In defense of land rights: A monitoring report on land conflicts in six Asian countries 60 stated also that the contracts of 30 companies had been cancelled, covering an area of 265,230 hectares. However, only five of these companies had in fact signed contracts with the Ministry, and others had merely received letters agreeing in principle to the grant of concessions. As of 31 December 2006, 59 concessions remained, covering an area of 943,069 hectares in 15 provinces. This constitutes approximately 5.2 percent of the total land area in Cambodia, and 14.5 percent of all arable land in Cambodia. A list of all economic land concessions, with their full names and localities, is set out in the 2017 Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia. The 2007 to 2017 report listed 1902 economic land concessions that had been granted, or for which approval had been sought. Of this number, 190 concessions had been agreed to in principle by the Council of Ministers, covering an area of 2,139,552 hectares, under the MAFF. Economic mine concessions agreed to by the Ministry of Mine and Energy covered an area of 2,318,585 hectares (Open Development Cambodia, 2016). OVERVIEW OF LAND AND RESOURCE CONFLICTS3 Nature of the land conflicts 85 percent of the population of Cambodia lives in rural areas, cultivating agricultural land without the proper recognition of land ownership (MLMUPC, n.d.). The land use of local communities is not legally recognized, as Cambodia has a number of laws managing land and forestry management, such as the forest law and natural resource protection law. Evictions can be brutal. In 2012, a 14-year-old girl was shot to death by government security forces as they cleared a village in the northeast. The NGO Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) likens evictions to “battlefields.” Protests are often crushed with force. Villagers who dare to oppose the security forces risk arrest, detention, and prosecution. The courts are not considered independent. People believe that they act on behalf of the government. ANGOC The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), another NGO, points out that the government has typically failed to assess the situation on the ground properly before granting ELCs. Moreover, the environmental impacts of ELCs were not assessed either. Land disputes have hurt the government’s reputation. The ruling party’s share of the vote dropped 2 3 This data includes ELCs signed by government, ELCs in-process, and ELCs cancelled. Land dispute monitoring will include judicial cases, administrative cases, and those under mediation.