Cambodia has suffered decades of political volatility and civil war, including the devastating violence of the Khmer Rouge period that still scars the country. At the turn of the millennium, a measure of stability and economic progress had been achieved, but significant challenges to development still remained: weak government institutions, displaced populations, an increased demand for natural resources, especially land, and a weak civil society. 

EWMI’s five-year Program on Rights and Justice II in Cambodia (PRAJ II) was funded by USAID and focused on human rights advocacy, rule of law promotion, and biodiversity protection to address some of these challenges. The project built on the success of its six-year predecessor, the Program on Rights and Justice in Cambodia (PRAJ), and continued EWMI’s innovative work to promote access to justice, improve the professional standards of the future Cambodian legal community, and strengthen grassroots advocacy and community networks, including community–based advocacy to protect Cambodia’s biodiversity. New initiatives under PRAJ II included activities to improve the collection and use of justice system data, develop the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Justice, and improve court administration and case management in selected courts.