Cambodia Land Grabbing
In 2014, Richard J Rogers (through Global Diligence) filed a ground-breaking Communication to the Prosecutor of the ICC, asserting that the crimes associated with the mass land grabbing and resource exploitation in Cambodia, amounted to crimes against humanity. The case is under active review by the ICC.
Climate Counsel continues the work started by Global Diligence pursuing a range of follow-up projects relating to the land grabbing and environmental destruction in Cambodia. These include updating the casefile with new evidence, filing requests for sanctions, and undertaking related advocacy.
Letter to the ICC Prosecutor
Following the filings of the initial Communication, forty civil society organisations focusing and land rights and the environment signed onto a letter urging the ICC Prosecutor to prioritize the Cambodia case.
The Cambodia Communication as Advocacy Tool
The Communication has also been used as a powerful advocacy tool and has influenced high-level decision-making. For example:
● In 2015, the Cambodia communication was discussed at a hearing of the US Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs;
● The Cambodia Communication was discussed by a committee of the EU Parliament. In 2019, the EU reduced the trade preferences for Cambodia due to “serious and systematic human rights abuses.”
In 2019, the Cambodia Communication’s allegations and analysis were ‘re-packaged’ and used in a Request filed to the US Government for sanctions under the US Global Magnistsky Act. On 9 December 2019, the US Government placed two Cambodian human rights abusers on its sanctions list, including a timber tycoon and a military general involved in land grabbing.
The Cambodia Communication became a reference case in global media outlets, including The Environmentalist, The Guardian, Financial Times, El Pais, BBC, Le Monde, Diplomat, RFA, Washington Post, a front-page article in the New York Times, and an Al Jazeera documentary.
The Cambodia Communication initiated multiple academic papers and reports.