Very often, lawyers feel isolated - and overwhelmed by their responsibility of people’s fundamental freedom. Bringing them together helps build the movement for legal rights in their country and around the world. The global movement for legal rights will be given a kick-start over the coming weeks, as IBJ Asia and Africa Fellows gather for a 10-day Summit in Singapore, where IBJ has recently laid the foundations of the Justice Training Center.

From August 8^th to August 14^th, eight IBJ Country Fellows from Burundi, Cambodia, China, India, Rwanda and Zimbabwe will meet to discuss a path towards their ideal of justice, receive training in criminal defense and learn from each other’s experience. The Fellows will be invited to explore their personal stories, reflect upon their motivations for pursuing a legal career and imagine an ideal justice system in their country, beyond the discouraging circumstances they sometimes face. They will then receive motivational training in legal techniques, including case strategy development and trial advocacy. These sessions will equip the Fellows with the leadership qualities they need to organize the legal community in their countries and achieve their vision for justice. Experienced Singaporean defense attorneys will engage in discussions with the Fellows to share insights about their role in the criminal justice process and their ways to overcome challenges.

Above: Bonding moments between the Fellows and IBJ Staff last year at the Fellows Summit (Photo by Sanjeewa Liyanage)

  The Country Fellows will be joined in their discussions by the eleven 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Fellows from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The JusticeMakers will give short presentations on their projects, including the challenges they face and their strategies for achieving their project objectives. The intensive, six day event will include cross-disciplinary training in areas including criminal defence skills, leadership, public speaking and negotiation skills, giving them the opportunity to strengthen the skills that will be vital to the success of their projects. Additionally, the JusticeMakers fellows will participate in sessions on fundraising, fostering motivation and harnessing volunteer resources, to arm them with the tools they need to achieve their long-term visions for criminal justice. The JusticeMakers will also be hosted by the International Relations Committee of the Law Society of Singapore, who will lead a discussion on ‘The Work of International Bridges to Justice in Developing Countries’ with the participation of Philip Jeyaretnam, one the 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Competition Judges.

Above: One of the 2010 JusticeMakers, Rasul Jafarov from Azerbaijan (center), holds a press conference to announce the start of his project which aims to educate prisoners on their right to counsel and early release.

August 12^th will mark the official welcome of the 2010 Asia JusticeMakers into IBJ Fellows Community. For the occasion, the Singaporean legal, business and diplomatic community is invited to attend a gala which will be hosted the same evening.

The Ministry of Justice held a three-day seminar in Pursat, this week to educate judicial officials about the new Penal Code. The event takes place as the government completes its codification of the Penal Code, expected to go into full effect December 20.

The seminar covered Part One of the Penal Code, entitled “General Provisions for the Implementation of Criminal Law,” which took effect last November. This seminar was the second of four planned by the Ministry of Justice in conjuction with International Bridges to Justice, an NGO that works to promote legal rights in developing countries.

By helping judicial officials understand the new legislation, the trainings contribute to a stronger legal system, said Ouk Vandeth, who manages IBJ’s Cambodia office.

“If the judge does not know about the rules, he can give the wrong sentence,” Ouk Vandeth said.”If the police do not know about the law, he can make a mistake.”

Police officers, judges, prosecutors and court clerks were among those in attendance. They came to Pursat town, the provincial capital, from each of the province’s six districts to attend the seminar, which ran Monday through Wednesday.

A number of judicial officials requsted a training, according to Nil Philippe, director of education and dissemination for the Ministry of Justice.

Where the old code made only a simple distinction between felonies and misdemeanors, the new one provides a more detailed description of specific crimes, with the added classification of petty offense. It also includes more than 300 new offenses.

Additionally, the Penal Code more extensively details specific criminal defenses, such as self-defense and insanity, and inchoate crimes, which are crimes of intent.

Because of the lack of complexity in the old code, the Cambodian legal system has suffered from a lack of nuance in sentencing and judgement, according to Barbara Bijelic, an IBJ representative. That commonly resulted in maximum sentencing for any category of crime, regardless of circumstantial evidence commonly considered in other justice systems, Bijelic said.

“Someone who stole a couple of apples with a small weapon could be prosecuted the same as someone who committed a violent robbery,” Bijelic said.

At the Distant Century Hotel in Pursat town, about 70 judicial officials sat in rows of university-style desk chairs and took notes as various Ministry officials discussed the Penal Code. IBJ funds paid for their transportation, lodging and food. Since the training was obligatory, not mandatory, those benefits helped ensure high attendance.

