Cambodian Center for Human Rights

Cambodian Center for Human Rights
(មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលសិទ្ធិមនុស្សកម្ពុជា)
Founded 12 November 2002 (2002-11-12)
Type Non-profit
NGO
Location
  • Phnom Penh
Services Protecting human rights
Fields Media attention, direct-appeal campaigns, research, lobbying
Key people
Chak Sopheap (President)
Website www.cchrcambodia.org

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR, Khmer: មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលសិទ្ធិមនុស្សកម្ពុជា) is a non-partisan, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia. It focuses primarily on civil and political rights and on a variety of interlinked human rights issues.[1] The white bird flying out of a circle of sky blue on the logo of the organization symbolizes Cambodia’s quest for freedom.[2]

Work

Units

The CCHR's members of staff are grouped into four specialist Units that reflect the scope of its work:

Programs

The CCHR's staff work through three Programs:

History

Kem Sokha

The CCHR was founded in 2002 by Kem Sokha, a member of the Cambodian National Assembly (1993–1998) and Senator (1999–2002), and current member of the Cambodian National Assembly (2008- ) and leader of the Human Rights Party.The CCHR was registered with the Ministry of Interior in October 2002 and officially launched on 12 November 2002 to promote and protect democracy and human rights in Cambodia. It was to be governed by an impressive Board of Directors who shared a passion for human rights and Cambodia.

During Kem Sokha’s leadership, the CCHR became renowned for organising regular public forums throughout Cambodia. These remain the key project of the CCHR's Community Empowerment Program. In December 2006, Kem Sokha and other civil rights leaders were arrested and imprisoned for allegedly defaming the Cambodian government.[8] They were released after a campaign led by the CCHR’s current President Ou Virak. Kem Sokha was President of the CCHR from its launch to March 2007, when he resigned to form the Human Rights Party.

Ou Virak

Since April 2007, the CCHR has been led by Ou Virak. Ou Virak is the founder of the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC), and in 2007 he won the Reebok Human Rights Award for his earlier civil society campaign to secure the release of Kem Sokha and the decriminalization of defamation in Cambodia.[9]

Ou Virak hired British lawyer Rupert Abbott as CCHR Director of Development and Programs from December 2008 to September 2010.[10] They promoted the Decentralization of Human Rights Advocacy in Cambodia, whereby larger more-established Human Rights organisations would work to empower communities and smaller Civil Society groups seeking to promote and protect Human Rights.[11] A number of CCHR's projects reflect this approach, including the Community Trainings and Hearings Project, the Human Rights Network Project, the Human Rights Portal Project, the Public Forums Project and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project.[12]

Governance

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors[13] includes:

Counsellors

The CCHR also has a group of Counsellors[15] – successful and influential individuals who have a passion for human rights and support the CCHR's work - including:

Management Committee

The CCHR is managed day to day by the Management Committee, which is chaired by the President Ou Virak.

Affiliations and Cooperation

The CCHR is informally affiliated to and cooperates with a number of national, regional and international organizations. These relationships strengthen its work to promote and protect human rights in Cambodia. For example, the CCHR coordinates the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC), working with other NGOs to promote and protect freedom of expression, information and assembly in Cambodia; it works with the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) on campaigns and joint press releases relating to press freedom and has worked with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) to engage with the United Nations Human Rights Council's new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.

Donors and Supporters

The CCHR's donors include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the European Commission (EC), the East West Management Institute (EWMI), the Asia Foundation, the Open Society Institute (OSI) and Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung (KAS). Other supporters include the Human Rights section of the Law Society of England and Wales, Oxford University and the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, and the global law firm Baker & McKenzie.

See also

Notes

  1. "What we do", CCHR, http://www.cchrcambodia.org/English/index.php
  2. Article 3, Bye Laws, CCHR, available at http://www.cchrcambodia.org/English/cchr/CCHR%20constitution%20english.pdf
  3. 1 2 3 Constitution of Cambodia (1993)
  4. Agreements on a Comprehensive Settlement on the Cambodian Conflict (1991), available at http://www.cambodia.org/facts/Paris_Peace_Agreement_10231991.php
  5. Land Law for Cambodia (2001), available at http://www.gocambodia.com/laws/pdf/law-01-land%20law-e.pdf
  6. Seth Mydans, 2006, "Haunted by Past Horrors, Cambodians Speak Out", http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE1DC1E3FF933A05752C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2,
  7. For example, see http://www.cchrcambodia.org/English/media&publications/reports&publications/Joint_UPR_Submission_Cambodia_ENG.pdf
  8. Guy De Launey, "Cambodia Arrests Rights Activists", 31 December 2005, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4572208.stm
  9. "We are trying to change the law", Reebok Human Rights Award (2007), http://www.reebok.com/Static/global/initiatives/rights/awards/recipients/virak.html
  10. Testimonial, Rupert Abbott, website of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
  11. NGOs must adapt new development strategies, Ou Virak and Rupert Abbott. Phnom Penh Post, 3 June 2010.
  12. Projects, website of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
  13. Board of Directors (PDF), Cambodian Center for Human Rights, http://www.cchrcambodia.org/English/cchr/Board_of_Directors.pdf
  14. Pung Chhiv Kek Galabru, http://www.1000peacewomen.org/typo/index.php?id=14&L=1&WomenID=1658
  15. Counsellors (PDF), Cambodian Center for Human Rights,http://www.cchrcambodia.org/English/cchr/Counsellors.pdf

External links

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