A/HRC/21/35
authorities in Banteay Meanchey with financial and technical support for the availability of
such a secured room at the provincial referral hospital.
15.
In the area of education, OHCHR cooperated with and provided financial support to
the non-governmental organization Soutien à l'initiative privée pour l’aide à la
reconstruction des Pays du Sud-Est Asiatique to establish libraries in four prisons, a project
that the organization will extend to 25 prisons nationwide over the next three years.
16.
OHCHR maintained its focus on assisting the Government in implementing its
human rights obligations pertaining to safe drinking water and sanitation in prisons. In this
context, a major undertaking in the period 2011-2012 has been support for the complete
overhaul of the water distribution network in Correctional Centre No 1,the country’s largest
prison, (near Phnom Penh. Previous assessments had revealed shortages of water provided
to prisoners owing to, inter alia, leakages in the distribution network, associated with a very
high level of turbidity, which made the water inappropriate for human use. Thanks to
support from OHCHR, the thousands of prisoners in the facility now have access to cleaner
water throughout the prison for general use. In five other prisons (Kampong Thom, Oddar
Meanchey, Kratie and Siem Reap prisons and Correctional Centre No 4), water supply
support ranged from installing rainwater collection infrastructure to the provision of water
storage facilities, the construction of a water tower and the distribution of water filters to
ensure clean drinking water.
17.
OHCHR continues to evaluate and improve other aspects of prison conditions,
including by providing appropriate light and ventilation, and promoting more rational use
of available space in cells (including in Stung Treng and Kratie prisons and Correctional
Centres 1 and 2), access to the outdoors and to outdoor activities, such as farming or
gardening (Kampong Speu and Stung Treng), and the preservation of family ties thanks to
the renovation by the Office of a family visit area in Kratie prison.
III. Fundamental freedoms and civil society
18.
The Fundamental Freedoms and Civil Society Programme is aimed at strengthening
the capacity of both individuals and organizations to exercise their fundamental freedoms
of expression, opinion, association and assembly. The Programme works with the
Government, civil society, United Nations agencies, embassies and development actors to
develop and monitor the implementation of legislation and policies that directly pertain to
the exercise of these freedoms, including monitoring individual cases as they arise. It also
focuses on capacity-building for both Government and the country’s vibrant civil society, a
positive legacy of the Cambodia peace process. Non-governmental organizations continue
to play a significant role in advocating for and driving social change, delivering social
services across the country and monitoring the actions of the executive and the private
sector.
19.
Training for human rights defenders continued to account for a significant
proportion of OHCHR work during the reporting period. The Fundamental Freedoms and
Civil Society Programme provides training to increase the capacity of human rights
defenders from across the country to monitor, document and report on human rights
violations. In July, August and October 2011 and in June 2012, OHCHR conducted a series
of training sessions on human rights monitoring and documentation for grass-roots human
rights activists. The sessions were held in Kampot, Battambang, Kampong Cham and
Sihanoukville, and engaged activists from all provinces. An additional session was
conducted in Kampong Cham, in December 2011, for community activists and nongovernmental organizations focusing on international human rights mechanisms. In March
2012, OHCHR conducted in Phnom Penh a training session on monitoring and
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