Attachments
This report is produced by Humanitarian Response Forum (HRF) in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 9 to 15 August. The next report is scheduled to be published on 22 August.
Situation and Impact
Following the 8 August General Border Committee (GBC) meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, leading to a 13-point cease-fire agreement, large-scale returns of displaced people to their areas of origin along the Cambodia-Thailand border are taking place. Between 6 to 14 August, a 75 per cent decrease in the number of internally displaced people (from 153,910 to 38,279 people) was reported by the Cambodia National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM). Of the current number of people displaced, some 30,427 people are in the 77 remaining displacement sites, while 7,852 people are hosted with friends and relatives. Meanwhile, the number of Cambodian migrants returning from Thailand increased to 864,114 people on 14 August, a 14 per cent increase from the 755,729 people reported by National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) on 6 August.
Most of the IDP returns can be attributed to the 8 August GBC meeting, the subsequent 13-point ceasefire agreement, and the overall desire by those displaced to return to their homes and resume their livelihood activities despite the risks of unexploded ordinances (UXOs) or continued hostilities between Cambodia and Thai military forces. Despite the ceasefire, the situation remains fragile, with a possible risk of renewed hostilities along the border and secondary population displacements. On 15 August, NCDM reported that reports of a potential attack by the Thai armed forces led to secondary displacements of some 8,580 people who had returned to their areas of origin. This follows the 11 August formal notification by Cambodia to the UN Secretary-General and Security Council of alleged violations of the ceasefire by Thailand. Despite large-scale returns, some displacement sites are expected to remain for longer, as areas are cleared of UXOs or are deemed safe for returns by the Cambodian military.
The uncertainty of the situation is leading humanitarian partners to focus on a two-pronged approach, continued assistance and service provision to people in the remaining displacement sites and a shift to early recovery assistance to vulnerable families returning, whose homes or livelihood assets were damaged or destroyed during the hostilities. Some damage and needs assessments have taken place in areas of return, with other assessments planned in the coming days to identify those households most affected and their level of vulnerability.