Support for resettled communities in Cambodia

“I don’t want others to be affected like I was,” said a community representative while welcoming the launch of an OHCHR study on the human rights situation of communities living in resettlement sites in Cambodia and a set of draft guidelines on evictions and resettlement, on 7 March. 

The results of the study are based on research conducted by UN Human Rights in 2019 and 2020 with government representatives, NGOs and leaders of 37 communities that have been resettled in 17 different sites. It is one of the most in-depth quantitative and qualitative studies that has been undertaken on the impacts of evictions and resettlement in Cambodia.

According to the findings, there are significant gaps in the fulfilment of fundamental human rights, including the right to adequate housing, access to health care and access to education.

“Evicted communities report that the places where they are resettled are not fit for purpose. They are frequently far from educational sites, work opportunities and health care facilities or are not connected to basic amenities, such as water and electricity. This makes it hard for communities to adjust and falls short of the human rights obligations of duty-bearers to guarantee the rights to education, health, water and sanitation and an adequate standard of living,” said Pradeep Wagle, UN Human Rights-Cambodia Representative.

UN Human Rights has advocated for adequate housing for many years, yet the study underscores that many challenges remain. As noted by Chak Sopheap, Executive Director of the Cambodia Centre for Human Rights, “There is a clear interdependence between the right to adequate housing and the enjoyment of other human rights, including the right to education, the right to work and the right to the highest attainable standard of health.” 

Women and indigenous peoples face particular challenges in each of these areas. For instance, despite the right of every child to education, one-fifth of households in Cambodia, half of which are indigenous peoples, keep their children out of school so that they can work. In addition, while every person has the right to food, which is an underlying determinant of health, roughly 25 per cent of households do not have access to sufficient food. Further, most households indicate that the responsibility for acquiring food falls on women, which puts them at a disadvantage as they are usually the first to sacrifice their food intake to their families.

UN Human Rights-Cambodia is hopeful that the Government will pay heed to the results of the study and draft further guidelines and implement stronger protections for potentially resettled communities. This can be achieved through consultations and the provision of care for those in vulnerable situations, particularly those facing intersectional forms of discrimination, such as certain groups of women, children and persons with disabilities.