Ringing cell phones continuously punctuated the proceedings.

Minsitry officials also took questions. If one person keeps watch outside a house while his two friends break in, someone asked, do his actions carry the same guilt, or is he just an accomplice? If four teenagers agree to deliver a few punches to another group, someone else wanted to know, but one of them accidentally kills the target, are all four equally responsible?

One important aspect regarding the new Penal Code is getting the information out into the public, said Hy Sophea, a Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice. TA cameraman from TVK, a state-run television network, filmed the first day’s proceedings to air next week.

“We must create awareness about what kind of offenses are illegal,” Hy Sophea said through a translator. “If people haven’t been told that what they do is a crime, we cannot prosecute them.”

As a part of my graduate studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy I will spend 13 weeks as a Legal Intern for International Bridges to Justice (IBJ). The work of IBJ in Cambodia is threefold: 1) Ensuring that the rights of the accused are respected and providing adequate, well-trained lawyers to represent them 2) Informing the public of their rights as an accused and 3) Putting the laws that are already on the books into practice in the courts.

Another one of IBJ’s underlying goals is to eliminate the practice of torture in Cambodia. Torture is well-documented as a form of carrying out criminal investigation and extracting confessions from the accused in Cambodia and other countries where more complex methods of investigation such as forensic science or even something as simple as fingerprinting are not the norm. The idea is that torture can be prevented or mitigated when the legal system (police, prisons, and courts) are held accountable by the presence of a lawyer representing the accused. Providing lawyers for the accused is not only a way of implementing the legal rights of Cambodian citizens and preventing torture, it is a step towards building the rule of law and strengthening the judicial system.

The need for legal aid in a country like Cambodia where there is currently no state-sponsored legal aid system (i.e. free lawyers for those who cannot afford one) cannot be understated. Cambodian law includes provisions that require individuals accused of a felony to be represented by a lawyer. Without NGO-sponsored legal aid lawyers, those who are accused of felonies would either be tried without legal representation or continue to sit in jail waiting for a lawyer. In some countries legal aid is provided by the government. Ideally the Cambodian government would support a government-funded legal aid system but currently they do not have the funds or capacity to do so and thusIBJ continues to work with the Cambodian government towards that goal. In the meantime, one or two other nonprofits like IBJ try their best to fill the gap in legal aid.

Working with an organization that supports a small number of lawyers in rural and urban provinces that would otherwise have zero lawyers for the poor is without a doubt a rewarding experience. Hopefully we are also making important contribution as well. As an intern I am conscious of the balance between the time and energy that interns extract from the organizations and companies they work with and the time and energy they contribute to that organization or company during their internship. There are currently five legal interns, a journalist, and a videographer interning with IBJ Cambodia this summer who provide both a great presence and, seemingly, an occasional burden on the small Phnom Penh and rural offices.

As far as day-to-day work goes, there is a good deal to be done. I spent much of June learning about the Cambodian legal system, the Cambodian context (historical, political, social, etc.) and about IBJ’s approach to providing legal aid, education, including the overarching goal of strengthening the legal system and rule of law. In addition to helping to conduct research and write funding proposals, and giving English lessons to some of our Cambodian colleagues, each legal intern is paired to work with one of the IBJ lawyers. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ms. Pheak, accompanying her on prison visits and court dates to see her in action representing the accused at trials in the Kandal and Kampon Speu provinces neighboring Phnom Penh. An experiential learner at my core, I continue to learn the most from these experiences, out of which I am developing profiles and case studies that illustrate successes and areas for improvement in the legal aid system.

There are so many elements that contribute to the creation and establishment of an independent, accountable, and sound legal system. As I look critically and hopefully at the Cambodian legal system I continue to wonder where the crux of these complex issues lies. After the first trial I observed, I saw witnesses and family members unnecessarily scared and confused from court processes and procedures and thought education – both basic education and legal rights education – was the crux. I thought it unrealistic for people who have very little education or experience with the legal system to understand their legal rights if they have no context for what those rights mean or how to exercise them. On the other hand, I know there are millions individuals all over the world with low-literacy and little education who are demanding their rights be respected, calling for fairness, justice, saying no to corruption, and working to strengthen democratic practices in their communities.

