Viet Nam Human Rights
Appealing human rights for Vietnamese Cambodians!
14/6/16
At the time, human rights has attracted more and more
concerns from international community, part of Vietnamese people who are living
in Cambodia have been suffered from unfair treatments but received little
attention. Vietnamese Cambodians refer
to ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia.
They mostly reside in southeastern parts Cambodia
bordering Vietnam or
on boathouses in
the Tonlé Sap lake and Mekong rivers.
Vietnamese
Cambodians who have lived in Cambodia for generations are
deprived of citizenship, trapped in poverty, lack access to education, live
under deplorable conditions, and are shut out from economic, social, and
political life.
About five percent or 750,000 of Cambodia's 15 million people are ethnic Vietnamese, the largest ethnic minority in Cambodia, but most of them are stateless and are consequently deprived of their most fundamental human rights.
The lack of identification papers is the root cause of all other difficulties faced by stateless Vietnamese in Cambodia and due to this lack of identity they face widespread discrimination and exploitation. This has dire consequences on their access to healthcare, education, justice in court, social security, freedom of movement, transfer of assets, and housing.
About five percent or 750,000 of Cambodia's 15 million people are ethnic Vietnamese, the largest ethnic minority in Cambodia, but most of them are stateless and are consequently deprived of their most fundamental human rights.
The lack of identification papers is the root cause of all other difficulties faced by stateless Vietnamese in Cambodia and due to this lack of identity they face widespread discrimination and exploitation. This has dire consequences on their access to healthcare, education, justice in court, social security, freedom of movement, transfer of assets, and housing.
It is a fact that the ethnic Vietnamese claim to citizenship
and nationality would be drowned out by the expressions of racism in Cambodia
in context that anti-Vietnamese sentiments are on the rise in the country.
Cambodians even call Vietnamese Yuon as an contemptible way. It is a pity if looking back to the past
when Vietnam helped Cambodia liberate from one of the most barbarous regime on
earth, Khmer Rouge, which caused nearly 2 million deaths in Cambodia. During
the Khmer Republic and Khmer Rouge governments
in the 1970s, the Vietnamese were targets of mass genocides thousands of
Vietnamese were killed and many more sought refuge in Vietnam. Ethnic relations
between the Khmers and Vietnamese are poor, and the
Vietnamese have been the main target of xenophobic attacks
by political parties since the 1990s.
In August 1994, the National Assembly of Cambodia introduced
an immigration law which authorizes the deportation of illegal immigrants.
The UNHCR perceived the
law as targeting Vietnamese migrants in Cambodia, and the Cambodian government
later stepped in to assure that no mass deportations of Vietnamese refugees
would be implemented. The Khmer Rouge continued to carry out sporadic attacks
on Vietnamese civilians until they surrendered in 1999. Ethnic Vietnamese
continue to face discrimination from Cambodian society, and encountered physical
intimidation from society and government authorities especially during the
general elections or when disputes between Cambodia and Vietnam arise.
Now, almost 90% of ethnic
Vietnamese are stateless residents of Cambodia, and do not carry citizenship papers
such as identity cards or birth certificates. The 1996 Cambodian law on
nationality technically permits Vietnamese residents born in Cambodia to take
up citizenship, but faced resistance from mid-ranking interior ministry
officials who generally refrain from registering Vietnamese residents due to
concerns of political implications from opposition parties if citizenship were
to be granted. A minority of Vietnamese residents were able to obtain
citizenship only after paying bribes to interior ministry officials, or were
married to Khmer spouses. The minority of Vietnamese residents who hold
citizenship reported of interior ministry officials confiscating their
citizenship papers. As a result, the Vietnamese faced legal restrictions
from getting access to public healthcare, education, employment and buying land
for housing as the majority do not carry Cambodian citizenship. Stateless
Vietnamese built floating settlements in-lieu of buying land-based dwellings
which require citizenship papers. According to field research carried out by Cambodia's
Minority Rights Organization, interior ministry officials would confront
Vietnamese fishermen in the Tonle Sap and demand bribes in order to allow them
to carry out fishing.
Access to citizenship in Vietnam seems easier. Vietnamese laws
recognize as citizens those born to a Vietnamese mother or father and leave the
door open to stateless persons living permanently in the country. But most of
the stateless Vietnamese here consider Cambodia their homeland and want to stay
close to the graves of their ancestors.
The issue of Vietnamese
presence in Cambodia has been used as a topic by political parties to shore up
electorate support since the 1993 general elections. From Sam Rainsy
Party in the 1998 general election to the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)
in the 2013 elections, the
leaders of these parties, like Sam Rainsy
and the CNRP’s members always charged that some stateless Vietnamese had
bribed state officials to obtain citizenship and the Vietnamese government
still maintained political influence over the ruling party, the Cambodian People's Party. They also
charged that the presence of Vietnamese in the country were the cause of
economic failures, and promises were made to expel the Vietnamese in the
situation that they win the elections.
The vast majority of the
Vietnamese support the CPP, and those who carry Cambodian citizenship would
vote for the party. Vietnamese support for the CPP has mostly driven by strong
anti-Vietnamese sentiments from other political parties. Vietnamese who hold
Cambodian citizenship have also expressed fear over physical insecurity during
election periods, which is most apparent during the 1993 and 2013 elections
when Vietnamese civilians faced physical intimidation from the Khmer
Rouge and CNRP supporters respectively and have abstained from
participating in elections.
It is urgent that international community,
including human rights organizations, together appeal for supports and fair
treatments for Vietnamese Cambodians to get a better life./.
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