Bridges Across Borders Cambodia

World Bank Agrees to Full Investigation into Land Activities in Cambodia

Human rights organizations welcomed news last week that the World Bank Inspection Panel will conduct a full investigation into the Bank-funded land-titling project in Cambodia, following a complaint that groups vulnerable to forced eviction have suffered serious harm from the project.

The complaint was filed in September, with the support of Bridges Across Borders Cambodia (BABC), on behalf of more than 4000 families living around Boeung Kak lake who have suffered or are currently threatened with forced eviction.  It alleges that the Bank breached its operational policies by failing to adequately supervise the Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP), which has denied urban poor and other vulnerable households due process rights and protection against increasing land-grabbing and forced evictions in Cambodia.

In its response to the complaint issued in December, the World Bank acknowledged the validity of these claims and agreed to approach the Cambodian Government to discuss measures to mitigate the harms of the project. The proposed measures included improving the living conditions and livelihood opportunities for people who have been evicted or who are at risk of forced eviction.  However, the Cambodian Government did not agree with the proposed plan and refused to partner with the World Bank to address the claims made in the complaint.

David Pred, BABC Executive Director, welcomed the decision by the World Bank Board of Directors to conduct a full investigation into LMAP, but urged immediately implementation of the Bank “to act on its own to repair the damage that it has done by failing to uphold its Involuntary Resettlement policy.”

Pred highlighted similarities to a World Bank Inspection Panel case in Albania last year, in which a Bank-financed project was also implicated in forced evictions. At that time, World Bank President Robert Zoellick promised "the Bank would move promptly to strengthen oversight, improve procedures and help the families who had their buildings demolished."  Zoellick added that "the Bank cannot let this happen again." 

“They let it happen again,” said Pred, “and this time it is 4000 families losing their homes. The World Bank cannot walk away from these families just because the Government has closed the door.  The Bank needs to provide a direct remedy to the people it has acknowledged have been harmed by this project.”  

The Cambodian Government abruptly ended its agreement on the project with the World Bank in September 2009 after a disagreement about the applicability of World Bank social safeguards in cases like Boeung Kak.  Despite the government’s termination of the agreement, human rights groups have demanded that the Cambodian government continue to be held accountable for its obligations to adhere to the project’s policy on involuntary resettlement.

The groups stated the Bank should carefully consider how it will engage in the future with a government that refuses to respect its contractual obligations to uphold resettlement safeguards.  “This is an important test of the World Bank’s safeguard policies,” said Sia Phearum, Director of the Cambodian Housing Rights Task Force. “If the Bank is really committed to these policies, then there should be consequences for the Government’s actions.”

The Inspection Panel report is available at:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTINSPECTIONPANEL/Resources/Cambodia_LMAP_Eligibility_Report_FINAL.pdf

Read more about the Boeung Kak case and forced evictions in Cambodia

Read more about the Land Management and Administration Project