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ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍

Online Photo Exhibition on the situation of Urban Poor Communities in Phnom Penh

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The photo exhibition is an activity of Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), which is funded by the European Union (EU). The main objective of this project is to shed light on the situation of the urban poor in Phnom Penh.
These photos were taken by community members and STT staff during implementation of project activities between 2016 to 2020.

These photos highlight challenges faced by urban poor communities in Phnom Penh such as lack of land ownership, forced evictions, inadequate housing, lack of infrastructure, health concerns and lack of proposed sanitation. In addition, the exhibition also showcases private development on some lakes in Phnom Penh which could affect communities.

STT thanks the EU, our NGO partners, the urban poor communities in Phnom Penh for their cooperation and participation in ensuring the smooth implementation of the project.

Please enjoy!

Thank you from STT staff!

World Cities Day October 31

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Cambodia has experienced rapid urbanization over the past twenty years with much of the growth focused in Phnom Penh. However, despite the recent constructions of skyscrapers, condominiums, gated communities and vast satellite cities, there are still over 277 vulnerable urban poor communities dispersed throughout Phnom Penh who are not benefiting from this development. These communities lack adequate housing and infrastructure, access to water and sanitation and land tenure security.

Adequate housing is a fundamental human right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity and if cities are to transform it is essential that no one is left behind. Every individual deserves access to housing, schools, healthcare, jobs, sanitation systems, and safe communities.

October 31st is World Cities Day, a day recognizing the importance of enhancing cooperation among countries and cities in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development. It is a day for raising awareness on urban poor communities and the challenges they face on a regular basis while the city around them continues to prosper.

One Thousand People Celebrate World Habitat Day Through Events Held at Their Communities

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8th October 2019

Between October 4th and 7th, 1098 people from 13 communities celebrated World Habitat Day 2019, through a variety of different events.

The events varied from community to community, but the overall message revolved around the right to affordable housing and the importance of a clean community with themes such as “Clean Environment, Clean Community and Clean City leads to Better Health,” “Clean Housing, Clean Community,” as well as “My house was demolished.” Activities ranged from speeches to garbage cleanup of the community to distribution of books to the children; with each community culminating their celebration with a solidarity lunch. In attendance were community members, students, teachers, village representatives and local authorities.

The response of the authorities towards the events varied. For instance, the event at Samaki Rung Roueng was attended by the Chief of Sangkat who even made a speech and welcomed discussions regarding issues the community is facing such as poor infrastructure, garbage, temporary relocation and lack of documentation. He assured them assistance in obtaining relevant legal documentation and reassured them they would be able to return to their current location, following a construction project anticipated to affect them. However, at other communities, local authorities did not participate in the celebration but rather kept a watchful eye, monitoring the situation and taking note of the number of participants in attendance.

As opposed to previous years when World Habitat Day celebrations were marred by violence, intimidation and harassment of community members, this year is a welcome change. In some communities, local authorities even participated in the celebration and discussion of land and housing rights related issues. STT applauds the efforts of both community members for inviting local authorities to participate – despite what took place in past years – as well as the local authorities for attending and attempting to build stronger relationships with community members. However, it is important to still remember that the communities are only exercising their rights as outlined in the Law on Peaceful Demonstrations (2009) and should not have to be fearful of organizing World Habitat Day events in the first place.

The United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the basic human right of all to adequate housing. International human rights law recognizes everyone’s right to adequate housing. Over a billion people around the world are not adequately housed including thousands of people living in health threatening conditions in informal settlements within Phnom Penh; conditions which do not uphold their human rights and their dignity.

As one community leader expressed “The celebration of World Habitat Day is to unite the community members in cleaning up their community environment.” The community leader continued on to say “The community wants to see an inclusive city and land tenure security for all”.

Communities celebrate World Habitat Day to highlight the importance of housing as a human right. Each event commemorated the 34th anniversary of World Habitat Day, first designated in 1985. It is a way for communities to celebrate in solidarity with people all over the world facing the same circumstances as them and an exercise of their human right to peacefully demonstrate.

