News
Ministry reports slow progress in indigenous community recognition
Ministry of Rural Development spokesman Pit Karuna stated that the ministry has collected data on 455 indigenous communities across the country, of which 194 have been assessed and officially identified. ...
Phak Seangly
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-reports-slow-progress-in-indigenous-community-recognition
Expedite collective land titles for indigenous peoples who risk losing their farmlands, NGOs urge government
The government allegedly achieved “far below” its goal set in 2017 to issue collective land titles (CLTs) to 10 indigenous communities per year, according to the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) on Wednesday. ...
Khuon Narim and Tep Suokeany
https://cambojanews.com/expedite-collective-land-titles-for-indigenous-people-who-risk-losing-their-farmlands-ngos-urge-government/
Cambodia to celebrate indigenous people’s day on August 9
Cambodia will celebrate the 30th International Day of the World’s Indigenous People and its 20th national observance on August 9, highlighting the indigenous communities that make up 1.4 per cent of the country’s 17 million population. ...
Hong Raksmey
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cambodia-to-celebrate-indigenous-people-s-day-on-august-9
HRW: rights of Indigenous Chong residents violated in Southern Cardamom carbon offset project
A new report alleges that conservation NGO Wildlife Alliance forcibly evicted, arrested and mistreated members of the Indigenous Chong community who live in the Cardamom Mountain National Park in the name of a carbon offset scheme. ...
Leila Goldstein and Soeung Nimol
https://cambojanews.com/hrw-rights-of-indigenous-chong-residents-violated-in-southern-cardamom-carbon-offset-project/
New M’kiri airport to boost tourism, economy but deforestation concerns linger
The government has permitted private firm Focus Trans Global Venture Co Ltd (FTGV) to study the construction of a new airport in Mondulkiri province, northeast of Cambodia, as well as invest in a build, operate and transfer (BOT) model, the Office of the Council Minister ...
Khuon Narim
https://cambojanews.com/new-mkiri-airport-to-boost-tourism-economy-but-deforestation-concerns-linger/
Human rights violation, deforestation evident in Cambodia’s gold mine operations over 20 years – report
A recent report by Equitable Cambodia has exposed the commercial gold mining industry’s involvement in deforestation, violation of rights, encroachment and land grab of traditional indigenous forested areas. ...
Forty percent of indigenous children in a Ratanakiri commune addicted to drugs
Local authorities and indigenous villagers in a commune in Ratanakiri are gravely concerned over the high percentage of their children being involved in drugs, with the propensity of becoming worse with time. ...
An Vicheth
https://cambojanews.com/forty-percent-of-indigenous-children-in-a-ratanakiri-commune-addicted-to-drugs/
Kampong Thom Provincial Court sentences two indigenous people to one year in land dispute
Kampong Thom Provincial Court sentences two indigenous representatives to one year in prison on “Violence against real estate owners” in connection with a land dispute with a rubber plantation developer. ...
‘I am afraid I will kill myself, like my husband’: spotlight on loan firms in Cambodia after Indigenous suicides
Kwak Nga was still reeling from her husband’s suicide when his microfinance creditors showed up at her home to remind her that they still expected the approximate $170 (£140) monthly interest payments the couple had struggled to make. ...
Years-long mediation leaves Bunong farmers indebted to multinational rubber firm
More than a decade after subsidiaries of multinational rubber firm Socfin Group forcibly cleared and seized the farms, burial grounds and sacred forests of Bunong indigenous communities in Mondulkiri province, the company now seeks to collect tens of thousands of dollars from these farmers for ...
Jack Brook and Khuon Narim
https://cambojanews.com/years-long-mediation-leaves-bunong-farmers-indebted-to-multinational-rubber-firm/
Illegal logging claims in Preah Vihear sanctuary denied
Local authorities have refuted claims by a Kuy ethnic minority group in Preah Vihear province that forest crimes persisted in Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary. ...
Chea Sokny
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/illegal-logging-claims-preah-vihear-sanctuary-denied
Indigenous people in a village in Ratanakiri province cut down trees at risk to pay off debts
Residents of a village in O’Yadao district, Ratanakiri province, due to debt, went to cut down trees in the community, transported them across the border and sold them to Vietnam in order to repay the bank, according to village and community authorities. ...
Kraol minority apologise for burning down office
The O’Krieng Senchey district administration in Kratie province have ordered the Sre Chis commune authorities to educate minority ethnic groups about the laws and legal instruments related to environmental protection. ...
Orm Bunthoeurn
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kraol-minority-apologise-burning-down-office
Two Kraol indigenous people accused of encroaching on Ministry Land fail to appear in court
The Kratie Provincial Court summoned two Kraol indigenous people from Srae Chis commune to appear in court for questioning this week for allegedly illegally encroaching on protected areas, but the two villagers did not show up. ...
Seoung Nimol and Hel Komsan
https://cambojanews.com/two-kraol-indigenous-people-accused-of-encroaching-on-ministry-land-fail-to-appear-in-court/
More Bunong, Kouy, and Kroeung people have graduated from the university and returned to support their communities
Ms. Somart Sokhaii is Bunong. She is among a few indigenous people to have succeeded in her higher education with a bachelor’s degree in Laws. ...
Indigenous land exploited
The Royal Government of Cambodia and private land developers were exploiting indigenous communities in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces by signing concession deals for the communities’ land without prior consultation, advocates said yesterday. “We urge the government as well as the private sector to respect [indigenous peoples’] ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012030254821/National-news/indigenous-land-exploited.html
Cambodian 'Avatars' Rally to Save Forest
More than one hundred villagers dressed as the forest people from the hit film “Avatar” protested in the Cambodian capital Thursday against the destruction of the country’s Prey Lang forestThey say the forest, which is a source of livelihood for some 200,000 mainly indigenous people, ...
