VZCZCXRO8214
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0873/01 3290901
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 250901Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1401
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000873
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, G/TIP, DRL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KTIP PHUM PREL KJUS KWN CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA MINISTRY OF JUSTICE CONDUCTS TRAINING ON
TIP LAW AND DATA COLLECTION
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On November 20, the Ministry of Justice
(MOJ) for the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) hosted the
presiding judges, chief prosecutors, and chief clerks from
each of the nation's courts at a National Trafficking
Prosecution and Data Collection Workshop in Phnom Penh. The
purpose of the workshop - proposed, planned, and implemented
by the MOJ - was to improve the ability of Cambodia's jurists
to charge TIP crimes under the 2008 Law on the Suppression of
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation and report their
statistics in usable format. This event showcases the
growing ability of the RGC to create and direct their own
training programs. MOJ has also developed a database to
track court reporting of prosecution and conviction
statistics, a pilot of version of which is now complete.
This is an example of the RGC's growing leadership, creation,
and implementation of a system designed to combat human
trafficking. END SUMMARY.
2. (SBU) MOJ Under Secretary of State Ith Rady conceived the
idea for this training workshop for judicial officials, and
worked for several months with USAID to implement it. Ith
Rady identified the program participants at the provincial
courts, created the curriculum for the workshop, and
conducted the full training on November 20. More than 80
judges, prosecutors, and court clerks attended.
3. (SBU) The morning session of the workshop focused on
improving the capacity of jurists to use the 2008 TIP law
correctly, emphasizing how to charge crimes under the law and
the elements necessary to prove those crimes. Ith Rady
illustrated the legal framework of the law with concrete
examples, calling on the judges and prosecutors to resolve
difficult hypothetical cases within the law. The group
engaged in detailed question and answer sessions about
various articles of the law, and Ith Rady provided guidance
and explanations of articles along with his presentation.
Prosecutors and judges alike praised the session as very
useful in helping them think about how to apply the law.
4. (SBU) The afternoon session focused on reporting
prosecution and conviction data to the MOJ. Ith Rady
explained how the statistics have a direct effect on
Cambodia's efforts to combat TIP, echQng Deputy Chief of
Mission Theodore Allegra's opening remarks that "reliable
data is critical to understanding the areas where there has
been success, and the areas in which there still needs to be
improvement." Ith Rady distributed forms for collecting
data, which he created and piloted with the Phnom Penh
Municipal Court, and discussed how complete data is necessary
in order to be added to the MOJ pilot database on TIP
statistics. He emphasized the need for accurate and complete
prosecution and conviction reporting to enable MOJ to match
judicial work with arrest statistics provided by the Ministry
of Interior (MOI). While MOJ prefers courts to provide
monthly data, there was some discussion of moving to a
quarterly format, with reporting on the 15th day of April,
July, October, and January to relieve pressure on courts that
lack critical staffing resources to support consistent
monthly reporting. The afternoon session was principally
designed for the court clerks, but the judges' and
prosecutors' understanding of the collection format is also
critical in order to support the clerks' ability to submit
accurate data to MOJ.
5. (SBU) MOJ has already proposed follow-up field visits to
individual courts in the months ahead to assist and support
courts in reporting on trafficking cases. The workshop and
trafficking database are part of MOJ's larger effort to
modernize its information systems and improve the reliability
of case information. Ith Rady also chairs a joint MOJ-MOI
working group to monitor and review criminal justice
statistics, and mentioned creating additional training
sessions based on the work of that group next year.
6. (SBU) COMMENT: This workshop is just one example of the
RGC's growing capacity to take a concrete and direct role in
leading efforts to combat TIP. While past RGC involvement
allowed NGOs or donor countries to lead training efforts on
TIP, this effort was wholly proposed, designed and executed
by RGC officials. It is thus one of the first signs that NGO
and donor support is shifting from providing training itself
to providing logistic and technical support for it (such as
securing training venues, printing RGC-produced training
materials in volume, and feeding participants) while the RGC
draws upon available resources to provide the training and
curriculum itself. We expect this focus will grow as the new
National Committee begins to work toward donor coordination
PHNOM PENH 00000873 002 OF 002
and collaboration with the RGC's anti-trafficking mission.
This significant accomplishment is a clear sign of the RGC's
growing leadership, creation, and implementation of a
long-term policy to combat trafficking in persons. END
COMMENT.
RODLEY