The Indigenous World 2022: Cambodia
Cambodia is home to 24 different Indigenous Peoples who speak at least 19 Indigenous languages.[1],[2] With an estimated population of 250,000 to 400,000, they make up approx. 3% of the national population. The Indigenous territories include the forested plateaux and highlands of north-eastern Cambodia, where the majority live in the provinces Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie, Stung Treng, Kampong Thom, and Preah Vihear.
Cambodia’s Indigenous Peoples continue to face discrimination and forced displacement from their lands, which is extinguishing them as distinct groups.[3] These patterns are driven by ongoing State and transnational corporate ventures for resource extraction (mainly mining, timber and agribusiness) coupled with growing in-migration from other parts of the country. Cambodia voted to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples without reservation in 2007, and has ratified the CERD and CRC but has still not ratified ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.[4],[5] Cambodia became a party to the CEDAW in 1992 and its ratification was reaffirmed in 2007 when the Constitutional Council, the body created to safeguard the Constitution, reaffirmed the application of international human rights treaties in Cambodian domestic law.[6] However, implementation has remained slow[7] and, despite Cambodia’s public pledges to support gender equality, Cambodia ranks 144th out of 195 countries on the Gender Development Index,[8] which measures inequality in achievement between women and men in e.g. reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market.
During its last Universal Periodic Review in 2019, Cambodia accepted a recommendation to “Step up efforts in land matters, including through the effective and transparent implementation of measures to tackle land evictions and provide with fair compensation the victims of land grabbing, particularly indigenous people” and “Implement a coherent resettlement policy and simplified process for granting communal land titles, consulting communities, civil society and indigenous groups”. However, this has so far not led to actual remedy of the discrimination and land insecurity Indigenous Peoples continued to face in 2021. The Indigenous Peoples’ rights movement has continued to fight for their human rights; however, with deteriorating democratic freedoms and serious human rights violations, the ground on which the Indigenous rights movement exists has become more precarious. The repressive authoritarian regime of Hun Sen and the Cambodian People’s Party, which has ruled the country since 1985, has persisted on a path of corruption, human rights abuses, and non-democratic rule. In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the regime continued to repress civil and political rights by targeting the independent media, civic organizations, Indigenous networks, NGOs, individuals, as well as the opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was banned in 2017.
This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here
Introduction
In October, UN experts called on the government to take immediate steps to safeguard Cambodia's civic and democratic space by implementing the recommendations they had accepted in the 2019 Universal Periodic Review. Among these was a pledge to create conditions where “civil society, including human rights defenders, can freely conduct their work without interference or hindrance”.[9] During 2021, conflicts over land remained an immense challenge to human rights issues in Cambodia,[10] particularly for Indigenous Peoples, as economic land concessions (ELC), mining, hydropower dams, land encroachments, deforestation, and illegal logging continued to severely impact on them.[11] The widespread threats to Indigenous Peoples were exacerbated by authoritarian restrictions on the part of the government. Both the Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO) and the State of Emergency Law were systematically used to restrict and repress freedom of speech, and the rights to assembly and freedom of movement.[12],[13]
On a positive note, a national report on the demographic and socioeconomic status of Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia was produced and publicly launched in 2021. The report was drafted by a working group from the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Rural Development, and the Cambodian Indigenous Peoples Alliance (CIPA), with technical support from the Cambodian Indigenous Peoples Organization (CIPO). The report contains information on housing, land, collective land ownership, levels of education and employment, and data on gender and the marriage status of Indigenous Peoples in comparison to the Khmer. According to the report, almost half of Cambodia’s Indigenous children do not attend school. Approximately 24% complete primary school, 10% secondary education, and 4% high school. The report also includes data on the rate of active economic engagement of Indigenous Peoples, which is high both for men (87.7%) and for women (85.5%). The majority work in agriculture, with 90.6% of men and 95.9% of women engaged in farming. The report is the first of its kind, using official disaggregated data on Indigenous Peoples from the period 2008 to 2013.[14]
Indigenous women of Cambodia
Within a racialized and gendered social hierarchy that recasts women as below men, and Indigenous women as below Indigenous men and all Khmer,[15] Indigenous women in Cambodia share an intersectional burden of marginalization and discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, age and socioeconomic status.[16],[17]
