Tuesday, 24 February 2009

Cambodia holds regional workshop on involuntary resettlement implementation and management

People's daily Online
February 23, 2009

Cambodia on Monday launched a five-day regional workshop on involuntary resettlement implementation and management, which was attended by officials from Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and the kingdom itself.

The workshop, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will provide the participants with an opportunity to exchange views on the above crucial topic in order to set a common perspective on better implementation of resettlement for each country, Chhorn Sopheap, director of resettlement department of the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, said at the workshop.

Involuntary resettlement needs to be properly implemented under a clear policy through appropriate legal principles and procedures stipulated in the laws and regulations to ensure all affected people are better off or at least to have the same condition as before, he said.

"We believe that good resettlement can prevent impoverishment of the affected people by turning displacement into development opportunities," he added.

According to an ADB report, nearly 4,000 families have been affected by the irrigation system in northwestern part of Cambodia (2005-2010), and 4,422 families affected by the Steung Chinit irrigation system (2001-2008).

The road rehabilitation and electricity system project in Cambodia (2003-2010) has affected over 4,200 families, and the railway restoration project (2008-2010) has affected 4,253 families.

Source:Xinhua

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