The Voices of Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia
Make IPs voices heard and respected
On January 7, nearly 100 Kuy people from Bos and Preus Ka’ak villages gathered to prevent outsiders with tractors from clearing farmland. The dispute marks the second incident in less than a month of Kuy people from Chheb district fighting back against outsiders clearing community farmland.
Read the full article: Indigenous Kuy People Block Outsiders From Clearing Farmland in Preah Vihear | CamboJA News
Joint Statement of Indigenous Community Representatives
Of the Kingdom of Cambodia
On
Concerns Relating to the Environment and Natural Resources Code
Angkor Century Resort and Spa, Siem Reap
December 19, 2023
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On December 19, 2023, at the Angkor Century Resort in Siem Reap, we, 189 representatives of Indigenous communities, including 44 women, convened at the National Consensus Consultative Workshop between Indigenous Peoples and Other Stakeholders to gather relevant input on concerns about the content of the articles that affect the social, cultural, and economic rights of Indigenous peoples who live in and near protected areas and forest areas, as provided in the Environment and Natural Resources Code.
The consultation was attended by representatives of the communal land titling communities, community protected areas, and community forests from 12 provinces: Kratie, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Kampong Speu, Pursat, Koh Kong, Banteay Meanchey, Sihanoukville and Battambang.
Affirming that Indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples while recognizing the right of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such,
Affirming also that all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of humankind,
Affirming further that rights to natural resources and practices based on or advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic, or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable, and socially unjust,
Reaffirming that Indigenous peoples, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind,
Concerned that indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a result of the formulation or creation of the Environment and Natural Resources Code, other laws and regulations which dispossess their lands, traditional sites, culture, belief, non-timber forest product areas, and resources around their communities, thus weakening or preventing them from exercising, in particular, their right to development, conservation of cultural and civilization legacy, and interests in the natural resource sector in accordance with their own needs,
Concerned further that Indigenous peoples face social injustice because this Code provides a single standard or is solely based on social equality with the general population, or treats Indigenous communities on an equal footing with the general community by defining Indigenous peoples as local communities. In this spirit, the Code should not imply that including Indigenous communities in the definition of local communities provides reasons for inclusion, does not leave Indigenous communities behind, or promotes Indigenous communities to be equal in an equal society; on the contrary, such inclusion here embodies discrimination and does not benefit indigenous communities. Only then will it become a major cause of Indigenous communities being increasingly vulnerable to the loss of natural resource rights, economic, social, cultural, civilizational, and identity differences, and other benefits,
Concerned that indigenous peoples will lose their differences due to the fact that the Code does not state or include the word “Indigenous Peoples or Indigenous Communities” while some national laws already exist, such as the Land Law of 2001 from Article 23 to Article 28, Article 306 of the Civil Code of 2007, the Forestry Law of 2002, Sub-Decree No. 83 on Procedure of Registration of Land of Indigenous Communities and National Policies on Indigenous Peoples Development, as well as international laws and instruments that the Kingdom of Cambodia has supported and ratified, such as Convention No. 111 on Discrimination of Employment and Occupation. Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in the Independent States United Nations Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and, in particular, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Instead, the Code defines the term “Local community” by generalizing indigenous community, which we see as an effort to eliminate indigenous or ethnic names by mixing with the general community, which is distinct from the indigenous people. Meanwhile, indigenous peoples and most Khmers have a shared value: the value of ownership of Cambodia’s motherland throughout Cambodia’s whole national history.
Reaffirming that Indigenous peoples do not oppose the inclusion of the term “local community” in the Environment and Natural Resources Code, but the term “local community” cannot replace the term “Indigenous Communities” or be included in the definition of “Local Communities,” because Indigenous peoples differ in origin, ethnicity, language, identity, history, society, civilization, culture, tradition, and permanence, especially the connection of values, virtues, and harmony in the practice of traditional livelihoods with sustainable economy linking directly with their land, forest, natural resources and other resources.
Concerned that Article 364 stipulates that the designation of the four management zones does not stipulate the Indigenous principles of “Free, Prior, and Informed Consent” which may have an impact on Indigenous peoples’ social, cultural, and economic rights. The challenges and threats are as follows:
Concerned that indigenous peoples may lose access to the aforementioned locations, zones, and resources because the Sustainable Use Zone provision specifies that “the zone has economic value for national economic development.” If the Royal Government intends to change the purpose from conservation to national economic development by granting economic land concessions to the company, the company will enter to completely clear the forest, land, natural resources, and other resources.
Concerned that land within the community area provided for in Article 364 will not be able to make a decision or approve the issuance of a title in the area when the Ministry of Environment is unwilling to require indigenous peoples to obtain a certificate of collective ownership, despite indigenous peoples’ control, possession, and use of the land being in line with or in accordance with Articles 23 and 25 of the 2001 Land Law and international instruments. This issue is caused by the content of Article 364’s second paragraph in the community area, which states that “the issuance of a certificate identifying the owner of immovable property or permission to use land in this area… ” requires “prior approval from the Ministry in charge of Environment and Natural Resources in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.”
Concerned further that Article 369, indigenous peoples face the loss of the right to use natural resources in the traditional, religious, and customary way, which limits the right to use only in the sustainable use zone, and some other types of resources may occur in conservation zones by following the guidelines set by the Prakas of the Ministry in charge of environment and natural resources, and these guidelines will not be expected to have the same content giving rights and benefits to indigenous peoples based on actual situation. Additionally, freedom of movement within and out of protected areas must also be supervised by officials in charge of the environment and natural resources.
