UNV CAMBODIA

Inspiration in Action Newsletter # 4

Phnom Penh, February 2014

Dear all, With this fourth issue of UNV in Cambodia Newsletter, we would like to wish you a Happy Valentines Day and a lot of happiness and love in your life! This issue highlights the first ever National LGBT Community Dialogue organized in Cambodia, which was coordinated by one of our National United Nations Volunteers. You will also learn more about the work of UN Volunteers in Cambodia in the areas of Gender Based Violence, Social Policy and HIV/AIDS. Happy reading and spread the word about volunteers and their great work! Thank you, Your UNV Field Unit

In this issue:
LGBT rights in Cambodia Against GBV: It Could Be Me Evidence Based Policies

UNV Quarterly Meeting

Ducks instead of Chicken

Happy Valentines Day!

Read more:
LGBT National Dialogue Against GBV: It Could Be Me Working on Social Policy Evidence based policies UNV Quarterly Meeting New UN Volunteers 2 3 4 5 5 6

LGBT rights in Cambodia

LGBT Community Dialogue Organized by UN Volunteer

National LGBT Community dialogues, which contributed to advancing the rights of LGBT people. In each country, the work is coordinated by a National United Nations Volunteer deployed as LGBT Rights Officer. Two-day event in Phnom Penh included lively discussions about progress towards human rights and equality of LGBT people, mapping of the institutions and their capacity to promote LGBT rights, as well as development of recommendations on community efforts to improve human rights in education, health, employment, family affairs, media, community and politics. First day of conference Ms. Marie-Dominique Parent, Deputy Representative, Cambodia Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This means all human beings, not some, not most, but all - regardless of who we are and whom we love. This first Cambodia LGBT Community Dialogue has been very important for raising awareness and improving understanding of the common or respective challenges that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons are

On January 20th and 21st, 2014 the first Cambodia National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community Dialogue took place in Phnom Penh. The event has brought together many key stakeholders working on LGBT rights and health issues in the country, including development partners, civil society organizations, LGBT human rights advocates, researchers and academics. This community dialogue is part of the region-wide groundbreaking initiative Being LGBT in Asia undertaken by UNDP and USAID together with grassroots LGBT organizations and community leaders to understand the challenges faced by LGBT people in Asia. Being LGBT in Asia organized activities across eight priority countries in Asia: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Most of the countries already successfully hosted

discrimination and get protections like other people. In June 2014, when all information from National dialogues is collected, the first ever Regional Dialogue on LGBT Rights and Health in the AsiaPacific will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. The theme of this conference is Investing in Innovation and Action. The conference will reflect on advances in promoting and protecting the human rights of LGBT people and examine opportunities and challenges throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

focused on the discussion with the representatives of the LGBT community, while on the second day community leaders, representatives of different NGOs and development partners joined the conference and shared their experience in addressing LGBT rights. Mr. Saurav Jung Thapa, Technical Officer LGBT and Human Rights, UNDP APRC said, This is the United Nations first foray into LGBT human rights in the world. In the past two years, UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay have all made clear their intention to protect and advance the rights of hitherto marginalized LGBT people all over the world.

Find out more and stay connected on Being LGBT in Asia Facebook Page and Twitter. facing in Cambodia, in particular in the areas of health, education, employment, media, family practices and community acceptance. Based on better understanding of these challenges, we now need to continue working together to address them, at the national, regional and international levels. Among the participants, Mr. Nay Sitha, Representative of Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK) expressed: I am very proud and happy that everyone came and joined the National Dialogue. I will expect to receive continuous support for the LGBT community and rights. It is my hope that the same rules apply for all and the LGBT community, so that we do not face

Photos: National LGBT Community Dialogue, Phnom Penh ,Photo: Veronika Jemelikova, UNV Cambodia, 2014