34th World Habitat Day Photo Gallery

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Here is a photos gallery of poor communities that was celebrating World Habitat Day from October 4-7, 2019. About 1089 community members and local authorities from 13 communities celebrated the day in their communities. Those communities include Prek Takong 60m, 92 Community, BoreyMitPheap Community, PlovRotPheng Community, Phum23 Community, Rolous Chheung Ekk Community, Russinsors Community, Streyklangsang Community, TeangMeanChey Community, Thmor korl Community, Samaki Rrong Reoung Community, TmorSan Communit, and LorPheng Community. Key messages include “clean environment, clean community, affordable housing” with a number of key activities, such as distributing books for children, clearing the environment for their communities and making statements about the right to affordable housing.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Women’s Peaceful March to Celebrate the 108th International Women’s Day

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March 06, 2019

We are unionists and civil society organizations[1] that have been working to promote women’s rights and gender equality in Cambodia. Together we are co-organizing the “Women’s Peaceful March on March 8th 2019” under the theme “Together to end all forms of violence against women”. Our purpose is to commemorate the 108th International Women’s Day and celebrate the contributions that women across generations have made in creating gender equality in Cambodian society.

On this occasion, women from across all sectors are going to peacefully gather in front of the Olympic Stadium and then march to the office of the Council of the Ministers. Women groups are planning to hand over their “petition on women’s key priority issues and immediate needs” to representatives of the Royal Government of Cambodia, particularly the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, ​ Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, National Committee for Counter Trafficking, and the office of Council of the Ministers for their information and action. Hence, on behalf of the women participants, we would like to invite His and Her Excellencies from the aforementioned ministries to be present and accept the women groups’ petition in front of the office of Council of Ministers on this date. Furthermore, we would like to invite representatives of civil society organizations, diplomatic communities, and local and international media to join us to celebrate this special occasion with us too.

Women’s March will take place on:

  • Date & Time: March 8th, 2019, between 8:30 AM until 12:00 PM
  • Place: Women groups will peacefully gather together in front of the Olympic stadium and then march to the Office of the Council of Ministers.

For further enquiries:

Ms. Ou Tep Phallin, President, Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation
Tel: 011 984 883

Ms. Bunn Rachana, Co-founder and executive director of Klahaan Organization
Tel: 089 476 146

Ms. Keo Chanra, General Secretary of Coalition of Cambodia Farmer community
Tel: 077 553 211

Mrs. Von Sophos, Chairperson of the Cambodian domestic workers network
Tel: 016 458 721

Mrs. Chorn Sokha, Head of Organizing Unit, Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights
Tel: 093 55 66 34

[1] Cambodian Food And Service Workers Federation(CFSWF), Cambodian Alliance of Trade Union (CATU), Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA),  Cambodian Youth Network (CYN), Coalition of Cambodia Farmer community (CCFC), Cambodian Independent teachers association (CITA), Youth Resource Development Program (YRDP), Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), Equitable Cambodia (EC), Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (Licadho), Klahaan Organization (KLAHAAN) and ActionAid Cambodia (AAC)

Meeting to Presentation on Climate Smart Change Guideline

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On August 04th, community 15 person who are coming from Samaki Rong Roeurng community that they are living along Beong Trabek’s canal participated on Climate Smart Change Guideline that provided by Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT).

The objective of this is to obtain adequate housing with functioning infrastructures in accordance to Cambodian policies and international human rights standards as benefit during project implementation and in the future for their community. Moreover, it is the opportunity to made relationship among communities and STT’s through exchange experience, working together and discussion.

This activity is a part of small upgrade community, funded from MIS and implement by Sahmakum Teang Tnaut.

Training on mapping, enumeration, legal land survey, and spatial planning to communities

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On July 24th, 2017, community member 9 who come from Prek Takong1 and Kva community that they are living around Boeung Tumpon lake in Phnom Penh participated on community mapping, enumeration, land survey, and spatial planningthat conducted by Sahmakum Teangtnaut(STT).

The main purposes of this two days training from 26th to 27th are to improve knowledge of community member on community mapping and enumeration, legal land survey, and spatial planning as benefit during project implementation and in the future for their community. Moreover, it is the opportunity to made relationship among communities and STT’s staff through exchange experience and discussion.

This activity is a part of Human Rights Based Spatial Planning Phased II, funded from European Union and Czech Cooperation Development and implement by People In Need, Sahmakum Teangtnaut, Urban Poor Women for Development, and Open Institute.

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Joint Statement: A Call for Justice: Civil Society Demands Independent Inquiry in Kem Ley Murder Case

6 min read

July 08, 2017

One year after the murder of Kem Ley, we, the undersigned civil society groups, believe that justice  has  not  yet  been  served  for  the  late  political  analyst  and  the  family,  friends  and colleagues he left behind.