The lives of most Indigenous women are inherently bound to their ancestral land; their livelihoods and culture are therefore threatened when land grabs, mining and ELC encroach onto their customary lands.[18],[19] The reduction in common natural resources caused by these damaging trends severely affects their access to wild foods, firewood, game, water, and grazing areas. This consequently jeopardizes the food security of many Indigenous households.[20] Secure land tenure is thus one of the most basic human rights for Indigenous Peoples, particularly Indigenous women.[21]
In rural areas, Indigenous women hold various roles in addition to their traditional household responsibilities. Among others, Indigenous women work as farmers, labourers, plantation workers, weavers, and handicraft producers. They practice rotational cultivation and animal husbandry and they harvest forest resources such as rattan, resin, cardamom and honey. A growing but limited number of Indigenous women study at university and work, for example, as lawyers and teachers.[22],[23] In several provinces, Indigenous women are important environmental actors and engage in collective activities to protect their communal land and cultural heritage. Kui Indigenous women are important actors in defending their forests and culture from destruction caused by ELC.[24] In the Prey Lang forests, Kui women are part of the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) that patrols the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary;[25] Bunong women also patrol their ancestral forests in Mondulkiri.[26] In Kampong Speu and Ratanakiri provinces, too, Indigenous women have been actively engaged in protests and different forms of resistance, including roadblocks and trespassing. Several women state that, when confronted with threats to their livelihood and their natural resources, they felt compelled to join the fight.[27] Moreover, Indigenous women are active in resolving land disputes in their communities. Women’s engagement as land activists has, in some cases, led to women taking leadership roles within their communities, actively engaging in the economic and political life of their community. They are held up as role models because of their work and achievements, which contribute significantly to community welfare.[28] And yet women’s involvement requires juggling multiple household responsibilities and women must often gain their husbands’ consent and support to be able to be active in the communities.[29] According to the Cambodian Indigenous Women’s Working Group (CIWWG), because the protection of Indigenous land and natural resources is often in conflict with State or company interests, Indigenous women rights defenders face high levels of violence, harassment, threats and arrests at the hands of the State and companies.
In general, CIWWG explains, representation and participation in decision-making processes is still limited for Indigenous women, both in formal authorities and in commune councils. As a result, there is little insight into the specific issues Indigenous women face and limited promotion of these.[30] When women are represented, their role frequently appears to be symbolic, with limited decision-making power and with roles that are limited to gender issues.[31], [32]
The presence of formal equality guarantees within national, regional, and international laws, policies and institutions is far from sufficient to guarantee women’s rights to food and land[33] and human rights in general.[34] According to the OHCHR, the National Policy on Indigenous Peoples sets ambitious goals and targets in different sectors; however, there is a clear absence of a gender approach through which to analyse and measure women’s social, economic and political situation. To understand the particular situation of Indigenous women and the discrimination they face within their own communities and in society at large, OHCHR has recommended that the Ministry of Rural Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, develop a rights-based action plan that addresses the needs of Indigenous women.[35]
Indigenous women in Cambodia have a higher illiteracy rate and fewer educational opportunities than either their male counterparts or the Khmer.[36] The problem is amplified because bilingual education is not supported by the Regional Governing Council and so Indigenous Peoples who speak their own language face greater challenges. Moreover, Indigenous women have inadequate access to healthcare, lack reproductive rights, and many of them suffer domestic violence and sexual assault. Tragically, a sharp increase in rape cases was observed in 2021. Sexual assault cases are rarely investigated or brought to justice,[37] partly because of a lack of support for survivors and their families, who are unable to pursue a criminal case without external assistance, both financial and in terms of legal aid. To make matters worse, survivors of sexual assault and gender-based violence are often stigmatized and marginalized. Even the preventive measures proposed by the authorities appear to blame the victim by suggesting changes in women’s behaviour rather than a change in the systemic patriarchy or that the perpetrators be held accountable for their actions. There is a serious need to improve the support provided to survivors of gender-based violence. Indigenous women’s organizations are encouraging the police to receive specific training so that they can better handle cases of gender-based violence and further assist sexual assault survivors. The legal and policy framework that addresses gender-based violence also needs to be amended to ensure compliance with Cambodia’s international human rights obligations.[38]