Since that initial visit to the court I have seen the confluence of combating institutionalized corruption, establishing systems of accountability, the need for additional intensive police training, and the overall lack of lawyers in country as the cruxes of that same system. Of course no single crux is the problem nor the solution to these challenges. And little by little individuals working from a variety of angles must contribute to improve their corners and cross-sections of the labyrinth.

For me at this very moment that means getting back to a questionnaire I was developing!

After the prison we headed to the Provincial Court and met with the Chief Prosecutor, the President of the Court, and an investigating judge. We had very useful discussions with the Chief Prosecutor and the President of the Court, who appreciated our work in the province. I also learned that the court in Pursat has started to assign cases directly to our IBJ lawyer when the Defendant needs a lawyer and does not have one. In such circumstances, the presiding Judge instructs the court clerk to contact IBJ’s lawyer to provide representation to the accused. As a result of this system, Sithann had 127 cases as of the first week of February and informed me that this number is steadily increasing. He looked overwhelmed but determined. Sithann is assisted by his investigator but mentioned that it has become a very difficult job for him to investigate and properly prepare for a case when he also has to represent clients in court at the same time.

At the end of the trip to the three provinces, I was very pleased to see that IBJ’s provincial offices in Cambodia are beginning to function as a proper criminal defense legal aid office in a developed system with courts directly assigning cases to IBJ lawyers. The only difference is that there is only one lawyer per office and the number of cases are steadily increasing. The new Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that it is mandatory for an accused persons charged with a felony to be represented by an attorney. This poses a greater challenge to the justice system, as well as to legal aid service providing organizations. In Cambodia, IBJ is the only NGO dedicated to provide criminal legal aid to all accused persons. Other legal aid organizations’ services include civil legal aid or target specialized groups such as women and/or children. Increasing demand for legal aid in criminal cases is not met by the present services. Altogether my trip to Cambodia was memorable, inspiring, and gave me hope for IBJ’s efforts to make a real difference throughout the criminal justice system in the future.

When we left Prey Veng one afternoon we began a long journey to go to Pursat through Phnom Penh. It was about a two-hour trip from Prey Veng to Phnom Penh. The road was rough and in the middle of the trip we needed to cross a river through a ferry, as there was no bridge at that point. As we began to cross our vehicle lined up with many other vehicles, including lorries, containers, and buses - all preparing to drive onto the ferry. While we were waiting to drive onto the ferry people were busy trying to convince waiting travelers to purchase their goods displayed on trays and metal basins.

I was not brave enough to devour some delicacies offered, like deep fried grasshoppers. Instead I purchased a peeled, cut, and ready to eat green mango and enjoyed it thoroughly. Eating a sour green mango reminded me of my childhood growing up in a village/town called Hendala on the outskirts of Sri Lanka. My friends and I used to throw wooden sticks at mango trees to get some mangoes to the ground so that we could enjoy them. This occasionally resulted in mangoes, or sticks, landing on rooftops of houses who actually owned these mango trees. When this happened we had to quickly run for cover before someone came out of the house to see what was going on. We first traveled to Phnom Penh from Prey Veng, which took us over two hours. We arrived just in time for a meeting with a potential donor and partner at the office in Phnom Penh. Afterwards we set off for Pursat. Paul Rickard joined us in Phnom Penh for the second leg of the journey.

The trip to Pursat rekindled my childhood memories of Northern Sri Lanka. When one travels from Kampong Chhnang to Pursat, you see flat and dry land, lined with palm trees reminiscent of Palmyras. This was my memory in and around Jaffna when my father took me along a number of trips to the northern region of the country when I was between four and five years old. It took us about four hours to reach Pursat without a break. We arrived at the same hotel Vandeth and I stayed in last year. A spacious room with two large beds, air-conditioning, and hot water for $13 per night. Quite a deal! My whole body was aching after nearly eight hours of travel through three provinces - Prey Veng, Phnom Penh and Kampong Chhnang. I was desperately in need of a good night sleep and I got exactly that. The next morning I was joined by IBJ’s DRC2 lawyer, Chhoun Sithann, during breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Again, you could see Vandeth’s humor as he attempted to talk to the local waitress at the restaurant in English instead of Khmer. He told her that speaking with foreigners was a good chance to practice and improve her English. By the end of the conversation, the young waitress could take all of our orders in English.

