Angkor

• Housing (Uncontrolled urban expansion; Lack of clarity regarding property rights, ownership and building codes)
• Management systems/Management plan (Lack of an appropriate management system; Poor law enforcement; Lack of capacity of management agency)

Total amount provided to the property: Approximately USD 600 million through various international partners (1992-present)

On 30 January 2024, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, in response to a letter from the World Heritage Centre of 13 November 2023 requesting such a report, in view of multiple third-party representations regarding the human rights implications of the ongoing population relocation programme to two relocation sites outside the property. The report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668/documents/ and provides information and explanation about the above-mentioned issue as follows:

• Chronology and legal basis for the voluntary population relocation programme;
• Follow-up to the decisions of the World Heritage Committee adopted between 2006 and 2014 regarding zoning regulations and illegal occupations (Decisions 30 COM 7B.61, 32 COM 7B.65, 34 COM 7B.65 and 38 COM 7B.8);
• Provisions of the National Law on Heritage (1996) and Zoning and Environmental Management Plan (ZEMP) for the property;
• Distinction between local populations/lawful occupants, defined as the populations of 112 villages with residential rights inside the property at the time of inscription in 1992, and their descendants and/or beneficiaries (ca. 100,000 persons), and illegal occupants who have settled inside the inscribed zones with illicit constructions and encroachment;
• Explanation of recent measures concerning the zoning management:
  • Control of illegal squatters between 2013 and 2017,
  • Suppression of 900 illegal structures inside the inscribed zone in 2018 following a letter of the World Heritage Centre,
  • Difficulties of control of land occupation during the COVID-19 pandemic,
  • Creation of an Interministerial Task Force in 2022 under the authority of Deputy Prime Minister for Spatial Planning, Urban Planning and Construction,
  • Investment of more than USD 100M to create two relocation sites, Run Ta Ek rural village (1.046 hectares) and Peak Snèng (1.410 hectares), each over 30 minutes’ drive away from the property and in the process of being equipped with various infrastructure, including housing and services, currently in different stages of completion,
  • Inspections by the Ad Hoc Experts of International Coordinating Committee (ICC) for Angkor, and their recommendation to create job opportunities;
• Government providing solutions for the unlawful occupants rather than just expulsion by enforcing the law without compensation.

The fourth Intergovernmental Conference for the Safeguarding and Development of Angkor was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 15 November 2023 to celebrate the start of the fourth decade of international cooperation for Angkor, with the co-presidents of the ICC (France and Japan), UNESCO and in the presence of His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia.

Since March 2023, concerns have been expressed by several third parties, regarding the ongoing population relocation programme within the inscribed property to two relocation sites, both within 30 minutes distance of the property. On 21 May 2024, Amnesty International met with UNESCO Secretariat to share their concerns on the State Party’s report and their additional information on the on-going relocation programme.

The State Party’s report provides a comprehensive account of ‘the management of illegal occupants’ since inscription, with background reference documents, including the Zoning and Environmental Management Plan (ZEMP) promulgated in 1994. It also illustrated the adverse impact of the illegal occupation on the property and the unsanitary conditions of these settlements.

Managing such a vast property with over 100 fragile monuments, which is under constant pressure of mass tourism requires rigorous application of the law and regulations, pro-active planning and efficient public communication. The Committee has long recognised that to protect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and to ensure social cohesion and fairness under the law of all, further new settlements in the protected zones should be prohibited. In 2005, an expert mission and report addressed the challenges arising from illegal occupation. In 2008, Decision 32 COM 7B.65 recommended the application of regulations to avoid uncontrolled urban expansion, and enforcing existing laws regarding illegal occupation, unauthorised construction and development, and in 2014, Decision 38 COM 7B.8 noted the progress made by the State Party on this matter.

The State Party should be encouraged to continue deploying its efforts to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness as well as communication on the on-going zoning regulation and management measures and the related relocation programme, making a clear distinction between lawful inhabitants who should be involved in the management of the site and illegal occupants and take steps to prevent further illegal settlement inside the protected zones of the property. The Committee may wish to record that the rights of residents of 112 villages identified at the time of inscription in 1992 and their descendants and/or beneficiaries must be protected, in compliance with legal instruments, including Governmental Decision 70/SSR of September 2004 and that the relocation and the living conditions of the illegal occupants must comply with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The Angkor Heritage Management Plan (HMP) of 2013 recognises the rights of formal village residents within the property and sets out a system to support local communities through programmes that link tourism at Angkor, poverty alleviation and sustainable development. The State Party should be encouraged to place the current relocation programme and associated support within a broader strategy that addresses demographic growth inside the property, which is now reported to about 100,000 people, and social and economic aspirations, as set out in the Angkor Heritage Management Plan of 2013.

Finally, the State Party should be requested to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, to assess the state of conservation of the property, including the areas from which populations were recently relocated, notably around the temple of Angkor Wat. The visit of the mission may serve as an opportunity to analyse the conditions of the relocated communities, enabling a reflection on appropriate measures to prevent ongoing illegal settlement and support local communities.