The well-known political analyst and anti-corruption campaigner was shot dead at point blank range on 10 July 2016 while drinking coffee in a Phnom Penh petrol station. There has been no transparency in the murder investigation, and there are still many unanswered questions in the case.

Despite compelling evidence – including video footage – indicating potential accomplices, only one suspect was charged and convicted in a flawed trial which failed to fully cross examine witnesses  or  investigate  serious  doubts  about  the  killer’s  motive.  Impunity  for  those  not properly held to account for his murder will fuel distrust of the justice system.

We, the undersigned civil society groups, call for an independent inquiry into the silencing of Kem Ley. His murder led to a massive outpouring of emotion from hundreds of thousands of Cambodians who poured into the streets of the capital for his funeral procession. Along with Kem Ley’s family, colleagues and friends they also deserve to see justice served.

Immediately after the murder, a group of UN human rights experts called for “a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the crime […] conducted by an independent body with no ties to the government.”1 One year later we have seen that the criminal justice system has failed to protect its citizens’ right to life. With so many unanswered questions, an independent inquiry is the only credible way to seek justice for Kem Ley and his family and friends.

We, the undersigned civil society groups, have not forgotten Kem Ley’s murder and reiterate our previous demand for the investigation to be taken over by an independent inquiry made up of international experts with full access to evidence including CCTV footage from the crime scene. 2 If not, public faith in the judiciary and police will continue to be eroded and the family and friends of Kem Ley will continue to be denied justice.

This statement is endorsed by:

  1. Activity for Environment Community
  2. Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT)
  3. Bak Rotaeh community
  4. Banteay Srey Community
  5. Boeung Chhouk Community
  6. Boeung Kak Community (Kampong Chhnang)
  7. Boeung Kak Lake Community (BKL)
  8. Boeung Pram Community
  9. Boeung Trabek Community
  10. Borei Keila Community (BK)
  11. Bos Snao Community
  12. Buddhism for Peace Organization (BPO)
  13. Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC)
  14. Building Community Voice (BCV)
  15. CamASEAN Youth’s Future (CamASEAN)
  16. Cambodia Development People Life Association (CDPLA)
  17. Cambodia Youth and Monk Network (CMYN)
  18. Cambodia’s Independent Civil Servants Association (CICA)
  19. Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU)
  20. Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
  21. Cambodian Domestic Worker Network (CDWN)
  22. Cambodian Food and Service Worker Federation (CFSWF)
  23. Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
  24. Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA)
  25. Cambodian Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA)
  26. Cambodian Informal Economic Workers Association (CIWA)
  27. Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC)
  28. Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
  29. Cambodian NGO Committee on CEDAW (NGO- CEDAW)
  30. Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
  31. Capacity Community Development Organization (CCD)
  32. Center for Alliance of Labour and Human Rights (CENTRAL)
  33. Cham Kravean Community
  34. Chambak Community (Kampong Speu)
  35. Chambok community (Kampong Cham)
  36. Cheko community
  37. Chi Tron Community
  38. Chikor Leu Land Community
  39. CI5 Community
  40. Coalition for Integrity & Social Accountability (CISA)
  41. Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Domestic Unions (C.CAWDU)
  42. Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC)
  43. Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW)
  44. Community Network in Action (CAN)
  45. Community Peace-Building Network (CPN)
  46. Community Voice Development Organization
  47. Da Commune Community
  48. Equitable Cambodia (EC)
  49. Farmers Association for Peace and Development (FAPD)
  50. Forestry Community
  51. Forestry Stoeung Khsach Sor community
  52. Former Boeung Kak Women Network Community
  53. Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)
  54. Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC)
  55. Green Vision Organization
  56. Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
  57. Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA)
  58. Independent Monk Network for Social Justice (IMNSJ)
  59. Indigenous Youth at Brome Commune, Preah Vihear Province
  60. Indigenous Youth for Community Ratanakiri (IYCR)
  61. Indradevi Association (IDA)
  62. Kampreus community
  63. Khmer Youth Association (KYA)
  64. Land Community, I Village, Preah Sihanouk Province
  65. Lor Peang Land Community
  66. Minor Indigenous Right Organization (MIRO)
  67. Mother Nature
  68. Phnom Bat Community
  69. Phnom Krom Community
  70. Phum 21 Community
  71. Phum 23 Community
  72. Phum Dei Chhnang Community
  73. Phum Prasat Rang Land Community
  74. Phum Samut Leu Community
  75. Phum Sela Khmer Land Community
  76. Phum Thmei Taing Samrong Community
  77. Pong Rok Land Community
  78. Ponlok Khmer
  79. Prek Takung Community
  80. Prek Tanou Community
  81. Prey Chher Pich Sangva Laor Chhert Community
  82. Prey Chher Romeas Hek Community
  83. Raksmey Samaki Community
  84. Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
  85. Samaki 4 Community
  86. Samaki Meanchey Land Community
  87. Sangkom Thmey Land Community
  88. Sdey Krom Rohal Soung Fishery Community
  89. Somros Koh Sdach Fishery Community
  90. SOS International Airport Community
  91. Spean Chhes Community
  92. Sre Prang Community
  93. Ta Noun Land Community
  94. Thmor Kol Community
  95. Toul Rada Community
  96. Toul Sangke B Community
  97. Tourism Employee and Service Union of Grand Diamond City Company
  98. Tourism Employee Union of Poipet Casino Resort Company
  99. Trapaing Anhchanh Thmey Community
  100. Tumnop II Community
  101. Tunlong Community
  102. Urban Poor Women Development (UPWD)
  103. 185K Thida Chambok community
  104. 23 Community
  105. 24 Families Community
  106. 297 Land Community
  107. 92 Community
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The Liberal Man and His 100 Day Ceremony

