The first group of students of the Master Programme in International Human Rights Law at Pannasastra University of Cambodia (PUC) graduated on Tuesday after defending their Master theses following almost three years of hard studies.
The four students, who all passed the oral defence and thereby have completed the whole Master Programme, were challenged with difficult questions by a committee of experts from PUC and international academics. Both Andreas Inghammar, who was RWI’s visiting professor in Cambodia 2015-2016, and Mark Gibney, RWI Affiliated Professor, attended via skype.
Andreas Ljungholm, Director of RWI’s Cambodia Office who has been closely involved in the development of the master programme since its early stages, said it was a big day.
“It has been a long journey with plenty of work for everybody – students, lecturers, supervisors, PUC staff and management and RWI,” he said. “These students have worked so hard for a very long time and I am extremely impressed with their achievements. They graduate as the first students of the RWI supported Master Programme in Cambodia and we congratulate them for their accomplishments. Their theses are an important contribution to academic research on human rights in Cambodia.”
The theses that were successfully defended were:
- “Judicial Independence in Cambodia under International Human Rights Law” – Mr. Houn Phorn
- “The Right to Have a Lawyer during Police Custody under Cambodia’s Jurisdiction” – Mr. Chhan Paul
- “Employment Rights of Domestic Workers in Cambodian Jurisdiction in the Light of International Standard” – Mr. Chin Sarin
- “Relationships between Household Child Labour and Dropout in Rural Lower Secondary School in Floating Community” – Mr. Chum Channra
RWI has supported the development and implementation of the Master Programme in International Human Rights Law at PUC since 2014 through, for example, support to the development of curricula and syllabus, development of teaching methods and assessment guidelines, teaching and co-teaching, provision of scholarships, and library support. Today there are approximately 50 students at the programme and another 15-20 students will be enrolled in the next month for the 2.5 year- long programme.
Read more about the Master Programme in International Human Rights Law in Cambodia
(Top Picture: Chin Sarin during the defense of his thesis)