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Your excellency

Warmest greetings.

We write regarding the horrendous situation of communities in Boeung Kok Lake and Borei Keila, within

Phnom Penhs bustling districts. We urge your government to justly and effectively address the issues

surrounding the eviction of these communities from their land and homes, the lost opportunities for

better life, the violation of their human rights and the destruction of a natural environment.

A team from the Womens Caucus and other civil society organizations and networks visited these

communities as participants of the civil society-led ASEAN Peoples Forum/ ASEAN Civil Society

Conference 2012. We went there to express our solidarity with the communities who have been

unjustly denied of their homes and even a teeming natural environment. Their basic rights to adequate

living standards and a life free of violence as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and many other international law, have been violated.

In Boeung Kok Lake, we were shocked at what we saw: A natural lake that has been filled up with earth

and flattened out. As most of us came from countries that are suffering from and also learning the

lessons of unsound environmental practices, it baffled us how a lake that used to be a water reservoir

and a fishing village within the city can have such fate.

But what shocked us even more is the sheer violence the communities just resistance was dealt with.

The communities that have been stewards of Boeung Kok Lake continue to endure such violence.

Despite the fear that constantly surrounds them, they welcomed us in what was left of their village and

shared their stories with us. They pointed out where their homes used to stand. The women showed us

the photograph of how they resisted the violent advances of agents of the Shukaku company and the

municipality. Some even bear crimson scars on their faces.

We were equally disheartened with the situation in Borei Keila. There, we were also welcomed by

women and children, who lost their homes through violent demolition. Some of them saw their

husbands beaten and imprisoned. Others were themselves arrested by the police and taken to prison.

They suffered violence for merely protecting their property, where they have been living for decades.

They were not properly notified. They never had the chance to discuss their options, including a

relocation process and site that would minimize the impact of displacement in their lives as working

people, schooling children, clean water, health and nutrition for their babies, elderly and so forth. They

were not compensated.

Today, those who have remained squeeze themselves with several other families at the staircase

landings of the surrounding buildings and market Many only manage to rest when the vendors have

already left, using the makeshift stall as their bedroom. They live in unsanitary conditions, with the lack

of access to water and adequate toilets. Garbage has been piling up in many parts of the leveled ground.

We were told that as they continue to hold on, they felt that they have lost the respect of the

surrounding communities. With lack of privacy and services as basic as clean running water, the people,

particularly young women and children are becoming even more vulnerable to the elements, diseases

and even violence.

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As part of the bigger community of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), we condemn

these forms of atrocities which have been inflicted on communities especially women and the

environment. Our hearts go out to them especially for the women who have been leading the fight for

justice while struggling to keep things as normal as possible for their families. As representative of your

government, we urge you to look after the interest of these people in your country.We urge you to

ensure that the rights of the people are not sacrificed in the name of development. In particular:

Immediately administer justice to the unlawful acts which the people have suffered with their

eviction of their homes and the destruction of their surrounding natural environment

Ensure the right of the people to peaceful assembly as they assert their right to land, jobs,

homes, justice and human rights

Engage the people in a fair and transparent process to discuss adequate compensation

Return the lands and homes to the people, including the basic services

Provide the people just options for relocation, ensuring that the people will have easy access to

employment and income-generating activities and basic infrastructure and services such as

schools and hospitals, among others. Provide decent and temporary shelters with basic services

for the meantime

Provide free health care and services for the people, especially women, children, and elderly

Provide free education/school for their children

Address the damage to the Boueng Kok Lake and rehabilitate it.

Ensure that any development projects adhere to international standards and fulfill the human

rights of the people

Respectfully yours,

The Southeast Asia Womens Caucus on ASEAN

Council of Women Brunei Darussalam (Brunei)

Burma Partnership (Burma/ Thailand)Burmese Womens Union

Kachin Womens Association (Burma/ Thailand)

Kuki Womens Human Rights Organization Center (Burma/ Thailand)

Womens League of Burma (Burma/ Thailand)

Silaka (Cambodia)

Ardhanary Institute (Indonesia)

Himpunan Serikat Perempuan (Indonesia)

Human Rights Working Group (Indonesia)

Indonesian Positive Womens Network (Indonesia)

Kalyanamitra (Indonesia)

KePPak Perempuan (Indonesia)LBH-APIK-NTB (Legal Aid Association West Nusa Tenggara) (Indonesia)

Pergerakan Indonesia

Solidaritas Perempuan (Indonesia)

Perak Women For Women Society (PWW) (Malaysia)

Sisters in Islam (Malaysia)

Womens Aid Organization (Malaysia)

Gabriela (Philippines)

Migrante International (Philippines)

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Philwomen on ASEAN (Philippines)

Womens Legal Human Rights Bureau (Philippines)

WomanHealth Philippines

People Like Us (Singapore)

Project X (Singapore)

Sayoni (Singapore)

Think Centre (Singapore)

Network for Empowerment of Women (Vietnam)

Research Center for Gender and Development (Vietnam)

Foundation for Women (Thailand)

Peoples Empowerment Foundation (Thailand)

Alola Foundation (Timor Leste)

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

International Womens Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific

Dignity International

Pacific Justice and Reconciliation

Workers Hub for Change (WH4C)