UNESCO to Inspect Angkor Amid Forced Eviction Concerns

via Radio Free Asia, 26 July 2024: UNESCO will send an inspection team to Cambodia’s Angkor temple complex following reports of forced displacements affecting thousands of families. Concerns were raised by Amnesty International and other human rights groups about the evictions and living conditions at resettlement sites, prompting the World Heritage Committee’s intervention during its meeting in New Delhi.

The decision on Wednesday from the United Nation’s cultural agency at its annual meeting in New Delhi included a statement that the World Heritage Committee was concerned “about third-party reports concerning possible forced population displacements.”

A report from Amnesty International last year found that Cambodian authorities have evicted 40,000 people from the famed Angkor temple complex since 2022.

The government has cited the need to protect the sprawling 400 square km (155 square mile) complex, which includes Angkor Wat and about 70 other ancient temples and buildings.

Source: UNESCO to send inspection team to Cambodia’s Angkor temple complex — Radio Free Asia