[JURIST] Amnesty International [advocacy website] on Monday sharply criticized the Cambodian government for forcibly evicting impoverished citizens from their homes to make way for tourism development and infrastructure projects. In a report [text; press release] entitled "Rights Razed – Forced Evictions in Cambodia," Amnesty said that since 2003 nearly 30,000 Cambodians in the capital city of Phnom Penh have been forcibly evicted, and that nearly 150,000 Cambodians across the country are at risk of being evicted. Amnesty called on Cambodia to stop the practice, which it said violates the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [texts].

Amnesty urged Cambodia to ban forced evictions and to ensure that victims of forced evictions have access to shelter, clean water, sanitation, and health and education services. Amnesty also called on Cambodia to adopt the recommendations provided in a 2006 report [PDF text] prepared by UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari [official website]. BBC News has more.