The United Nations’ history of intervening in Indigenous Communities within the scope of conflict and indigenous human rights advocacy has extended to all corners of the globe.
On this page you will find information about the Cultural and Educational violations experienced by the Khmer Khom in Southern Vietnam to showcase some of the issues faced by indigenous populations across the world and the ways in which the UN has intervened or applied UNDRIP to address violations of indigenous peoples human rights.
The Khmer Krom in Vietnam
According to an article written by the KhmerTimes, Kampuchea Krom: A Historical Mistake, the discourse between Vietnamese and Khmer officials dates back to as early as the 1700s when Prey Nokor of Khampong Cham province became Saigon City of Vietnam. Tensions are still high between the Vietnamese government and the Khmer people as the 73rd anniversary of the official adoption of Kampuchea Krom into Southern Vietnam was given from France to Vietnam in 1949 after the fateful moment when Kampuchea Krom was lost 177 years ago in 1845.
Vietnam voted in favor of the UNDRIP but does not recognize ethnic minorities as Indigenous Peoples and has not ratified ILO Convention 169 which guarantees the Indigenous and tribal peoples shall enjoy the full measure of human rights and fundamental freedoms without hindrance or discrimination.
Article 1 of this Declaration stipulates that “States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity”. And Article 2 of this Declaration proclaims that “persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.” Which has been violated as the Khmer people have repeatedly advocated for their indigenous history, self-determination, and culture. An article posted by the Underrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization (UNPO) stated that in April of 2021, Yoeung Kaiy, a Khmer Krom (indigenous Khmer person) author and activist, that “around police officers” raided his home allegedly without a warrant and confiscated about 100 books defining the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and his various forms of technology. Since then the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation rights group has shown their support and advocated for his release.
Alongside this information, Yoeung Kaiy told Radio Free Asia (RFA) in March 2021 that Khmer Krom workers in Vietnam were being forced to work overtime and were denied time off for Khmer national holidays such as the Khmer New Year and the Pchum Ben Festival which violates Article 11 in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities Article 1 Sections 1 and 2. In 2021 three reported Khmer Krom youths were fined up to U.S. $300 for posting comments on Facebook about their indigenous Khmer history. Another Khmer Krom youth, To Hoang Chuong, was fined U.S. $300 for wearing a T-shirt depicting the anniversary of the loss of Kampuchea Krom to Vietnam. He told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that he intends to publish a guide to self-determination and distribute it for free to members of his Khmer Krom community. “I am disseminating information on indigenous rights to raise awareness among the Khmer Krom of the laws governing indigenous people,” To Hoang Chuong.
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Sources:
Declaration on the Rights of Ethnic Minorities – OAS. https://www.oas.org/dil/1992%20Declaration%20on%20the%20Rights%20of%20Persons%20Belonging%20to%20National%20or%20Ethnic,%20Religious%20and%20Linguistic.pdf.
“The Indigenous World 2022: Vietnam.” IWGIA, https://www.iwgia.org/en/vietnam.html#:~:text=Vietnam%20is%20considered%20a%20multi,not%20ratified%20ILO%20Convention%20169.
“Kampuchea Krom: A Historical Mistake – Khmer Times.” Khmer Times – Insight into Cambodia, 26 May 2019, https://www.khmertimeskh.com/607327/kampuchea-krom-a-historical-mistake/.
“Khmer Krom: Activist Arrested for Distributing UN Declaration on Indigenous People.” UNPO, https://unpo.org/article/22135.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2019/01/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf.