Experts Meet Over Resettlement Ideas

By Soy Sophea

About 100 National and regional resettlement experts from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos
and Vietnam have gathered in Phnom Penh to construct a legal resolution and policy for the thousands of Cambodians left without property in the wake of giant development projects.

The five-day conference started on February 23 and was organized by the Asia Development Bank with participation from non-governmental agencies, development partners and World Bank resettlement experts. Topics for discussion included Involuntary Resettlement Implementation and Management, with a view to exchanging
experience between authorities when dealing with such delicate matters.

Arjun Goswami, Director of the Asian Development Bank’s Cambodia Resident Mission, said the workshop will provide an opportunity to learn from other’s experience in project-induced resettlement in the region. He advised delegates to take the event seriously as it provided an opportunity to learn and increase their capacity in ensuring trouble-free resettlement and development activities in future.

The Country Director said current Development thinking views as unacceptable, the creation of additional problems as a byproduct of development.

Additional problems are also unnecessary since development brings a wealth of new opportunities. He believed that good resettlement policies should increase economic
activity and provide opportunities for better living conditions for all.

He added that the affected sector of the population should also share in the benefits of development. A basic resettlement of the population en masse without thought given to the welfare of the resettled often proved challenging and difficult.

“To date, our experiences with resettlement implementation, particularly in the Great Mekong Sub-Region (GMS), have not been satisfactory,” he said. “In Cambodia, the
resettlement situation is slowly but steadily improving under the leadership of the Inter-Ministerial Resettlement Committee.”

The Country Director Goswami believed that in attending the resettlement workshops, agency officials would gain a better understanding of best resettlement policies and practices.

He noted that lack of timely and appropriate attention to resettlement issues is often counter-productive. For instance, he said there may be costly delays in project implementation and in civil engineering workflows if unresolved land acquisition
and resettlement issues remain.

“There may be social and economic costs in terms of lost production, dislocation, loss of socioeconomic networks and increased economic hardship for the resettled. Failed resettlement projects in other countries have always resulted in poverty,” he said. “In addition, poorly conducted resettlement programs may cause increased difficulty in mobilizing further resources from development partners for future projects,” he added.

Chhorn Sopheap, Director of the Resettlement Department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said that during recent years, involuntary resettlement has become a central
feature of physical infrastructure development. Nevertheless, both the Cambodian government and development partners have paid attention to conducting development under just and transparent procedures, rational resettlement policies and the Rule of
Law.

Chhorn Sopheap who is also the Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme National Economic Council, said that in practice there were often conflicts between the rights of the general public and individuals affected by development policies. The challenge is to strike a balance between these two parties.

“Development projects serving the greater public interest must inevitably be implemented,” he said.

However, he said that in the current context is one that lacks properly defined legal precedents and legislation to support resettlement implementation. He noted limited
awareness of Land Laws and other regulations, adding to the challenge for authorities.