Cambodia Centers

Known Centers based in Cambodia

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The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)

Year Established: 2002

Short Historical Background

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) was established in October 2002 with the mission to promote democracy, civil
and political rights, and free, fair and credible elections in Cambodia. CCHR’s vision is one of a non-violent Cambodia in which the rule of law prevails and all citizens are treated equally. CCHR is an independent, non-aligned non-governmental organization.

Objectives

CCHR aims to empower the people of Cambodia by educating communities about civil and political rights and organizing and facilitating grassroots participation in human rights issues.

Activities

• Capacity building - increasing the understanding of human rights activists of the principles of human rights and democracyand assisting them in establishing a “Community for Democracy” network to strengthen the basic foundations of democracy at grassroots levels;
• Public forums - informing the public on current and important issues and problems in Cambodia, and giving them the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns on different issues;
• Monitoring and investigation - complaints regarding cases involving violations of civil and political rights are monitored and investigated to assist victims and their relatives seek justice and legal resolution;
• Advocacy - dissemination of issues to the public and working for legislative and policy reforms relating to human rights anddemocracy issues;
• Public Relations - building networks and exchanging ideas and information with local, regional and international organizations and coalitions working on human rights, democracy and governance issues;
• Website and Sithi Portal – provides up-to-date information on the activities of CCHR and wider human rights issues;
• Publications – including fact sheets, policy briefs, legal analyses, briefing notes, media comments, press releases and reports relating to CCHR’s projects and policy/research programs.

Current Projects:

• Business and Human Rights Project - covers labor conditions, forced labor, child labor and discrimination in the workplace, and other issues.
• Cambodian Freedom of Expression - tackles anti-freedom of expression legislation and working to ensure a reduction in politically motivated criminal prosecutions and cases of physical intimidation or violence against civil society and opposition members.
• Human Rights Defenders Project - aims to complement and reinforce the existing non-governmental organization (NGO) and civil society network in support of human rights defenders who are at risk, and to organize campaigns and/or legal assistance on their behalf.
• Community Empowerment Program - aims to empower marginalized communities and to achieve the decentralization of human rights activism, establishing communities as the primary drivers of change in Cambodia.
• Human Rights Portal: Sithi Project (www.sithi.org) - aims to develop and implement collaborative and decentralized approaches to monitoring, documentation and information sharing in relation to human rights issues in Cambodia. The project was the winner of the 2011 Information Society Innovation Fund Award, Rights and Freedoms Category.
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project - seeks to assist the Cambodian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)community in overcoming issues of discrimination and human rights violations in the absence of any specific LGBT anti-discrimination laws.
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project - seeks to assist the Cambodian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community in overcoming issues of discrimination and human rights violations in the absence of any specific LGBT anti-discrimination laws.
• Trial Monitoring Project - monitors the level of adherence to fair trial rights in the Cambodian courts and seeks to improve them, bringing them in line with both domestic and international standards.
• Project to Promote Women’s Political Representation in Cambodia – seeks to promote women’s participation in politics and government and aims to increase the number of female political representatives in Cambodia.
• Land Reform Project - advocates reform of legal, institutional 50 and policy framework that currently facilitate the widespread transfer of land from vulnerable and marginalized groups to a wealthy, political and economic elite.

Other Information

In addition to the CCHR website and Sithi Portal, the public can also follow the activities of CCHR on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and
YouTube.

Address

Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
#798, Street 99, Sangkat Beung Trabek, Khan Chamkarmon
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
ph (855-23) 726 901
fax (855-23) 726 902
e-mail : info[a]cchrcambodia.org
www.cchrcambodia.org
www.sithi.org

Cambodia Center for Independent Media (CCIM)

Year Established: 2007

Short Historical Background

The Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) was established in 2007 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) that would work for the promotion of independent media, press freedom, freedom of expression, access to information and democratic governance.

Objectives

CCIM adopted the following vision, mission and values as an organization:
• VISION
CCIM envisions a Cambodian society where everybody is well-informed and empowered to strengthen democratic governance and respect for human rights.

• MISSION
CCIM works with stakeholders in resolutely providing fair and impartial information of protecting social benefits.

• VALUES
The following are CCIM’s core values:

1. Equal Voice - With an extensive and growing on-air and online media presence, CCIM is in a unique position to promote issues of concern to sections of Cambodian society without a voice, including the oppressed, the marginalized, the weak and minority groups. CCIM is highly committed to advocate for gender equality at all levels of Cambodian society and institutions. CCIM seeks to promote an inclusive society without discrimination on race, gender, disability, sexual preference or religion.

