LIBRARY

31 July 2007

During the wet season in Cambodia, many people suffer from the notorious dengue virus, a virus which is carried by mosquitoes that thrive in the waters that collect during the wet season. For many people, escaping the virus means vigilantly covering up and closing windows or doors; however for women and children living literally behind prison bars, this is very difficult to do. Thanks to an extremely generous donation from the Women's International Group (WIG), LICADHO was able to distribute blankets and mosquito nets to 664 minor prisoners, pregnant women and children living in 14 Cambodian prisons.

10 June 2007

All around the world one day of the year marks the celebration of the next generation - children. For many children around the world their childhood is a time of innocence and play, carefree of the world's troubles. Yet in Cambodia for many children, their childhood has been taken over by poverty and life's struggles and for the unlucky few of about 600 their childhood is spent behind bars.

To remember these children and to bring the festivities to them LICADHO celebrated 1 June, International Children's Rights Day at eight locations throughout Cambodia and in nine prisons that currently house minor prisoners, children living with their mothers in prison and pregnant women.

31 May 2007

September 2006, ten girls aged between 14 and 17 years were persuaded by a fellow villager in Kompong Cham province to travel to Phnom Penh after they were promised jobs as domestic workers. However after arriving in Phnom Penh they were promptly taken to a local market where they were openly sold for 50,000 riel each. Fortunately this "auction" was witnessed by an LICADHO staff who obtained information from one of the victims and proceeded to work with LICADHO colleagues and other NGOs to ensure that all girls were found and returned safely to their families in the provinces.

Celebrating International Children's Day this year, LICADHO is promoting the theme of "Working Together to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation and Abuse of Children". Activities have been planned which highlight and promote children's rights, in particular, trafficking, the rights of children in prison and children involved in the worst forms of child labour.

30 January 2007

This report aims to provide an intimate look at the real living conditions faced by Cambodian prisoners. By drawing from first hand accounts of prisoners and from the observations and reports of LICADHO prison researchers, this report is told in the first person using a fictional identity to protect anonymity. It provides supplementary statistical information for relevant issues.

It is hoped that this report will be used by government and prison officials, human rights advocates, researchers, media, aid donors and legal professionals as a tool to identify existing problems, improve prison conditions and promote prisoners' rights. This report builds on previous reports from the past 10 years, as well as considering new information gathered over the course of 2005 and the first ten months of 2006.

This report also highlight an urging problem that needs to be addressed: children in prisons, both prisoners and those living with their sentenced mothers.

29 January 2007

Nearly 500 children are currently detained in Cambodia's prisons. For these children, the prisons they call "home" are overcrowded, unhygienic and lacking in basic facilities. Many are detained with adults, are regularly held in pre-trial detention that exceeds the legal time limit, and many are sentenced to prison time without any regard to their age. They suffer the same poor living conditions, food rations and health provisions as the detained adults and have limited access to education, training and legal representation.

The Securing Children's Rights project is co-funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by LICADHO, Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC) and DanChurchAid (DCA). The project operates in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Battambang, Siem Reap, Kandal and Kampot provinces. The overall aim of the programme is that children and minors should be properly protected in legal and labour institutions. Children should be protected against dangerous work, e.g. prostitution and unregulated industrial work; they should have access to legal representation and their interests should be protected by government and authorities at all levels.

24 October 2006

"We demand a lot from children when we ask them to be participants in the court system, therefore, in a system designed for adults, we need to adapt practices to make them sensitive to children caught up, through no fault of their own, in the system."

A slideshow presentation on the best interest of the child in court.

11 August 2006

A slideshow presentation on Human Rights situation in Cambodia 2006.

29 May 2006

On June 1, 2006, LICADHO will commemorate this day through activities promoting children's rights and distributing essential material and food to children and pregnant women in prison.

