appeal court and Supreme Court, while other 14 indigenous people (IP) clients are the complainants filed in Mondulkiri court against land encroachers in Dak Dam commune of O’Reang district in Mondulkiri.

As a result of CLEC’s legal defense, all the 104 accused have not been detained. Among them, 6 villagers were acquitted and one was given a suspended sentence, that is, 1 client charged in Case#445 in Boeng Pram Land case was aquitted by first instance court of , and 5 other clients (3 clients charged in Case#2541 in Borey Keila in Phnom Penh, and 2 clients charged in Case#507 in Battambang) were also acquitted. Another client charged in Case #1064 in Battambang was suspended, while other cases are under the proceedings for trial.

Similarly, CLEC has received warm welcome and cooperation from certain sub-national and national authorities to participate in the outstanding-land-case resolution process as follow: - The Srae Ambel case -- the sugar case in Srae Ambel district of Koh Kong that was concluded in the mass meeting from all parties and other stakeholders under the chairmanship of His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MoLMUPC) as the President of Inter-Ministerial Committee to solve issues on economic land concession for sugar plantation for exportation on 22 March 2018 at the MoLMUPC. - Similar to the remaining sugar cases in Preah Vihear that the cooperation was warmly extended from the Preah Vihear Administration, from which it was approved for CLEC and the provincial, district and commune authorities to continue solving issues

4 to open way for three indigenous communities in Pramae commune of Tbaeng Meanchey district to register their communal land under the communal land titling process (CLT). It was made in the workshop on 11 December 2018 under the chairmanship of H.E Ung Vuthy, Deputy governor of , participated by all relevant provincial department officials, officials from relevant districts and communes, NGOs and affected communities. - Outstanding land case in Tany village, run Ta-Ek ommune, Banteay Srey district of Siem Reap in conflict with APSARA Authority has received warm welcome and cooperation from the Siem Reap Administration through a letter No 1236/18 dated 12 November 2018 for CLEC to participate in the cse resolution process with the provincial working group, even without organizing a multilateral dialogue or peace table. This is also good means for CLEC to extend such cooperation to another case in the neighboring village in sala Kravan village, Rumchek commune of the same district (Banteay Srey). - There are still many other outstanding land cases among the 29 civil cases that CLEC has been formulated to request for such cooperation with relevant ministries such as the Ministries of Interior, MoLMUPC, Environment, Agriculture, Justice, Rural Development, etc. for the benefits of affected communities, and for the promotion of alternative dispute resolution or mediation or engagement of all actors within the existing legal framework.

2: Establish and strengthen linkage or cross-network among current CLEC’s paralegals, land-and-natural-resource community advocates and other social activists in a two-day training and meeting including the legal capacity and relevant skill building around land and natural resource issues of their communities

Since mid-2003, CLEC has established and enhanced its paralegal network with 254 community-based paralegals, advanced-paralegals, and Labor-Unionists based paralegals including 69 females. They had been built-up with legal capacities and skills and deployed on voluntary basis to assist vulnerable communities and the poor throughout 18 provinces in rural Cambodia to provide legal consultation and local informal dispute resolution in addition to their advocacy efforts within their own communities. Mere training is insufficient to ensure that paralegals fully reach their performance ability. For this reason, the program strategy suggests organizing feedback meetings that can help all paralegals to learn and generate their more in-depth knowledge and skills.

CLEC could be able to organize the feedback meeting on 21 December 2018 attended by 18 paralegals and community representatives, including 2 women from target communities where they currently have conflicts, such as Kean Toek of Koh Sdach in Koh Kong (having conflict with Union Development Group, UDG-China), Chikhor in Srae Ambel of Koh Kong (Sugar case), Tany & Sala Kravan in Banteay Srey of Siem Reap (with APSARA authority), Anlong Veng in Oddor Meanchey (Data Rubber Plantation case), Chheb & Pra Mae in Preah Vihear ( Sugar case & Forest issue), IP-Phnom Rey in Sam Laut of Battambang (CLT case), and Boeng Pram in Bavel (Battambang). The agenda for the meeting included past achievements and challenges, exchange experiences, review of the roles of paralegals and action plans for future intervention with the paralegals’ efforts and assistance, and the additional capacity building. With the additional capacity building, the participants have learned the principles of Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fishery, and Forests in the context of National Food Security (VGGTs) focusing on the 5 main principles and 10 implementation principles, and legitimate tenure rights. These principles encourage all relevant duty-bearers and stakeholders to be more accountable,

