The Center for Justice and Reconciliaton - Moving Forward, Together

Khmer Rouge Victims’ Participation Program is aimed at engaging victims and survivors of the Democratic Kampuchea regime (1975-1989) to actively and meaningfully participate in criminal proceeding under the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC). CJR facilitates victims’ involvement in the ECCC by collecting victims’ stories, helping to them to complete civil party applications, deepening their understanding of the ECCC process and advocating for and communicating their demand for justice and hopes for the future. The Victims’ Participation Program reaches out to Cambodians in every province and municipality, informing them that to be a civil party and to part take in any mechanism or proceeding is a right. We empower victims to consciously shape transitional justice. CJR’s Victims’ Participation Program involves Cambodians in the democratization process as we build a culture of active civic engagement, demand of justice, peace, healing and reconciliation. These contributions improve quality of life in all aspects: psychologically, socially, economically, culturally and politically.

CJR's Advocacy and Outreach Manager, SOK Leang, facilitates a meeting with Cambodians interested in forming a Khmer Rouge Victims' Association. In the News More Photos

Starting from September 2009, our projects include:

1. Reaching out to victims in provinces including: Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Mean Chey, Preah Sihanouk, Prey Veng and Kampong Cham.

2. Assisting victims to fill out victim information forms and collecting civil party application forms in 16 provinces.

3. CJR has submitted 62 civil party application forms of Orphan Class with Ms. SENG Theary—CJR’s Director of the Board and the first formally recognized civil party to the ECCC—acting as the representative of this class. We are also processing the remaining application forms in our backlog.

4. As requested by victims, we are providing technical and legal assistance to help them to establish the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims.

5. To echo the right to participate in the ECCC proceedings, we have made use radio broadcasting Including CJR’s own program, the Voice of Justice and Reconciliation.

6. We provide psycho-social support to victims from CJR’s team of trained experts while meeting with them and afterwards.

Apart from working directly with victims and survivors of the KR regime, our staff has actively participated in numerous national and international workshops and conferences about victims’ participation. Our program staff continuously reflects on their work and collaborate with other local and international NGOs and the ECCC’s Victims Unit regarding the process and benefits to victims and engage in monthly NGO update meetings organized by the Open Society Justice Institute.

CJR staff have attended workshops and conferences at the international level for professional development and as speakers.

The current criminal prosecution by the hybrid court of the ECCC is an extremely important mechanism in terms of transitional and criminal justice. However, to deal with mass atrocities and such severe human rights violations, our Victims’ Participation Program envisions introducing other transitional justice mechanisms including truth-seeking, reparations, gender justice, memorials and other forms of memorialization, institutional reform, and reconciliation programs.

CJR’s KR Victims’ Participation Program Goals

- To inform Cambodians about the ECCC and to increase the level of comfort with which they enter into this legal and historical process

- To collect victims’ personal stories – not only for the immediate legal benefit, but also for the preservation of memory and to build a culture of remembrance

- To shape and build on international law

- To set an example of justice and fair trails in Cambodia by emphasizing the rights and responsibilities of civil parties as they engage as plaintiffs within a judicial institution accountable at an international level

Victims of KR regime can participate as a witness, a complainant or a civil party by filing out the information forms as follows:

Apply to be a Civil Party, Complainant or Witness at the ECCC (Khmer)

Apply to be a Civil Party, Complainant or Witness at the ECCC (English)

Apply to be a Civil Party, Complainant or Witness at the ECCC (French)

Upon the completion of this form, victims can contact CJR staff (Mr. Sok Leang: 012-588-081, e-mail: sokleang@cjr-cambodia.org; or Ms. OM Chariya: 012-361-323, e-mail: omchariya@cjr-camboida.org; or Mr. Sothea Soeng: 077-777-681; e-mail: sotheasoeng@gmail.com ) for assisting to bring the form to ECCC's victim unit. Or victims can directly contact victim unit:

Victims Unit
ECCC Information Centre
No. 6A, Street 21, Sangkat Tonle Basac I, Khan Chamcarmon, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: victimsunit@eccc.gov.kh
Tel: +(855) 023 214 291
Fax: +(855) 023 214 295