Recent developments in Cambodia—including the dissolution of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, the closure of the independent newspaper The Cambodia Daily and radio stations linked to the opposition, and the recent resignations of the editorial staff of the Phnom Penh Post—have alarmed many outside observers. The upcoming elections in July are expected to be a win for Hun Sen’s Cambodia People’s Party given that the CNRP is unable to participate, but the electorate is changing in ways that will have profound impacts on the longer-term politics in Cambodia. Urbanization, youthfulness of Cambodia’s population, and shifts in the type and speed of information flow are changing economic and political dynamics. The types of issues that attract attention—including human rights, environmental issues, and urban issues—are shifting.
Please join Sar Mory from the Cambodia Youth Network, Soeung Saran from Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, Olivia Enos from the Heritage Foundation, and Courtney Weatherby from the Stimson Center for a discussion on how expectations for human rights and environmental issues are changing politics in Cambodia amid the backdrop of the upcoming national elections.
WHAT: The Stimson Center invites you to participate in a discussion with visiting experts from Cambodia on human rights, governance, and urban development issues in Cambodia.
WHERE: The Stimson Center, 1211 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 8th Floor, Washington DC, 20036
WHEN: May 29, 2018 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
RSVP: Click here to RSVP for the event.
FOLLOW: @StimsonCenter and @Stimson_SEAsia on Twitter for event news and use #StimsonNow to join the conversation.
Moderator:
Courtney Weatherby, Research Analyst for the Southeast Asia Program and Energy, Water, & Sustainability Program at the Stimson Center
Weatherby’s policy research focuses on infrastructure development, climate change, and energy issues in Southeast Asia, particularly the food-water-energy nexus in the Mekong River basin and China’s investment in regional energy infrastructure. Weatherby is lead author of the Mekong Power Shift report on regional energy trends in mainland Southeast Asia as well as co-author of the Letters from the Mekong series and numerous op-eds. She holds an M.A. in Asian Studies from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a B.A. in East Asian Studies with honors from Dickinson College. Before joining Stimson in 2014, Weatherby interned with the Center for Strategic International Studies, the State Department, and Human Rights Watch.
Featuring:
Olivia Enos, Policy Analyst in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation
Enos joined Heritage in 2013 and specializes in human rights and transnational criminal issues including human trafficking and human smuggling, drug trafficking, religious freedom, refugee issues, and other social and humanitarian challenges facing Asia. She contributes to the Asian Studies Center’s Asia Update, runs a bi-monthly column in Forbes where she writes on the intersection between human rights challenges and national security concerns, and is co-founder of the Council on Asian Affairs. Enos received a bachelor’s degree in government from Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va., and received a master of arts degree in Asian studies at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Sar Mory, Co-founder and Vice-President of Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
Sar was born in a rice farming family in Kampong Cham province, a rural area in eastern Cambodia. He has been working at CYN for more than 8 years with a focus on youth capacity development, youth empowerment, and campaigns on human rights and environmental issues. He is also an educator and provides training on human rights and environmental rights, community organizing and advocacy skills, and legal awareness to university students, rural and indigenous youth, and communities who are affected from unsustainable development projects. Sar holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the Royal University of Law and Economics and a master’s degree in International Human Rights Law from Pannasastra University of Cambodia (PUC).
Soeung Saran, Executive Director of Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
STT is an urban organization working to promote urban poor community’s infrastructure and land tenure security. Soeung has been involved in the field of human rights since 2005 and is actively involved at STT in producing advocacy tools for people and organizations working on land rights, housing rights, and urban poverty. Soeung is dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, women’s rights and the rights of vulnerable persons to live in decent living conditions. He graduated in 2013 from the Australian National University with a Masters of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development, specializing in Gender and Development. He previously served as a freelance translator and researcher with a number of national and international institutions.
Photo: All-Free-Photos