Women and children are suffering immensely from Cambodia's epidemic of evictions, LICADHO said today, International Women's Day.

"Sadly, there is nothing special about this day for the many Cambodian women who are struggling to feed their families because they have been evicted from their homes or are living in fear of eviction,” said LICADHO president Kek Galabru. “It is just another day of hardship and suffering.”

LICADHO is marking International Women’s Day this year by drawing attention to the plight of women and their children caused by land-grabbing.

A women’s solidarity gathering will be held this morning at Dey Krahorm, where more than 400 families were violently evicted on January 24. The gathering will be held near the site of a “sacred tree”, where villagers used to pray and make offerings to the gods, which was knocked down during the eviction. Among those attending will be women who were evicted from Dey Krahorm, others who are facing eviction in Phnom Penh’s Group 78 and Boeung Kak communities, provincial land activists and NGO workers.

In addition, LICADHO has all week been broadcasting a radio discussion show featuring representatives of communities affected by land grabbing. Broadcast on three Phnom Penh radio stations, the show discusses the many impacts on families - especially women and children - caused by evictions.

"Thousands of Cambodian families have lost their homes or farmland due to land-grabbing, and this has a huge impact on them which lasts for years,” said Kek Galabru. "All these evictions are impoverishing families, making it harder for parents to be able to feed themselves and their children and to pay for medical care and other essential services."

More than 40,000 people are estimated to have been evicted from their homes in Phnom Penh over the past decade, and 150,000 Cambodians throughout the country currently live under threat of forced eviction, according to Amnesty International.

Many women and children are among the more than 300 families recently evicted from Dey Krahorm who are camped in pitiful conditions at Damnak Trayeung on the outskirts of Phnom Penh - away from their jobs, health services and schools - where they were dumped after the eviction. They comprise more than 1,200 people, of whom 639 are female and 180 are children aged 5 or younger. Many are at risk of malnutrition, gastro-intestinal disorders and respiratory infections due to lack of adequate food, clean drinking water and proper sanitation including toilets.

"The situation at Damnak Trayeung clearly shows how evictions directly jeopardize the health and welfare of Cambodian families,” said Kek Galabru. “The government must take action to urgently meet the humanitarian needs of these people, and to ensure that they receive adequate compensation and alternative housing which helps them to rebuild their lives.”

Kek Galabru continued: "It is time for some sanity to prevail before Cambodia's land crisis grows even worse and even more families suffer. The government should urgently declare a moratorium on evictions, which would be in line with its promises to combat poverty and promote the health and education of Cambodians.”

In addition to its activities to draw attention to Cambodia's land problem, LICADHO is also marking International Women's Day by distributing food and materials to female prisoners and children living with their mothers in 18 prisons around the country. LICADHO is also releasing its annual report on prison conditions in Cambodia, which this year focuses on the situation of women in prison and provides updated statistics on the situation in 18 out of Cambodia's 26 prisons.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Dr. Kek Galabru, LICADHO President, 012 940 645

PDF: Download full statement in English - Download full statement in Khmer