2. Active Non-violence - CCIM openly supports the right of the Cambodian people to freely and peacefully express their opinion on issues affecting their lives, including the right to active non-violent protest and action. CCIM opposes and will expose impunity, particularly the use of violence and lethal force by government agents against those peacefully demanding rights and justice.

3. Accountability - CCIM strives to hold Cambodian public officials and decision makers accountable for all policies, actions and financial control. Consistent with these principles, CCIM as an organization also endeavors to be fully accountable and transparent to both its supporters and the wider community.

4. Non-partisan - CCIM is an organization without any political party affiliation. We firmly believe in the right of the people to make a democratic choice in selecting their political leaders and the policies that will be pursued.

5. Trust & Integrity - CCIM will provide news and in-depth information from reliable and multiple sources, which is accurate and fact-checked.  Reporting by CCIM journalists will meet best-practice professional ethical standards.

Programs and Activities

 
1.    Production and publication of media contents for online media and social media platforms
CCIM’s online media platforms (www.vodkhmer.news, www.vodenglish.news) and their corresponding social media platforms will be the main media outlets where various formats of written articles on relevant issues will be posted, such as feature reports, news analysis, straight news, briefing news, and international news. The platforms will also produce video news reports, video interviews on specific topics with personalities, and editorial video program. CCIM also engaged in producing in-depth and investigative reports on controversial issues and topics to provide better understanding to the online users on these issues and topics. CCIM will also develop a mobile application, replacing its outdated application, to increase more online users to access VOD’s news and information.

2. Production and publication of informative programs for online and radio broadcast platforms

CCIM will continue to produce informative programs on relevant issues and important topics of public-interest and disseminate them through social media and radio broadcast platforms. These programs will be aired on radio broadcast on airtime currently rented by CCIM. However, CCIM is considering in going back to operating a radio broadcast to be able to produce more informative programs in collaboration with civil society groups engage on addressing various issues, such as labour, agriculture, environment, women’s rights, children’s rights, health and nutrition, education and youth, and others. All these information programs will be made available also using online platforms, such as live streaming on Facebook Live and YouTube. With the increasing use and reach of internet technology, CCIM will also engage in producing its own mobile application to disseminate contents of news and information programs from its radio and online programs through an internet radio programming utilizing the platform www.sarikafm.com.

3. Expanding and strengthening the network of citizen journalists

CCIM will continue to engage in building and strengthening the network of citizen journalists who are contributing information to CCIM’s VOD and sharing information to the public using the social media platforms. Since 2013, CCIM has trained more than 200 citizen journalists from all over the country and the Program will continue to recruit and train more citizen journalists as partners in information dissemination and in promoting freedom of expression through public discussion on issues and engagement on social media platforms. CCIM will provide platforms such as a website, Facebook pages, and mobile application dedicated for the citizen journalists. Currently, the mobile application Citizen News Wire is beginning to collect reports from the citizen journalists and its web application made available to the public online. To strengthen sharing of information among the citizen journalists, journalists and aspiring journalists, CCIM will facilitate a platform of linking and sharing, such as the organizing of regular “Bridging Forum” which has been organized by CCIM several times.

4. Building capacity of young journalists and training of aspiring journalists

CCIM will engage in providing journalism and media training to the journalists, aspiring journalists, and civil society groups. With the assistance from Fojo Media Institute, CCIM will develop and strengthen its capacity as a journalistic training hub for the journalists and aspiring journalists. The journalism training programs that will be offered to the target groups in collaboration with international NGOs providing support on this type of services. CCIM will also establish and strengthen links with international media development organizations.

5. Raising the awareness of youth on media and Information literacy

CCIM continue to promote media literacy to the young generation especially the women and students in private schools and universities. Currently, CCIM organizes media and information literacy (MIL) training of students at Panassastra University in Cambodia (PUC) and University of Puthasastra (UP). These students are organized into clubs they called Media 101. MIL Program plans to continue the said training and will expand to other universities in Phnom Penh and the provinces.  CCIM will also organize MIL forum in the communities to promote media literacy among the rural youths, including out of school youths, to raise their awareness in using media and information particularly on the social media. CCIM will also utilize the internet and social media platforms in promoting MIL to contribute in combatting fake news, disinformation, misinformation, and other misuse of online and social media platforms. The promotion of MIL will also encourage the youth to engage in constructive online political engagement.