5 responsive and respectful for legitimate rights prescribed in national and international legal instruments that 133 States/Countries including Cambodia had signed on the VGGT principles. Another topic was substantially on criminal provision related to land legal analysis using IFRAC (Issue, Fact, Rules, Analysis, and Conclusion) and key elements to analyses criminal offenses. Types of civil & judicial proceedings were also included. As a result, at least 65% of participants satisfied with enthusiasm about the course and expressed their improvement in knowledge of understanding and learned experiences from other participants. They claimed that even the training was so short but it was good for them to move forward to do more effective advocacy works for their community interests.

Learning from this feedback meeting, some significant challenges were raised. It includes corrupt court and administrative systems adding up suffering to the vulnerable communities’ representatives/activists, workers and their unions and other human rights defenders when they resist against rights violation, threats, intimidation, pre-trial detention and impunity. In some cases, the authorities used the courts as a means to punish those that seek to claim rights to their land. Political intimidation is the most challenge, as each has been criticized by local authorities and prevented from conducting meetings as well as training activities. Some authorities still blame them with their affiliation with opposition party.

3: Conduct fact-finding missions/investigations with legal studies, documentations and publication outreaches concerning the above mentioned cases for opportunities to solve the cases peacefully and amicably, avoiding confrontation.

CLEC and partners made separate trips to continue conducting in-depth fact-findings and suggested possible solutions around the current outstanding cases to collect more information through interviewing clients, community members, authorities and relevant stakeholders within target provinces/communities for a presentation before all actors for solutions that is quick, simple, and peaceful to avoid confrontation using win-win policy. Cases in the action include those in Uddor Meanchey (Data Rubber Plantation – ELC in conflict with 120 families), and CLT of IP cases in Phnom Rey in Battambang and in Pramae in Preah Vihear, and two cases of Tany & Romchek in Siem Reap in conflict with APSARA Authority to engage all relevant actors to settle these pending cases through alternative dispute resolution process or mediation, or peace table.

In principle, apart from formal litigation and legal advocacy, CLEC continues using alternative dispute resolution to settle the cases where applicable. This solution is heavily based on well-founded documents from fact-findings that accompany with options or alternative solutions recommended from all actors during the interviews and present them to competent authorities from the sub-national to national levels for their consideration of providing support and cooperation to CLEC for further efforts to solve the cases/issues in peaceful and amicable manner regardless of doing it in any form of multilateral dialogue or meeting or roundtable or peace table, in which over 30 cases/issues have been handled by CLEC in the past (please read the CLEC efforts in seeking such cooperation from authorities at all levels in Point 1 above).

4: Did an assessment of communities’ situations, outstanding land-and-natural-resource cases and relevant policy issues, in particular, training needs assessment (TNA) from 7 community protected areas (CPAs) participated by 68 members of the 7 CPAs and some local authorities (21 women) in EU-WWF funded project “Advancing CSOs’ Capacity to Enhance Sustainability Solutions = ACCESS) targeting 18 CPAs in .

6 The EU-WWF funded project “Advancing CSOs’ Capacity to Enhance Sustainability Solutions (ACCESS) in the Eastern Plains Landscape of Cambodia” (February 2018 – December 2022) seeks to ensure that marginalized forest communities affected by land conflicts and the depletion of the natural resources which they depend upon are able to take action and to raise their voice to recover their rights and legally enforce the protection of their forests, and hold the Government and private companies accountable for their actions. 18 CPAs are targeted for the project from Phnom Prich and Srae Pork Wildlife Sanctuaries. CLEC as one partner among 2 others – World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and My Village (MVi) – contributes its parts on:  Provision of trainings and awareness on NRM, legal framework and rights, and advocacy skills to CPA Representatives;  Provision of legal defense and consultation to CPA members facing forest and land issues;  Legal studies, analyses, and consultation on relevant forest policies and regulations (EIA, Sub-decree, etc);  Direct advisory and policy recommendations to RGC;  Assist, accompany, and advise CPAs network during the annual Forest Forum and other conference, public-private forum, events – Issues/cases dialogues.

