The Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) was established in 1996 as a vital legal resource center dedicated to promoting the rule of law, justice, and democracy in Cambodia.
From its inception in 1996 until 2001, CLEC operated as an arm of the University of San Francisco School of Law, with initial funding provided by USAID. During these foundational years, CLEC made significant contributions to legal education in Cambodia, teaching over five thousand Cambodians through its “certificate in law” program and producing a series of legal textbooks, which are among the few Cambodian legal texts available across a wide range of subjects.
In December 2001, CLEC transitioned and became a locally registered NGO. Since then, CLEC has continued to grow and evolve, leveraging its expertise to fulfill its mission. The organization’s approach has matured to employ a comprehensive strategy that includes strategic litigation, legal empowerment initiatives, community-based paralegal services, and effective engagement to foster good governance of land and natural resources (LNR) for “Social Justice and Inclusive Developmen
CLEC works to build legal empowerment for vulnerable communities, including the indigenous communities, youths, women, and human rights defenders working on and affected by Land Natural Resources (LNR) issues for access to justice and inclusive development.
