Every day at the office looks different for Océane. Some days, she travels to a detention center outside Phnom Penh to meet with a detainee. On other days, she attends a trial. But her focus is always on delivering recommendations that improve prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners through legal reform. 

Atsuhito Nakata was deployed as a UN Volunteer Electoral Supervisor with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and supported the first general elections in the country. On 8 April 1993, Atsuhito was tragically ambushed and killed, together with his Khmer interpreter, Lek Sophiep, in the province of Kampong Thom.

Partners for Prevention (P4P) is a UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNV regional joint programme for the prevention of violence against women and girls in Asia and the Pacific.  After 10 years of operation, the project came to a close in March of this year.  A final report on the programme assessed the role volunteerism played in the primary prevention of such violence.

In Indonesia, two in five women experience some kind of violence in their lifetime. Growing up watching her childhood friends struggle with domestic violence, Grace, a national UN Volunteer in Papua Province, Indonesia, is highly motivated to contribute to preventing violence against women and girls.

The report includes examples of how empowered Cambodian youth make a difference in their communities. It presents volunteering models that helped Cambodia recover from the decades of war and contributed to the country’s development, some of which can be replicated across the world. According to the results presented in the report, volunteer programmes in Cambodia have made a difference in reducing poverty, eradicating illiteracy, improving health, promoting gender equality, and protecting human rights and the environment.

Mony Pen is National UN Volunteer, Specialist for Improving the Rights of Persons with Disabilities within Disability Rights Initiative Cambodia (DRIC)

Maeve Anne Halpin, UN Youth Volunteer from Ireland, talks about her year as Communications, Youth and Outreach Specialist at UNV Cambodia Field Unit.

Naomi Umeda, UN University Volunteer from Japan, talks about her 5 month placement at UNV Cambodia Field Unit.

Last week, the Volunteerism Caravan in Cambodia rolled into Kratie province, where the UNV Field Unit took part in a community activity at the Kratie Krong High school. The UNV Field Unit in Cambodia launched the Volunteerism Caravan in June 2014 to travel to different provinces in the country, inspired by a similar activity organized in Tunisia as part of the Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future project.

Last week, the Volunteerism Caravan in Cambodia rolled into Kratie province, where the UNV Field Unit took part in a community activity at the Kratie Krong High school. The UNV Field Unit in Cambodia launched the Volunteerism Caravan in June 2014 to travel to different provinces in the country, inspired by a similar activity organized in Tunisia as part of the Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future project.