After breakfast we then set off to the Provincial Prison in Pursat. We first visited the administrative building of the prison, which is a house primitively built with metal sheets on the roof. The prison Director was a subordinate of Vandeth when he was working in the military. This was my second meeting with the Director. When I finally met him, I immediately realized that he was not well. He looked like he had aged many years during last 12 months. He then told me that he was very sick and is under medication, which caused him to lose a significant amount of weight. He was very cooperative with us. The Director was speaking with Chhoun Sithann about the issues surrounding pre-trial detainees. He even opened a printed copy of the Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code and began discussing its provisions protecting rights of accused persons. After this conversation we then decided to visit the prison medical centre. I remembered this place well. The former young health worker named Davy Chau, whom I met there last year, was no longer present as he was pursuing his studies in Phnom Penh. It was Devy who convinced me that urgent assistance is needed to equip the prison health centre. Last year he told me that even medicine for a common headache or fever was not available in the health clinic, and that there was no stethoscope or medicine to dress wounds. Since I returned to Geneva, Davy had written me emails every other week reminding me of these needs. He showed me that it was a health centre without medicine, any basic equipment for a health worker, and without running water. He pointed to a hole in the wooden wall of the health centre and told me that was the place where there should be a tap and a basin to wash hands. When I visited this time, Davy was not there. I saw a sink on the ground, ready to be mounted on the wall. This time, I went there prepared with basic medical equipment and medicine. The older health worker at the prison health centre was beaming with happiness when she saw the medicines and equipment. It was a pity that Davy was no longer there to see that he had finally achieved what he wanted in taking efforts to make the health centre functional.

Thereafter, we visited the prison and the Director told us that the Red Cross had recently installed clean drinking water in each building where a number of cells are housed. We then stumbled upon an English class that was in progress, which was run by a fellow young prisoner.

He had written some notes on a white board in beautiful handwriting and then proceeded to demonstrate his teaching skills. This young man looked very enthusiastic and confident to teach his fellow inmates English. We were very encouraged. In this English class, Sithann met with three of his clients, who agreed to pose with him to take a few photos.

I have always wondered how these lawyers will adjust to working in remote provinces with a slow pace of life. It was truly touching to hear Vannophea’s answer and to know that he does not plan to go back into the city to practice law. There are other indirect advantages too that one gains by living in a province. One of my young lawyer colleagues in a province told me: “If you are looking for a girlfriend, if you want to find a pretty girl, you go to Phnom Penh…but if you want to find a good girl, you find them in provinces.” We laughed aloud after this discussion. After Vannophea’s statement, I was unsure of the general mindset of other IBJ lawyers working in provinces. When I visited them in other provincial offices, I posed the same question: “how do you find it working in provinces?” They all had the same answer: “tough but we like working here!” This response made me think of how lucky IBJ is to find these committed young lawyers to work for us. Then I also realized, while technically they are working for IBJ, they are actually also working for their own people; people who are the most vulnerable and forgotten in society.

I am confident that the motivation for them to continue their hard work comes from deep within, from the meaning of their work and seeing how their work directly impacts the lives of their clients and their families.
In Prey Veng, when I visited IBJ’s DRC3 in Cambodia, I was again touched by the commitment of my colleagues there. They were telling me that sometimes they have to travel over 100km to interview a single client, and that the roads they often travel are unsafe and in terrible conditions. Their caseloads are increasing every day. In Prey Veng, the IBJ office is in a strategic location, right opposite the Provincial Court.

The office is quite simple, consisting of a wooden house with metal sheets covering the roof. IBJ lawyer there, So Bengtharun, was telling me how difficult for him it is to work in his office in the afternoon when the heat of the sun is reflected from the metal sheets below the window of his first floor office room. There is no air conditioning but a tiny fan, and Cambodia is generally very hot with temperatures often rising above 35 degrees Celsius. The IBJ lawyer there has moved into the province with his young wife and child. He said that despite all of the difficulties, he is enjoying his life there, especially the fresh air and slow pace. When I visited the prison at Prey Veng, the chief prison guard emphasized the importance of early access to counsel which will result in a lower number of detainees at the prison. I was again happy to hear these words from a prison official. There is growing awareness among public officials that the actual laws on the books need to be implemented throughout Cambodia.

