The human rights group Amnesty International has strongly criticized UNESCO and its World Heritage program for failing to challenge what it describes as ongoing mass evictions at the Angkor Wat temple complex.

Amensty said that some 10,000 families had been affected by relocations. Officials have long maintained that the families are moving voluntarily, but Amnesty's report said many were receiving "direct and subtle threats" to move. 

Amnesty International said the families around the centuries-old temple complex — also the largest tourist attraction in the country — were left undisturbed until late last year. The Cambodian government was keen to develop the site after the coronavirus pandemic and forcibly began evicting an estimated 10,000 families late last year, the report said.

Many of those families had been relocated to two main resettlement sites that fell short of providing them with basic supplies like water and electricity, it said. The people had also received little to no compenstion, Tuesday's report said.

Amnesty said its research was based on interviews with more than 100 people, nine in-person visits to the Angkor temple park complex and two relocation sites.

Evictions violate international law, rights group charges

The group said that the evictions of thousands of families by Cambodian authorities violated international and national law.

"Despite being well-aware of the evictions and resettlement site conditions, UNESCO has not publicly condemned what is happening at Angkor," Amnesty said.

UNESCO also does not appear to have conducted any public investigation into Amnesty International's findings, the report said. Amensty argued UNESCO in particular should take a stand because Cambodia's government had used its world heritage site designation to justify moving people away from it. 

"UNESCO should public condemn forced evictions carried out in its name," Amnesty wrote.

UNESCO World Heritage Center told Amnesty in response to the finding that it "does not have the ability to enforce implementation of rights-based standards and policy recommendations as our role is rather focused on policy advice, capacity building and advocacy."

Angkor Wat was granted World Heritage status in 1992, in part because of growing fears that human settlements in the area could pose a possible threat to its preservation.

The Angkor Archaeological Park is home to different capitals from the Khmer empire, dating from the ninth to the 15 centuries. 

rm/msh (AP, AFP)