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Packed in the middle of the city assembling to see a dead man lying next to a coffee table by the crowds, Sunday 16 October already marked the 100 days after the assassination of the man, Dr. Kem Ley, who was a prominent political analyst and social activist. His death was not simple, rather it unexpectedly reveals a noble spirit and esteemed model of social responsibility for Cambodian youth who want to see Cambodia a better country. Without doubt, the Sunday was full of people between 30,000 to 40,000 accompanying the statue of this man to his home, about 90 kilometers from Po Thi Yaram Pagoda (Old pagoda) to Takeo Province.

At the moment, the statue is placed and dedicated in front of his house, showing a societal paradigm of liberal man. Some people believe that Kem Ley’s death will convey a message to all Cambodian citizens to unite and fear no life threat in order to find the equilibrium among social justice, political maturity, and developmental needs. It should be noted that the assassination of Dr. Kem Ley has not been made with an independent and reliable investigation.

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Workshops on Sub-grant Scheme

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Early this October, Samakum Teangtnaut’s staff (STT) organized a workshop on how to apply for a small grant scheme to interested parties at STT office. Most of participant who joined in this workshop were from urban poor community with their unclear status of land tenure such as Beoung Kak, Nirot Boeung Chhouk, String Mean Chey, Boeung Trobek, Nirot Boeung Chouk, Boeung Chhouk Russey Keo, and Throm Kol community.

The grant scheme aims to support Urban Poor Community Based Organizations in order to undertake activities which would lead to improved land tenure security and living conditions in their settlements. It is one of the activities under Human Rights –Based Spatial Planning Phase II (HRBSP2) funded by European Union and Czech Development Agency, being implemented by People in Need (PIN), Samakum Teangtnaut (STT), Urban Poor Women Development (UPWD), and Open Institute (OI).

The Licadho man was beaten

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October 10, 2016: Today is the 31st World Habitat Day marking the reason why the victims of land and housing disputes decided to bring their petitions to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction by matching from a place called Dey Kraham to Freedom Park. This marching did not go smoothly as there were clashes between Daun Penh para police forces and the marching victims. One among the victims who was beaten by the police is Mr. Am Sam Ath from Licadho. Sam Ath, a Licadho monitoring manager, was at the scene to observe if there is human rights violence, and finally he was himself hurt by the police. Immediately after the violence, Sam Ath was interviewed, and he said:

“I told them not to use violence and that’s just it, and that they decided to beat me. I think the country really has no law at all, and the prime minister should oversee the police forces in Cambodia because this might affect the new coming national election. And I have already notified that I am the human rights officer. If I saw violence happening to people, I would ask for not doing so. However, they didn’t stop and used violence even on me. This shows that Cambodia does not respect human rights, and these police are used to force the people. By doing so, don’t blame the citizens over their condemns on human rights violation in the country. If they dare to use violence on human rights officer, there is no doubt that they would do onto the people. Therefore, they should not refuse the facts.”

With the help of people there, Sam Ath was able to escape from the violence. Moreover, he was also accompanied by some land and housing victims to a secured place. Sam Ath refused to go to the hospital, saying that he would be fine. After this incident, the marching people still continued to the Freedom Park. A participant who is a representative from Boeung Kak community said that his arm was hit while he was trying to record the video of the violence, and his phone was suddenly lost.

