អង្គការភាពជាដៃគូដើម្បីបរិស្ថាន និងការអភិវឌ្ឍ
Defending the defenders
1 . Documenting Activist profiles:
In 2023, Freedom House ranked Cambodia as a "not free" country, assigning it a score of 24/100. Specifically, the organization rated Cambodia 5/40 for political rights and 19/60 for civil liberties. Additionally, Transparency International ranked Cambodia 150th out of 180 countries, highlighting it as one of the most corrupt nations in the world.
According to data from the human rights watchdog LICADHO, there are currently 65 prisoners of interest in Cambodia, including 35 political activists, 5 environmental activists, 2 unions, 2 land activists, 21 for the others.
In response, a project was initiated to compile and document the biographies of human rights and environmental activists. This initiative aims to honor and recognize the sacrifices and efforts of these activists in defending the nation. The project will specifically record their successes, challenges, and significant historical events to serve as a foundational document, which will be made publicly available to the Cambodian people.
Additionally, the project will collect information on young activists to facilitate communication with their families and provide relevant institutions with necessary details to intervene in case of threats or danger.
All information provided by environmental and human rights activists will remain confidential and will only be published with their consent after a thorough risk and challenge assessment. The collected data will be recorded in audio, video, and written formats.
One of our proud work recently, PED funded the printing cost of the book talking about life of six activists in Phnom Penh’s prison that tittled “People who have been sent to correction center”. The book was wildly recognized and covered by media outlet such as RFA Khmer and RFI Khmer.
2. Visiting prisoners of interest
In 2024, we visited three environmental activists who were imprisoned for their activism:
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On July 28, we visited Long Kunthea in Preah Vihear province, where she had been transferred from Phnom Penh to serve her sentence.
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On September 14, we traveled to Pursat province to visit Phuon Keo Raksmey. Raksmey shared her emotional experiences and the suffering she endured, which was later covered by RFI Khmer.
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On November 9, we visited Yim Leanghy in Kampong Speu province.
Objectives of the Prison Visits:
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Monitor and assess prison conditions, challenges, and obstacles.
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Advocate nonviolently for justice for human rights and environmental activists who have sacrificed for the nation and homeland.
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Promote and strengthen the rights of citizens and youth to express their opinions and exercise freedom of expression.
3. Human rights monitoring
PED considered the public gathering of youth activists as our priority work to monitor and provide spiritual support because this action reflected the impact that youths can exercise their rights after participated in trainings and exposure trips that have been conducted by PED and CSOs.
