Navy Koeung and Kimheak Chhay at COP28. Kiripost/Via WCS
Navy Koeung has become the first Bunong to address global leaders and high-ranking decision makers when she highlighted the benefits of carbon finance in forest conservation at COP28.
On Sunday, Navy, who lives in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, took to the stage at the UNFCCC’s 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), which is this year hosted in the UAE, to put forward her case.
Amidst ongoing debates, many people continue to assert that women are incapable of achieving important things within their communities. It is worth noting that the significant ceremony known as Indigenous Peoples Day is actually spearheaded by women from the Indigenous Peoples community. Indigenous women play important roles in their communities’ events and fulfilling significant responsibilities within their families.
Indigenous Chong in Areng, Koh Kong province (2023 by VCIP)
Days ago, the Indigenous Chong community came together to commemorate the 29th Indigenous Peoples Day in the vibrant Areng community. The event was graced by the presence and guidance of their very own community members. In a remarkable display of pride, it is evident that lots of Indigenous women are at the forefront of organizing and commemorating the event in the Areng Valley area. In this captivating image, we witness a remarkable woman who has been at the forefront of the Indigenous Peoples Day activity from its inception until the day it ended. Her unwavering dedication is evident as she tirelessly mobilizes and orchestrates acts of solidarity, ensuring the provision of nourishment to those in need. Additionally, she plays a key part in facilitating communication and collaboration with representatives from various community committees.
She brings rice while raining to commemorate IPs Day in Areng Valley (2023 by VCIP)
She arrives at the Ips Day celebration early in the morning with chickens, rice, and vegetables. Even though it was raining heavily, she continued to walk forward to organize the ceremony. “It’s our day, so let’s contribute as much as we can to commemorate our Indigenous rights and preserve our identity,” she said.
It reflects self-esteem and self-determination of indigenous peoples in commemorating their own event with solidarity.
Indigenous women hold ancestral knowledge useful for preserving land and natural resources. In Asia, out of 260 million Indigenous Peoples, it can be safely estimated that indigenous women make up 50% of such population.
“We will always protect our land. We will keep fighting to find a solution if someone tries to take the land. I recently got out of jail, but there are still lingering land issues. However, because it is the land of our ancestors, we shall all unite as one to struggle with the court to reclaim it. The accusation that I have encroached on the company property is demonstrably untrue because we have used this land for many generations, starting with our ancestors. Therefore, from this point on, let all institutions and leaders assist in recognizing our community land.” said Heng Phen in a video clip following her release on bail on Thursday, June 30.
The Kampong Thom court charged Mrs. Heng Phen with “committing violence against a real estate occupant” and ordered her to be held in detention in June 14. On June 30, Phen was released on bail and freed. She is now subject to district police surveillance and must appear in court once a month for the next three months.
When Phen was finally allowed back into the neighborhood, people flocked to her support to express their solidarity.
Prior to her release, the villagers arranged a traditional prayer for her freedom; eventually, she was let out of jail in accordance with their wishes.
Representative of Kui indigenous group in Ngon commune, Sandan district, Kampong Thom province has been remanded in custody following a lawsuit filed by the SAMBATH PLANTINUM. Co., LTD((https://data.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/dataset/sambath-platinum-co-ltd-amendment)). Hean Hiek, First Vice President of the Kui Kbet Chonghor Khna Indigenous Community said authorities arrested her on June 14, 2022, and sent her to pretrial detention according to the complaint of Chheng Phan, a representative of Sambath Platinum Company.
The indigenous community of Kui Kbet Chonghor Khna has had land disputes with Sambath Platinum and Tepi Agro((https://data.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/dataset/tepi-agro-investment-co-ltd-amendment)) from 2012 until 2022. A community representative said that in 2014, the Kampong Thom provincial authorities facilitated the company to cut 130 hectares of land. He claimed that on May 18, 2022, eight police officers armed with guns insulted the villagers, injured them and seized their tractors((https://www.vodkhmer.news/2022/06/16/kampong-thom-indigenous-representative-detained-over-land-dispute/)).
He said “We, the Indigenous people, call on the courts and national authorities to intervene and release Heng phen in accordance with the policy of promoting the rights of indigenous peoples”.
Ngorn commune chief Set Poy said he did not know in advance that the company Sambath Platinum was suing indigenous representatives and that one of them had been arrested. Heng Phen was remanded in custody on June 14 on charges of “violence against a real estate occupant,” an official told VOA Khmer.
From 1979 to the present, more than 100 indigenous Kui families have enjoyed the traditional way of life in the community forest in Kbet Chonghor Khna village, Ngon commune, Sandan district, Kampong Thom province, according to a report published in 2022 on the situation of the Kui indigenous community in Kbet Chonghor Khna village, Ngon commune, Sandan district, Kampong Thom province.
The indigenous Kui community registered with the Ministry of Rural Development in 2016 and the Ministry of the Interior in 2017, according to the report. The community spans more than 1,000 hectares, with the business clearing around 700 hectares so far.
Sambath Platinum, a development investment company in agriculture, industry, and rubber plantation, received a government investment right on 2,496 hectares in the Boeung Per Wildlife Sanctuary in Meanchey commune, Sandan district, Kampong Thom province, according to the government’s location map in 2011.
Separately, on August 13, 2021, the Kampong Thom Province Department of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction issued a letter to Sambath Platinum and Tepi Agro ordering them to stop clearing border posts, bulldozing crops, and removing border posts from community land, as well as compensation for crops destroyed by the company.