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Land and Housing Victims Rallied on World Habitat Day to File Petitions

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October 10, 2016:  Around seventy communities believed to be the land dispute victims, on World Habitat Day this Monday, gathered at Dey Kraham community behind Russian  Embassy at 7.30 am with an attempt to bring their petitions to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. However, their rallies since the beginning, faced interferences from the dispersed local police who were awaiting next to the embassy. On the way to Freedom Park, more people joined the march which was also accompanied by the police. Almost 1000 people attended this event which consists of walking people in black, Tuk Tuk driving, and motorcycles..

At first, the parade seemed to be fine without violence. However, at about 10 am, the people at the front of the march started to run claiming that there was a violence from Daun Penh police forces on the land dispute victims. One of the victims in the violence is Am Sam Ath, LICADHO’s Monitoring Manager. Mr Sam Ath said that he was trying to intervene a group of police who was beating a participant, and then he was dragged into the beating. Some participants in the match also said that a few people including participants and a news reporter also injured in the accidents.

It should be reminded that this Monday is the annual 31st World Habitat Day, which is celebrated in Cambodia every year. Finally, the matching land dispute victims arrived Freedom Park at 10:30 am, and their petitions were accepted by the Ministry successfully at 11:30 am.

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Local Authority Destroys Residential Property without a Public Consultation

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19 January 2016

At about 8.30 am on the morning of 18 January 2016, an estimated 100 mixed up forces of Khan and Sangkat Russey Keo, equipped with hammers, knifes, axes and saws and deploying an excavator to destroy properties of residents living in O Baktouk village, Sangkat Boeung Salang, Khan Russey Keo, following Khan’s notification issued on 12 January 2016 that inform people living along the O Baktoul canal to remove voluntary some properties grow or build illegally along the edge of the canal.

According to the notification of Khan Russey Keo, this is only administrative measure to move such toilets, kitchen and chicken’s cottages of families which have lived on edge of Baktouk canal, which accused as illegal. The authority’s action was to 3 families which requested and very challenged to conduct a transparent development.

In the wake situation Khan Russey Keo governor Mr. Thun Sokhorn did a media conference on that issue, in order to clarify with media and public why authority come to take this action. He said in the conference that this project is in the master plan of MPP and we do this because of public interest; he added that authority firstly take only about 10 meters from the edge of the canal, but it is 20 meters according to regulation. Moreover, authority will conduct both sides of the canal where approximately 300 families could be effected by the project; nevertheless he affirmed that there will no compensation for those who could effect. It should be noted that the canal stretches about 4 km long starting point at street 273 (Tuol Sangke) till Borei Kong Bun Hov and so far they initially achieved about 1800 meters a side.

According to Mr. Sek Sokha, an effected resident telling us that next step is going to seek legal aid from Land NGO (i.g CLEC) over the case.

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Urban Poor Forum under the theme “The Urban Development by Contribution from Poor Communities”

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STT have been conducted Urban Poor Forum under the theme “The Urban Development by Contribution from Poor Communities”. This forum have been conducted for 2 days, which started from 22-23 December 2015 at Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) that have participant approximately 100 of community member, NGO partners and staffs. The Forum have been conducted in aim:

  • To provide poor communities that affected by land and housing rights in Phnom Penh to address the challenges and do action plan.
  • To strengthen the network and build solidarity among the poor communities that affected by land and housing rights.
  • To provide poor communities identify their problems and take action to address those issues.

No One Shall be Evicted To Homeless Situation

2 min read

“People have a right for housing although their occupation is legal or illegal”. This is what Mr. Nhim Kim Eang, project coordinator of Human Rights Based Spatial Planning explained to people at Chrang Chamres1 and Chrang Chamres2 community based on the international covenant on civil and political rights during the distribution of Legal Advice Sheet and factsheets in August and September 2015 .

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He said that, according to our research on legal tenure assessment to do household survey , the research found that, most people did not have occupancy document or land titling for those who were settling down in the community.. He added: moreover the location that the people were living it could be the state-owned land (Land reserved for road and river); furthermore, recently the national road No.5 was planned to expand so they would be faced to be relocated some day in the future. Concerned with the problem he explained based on land law of Cambodia that states that the people who occupied any land plot illegally they can’t claim compensation from the land or construction materials (i.e foundation…etc) on the state owned land although the government of Cambodia gave the adaptation on the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights so the government has obligation to guaranty that their people have enough houses.  It means that the people shall not be forcefully evicted to homeless situation, even if their occupation is illegal. Finally, he said although the documents that were distributed that day had value as only for the information or document for improving knowledge but it was really significant for them to know their rights to settling down on the land and other conditions which was a foundation in addressing to local authorities once they confronted problems or any problems in the future.