Many Cambodian Indigenous women are mobilizing in the Cambodia Indigenous Women’s Association (CIWA) and in CIWWG. The organizations are working to promote awareness of Indigenous women’s issues and to enhance their participation in decision-making and leadership. Moreover, they are working to maintain their Indigenous identity and to build women’s capacities to be able to understand the law, participate in dialogue, and raise awareness of the importance of protecting natural resources and Indigenous culture.[39]
Several Indigenous customary institutions are playing a part in strengthening the position of women, e.g. among the Indigenous Kreung in Ratanakiri, where newly married couples remain in the bride’s community for several years, providing the young women with some safety in their family and community.[40] In other Indigenous communities, existing customs favour women’s status as land holders with a traditional practice of matrilineal land inheritance.[41]
Mondulkiri
Throughout 2021, Mondulkiri province, the mountainous home of the Bunong Indigenous people, remained under immense pressure due to large-scale development plans. Massive increases in land encroachment and land speculation have been reported throughout most of the province, as Mondulkiri is intended to be a future tourist destination with an airport, casinos, hotels, and shopping malls.[42], [43], [44] According to CIPO, Bunong communities are being coerced, bribed and manipulated to sell their land to real estate developers, tycoons, government officials and Chinese companies at a low price. CIPO explains that many government officials are eager to facilitate sales of land titles, despite individuals or communities not being allowed to sell communal land according to Cambodian law. In one district, a whole mountain has been bought from an Indigenous community, and this has caused internal conflicts as many community members did not give their consent to sell their ancestral lands to a development project. As a result, many land disputes are now being processed through the courts.
Land measurement by the authorities did not, in some cases, follow the 2001 Land Law or sub-decree No. 83 on the procedure for Indigenous community land registration.[45] As a result, spirit forests, farmland, ancestral land and burial grounds are being bulldozed, while land titles are handed over to brokers who speculate in profit from sales. According to CIPO, land sales and encroachment are occurring in communal lands, in protected areas, and on land officially registered with the authorities. A pattern of failure by the authorities to support the collective land registration processes and a failure to crack down on crimes such as illegal logging and land encroachment continues to culminate in land disputes, impacting economic and social development. On occasion, village chiefs, community members, officials and the police all collude in the crime of land grabbing. The consequences for government officials involved in land encroachments are limited, with no legal action taken by the judicial system. In the worst cases, the government officials involved are demoted from their positions, but only then if the case achieves a high level of attention. Land appropriations surged as pandemic restrictions were imposed in remote areas. The State of Emergency Law has frequently been used by the authorities as an excuse to systematically repress protests, forest patrols and assemblies, as well as to undermine free speech.[46]
Update on communal land titles
Cambodia’s Land Law 2001 recognizes collective land ownership of Indigenous lands but the long and complicated process still hinders Indigenous communities from obtaining communal land titles (CLT). Only 14 out of several hundred Indigenous communities have acquired a collective title to their lands and this only several years after applying.[47] In 2021, the Land Allocation for Social and Economic Development Project (LASED), financed by the World Bank (see 2021 issue), did not result in any CLT for Indigenous Peoples. Negotiations between the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and Indigenous communities are still ongoing but it is a time-consuming process that has been further slowed by the pandemic. Indigenous Peoples are continuously advocating for CLT to respect all customary land. However, the size of Indigenous Peoples’ land claims remains very different from what the government wants to grant the communities. The CLT categorizes five different types of land (e.g., burial sites); however, Indigenous Peoples have additional categories that are being disregarded by the government.[48],[49]
Update on negotiations in Ratanakiri
Negotiations resumed in 2021 between representatives of 12 Indigenous villagers from Ratanakiri and the Vietnamese rubber firm Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), mediated by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsperson. In an official letter, HAGL agreed to “halt reclamation, burning, planting and encroachment” of the 742-ha land, which it was promised would be returned to the community. What will emerge from the process is yet to be revealed. For the Indigenous communities, the process has been painful and exhausting, with marginal progress.[50]
