Stop Angkor Wat Evictions

Background

Angkor Wat, the historical temple complex that contains the remains of successive Khmer capitals built from the 9th to 15th centuries, was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992. This UNESCO decision comprised an essential aspect: the entire population living on the site in traditional villages would be part of the famous heritage area.

Cambodians themselves understand their presence as the people living in the Angkor Wat area as being part of their heritage, stating, "That is why we call Angkor a living heritage site.”

What is the current situation in the Angkor Wat region, where 10,000 families are being displaced?

Amnesty International's recent report from 2023 brings the problem of forced evictions to the forefront. Some 10,000 families at the Angkor temples in Cambodia were facing nonvoluntary evictions. Amnesty has claimed that thousands of families, some of whom had lived in the area for several generations, have already been evicted from the World Heritage Site. As Cambodian officials started to evict people from the Angkor area in 2022, today about half of the estimated 10,000 families have already been relocated.

At the Angkor Wat Heritage Site, there are 112 traditional villages, from which people have been moved from their homes. They have mostly been pushed to a new large settlement known as Run Ta Ek, an underdeveloped district outside Siem Reap. Run Ta Ek is situated 15 miles from the Angkor Wat World Heritage Site.

Why are the Angkor evictions taking place?

Cambodia seeks to develop the area for tourism. The Angkor Wat Heritage Park region has been 'earmarked' for tourism growth, where new real estate projects will flourish.

Cambodian authorities are using the excuse of conservation as a way to conduct multiple profitable businesses. The government even falsely argued that it might lose its UNESCO World Heritage listing for the famous temple area if the traditional villagers are not moved from the area.  So the conservation pressures in the UNESCO World Heritage Site would legitimize the campaign to remove the people.

What are the consequences of the situation for the evicted people?

The residents of the Angkor Wat Archaeological Park have been going through illegal evictions. The people who are facing the loss of their traditional livelihood and homes haven't received enough compensation in return.

Amnesty International has conducted interviews with people who said that they had been forced to accept locating to new resettlement sites, which lacked adequate water, sanitation, and other facilities.

The people who were forced to relocate were given very little compensation, if any, and lost not only their homes but their livelihood as well, which was connected to the World Heritage Site area.

Why should we be concerned, and why does this matter?

The evictions have pushed thousands of people out of their homes, where many have lived for generations in their traditional villages. These evictions are now considered illegal and clearly human rights violations.

At their new relocation sites, people are in debt from building new houses. They are offered only corrugated steel to put up a new roof for their home. They face hard times finding work in the relocation place, as they were resettled without job opportunities.

The new resettlements, such as Run Ta Ek, are on isolated state-owned land, creating zones that are parceled out to new families.

Amnesty International strongly questioned Cambodia's assertion that the families were voluntarily relocated. The organization asserted that Cambodian authorities "cruelly uprooted" families who had lived in the Angkor site for decades.

Although Amnesty has stated that the evictions violate international human rights law, the Cambodian government has rejected any allegations that it pushed any unlawful boundaries by evicting people living around Angkor's traditional sites.

UNESCO also demanded a response from the Cambodian authorities. UNESCO clarified that Angkor Park, the area surrounding the monuments, provides a 'living heritage' site for people who follow ancestral practices that have not been found anywhere else in the world.

What can you do to help?

As Save Cambodia moves forward, bringing international attention to the forced evictions and the dire situation in Angkor Wat by mobilizing youth and Khmer groups across the globe, you can join our community campaign in the following ways:

Please help raise awareness about the situation taking place in the Angkor Wat area. You have a voice in advocating against illegal evictions and stopping continued human rights violations in the form of evictions.

You can also take part in our social media campaign to spread the word about these evictions. You can tell about the illegal evictions to your social media followers, and create a difference.