In a landmark decision for the rights of smallholders, a leading Australian bank has agreed to pay more than 1,000 Cambodian families displaced by a sugar company it granted a loan to in 2011, even though the loan violated the bank’s stated human rights standards. ANZ Australia will pay the families with interest earned by the $40 million loan to Phnom Penh Sugar (PPS), a company owned by a conglomerate headed by Cambodian lawmaker and tycoon Ly Yong Phat, who is affiliated with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). At the time ANZ granted the loan through its Cambodian joint venture, ANZ Royal Bank, PPS had FILE – A land eviction protester shouts during a rally near the prime minister’s residence in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 22, 2019.FILE – Workers collect chopped sugar cane on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 3, 2016.In a statement by the three parties that was attached to the ANCP resolution, ANZ “acknowledges that its due diligence on the project funded by its loan was inadequate and recognizes the hardships faced by the affected communities.” “We congratulate Shayne Elliott and ANZ for doing the right thing by returning the revenue earned from the loan to affected families in Kampong Speu,” said Eang Vuthy, EC’s executive director. “This is an important recognition of the ongoing hardships that the communities have suffered all these years, and it will make a big difference for them. But this does not in any way replace Phnom Penh Sugar’s responsibility to fully compensate the communities for their damages.” ANCP praised the agreement in an accompanying statement: “Where a company has gained revenue in a manner inconsistent with the OECD guidelines, and that has resulted in parties being impacted, the payment of the revenues to those parties may be one way a company can comply with the requirements of the OECD guidelines.” ‘Appalling record’Pred pointed out, “This is only the second time out of more than 300 cases concluded in the 20-year history of the National Contact Point system when a complaint process has resulted in a concrete financial remedy for complainants. That’s an appalling record.” He continued, “We hope this outcome will help inspire a brighter future for corporate accountability, where the victims of corporate misconduct can expect legitimate complaints to result in effective remedies.” As part of the resolution, ANZ also agreed to review and strengthen its human rights policies, including its customer social and environmental screening processes and grievance mechanism.  “We look forward to working with ANZ to establish an accessible and effective grievance mechanism for affected communities, and we urge other banks to follow suit,” Pred said. Last year, Friends of the Earth Australia issued a report finding Australia’s largest banks, including ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac, had funded directly or indirectly companies accused of improperly acquiring land from local people, child labor violations and land clearing, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.Phong Sokit of Kampong Speu province told VOA Khmer that the sugar company had seized about 25 hectares of land he had owned since 1996 in the Oral district. He said he had not heard about the compensation plan. Today, each hectare is worth about $10,000, he said. “I don’t know how they will solve how much to pay people,” Phong Sokit said. “Some have five hectares, some have 10 hectares that were bulldozed and grabbed. Some people have two or three hectares. … If the plan is to pay each an equal amount, I cannot accept it. Those who have more hectares of land can’t accept it.” Phong Sokit added, “It’s not clear yet what’s going to happen because the representatives who went to the meetings have not come back to tell the communities.” 
…