Environmental Justice
The long-term economic prosperity and sustainable development of Cambodia depends on a flourishing and protected natural environment. Yet, environmental harm is frequently observed during and after large-scale developmental projects, many of which are carried out through opaque public-private relationships. When communities, activists and defenders challenge corporate abuse they face heightened risks of retaliation, often through abusive lawsuits filed by companies, otherwise known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). BHRE Center therefore believes that corporate accountability and transparency is intrinsically linked to the pursuit of environmental justice.
Monitoring Environmental Harm and Corporate Conduct
The 2023 Code on Environment and Natural Resources (the Environmental Code) overhauled environmental governance, and positively included punitive penalties on companies causing harm to the environment. However, the legislation does not fully align with international standards, and the implementation of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) processes are poorly enforced, as the process is treated as a mere box-ticking exercise by corporations. EIA reports, which under international standards should be fully transparent, are often publicly inaccessible.
We monitor, document and analyze environment-related abuses while promoting the effective and equitable implementation of the Environmental Code, EIA processes and transparent publishing of assessment reports.
Strengthening the environmental legal and regulatory framework
We engage with both rights-holders and duty-bearers to review and amend the Environmental Code so that the framework fully aligns with international standards. This includes updating the framework to explicitly recognize Indigenous People as rights-holders, and incorporate the principles of Free, Prior and informed Consent (FPIC) into the provisions of the Code. When spotlighting instances of corporate harm to the environment and livelihoods of local communities, we also pressure duty-bearers to effectively and equitably enforce punitive penalties within the Code on all companies. For example, positive enforcement by authorities on companies causing harm to the environment since the implementation of the Code includes penalties imposed upon top-polluting water companies. These actions must extend to holding the most prolific corporations causing harm to the environment accountable.