6. Intensifying campaign for media freedom, access to information, freedom of expression and safety of journalists

CCIM will actively involve in undertaking actions for the promotion and protection of the rights to press freedom, access to information, freedom of expression online, independent media, and safety and security of journalists. This strategy will include activities [1] to undertake monitoring of the media situation in the country, which will include incidents of violations or attacks against the journalists, changes in the media regulations and laws, changing roles of the media sector and its impact to the Cambodian society; and [2] to initiate actions to bring together journalists and media houses to work collectively on these issues. CCIM will also continue to collaborate or coordinate with existing working groups addressing some of these issues, such as the Digital Rights Working Group (DRWG) which is taking on the issues related to internet freedom and freedom of expression online.

(note: Journalists here referred to the definition of the United Nation: “Journalists are individuals who observe and describe events, document and analyse events, statements, policies, and any propositions that can affect society, with the purpose of systematizing such information and gathering of facts and analyses to inform sectors of society or society as a whole.“ http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G12/137/87/PDF/G1213787.pdf?OpenElement )
 

Publications

CICM produces the annual Challenges for Independent Media Report which reviews the state of the media in Cambodia.

It produces investigative reports on different social justice issues that affect the marginalized sectors in Cambodia. The following are some of the reports that are available in its website:

• Large-scale land concessions are putting the Kuy indigenous people in Preah Vihear province into debt (November 17, 2019)
• Mega investment encroaching on two fishing communities in Kampot (November 6, 2019)
• Indigenous Punong villagers’ income affected by entry of foreign firm (October 31, 2019)• Chinese incursion on businesses in Preah Sihanouk Province (October 4, 2019)
• Independent union does not exist to protect rights and working conditions of workers in Sihanoukville Special Economic Zones (November 19, 2018)
• Chemicals on ELCs to Cause Parkinson on Tumpoun Villagers in Ratanakiri (September 4, 2018)
• Logging and Land Grabbing on a Community Forestry in Kompong Thom Province (December 26, 2017)
• People’s Health Affected by Kratie’s Garbage Dumpsite (December 26, 2017)

CICM also produces annual reports on its activities.

 

Other Information

CCIM has been advocating for a Code of Ethics for Cambodian Journalists. It has such Code available in its website.

Address
Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
#14, Street 392, Sangkat Boeung Kengkang 1, Khan Chamkarmon
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
ph (855) 23 726 842
e-mail : info[a]ccimcambodia.org
https://ccimcambodia.org/

Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights
(LICADHO)

Year Established: 1992

Short Historical Background

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) is a national Cambodian human rights organization.
Since its establishment in 1992, LICADHO has been at the forefront of efforts to protect civil, political, economic and social rights in Cambodia and to promote respect for them by the Cambodian government and institutions. Building on its past achievements, LICADHO continues to be an advocate for the Cambodian people and a monitor of the government through wide ranging human rights programs from its main office in Phnom Penh and 12 provincial offices.

Objectives

LICADHO aims to protect civil, political, economic and social rights in Cambodia and to promote respect for them by the Cambodian government and institutions.

Programs and Activities

 
LICADHO pursues its activities through two programs:

• Monitoring and Protection Program
• Monitoring of State Violations and Women’s and Children’s Rights: monitors and investigates human rights violations perpetrated by the State and violations made against women and children. Victims are provided assistance through interventions with local authorities and court officials.
• Paralegal and Legal Representation: victims are provided legal advice by a paralegal team and, in key cases, legal representation by human rights lawyers.
• Prison Monitoring: researchers monitor 18 prisons to assess prison conditions and ensure that pre-trial detainees have access to legal representation.
• Medical Assistance: a medical team provides assistance to prisoners and prison officials in 14 prisons, victims of human rights violations and families in resettlement sites.
• Social Work: staff conduct needs assessment of victims and their families and provide short-term support (materials and food).
• Promotion and Advocacy Program
• Training and Information: advocates raise awareness to specific target groups, support protection networks at the grassroots level and advocate for social and legal changes with women, youths and children.
• Public Advocacy and Outreach: human rights cases are compiled into a central electronic database, so that accurate information can be easily accessed and analyzed, and produced into periodic public reports (written, audio and visual).
• In addition, LICADHO conducts advocacy at the national level to bring about reforms, and works with other local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to influence the government.
• LICADHO regularly produces comprehensive reports and briefing papers, and is one of the main sources of information on human rights in Cambodia.

Other Information

LICADHO has monitoring units working on specific issues under its Monitoring and Protection Program. Thus it has the Human Rights Monitoring Office, Women’s Rights Monitoring Office and Children’s Rights Monitoring Office. Under the Promotion and Advocacy Program, it has the Advocacy, Documentation and Resource Office (ADRO) that maintains a human rights database by collecting case files received from LICADHO’s Human Rights, Children’s Rights and Women’s Rights Monitoring and Protection Offices, as well as the Prison Office and through the media.
 

