5. The impact of
statelessness
Stateless communities in Cambodia and
those at risk of statelessness struggle
to access basic economic, political,
and social rights and face an array of
disadvantages that often intersect with
their socio-economic or poverty situation,
including limited freedom of movement,
the inability to own land, and difficulty
accessing formal employment, education,
health care and legal protection. Much of
this has been documented in civil society79
reporting and UN treaty body findings
and recommendations (see Annex).
The UN Special Rapporteur on human
rights in Cambodia even dedicated an
entire section to the issue in her 2019
thematic report on the SDGs in Cambodia,
identifying stateless people and specifically
communities of Vietnamese descent at risk
of being left behind.80
5.1. Access to education
Among the most significant challenges
is the widespread exclusion of stateless
children of Vietnamese descent from
public schooling – often extending to
primary schooling – due to a lack of birth
certificates.81 Thus, statelessness represents
a significant and yet underappreciated
barrier to inclusive and universal public
education in Cambodia. The 2007 Law on
Education does not stipulate that a birth
certificate is required for enrolment. Yet,
ministerial instructions in effect require
local authorities and schools to verify
the identity of the child, usually by way
of a birth certificate and/or other proof
of identity.82 Civil society research has
persistently shown that this requirement
has posed challenges for many children
from families or communities without
effective access to birth registration,
particularly non-citizen children of
Vietnamese origin.83
79 Chanrith Ang, Butmao Sourn , and Judith Kunze (2014) ‘Limbo on Earth: An Investigative Report on
the Current Living Conditions and Legal Status of Ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia’, Minority Rights
Organization; and Mauk, Ben, ‘A People in Limbo, Many Living Entirely on the Water’ New York Times
Magazine, 28 March 2018. <https://nyti.ms/2usiXnn>.
80 ‘Assessing Protection of Those at Risk of Being Left Behind’, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the
Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, UN Doc A/HRC/42/60/Add.1 (2 September 2019) paras. 4751.
81 See also Rumsby, Charlie (2022) ‘Children’s Experience and Practice of Belonging: The Realities of
Integration among De Facto Stateless Vietnamese Children in Cambodia’, Positions Asia Critique 30(2):
323-352.
82 See for instance Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Directive No 45 on the ‘Opening of Public
Primary Education Institutions in the Academic Year 2022-2023’, dated 5 December 2022.
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