Boeung Kak Lake is the largest green area and open space in Cambodia’s capitol city of Phnom Penh. Or rather, it used to be – until the land was handed over by government to a private investor into a 99-year lease. With work starting on the redevelopment of the lake in 2007, tens of thousands residents living in its immediate vicinity fear forced eviction. They were not notified the work was going to begin. Few details about the plans have been disclosed as to what will happen to the affected people – an estimated 3,000 to 4,200 families living on the shores of the lake and around the area.
According to Amnesty International and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), the filling of Boeung Kak Lake in central Phnom Penh should immediately stop until a proper process that ensures human rights protection is in place.
