Phases 2 to 3 - Cambodia

1. The Khmer Buddhist Society in Cambodia conducted six training courses for 214 Buddhist monks from 1 February to 30 April 2001 in three rural provinces of Cambodia. The following issues were addressed: human rights and Buddhism, international law, domestic law, procedures to protect human rights, the rule of law, free and fair elections, etc. The trained monks were then able to reach and teach more than 10,000 people at the grassroots level in their villages.

Allocated grant: US$ 2,000

2. The Cambodia Labour Rights Development Organization organized human rights and labour law training sessions for 62 workers, mainly women, from three factories in Phnom Penh from November 2000 to February 2001. The working conditions in the factories are known to be among the worst there are; 30 per cent of those attending were illiterate, and it was a challenge for the NGO to address human rights and law issues in this context. The outcomes of the project, besides the knowledge gained from the training sessions, are: the establishment of two independent trade unions in two of the three visited factories (the grant recipient helped in the election procedure) and training of the participants in peaceful negotiation skills.

Allocated grant: US$ 2,000

3. The Human Rights Protection and Rural Development Association trained 267 civilians in remote areas of Cambodia from December 2000 to February 2001. Local authorities were invited to send civil servants to attend the training sessions; as a result, these civil servants were able to train their peers under the supervision of the grant recipient.

Allocated grant: US$ 2,000

4. The Khmer Development Organization trained 138 persons living in villages in the Krong Pisey district between December 2000 and March 2001. The discussions, workshops and lectures focused on the UDHR, women's rights, children's rights, kidnapping and trafficking in persons, and procedures to ensure respect for human rights. Through these activities, the grant recipient distributed human rights education materials, involved the participants in discussions of human rights violations that occur in their lives, and encouraged them to learn more about human rights and democracy.

Allocated grant: US$ 2,000

5. The Association of Rural Agricultural Development and Liberal Democracy of Cambodia organized training sessions between January and March 2001 for 270 girls aged under 18 from different sectors of Phnom Penh. On completion of their training, the young women were able to go back to their communities and train other women of their own age as well as younger and older women.

Allocated grant: US$ 2,000

Phase 3

Promotion of a culture of peace, tolerance and coexistence among ethnic groups

The Association of Volunteer Teachers for Democracy, based in Kampot organized 24 courses on human rights issues from 6 December 2002 to 12 March 2003 in the Kampot Province, Cambodia. Approximately 225 women, 498 men, 41 monks, 653 farmers, 21 village chiefs and 6 commune counselors participated in interactive workshops addressing issues such as “living together”, “respecting others’ rights” and “expressing ideas and building leadership” . As a follow-up strategy to these activities, one representative was selected in each of the reached villages, to play the role of “watchdog” on the situation of human rights at the local level.

Human Rights Awareness Raising on selected topics

Silaka organization designed and conducted a series of training workshops on decentralization, democracy and human rights for 98 community leaders from 25 villages of remote areas of the Chantrea district in Cambodia. As a result of the training, 25 village-networks were set up to follow-up on issues addressed. An awareness raising campaign on human rights issues and democracy was also discussed, designed and implemented in all represented villages: as many as 1425 villagers took part in the discussions.

Vocational Training for Alleviation of Poverty and Social Development, based in Chamkar Chek village, Cambodia conducted six 3-day training workshops for 190 (59 female, 131 male) local leaders, police officials and villagers of the Veal Veng district. Issues addressed during the workshop focused on: general human rights law, relevant provisions of the Cambodian legal system, children’s rights, women’s rights and democracy.

Khmer Development Organization conducted a series of small-scaled trainings from December 2002 to February 2003 in the Chulkiri district inCambodia, focusing on children’s rights, women’s rights, trafficking in persons, democracy and fair elections. Approximately 187 villagers, mostly women, benefited from the presentations.

Khmer Farmers Association held ten training workshops in human rights for 210 villagers from the Larvea em district in Cambodia. Issues such as women’s rights, children’s rights, human rights and Buddhism, democracy, peace, decentralization were addressed, as well as methodologies to address human rights issues at school and within the family. At the end of the sessions, a test on the knowledge gained showed very high results. As a follow-up strategy, the NGO decided to set up a network of representatives from each of the ten reached villages.

From 21 October to 23 December 2002, Khmer Serving the Poor Children, based in the Kandal Province, organized ten 1-day training workshops in the Kampong seu Province, Cambodia. As many as 212 women, 207 men, 77 girls and 29 boys benefited from presentations and received documentation on children’s rights and women’s rights. The NGO had to face the low level of literacy of the assistance, and managed to transmit human rights messages to people in need.

The Charm Khmer Islam Minority Human Rights and Development Association is an organization whose main objective is to improve awareness raising of basic human rights such as minority rights, children’s rights, women’s rights and democracy in Cambodia. The project conducted by the organization included the organization of 13 training sessions for community leaders and grass-roots activists in various part of the country on the above mentioned issues. Approximately 650 participants benefited from the training sessions.

Children’s Rights

In Cambodia, Protection and Provision of Juvenile Justice (PPJJ), a Khmer-administered NGO working on legal issues, produced 2000 leaflets and posters to raise awareness on the prevention of sexual abuses on children. The NGO also provided legal assistance with regard to the principles of the CRC and relevant provisions of Cambodian law. In November 2002, the grant recipient also printed 100 copies of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and 600 copies of a legal handbook entitled Children in Cambodian Justice System. Many copies of all these materials were shipped to governmental agencies, but also NGOs, prison officials, and teachers. In January 2003, PPJJ organized four training workshops in two remote districts on children and the Cambodian system of justice, with a focus on children belonging to minorities, for 160 people. Police officers, military forces, prison officials, provincial officials, teachers, and representatives from partner NGOs attended the workshop. At the end of the workshop, it was agreed that representatives of PPJJ would conduct visits in prisons and police stations.