www.theguardian.com Open in urlscan Pro
2a04:4e42::367  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

https://www.google.co.uk/search

<form action="https://www.google.co.uk/search" class="dcr-1jjnk9d"><label for="gu-search" class="dcr-0">
    <div class="dcr-6v110l">Search input </div>
  </label><input type="text" id="gu-search" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" aria-describedby="" required="" name="q" placeholder="Search the Guardian" data-link-name="header : search" tabindex="-1"
    class="selectableMenuItem dcr-qcy5wo"><label for="gu-search" class="dcr-0">
    <div class="dcr-6v110l">google-search </div>
    <div class="dcr-radnun"><svg width="30" viewBox="-3 -3 30 30" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true">
        <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd"
          d="M9.273 2c4.023 0 7.25 3.295 7.25 7.273a7.226 7.226 0 0 1-7.25 7.25C5.25 16.523 2 13.296 2 9.273 2 5.295 5.25 2 9.273 2m0 1.84A5.403 5.403 0 0 0 3.84 9.274c0 3 2.409 5.454 5.432 5.454 3 0 5.454-2.454 5.454-5.454 0-3.023-2.454-5.432-5.454-5.432m7.295 10.887L22 20.16 20.16 22l-5.433-5.432v-.932l.91-.909z">
        </path>
      </svg><span class="dcr-1p0hins">Search</span></div>
  </label><button type="submit" aria-live="polite" aria-label="Search with Google" data-link-name="header : search : submit" tabindex="-1" class="dcr-1gsboxi">
    <div class="src-button-space"></div><svg width="30" viewBox="-3 -3 30 30" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true">
      <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M1 12.956h18.274l-7.167 8.575.932.932L23 12.478v-.956l-9.96-9.985-.932.932 7.166 8.575H1z"></path>
    </svg>
  </button><input type="hidden" name="as_sitesearch" value="www.theguardian.com"></form>

https://www.google.co.uk/search

<form action="https://www.google.co.uk/search" class="dcr-1jjnk9d"><label for="gu-search" class="dcr-0">
    <div class="dcr-6v110l">Search input </div>
  </label><input type="text" id="gu-search" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" aria-describedby="" required="" name="q" placeholder="Search the Guardian" data-link-name="header : search" tabindex="-1"
    class="selectableMenuItem dcr-qcy5wo"><label for="gu-search" class="dcr-0">
    <div class="dcr-6v110l">google-search </div>
    <div class="dcr-radnun"><svg width="30" viewBox="-3 -3 30 30" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true">
        <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd"
          d="M9.273 2c4.023 0 7.25 3.295 7.25 7.273a7.226 7.226 0 0 1-7.25 7.25C5.25 16.523 2 13.296 2 9.273 2 5.295 5.25 2 9.273 2m0 1.84A5.403 5.403 0 0 0 3.84 9.274c0 3 2.409 5.454 5.432 5.454 3 0 5.454-2.454 5.454-5.454 0-3.023-2.454-5.432-5.454-5.432m7.295 10.887L22 20.16 20.16 22l-5.433-5.432v-.932l.91-.909z">
        </path>
      </svg><span class="dcr-1p0hins">Search</span></div>
  </label><button type="submit" aria-live="polite" aria-label="Search with Google" data-link-name="header : search : submit" tabindex="-1" class="dcr-1gsboxi">
    <div class="src-button-space"></div><svg width="30" viewBox="-3 -3 30 30" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true">
      <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M1 12.956h18.274l-7.167 8.575.932.932L23 12.478v-.956l-9.96-9.985-.932.932 7.166 8.575H1z"></path>
    </svg>
  </button><input type="hidden" name="as_sitesearch" value="www.theguardian.com"></form>

Text Content

Skip to main contentSkip to navigation
Close dialogue1/1Next imagePrevious imageToggle caption
Skip to navigation


SUPPORT THE GUARDIAN

Fund independent journalism with €12 per month
Support us

Support us
Print subscriptions
Search jobs
Sign in
Eur
 * Europe edition
 * UK edition
 * US edition
 * Australia edition
 * International edition

The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian
 * News
 * Opinion
 * Sport
 * Culture
 * Lifestyle