The assessment was conducted in 7 selected CPAs among the 18 target CPAs with the focus on current situation/context of the communities, disputes in relation to land and natural resources (LNR) and the policy issues. As a result, 7 strategic issues have been discovered and transformed into 7 training topics such as (1) national and international legal frameworks in relation to LNR aiming to promote their livelihoods in the protected areas; (2) criminal principles and related legal frameworks in relation to LNR; (3) legal frameworks in relation to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the traditional rules of indigenous people; (4) leadership and management of the communities including the planning for advocacy campaign on LNR; (5) legal and administrative writing; (6) community fact-finding/research on cases/issues for appropriate action; and (7) information communication technology and social media that benefit to their advocacy campaign.

The result also includes the finding of around 7-8 criminal and administrative cases/issues for CLEC to examine and consider its provision of legal aid or ADR (mediation in multilateral meeting/dialogue or peace table) in the next period.

Similarly, around 72-84 trainings can be conducted in the next periods to the communities in the 18 target CPAs. As a test for the training in the next periods, CLEC had training trial of two days from 1-2 November 2018 at Pichreada guesthouse in Mondulkiri attended by 26 (22 women) from 4 CPAs. The scoring of the participants to the 7 training topics were made and highest score went to Topic 1, national and international legal frameworks in relation to LNR aiming to promote their livelihoods in the protected areas. It did not mean the other topics were totally rejected, but needs to readjust to fit in their current and different contexts of different communities.

About the Challenges

- The controversy in the current LNR disputes affecting large communities needs all actors including the affected communities themselves, all levels of authorities, private sector, NGOs and other stakeholders to jointly solve them in good faith. However CLEC as well as other NGOs cannot get such welcome and cooperation in every case, even CLEC could get such in some particular cases above. CLEC wishes and hopes to get such warm welcome and

7 cooperation from all for CLEC to be one of a complementary and trustful actor and to enable CLEC to take part in solving the lengthy and controversial cases/issues of LNR in a transparent and accountable process through its successful history of organizing multilateral dialogues/meetings or peace tables for our society of true peace harmony and the rule of law.

- The continuance of criminal charges against LNR protesters like the community representatives, LNR activists and human rights defenders persists in every case, while the issues cnnot be solved in speedy and responsive manner to the urgent needs of affected communities. Even though those having received the legal service from CLEC have a good opportunity to not be put in pre-trial detention, there are still some other cases that the accused villagers are imprisoned. Due to the lengthy, complex and unpredictable cases in court, it is a serious concern of the accused, even not in jail, to pursue their efforts to claim their land.

About Lessons Learned

- Addressing large amount of criminal cases arising from community activism in land and natural resources’ tenure cases by the target communities requires an extensive coordination and cooperation among CLEC and its partners as well as some competent ministries and other stakeholders to draw wide attention of all actors to sit altogether in such provincial or regional dialogue event to jointly solved outstanding cases such as CLT-IP case in Pra Mae (Preah Vihear), Boeung Pram case (Battambang), Run Ta Ek & Romchek cases (Siem Reap), Data Rubber Plantation case (Oddor Meanchey), Chrey Thom Waterfall case (Mondulkiri), and Rock Grinding case in Puchry-CPA (Mondulkiri) would be prioritized to address within this project during the next phases. - Effective lobbying could be made by well-founded facts and suggested possible solutions along with strong movements of CLEC’s trained community-based paralegals with stand-by lawyering consultation and the affected communities themselves. - Effective engagement of communities affected by government’s and private’s development projects and related human rights defenders (HRDs) with public and private Sectors for social justice and inclusive development should use a better approach to address lengthy and complicated land-and-natural-resource (LNR) disputes in the coming years. For instance, the 12-year-old sugar case in Srae Ambel, is finally solved through such engagement after a lengthy struggle with hard advocacy by filing it in Cambodian and English courts and other complaints to EU’s Everything But Arms, Thai Human Rights Commission, Bonsucro (A responsible sugar business association with its headquarter in London, UK), etc. - The effective engagement again is seen to come from stronger efforts (1) to improve capacity on Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance and Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and Business and Human Rights (BHR) frameworks of NGOs, LNR communities, LNR-related HRDs and youth groups including indigenous people through LNR community-NGO synergy platform; (2) to provide legal aid to target groups such as community members and representatives, social activists and human rights defenders who exercise their fundamental freedoms to advocate for land–related rights and, consequently, are threatened with criminal prosecution, arbitrary arrests and detentions; and (3) to improve relationships and cooperation between NGOs, LNR communities and HRDs, national and sub-national authorities, and private sectors for LNR governance under VGGT, CSR and BHR frameworks. CLEC Administration and Human Resource

1- About the Board members and staff - There are 5 members (3 women) of governing board of CLEC.

