OU VIRAK AND RUPERT ABBOTT
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post
Dear Editor,
Last year marked the 30th anniversary of NGOs in Cambodia, and their contribution was celebrated recently in the Phnom Penh Post’s excellent NGO Sector Review.
In his recent letter to you (“Kingdom’s NGOs need to adopt new strategies”, May 12), Vic Salas called on NGOs to “rethink the ways that they work”.
We strongly agree with Salas. Indeed, for NGOs working to improve the situation of human rights in Cambodia, last year’s milestone – as much as a cause for celebration – serves as an opportunity to take stock and consider how we can develop new approaches to maximise our contribution to Cambodia’s development and democratisation.
Together with the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression, recent and proposed legislation – including the planned NGO Law – threatens to impede NGOs by imposing worrying restrictions and shrinking the space within which we work.
Meanwhile, the global economic recession is impacting on the funds available to NGOs. In this context, the need for human rights NGOs to self-reflect and develop new approaches is all the more pressing.
Empower rather than lead
In the past, human rights NGOs have often sought to lead rather than empower communities, speaking at, rather than listening to them, and applying a “one size fits all” approach to different local contexts and problems.
This top-down approach creates a relationship of dependency, often fails to address the human rights violations at hand and is unsustainable.
We can truly empower communities by training them on their rights and the ways in which they can claim these rights; by creating the space for them to use this understanding, at public forums for example; by linking them to networks, share experiences and develop joint actions; and by building the capacity of those better placed to empower communities, including HRDs, CBOs and SBOs.
True empowerment will give rise to nuanced local approaches that reflect the needs and priorities of communities. It will help communities understand and demand their rights, and facilitate natural, civic-driven change.
Look at the bigger picture
Intervention to address specific rights violations is often required, but bigger picture analysis of human rights trends and underlying problems is important also. More long-term and wide-ranging approaches will be required if we are to develop a fuller understanding of the problems Cambodia faces and to advocate strongly for their alleviation. There is an urgent need for more thorough research, deeper analysis and the development of new ideas for improving respect for human rights in Cambodia.
Collaborate and be open
We have at times failed to work together and share information, including data on human rights violations. This lack of collaboration is arguably the product of competitiveness, driven by limited and short-term donor funding and perceived self-interest. It only serves to thwart our shared overall aim and weakens us in the face of oppression. We need to specialise and collaborate, developing unique strengths and rights focuses.
In their 30 years’ history, NGOs in Cambodia have been a powerful force for change and progress. However, there is much still to be done.
Human rights NGOs will be a far stronger force for democratisation and the realisation of human rights in Cambodia if we change with the times. It is not easy to drop traditional methods in favour of new approaches, but without this risk there will be no change.
Ou Virak
President, Cambodian Centre for Human Rights
Rupert Abbott
Development director, Cambodian Centre for Human Rights
In his recent letter to you (“Kingdom’s NGOs need to adopt new strategies”, May 12), Vic Salas called on NGOs to “rethink the ways that they work”.
We strongly agree with Salas. Indeed, for NGOs working to improve the situation of human rights in Cambodia, last year’s milestone – as much as a cause for celebration – serves as an opportunity to take stock and consider how we can develop new approaches to maximise our contribution to Cambodia’s development and democratisation.
Together with the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression, recent and proposed legislation – including the planned NGO Law – threatens to impede NGOs by imposing worrying restrictions and shrinking the space within which we work.
Meanwhile, the global economic recession is impacting on the funds available to NGOs. In this context, the need for human rights NGOs to self-reflect and develop new approaches is all the more pressing.
Empower rather than lead
In the past, human rights NGOs have often sought to lead rather than empower communities, speaking at, rather than listening to them, and applying a “one size fits all” approach to different local contexts and problems.
This top-down approach creates a relationship of dependency, often fails to address the human rights violations at hand and is unsustainable.
We can truly empower communities by training them on their rights and the ways in which they can claim these rights; by creating the space for them to use this understanding, at public forums for example; by linking them to networks, share experiences and develop joint actions; and by building the capacity of those better placed to empower communities, including HRDs, CBOs and SBOs.
True empowerment will give rise to nuanced local approaches that reflect the needs and priorities of communities. It will help communities understand and demand their rights, and facilitate natural, civic-driven change.
Look at the bigger picture
Intervention to address specific rights violations is often required, but bigger picture analysis of human rights trends and underlying problems is important also. More long-term and wide-ranging approaches will be required if we are to develop a fuller understanding of the problems Cambodia faces and to advocate strongly for their alleviation. There is an urgent need for more thorough research, deeper analysis and the development of new ideas for improving respect for human rights in Cambodia.
Collaborate and be open
We have at times failed to work together and share information, including data on human rights violations. This lack of collaboration is arguably the product of competitiveness, driven by limited and short-term donor funding and perceived self-interest. It only serves to thwart our shared overall aim and weakens us in the face of oppression. We need to specialise and collaborate, developing unique strengths and rights focuses.
In their 30 years’ history, NGOs in Cambodia have been a powerful force for change and progress. However, there is much still to be done.
Human rights NGOs will be a far stronger force for democratisation and the realisation of human rights in Cambodia if we change with the times. It is not easy to drop traditional methods in favour of new approaches, but without this risk there will be no change.
Ou Virak
President, Cambodian Centre for Human Rights
Rupert Abbott
Development director, Cambodian Centre for Human Rights
4 comments:
We need the definition of human rights
First, Democracy is the rule by the majority of people, who express their will through the elections. It means the rule my the minority or non-elected bodies or entities.
Second, human rights are sub-divided into political rights, socio-cultural rights and economic rights. This means that not only human rights NGOs promote human rights, government ministries and agencies, who work to promote economic development, build schools and hospitals also contribute to the respect for human rights.
Third, land issues are just like financial matters. Mr. Abbott tell me how the developed countries regulate the financial sector, then I will tell you how to regulate the land sector.
Fourth, confrontation leads to wasteful use of resources. The waste, just like corruption is counter-productive.
Fifth, DO WHAT YOU PREACH. You must be also transparent and play by the rules.
Could you explain why 'land issues are just like financial matters'? I'm not sure I understand your comment. People don't live in banks but they're certainly affected when banks collapse. Comparing Cambodia's land issue with the West's financial systems is pointless and is deliberately trying to distract and confuse the issue by making it sound extremely complicated.
It's all about regulation, whether regulation of financial sector or land sector.
Liberalization or decentralization often ends up in crisis, if it is not done in a phased, well-sequenced manner.
Cambodia has embarked in liberalization from a planning economy, with land belonging to the State to a full-fledged liberalization and privatization of land. There is no record of land ownership titles. Moving rapidly, without administrative capacity, the result is chaos. The benefit of liberalization has been rapid economic growth. The disadvantage has been the inability of the state to regulate land issue. Vietnam and China has done better, as privatization of land has been implemented in a phased manner. The same thing applies to the financial market. Deregulation led to the crisis.
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