Show moreHide expanded menu
 * News
   * View all News
   * World news
   * US politics
   * UK news
   * Climate crisis
   * Middle East
   * Ukraine
   * Environment
   * Science
   * Global development
   * Football
   * Tech
   * Business
   * Obituaries
   
 * Opinion
   * View all Opinion
   * The Guardian view
   * Columnists
   * Cartoons
   * Opinion videos
   * Letters
   
 * Sport
   * View all Sport
   * Football
   * Cricket
   * Rugby union
   * Tennis
   * Cycling
   * F1
   * Golf
   * US sports
   
 * Culture
   * View all Culture
   * Books
   * Music
   * TV & radio
   * Art & design
   * Film
   * Games
   * Classical
   * Stage
   
 * Lifestyle
   * View all Lifestyle
   * Fashion
   * Food
   * Recipes
   * Love & sex
   * Health & fitness
   * Home & garden
   * Women
   * Men
   * Family
   * Travel
   * Money
   Search input
   google-search
   Search
   
   
    * Support us
    * Print subscriptions

 * * Search jobs
   * Holidays
   * Digital Archive
   * Guardian Licensing
   * About Us
   * The Guardian app
   * Video
   * Podcasts
   * Pictures
   * Newsletters
   * Today's paper
   * Inside the Guardian
   * The Observer
   * Guardian Weekly
   * Crosswords
   * Wordiply
   * Corrections
 * Search input
   google-search
   Search
   
   * Search jobs
   * Holidays
   * Digital Archive
   * Guardian Licensing
   * About Us

 * World
 * US politics
 * UK
 * Climate crisis
 * Middle East
 * Ukraine
 * Environment
 * Science
 * Global development
 * Football
 * Tech
 * Business
 * Obituaries


A military truck transports a resident’s belongings near Angkor Wat temple in
Siem Reap province. Photograph: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images
View image in fullscreen
A military truck transports a resident’s belongings near Angkor Wat temple in
Siem Reap province. Photograph: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images
Global development

This article is more than 1 year old


UNESCO UNDER FIRE FOR FAILING TO PREVENT EVICTIONS AT ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE SITE

This article is more than 1 year old

Amnesty says heritage body has ‘fallen short’ in its responsibility to thousands
of families thrown off the complex in Cambodia

Supported by

About this content
Fiona Kelliher in Phnom Penh
Tue 14 Nov 2023 08.00 CETLast modified on Tue 14 Nov 2023 11.58 CET
Share




Unesco has “fallen short of its responsibility to uphold and promote human
rights” amid mass evictions at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex, Amnesty
International has claimed in a new investigation.

The Cambodian government has used “intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of
violence” to remove about 10,000 families from the world heritage site, the
report said. In an unusual move, Amnesty also named Unesco as a “responsible
actor”, arguing that the UN body was made aware of alleged human rights abuses
for months but did not investigate or acknowledge them.



The report called on Unesco to perform an independent assessment, require a
resettlement plan complying with international standards, and to “categorically
reject” forced evictions at world heritage sites. Amnesty also reiterated calls
for Cambodia to halt the relocations.

“It doesn’t appear to us that [Unesco] did more than the bare minimum,” said
Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for research.
“And they, as a UN agency, need to do more than the bare minimum if they say
that human rights are the core of how they operate.”

Angkor archaeological park is Cambodia’s biggest tourist attraction, dotted with
ancient temples from the Khmer empire, dating from the ninth to the 15th
centuries. The 400 sq km (154 sq mile) park became a world heritage site in 1992
and is home to tens of thousands of people, including vendors and tuk-tuk
drivers. Many can trace their lineage at Angkor back generations.

But in August 2022, the Cambodian government claimed 10,000 families were
squatters causing overdevelopment at the complex. People were relocated to a
site about 12 miles away with no housing or running water, the report said.

Amnesty interviewed more than 100 people affected. Almost every person said they
were coerced into leaving, with authorities threatening to arrest them, flood
their homes or cut off power, the report said. The Guardian reported similar
claims in November 2022.

Former prime minister Hun Sen claimed there was “pressure from Unesco” to
protect the site’s heritage status. But Angkor has not been in danger of having
its Unesco status removed since 2004, when it was decided “preservation of the
site from destruction was reasonably secure”, and Unesco maintains that it
“never called for population displacements”.

