Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP)
Mission
The institute aspires to become a leading academic institution and think-tank in Cambodia. CICP aims to cultivate broader interests concerning the development of Cambodia and to promote attention among a wider community of scholars to engage in research within the fields of political science, political security, international relations, peace, diplomacy, history, human security, environment and socio-economics in order to better understand the current and future prospects of Cambodia, Southeast Asia and Asia as a whole. The Institute also strives to stimulate serious study by engaging in qualitative research and balanced debates on various important issues that matter most for the country and the region within scholarly circles and to enhance public awareness in order to facilitate the search for viable policy-based solutions to the range of challenges that are currently faced by society.
Areas of Work
The Institute hosts public lectures annually on relevant topics concerning Cambodia and the region of Southeast Asia, conducts seminars and conferences on themes related to geopolitical and geostrategic trends, and publishes related reports and essays. Our latest publication is the Journal of Greater Mekong Studies where we publish twice yearly short scholarly research materials related to a range of long-standing issues such as social, environmental, security and developmental aspects of the Mekong river and the Greater Mekong Subregion as a whole as well as other appropriate issues regarding the management of the Mekong river, subregional economic integration, and cross-border infrastructure development. The Executive Director and other Fellows of the Institute have travelled regularly within the region in international and regional conferences, seminars and workshops.
CICP is a member of the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) as well as member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP).
Atrocity Prevention Programs/Activities
CICP conducts research, produces publications and hosts events to disseminate the information it uncovers related to the principle of the Responsibility to Protect. For Atrocity Prevention works, the institute has been striving to expand networking and engagement with relevant institutions, to raise awareness of R2P to local constituencies and other external partners. CICP attempts to further institutionalise the norm of R2P, and to participate in conferences and workshops about atrocity prevention and protection of civilians against mass crimes.
In particular, CICP has been striving to institutionalise and gather support from relevant stakeholders and institutions for the network of Friends of R2P – Cambodia. Launched on 2 December 2016, Friends of R2P – Cambodia is a network of dedicated individuals that aspires for a society without genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. Its mission is to promote the norms of R2P by raising awareness and helping put in place effective mechanisms to protect civilians from mass atrocities. The membership of Friends of R2P – Cambodia includes individuals from relevant stakeholders, namely civil society organisations, youth organisations, government officials, parliamentarians, educators/scholars, and representatives from the community and private sector. The network already adopted its bylaw, held a series of internal meetings, hosted and participated in public lectures, workshops, conferences as well as other events on atrocity prevention and other related works, produced and disseminated documents in relation to the subject matter.
Recently, Friends of R2P – Cambodia has adopted a Country Risk Assessment inspired by the 2014 UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes and contextualising in accordance with Cambodia’s situation. In general, it can be observed that Cambodia is still at low risk of atrocity crimes, thanks to the Royal Government of Cambodia’s efforts and close collaboration as well as assistance from the international community. Nevertheless, the country’s situation needs to be well-handled and viewed with cautions as atrocity risks can be transformed unpredictably to a moderate or even high level if appropriate actions are not taken sufficiently and in a timely manner. The draft Country Risk Assessment – Cambodia suggests a set of recommendations and priorities when engaging with relevant stakeholders, especially the Royal Government of Cambodia.
In the future, the network of Friends of R2P – Cambodia plans to promote R2P norms by providing capacity training and taking R2P outside the capital city of Phnom Penh to different regions in Cambodia. With assistance from our partner such as the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect in Australia, we plan to conduct atrocity prevention trainings to our members and other relevant stakeholders. Our team will endeavour to raise awareness of the norm of R2P at the community level in different provinces of Cambodia in due course.
Contact
Ambassador Pou Sothirak - Executive Director of CICP
Ms Pich Charadine - Senior Fellow of CICP
Mr Him Raksmey - Assistant to Executive Director in charge of Responsibility to Protect