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.
In a statement issued in conjunction with International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2024 on August 9, it said only 43 out of 458 indigenous communities received collective land titles from 2011 to July 2024.
These communities live in 15 provinces in Cambodia and traditionally manage nearly four million hectares of forest land. However, the existing collective land titles only cover 41,538.3 hectares of forest land.
While urging the government to expedite access to collective land titles for indigenous people, CCHR said despite the existence of legal mechanisms to protect their right to land, the communities remain vulnerable to land seizures due to the absence of a formal tenure.
It highlighted that the issuance of collective land titles was stalled because of the “complexity, cost and lengthy duration” of the application procedure.
Some of the shortcomings cited are that “only state-owned land can be registered as CLT”, as prescribed under sub-decree 83. “This perpetuates historical injustices by preventing indigenous communities from reclaiming customary land that has already been allocated to, or seized by private interests. It also leads to uphill competition with economic actors for state land,” CCHR said.
In addition, the new Environment and Natural Resource Code posed a “major setback” in indigenous land rights. Instead of “indigenous” communities, it used the term “local” communities, potentially expanding access of indigenous customary land to non-indigenous actors. The code guarantees fewer types of traditional user rights over forest products, and “undermines” the right to engage in rotational cultivation.
CCHR business and human rights project coordinator Vann Sophath agreed that a majority of indigenous people are experiencing difficulties in applying for collective land titles as their land overlapped with economic land concessions, and covered protected areas of wildlife sanctuary.
“Inside protected natural resource areas, indigenous people cannot cultivate rotational agriculture. They are worried that their rights are shrinking,” he said.
“When there is no rush to issue collective land titles, many indigenous people risk losing their farm land,” Sophath said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the government “respects and protects the rights of indigenous people” as enshrined by the constitution. He said this in conjunction with the international day for indigenous people.
The Rural Development Ministry celebrated the event in Battambang province which was attended by relevant stakeholders and indigenous organizations.
Ethnic minorities will hold the International Day of Indigenous on August 11 and 12 in Preah Vihear province, and other provinces respectively, Cambodia Indigenous People Organization project manager Som Kuntheary.
Last month, UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn said the rights of indigenous peoples remain restricted due to reasons including threats of legal action made by private companies against the communities.
“The community was told to accept a smaller area of community land for collective titling in exchange for the termination of criminal charges against its members,” Vitit told the media after meeting indigenous communities in two northeast provinces.
Me Kre, Bunong indigenous living in Pur La village, Ou Raing district, Mondulkiri province, told CamboJA News that it was difficult to apply for a collective land title for her community because their land was located in the wildlife sanctuary, which has been deemed a protected area.
“We’re not allowed to cut down any trees in that land,” she said. “And because it is in a wildlife sanctuary, we are not allowed to cultivate there. If we do, they will arrest us,” she said.
She asked her brother to inform the authorities to resolve the problem as she did not have land for subsistence farming now.
“The authorities should measure as soon as possible to find out which land is viable and which are in the protected areas,” Kre said.
Early August, some 200 indigenous people staged a protest to demand Mondulkiri’s authorities to expedite their collective land title applications after environmental rangers destroyed a community member’s rubber trees. The authorities claimed that the trees had been planted in the protected area.
Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Alliance coordinator Sompoy Chansophea shared that the government has seemingly paid limited attention to indigenous people’s concerns and was slow at registering collective land titles.
“To support the process of collective land registration, we are relying on donor funds. There’s no state budget to support this work,” he said.
Chansophea viewed that there was an “obstruction” in collective land titles registration because of a “conflict of interest” with the local authorities, who ignored the application.
“When they expand [protected areas], it will affect indigenous people’s areas, and they won’t be able to apply for collective land titles,” Chansophea said.
“Without collective land titles, we do not have land security. It will seriously impact their livelihood and cultivation on customary land,” he said.
Ministry of Rural Development spokesperson Pit Karuna said they have a role in community development plans, identifying every indigenous community, as well as their tradition and culture, and strengthening their communal capacity.
“In the CLT application process, the community must agree in unison to apply for recognition of their identity,” he said.
According to their data, there are 455 indigenous communities, of which 194 have been recognized by the ministry.
Karuna said there are three steps the communities must fulfill in the process of obtaining a collective land title.
The first step is where his ministry needs to recognize the community as an indigenous community. Secondly, the community needs to be recognized as a legal entity by the Ministry of Interior, and finally, the community submits their application for collective land to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC).
Seng Loth, MLMUPC spokesperson, denied CCHR’s report that the registration of indigenous collective land titles was slow. In fact, it was going according to plan, he said.
“If they [communities] applied for community registration but have not applied for land registration, we will not be able to [approve],” Loth added.
He mentioned that more than 100 communities have applied for registration with the Interior Ministry (which is step two) and 98 indigenous communities have their applications submitted for collective land titles in his ministry.
