Vein Vorn
Vein Vorn is a human rights defender and representative of the Areng Valley community. Together with the grassroots movement Mother Nature, members of the Areng Valley community have opposed the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam by the Pheapimex group and their Chinese partner Sinohydro. They believe that the proposed dam will cause massive social and environmental damage in the region and could lead to flooding in parts of the Areng Valley, displacing the Khmer Daeum indigenous population and destroying the ancestral homes of the valleys inhabitants.
HRDs who work to promote and protect economic, social, and cultural rights are particularly at risk of persecution. Trade union leaders, especially those affiliated with the Free Trade Union of the Workers of Cambodia, have been subjected to extra-judicial executions. Community activists defending the right to housing and protesting against land grabs and forced evictions have faced fabricated charges and jail terms.
