More than three decades have passed, but the goal of comprehensive reparations is still out of reach for the victims whose rights were seriously and systematically deprived by the Khmer Rouge. The issue of reparations has received little attention from the government and the international community, even after the establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic Kampuchea.
TPO Cambodia is a Cambodian NGO that works in the field of mental health and psychosocial interventions. It is TPO’s mission “to support those who are unable to care for themselves due to mental illness, poverty and lack of support by developing programmes that directly benefit people at the grassroots level, by improving their mental health and thereby increase their ability to care for themselves and their families.
This thesis analyze the relationships between mechanisms of transitional justice and gender-specific crimes. The work is based on a study of two case studies. The first is South Africa, which, after Apartheid, favoured restorative justice; and whose leading initiative was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The second case study concerns Cambodia which has set up, with the help of the UN, a hybrid tribunal.
Overview of the proceedings of the ECCC, the hybrid tribunal created in 2006 to try senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge and those “most responsible” for the crimes that took place. The court has five suspects in custody and has almost completed its first trial which began in March of 2009.
This text explores the profound impact of war and genocide on human psychology with a focus on Cambodia and the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Interdisciplinary in nature, this edited volume presents the current research on the impact of trauma not only on survivors’ mental health processes but also on the ability of survivors to participate in legal processes, such as the trials of surviving members of the Khmer Rouge before the ECCC.
Southeast Asia contains high numbers of traumatised populations arising from either natural disasters or interpersonal violence. Consequently, empirically based trauma treatments, addressing traumatic sequelae in local populations was needed. Trauma Aid Germany, trained 37 therapists in psycho-traumatology, based on EMDR Therapy, which included trauma stabilisation techniques. This research analysed the impact of Trauma Stabilisation as a sole treatment intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adults and revealed that it was highly effective in alleviating PTSD diagnoses. Results demonstrate PTSD symptoms were reduced in both clinical and sub-clinical trauma groups. The data set suggests trauma stabilisation, as a sole treatment intervention, was safe, effective, efficient and sufficient treatment intervention for PTSD.
In many ways, researching violence against women is similar to researching other sensitive topics. There are issues of confidentiality, problems of disclosure, and the need to ensure adequate and informed consent. As the previous quote from an interviewer illustrates, however, there are aspects of gender-based violence research that transcend those in other areas becauseof the potentially threatening and traumatic nature of the subject matter. In the case of violence, the safety and even the lives of women respondents and interviewers may be at risk .
Enforced disappearances have been a well known to Sri Lanka before, during and the `post´ conflict scenario. However, from time to time we have had large scale disappearances becoming widely used since the 1980s onwards, connected to the politico-military situation and in local areas of the country.
We are a human-rights-based development organization that strives to mitigate the consequences of severe human rights violations, such as collective violence. We support and empower victims/survivors of human rights violations and seek to change the conditions that perpetuate collective violence through preventative strategies.
In humanitarian emergencies and conflict situations psychological damage has traditionally not been addressed, its extent and impact have not been well studied. It is only through a greater focus of mental health problems as a result of war and conflict, can coherent and effective strategies for dealing with such problems be developed.
AFESIP Cambodia is a legally registered non-governmental, non-partisan, and non-religious organization that cares for and secures the rights of women and girls victimized by human trafficking and sex slavery. It was established at the grass-roots level in 1996 because of the dire situations of thousands of victims forced into exploitation in and across Cambodian borders.
Disappearances are a worldwide problem. Over the last few decades the world has been shocked by accounts of tens of thousands of people who are known to have disappeared in Cambodia, Latin America, Iraq, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Chechnya and others.Forced disappearance have an effect on the individual, his/her family and the community as a whole. The problems that family members of disappeared persons face are complex and can be overwhelming.
The ending of overt violence via a peace agreement or military victory does not mean the achievement of peace.2 Rather, the ending of violence or a so-called post-conflict situation provides a new set of opportunities that can be grasped or thrown away.3 The international community can play a significant role in either nurturing or undermining this fragile peace building process. Both justice and reconciliation are fundamentally significant goals that need to be addressed in the design of successful post-conflict peace building processes and mechanisms, especially in the aftermath of genocide.
The Cambodian Women`s Crisis Center (CWCC) is a local, non-governmental, non-profitable, and non-political organization. It was founded in Phnom Penh in March 1997 by a group of women who believed that violence against women and children was severe and that the assistance services were lacking.
TPO Cambodia vision is to contribute to the development of Psychosocial and Mental Health Care in Cambodia within a local cultural context.
This briefing paper examines the nature, extent and possible causes of torture in police custody in Cambodia during 2001 and 2002. It is hoped that the information in this paper will be used to raise awareness among government officials and the general public to the situation of torture in police custody; to illustrate the need for the alternative methods of criminal investigation by police officers; and to encourage regular independent monitoring of police stations to reduce the practice of torture.
Understanding the modem use of torture entails the dispelling of myths about its nature and purpose. There remains a perception that torture is practiced randomly, that it is punishment carried to an extreme, that it is performed by psychopaths or sadists, that it exists outside of governmental responsibility and is practiced by “less civilized” societies.
KHA was founded in 1982 by Theanvy Kuoch a survivor of the Cambodian holocaust and refugee and three American nurses who worked in refugee camps in Thailand. KHA provides health assessments and mental health services in the form of individual, family, group and massage therapies for survivors of torture and concentration camp syndromes.