The disparate groups that make up the Khmer Loeu are estimated to comprise 17-21 different ethnic groups speaking at least 17 different languages . Unlike the Cham , Vietnamese and Chinese minorities of the lowlands , the Khmer Loeu groups have n't integrated into Khmer society or culture and remain politically unorganized and underrepresented in the Cambodian government . There have never been any treaties between a Khmer Loeu group and the government nor is Cambodia a signatory to the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention . Cambodia 's landmark 2001 land law guarantees indigenous peoples communal rights to their traditional lands , but the government is accused of routinely violating those provisions , confiscating land for purposes ranging from commercial logging to foreign development
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989
Khmer Loeu