Forced Eviction and Resettlement in Cambodia: Case Studies from Phnom Penh

The rise of urbanization and development in Cambodia in recent years has led to a dramatic increase in land prices, with particularly high values for land in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Some government officials have benefited from the high price of land by unlawfully granting land title to private developers in exchange for compensation. Once these officials have granted land title to developers, they forcibly evict from the property existing residents, who mostly come from poor and marginalized communities. There is rampant corruption at every stage of the "development" process. Forced evictions as a result of development projects, land disputes, and land grabbing are now among the most widespread human rights violations in Cambodia. More than one hundred fifty thousand Cambodians are currently at risk of being forcibly evicted.

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