resident cards - to ethnic Vietnamese residing in Cambodia. These cards cost each individual 250,000 Riel (more than US$60 each) and require renewal every two years. These documents claim that the holder is an “immigrant alien” who has “Vietnamese nationality”, without any verification of such a status from the Vietnamese authorities and which is likely not be accurate for many long-term residents of Cambodia. 23. Particularly worrying is that this process is discretionary, does not involve an individual assessment process and disregards any previous status these individuals may have held, especially for long-term residents. Additionally, through this process the authorities have confiscated prior documentation that are deemed to be ‘irregular administrative documents’. The Minister of Interior in October 2017 estimated that authorities had “revoke official documents from 70,000 individuals living in Cambodia, claiming they were “improperly” issued and mistakenly confer citizenship on “immigrants” – many of whom are ethnic Vietnamese born in Cambodia”.25 24. These documents include, for instance, birth certificates, immigration cards, Cambodian identity cards, family books and other identification documents. It is unclear – and perhaps unlikely – that the authorities will return these documents to their owners. The result is that many in these communities will be no longer be able to assert their historical links to Cambodia and all ethnic- Vietnamese, whether they arrived in the country 100 years ago or last month, are being treated alike, irrespective of their individual circumstances.26 As a result, these processes 25. The registration initiative had the potential to reduce statelessness amongst ethnic-Vietnamese in Cambodia. However, the result has been that the initiative is likely to have entrenched these populations’ vulnerabilities to statelessness. 26. It is understood that the registration of ethnic-Vietnamese was discontinued before June 2018 and no new guidelines as to how this population with acquire citizenship have been issued to date. Ethnic Khmer Krom 27. Ethnic Khmer Krom face experience significant discrimination in Cambodia. This has wide ranging implications of Ethnic Khmer Krom’s enjoyment of human rights. There have been reported incidents of restrictions by local authorities on the rights of freedom of expression and association. A 2017 survey showed that 92.8% of ethnic Khmer Krom respondents suffered difficulties living in Cambodia, with 76.6% suffering from land rights violations, 60.6% who are discriminated as they are considered as Vietnamese, and 41.9% who lacked recognition from local authorities.27 Additionally, authorities are reported to delay the citizenship application process for Khmer Krom applicants and refused to renew expired identity documentation. Bribery is often one mechanism that Khmer Krom must resort to in order to obtain documentation or register under a different name and place of birth. Law and Policy Challenges 25 https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/interior-ministry-identifies-70000-improper-citizens-mostly-ethnic-vietnamese Based on Sub-Decree No. 129 on the cancellation and withdrawal of irregular Cambodian administrative documents possessed and used by foreigners. 27 “Citizenship Rights for Khmer Krom in Cambodia,” (January 2017), https://cchrcambodia.org/admin/media/report/report/english/2017_01_27_CCHR_Report_on_Legal_Status_of_Khmer_Krom_English. pdf 26 7