Gender based violence

It Could Be Me Women Taking a Stance against Violence

gained a broader understanding of womens rights and During her first visit to Cambodia nine years survivors of GBV. Haruka problems women are facing all over the world, Haruka ago as a volunteer; she befriended a girl, who explains that so many also realized that the real power for change lies in was a survivor of Gender Based Violence (GBV). NGOs in the field of GBV This experience changed her life: I couldnt stop hands of national governments. are playing important thinking: it could be me and I knew that I had to It was right when Haruka was selected for the Hiroshima roles to support GBV do something, says Haruka Ishii, Japanese UN survivors in Cambodia. Peacebuilders Program, when the deadly tsunami hit Volunteer, who is currently working for UNDP in However, social and legal Japan and on her last day of peace-building training, Cambodia as Gender Based Violence Specialist. I she became part of the tsunami-relief team. Only after services are not available remember when I was a child there was a woman that it was time for her to return to Cambodia, now as consistently throughout in our neighborhood, whose husband abused her UN Volunteer. the country and services and my mother would often hide her in our are not accessible for all apartment, Haruka explains her first experience Fighting GBV in Communities women. Most services In her assignment with UNDP Haruka has been deeply with GBV not only in Cambodia, but also in her provided by NGOs are own country, which triggered her passion to help involved in a project of Community Capacity concentrated in urban Haruka Ishii during Community Conversation Enhancement initiative on GBV Enhancement. It uses the tools of community survivors of gender based violence and become areas and limited in Oddar Meancheay, Cambodia. Photo: Archive of Haruka Ishii, 2013 conversation to provide a forum for community an advocate for womens rights. community based members to come together to identify problems, services or services in rural areas are available. provided services in a cluster of villages, and it What I realized is that I have to learn more and I decide on solutions and create their own plan to tackle That is why capacity building for local authorities was a very efficient way of working, but at the decided to enroll in a master degree on human the issue of GBV in their communities based on the and village volunteers can go a long way in same time I knew there were thousands of rights and I have always kept the issue of gender training they received. Because of the severity of GBV combating GBV. villages like this and that it is important to work based violence in my heart. After university, and its impact on the whole of society, only true change to improve the entire system. That is why I am Haruka started working for the Office of the High Haruka also worked on a feasibility study of a in behaviors and attitudes can bring about positive motivated to work on bigger picture. Says Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. We One Stop Service Center. It is a common development. UNDP, through the Ministry of Haruka and explains that fighting against GBV is monitored the progress in implementing the practice in some countries, where social, health Womens Affairs (MoWA), provided training to local a continuous effort and involves a lot of capacity Convention on Elimination of all forms of and psychological services are available in one authorities and community volunteers, who then went building on local level as well as with the Discrimination against Women and developed place, so women dont have to go through the back to their villages and provided training to villagers recommendations for countries to improve the traumatic process of recounting their experience Government Whatever work we are doing, it is very difficult to see the impact right away. But situation of women, Haruka recounts. While she and started conversations about GBV. Haruka explains. again and again, which is not easy for survivors having a long term vision with the national According to Haruka the of gender based violence, explains Haruka. actors is important. participation of local Cambodia has a very spread-out population in volunteers is crucial, comparison with other countries, so through the Through her work all over the world, cooperating because of the sustainability study we realized that setting up these one-stop with Government officials as well as local of the activity and the centers at the provincial level would not be the volunteers and GBV survivors, Haruka had a nature of sensitivity of the best way for survivors of GBV in Cambodia to chance to learn more about the complexity of issue of GBV. Developing receive support and would only be sustainable the gender based violence. When I could work the capacity of people on in bigger cities. The study came up with the directly with the survivors of GBV, I could really the ground is crucial because numerous recommendations suited to the local understand the role and problems women are they deal with these issues context which now are included into the facing here in Cambodia. During my work in on a daily basis. According to Governments National Action Plan on Violence Geneva or New York I learned about all of these a study conducted by against Women. issues, but meeting these women face to face MOWA, the relevant local and hearing their stories and dilemmas brought Working in One Village is not Enough authorities were identified me closer to their reality. This really inspired me However Haruka stresses the importance of as the first avenue for and I realized the importance of working on a solution, which could be applied to the entire redress after family and broader vision of gender equality, Haruka Haruka Ishii (on right) during Community Conversation Enhancement initiative country. I used to work for an NGO, which friends in seeking help for concludes.
on GBV in Oddar Meancheay, Cambodia. Photo: Archive of Haruka Ishii, 2013