Ouk Vandeth accompanied me throughout my entire trip. He obviously planned every detail of the trip in advance, including various important meetings that he set up for me to interact with key officials. IBJ is blessed with persons like Vandeth. He makes a constant effort to ensure that IBJ is working efficiently on the ground. Whenever he visits a provincial DRC, the first thing he does is sit at a computer in the office and directly go through the case files. He then talks with the staff, especially the lawyer and the investigator, about the status of all of these cases and issues related to each proceeding. He meticulously goes through the case management spreadsheet and amends all necessary records. Only after he performs this task does he talk with the staff about other issues. Indeed, Vandeth is a man of many talents, and a man with many contacts and connections throughout Cambodia. His past interactions with the police force and military in Cambodia have created a large group of persons that he is connected to who hold important positions throughout the nation. For example, one of his former colleagues in the military is now the deputy governor of a province where IBJ is working. This person was extremely kind-hearted, as he insisted that Vandeth and I go to his home to have lunch before we left the province. When we went to his place, his family and close friends joined us to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by his wife. We all sat on the floor around a mat where food was placed.

Vandeth also has his own unique way of interacting with people that always seems to leave a lasting impression. Whether it is a high-level government official or an ordinary vendor, he is always capable of engaging in small talk and making fun out of the situation. Paul Rickard, who is assisting IBJ and Vandeth with our Cambodia Country Program, was telling me that he misses out on many jokes Vandeth makes due to the language barrier. Although Paul is learning Khmer, he was telling me that his Khmer is not good enough to follow Vandeth’s jokes. Such small talk and a little bit of fun, coupled with the non-threatening smiling face of Vandeth, work well in building the foundation for many important relationships throughout Cambodia.
He is a person who understands the intricacies of Cambodian society well. This wisdom he possess, coupled with his experience with different disciplinary forces, and the legal knowledge and skills that he has obtained, form a very unique and special individual. His non-threatening approach has worked well to develop strategic and trusting relationships with civil society organizations as well as with the Government. I truly enjoyed every minute that I spent with Vandeth during my journey throughout Cambodia.

Visiting IBJ offices in provinces was something I eagerly awaited. My first visit was to Takeo where IBJ established its first provincial Defender Resource Centre (DRC). I was especially looking forward to meeting our legal fellow at the office, Po Vannophea, who I heard was seriously injured due to an accident. I heard the story that Vannophea went to represent clients in court even with an injured leg following the accident. My first stop upon arriving in Takeo was the prison. I met the Director of the Takeo Prison, a very kind and pleasant man, who has been managing the prison for last 27 years. He remembered me from my last visit and welcomed me warmly. We sat in the wooden chairs outside his office and conversed. I could see the same blackboard where basic prison statistics were being updated daily.

The Director happily accepted donations IBJ made to the prison office as well as the health clinic. We donated some paper for the office and basic medicine such as paracetamol. While talking with the prison director, IBJ lawyer Po Vannophea joined us in conversation. He looked well despite being treated for his leg injuries the previous day. We discussed the situation of pre-trial detainees in the prison with the Director. He was glad that we now have a lawyer present in the province to assist prisoners and detainees. I then asked him about a particular detainee I had seen during a visit the previous year. This particular prisoner is a completely mute person who has been in pretrial detention for five years. I did not remember his name, but I remembered his story and wondered if he was still housed in the same prison facility. He was previously in a prison cell shared by another 80 or so inmates when I met him last year. When he finally raised his head and our eyes met I saw a thousand expressions in his eyes asking for help in some way, shape, or form. He looked dejected, lacking morale and hope, and his eyes were begging for help to get him out of the misery he was living in. When I asked the prison Director about him during this visit, to my disappointment, the Director told me that he is still in the prison and that the court was eventually planning to release him upon the receipt of a pardon from a higher authority.

When I told the Director that I would like to see him, to my surprise, he pointed his finger at a person wearing a hat who was working outside the prison, helping to build a wall between the prison compound and adjacent government offices. Upon seeing him I was not sure if he remembered me, but I certainly remembered him. When he was summoned to the dilapidated office of the Director, he looked very different from last year when I saw him. He actually looked energetic and hopeful. There was no dejected expression on his face and he was smiling at me. I seized the opportunity and took a photo with him, wanting to capture that moment and remember it for all time.

The only way that I could communicate with him was through eye contact, and after exchanging a few meaningful glances he then went back to work. After my meeting with the Director, I saw my old friend in the distance who had resumed helping to build the wall - again, he looked at me and I waved my hand in return. To my pleasant surprise, he smiled and waved his hand in return. I told the IBJ lawyer in the province to closely follow his case and do whatever possible to get him released, as there have been no charges against him during last six years, and he lacks the ability to advocate for himself because he is completely mute. I also later learned about the sad irony this particular prisoner is facing. His wife has become mentally unstable and if he is released he will not be able to return to her. As there is a severe lack of rehabilitation facilities for persons with communication disabilities like him, I am now wondering what challenges he will face once he is released.

