Children's Rights Law in Post-Genocide Cambodia
2009 Exploration Seminar in Cambodia

Program Director: Sherrie Brown - College of Education
Dates of Instruction: June 22 - July 18, 2009

NOTE THAT THIS PROGRAM IS A SUMMER (A Term) AND NOT AN EARLY FALL PROGRAM: This affects how credit, payments and financial aid are handled. Please click here for information.

Pol Pot and the radical Communist group known as the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia in 1975 and radically transformed the country.  Cities were emptied as people were forced to relocate to rural areas and existing institutions were dismantled.  Educators and lawyers were among those professionals who fled the country, were targeted for death as enemies of the state, or died from malnourishment or disease.  Estimates vary, but approximately two million people died during the “reign of terror.”  Although the Vietnamese invasion and occupation in 1979 marked the end of the Pol Pot period, it also was the beginning of over a decade of civil war as guerrilla factions fought for control.  Despite the humanitarian crisis, Cambodians received only minimal international assistance and sanctions were enforced by most Western nations.  The Vietnamese officially withdrew from Cambodia in 1991 when the United Nations brokered a peace agreement between all factions and began preparation for elections held in 1993.  

Despite these gradual steps toward peace and recovery in the last twenty years, the destruction of Cambodia’s infrastructure and human resource capacity was so thorough that the country is still struggling to rebuild.  The legal system can be used to illustrate the situation.  When the Vietnamese occupation began, there was—for all intents and purposes—no legal system.  Prior to the Khmer Rouge period, Cambodia’s legal system had followed the French civil system; in 1975, however, the Ministry of Justice, including the courts, as well as the Faculty of Law, were closed.  Written law was burned or otherwise destroyed and it is estimated that there were only a handful of lawyers still alive in Cambodia in 1979.   Establishing the rule of law, democratic institutions, and building the capacity of Cambodians in law-related fields were early priorities following the Vietnamese withdrawal and much has been accomplished. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia established a court system that is functioning throughout the country, the National Assembly continues to adopt a growing body of law, the national law school is thriving, and there are now over 200 lawyers in the country. 

This Exploration Seminar will examine the development of the rule of law in Cambodia.  Students will be introduced to various aspects of legal advocacy including the United Nations efforts at rebuilding a legal system and given the opportunity to study the recently established Genocide Tribunal. However, the focus of the seminar is on international children’s rights law, specifically the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).  Children’s rights law is an aspect of international human rights law that rarely is studied in the United States and this seminar will provide students the opportunity to study the CRC and how it is being implemented in Cambodia.

Students will study the history and culture of Cambodia with an emphasis on the years following the French Colonial period (1863-1953).  This will include the role of the country during the Vietnam/American war, Pol Pot Period, civil war and refugee situation following the Vietnamese invasion, United Nations brokered peace accords, and the international efforts at nation building that still continue.  Following this background information, we will study the Convention on the Rights of the Child in some detail.  Students will then become actively engaged in learning how this law is being used as an advocacy tool in Cambodia to 1) inform the development of new law and legal institutions (juvenile courts, etc.), 2) guide international and national non-governmental (NGOs) and United Nations organizations in program development, and 3) measure/monitor children’s rights.  In addition to participation in group observations and study visits, students will choose one particular area of interest (e.g., child labor or children with disabilities) and work with a small group to research how the government, NGOs, and UN institutions are working to address the issue.  This research will involve interviewing appropriate individuals, locating the applicable law and/or reports, and writing a final report on the findings.

We will spend the first ten days of the seminar in Phnom Penh reviewing the history and culture, visiting local museums as well as the courts and prisons in Phnom Penh and Kandal Provincial Court (a model court recently opened).  During this time we also will observe the Genocide Tribunal if in session.  We will then travel to Battambang Province and stay for a few days to observe the activities of the UNICEF supported Diversion and Reintegration Project for juvenile offenders.  We will return to Phnom Penh for the balance of the seminar during which time students will work with local organizations and their staff on research projects.

The course schedule allows for personal travel time on the weekends to explore Cambodia. There are also seminar organized tours to visit Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Siem Reap Province north of Phnom Penh, and/or the beaches on the Gulf of Thailand.  The cost of these trips is not included in the program fee.      

Credits: This program will offer a total of 6 credits, including five (5) credits of one of the following options, plus one (1) credit of GEN ST 392:

Instructors: Sherrie Brown, the program director, has been working in the area of children’s rights in Southeast Asia for twenty years and in Cambodia for over a decade.  The last ten years she has worked with the Cambodian Defenders Project (CDP) and Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC), the two public service legal advocacy organizations in the country.  Megan Morris, a speech language pathologist who has worked with both children and adults with disabilities, will be the teaching assistant.  She is currently a doctoral student in Rehabilitation Sciences, and has lived and traveled in Asia.

Student costs:  

• $2,795 Program Fee
• $200 International Programs & Exchanges Fee
• Click here for a Estimated Budget of Student Expenses (for financial aid requests)
• The Program fee covers hotel accommodations (shared with one other student) including all breakfasts for the stay, local travel to historical and cultural sites, and travel to Battambang Province.  Additional costs include roundtrip airfare to Phnom Penh, meals except breakfast and a final seminar dinner, visa and airport taxes, personal spending money, health insurance, and any optional group excursions to Kompong Som and/or Angkor Wat/Siem Reap Province.
  
  

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