Prey Lang Community Network still banned from entering the forest
Once again, in February, the annual tree-blessing ceremony celebrated by the Kui, monks, students and environmental activists within the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary was banned by the MoE.[51] The ceremony was to be held across Prey Lang to promote conservation efforts against deforestation and to pray for the forest. Not long after this, five members of the PLCN, a network consisting of mainly Kui Indigenous people who patrol the Prey Lang forests, were arrested and arbitrarily detained by MoE rangers. The arrests happened after the activists had peacefully wrapped trees with blessed saffron robes and hung up signs stating “No Chainsaw” and “Help preserve our ancestral heritage forest”. The activists were released three days later after they had been forced to thumb-print documents forbidding them from further investigating illegal logging in Prey Lang.[52] Since PLCN has been blocked from entering the forests, deforestation rates have surged with reckless velocity. According to PLCN members, the authorities have on several occasions forced them to sign contracts to formally end their activities in the forest.[53] The ban seriously suppresses and undermines environmental efforts to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and the forests of Prey Lang.[54]
PLCN recently learned that the proposed route of a 200 km transmission line connecting Phnom Penh with the Cambodia-Lao border would go through the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The community network is alarmed at this devastating news, as further forest degradation and deforestation will have a terrible impact on the wildlife, biodiversity, and livelihood and cultures of the Prey Lang. There is an urgent need for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a subsequent dialogue, including Free, Prior and Informed consent, with the communities that live in the vicinity of Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary prior to the initiation of such work.[55]
A common consequence of accelerating land encroachment for Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia is a deterioration in their cultural heritage and livelihoods.[56] Many are forced to take out loans to sustain their families when they lose their land, and male members of the family often have to migrate for work.[57] When land is appropriated from Indigenous Peoples, they not only lose their homes but they are also deprived of their connection to their ancestors, their culture and traditions. Land conflicts are consequently one of the most pressing issues for Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia.
This article was produced by the Cambodia Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance (CIPA). CIPA is an alliance of Indigenous communities and peoples’ organizations, associations and networks.
Katrine Gro Friborg is a researcher working on Indigenous knowledge, deforestation, food security and ethnobotanical relations.
This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here
Notes and references
[1] Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organization (CIPO). “Indigenous Peoples Data.” Accessed January 31, 2022.
http://cipocambodia.org/our-work/developing-indigenous-peoples-center/#1585208858312-76224c71-df89
[2] OHCHR. “Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reviews report of Cambodia, asks about nationality, land grabs and civic space.” 29 November 2019. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25372&LangID=E
[3] Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). “Concluding observations on the combined fourteenth to seventeenth reports of Cambodia.” 30 January 2020. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CERD%2fC%2fKHM%2fCO%2f14-17&Lang=en
[4] OHCHR. “End of the mandate statement by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.” 30 April 2021. Accessed January 31, 2022.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27039&LangID=E
[5] International Labour Organization (ILO). “Up-to-date Conventions and Protocols not ratified by Cambodia.” Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:11210:0::NO:11210:P11210_COUNTRY_ID:103055
[6] OHCHR Cambodia. UNIFEM and OHCHR. “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol.” January 2010. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://cambodia.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Treaty/CEDAW_EN.pdf
[7] UN WOMEN. “UN Women Cambodia”. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/countries/cambodia
[8] UNDP. Human Development Reports. “Human Development Indicators” 2021. Accessed January 31, 2022.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/KHM
[9] OHCHR. “Cambodia: Stop using courts to persecute people who stand up for human rights-UN experts.” 02 November 2021. Accessed January 31, 2022.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27745&LangID=E
[10] OHCHR. “End of the mandate statement by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.” 30 April 2021. Accessed January 31, 2022.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27039&LangID=E
[11] Asian Indigenous Women’s Network (AIWN). AIWN and Tebtebba Foundation. “Unheard and Unseen: Indigenous Women’s Path to Empowerment and Sustainable Development — Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - Volume 2.” (2021). Accessed January 31, 2022.
