A rights group accuses UNESCO of turning a blind eye to forcible evictions at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — The human rights group Amnesty International has strongly criticized UNESCO and its World Heritage program for failing to challenge the Cambodian government’s ongoing mass evictions at the famous centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex. The watchdog said in a report released Tuesday the evictions of an estimated 10,000 families by Cambodian authorities violated international and national law. It said the evicted people have received little or no compensation and the government’s two main resettlement sites have inadequate facilities in terms of roads, water and electricity supplies and sanitation. The report said that UNESCO World Heritage Center wrote that it does not have the ability to enforce implementation of rights-based standards as its role is advisory.