Around 4,200 families living on or around Boeung Kak Lake in central Phnom Penh are affected by the re-development, which is the outcome of an agreement reached in 2007 between the Municipality of Phnom Penh and a private company. The company started filling the lake with sand in August 2008, in preparation for building.

The agreement was made without any prior consultation with the affected families, who since learning about the deal have repeatedly protested and voiced concern about the plans. At least two villagers have been arrested for their peaceful protests. Company workers and security forces have intimidated and harassed many others, while the rising water levels caused by the filling of the lake, have flooded and destroyed many homes around its shore, forcing people to move.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English, Khmer or your own language:

• Urging the authorities to halt immediately any plans to forcibly evict the families living in Villages 2 and 4 in Boeung Kak;
• urging them to reconsider the plan to move the community to a resettlement site at Damnak Trayoeung, which has no adequate shelter, water, electricity, sanitation, sewerage, health care or job opportunities;
• Calling on the authorities to hold genuine consultations about the onsite development plans, including clarifying the time frame for temporary relocation and a guarantee of security of tenure at Boeung Kak;
• Demanding that they uphold Cambodia’s obligations under international human rights treaties prohibiting forced eviction and related human rights violations.

Help stop these forced evictions. Please send your message now.

Sign our petition calling for an end to forced evictions in Cambodia, and recognition of the land rights of Villages 2 and 4 in Boeung Kak, Phnom Penh.

Read the background information on this case

Action posted by James

Watch and share the video on the eviction: http://hub.witness.org/en/Group78Eviction2

Watch and share the video on Group 78: http://hub.witness.org/en/blog/Group78Eviction
A coalition of NGOs in Cambodia issued a joint statement:
“Joint civil society organizations strongly condemn the 3-years-long coercion campaign of Group 78 residents to leave their homes and land, culminating in this morning’s final eviction of the area.”

“Today is yet another black day for land rights in Cambodia,” said LICADHO director Naly Pilorge. “Once more, some of Phnom Penh’s poorest and most vulnerable residents have been forced off their land in return for grossly inadequate compensation.”

Read the statement: http://www.licadho-cambodia.org/pressrelease.php?perm=211

Amnesty International condemned the forced eviction:

“The families dismantled their homes after three years of government harassment and intimidation, with no choice but to accept inadequate compensation rather than have their homes demolished.”

Read the AI press release: http://tinyurl.com/nkv22b

On July 16, the governments of 7 countries, along with the World Bank, United Nations, and others, called on the Cambodian government to stop all forced evictions in the country until a fair mechanism for resolving land disputes and a comprehensive resettlement policy are developed.

Read more: http://hub.witness.org/en/blog/Group78Eviction

These governments and organizations are part of “Development Partners” – donors to Cambodia.

[source:witness.org]

Before daybreak this morning at least 70 security forces, some armed with guns and electronic batons, moved in and fenced off the area where four remaining families were holding out. Within hours, the resisting families felt they had no choice but to leave.

We don’t yet know where people have gone or what has happened to their homes and community. Right now we’re tracking down a number of the families and will share their stories as information becomes available.

APYN strongly condemns this forced eviction and the deeply flawed process that led to it.

We’ll continue to keep you updated about the plight of Group 78 via our website.

Sadly, Group 78 are not alone in their struggle. In 2008 we received reports of about 27 forced evictions, impacting an estimated 23,000 people; but together – as a movement of 2.7 million supporters – we’ll continue to call for real, lasting change.

Let’s join activists around the region to Demand Dignity!
>>> check out the (((Demand Dignity))) Launch events

You can take action online to be part of the activities!
If you have:

• 30 seconds today:

Log your location on our map petition & tell your friends about it!

• 30 minutes today:
• Follow us on Twitter and respond to our questions;
• Post your voice on http://www.demanddignity.org and invite some friends too!
• Encourage your friends to join the Asia Pacific Youth Network.
• Log your location on our map petition & tell your friends about it!
• Invite 30 of your friends to join the Asia Pacific Youth Network on Facebook
• 30 hours in the next 3 months:

Organise a local activity with your friends over the next 3 months exploring the themes of the Demand Dignity campaign – “What does Dignity mean to you?”. You’ll need to email your idea and plan to us.

• 30 days over the next 6 months:

Today – log on to your favourite social networking site, create an APYN Demand Dignity group, and invite 30 of your friends to join. Email us the pathway to your group to find out the next 29 actions to sustain your network of young human rights activists!

• 3 months:

Become youth ambassador!
Look out for details next week on this site or email your interest to us!

Set yourself a target, devise an action plan and implement it! It’s a longer term project that connects you with other people who want to Demand Dignity! Email us for more information.

Got a better idea? email it to us or post comment below!

Look forward to hearing from you or seeing you in one of our activities!

What sort of obligations does the Cambodian state have to its nationals with regards to forced evictions and adequate housing?
Cambodia is party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and other international human rights treaties that prohibit forced eviction and related human rights violations, Cambodia therefore has a duty to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights provided for in these treaties, including the right to an adequate standard of living, and specifically the right to adequate housing (Article 11 of the ICESCR). As part of the right to housing, Cambodia is obliged not only to stop forced evictions but also to protect people from forced evictions.

