Losing Ground - Human Rights Party.

Losing Ground
Community Complaints
A series of land dispute complaints was submitted to provincial and national government authorities in June and October
2008. A third round of 32 complaints from 19 provinces was submitted in August 2009. Although these complaints do not
reflect the total number of people affected by Economic Land Concessions, forced evictions and land grabbing in Cambodia,
they illustrate rising levels of concern in communities where farmland has been leased, in many cases without residents’
knowledge, through ELCs to be converted to plantations, mines or tourism resorts.
The body of independent reports about ELCs is vast and almost uniformly negative. The World Bank, the United Nations
Development Programme and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have raised concerns
about the legality of many ELCs, have questioned their value as instruments for economic development and highlighted links
to human rights abuses.
These community complaints were filed directly by affected individuals and communities. They demonstrate a rising
awareness among rural Cambodians about the legal issues surrounding ELCs as well as their rights under Cambodian and
international law. The complaints also reflect a rising level of frustration with attempts to solve disputes arising from ELCs
and other land disputes at the local level. The complaints come from six different provinces but have a similar theme:
marginalized communities are being driven into poverty by ELCs and alleged land grabs, and their attempts to seek solutions
are met with intimidation, coercion and court action and sometimes violence. What follows is a brief description of some of
the 2008 complaints. The full complaints can be accessed (in Khmer and English) at the UN Office for the High Commissioner
on Human Rights in Phnom Penh.
“A key question is who benefits from economic land concessions, and the grant
of Cambodia’s land and natural resources. Information available on the Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website shows that a large number of
economic land concessions have been granted in favour of foreign business interests
and prominent Cambodian political and business figures, including senators and
Oknhas.¹ Yet the benefits for rural communities are not apparent, nor is the
contribution to state revenues.” ²
Hundreds of residents of
indigenous villages who say they
are losing land and livelihoods
as a result of the Wushishan
concession attempt to protest
in the provincial capital in
Mondulkiri in 2005. Their effort
to save their land continues,
but they say they face increased
harassment from authorities.
1 “Oknha” is a title given to “any generous person” who contributes $100,000 to the state, either in cash or materials.
² Economic land concessions in Cambodia: A human rights perspective, UN Cambodia Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, June 2007, page 2 .
Forced Evictions and Intimidation in Cambodia
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