After visiting this prison, I visited the Takeo Provincial Court and met with my good friend, the Deputy Prosecutor. When I first visited Takeo in August 2007 and met him, his profound words struck me. He requested that IBJ start an office in Takeo and place a full-time lawyer to defend accused persons. He told me that as a conscientious and law-abiding prosecutor, he could not allow defendants to come before the court without a lawyer representing them. He was very direct and genuine in his expressions, and his appeal to IBJ was straightforward and honest. I remember this moment vividly and later conveyed this episode to the WISE Partnership representatives when IBJ was looking for their assistance in funding the Cambodia Program. When I met him this time, I reminded him of our conversation with him and his appeal to me several years back. He told me that he is very happy that now IBJ has a placed a lawyer in the Takeo province in an effort to assist in the defense of accused persons.

Later during the day I was again talking to Po Vannophea, IBJ’s Legal Fellow at the DRC in Takeo. He has not fully recovered from his accident, but he was beaming with enthusiasm and energy. He looked like a very confident and competent young lawyer ready to face any challenge. I was then telling him that funding for the Takeo DRC as well as other DRC’s in two other provinces will be guaranteed until the end of 2010, and that IBJ will be actively looking for funding opportunities this year for 2011. He then said, “If IBJ’s office closes down, I will not go back to Phnom Penh to look for a job. I will practice law in the Takeo province and continue to assist people here.” This statement is extremely significant as it relates to the overall nature of legal practice in Cambodia, where the trend is for young lawyers to move to Phnom Penh to earn higher salaries and practice corporate law. I guess most law student in the world tend to have similar plans and often that is what has inspired them to study law. In Cambodia, there are very few lawyers in the provinces, leaving those who live in rural communities vulnerable to legal rights abuses. The trend is for lawyers to move to Phnom Penh and build their legal career there. IBJ’s strategy was to reverse this trend by trying to persuade competent lawyers to practice in provinces. At least we now have four young, energetic and committed lawyers working in our provincial offices and effectuating positive changes.

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I always look forward to visiting Cambodia. In early February this year I arrived in Phnom Penh. As I was holding a Sri Lankan passport, I was given “special treatment” by the immigration officials at the Phnom Penh Airport when they asked me to wait until they checked my passport and made sufficient photocopies. When I finally passed through customs, Ouk Vandeth, IBJ’s Cambodia Country Manager was there waiting for me as usual. The weather in Phnom Penh was unusually mild for Cambodian standards. Vandeth did not talk very much at first, and later asked me questions about my family and children. He is truly a legal warrior but also a devout family man. Vandeth is the father of seven children and also has ten grandchildren. Relishing the importance of family, Vandeth cherishes family memories. He even had photos of my two children and Karen’s two children stuck on the wall behind his chair in the office. There was also an old photo of him and I, taken around 1999 in Hong Kong when we first met during a human rights training session organized by the Asian Human Rights Commission. We both looked significantly younger in that picture and it was interesting to see old memories of the both of us. When that picture was taken, I never thought our paths would cross again. Today, however, Vandeth and I are close colleagues and part of a great team of people from around the world working to “eradicate torture in the 21st Century.”
 

The following day we conducted a daylong training event at the Phnom Penh office attended by 18 staff members. It was an important event where staff from different IBJ provincial offices met each other for the first time. It was a time for people to get to know each other beyond their names and where they came from. They talked about our mutual commitment to the cause for which we are working and the significance of our work in the provinces where there is often not a single resident lawyer. They also tried to imagine the kind of justice system that they would like to see 20 to 25 years from now and formulated their goals and action plans accordingly in an effort to make these dreams a reality.
 

It was a Sunday and in the late afternoon, all staff got ready to leave for their respective provinces. For some it was a two to four hour trip to return home. For Rattanakiri staff of Legal Aid Cambodia (LAC), it was a ten-hour trip to the Northeastern hills where they were mainly providing legal representation to indigenous people. I felt privileged to be with this group of energetic and young individuals. There was determination and courage in them although they were working in very challenging and harsh conditions in provinces, where lawyer are most needed today in Cambodia. These individuals are making a difference. They are sending a strong message to the legal community in Cambodia that it is your moral and ethical responsibility to help your own people in Cambodia, especially in these remote provinces where your assistance could mean the difference between life and death, prison or freedom.
 

