DHC IP workshop29 April 2014– The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Flavia Pansieri, provided a key-note address at the National Reflection Workshop on Indigenous Communal Land Titling in Phnom Penh. Representatives of indigenous communities from seven different provinces, as well representatives from the Royal Government of Cambodia and civil society were also in attendance. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that Cambodia's diversity deserves to be celebrated, but it must also be protected and preserved. The escalation of land problems faced by indigenous communities made this workshop most urgent. Discussions during the workshop focused on the urgent need to streamline the process for collective titling, which, as the Deputy High Commissioner highlighted, requires significantly more inter-ministerial coordination than is the current practice. Recommendations stemming from the workshop included strengthening coordination between local authorities, NGOs and donors who work with indigenous communities, addressing the issue of land encroachment, and the need to better protect NGOs who work on indigenous land issues and who suffer from accusations of incitement. In collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Interior, the ILO and other development partners, OHCHR Cambodia continues to monitor efforts countrywide for indigenous peoples to organize and be recognized as legal entities and to apply as a community for collective land titles. Read Ms. Pansieri's opening remarks in English | Khmer.