As of today, a total number of 851 minors, between 14 and 18 years of age, of whom 826 are male and 25 female, are detained in Cambodian prisons. In many cases these children are denied their basic legal rights, resulting in excessive periods held in pre-trial detention, as well as prolonged detention during the appeal process. Further, a lack of legal representation and being tried in absentia compounds the denial of their basic rights.
In Cambodia there are no children’s courts nor Judges and Prosecutors specialized in the area of juvenile justice and the application of the rights of the child. As a result, children are often subjected to the same judicial procedures and processes as adults. The extreme vulnerability of these children is further exacerbated as a result of them not being housed in separate sections of the prison to the adults, as well as inadequate food, healthcare and access to educational & rehabilitation programs.
During 2007, a Cambodian non-governmental organization called The Center for Social Development (CSD) monitored 22 appeal trials in which 26 juveniles were involved. 61.5 % of the juvenile defendants were held in custody pending appeal trial. Of these 61.5 %,
12.5 % of juvenile defendants waited in custody less than one year (8 months). 56.25 % of the defendants waited for more than one year and 31.25 % of the juvenile defendants had to wait more than two years. In the beginning of 2008, a case was monitored in which a juvenile defendant waited for four years and three months before an appeal trial date was set.
It is outlined in the Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code Article 387 that the Court of Appeal must decide the appeal trial date within a reasonable period of time. Despite this excessive periods of time pass before appeals are heard. These excessive ‘waiting-periods’ for appeal trial are a great cause for concern, in particular in cases where the defendant is in custody and/or which involve children and considers waiting for years for an appeal trial ‘beyond a reasonable time’. Also it does not comply with article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that “the arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of timeâ€. This issue has been specifically highlighted in this article because up to this date there is very little attention given to this particular matter in Cambodia.