https://www.asianindigenouswomen.org/index.php/publications-and-multimedia/190-unheard-and-unseen-indigenous-women-s-path-to-empowerment-and-sustainable-development-volume-2-south-east-asia-cambodia-indonesia-philippines-thailand-and-vietnam/file
[12] Amnesty International USA. Lin, Joanne. “Re: Amnesty International’s Human Rights Priorities for Southeast Asia”. 18 February 2021. Accessed January 31, 2022.
https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Amnesty-International-letter-to-NSC-re-SE-Asia-human-rights-priorities-FINAL-2-18-21.pdf
[13] According to CIPO.
[14] Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organization (CIPO). “National Report On Demographic And Socio-Economic Status Of Indigenous Peoples In Cambodia.” October 23, 2021. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://cipocambodia.org/national-report-on-demographic-and-socio-economic-status-of-indigenous-peoples-in-cambodia/
[15] Beban, Alice. Unwritten Rule: State-Making through Land Reform in Cambodia (Cornell University Press. Cornell Series on Land: New Perspectives on Territory, Development, and Environment, 2021)
[16] AIWN and Tebtebba Foundation. Unheard and Unseen: Indigenous Women’s Path to Empowerment and Sustainable Development — Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - Volume 2, 2021. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.asianindigenouswomen.org/index.php/publications-and-multimedia/190-unheard-and-unseen-indigenous-women-s-path-to-empowerment-and-sustainable-development-volume-2-south-east-asia-cambodia-indonesia-philippines-thailand-and-vietnam/file
[17] Loek, Sreyneang and Raymond Hyma. Indigenous Identify and Gender: Cambodian Indigenous women navigate life in the capital. Cambodia Indigenous Women Working Group and Women Peace Makers,
2021. Accessed January 31, 2022.
https://wpmcambodia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Indigenous-identity-and-gender.pdf
[18] According to CIWWG.
[19] Five-Year Strategic Plan of the Cambodian Indigenous Women Working Group (2019-2023)
[20] Gironde, Christophe, Fenneke Reysoo, Andres Torrico Ramirez and Seng Suon. “No cash, no food. Gendered reorganization of livelihoods and food security in Cambodia.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 48 (2021): 1485-1506. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2021.1960826
[21] OHCHR Cambodia. “Collective land titling in Cambodia – a case for reform?”, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022.
https://cambodia.ohchr.org/iplands/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CLT-RECOMMENDATION_ENG.pdf
[22] Loek, Sreyneang and Raymond Hyma. Indigenous Identify and Gender: Cambodian Indigenous women navigate life in the capital. Cambodia Indigenous Women Working Group and Women Peace Makers,
2021. Accessed February 1, 2022.
https://wpmcambodia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Indigenous-identity-and-gender.pdf
[23] Cambodianess. Sao Phal Niseiy. “Speaking Up for Indigenous Girls and Women". April 11, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://cambodianess.com/article/speaking-up-for-indigenous-girls-and-women
[24] AIWN and Tebtebba Foundation. Unheard and Unseen: Indigenous Women’s Path to Empowerment and Sustainable Development — Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - Volume 2, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.asianindigenouswomen.org/index.php/publications-and-multimedia/190-unheard-and-unseen-indigenous-women-s-path-to-empowerment-and-sustainable-development-volume-2-south-east-asia-cambodia-indonesia-philippines-thailand-and-vietnam/file
[25] Theilade, Ida, Søren Brofeldt, Nerea Turreira-García and Dimitris Argyuiou. “Community monitoring of illegal logging and forest resources using smartphones and the Prey Lang application in Cambodia.” In Geographic Citizen Science Design: No one left behind, edited by Artemis Skarlatidou and Muki Haklay, 266-281. UCL Press, 2021. doi:10.2307/j.ctv15d8174.21.
