Forced Eviction and Resettlement in Cambodia: Case Studies from Phnom Penh

This Article culminates a project undertaken by the Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic (hereinafter “Leitner Clinic”) at Fordham Law School to examine the effects of land resettlement on communities that were forcibly evicted or are at risk of forced eviction from their homes, and, in particular, the effects of forced evictions on the Boeung Kak Lake community in central Phnom Penn and on people living with HTV/AJDS (“PLWHA”). This Article is based on field research the Leitner Clinic conducted in Cambodia in the fall of 2008. While in Cambodia, the Leitner Clinic interviewed families from four different communities: resettlement camps in Dam Nak Trayoeng and An Dong; Boeung Kak Lake, where residents are facing forced eviction; and the Green Shelters at Borei Keila where forcibly evicted PLWH1A and their families await resettlement. The Leitner Clinic also met with local human rights and land rights organizations and organizations working with PLWHA.