The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) is

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

's oldest

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

organization. It was founded by a group of former political prisoners, led by

Thun Saray , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...

in December 1991, shortly after the signing of the

1991 Paris Peace Agreements The Paris Peace Agreements ( km, សន្ធិសញ្ញាសន្តិភាពទីក្រុងប៉ារីស ឆ្នាំ១៩៩១; french: Accords de paix de Paris), formally titled Comprehensive Cambodian Peace Agreeme ...

, which put an end to the long-running

Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khme ...

. ADHOC is independent, non-partisan, non-profit and non-governmental. It sets out to monitor and investigate human rights violations; provide free

legal assistance Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

and support to victims, survivors and their families; empower individuals and communities to enable them to defend their rights, and engage in

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

work through its Central Office (located in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

) and 17 provincial offices. ADHOC has two main sections: The Human Rights and Land Rights Section and the Women and Children's Rights Section. The Human Rights and Land Rights Section handles complaints of human rights abuses (particularly,

extrajudicial killings An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...

arbitrary arrest Arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention are the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law ...

and detention,

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

impunity Impunity is avoidance of punishment, loss, or other negative consequences for an action. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a d ...

and violations of

fundamental freedoms Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...

) and cases of land and natural resources rights violations (including

land grabbing Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions: the buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals. While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as ...

, forced evictions and the destruction of natural resources).

History

ADHOC's first office was in a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple in

. The organization's leaders, some of whom had been imprisoned for peacefully exercising their right to free speech, faced severe intimidation by local authorities. By 1992, ADHOC had expanded its support for victims of human rights violations, was actively reminding the government of its democratic and legal duties, and was officially registered.

Facilities

ADHOC maintains offices in 22 Cambodian provinces and municipalities.

Activities

The organization has been working on issues such as

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

, and violations of the

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

and the

freedom of assembly Freedom of peaceful assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ide ...

. It investigates cases of human rights violations and provides legal aid, social, material and medical assistance to victims. On the

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC; french: Chambres extraordinaires au sein des tribunaux cambodgiens (CETC); km, អង្គជំនុំជម្រះវិសាមញ្ញក្នុងតុលាការ� ...

, the organization has provided civil parties with psychological counseling and

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

. The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association intends to change policies and practices of democratic institutions, especially of the judicial system. ADHOC receives funding from European (

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

Novib, Oxfam GB, Diakonia,

DANIDA Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...

, DCA-CA, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, Misereor,

Comité catholique contre la faim et pour le développement The Catholic Committee against hunger and for development (''CCFD-Terre Solidaire''; french: Comité catholique contre la faim et pour le développement) is a French Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, ...

(CCFD), the French Embassy, the British Embassy, etc.), American (

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

though

The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to "improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia". The Asia Foundation (TAF) was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on be ...

and EWMI), and international partners (

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, or UNVFVT). ADHOC staff have frequently been harassed and intimidated by the authorities. Several employees have faced legal proceedings following the assistance they provided to victims of land grabbing. ADHOC also works with international organizations and Cambodian and international NGOs, including the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and CCHR. ADHOC is a member of Forum-Asia and the International Federation for Human Rights (

Fidh The International Federation for Human Rights (french: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international h ...

References

# # http://www.bigpond.com.kh/users/adhoc/about_adhoc/about_adhoc.htm#W # https://web.archive.org/web/20120719231914/http://fidh.org/-Cambodge- # {{in lang, en https://web.archive.org/web/20120813072807/http://www.fidh.org/-Cambodia%2C226- Human rights organisations based in Cambodia Organizations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Cambodia