A Turning Point?: Land, Housing and Natural Resources Rights in Cambodia in 2012

OPENING PARAGRAPH OF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Whereas 2011 had seen a sharp increase in the number of Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) granted by the Royal Government of Cambodia to private companies, in 2012 conflicts became more acute and protests multiplied. The government showed that it had understood the seriousness of the situation by taking initiatives aimed at resolving land disputes, addressing some of the issues related to ELCs and granting thousands of land titles to rural families. However, some of the most pressing concerns about the overall pressure on land, landlessness, land tenure insecurity, lack of law enforcement, power abuses, and encroachment on livelihoods and natural resources remained unaddressed. This report is intended to be comprehensive. It deals with land concessions, land disputes, forced evictions and encroachment on natural resources from a human rights and development perspective. However, extractive industries are beyond its scope. The report first sheds light on the gap between the Cambodian legal framework and the reality with regard to land, housing and natural resources rights. It stresses that this gap is extremely significant, due to Cambodian authorities’ failure to implement the law. Second, the report analyzes the consequences of rights violations in terms of land tenure security, landlessness, poverty, livelihoods and related issues. Third, it examines conflict resolution processes and institutions, and the practice. It puts emphasis on the mounting crackdown on rights activists. Last, the report provides a preliminary analysis of the initiatives taken by the Royal Government of Cambodia in 2012. The report features detailed recommendations to the government, business enterprises and Cambodia’s development partners.

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