8 - 16 staff (6 women) of CLEC:  1 Executive Director  7 program staff (2 women)  5 Admin Staff (2 women)  3 finance staff (2 women), including a part time staff.

2- Governance policies was developed, improved and implemented In May 2018, CLEC developed and adopted the Governance and Related Policies of CLEC. Based on the organizational evaluation by VBNK, CLEC needs to enhance its governance in order to ensure effectiveness and the democratic management of the organization. The governance and a few related policies have been adapted with the objectives as follows: 1. To allocate/share appropriate responsibilities and power between the governing bodies of CLEC comprising of the General Assembly (GA), the Board of Directors (BoD), the Management Team (MT), and the Executive Director (ED); 2. To ensure democracy and participation within the organization; 3. To ensure accountability and transparency within the organization and to the stakeholders like beneficiaries, supporting agencies and other partners; 4. To ensure that CLEC is self-reliant in managing conflicts toward sustainability; and 5. To encourage empowerment and decentralization.

The adaptation of these policies is applied to the entire organization and any existing article or policy which is not in line with these newly adopted policies will be adjusted.

3- Legitimacy of CLEC leadership The Executive Director, Mr. Huon Chundy and the new management structure were legally recognized by the Ministry of Interior by Letter#1838 សជណ dated 26th October 2018.

4- Staff Capacity Building by coaching on governance, organizational and financial management, Outcome and Impact Orientation (Project Management) and Monitoring and Evaluation Two major donors have supported such capacity development (Caoching) at the workplace since 2017:  By VBNK under the support of USAID-EWMI on governance and organizational and financial management;  By VBNK under the support of Bread for the World on financial management, Outcome and impact orientation (project management) and monitoring and evaluation;  By Professional Consulting Group (PCG) under the support of Bread for the World on financial management.

9 Donors

Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) # 237, Plov Lum, S/k Dorng Kor, Khan Dorng Kor, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tel: (855) 23 215 590, Tel/Fax: (855) 23 211 723, P.O. Box 1120, e-mail: Website: www.clec.org.kh

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Mr. NGETH Thol Dismissed from Criminal Charges Mr. Ngeth Thol, 37, depended by a wife and four children is one among hundreds of new comers to Boeng Pram commune, , Battambang Province since 2005 and has struggled through the conflict for land and for his family’s living. He does many for his family, such as a farmer and some small businesses including a sandwich seller, a taxi driver, a room renter, and a fish seller. He usually travels from Boeng Pram to sell fish in Sampov Loun market near Thailand-Cambodia border in Battambang province, going in the morning time and back home at around 11am or 12am.

Boeng Pram is a location of former Khmer Rouge in Bavel district of Battambang. After the Khmer Rouge’s integration in 1997 to the government, this area had received lots of people from all over Cambodia to resettle and farm for living. This causes a lot of land disputes and the authorities have exacerbated it by reallocation of the land under the social land concession program and the land registration through the 01 regulation of the government. The non-transparency in the processes has contributed to the seriousness of the complex cases. Arising from land disputes and the mass protests of Boeng Pram community, around 14 community activists and representatives are charged in Battambang court but all are in pre-trial release with CLEC’s legal services along with the support of their own community in Boeng Pram.

Peacefully occupied since 2005, Ngeth Thol received a complaint in May 2015 from a villager of neighboring commune of Ampil Pram Deum, Mr. Thorng Chhoam, 68, accusing him of infringement on his farm land and the prosecutor to the Battambang court charged Ngeth Thol with two articles (248 and 253) under the Land Law 2001. He could face a fine from 375$ to 6,250$ and/or imprisonment from six (6) months to two (2) years if found guilty. And if imprisoned, his heavy dependents would become worse and worse due to difficulties in continuing the farming and other businesses. However, with CLEC’s legal defense, Ngeth Thol is in pre-trial release, and in the trial on 11 September 2018, the case was dismissed. CLEC has a close follow-up to the case if appealed, and to make sure Ngeth Thol’s family and other community members are receiving enough support in their cases and are able to exercise their fundamental rights.

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