[26] Dara, Mech. “Land Sales, Covid-19 Increasingly Upend Indigenous Ways of Life.” September 9, 2021. Voice of Democracy (VOD). Accessed February 1, 2022. https://vodenglish.news/land-sales-covid-19-increasingly-upend-indigenous-ways-of-life/
[27] Park, Clara Mi Young. “Our Lands are Our Lives”: Gendered Experiences of Resistance to Land Grabbing in Rural Cambodia. Feminist Economics 25 (2021): 21-44. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2018.1503417
[28] AIWN and Tebtebba Foundation. Unheard and Unseen: Indigenous Women’s Path to Empowerment and Sustainable Development — Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - Volume 2, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022.
https://www.asianindigenouswomen.org/index.php/publications-and-multimedia/190-unheard-and-unseen-indigenous-women-s-path-to-empowerment-and-sustainable-development-volume-2-south-east-asia-cambodia-indonesia-philippines-thailand-and-vietnam/file
[29] Park, Clara Mi Young. “Our Lands are Our Lives”: Gendered Experiences of Resistance to Land Grabbing in Rural Cambodia. Feminist Economics 25 (2021): 21-44. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2018.1503417
[30] AIWN and Tebtebba Foundation. Unheard and Unseen: Indigenous Women’s Path to Empowerment and Sustainable Development — Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - Volume 2, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.asianindigenouswomen.org/index.php/publications-and-multimedia/190-unheard-and-unseen-indigenous-women-s-path-to-empowerment-and-sustainable-development-volume-2-south-east-asia-cambodia-indonesia-philippines-thailand-and-vietnam/file
[31] According to CIPO.
[32] Diokno, M. and Bunn, R. “Report on Gender-Based Violence against Indigenous Women in Three Provinces of Cambodia”.
[33] Martignoni, Joanna Burke. ”A feminist methodology for implementing the right to food in agrarian communities: reflections from Cambodia and Ghana”. The Journal of Peasant Studies 48 (2021): 1459-1484. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2021.1928642
[34] CIWWG. “Annual Progress Report of the Cambodian Indigenous Women Working Group.” (Available on request from CIWWG)
[35] OHCHR Cambodia. “Collective land titling in Cambodia – a case for reform?” 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://cambodia.ohchr.org/iplands/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CLT-RECOMMENDATION_ENG.pdf
[36] CIWWG. Five-Year Strategic Plan of the Cambodian Indigenous Women Working Group. (2019-2023) (Available on request by CIWWG)
[37] CIWWG. “Annual Progress Report of the Cambodian Indigenous Women Working Group.” (Available on request by CIWWG)
[38] Diokno M. and Bunn, R. “Report on Gender-Based Violence against Indigenous Women in Three Provinces of Cambodia”.
[39] CIWWG. “Annual Progress Report of the Cambodian Indigenous Women Working Group” (Available on request by CIWWG)
[40] Leth, Signe. “Behind the Smile: An Anthropological study about domestic violence among the Kreung community in Ratanakiri, Cambodia.” Academia, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.academia.edu/1550126/Domestic_violence_report_Signe_Leth_2012
[41] DEMETER - Gender, Land and the Right to Food. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://r4d-demeter.info
[42] Dara, Mech. “Land Sales, Covid-19 Increasingly Upend Indigenous Ways of Life.” September 9, 2021. Voice of Democracy (VOD). Accessed February 1, 2022. https://vodenglish.news/land-sales-covid-19-increasingly-upend-indigenous-ways-of-life/
[43] Keeton-Olsen, Danielle and Mech Dara. “Redd Alert: Capturing chainsaws, carbon at Keo Seima climate project.” Voice of Democracy (VOD), November 12, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://vodenglish.news/redd-alert-capturing-chainsaws-capturing-carbon-at-keo-seima-climate-project/
[44] Leakhena, Khan. “Mondulkiri Gov’t Awaits Green Light to Put SEZ in Sanctuary’s ‘Evergreen Forest.’ “ Voice of Democracy (VOD), August 18, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://vodenglish.news/mondulkiri-govt-awaits-green-light-to-put-sez-in-sanctuarys-evergreen-forest/
[45] Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organization (CIPO). “Sen Monorum City: Case Study in Pulung village, Sangkat Rumonea. O’raing district: Case Studies in 1 Angdong Kraloeng village. 2 Puchob village, 3. Pules village and 4. Purang village. Pechreada district: A case study in Puradet village.” 6 April 2021.
