Economic, social and cultural rights
Land and housing rights and evictions
Phuket removes encroaching shops on Surin beach
Authorities on 20 April demolished 36 shops illegally occupying parts of popular Surin beach as part of a campaign to regulate businesses on 50 beaches in this island province. Most proprietors had cooperated before officers moved in, but not all. Keep reading ...
Yangon’s illegal residents appeal for end to evictions
Hlaing Tharyar residents who were considered unlawful squatters by the former government are appealing to the new administration to end the policy of violent evictions. Union Minister for Commerce U Than Myint said the government has no plan to evict squatters and illegal residents are citizens and ...
Shan community groups denounce European-backed dam projects
Ethnic Shan communities in northern Shan State have called for an end to four planned hydropower dams on the Namtu River, an Irrawaddy tributary, citing irreparable damage to the environment. More than 100 people gathered in Hsipaw Township to hold a prayer service on the bank ...
UN envoy meets with Sesan villagers to discuss dam site
The U.N.’s human rights envoy to Cambodia on 27 March promised villagers in Stung Treng province who are set to be displaced by the construction of the Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam for the massive energy project that she would raise their plight with the ...
Evictions signal coastal development dilemma
With the threat of eviction hanging over businesses on Sihanoukville’s O’Chheuteal and O’Tres beaches, land rights advocates congregated in Phnom Penh this week to give voice to thousands of families locked in land disputes with powerful firms turning swaths of coastline into tourism destinations. Keep reading ...
Coastal villagers call for dispute resolutions
A coalition of villagers in long-running land disputes with development companies along Cambodia’s coastline from Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot and Kep provinces held a press conference in Phnom Penh on 21 March calling for authorities to resolve their cases. Keep reading ...
Beachfront evictions to begin In Sihanoukville next week
The eviction of businesses along Sihanoukville’s popular O’Chheuteal Beach will begin as early as Monday, after the provincial governor returns from a trip abroad, an official said on 17 March. Last month, the owners of bars, restaurant and guesthouses along O’Chheuteal and O’Tres beaches were informed ...
Police shut down NGO event for indigenous communities
Police in Ratanakkiri province on 15 March ordered rights group Adhoc to call off a planned workshop meant to inform local indigenous communities of their rights, claiming the NGO had failed to secure the necessary permission from authorities. Keep reading ...
Controversial study says violence works
Indigenous peoples fighting economic land concessions (ELCs) in Cambodia are more likely to get results with violent protest than lodging their complaints through legitimate channels, a controversial study published this month argues. The paper, published by Young Sokphea in the Asian Journal of Social Science, concludes ...
ANZ still owes villagers over sugar loan: Oxfam
Australian banking giant ANZ has come under fire for its response to a scandal over its financing of a sugar plantation previously linked to forced evictions and child labour in Kampong Speu province. Titled Still Banking on Land Grabs, Oxfam’s Australia branch released a report on ...