The activities will highlight the situation of child trafficking, child sexual exploitation and child labour. In 2005, 304 cases of child rights abuse and exploitation were reported to LICADHO alone, a substantial increase of 20.2% from the previous year. Of these cases, rape represented the highest incident of abuse, at almost 70% of total reported cases.

16 March 2006

In celebration of International Women's Day on 8 March 2006, representatives from the Prison Project Office of LICADHO together with representatives from the Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) visited CC2, PJ and Takmao prisons to distribute material assistance to female prisoners and female guards.

14 February 2006

Students (aged 11 to 17) participate in art contest to celebrate Child Rights in Cambodia.

30 May 2005

A children’s art contest and a comedy stage show are among activities to be held by LICADHO on June 1 to mark International Children’s Day and highlight the need for greater action to protect the rights and improve the live’s of Cambodia’s children.

In celebrating International Children’s Day this year, LICADHO is promoting the theme of “Working Together to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation and Abuse of Children.” Day-long activities will be undertaken in Sihanoukville; Siem Reap; Chamkar Leu in Kompong Cham, Kien Svay and Muk Kampul in Kandal; Koh Kong; and Dangkao in Phnom Penh.

10 March 2005

Cambodian women and children are facing a rising tide of sex crimes and urgent action is needed to stop abuse, a rights group warned on Monday.

Rape and indecent assault cases have risen steadily in recent years, and many of the victims are children, some as young as four years old, local human rights group Licadho said ahead of International Woman's Day on Tuesday.

1 November 2004

Presentation providing an overview of the background, structure and activities of the Cambodian League for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (LICADHO). Includes information on human rights problems in Cambodia and the responses to these problems by each of LICADHO's six program offices.

11 August 2004

A uniformed soldier, accompanied by two civilians, arrived at LICADHO's Phnom Penh office yelling and screaming. According to the soldier's wife, who was in one of LICADHO's office with her 3 children, the soldier, who had a history of alcoholism and aggressive behaviour, had sent his 17 year old stepdaughter a love letter and then attempted to rape her.

5 August 2004

LICADHO urges the government to fully investigate alleged crimes - including payments of thousands of dollars to Cambodian government employees - connected to the adoptions of Cambodian children to the United States.

31 May 2004

Top, a 16-year-old girl, sold rice cakes to help support her destitute family. On the promise that she could earn more money working as a domestic helper, Top agreed to go with an older woman who brought her to a brothel and sold her for $50. On her first night, Top was beaten and forced to take five clients. On the fourth day, she managed to escape and is now in hiding because the brothel owner has hired a gang to find her. Top suffers from nightmares and other psychological distress, and is undergoing medical tests for sexually-transmitted diseases.

1 April 2004

Cambodian children love to study, but Cambodia lacks schools, teachers and materials. Poverty and corruption force most students, especially female students, to drop out before finishing secondary school. In many families, children play an important role in family survival, helping with various tasks such as farming, picking through garbage, and selling. Cambodian children are also vulnerable to abuses such as the worst forms of child labour, domestic violence, rape and trafficking.

5 March 2004

In every city, town and village in Cambodia, women and girls are subjected to rape and sexual abuse with little chance of obtaining justice, and with few rehabilitation services to help them recover. Instead, victims are often blamed, mocked or rejected by their families and communities and must endure the pain, shame and anger on their own while the perpetrators go unpunished. “Sadly, March 8th, International Women’s Day, is like any other day in Cambodia - a day when countless Cambodian women and girls will be raped and sexually abused,” says Kek Galabru, President of LICADHO. “Their lives will be destroyed, while many of their abusers will live freely without punishment.”

19 December 2003

LICADHO welcomed charges brought against two U.S. citizens in courts in the United States for alleged fraud while arranging adoptions of Cambodian children. LICADHO hoped that such investigations would deter abuses during the adoption process.

22 October 2003

CHRAC urged the Appeal Court to review the decision of the trial of Ngoun Oun in connection to the killing of Khuon Dina, saying that the court's conduct in the trial appeared to reflect bias in favor of the alleged perpetrator.