Yet Unesco has played a key role at Angkor, the report argued, particularly
because the site’s zoning scheme, which has been used to justify evictions, is
the direct result of recommendations from the World Heritage Centre in the
1990s.

Unesco’s World Heritage Centre disputed the draft report in an October letter,
emphasising that Angkor is “under the sole authority” of Cambodia, and Unesco
“does not have the ability to enforce implementation of rights-based standards”.

“The actions of a member state and state party to the World Heritage Convention
acting on its own sovereign soil is not the responsibility of Unesco – even if a
member state were to justify its actions by invoking the organisation,” the
World Heritage Centre wrote, adding, “Unesco cannot ‘ensure’ that something
happens (or does not happen) on sovereign soil.”

‘Everywhere is broken’: how land grabs in Cambodia are demolishing lives
Read more

A Unesco World Heritage Centre spokesperson said Unesco has “never requested,
nor supported, nor was a party to this programme,”, and that Cambodian
authorities should identify “corrective measures ... in order to make an
explicit commitment not to carry out forced evictions in Angkor”. They did not
specify what those measures could be, but said they should “fully respect human
rights and the consent of the populations, in line with the operational
guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention”.

The Cambodian government was already required to submit a report on the state of
conservation at Angkor by December 2024, but Unesco has “decided to bring
forward the date for submission” so that it may be discussed at the World
Heritage Committee meeting in summer 2024, the spokesperson added.

The Cambodian Apsara Authority, which oversees Angkor park, did not respond to a
request for comment.

Licadho, a Cambodian human rights organisation, said evictions are still going
on and villages further from Angkor Wat are reporting new restrictions on home
repairs – a typical precursor to evictions.

“Instead of empowering these communities to gather and raise their concerns,
Unesco is pretending that forced evictions aren’t occurring under their noses,”
said Naly Pilorge, Licadho’s outreach director, calling the reaction “shameful”.

Soun Ryna, 46, owned a small restaurant in Angkor park for more than three
decades until she was evicted last November. The relocation site has no
marketplace for her to sell food. Without any income, she has sold most of her
possessions to pay loans.

“I’m still in debt. Every time I talk about it, I start to cry,” said Ryna. “But
this is the government’s request. What should we do? We can’t win against them.

“There’s only one thing I want to request of any organisation,” she added.
“Please don’t evict more people around Angkor Wat.”

 * Additional reporting by Keat Soriththeavy

Explore more on these topics
 * Global development
 * Unesco
 * Cambodia
 * Heritage
 * United Nations
 * Asia Pacific
 * Land rights
 * news

Share

Reuse this content


MOST VIEWED

 * ISRAEL, US AND TURKEY LAUNCH STRIKES IN SYRIA TO PROTECT INTERESTS
   
   

 * WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECT CHARGED IN THE KILLING OF THE CEO OF
   UNITEDHEALTHCARE
   
   

 * THEY ‘DIDN’T LOOK THE TYPE’: HOW THE MEDIA WAS FOOLED BY BASHAR AND ASMA
   AL-ASSADZOE WILLIAMS
   
   

 * GOOGLE UNVEILS ‘MINDBOGGLING’ QUANTUM COMPUTING CHIP
   
   

 * SUSPECT IN UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO SHOOTING CHARGED WITH MURDER BY NEW YORK
   PROSECUTORS
   
   





MOST VIEWED


MOST VIEWED



 * World
 * US politics
 * UK
 * Climate crisis
 * Middle East
 * Ukraine
 * Environment
 * Science
 * Global development
 * Football
 * Tech
 * Business
 * Obituaries

 * News
 * Opinion
 * Sport
 * Culture
 * Lifestyle

Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning
Sign up for our email

 * Help
 * Complaints & corrections
 * SecureDrop
 * Work for us
 *  
 * Privacy policy
 * Cookie policy
 * Terms & conditions
 * Contact us

 * All topics
 * All writers
 * Digital newspaper archive
 * Tax strategy
 * Facebook
 * YouTube
 * Instagram
 * LinkedIn
 * Newsletters

 * Advertise with us
 * Search UK jobs


Back to top
© 2024 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights
reserved. (dcr)