Indigenous
Suoy communities in Kampong Speu Province take a step forward in their communal land registrationOn 17-18 February 2014, three internal-rules congresses were organized by indigenous Suoy communities in Kordon Tey, Tanil and Putrea villages, Aoral District, Kampong Speu Province. The congresses were organized in collaboration with the Provincial Department of Rural Development and with the support of OHCHR and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The right to collective land ownership for indigenous peoples is enshrined in the 2001 Land Law and in subsequent policies and legislation, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the Royal Government of Cambodia adopted in 2007. Applications for registration of indigenous land must include the community's internal rules governing collective land use and management. OHCHR and the ILO have supported the communities in registering as legal entities with the Ministry of Interior and developing their application for communal land titles. OHCHR welcomes the combined efforts of the provincial government and the International Labour Organization for supporting the indigenous communities throughout the application process to date.