Social policy in Cambodia

Many Faces of Social Policy: Ducks instead of Chicken

Social policy is a way of formalizing and institutionalizing the fact that there is poverty in the world and that people living in poverty need to be taken care of, says Marisa Foraci, UNDP Social Protection Economist. Marisa studied development economics with focus on poverty and ever since she has wanted to work on social protection. It was while working at the Headquarters of World Food Programme in Rome, that she received an offer to become a UN Volunteer and shortly after she moved to Cambodia and started her assignment at UNDP. Cambodia adopted a National Social Protection Strategy in 2011 and when Marisa arrived, she started working on policy monitoring I worked on the development of a monitoring framework for the national social protection strategy, which was a very similar job as the one I did for WPF says Marisa. Cambodia was the first country in the region, which adopted the concept of the National Social Protection Strategy, which aims to guarantee basic income security, food security, adequate nutrition and access to essential services for all. There has been a lot of progress in Cambodia in recent years. The poor are already entitled to free health care, scholarships and free meals. There is a national system (IDPoor) which identifies where the people in need are and entitles them to receive an ID-Poor card. So far many of the services have been financed by donors, but step by step they are being overtaken by the government, which is still limited by lack of resources. According to Marisa not all governments in Asia consider welfare to be a good investment. Many governments take a neoliberal approach, which assumes that as the country becomes wealthier the people become less poor and that there is no need to provide additional help. The problem with social policy is win situation, because you cannot do much once that not everything has a fair return, so countries the climate is changing, but you can help people cannot do things only for economic gain. They to adapt. can benefit in different ways, such as having a healthy population or social stability. Marisa Climate Change sensitive social policies can help explains the benefits of social policies. people to adjust and make their lives and livelihoods more resilient. If your survival is In Cambodia, where majority of population is dependent on natural resources and in the dependent on agriculture as their source of situation where the climate is changing a lot, the income as well as food, the changing climate is only way is to be able to predict and to be gravely affecting people all over the country. flexible. Most of the people cannot move The seasonal calendar is changing with longer, elsewhere, but they can diversify their activities. drier dry seasons and shorter more intense wet Marisa explains that the social protection is not seasons, that make it difficult for people to cope, only connected with money, but includes inputs when they rely on natural resources, Marisa such as resilient seeds, fertilizers, training and explains. That is why social protection policies capacity building. The difference between are increasingly being connected with climate survival and poverty can be as easy as a selection change effects. Without external help people are between farm animals. For example in Vietnam trying to adapt as much as they can. There are farmers are trained to breed ducks instead of some provinces, where floods happen every year. chickens, because ducks can swim. It is also People stopped growing paddy rice and started common that families take loans to buy and growing dry rice, which has much smaller yields. breed pigs. But in the case of any natural But because they can start planting after the disasters or floods, pigs are very difficult to save. rainy season, they know they will have at least something, if they planted as before and there After a disastrous flood struck Cambodia in 2013, were floods, they lost everything. Says Marisa Marisa was in charge of conducting a post flood and adds that climate change is affecting even assessment together with other UN agencies. I the family patterns. It has been observed that am a part of the disaster risk reduction group and people are trying to spread their families, so they I carried out an early recovery assessment in would live in different areas, in mountains as well Cambodian provinces which have been affected as by rivers or the sea. The only thing they have is by the floods. It was very interesting work, I was their social network, so if they all live in one in close touch with people and I had a chance to place, the whole family is affected in the event of measure the impact of climate change on their a natural disaster. lives and see better the full extent of their So from her work on policy monitoring, Marisa soon moved to policy design and advocacy in the area of climate change and social protection. UNDP realized how relevant it was to look at social protection from a climate change perspective, because of the great effects it has on peoples wellbeing. Promoting social policies, which also tackle climate vulnerability is a win climate vulnerability. Although this work could be very frustrating, because of the ongoing and inevitable changes in the climate and its effect on people, Marisa remains hopeful. There are things that do make a difference and transform peoples behavior over time and for the best, when they receive the right support, she concludes.

