“Strengthening CSOs to Advocate for increasing Respect for Human Rights by Corporate actors in the land sector” is a business and human rights (“BHR”) project jointly implemented by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and ActionAid Cambodia. The BHR project aims to encourage greater respect for human rights amongst corporate actors working within Cambodia’s land sector, with particular attention paid to the activities of European companies involved in agri-business. Moreover, the project will encourage acceptance of the idea that corporations have a duty to formulate and implement corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) policies in line with international human rights standards.
There is significant demand for such a project in Cambodia, where a lack of formal land titles and poorly enforced legislation, exacerbated by endemic corruption, have contrived to create an environment in which corporations are able to commit gross human rights violations in the land sector with impunity. It has been estimated that as many as one quarter of Cambodian families have been involved in land disputes, [1] often involving land grabbing by corporate actors who have been awarded economic land concessions by the Royal Government of Cambodia.
[1] CCHR, ‘Land in Conflict: An Overview of the Land Situation’ (Report) (December 2013) http://bit.ly/1KtPNVy
How?
The project will seek its objective through the following enabling objectives:
- Facilitating dialogue between government, corporate actors and affected communities;
- Empowering local communities and civil society organizations (“CSOs”) to advocate for their rights; and
- Using media campaigns to increase public demand for greater CSR with respect to human rights.
The project will be implemented over a five-year period from 2016 to 2020 and is funded by the Fair Green and Global Alliance, a Dutch coalition of NGOs, which focuses on corporate conduct, trade and investment and financial and tax systems.
Who?
The BHR project targets all stakeholders involved in land disputes involving corporate actors, including affected communities, government, CSOs and the corporations themselves. In addition, the project targets the public to increase demand for greater respect for CSR with respect to human rights.