Address

LICADHO (Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights)
#16, Street 99 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
ph (855-23) 727 102; 216 602
fax (855-23) 727 102; 217 626
e-mail: contact[a]licadho-cambodia.org
www.licadho-cambodia.org
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 499, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam)

Year Established: 1995

Short Historical Background

The Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) is a Cambodian academic research institute established in January 1995 by Yale University’s Cambodian Genocide Program (CGP) to facilitate training and field research in Cambodia related to CGP’s
mission. The DC-Cam became an autonomous Cambodian institute in January 1997. With the inauguration of DC-Cam as an autonomous research institute, the documentation and research products of the CGP have been deposited at DC-Cam to make them accessible to the Cambodian people. These materials were principally collected and produced by the Cambodian people themselves, with support from scholars and experts in the United States, Australia and elsewhere. Through the World Wide Web, many of these research products have been made available to all interested parties at http://www.yale.edu/cgp.

Objectives

DC-CAM aims:
1. To record and preserve the history of the Khmer Rouge regime for future generations
2. To compile and organize information that can serve as potential evidence in a legal accounting for the crimes of the Khmer

Rouge.

Programs and Activities

The Center’s main work is to collect, document, and catalogue materials related to the Khmer Rouge regime. Theses materials are inputted and organized into four extensive databases:

1. Bibliographic containing over 30,400 biographies,
2. Biographic containing over 2,900 documents,
3. Photographic containing over 5,100 documents, and
4. Geographic containing maps of over 19,000 mass graves and 189 prisons.

In addition, DC-Cam carries out a number of projects emphasizing research, outreach, and education.

• Affinity Group – link with similar centers in other countries in other regions of the world.
• Cham Muslim Oral History - seeks to record the experiences of Cham Muslims during the Khmer Rouge era and empower Cham Muslim women to speak out about their experiences.
• Forensics - A team of North American forensic experts along with the Center’s Mapping Project members collaborate on the exhumation of mass graves and memorials.
• Genocide Education - seeks to promote genocide education across Cambodian schools.
• Legal Training/Victim Participation - assists the tribunal members in locating and accessing Khmer Rouge related documents, and educates the Cambodians on how to file complaints for atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime.
• Living Documents – assists genocide survivors, considered “living documents,” participate in the tribunal process.
• Mapping – mapping of the mass graves, former Democratic Kampuchea prisons, and genocide memorial sites in Cambodia.
• Promoting Accountability – documentation of the insights of thousands of former Khmer Rouge cadres and their family members on the inner workings and local-central dynamics of Democratic Kampuchea.
• Public Information Room - a public space for researchers, students, and members of the general public to access DC-Cam materials.
• Radio – broadcasting of articles from the Center’s magazine, Searching for the Truth, and excerpts from books such as The Dairy of Ann Frank (translated Khmer version).
• • Student Outreach - aims to promote youth volunteerism, educate the youth about the Khmer Rouge period, and facilitate conversation between the survivor generation and their children about a sensitive and traumatic past.
• Victims of Torture (VOT) - seeks to address the mental health problems of survivors.

Publications

Some of its past publications include:

• Searching for the Truth, monthly (Khmer) and quarterly (English) magazine
• The Khmer Rouge Division 703: From Victory to Self-Destruction
• Seven Candidates for Prosecution: Accountability for the Crimes of the Khmer Rouge
• The Chain of Terror: The Khmer Rouge Southwest Zone Security System
• A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)
• Annual and quarterly reports are published online.
• On Trial: The Khmer Rouge Accountability Process
• BOU MENG: A SURVIVOR FROM KHMER ROUGE PRISON S-21
• Justice for the Future, Not Just for the Victims
• UNSPOKEN WORDS. Script by Jennifer Ka
• THE HIJAB OF CAMBODIA: Memories of Cham Muslim Women after the Khmer Rouge. Farina So
• Cambodia’s Hidden Scars: Trauma Psychology in the Wake of the Khmer Rouge. Edited by Beth Van Schaack, Daryn Reicherter & Youk Chhang
• SURVIVOR: The triumph of an ordinary man in the Khmer Rouge Genocide. Chum Mey with Documentation Center of Cambodia.

Address

Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam)
P.O. Box 1110
66 Preah Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
ph (855-23) 211 875
fax (855-23) 210 358
e-mail: dccam[a]online.com.kh
www.dccam.org