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Article

5 Jul 2020

Author:
Narin Sun, VOA

Cambodia: Land rights NGO's report shows little improvement in handling of land evictions & human rights violations in most cases in Phnom Penh

"NGO Report Shows Little Improvement in Handling of Land Evictions", 29 June 2020

Urban land rights NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut released a research document … showing a slowdown in land evictions in the capital, but said there was little evidence the process was improving or following human rights standards.

The document, released by Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) and titled “Eviction and Relocation,” provides statistics on all reported land evictions in Phnom Penh since the 1990s.

Pointing to recent evictions conducted in the last three months at Boeung Chhouk A, Boeung Samrong, and Boeung Tamok, STT’s report shows little improvement in local authorities' conduct while dealing with communities slated for eviction.

“Impoverished Cambodian families continue to be evicted despite the Covid-19 pandemic making families vulnerable to sickness and extreme poverty,” read the report’s press release…

Highlighting recent evictions, STT reported that authorities deployed bulldozers to Boeung Chhouk A community in northern Phnom Penh ... Only a few families had been consulted before the eviction. The remaining households were then given a 15-day notice for the eviction, again well short of the 90 days that human rights guidelines on evictions.

… Ministry of Land Management spokesperson Seng Lout also refused to comment about the report or the recent evictions, asking reporters to contact district governments for comment…

According to STT, since the 1980s, Phnom Penh has witnessed the eviction and relocation of more than 50 communities, totaling around 9,832 families and more than 40,000 people. The rights group said most of these communities had suffered trauma and continue to suffer as a result of the flawed processes used by the local and national government.