Corruption and Anti-Corruption in Cambodia 2012 in review

Corruption continues to be systematic in Cambodia, and links-in with a number of issues, chief of which is access to valuable natural resources and human rights abuses. Many rural residents and civil society activists are locked in a fight with government over the allocation of large land concessions to exploit minerals, timber, and water resources, often encroaching on settlements and villages. Cambodian authorities, in turn, are increasingly resorting to violence to quash the protests. Land concessions tend to be awarded in shady circumstances to international conglomerates and/or local businesses that often act as front companies for tycoons or politicians. The Cambodian NGO Licadho estimates that approximately 2.1 million hectares (roughly the area of Wales) has been transferred to private developers. This is often done at the expense of local residents who are rarely compensated as well as the environment (Cambodia is experiencing high deforestation rates due to illegal logging, hydropower projects, large-scale agro-industrial ventures and entertainment complexes). A recent report by the U.N’s special rapporteur on Human Rights claimed there is no evidence that revenues from land concessions are used to alleviate poverty.