Joint Requests
Download: English
Following a land dispute, the Kampong Thom Provincial Court has given two indigenous Kui a one-year sentence in prison for their alleged involvement in a land dispute with a rubber plantation development company. The charges against them include “violence against real estate owners.”
Heng Saphen, a representative of the Kui indigenous people, expressed her dissatisfaction with the court’s decision, claiming that she was not involved in the alleged violence and that the company had even withdrawn their complaint.
“I find it unjust for both myself and my daughter, as I believe I am not at fault, yet the company has chosen to retract their complaint,” she expressed. According to her, the land issue has been a long-standing problem ever since the company began encroaching on community land.
This has led to ongoing disputes between the company and community members. She said that on the day of the incident [May 18, 2022], a group of villagers plowed the disputed land—which was in a condition of disrepair—with a tractor in order to grow crops, but the authorities arrived to put an end to it.
Ms. Saphen asserts that indigenous people are currently using the disputed land for farming and other activities like cassava planting. According to her, the potential loss of land could lead to significant challenges to indigenous livelihoods.
“The livelihood of Indigenous peoples is intricately tied to the land,” she emphasized. “Their way of life revolves around the land, as it provides for their needs and sustains their communities.”
Expressing her discontent with the ruling from the Kampong Thom Provincial Court, Ms. Saphen stated her intention to consult with her lawyer regarding the possibility of appealing the verdict to the Court of Appeal.
Lut Sang, the lawyer representing the two Kui indigenous people, asserted that his clients were indicted by the judge without concrete evidence of their alleged crime. According to Sang, “the judge’s allegations in this hearing appear to be procedurally biased and in favor of the company,” Sang stated.
According to his statement, the evidence presented by the plaintiffs during the previous hearing did not align with the actual location of the disputed land, which was found to be over two kilometers away. He claimed that after measuring the area where the incident occurred, the local authorities discovered that the locals owned more than one hectare of land. This was not the same as the plaintiff’s claim that the villagers had encroached on 21 hectares.
Heng Saphen, a representative of the Kui ethnic group, was initially remanded in custody on June 14, 2022, as stated in a company complaint. However, he was later released on bail on June 30.
A conflict over land ownership between over 100 indigenous families and a rubber company first arose over ten years ago, following the company’s acquisition of state investment rights.
Based on the government’s location map from 2011, SAMBATH PLANTINUM Co., LTD, a company specializing in agriculture, industry, and rubber plantation, has been granted government investment rights for a vast area of 2,496 hectares in the Boeung Per Wildlife Sanctuary.
A group of 104 indigenous Kuay families residing near the investment site is urging the authorities to clearly mark the boundaries between the company’s land and the land owned collectively by the community. They claim that the company cleared many hectares of the villagers’ crops and installed encroachment poles on community land.
In 2021, affected people sought the assistance of the Kampong Thom provincial authorities and the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. The Department of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction of Kampong Thom Province recently took action in response to a request. On 13 August 2021, they issued a letter to Sambath Platinum and Tepi Agro, instructing them to cease erecting boundary posts and clearing crops, and the posts must be removed.
The department also emphasized the need for compensation to be provided to the affected people for the crops that were destroyed by the company.
A land dispute has reached a critical point in Ngon village, Ngon commune, Sandan district, Kampong Thom province. On June 29, 2022, 104 indigenous families submitted a petition to the provincial authorities, urgently requesting intervention to halt the company’s land clearance activities.
These families have been embroiled in a dispute for over a decade and are seeking a clear demarcation between their land and the company’s. According to a petition for assistance from the Kampong Thom provincial administration, the indigenous Kui people are facing the loss of land that they used to occupy and enjoy in the traditional manner and that has been jointly controlled from 1979 to the present.
National Consultation Forum on Indigenous Women’s Issues and Challenges on Law Enforcements and Two New Draft Laws on Forestry and Protected Areas
Himawari Hotel, Phnom Penh, 25 January 2023
Indigenous communities, associations, and organizations consisting of a total of 48 individuals, and 36 women of indigenous Kreung, Tumpoun, Kui, Bunong, Jarai, Thmon, Por, Suy, Chong, and Sa’Och, from Ratanakiri, Kratie, Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Kampong Speu, Pursat, Koh Kong, and Battambang provinces, organized a National Consultation Forum on Indigenous Women’s Issues and Challenges on Law Enforcements and Two New Draft Laws on Forestry and Protected Areas, with the participation of the government agencies including Ministries, Parliament, and Senate, along with national and international NGOs and media.
We, the indigenous women’s group, community representatives, associations, and organizations, would like to express our sincere thanks to His Excellency, Lok Chumteav, and the representatives of Ministries, Parliament, Senate, provincial authorities, national and international distinguished guests who are present at today’s forum. Taking advantage of this opportunity, we would like to express our concerns, issues, and challenges as individuals and as a community, as well as our request:
We congratulate and are delighted that the proceedings against four defendants were dropped by Mondulkiri’s first instant court, and that the Supreme Court delivered justice to three Bunong indigenous women.
As a result, we, a woman’s group and community representatives attending today’s discussion would like to call on and request the following:
Finally, we, the indigenous women and community representatives, would like to offer our heartfelt gratitude to His Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen present at the National Consultation Forum, and wish you the best of luck, happiness, and success in all your endeavors.
Source: https://bit.ly/3mt2OWY
