Cambodia Programme
Cambodia

Country Programmes

Country Programmes

Access to justice without barriers for persons with disabilities

The programme

The programme focuses on one of the major gaps in the UN Disability Rights Initiative Cambodia (DRIC) programme: access to justice and accessible mechanisms to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, including in detention. The project will enhance the capacity of duty bearers to implement the UNCRPD on access to justice and services. This includes training judges, prosecutors, court clerks, lawyers, prison officials, DACs/MoSVY officials on their obligations vis à vis the UNCRPD; ensuring that specific actions on access to justice are included in the National Disability Strategic Plan; ensuring access to legal aid; and piloting grievance mechanisms in three provinces. The project also seeks to enhance the disability movement’s capacity to advance persons with disabilities’ rights and assist them in seeking justice, including through strengthened engagement with local authorities.

Sokchan at the training on methodologies and monitoring the human rights cases of persons with disabilities in Siem Reap province, Cambodia
To advance access to justice and grievance mechanisms this programme utilized two levers of change: capacity building on the supply and demand side; and coalition building on the demand side. During the last UPR, Cambodia accepted recommendations to implement and strengthen policies and laws to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities, in consultation with civil society
The capacity of key actors were strengthened. The capacity of duty-bearers, including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, prison officials and DAC/DRA provincial officers were enhanced to better understand the specific barriers of persons with disabilities accessing the justice sector as well as duty bearers’ obligations deriving from the CRPD and the SDG principle of leaving no one behind.
Support was provided to CDPO/DPOs to enhance their capacity to monitor persons with disabilities’ access to justice.
 Coalition building was ensured through the strengthening of the disability movement through constituency building and creating partnerships among academia, legal aid providers, NGOs and the BAKC. This enhanced their ability to advocate for changes in the normative environment, including legislation and policies beyond the scope of this programme, ensuring a multiplier effect. This immaterial resource of an enhanced normative environment contributed to the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities.
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