Changing climate brings many challenges to poor families. Rice seedling is dying due to lack of rain in Battambang province. Photo: UNDP Cambodia

Against HIV/AIDS

Evidence Based Policies Can Bring a Real Change

The first case of HIV was identified in Cambodia in 1991 and before 1998 the overall infection rate rose to 2%. This unexpected rise alarmed the local authorities as well as the international community and thanks to timely intervention the epidemics got under control. HIV/AIDS however remained a threat to thousands of lives of people, including many children, in Cambodia. Managing public health interventions and prevention programmes for HIV/AIDS is a very complex issue and the answer to truly effective management starts with what seems to be very simple: Numbers. Numbers and data are crucial for work of UN Volunteer Jan Naplava from Czech Republic. During his assignment with UNAIDS office in Cambodia as Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, an important part of his work was to collect data about how money is being spent, discover funding gaps as well as identifying good practices in spending on HIV/ AIDS prevention, treatment and support services. Jan grew up in an international environment and he developed his passion for learning and languages during his study years spent abroad in Vienna, France, Canada and China. It was when he started studying Development Economics, that he realized he can go much further in understanding cultures and the international environment. Economics is a great tool for understanding a society and country, how people behave and interact and what they respond to. Knowing economics allows me to understand how different parts of society work. When an opportunity arose to become UN Volunteer and work in Cambodia, Jan didnt hesitate, because this gave him an opportunity to put his knowledge in practice. During this past year my work was mainly focused on the National AIDS Spending Assessment project, says Jan and adds that this project measures how much money is being spent on the national AIDS response. This includes the whole package: medication, social protection, counselling services, livelihood programmes, support to at-risk populations. We monitor a variety of indicators such as HIV prevalence, programme coverage of at-risk populations or frequency of use of condoms. This is important to identify gaps in the system and mobilize funding for further support, he explains. In Cambodia, where a large part of population lives below poverty line and is very vulnerable, HIV/AIDS brings even more suffering to the affected population. A study from 2008 measured the impact of HIV/AIDS on livelihoods and the economy in Cambodia and it discovered that HIV/AIDS contributes to increased vulnerability to poverty and increased burdens on children and families as HIV-affected households reported lower income, larger expenditures on medical care and funerals, eating fewer meals in a day, increased frequency of hunger and increased necessity for child employment.
Jan Naplava (on right) with his colleagues from UNAIDS working on National AIDS Spending Assessment project. Photo: Archive of Jan Naplava, UNAIDS, 2013

word for bringing a real change evidence based policies, Jan stresses the importance of connecting research and evaluation with policy planning. There has been a lot of progress in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Cambodia and the authorities take this issue very seriously. In 2012 the National Centre for HIV/AIDS Dermatology and STDs, which is the

leading governmental agency combating HIV and AIDS, established together with UNAIDS and other development partners the new Cambodia 3.0 framework. It wants to accomplish zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS -related deaths and zero discrimination before 2020. These goals are very ambitious, but I believe it is good to set ambitious goals and work towards them, concludes Jan.

Because of the shrinking amount of development assistance, it is necessary to use resources wisely to increase the impact on lives of people and decrease inefficiencies. Says Jan and adds that effective monitoring and evaluation is a crucial part of every successful project or programme. On the occasion of the UN Volunteers in Cambodia Quarterly meeting on 31st of January, I attended a conference in Sri Lanka, which UN Volunteers had a chance to meet with Mrs. was about the impact evaluation of Claire Van der Vaeren, the UN Resident development programmes. This approach assesses what the situation would be, had Coordinator in Cambodia. UN Volunteers had an the programme or intervention didnt opportunity not only to find out more about the occur. To see the impact it is necessary to post-election situation in Cambodia, but also to conduct experiments and compare similar interact with the Resident Coordinator and learn communities, Jan explains. The from her professional experience. Mrs. Vaeren evaluations are very useful and informative, shared her observations about the role of UN but the crucial part of the story is to get Volunteers, which is increasingly including these findings to policy makers. The coordination roles apart from the traditional numbers have to become part of politics technical expertise and assistance, which UN Jan Naplava during a meeting with a representative of Family Health and policy makers should be able to change Volunteers have been providing in the past. policies based on evidence. This is a key Organization . Photo: Archive of Jan Naplava, UNAIDS, 2013

