A/HRC/4/95 page 14 43. For example, in Sre Ambil district, Koh Kong province, villagers who have lived on and farmed the land for over 25 years have lost rice fields and orchards to a concession granted to a company partly owned by a Cambodian senator. The concession was granted without public consultation, contrary to the requirements of the Sub-Decree on Economic Land Concessions, and the company started clearing land before the contract had been issued. In September 2006, company security forces used violence against protesting villagers, NGO access to the area was restricted, and villagers reported they were told not to meet together for longer than an hour, as it affected social order. 44. Most economic land concessions granted have not followed the requirements and procedures set out in the Sub-Decree on Economic Land Concessions. Of particular concern is the disregard for existing community development and natural resource management initiatives, such as the establishment of forestry communities and participatory land-use planning, which become sidelined by the subsequent granting of concessions. For example, in Samraong district, Oddar Meanchey province, local communities had been negotiating the establishment of a 2,000 hectare forestry community, which has now been compromised by the granting of an economic land concession. The office has also received reports of granting of economic land concessions and mining concessions over protected areas, and land traditionally occupied by indigenous communities. 45. The office shares the concern that Cambodia’s indigenous peoples are becoming increasingly vulnerable to loss of their land through land grabbing, illegal or coercive land sales, and the granting of economic and other land concessions. It has received reports that a large number of economic and other concessions, including mining concessions, have been granted or are under consideration in the north-eastern provinces, in indigenous areas. In a statement issued on the occasion of International Day for the World’s Indigenous Peoples, 9 August 2006, the office recalled international recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights to land and natural resources, noted domestic provisions in the Land Law recognizing the right of indigenous people to collective ownership of land, and called urgently for legislation and other measures to protect and implement indigenous rights to land. 46. The office is working with a group of donors, NGOs and other United Nations agencies to organize a seminar on indigenous peoples and access to land in Cambodia, to be held in February 2007. The seminar will bring together representatives of indigenous communities, government departments, NGOs, development cooperation and United Nations agencies to examine important issues facing Cambodia’s indigenous peoples in relation to land, and propose concrete measures to implement and protect indigenous rights. The office will contribute a paper on the impact of economic land concessions on indigenous communities. 47. The office continued to respond selectively to disputes over land and natural resources in the north-west of Cambodia, working through its regional office in Battambang and in conjunction with local NGOs. The conflicts typically involve complex disputes between poor villagers and those with political and economic influence or ties, including military officers and commercial interests.