Advocating against development-induced displacement: International Accountability Project

by Michelle Arevalo Carpenter

Ream and Beattrang villages in Cambodia were re-founded in 1979 by a courageous group of surviving families after the Khmer Rouge fell. Their stories are also those of thousands of Cambodian rural communities, in which determined families began to re-build their lives through hard work on land they either previously owned, or plots distributed for agriculture by the government. During the Khmer Rouge, the registry for land titles was destroyed, and although the villagers have occupied plots in the area for generations, they have no legal tenure of their land. They now face displacement and eviction, as the government requires their land for ‘the public good’: the extension of an airport runway as part of a plan to make the coast a tourist destination. The funding for the airport extension project is pending final approval by the International Financial Corporation, the private lending arm of the World Bank.

“We are not against the development of Cambodia,” explained Heng Seng, a local community leader, “we just don’t want to lose our lands, our source of livelihoods, without fair compensation.” International Accountability Project, a San Francisco –based NGO, challenges internationally financed development projects like this one, which uproot and impoverish millions of people every year across the developing world.

As a researcher for IAP, I conducted a fact-finding mission to these communities to assess whether the private company that held the concession abides by the World Bank safeguards that require fair treatment and free prior informed consent from the communities. IAP now acts as a link between grassroots organizations in Cambodia and the World Bank, asking for accountability in the use of these funds. Although my report summarized the technical breaches and negligence in supervision and monitoring of this loan, only the portraits of those who stand to lose their land and homes can tell the full story

Michelle Arevalo Carpenter On behalf of International Accountability Project