UNV Quarterly Meeting

UNV news

Newcomers

Welcome new UN Volunteers

Maeve Anne will join the UNV Office as Communications, Youth and Outreach Specialist. She is from Ireland and studied European Studies with French and Spanish in Trinity College Dublin and gained an MSc in Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh. Her background is in community and youth development and communications. She gained most of her experience in Africa and Hong Kong, and she is really excited to experience Cambodian lifestyle and culture!

Opportunities

Now Recruiting in Cambodia

Organizations operating in Cambodia, click for more information about vacancies:

Veronika Stepkova from the Czech Republic will join UN Women as a Communication Officer. Veronika obtained M.Sc. in State, Society, Development in Asia and Africa from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and she currently coordinates SOAS alumni in Central Europe. She previously worked as a coordinator of development education in an international NGO and externally for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

Good Neighbors Cambodia Enfants d'Asie ASPECA SOS Children's Village Angkor Siem Reap UNAKRT Pour Un Sourire d'Enfant Friends International

Pact Medical Teams International WWF Workforce Humanity APOPO More on CAMHR AND Bong Thom.

Sulah Kim from South Korea will join UNESCO and she will work on developing education program, facilitating dialogue on Technical and Vocational Education and Training TVET policy development as well as contributing to the skills development for youth, particularly for girls from disadvantaged areas. She is looking very much forward to her time in Cambodia.

Happening in Phnom Penh

Meta House Feb 15th 7pm THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD from the author of Super Size Me Feb 16th 7pm OTHER WORLDS parallel universe of Amazonian indigenous peoples. Feb 18th 6pm META ART BOUTIQUE exhibition of artworks by various Cambodian artists. Feb 19th 9pm WODAABE: HERDSMEN OF THE SUN explores the social rituals and culture of a Saharan nomadic tribe. Feb 21th 7pm CULTURES OF RESISTANCE how creative action contributes to conflict prevention and resolution Feb 22th 6:30pm COOKING FOR CHANGE! LITTLE KITCHEN Charity Dinner team invites you to taste Argentinian homemade cuisine.

Culture

Feb 28th 6:30pm Cambodian filmmaker Ly Polen (23) screens four of his newest works. Cambodian Living Arts - dance performances every day from Monday to Saturday night in front of the National Museum. This season offers 3 dynamic and unique performances, Children of Bassac, Mak Therng, and Passage of Life. You can purchase tickets online here. Every Wednesday at 7:30 Trivia in the Garden knowledge quiz at The Willow House 1, Street 21 BKK1 Cambodia Cooking Classlearn the art of Khmer Cuisine, #67, Street 240, Phnom Penh

Pocket dictionaryFood and drinks

rice bai bread nom-pang egg bporng butter beu cheese froh-mah vegetables bon-lai tomato bpayng boh potato dom-loang garlic kdteum sor chilli mtayh fruit plai cher mango svai papaya lhong durian too-ree-an rambutan sau- mau lychee ku-lehn banana jeuk orange groach pineapple mnoa-ah coconut doang lime graoch-chmah watermelon oa-leuk beer bee-yair water dteuk coffee gah-fay hot gdao ice dteuk-gork

Khmer corner
milk dteuk doh tea dteuk dtai meat saich beef saich-koh pork saich-chrook chicken saich-moa-un fish dtray crab kdaam salt om-beul

Your UNV FU:

Share your opinion and stories with us! jemelikova.veronika@undp.org unv.kh@undp.org United Nations Volunteers in Cambodia Isabelle Devylder
Programme Officer 077 333 046

Markara Nuon
Programme Assistant 012788

Veronika Jemelikova
Communications, Youth & Outreach 017 262 110

Shuji Sekine
Youth Volunteering 078 841 946

@ http://www.un.org.kh/unv/