By: Tynna Mendoza

After years of advocating for an independent national human rights commission in Cambodia, finally, a Bill to create an independent NHRI in the country is already in place. To reinforce these efforts, the Cambodian Joint Working Group scheduled a study visit to the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) on May 24-26, 2010. The study visit aims to understand the nature and functions of an independent NHRI; learn first-hand the operations of the CHRP and dialogue with other human rights institutions in the Philippines to learn how they co-exist and work with the CHRP.

Since 2006, the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (Working Group), with the participation of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in Southeast Asia, has been supporting the efforts of the Cambodian civil society in advocating for the creation of an independent national human rights institution in Cambodia that subscribes to the Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions, otherwise known as the Paris Principles. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen committed to the creation of such a national human rights commission in his keynote of the Regional Conference on the Establishment of a National Human Rights Institution in Cambodia in September 2006. The conference also established a Joint Working Group composed of government and civil society representatives. The Joint Working Group was tasked to negotiate and draft the necessary legislation for the endorsement of the Cambodian government to its parliament.