Case – forced eviction from Sambok Chab
One thousand, five hundred families were forcibly evicted from Sambok Chab in mid-2006 to make way for urban development. It was an informal settlement on the bank of the Bassac River in central Phnom Penh established in the early 1990s.

Events leading up to the forced eviction at Sambok Chab
o The Cambodian authorise announced that a real estate company had obtained legal title to the land where the families in Sambok Chab were living and that they wanted to redevelop the area;
o Neither the Cambodian authorities nor the real estate company made the alleged legal title available to the public;
o The real estate’s ownership claim was not validated by a court as is required under Cambodian law;
o The redevelopment plan was not made public;
o The families living in Sambok Chab were excluded from the processes and decisions that impacted on their lives. No one meaningfully consulted them about possible measures to upgrade their community or about their needs at a resettlement site.

The forced eviction at Sambok Chab
o The authorities cordoned off Sambok Chab in June 2006;
o Hundreds of members of the security forces and demolition workers forcibly evicted 1500 families from the settlement and bulldozers flattened their homes;
o A small number of home owners were given alternative accommodation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh;
o 1500 families including many who had been renting homes at Sambok Chab were relocated 20 kilometres outside Phnom Penh to New Andong in trucks provided by the authorities and the real estate company.

What was the New Andong relocation like?
When the 1500 families arrived at New Andong in June 2006 they found an empty muddy field with:
o no houses or shelters
o no sewage system
o no clean water supply
o no electricity
o no access to the road
o no schools
o no clinics
o no markets

A young mother forcibly evicted from Sambok Chab to New Andong made the following statement to Amnesty International:

“The situation at that time was out of control so I just followed what they told me to do. They told me they would find a job for me and give me land. They would build factories, hospitals, schools and more. But when I arrived, everything was empty. The land was flooded, and I felt hopeless.”
How did the families manage at New Andong?

Shelter
Most families erected temporary shelters using materials they had salvaged from Sambok Chab and tarpaulins provided by civil society organisations

Earning a living
Most of the families had worked as day labourers or street vendors in Phnom Penh. The relocation to New Andong meant that most lost their livelihoods. The cost of commuting to Phnom Penh is greater than most can earn in a day. Members of some families have moved back to Phnom Penh so that they can earn money and send it back to their family in New Andong. Other New Andong residents now work as labourers for farmers or on local construction sites.

Health
NGOs and doctors who work with the community in New Andong have reported widespread health problems especially amongst
children including: skin disease, diarrhoea, Dengue Fever and malnutrition. Those living with HIV/AIDS had to leave New Andong to live nearer a medical centre which could provide the healthcare they needed.

After three years in New Andong:
o Most in the community remain severely deprived three years after the forced eviction;
o Many New Andong residents have still not received official documentation guaranteeing them security of tenure which they say they were promised before they were relocated to New Andong. With land prices rising in Phnom Penh they fear that they maybe forcibly evicted again in the future;
o Three years after the forced eviction most of the land in Sambok Chab where the families used to live remains unused.

Other communities at risk of forcible eviction in May 2009 include:
Borei Keila http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA23/008/2009/en
Group 78 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA23/007/2009/en

ACTION NEEDED!
The Asia Pacific Youth Network is calling on the Cambodian authorities to:
o End all forced evictions;
o Ensure that all past victims of forced evictions receive an effective remedy, including access to justice and adequate compensation;
o Ensure that people living in deprived areas and informal settlements have equal access to public services and can participate in developing and implementing solutions to ensure adequate housing;
o Ensure that all people who may be affected by land development are accorded the legal protections to which they are entitled under international standards, including adequate notice, consultation, due process and assurance of adequate alternative accommodation.

What You can do:

Add your name to the petition to Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior

Sign the Petition now for Group 78

STOP PRESS: We’ve updated the action…having just heard:

On 23 April 2009, the Phnom Penh Municipality distributed a final eviction notification to a community of around 80 families known as Group 78 living on the riverfront in central Phnom Penh. The notification, which was issued on 20 April, gave the community members 15 days from the date of issuance to move out of the area. It is the sixth eviction notice issued to the community since 2006, none of which has been based on a court order, as required by domestic law. Group 78 residents fear they may soon lose their homes, but have not given up hope that the authorities will respect the law and let them stay or provide fair and just compensation.

In the final eviction notification, Group 78 residents are requested to dismantle their homes by the deadline, or else the authorities state they will take “administrative measures”. If residents refuse to pack up and leave, the authorities state they will not take responsibility for any damage to or loss of housing or other property. According to the notification, the Phnom Penh Military Police is to coordinate its “implementation”.

BACKGROUND ON GROUP 78

In April 2009 the municipality offered all households that currently own their housing USD 5,000 and a small plot of land in Trapeang Anchanh resettlement site, some 20 kms from where they now live. Basic services at Trapeang Anchanh, where hundreds of other forcibly evicted people live, are inadequate, including water, sanitation and sewerage. The authorities have not built any shelters on the land. The cost for transport to and from Trapeang Anchanh to the city where Group 78 residents work far exceeds their expected daily earnings. Up to 20 families who are renting at Group 78, have not had any offers of relocation.

