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Eviction of the Dey Krahorm Community in Phnom Penh |
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| What is affected |
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| Type of violation |
Forced eviction Demolition/destruction Dispossession/confiscation |
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| Date | 24 January 2009 | ||||||||
| Region | A [ Asia ] | ||||||||
| Country | Cambodia | ||||||||
| Location | Phnom Penh | ||||||||
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Affected persons |
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| Proposed solution | The families that were evicted are now demanding compensation for the loss of their housing and property. | ||||||||
| Details | |||||||||
| Development | |||||||||
| Forced eviction | |||||||||
| Costs | |||||||||
| Demolition/destruction | |||||||||
| Land losses | |||||||||
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- Land area (square meters) |
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| - Total value | |||||||||
| Housing losses | |||||||||
| - Number of homes | 400 | ||||||||
| - Total value € | |||||||||
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Duty holder(s) /responsible party(ies) |
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| Brief narrative |
The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) today condemned the eviction of at least 400 families from the Dey Krahorm community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as a violation of human rights. The eviction, conducted on Saturday 24 January, was violent, illegal under Cambodian and international law, and has left hundreds homeless. The eviction was carried out in the early hours of Saturday morning, by over 400 breakers from the 7NG company, accompanied by over 300 heavily armed police officers. Officials from the Municipality of Phnom Penh were also present. Attempts were made to remove human rights observers and journalists from the area. In the course of the eviction, tear gas was fired into the community and heavy machinery, including a bulldozer, was used in a dangerous manner. As a result, 18 community members were injured, including five who were seriously injured. Private property was systematically destroyed during the eviction. Over three hundred families have been rendered homeless by the eviction, and are staying in makeshift shelters at a resettlement site, or with human rights organizations. […] A small number of families have been provided with alternative accommodation more than 15km from the centre of Phnom Penh, in substandard housing conditions without water or sanitation, too far from livelihoods for most families to continue in their current employment. The eviction itself took place while negotiations between the Municipality and residents about appropriate compensation for the land and housing of residents were still ongoing. The 7NG company’s claim to the land is based on a fraudulent land transaction between former community leaders and the company, which was concluded without the knowledge of the community in 2005. Since then, the community has faced threats and intimidation from the company to leave the land. It is estimated that more than 150,000 Cambodian live under threat of forced eviction, including 70,000 in Phnom Penh. It is feared that a number of other threatened communities in Phnom Penh will also be evicted, contrary to Cambodia’s human rights obligations, following this eviction. (See website for more details on the background of the case) Source: http://www.cohre.org/deykrahorm-statement (29 January 2009) | ||||||||
| Costs | € 0 | ||||||||
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