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Legal Advice Sheet is the part of Human Rights Based Spatial Planning Project in Cambodia funded by European Union and Czech Development Agency and implement by Samakum Teangtnaut and People in Need organization for promotion of tenure security for the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. All in all, Urban Settlement Officers and Project Coordinator of HRPSP distributed legal advice sheet and factsheets ten times to the four villages—village1, village 2, village 3 and village Khorin Sankat Chrang Chamres 1 and Chrang Chamres 2 which was the target areas In total, we distributed 1128 households, of which village 1 got 205, village 2 got 233, village 3 got 280, and village Khhor got 410 households.

Officers of Human Rights Based Spatial Planning Project (HRBSP) Distributed Legal Advice Sheet AND Factsheets to Community at Sangkat Chrang Chamres I and II, Khan Russey Keo

2 min read

On August 07th, 2015, Urban Settlement Officers and Project Coordinator of Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) distributed legal advice sheet and factsheets to 100 households where located in Village 3, Sangkat Chrang Chamres1 , Khan Russey Keo, Phnom Penh.

This distribution is part of Human Right Based Spatial Planning project which founded by Europe Union and Czech Republic and implemented by People In Need (PIN) and Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) in purpose to strengthen land tenure security through promotion of tenure security for the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in Cambodia.

Mr Nhim Kim Eang, project coordinator of Samakume Teangtnaut said this legal advice sheet and factsheet was the results we had done for more than a year before. He added that this information in this legal advice sheet and factsheets got from three main sources: 1) Demographic information got from the answers of local authorities and local people in the communities. 2) legal tenure and household information got from household survey data collected by staff and interns of STT. And 3) Legal documents which related to land law got from local and international experts of NGO partners who worked on legal aid. He added the document was only just information and legal aid for benefitting to people living in that location in relation to land occupation and it was not legally bounded because there was only authority that can make an official decision on your tenure status or offer land titling is the cadastral department of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MoLMUPC).

Furthermore, all of those houses were located next to the National Road 5, which would be further expanded in the future and it was also next to the Tongle Sap Lake which was regarded as the state owned- land. These areas would be planned to have reconstruction or on-site redevelopment in the future. As a result, it was really important for the people to understand the information as it was for their benefits both citizens and authorities for discussing and finding solution together.

Be informed that, Chrang Chamres Community is an urban poor community where has not yet had the orderly construction and the majority of them is Khmer- Cham (Islam).

Thousands march on World Habitat Day, authorities accept petition

2 min read

5 October 2015

On World Habitat Day 2015, authorities accepted a petition from hundreds of protestors who marched to demand housing rights and an end to forced evictions in Cambodia.

On the morning of 5 October, community members, monks, children, tuk-tuk drivers and civil society organizations gathered at Dey Krahorm – a former eviction site – to march to the National Assembly. The crowd wore black tshirts and hats made from palm leaves, a traditional housing material in Cambodia. Representatives of more than 150 urban and rural communities and civil society organisations were invited to take part.

Outside the National Assembly, community members delivered speeches and monks offered a blessing asking for an end to forced eviction. Helium balloons were attached to model houses and released to highlight the importance of housing as a human right. Children displayed their own model ideal houses amidst banners and songs.

Police blockades prevented protestors from continuing their march to the ministry buildings. Instead, officials from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Land Management and Municipality of Phnom Penh came to the protestors and accepted the petitions in front of the National Assembly. Representatives of the National Assembly came out to accept the petition. Authorities from Chamcarmon district district also accepted a model house.

The march participants included many people personally affected by forced evictions. As one participant expressed, “I am here to demand housing rights. I was evicted and now don’t have a house, this right to has been denied for me.”

Others shared what the event meant to them.
“I am happy to be here to affirm our human right to housing”.
“I want to request of companies developing land: don’t abuse the rights of the people.”
“I want to ask the government: do not evict people and send them to a far away place.”

STT’s Executive Director, Mr Ee Sarom, spoke to media about the right to adequate housing and forced evictions in Cambodia. “People here are those who affected by land and housing right issues. They were forcibly evicted from their land and housing,” he said. “They have come here to show the government about their problems and seek a solution.”