There has been no attempt at a genuine consultation with the community, which has been living under the threat of forced eviction for three years, or to explore feasible alternatives to the proposed eviction.

The families, which include street vendors, and some teachers and government employees, started moving into the area on the riverfront in 1983. Since then the value of the land has increased enormously. The Municipality of Phnom Penh has provided different reasons for the eviction, ranging from beautification of the city to claims that the community are illegal squatters. The Group 78 families have applied for formal land titles several times, but the authorities have rejected their applications, despite the families having official documentation proving strong ownership claims under the 2001 Land Law.

In 2007 more than 20 families left Group 78 for Andong, another resettlement site, after threats and harassment from local authorities. However, they found they could not make a living at the resettlement site, and returned to the city as squatters, living in tents or under tarpaulins around the area.

In January 2009, about 400 poor urban families were forcibly evicted from Dey Kraham, which is located near to Group 78. Their homes were destroyed by an estimated 250 security forces and demolition workers, and many people lost their possessions. The vast majority were made homeless, and subsequently had no option but to move to resettle at a site also distant from Phnom Penh, with no clean water, electricity, sewage and basic services, and with shelters still under construction. Officials from the Phnom Penh Municipality have said to Group 78 residents that if they do not accept the compensation package, they will be seeing a resolution similar to that of Dey Kraham.

Take Action here

and spread the word through our Facebook Gift

Take action to prevent a forced eviction taking place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia:

There has been a steady rise in the number of land disputes, land confiscations and evictions, including forced evictions in Cambodia in the last 10 years. Most victims are marginalized people living in poverty, who are unable to obtain effective remedies. In 2008 approximately 23,000 people were forcibly evicted from their homes in Cambodia and a further 150,000 are living at risk of forced eviction. Amnesty International has attributed the rise in the number of forced evictions to the lack of rule of law, a seriously delayed process of legal and judicial reform and endemic corruption.

What is a forced eviction and why is it unlawful?
Forced evictions are evictions that are carried out without adequate notice, consultation with those affected, without legal safeguards and without assurances of adequate alternative accommodation. These rights apply to all including owners, those who rent and illegal settlers.

As a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and other international human rights treaties which prohibit forced eviction and related human rights violations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Cambodia has an obligation to stop forced evictions and to protect the population from forced evictions.

APYN Urgent Action!
More than thirty families are facing forced eviction from Borei Keila in central Phnom Penh, They have objected to being evicted because the local authorities have failed to offer them adequate alternative housing in a suitable area where basic services are available. These families have a strong case to oppose the eviction, but because they are vulnerable and living in poverty it is likely that their Voices will be ignored by the authorities and their human rights will be violated. The reasons that the families oppose the eviction are listed below:

a) The families will be deprived of their livelihoods
Most of the families earn a living in central Phnom Penh as scavengers or porters in a local market or as day labourers, earning daily wages of between 6,000 and 10,000 riels. A one-way bus trip from the proposed relocation site to Borei Keila costs 15,000 riels, so the forced eviction would effectively deprive them of their livelihoods.

b) The families will lose access to essential medical services
At least one member of each of the families is suffering from HIV/AIDS and requires access to anti-retroviral treatment and treatment for AIDS-related illnesses. There are no adequate health services near the proposed resettlement site, and transport costs to continue anti-retroviral treatment and access to medical services would cost more money than the families will be able to afford.

Cambodia has an obligation to ensure adequate provision of health care to all its citizens, including access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS. The International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights also urge states to ensure universal access to HIV-related goods, services and information, and that they “not only be available, acceptable and of good quality, but within physical reach and affordable for all”.

c) Many basic essential services are not available at the proposed relocation site
Not only is there no access to essential medical care, but there is no access to basic services such as clean water, electricity and sanitation.

d) The housing on the proposed relocation site is inadequate
The proposed resettlement site at Tuol Sambo is based on top of a landfill site. The houses are made of green metal sheets and look different from the other houses in the area which could contribute to these families feeling stigmatized. The houses do not have sufficient space for the average sized family and they are too close together for safety and ventilation.

e) Discrimination
The families, most of whom are living in severe poverty believe they are being discriminated against in two ways:
• Many of the families have lived for at least the minimum amount of time in Borei Keila in Phnom Penh to make them eligible to be considered for flats in the buildings which are currently being constructed in that area. The families believe that because of their HIV status, the authorities are forcibly evicting them to an unsuitable relocation site instead of assessing them to determine if they are eligible for the flats in the new buildings in Borei Keila.
• The families fear they will face further stigmatization and discrimination at Tuol Sambo resettlement site because of their HIV status. Villagers in the vicinity are already calling it the “AIDS Village”.

Let’s join together to stop these families being forcibly evicted!Group 78 community representative Khen Sok Roath talks to Amnesty