A Boat Without Anchors:Ethnic Vietnamese Minority Populations in

Cambodia

By Lyma Nguyen & Christoph Sperfeldt

Overview of the ProjectEthnic Vietnamese Survivors of the Khmer

Rouge regime applied to participate as civil parties in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Cambodian Nationality was raised as a reparation measure for damage suffered during the Khmer Rouge Regime

Pilot project implemented in 2012, in collaboration with Jesuit Refugee Service Cambodia to assess the legal status of these individual claims.

Historical ContextEthnic Vietnamese groups have lived

in Cambodia throughout contemporary history, migrating throughout the lower Mekong region, reached a height during French colonial time (1863-1953)

First wave of persecution occurred after independence, culminating in the Khmer Rouge’s policy of expelling and forcefully deporting ethnic Vietnamese minority from Cambodia

Contemporary ContextDuring People’s Republic of Kampuchea

(1979-1989), the Vietnamese backed government encouraged new phase of immigration from Vietnam into Cambodia

After UNTAC mission, violent attacks on ethnic Vietnamese communities occurred again. The situation is more peaceful today, but tension do sometimes boil over, and there exists social and political reluctance for recognition

Kampong ChhnangFocal group

comprises approx 1,500-1,600 families residing on ‘floating villages’

All respondents were born in Cambodia, forcibly deported by the KR regime then returned after 1980.

Why Citizenship MattersWithout citizenship, the group

faces an array of legal, political, economic and social disadvantages:◦Difficulty in accessing employment◦Inability to access healthcare and

education◦Inability to open bank account◦Inability to purchase land

Cambodian Law1996 Law on Nationality

◦Article 2: Any person of Khmer nationality/citizenship is a Khmer citizen.

◦Provides for gaining citizen under both jus sanguinis (right of blood) and jus soli (right of territory) principles

◦Law stipulate (Article 16) for the creation of sub-decree with regards to naturalisation, but no sub-decree have been issued.

FindingsNone of the interviewees were

able to show documents establishing or proving current nationality status

Difficult to establish documentary evidence to allow their claim to citizenship

No effective formal administrative mechanisms and procedures to receive and determine their claims

Findings - ConclusionCambodian authorities do not consider

this group as Cambodian nationals under its law, they are treated as ‘foreign residents’ or ‘immigrants’

Vietnamese authorities does not currently view the group as its own citizens.

The study therefore concluded that the group appears to be stateless. However, given the limited information available, further research is needed for more conclusive determination

RecommendationsExpand universal birth registrationBuild the capacity of local authoritiesRaise awareness among ethnic Vietnamese

communities on rights and avenuesExplore the recognition of Cambodian

citizenship to minority populationsExpand development activities for

communities at risk of statelessnessInterpret national legislations in

accordance to international human rights obligations

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