The march commemorated the 30th anniversary of World Habitat Day, first designated in 1985. As one participant expressed: “I feel encouraged to be here, because today is an international day. It is not just about Cambodian communities abused by the Government, we celebrate with people all over the world.”

City For Children

4 min read

Media Advisory – 28th May 2015
City for Children – Celebrating International Children’s Day in the Urban Poor Settlements of Phnom Penh

Local urban NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) in partnership with the Czech development NGO People in Need (PIN) are holding the “City for Children” event, as an opportunity to celebrate the 66th International Children’s Day on Monday 1st June in in 4 urban poor villages of Phnom Penh.

The event will be held at on Monday 1st June 2015, at “Vihea Thom” (the Large Mosque) at Kilometer 09, in Village 3, Sangkat Chrang Chamres Mouy, Khan Russey Keo, Phnom Penh from 8 am to 11 am.

Conditions for children living in urban poor settlements (of which there are 340 according to STT’s Phnom Penh Survey published in 2014) are affected by the lower rates of provision of public amenities, including supply of water, sanitation, sewage, and power. According to research published by PIN and Unicef earlier this year, every third child in the urban poor communities is undernourished. These children are smaller, weaker and do worse at school (if they attend one) than children which have access to balanced diet and safe water supply and sanitation.

In 2014, STT and PIN launched the collaborative project “City for All – Human Rights Based Spatial Planning” funded by the EU delegation in Cambodia and the Czech Development Agency, with the aim to promote a rights’ based approach to urban development. The project works with four villages in the area of Chrang Chamres Mouy, which are situated on the banks of the Tonle Sap river, where due to lack of tenure security, communities live under threat of eviction. The project works with the communities and local authorities to provide residents with assessments of their legal tenure claims, and to develop new urban plans for onsite upgrading to make the land use more effective, while avoiding involuntary resettlement.

Amongst other community strengthening exercises of the project, such as mapping and enumeration workshops, STT and PIN are holding this half-day event for 100 children and their parents from the four villages (Village I, II, III and Village Khor) at the above location. The event encourages children to think about their urban living environment, by giving them the opportunity to discuss and draw what their ideal city would look like.

“In our experience, inviting children and their parents to attend an event focused on children’s vision of their ideal houses and city helps a lot with the involvement of the community as a whole in our participatory mapping and infrastructure upgrading project”, says Mr Ee Sarom, Executive Director of STT. “With 10 years working in urban poor settlements, STT has witnessed again and again how children are affected by poor living conditions, which are often worse in the case of forced resettlement. We hope this event can help raise awareness of the importance of our children’s place in the city.”

In addition to the on-the-ground work carried out in Chrang Chamres Mouy, the “City for All – Human Rights Based Spatial Planning” project engages students in Phnom Penh in a “Spatial Planning Lab”. This involves a series of workshops and lectures such as Disaster Risk Sensitive Land Use Planning, Human Rights Based Spatial Planning, Gender and Spatial Planning etc., to help future urban planners consider the importance of a rights’ based approach to the development of Cambodia’s capital city.

PIN has also conducted assessments to identify the most disaster prone areas and increase local capacity to cope with disasters and suggest a set of appropriate mitigation measures.

For additional information please contact:
Mr. EE Sarom, Executive Director, STT: 012 836 533 (Khmer, English)
Mr. SASIN Piotr, Country Director, PIN: 011 676 331 (English)

You can find Media Advisory in PDF in Khmer and English

ODK Training for White Building

1 min read

The Technical Program at STT is currently planning to conduct research on The White Building, located at Phum1 and 2 village in the Tonle Bassac commune of the Chamkar Morn district in Phnom Penh. A training was held today at STT, where 3 staff members along with 3 interns from the Human Rights Based Spatial Planning (HRBSP) project were taught how to use the Open Data Kit (ODK) system in order to collect data from the White Building using mobile technology. By using the ODK system, members of the training will be able to build a data collection survey, collect data on a mobile device and send it to a server, as well as aggregate the collected data.

Data on the White Building is being collected in order to be able to conduct feasibility studies and infrastructure upgrades. Currently the building has cracks and fissures, rooftop leaking, and blockage in the existing draining. Residents of the community also wish to improve the outward appearance of the building.

