A/HRC/37/64 III. Promoting the rule of law 15. During the reporting period, OHCHR continued to support the legal and judicial reform process to strengthen the rule of law, and to work with the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Council of Magistracy, judges, prosecutors and lawyers. 16. Together with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and civil society organizations, OHCHR was involved in the consultative drafting process for the law on access to information, which the Ministry of Information has led since 2014. OHCHR participated in three sessions of the technical working group providing legal comments on the draft and contributed to aligning the text more closely with international human rights standards, in particular freedom of expression. 17. In November, OHCHR shared with the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction a draft discussion paper on potential reform of the communal land titling process for indigenous peoples. OHCHR has prepared the document in the context of the possible revision of the 2001 Land Law. The paper includes an analysis of the current national standards and procedures and contains suggestions for simplifying the process to make it faster and more affordable for indigenous peoples. The draft was discussed with the relevant ministries at the technical level as well as with relevant NGOs before its finalization and formal presentation to the Government of Cambodia in 2018. 18. In December, OHCHR and the International Trade Union Confederation organized a legal symposium in Phnom Penh, gathering approximately 80 participants representing the Government of Cambodia, the International Labour Organization (ILO), domestic trade unions, international confederations of trade unions, private companies and embassies to review progress on issues related to the negotiation and fixing of the minimum wage, trade union registration, and collective bargaining and dispute resolution. The purpose of the symposium was to foster an agreement between relevant stakeholders on effective legal measures aligned with ILO conventions and other human rights standards and recommendations. 19. OHCHR continued to serve as the donor partner-facilitator of the technical working group on legal and judicial reform, co-chaired by the Ministry of Justice. In August, as part of the planned activities that are monitored using the joint monitoring indicators of the technical working group, OHCHR and the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the South East Asia Legal Aid Network, organized a workshop on regional best practices in the development of legal aid policies. The workshop helped to identify some of the fundamental criteria that should be included in the policy on legal aid to be drafted in 2018, to help guarantee that such aid is systematically provided to all those who need it. 20. In response to immediate legal aid needs, OHCHR provided grants to NGOs to provide legal aid to persons who had filed claims pertaining to economic and social rights, particularly rights to land and housing, and in 152 prioritized appeal cases to help prisoners to obtain a final judgment. 21. As part of its Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia legacy programme, OHCHR, jointly with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, organized the 2017 Legal Dialogue Series. The November meeting, which had the highest attendance of national lawyers of the whole Series, focused on building a defence strategy and carrying out effective representation of civil parties. 22. OHCHR monitored judicial proceedings in over a dozen cases, identifying gaps in the implementation of international human rights standards where further technical assistance is required, particularly regarding fair trial rights. Specifically, OHCHR monitored cases of past and current impunity where the alleged perpetrators had not been arrested or prosecuted. This situation contributes to the loss of faith in the justice system and, in cases of crimes allegedly committed by local authorities, has undermined the authority of the courts. 4