UN EXPERT ON HOUSING RIGHTS CONCLUDES VISIT TO CAMBODIA

19 September 2005


Following is the statement of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Miloon Kothari, after the conclusion of his recent country mission to Cambodia:

"Following an invitation from the Government of Cambodia, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing visited the country on mission from 22 August to 3 September, 2005.

The purpose of the mission was to examine and report on the status of realization of adequate housing and other related rights in the country, with particular attention to urban as well as rural areas and gender equality and non-discrimination.

During his visit, the Special Rapporteur met with officials from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, the Municipality of Phnom Penh, local authorities at the province and district level, members of the donor community, including embassies, United Nations country team and international financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, grass-root organizations and community leaders and representatives.

The Special Rapporteur visited Battambang, Beantey Meanchey, Siem Riep and Kompong Speu provinces in order to gain first-hand understanding of the housing rights situation in both urban and rural areas.

The Special Rapporteur has highlighted in his preliminary findings some positive trends and best practices observed, such as the constitutional recognition of the right to housing, adoption of the 2001 Land Law, the on-going formulation of the 2020 Master Plan of Phnom Penh, the efforts of the Municipality of Phnom Penh to consult with the urban poor and respond to their housing rights concerns, the courageous struggle of villagers and of indigenous peoples for their human rights, the emerging informal network of urban poor women and the readiness of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to listen to the concerns of these women through the organization of community forums, and the fact-finding and documentation work of international and local non-governmental organizations on adequate housing and land-related issues.

However, from all visits, interviews and meetings held by the Special Rapporteur, some points of main concern were identified related to:

· Significant incidence of land grabbing which appears to be exacerbating land disputes and skewing land ownership patterns to the disadvantage of both the rural and urban poor;
· land management system in place has been unable to address this situation as a combined result of: (i) the absence of land records, (ii) an underdeveloped and non-transparent land registration system, (iii) the absence of cadastral index maps, (iv) inadequate land laws and procedures, (v) unclear delineation of state land and the weakness of the justice system;
· many of the neighborhoods visited by the Special Rapporteur had no access to water, electricity and sanitation; due to the lack of access to public utilities, most of the villagers turn to private companies, which charge considerably higher rates;
· sanitary conditions in those areas were extremely poor, with open air sewage and garbage spread under and around houses;
· a considerable number of forced eviction cases were brought to the Special Rapporteur’s attention; in most of these cases, no consultative and participatory process took place prior to eviction and violence took place in some of them;
· the Special Rapporteur is also concerned with allegations concerning a growing number of evictions being ordered by Courts, which appear to be based on insufficient investigation concerning the legality / legitimacy of the relevant land titles;
· the Special Rapporteur was especially surprised by the great number of land swaps taking place all over the country. His concerns on the matter are based in the fact that according to Cambodian legislation, especially the Land Law (2001), such transactions may be illegal and have been carried out with lack of transparency and public participation;
· in such a context, and considering the widespread allegations of corruption related to such schemes, land swaps have a critical impact on the people living on the lands that have been traded by the Government; in many cases those affected have been relocated without sufficient compensation and on lands far from urban centers and without access to basic services;
· no policies are in place to address the disproportionately adverse impact of housing and living conditions on women; and
· increasing economic and military land concessions and acquisition of communal land by individuals appear to be having serious effect on the housing and living conditions of indigenous populations.

In order to assist Cambodian efforts to deal with such concerns, the Special Rapporteur has put together a set of preliminary recommendations to the Government of Cambodia, which he has encouraged to:

· conduct a national survey on the state of housing and living conditions in the country;
· prepare a national land use plan that clearly identifies the different types of state property and the respective authorities in charge of its management;
· strengthen public participation in the elaboration of development plans and in the preparation and assessment of housing projects;
· promote and protect the work of human rights and development NGOs;
· ensure the participation of the urban poor;
· strengthen the monitoring of illegal land sales;
· adopt a national evictions act in accordance with international human rights standards;
· announce a moratorium on land “swaps” and land concessions;
· reinforce, expand and implement policies aimed at groups in vulnerable situations, especially women and children living in inadequate and insecure housing conditions;
· develop policies and programmes to address discrimination against women in relation to equal access to housing and land;
· ensure greater respect for traditional lands of indigenous peoples and elaboration of culturally sensitive land and housing policies and declare a moratorium on land sales affecting indigenous people;
· ensure accountability by disclosing a list of all land swaps that have or are being negotiated by public authorities;
· effectively implement the 2001 Land Law and speed up the process for adoption of the sub-decrees on State Land Management, economic concessions and indigenous collective title;
· clarify the role played by a number of private companies in land swapping. Clearly identify the scope and extension of responsibility of these companies, especially regarding people affected by the land swaps; and ensuring Government responsibility for securing legitimate negotiations between companies and people, as well as ensuring their overall housing and living conditions in the resettlement areas.
· review carefully and implement the recommendations of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia.

All these topics are further discussed in the Special Rapporteur’s Preliminary Findings on the Mission to Cambodia, copies of which are available upon request."

For further information, contact Paula Martins, at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: pmartins@ohchr.org

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