Program Overview

The Cambodia Programme

The Cambodia Programme focuses on the young generation that will become future decision-makers in companies, politics, and administration. This is achieved through close cooperation with universities, research centers, and judicial training academies. The programme provides scholarships with a special focus on young female students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Programme Objectives

The programme aims to strengthen:

• Institutional capacities of selected academic institutions to develop and deliver high-quality human rights education and research, as well as providing an academic platform for human rights debates and dialogue.
• Young female law students through scholarships and additional capacity building.
• Research capacities on human rights.

Programme Initiatives

The programme has supported numerous institutions by:

• Providing targeted human rights courses for students and lecturers.
• Supporting the development of human rights curricula and syllabi.
• Providing scholarships for human rights studies and fellowships in Cambodia and abroad.
• Supporting academic human rights research.
• Supporting human rights libraries at universities.
• Translating human rights material from English into Khmer.

Achievements

The programme has achieved the following:

• Establishment of a Master Programme in International Human Rights Law in cooperation with Pannasastra University of Cambodia.
• Establishment of the Centre for the Studies of Humanitarian Law, an academic research centre with full-time researchers and a specialized library at the Royal University of Law and Economics.
• Compulsory and credited human rights courses as part of the standard curriculum for all prosecutor, judge, and court clerk students at the Royal Academy of Judicial Profession.
• Increased the pool of Cambodian human rights experts for teaching and research.

External Review

The programme was externally reviewed at the end of 2016, and the report concluded that the programme is highly relevant in the Cambodian context, well-managed, and effective in delivering output and outcome results. The report also highlighted the added value of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Cambodia, which lies in its experience and expertise in supporting academic institutions on human rights and humanitarian law.

Financial Support

The programme and the office are financially supported by Swedish Development Cooperation.