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Using the ODK system on a mobile phone
Using the ODK system on a mobile phone

Spatial Planning Lab: Call for Applications

2 min read

Collaborative partners Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), People in Need Cambodia (PIN), and Open Development Cambodia (ODC) are launching a Spatial Planning Lab: Putting People in the Heart of Spatial Planning. The lab aims to provide a holistic learning experience for future land use planners and encourages them to draw connections between theory and practice. The curriculum aims to strengthen and explain multidisciplinary knowledge in inclusive spatial planning, essentially by putting people and their rights at the heart of the spatial planning process. The Spatial Planning Lab is carried out over a period of 15 weeks (starting from April 2015), and will occur Saturdays from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM (please see the tentative schedule) at Development Innovations Cambodia.

The Spatial Planning Lab will accept 30 students. To apply, please download and fill out the registration form. Please submit the completed registration form together with a Curriculum Vita (CV) via e-mail to contact.spatialplanninglab@gmail.com before 05 April 2015. Female students are encouraged to apply. If you have further questions, please contact the Spatial Planning Lab organizing team via the email above or by phone at 012 333 260.

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Download registration form: https://www.dropbox.com/…/akswsy…/AABhMDOMtT50iKfS66oWrz4pa…

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Hands on training at the STT computer lab

ICT Training Project Begins

1 min read

Yesterday, on March 18th, 2015 STT conducted their first training session as part of the ICT Community Training Project. Ten community activists arrived at the STT computer lab in order to receive training on basic technological skills such as how to use standard computer programs. Future sessions will include how to use smartphones and different social media applications. The project will occur regularly each month until December of this year.

The purpose of conducting these sessions is to facilitate access to 3G+ devices for members in urban poor communities, which will allow their voices and opinions to be heard through social media. In the long run, the objective of the trainings sessions is to enable human rights defenders and community activists to use the best communication technology to report promptly, safely, and accurately. Through the mechanisms and strategies taught throughout the program, participants have the knowledge and means to raise any alerts when confronted by human rights violations in Cambodia.

ICT Training Project kicks off
ICT Training Project kicks off
Learning computer basics
Learning computer basics
Hands on training at the STT computer lab
Hands on training at the STT computer lab
ICT gives activists computer trainging
ICT gives activists computer training

International Human Rights Day 2014

0 min read
Image from www.cija.ca
Image from www.cija.ca

To celebrate the 2014 International Human Rights Day, scores of people (including students, monks, community representative, and civil society organizations) will participate in a 5-day march to Phnom Penh.

On December 4th, participants will drive out to the assigned starting points on five separate roads (National Road 1, National Road 4, National Road 5, National Road 7, and Rattanakiri Road) about 100km out from Phnom Penh.

The march will commence the next morning on December 5th, after which all five groups with will eventually meet in the city on December 10th where they will submit a petition to the National Assembly.

Staff capacity building storage online

0 min read

On 17 November 2014, ICT project of Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) are organizing the staff capacity building on Cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive, and Sky Drive) at Development Innovation (DI). Staff capacity building aims to provide training and strengthen staff capacity in using cloud for effectively storing data and documents on online, and build a good relationship with STT’s colleagues in order to work closely for achieve the organization goals. There are 11 staffs who came from advocacy program and technical program to participated in the training.

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Urban Poor Community OpenStreetMap Intervention Workshop

1 min read

 

Summary of activities:

STT have organized the OSM workshops since 2012. Last workshop held on the 05th-06thJuly 2014,which successful organized a workshop in providing University students to knowledge how to edit and upload on OpenStreetMap. On the workshop day, we were invited 25 students from 9 universities in Phnom Penh. Here is the 3rd OSM workshop in which consists of indoor interactive learning of getting familiarize with OpenStreetMap site and using JOSM program to develop, up/download data onto the site and onsite practice of gathering physical infrastructure data from several urban poor communities to update on OpenStreetMap among students and/or communities.

Objective:

The workshop aims to:

  • Provide interactive training to young profession students how gather geographical data, download data from site, edit existing data from site, and upload onto site.
  • Visualize urban poor settlements in first time in Phnom Penh on OpenStreetMap.
  • Training young generation to improve Phnom Penh map, especially roads data entire city.

Outcome of workshop:

After the training:

  • Participants will be able to gain knowledge how to update OSM and be able to further updates in future.
  • The urban poor settlements are increasingly visualizing on OSM site to prove their locations in city tertiary,
  • The map of Phnom Penh map is timely improving from activities of onsite gather and update onto sites by participants.

Have questions about Urban Poor Community OpenStreetMap Intervention Workshop?

More information contact to: 093 35 93 73 or 076 677 9986

Here is registration link: http://bit.ly/1vQEayg