“The Cambodian media is largely considered as being under the influence of the ruling Cambodia People’s Party and therefore not free and independent.” provide solutions to many of the problems faced by IPs with regard to land rights and natural resources management. NGOs slow to respond to immediate challenges. It has been pointed out that NGOs can sometimes be slow to respond to certain initiatives introduced by the government or to calls for assistance by the IP community. One such example identified by both the IP community and NGO representatives was the introduction of directive 01BB. When the authorities introduced the directive, NGOs were allegedly very slow to react to the changes in the law and procedure, and did not allocate enough staff and resources to explain the implications of the directive to the affected IP communities. Language barrier. Some IP members also raised language as a concern when it comes to training and capacity building. Most of the IP community members use their own and unique language to communicate and those who do not speak Khmer seem to miss out on accessing training information. Even if they access basic information at the village level from other IP members, their inability to speak Khmer and the lack of available training in the language they understand hinder them from participating in district or national level workshops and trainings. 36 Traditional knowledge vs. awareness raising and education. NGOs have promoted democratization of ‘village development actors’ that empowers more community members but does not build on traditional cultural knowledge and the role of traditional authorities. Range of actions taken by CSOs and IP communities in responding to challenges to the recognition of IP customary rights Letters of complaint. Most of the CSOs working on IP land rights have assisted IP communities adversely affected by ELCs or illegal logging in sending and/or filing a letter of complaint with authorities at the local, district and national level, as one measure of challenging the lack of respect for their (customary) land rights. National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes. Many of the IP communities adversely affected by land grabs filed complaints with this body but their claims were largely unanswered. This was the case with complaints with the Cadastral Commission as well. Domestic litigation. CLEC is one of the very few organizations in Cambodia that provides pro bono legal assistance to affected IP communities. However, lawsuits against local authorities and/ or companies are few and far between mainly due to the fact that courts are often seen as not independent and, in fact, siding with the interests of the rich and powerful in the country. Protests. Faced with no support from the authorities and no respect of their rights by the company, the IP often turn to protests against the ELCs and the illegal clearing of their land. The protests are held either on the acquired land or in front of village or district authorities’ premises. Protests sometimes escalate into violence. Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC)