"A Snapshot of the Gold Mining Industry in Cambodia: Rights Violation, and Environmental Damage”, 26 December 2023

... This research paper attempts to provide insights into various aspects of the sector: a review of the history of the sector since its corporatization, an analysis of state and civil society responses, and an assessment of the overall health of the sector as it stands in 2023.

The five case studies in this report will illustrate the current reality of the sector and its various stakeholders, including local populations, industry actors, and civil society members. After 20 years of continued corporatization of the gold mining industry, there are sadly very few signs of improvements in policy and practice, with respect to human rights and land rights, environmental protection, transparency, and accountability. Overall, the mining sector, as a whole, still suffers from significant problems in these areas. Drastic and immediate action is required to review all exploratory licenses and extractionstage operations, to prevent future conflict with local communities, and further environmental damage, and to help Cambodia to present its extractive industries sector as an attractive industry as an attractive investment to potential good faith operators who wish to enter the industry. These reviews should entail a full accounting of human rights violations, past and present, and comprehensive action plans to address these issues, measures to reinforce environmental protection strategies, and measures to prioritize transparency with respect to beneficial ownership.