The Senate’s human rights commission on November 29 met with Minister of Environment Say Samal and representatives from other relevant institutions to discuss the request of 16 indigenous communities for revisions to a draft law on protected areas and forests.
The meeting was led by Yang Sem – chairman of the Senate’s Commission on Human Rights, Complaint Reception and Investigation – and Mong Reththy, chairman of the Senate’s Commission on Agriculture, Water Resources, Meteorological, Rural Development and Environment Investment Planning.
“The meeting was held to review and discuss the proposed revisions to the draft law that were suggested by the indigenous communities,” said Sem.
Sixteen representatives of the 16 ethnic groups and representatives of indigenous communities from 12 provinces submitted eight-point proposal related to forests and protected areas.
Tep Tim, a representative of the indigenous communities, said five of the eight points had already been accepted while three others were under consideration. The Senate has convened a series of meetings with the relevant institutions to further discuss them.
“The three points under consideration are the request to include indigenous communities, because in the draft, only local communities are mentioned. Second, they request that traditional crop rotation is considered when drafting policies,” she told The Post on November 29.
“Finally, they would like the duration of forest community agreements to match those of economic land concessions (ELCs), with clauses that states the agreement may not be ended as long as the communities adhere to its conditions,” she added.
Chhim Samuth, another indigenous representative, said on November 29 that although five suggestions were accepted, he remained concerned about the use of certain phrases and meanings which he said were not in line with what the indigenous communities wanted. However, he expressed his hopes that things would go well and the relevant institutions would accept the other three points.
He added that the indigenous communities had further inputs it would like the commission to consider.
“Soon, we will request more meetings to offer more suggestions to the ministrys involved,” he said.