[46] Dara, Mech. “Land Sales, Covid-19 Increasingly Upend Indigenous Ways of Life.” Voice of Democracy (VOD). September 9, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://vodenglish.news/land-sales-covid-19-increasingly-upend-indigenous-ways-of-life/
[47] AIWN and Tebtebba Foundation. Unheard and Unseen: Indigenous Women’s Path to Empowerment and Sustainable Development — Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - Volume 2, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022.
https://www.asianindigenouswomen.org/index.php/publications-and-multimedia/190-unheard-and-unseen-indigenous-women-s-path-to-empowerment-and-sustainable-development-volume-2-south-east-asia-cambodia-indonesia-philippines-thailand-and-vietnam/file
[48] According to CIPO.
[49] Khut Sokun. “Mondulkiri District Governor Transferred Over Illegal Land Grabbing.” September 30, 2020. Voice of Democracy (VOD). Accessed February 1, 2022. https://vodenglish.news/mondulkiri-district-governor-transferred-over-illegal-land-grabbing/
[50] Summary- Joint zoom meeting between HAGL Agrico and representatives of twelve communities in the CAO facilitated Mediation process on January 27, 2021. (Documents available from CIPO)
[51] Techsend, Tran, Danielle Keeton-Olsen and Samoeun Nicseybon. “Report Connects Prey Lang Deforestation to Community Patrol Crackdown”. Voice of Democracy (VOD), March 5, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022.
https://vodenglish.news/report-connects-prey-lang-deforestation-to-community-patrol-crackdown/
[52] Flynn, Gerald. “Cambodians fight the ‘cancer’ eating away at Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. Mongabay, March 18, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/cambodians-fight-the-cancer-eating-away-at-prey-lang-wildlife-sanctuary/
[53] Sokun, Khot. ”Prey Lang Community Patrollers asked to Sign Contracts to Formalize Bans”. Voice of Democracy (VOD), February 24, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://vodenglish.news/prey-lang-community-patrollers-asked-to-sign-contracts-to-formalize-bans/
[54] Amnesty International. “Cambodia: Widespread illegal logging in Prey Lang rainforest amid ban on community patrols”. February 25, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/02/cambodia-widespread-illegal-logging-in-prey-lang-rainforest-amid-ban-on-community-patrols/
[55] Keeton-Olsen, Danielle. “Power Line to Cut Through Prey Lang, Troubling Conservation Partners.” Voice of Democracy (VOD), December 23, 2020. Accessed February 1, 2022.
https://vodenglish.news/power-line-to-cut-through-prey-lang-troubling-conservation-partners/
[56] Dara, Mech. “Land Sales, Covid-19 Increasingly Upend Indigenous Ways of Life.” Voice of Democracy (VOD), September 9, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022.
https://vodenglish.news/land-sales-covid-19-increasingly-upend-indigenous-ways-of-life/
[57] Dara, Mech and Ananth Balica.” This Is My Land; Kuy Villagers Reclaim Preah Vihear Sugar Plantation. Voice of Democracy (VOD), October 27, 2021. https://vodenglish.news/this-is-my-land-kuy-villagers-reclaim-preah-vihear-sugar-plantation/
