The report asserts that the ongoing evictions, which have affected approximately 10,000 families, violate both international and national law, writes the AP.

Amnesty International’s London-based organization contends that the displaced individuals have received minimal or no compensation, and the government’s primary resettlement sites suffer from insufficient infrastructure, including deficient roads, water and electricity supplies, and sanitation facilities.

Quoting the report, it emphasizes that UNESCO stands accused of neglecting U.N. guidelines and failing in its duty to intervene and uphold the human right to housing. Amnesty asserts that UNESCO should take a stand, especially as Cambodia’s government allegedly used the World Heritage designation of Angkor Wat as justification for relocating people away from the site.

In response to Amnesty’s findings, the UNESCO World Heritage Center reportedly stated that it “does not have the ability to enforce implementation of rights-based standards and policy recommendations as our role is rather focused on policy advice, capacity building and advocacy.”

The report underscores that Angkor Wat attained World Heritage status in 1992, partly due to concerns about the potential threat posed by the growth of human settlements on the site to its preservation.

However, the report argues that the designation lacked clarity regarding existing settlements, which remained largely undisturbed until last year. The motive behind the recent push for development in the area is attributed to Cambodia’s desire to boost tourism, which waned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Montse Ferrer, interim deputy regional director for research at Amnesty, stated, “Cambodian authorities cruelly uprooted families who have lived in Angkor for several generations, forcing them to live hand to mouth at ill-prepared relocation sites. They must immediately cease forcibly evicting people and violating international human rights law.”

The report challenges Cambodian authorities’ claims that villagers are voluntarily leaving the site. Amnesty’s research, including over 100 interviews, found that “almost all… described being evicted or pressured to leave Angkor following intimidation, harassment, threats, and acts of violence from Cambodian authorities.”

Highlighting the inadequate facilities at the resettlement camps, located nearly an hour away by motorbike from Angkor, the report notes the challenges faced by residents in making a living, particularly those who previously earned income by providing goods and services to the bustling tourist trade at Angkor Wat. The new locations are reportedly ill-prepared for farming, adversely affecting those engaged in agriculture.

The report contends that Cambodia is obligated under seven major human rights treaties to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to adequate housing. Despite Amnesty’s research, Cambodian officials have reportedly dismissed the findings, accusing the organization of drawing conclusions “thousands of kilometers away from the real situation.”

Amnesty refutes these claims, citing at least 15 families interviewed who asserted that the government informed them of the need to move to preserve Angkor’s World Heritage status.

The report quotes a speech by then-Prime Minister Hun Sen from last year, stating that the site risked losing its designation unless residents moved away voluntarily, with no compensation promised for those who chose not to comply. Under Hun Sen’s authoritative rule, such statements were considered tantamount to official policy.

The post UNESCO Faces Criticism Over Cambodian Evictions Surrounding Angkor Wat World Heritage Site first appeared on The Postcolonial.

Population numbers of the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin in the Mekong River have plumped for decades, dropping from 200 in 1997 to around 90 today due to habitat loss and uncontrolled fishing.

In an attempt to save the species, Cambodian premier Hun Sen ordered the implementation of conservation zones in the Mekong River on Monday, according to the AFP. The initiative comes after several dolphins have been found dead in the past year.

“The Mekong River, which is home to near-extinct dolphins and fish species, must be well managed so that dolphins will not die from entanglement in gillnets,” said Sen. “The dolphin areas must be protected completely.” Gillnets are nets placed along parts of the river to snare fish.

Authorities will set up floating markers around protection zones at the river, which will indicate an “absolute ban” on all fishing in designated areas.

Irrawaddy dolphins are known for their bulging foreheads and short beaks. They are an essential asset for locals that offers tour guides for foreigners to spectate the dolphin in its natural habitat.

Changing waters

The Mekong River, which also borders Laos, has long gone through human developments that make it difficult for the dolphins to survive. Other than illegal fishing that unintentionally catches the mammal, hydropower dams funded by Chinese involvement in partly state-owned enterprises tamper the river’s ecosystem.

“[A] big number of fish that need to move upstream for breeding and spawning are unable to pass the dam barrier during the dry season. This leads to reduced fish stock in the transboundary deep pool habitats that would affect dolphin prey and have affected daily food consumption of people of both countries,” Seng Teak, country director for WWF Cambodia, told The Third Pole.

The consequences have been enormous, as the last Irrawaddy dolphin was confirmed dead in 2022 declaring the species extinct in Laos. The same fate could reach dolphins in Cambodia’s territory.

“The numbers in the [transboundary] pool have plummeted over the last few years, due to multiple threats,” said Lan Mercado, Asia-Pacific director of WWF in a 2022 statement. “Including hydropower dam construction causing disruptions to river flow and reduced fish abundance, drowning in gill-nets, and the use of damaging fishing practices such as electrofishing and overfishing.”

Alarm raised after deaths

Cambodian premier Hun Sen orders come just a week after conservationists raised concerns after three Irrawaddy dolphins died within 10 days of each other.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), such deaths of healthy dolphins in a brief timeframe indicates ”an increasingly alarming situation and the need for intensive law enforcement be urgently conducted in the dolphin habitats,” it said on Monday last week writes the AP.

It is believed that the deaths stemmed from entanglement in an illegal fishing line. The WWF urged law enforcement to help save the species.

WWF said that a total of 29 dolphins have died in the past three years. 11 of them in 2022 alone.

What is believed to have been the last Irrawaddy dolphin located in Cambodia’s northeastern region of the Mekong River was found dead in February 2022. It had reportingly been seen tangled in a fishing net about a week earlier.

The mammals are usually found in packs of 6 members.

The post Cambodia orders Mekong conservation zone to save endangered dolphins first appeared on The Postcolonial.