Stop the Attacks on Cambodian EHRDs!

The Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders (APNED) condemns the unjust arrest and detention of six Cambodian environmental defenders from November 23 to 25. The six environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) were investigating illegal logging in the pristine Veun Sai-Sem Pang National Park, in Stung Treng, northeastern Cambodia, when they were arrested by military. Among the six were Ouch Leng, recipient of the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize for his crusade against illegal logging and land-grabbing, and Out Latin, project coordinator with the advocacy group Cambodian Youth Network, a member of APNED. The other four arrested EHRDs were Heng Sros, Men Mat, freelance journalist and activist Tat Oudom, and Prum Mao.

The six were reportedly freed upon signing a promise not to enter a prohibited zone again, yet the land itself is ambiguously zoned, and is near questionable economic land concessions granted to a firm called T.S.M.W. in 2022. The system of economic land concessions have been notorious in Cambodia for uprooting communities to make way for plantations and mega-infrastructure projects, under the guise of economic development.

This is the latest episode of judicial harassment on EHRDs in Cambodia, or the weaponization of legal and judicial systems to silence dissent. In July, ten youth environmental defenders from Mother Nature Cambodia were sentenced to up to eight years in prison on charges of conspiracy and defamation. Five of them were arrested and remain behind bars. Koet Saray, another Cambodian youth environmental leader who was arrested in April 2024, was also convicted of incitement and sentenced to four years in jail last November 6. The common element in all these cases is that these individuals are all ordinary citizens fighting for the environment and the people. 

APNED firmly denounces this violation of the rights of Cambodian citizens to uphold environmental rights. It is clearer now, more than ever, that EHRDs in Southeast Asia deserve proper recognition and protection through solidarity support and effective programs and policies. The ongoing process for an ASEAN declaration on environmental rights could serve this purpose, but such protections are under threat of being watered down. 

We call on fellow defenders and civil society across Asia and the Pacific to continue to stand behind our EHRDs and frontline communities. There can be no safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for present and future generations if our environmental human rights defenders are continuously attacked.

#DefendEnvironmentalDefenders

References

Associated Press. (25 November 2024). Cambodian activists investigating illegal logging are freed from detention. https://apnews.com/article/cambodia-environmentalists-ouch-leng-8e3e34eb744034edb7edb20f0db8537c 

CamboJA News. (24 November 2024). Goldman Prize Winner Among Six Arrested in Stung Treng During Logging Probe. https://cambojanews.com/goldman-prize-winner-among-six-arrested-in-stung-treng-during-logging-probe/ 

Flynn, G. & Pry, N. (25 November 2024). Six activists arrested in Cambodia while investigating illegal logging. https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/six-activists-arrested-in-cambodia-while-investigating-illegal-logging/ 

LICADHO. (24 November 2024). Environmental Activists Interrogated Following Arrest in Stung Treng. https://www.licadho-cambodia.org/flashnews.php?perm=424