The 10th of December is a day of remembrance, remembrance of the victims of human rights abuses. It is also a day to pay tribute to those who have stand up for their rights. Finally the 10th of December is a day of celebration; celebration of all the progress that has been made and celebration of what needs to be accomplished to achieve Rule of Law in every corner of the globe.

On this special occasion, IBJ intends to remind international, national and local communities of its particular approach to human rights - protecting the legal rights of the people who become victims of unchecked justice systems - and renew its commitment to fair justice systems through a series of consciousness-raising activities across its country programs.

IBJ West Bengal Fellow Abhijit Datta is embarking its organization, MASUM (Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha), in a large human rights fair that will be held this coming Thursday at the vicinity of Academy of Fine Arts of Kolkata. Abhijit rallied support from other grassroots civil rights and human rights organizations. Together, they will coordinate exciting awareness-raising activities: an art exhibition will depict pictures of human rights violations; booklets, publications and other materials informing citizens of their legal rights will be widely distributed; public orations - including testimonies of victims of abuses - will be organized throughout the day. Big awareness-raising banners will be displayed at strategic places at the Indo-Bangladesh border, where minority tribes are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations.

Above: Burundian kids hold a poster reading “Burundi moves forward against torture” during the 26th of June rights awareness campaign in Bujumbura (Photo by Nathalie Mohadjer)

Abhijit’s efforts will be echoed by Astère’s, IBJ Burundi Fellow. IBJ Burundi team left yesterday for the North-West province of Cibitoke where a street law campaign will be conducted. The team will be dispatched at strategic places of the city and will engage the local population in constructive discussions about their rights and responsibilities within the justice system. Men, women and children will be put in the situation of being arrested for a petty crime and asked what they think their legal rights are. Eventually, an engaging poster and memo card about their rights at time of arrest will be handed out to them. A round table discussion on alternative sanctions to imprisonment will be conducted the day after. The platform will unite legal practitioners with magistrates, prosecutors, police officers and prison officials and put them on a path towards reforming the justice system.

A similar on-street canvassing advisement of rights campaign will be organized in Cambodia, where IBJ Fellow Ouk Vandeth and the rest of the team will capitalize on the 25 campaigns held throughout 2009 to make sure local population are best approached, engaged and educated about their legal rights in case of arrest.

On August 27th, 2009, IBJ Cambodia and the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC) joined together to hold a workshop defender training program in Phnom Penh. Held at the Naga World Cambodia Hotel, this highly successful event tallied up a total of 94 participants to discuss the difficulties of implementing the new criminal code procedure in Cambodia. The main objective being an overhaul of the current knowledgebase that runs throughout the defender foundation, through the combined use of past experience from both lawyers as well as law makers and law enforcement officials.

Kicking off the workshop were speeches by IBJ Fellow Ouk Vandeth as well as the Chief of the BAKC H.E. Chiv Song Hak, which led into the first of two main sessions, where lawyers and government officials introduced the procedures of accusations within the court, and evaluated the difficulties lawyers may face in relation to these accusations.

In the second half of the event, Mr. Hing Thirith, a Prosecutor from the Supreme Court, was the head speaker and articulated the procedure of investigation that takes place when in the role of an Investigating Judge. Following this,  a lawyer of the Royal Government of Cambodia spoke of the challenges a lawyer faces in the investigation stage

We saw an immense amount of interest from the crowd, with many questions being asked and problems being solved, with the facilitators, the speakers, and anyone else who may have been knowledgeable providing support through this portion of the workshop.

IBJ’s first collaboration with the BAKC resulted in a great achievement. To wind down the final moments of the workshop, the Secretary of State of MOJ, H.E. Sam Sophal, thanked all of the participants for such a keen and engaging experience, and expressed his enthusiasm with regards to the great success of the event. Through the continued alliance between IBJ and the BAKC we will be able to improve and upgrade the knowledge and awareness required for lawyers in relation to the accusation procedure as well as the investigative procedures in the system.

Participants gather as the first panel of speakers opens the workshop in Phnom Penh.
(Photo: IBJ)

Government officials and representatives of the Bar Association gather for the opening ceremonies
(Photo: IBJ)