Kem Sokha is Cambodia’s prominent human rights leader. Presently, he is a Member of Parliament and the Vice President of the National Assembly of Cambodia (lower house of the Parliament of Cambodia). Born in a poor family, he had a difficult childhood. He studied law from the Royal University of Law and Economics, Phnom Penh, Cambodia and thereafter took up employment with the Cambodian government. At that time, Cambodia was under Vietnamese occupation. Unhappy with the state of affairs of the government, he clandestinely supported the Freedom Fighters—a Cambodian group resisting the Vietnamese occupation. As a result, he came under government’s scrutiny and was forced to leave his job. In order to escape arrest, he went to study abroad on a scholarship. He returned back to Cambodia five years later after doing his Master of Science in Biochemistry from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, Czech Republic. Eventually, he entered politics and traveled through various parties and organizations before forming a new political party, Human Rights Party in 2007. Through this venture, he worked rigorously for human rights issues and organized public forums throughout Cambodia. In 2012, Human Rights Party merged with the Sam Rainsy Party to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party. He is known for his strong advocacy for respect of human rights