CCHR launches new database on land conflicts in Cambodia which shows that 5% of Cambodia’s land is disputed and hundreds of thousands of people affected
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), a non-aligned, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights in Cambodia, today launched the findings of a study into land conflicts in Cambodia on the Cambodian Human Rights Portal, www.sithi.org, with a press conference at our office in Phnom Penh. The study was conducted over a number of months and culminates in the publication of a database providing information about land conflicts in Cambodia. According to our findings 223 land conflicts have been reported on in Cambodia since 2007. These cases affect at least 5% of Cambodia’s total land area of 181,035 square kilometres.
The CCHR database includes information regarding only those land conflicts that have been reported on in the public domain – namely in Khmer and English language newspapers, and non-governmental organization reports – with additional information provided through the conclusion of field research by CCHR. All of the cases published have been reported on – and in some cases resolved – since 2007.
Different sources used in the gathering of the information presented here detail the number of people affected by land conflicts according to the number of families or the number of individuals affected. For the most part, CCHR relies on the number of families affected – with 47,342 families having already been affected by or facing potential consequences as a result of the cases covered. CCHR has also found that an additional 768,862 have been or may be affected by these cases.
The following are a number of the key findings of our research:
27% of land conflicts occurred or are occurring in the seven provinces bordering Thailand, affecting 27% of the total number of families affected by land conflicts in Cambodia;
31% of the total number of families affected by land conflicts are victims of conflicts in or around the capital – with 20% of conflicts affecting areas in Phnom Penh and the adjoining provinces of Kampong Speu and Kandal;
· 49% of land conflicts recorded by CCHR resulted in reports of other rights violations. In 45% of these cases victims allege that they were subjected to intimidation and/or destruction of their property. While in 33% of these cases a victim of the land conflict was reportedly arrested;
· In 9% of land conflicts recorded by CCHR an offer of compensation was accepted by the victims.
The CCHR study only reports cases where sufficient information on the facts of the case was available in order to create a clear portrait of the conflict. The information is presented to offer a picture of the nature of the cases – to allow the reader to delve beyond facts and figures – and to provide insights into the land cases that occur in Cambodia, and the manner in which they are dealt with by the authorities. CCHR does not contend that the information published is conclusive and we encourage other organizations and institutions – government and non-government – to publish similar information in order to increase the material available and to enhance the public’s understanding of this issue. Information is the key to understanding and a problem is best tackled when it is truly understood.
Ou Virak, President of CCHR, commented at the press conference:
“While the case of Boeung Kak Lake is the most well known land case occurring in Cambodia today, this study is a timely reminder that this case should not just be viewed in isolation. Land violations – including the grabbing of land owned and occupied by marginalized groups – is rampant in Cambodia. These conflicts destroy lives. The information provided by CCHR is a window into the reality of land grabs in the country and the stories of human misery that these conflicts create; stories of sons and daughters sent to work in Thailand or Malaysia to make up for the earnings lost as a result of a loss of land, of parent’s guilt of not being able to send their children to school, and of elderly men and women cast out from homes they have occupied since the end of the Khmer Rouge era.”
“Serious action is required by the government to ensure that the property rights of all Cambodians are respected. This study confirms what we already know; that land rights are being routinely violated around the country, that powerful and well connected individuals are behind some of these violations and that the courts and other institutions with a mandate to uphold land rights are doing little or nothing to ensure that the Cambodian people are put before profit. I hope this study sends a clear message to various stakeholders – to the victims of land violations, that they should work together to remind the government and general public of their suffering; to NGOs and others working on the land sector, that more must be done to advocate for the resolution of the cases occurring today; and to the government, that Cambodia has had enough of land grabbing and impunity and that real reform is required to ensure equality and security in the land sector.”
As part of the launch of the database, CCHR invited victims of land conflicts in Cambodia to share their experiences. The following short comments were given by these participants at the conference:
- Mrs Chear Chantha, from Dey Krahom – one of the most violent land evictions in Cambodia in recent years – stated:
“I want Prime Minister Hun Sen and the government to realise that the victims face difficulties – we get arrested – yet nothing happens to the perpetrator, they remain free.”
- Mrs Tol Sreypov, from Boeung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh where a development by a ruling party senator and a Chinese company will eventually see as many as 4,000 families turned out from their homes, stated:
“I ask the NGOs and other stakeholders to encourage the RGC to solve the problem of land conflicts. Our homes are everything, if we lose our home, we lose everything.”
- Mr Moeurn Sopheap, from Prey Lang, the last large primary forest on the Indochina peninsula, where government concessions and deforestation could affect hundreds of thousands of people, including a large portion of Cambodia’s indigenous population, stated:
“We have the law but no one who applies it. I call on the government, before a development project begins, to conduct an impact assessment report and consult with the local villagers. As they have granted economic land concession’s without carrying out an impact assessment report or a proper consultation."
- Mr. Youm Lai, a villager from the Andoung Kantout land conflict in Battambang – a conflict between residents and soldiers that started in 2007 and has seen 1672 hectares of land being sold, affecting 416 families - stated:
“We asked the government for a new road and they gave it to us. However, after the construction of the road, came the people who tried to evict us from our houses.”
- Venerable Loun Sovath from Chi Kreng Community - who became an outspoken voice on land rights issues after members of his community and family were detained and injured in the midst of a particularly tense and fraught land dispute in which 175 families have had their farmland forcibly taken away by military and police forces at the behest of a private company that allegedly has political connections - stated:
"I think that if everyone respected human rights and the law, land conflicts would not occur. I call on the government, relevant ministries and stakeholders to enhance respect of human rights and the law.”
To visit the database, please visit http://sithi.org/temp.php?url=land_case.php.
Audio recordings of the press conference will be available online at CCHR’s website
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For more information, please contact Ou Virak via telephone at +855 (0) 12 40 40 51 or e-mail at ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org.
Notes to Editor
CCHR was founded in November 2002.
Ou Virak, CCHR President, won the 2007 Reebok Human Rights Award for his work promoting freedom of expression. CCHR is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), the global network for free expression.
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