About Us
The Child Justice Network (CJN) is a partnership between civil society organizations and UN agencies in Cambodia actively working to build and enhance the child justice system, develop and operationalize child-friendly procedures, ensure access to justice for children, and promote the rights of children in the justice system. The main purposes of the CJN include coordination among organizations working on child justice, reinforcement of the evidence base in child justice, collective collaboration with the government, engagement with development partners and regional and international mechanisms, and information exchange and capacity-building.
The network was established in July 2021 as an outgrowth of the discussions held at the Cambodian National Launch of the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty and the Cambodian Preparatory Meeting for the 2021 World Congress on Justice With Children, which had identified the need for enhanced and sustainable coordination among organizations working in this sector.
Scope of Work
The CJN primarily focuses on the target group of children in conflict with the law, in a holistic and inclusive manner that encompasses both prevention and response, including structural and procedural improvement, legal and social support, child protection, family strengthening, and education and awareness-raising.
The CJN does not focus on the group of child victims and witnesses, in order to prevent duplication with the work of other entities. However, the efforts of the network will necessarily have a positive impact on child victims and witnesses in contact with the justice system, and the network may address the particular circumstances of this group according to need, in collaboration with other entities like the Child Protection Forum and the 5th Thematic Working Group of the Child Rights Coalition Cambodia.
Purpose
1
Coordination among organizations
working on child justice
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Determining priorities for problem-solving and designing of interventions
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Pursuing sector and organizational action-planning
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Identifying areas for collaboration, including mobilizing resources for joint initiatives, coordinating with the Bar Association and related entities, and building synergies with other sectors
2
Reinforcement of the evidence base
in child justice
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Conducting joint studies and needs assessments to build the evidence base for proper interventions and reform
3
Collective collaboration with
the government
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Collaborating closely with key line ministries, Technical Working Groups (TWGs), the National Assembly, and training entities in the areas of reform, system strengthening, service provision, and capacity-building
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Pursuing a collective agreement with the relevant ministries to enable easier access to children in the system and to relevant data, in order to provide services and conduct studies
4
Engagement with development partners and
regional and international mechanisms
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Forming consortiums to apply for relevant grant funding
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Persuading development partners to assess how their current priorities and grants impact children in conflict with the law, as well as to deliberate how this population group can be better integrated into their development assistance strategies
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Engaging with regional and international mechanisms to capitalize on the global momentum and contribute to the wider discourse on child justice
5
Information exchange and capacity-building
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Sharing information on current and planned interventions and projects, prior experiences, and promising practices among child justice organizations
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Providing updates on the progress of the government’s work and plans in child justice, along with any legal and policy developments
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Sharing technical expertise to build the capacity of child justice organizations
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Operating child justice e-mail and Telegram groups that foster communication among child justice organizations
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Raising awareness to the general public through thematic events and webinars