CAMBODIA: Repression of environmental activism

Local land rights and human rights groups revealed in July that a planned massive development of a new suburb of the capital, Phnom Pen, would destroy crucial wetlands, leading to the eviction of hundreds of families and significantly increasing the risk of flooding for Phnom Pen residents. Close allies of Prime Minister Hun Sen, including at least one member of his family, are involved in the project, with some having leased parcels of land vital to the development that were made available by the government.

In September, three members of the environmental CSO Mother Nature Cambodia were detained while planning a peaceful march to protest against the filling in of a lake as part of this project.