Friday, December 20, 2019
Dear KKF Members, Supporters, and Friends:
As 2019 is coming to an end, on behalf of the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF), I would like to wish you and your family with peace, love, a joyful holiday season, and the very prosperous New Year.
KKF has achieved many significant activities in this whole year of 2019. During this holiday season, let us reflect on what we had done as a team work to implement our KKF’s 2019 plan. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for contributing your valuable times and financial supports to help KKF in our advocacy for the fundamental rights of our voiceless Khmer-Krom people in our Kampuchea-Krom homeland.
Below are the highlights of some of the main works that KKF had done during this whole year:
I. KKF Advocacy at the United Nations (UN):
A. Universal Periodical Review (UPR):
KKF submitted the shadow reports and participated in the review of Vietnam on the UPR 3rd cycle review and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
B. Permanent Forum on the Indigenous Issues (PFII):
KKF continues to contribute to the constructive recommendations at the PFII in the United Nations in New York, U.S.A.
C. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP):
KKF also attended the EMRIP at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
D. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):
KKF participated in the Questions & Answers (Q and A) session to respond to the inquiries regarding the KKF’s application for the consultation status with the ECOSOC at the United Nations in New York, U.S.A.
E. United Nations Department of Global Communication (UN-DGC):
In addition to the aforementioned activities, KKF also joined in the international conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. which was organized by the UN-DGC.
Regardless of what Vietnam has tried to accuse or lobby to silence our KKF, we have consistently continued to participate at the United Nations. KKF has contributed valuable and constructive recommendations to the U.N., especially to the Vietnamese government, to ensure that the Khmer-Krom should freely enjoy the fundamental rights which is enshrined in the international laws and treaties that Vietnam signed as a member state.
Most importantly, the Khmer-Krom should not be left behind while Vietnam is implementing the projects of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
F. KKF Organizing Activities to Support the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN-GDC):
KKF has organized various significant events and activities to support the works of the United Nations as an organization associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN-DGC), among them the International Women’s Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., a workshop to train the KKF members about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in San Jose, California, U.S.A.
G. KKF Organizing Activities to Support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG) Project:
KKF has recorded and broadcasted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Project in the Khmer language for our Khmer-Krom indigenous people presently living in our homeland in Kampuchea Krom to have a clear understanding about the potentially destructive impacts that may cause to their livelihoods in the Mekong River Delta. KKF has also worked side by side with the KKF chapters around the United States, Australia, Europe, and Cambodia to celebrate the International Human Rights Day.
II. KKF Advocacy with major Economic Donor Countries to Vietnam:
For advocating with countries that provided the economic and military assistances to Vietnam, KKF has submitted the current update reports as well as participated in the briefing meetings with the ranking government officials at the United States Department of State (US-DOS), the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
The subjects of our discussions with these officials were regarding to the human rights violations and the religious persecutions against the Khmer-Krom people in the Mekong Delta, before their annual human rights dialogue meetings with Vietnam,
III. KKF Joint Collaborations with the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Civil Society Organizations:
For collaborating with NGOs and civil society organizations, KKF co-sponsored an International Symposium on the Khmer-Krom’s Right to Self-Determination at the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands in the early June of this year.
The Khmer-Krom should deserve to have the right to self-determination because it is enshrined in the Article-1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: “All peoples have the right of self-determination.” KKF chapters also organized events to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the “June Fourth” event (1949 – 2019) around the world.
IV. KKF Activities to Strengthen the Grassroots Supports:
For strengthening the grassroots supports, KKF has continued to establish the new chapters as well as to retain our current local bases around the globe by recruiting more members and gain more supporters.
Besides this, KKF has also tried our bests of whatever we could do to assist our Khmer-Krom compatriots, who escaped our homeland in the Mekong River Delta, and who, at the present moment, have been seeking refuge temporarily in Cambodia and Thailand, for their future resettlements in the third countries.
V. KKF Latest News/Media Program “Good Morning Kampuchea-Krom”:
Last but not least, our KKF’s media is stepping up to another sophisticated level. The Prey Nokor TV or the Voice of Khmer-Krom (VOKK) has various programs, especially the “Good Morning Kampuchea-Krom”, to update the latest information about the KKF’s activities and human rights violations against our voiceless Khmer-Krom in our homeland.
Over all, even with the very limited budget and resources, but working as a team, I am immensely proud of all the activities that we have accomplished in the year of 2019 for our KKF organization.
As the New Year dawns, we will approach the challenges that 2020 will bring to our KKF and our Khmer Krom compatriots with huge potential rewards. Thank you very much for being part of our journey to seek fundamental freedom, especially the right to self-determination for our people in the Kampuchea-Krom homeland. Happy New Year, 2020!
Sincerely Yours,
Sereivuth Prak
Executive President
Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation