Cablegate: 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report for Cambodia

VZCZCXRO1726
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0138/01 0550836
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 240836Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1711
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0839
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 19 PHNOM PENH 000138

STATE FOR G/TIP, G-Laura Pena, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/RSP, EAP/MLS
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID ASIA BUREAU

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PREF ELAB SMIG KCRM KTIP KWMN KFRD
ASEC, KMCA, CB

SUBJECT: 2010 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR CAMBODIA

REFS: STATE 5577
08 STATE 132759
08 PHNOM PENH 955
08 PHNOM PENH 787
08 PHNOM PENH 753
08 PHNOM PENH 445

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. DELIBERATIVE MATERIAL.

1. (U) The following is Embassy Phnom Penh's 2010 Trafficking in
Persons Report for Cambodia, covering the period April 2009 - March
2010. Responses follow the questions outlined in Ref B. The entire
report is Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU).

2. (SBU) CAMBODIA'S TIP SITUATION
---------------------------

A. Sources of Information on Human Trafficking

There are no firm estimates or reliable numbers available as to the
extent or magnitude of the trafficking problem. Two surveys have
attempted to measure the commercial sex industry in the country: a
1997 report by the National Assembly Commission on Human Rights and
a 2003 study by a former Fulbright researcher, Thomas Steinfatt.
The 1997 Commission on Human Rights report included a country-wide
survey of brothels; it estimated 14,725 brothel workers in Cambodia
of which 81 percent were Cambodian and 18 percent Vietnamese. The
study did not attempt to differentiate between voluntary sex workers
and trafficking victims.

Steinfatt's 2003 study on the number of prostitutes and sex
trafficking victims in Cambodia estimated 18,256 sex workers, of
which 65.6 percent were Cambodian and 32.8 percent Vietnamese. The
Steinfatt study estimated 2,000 sex trafficking victims in Cambodia,
of which 80.4 percent were ethnic Vietnamese. Although Steinfatt's
trafficking estimates have been disputed, no separate data exists
that reliably quantifies sex trafficking victims.

Limited trafficking statistics are available from Royal Government
of Cambodia (RGC) authorities involved in the repatriation of
Cambodians from neighboring countries, such as the Ministry of
Interior's Immigration Department and MOSAVY. Cambodian
authorities, in cooperation with international organizations such as
UNICEF and IOM, try to distinguish between illegal migrants and
trafficking victims, particularly children, and maintain some
statistical information. Within Cambodia, some NGOs that provide
services to victims referred by police, judicial, and social service
officials also maintain limited statistical information based on
their respective operations.

Cambodia's National Committee on the Suppression of Human
Trafficking, Smuggling, and Labor and Sexual Exploitation collected
data from 14 government ministries, including from police
institutions, for its annual report on RGC anti-trafficking
efforts.

B. Patterns of Human Trafficking

Cambodia is a source, destination, and transit country for
trafficking in persons, including men, women and children. Some
observers reported that a majority of Cambodian trafficking victims
are trafficked for labor purposes, due to Cambodia's relative
poverty and poor economic conditions compared with its immediate
neighbors; Cambodian women and children are also trafficked for
sexual exploitation. Cambodians are trafficked primarily within the
region, particularly to Thailand and Malaysia. Trafficking also
occurs within Cambodia's borders, from rural areas to Phnom Penh and
other population centers.

Cambodian trafficking victims are recruited from or migrate from all
provinces in the country, generally from rural areas to population
centers, or from border provinces into neighboring countries. Debt
bondage is often a factor in the recruitment of Cambodian
trafficking victims, who initially believe they are accepting
legitimate restaurant, factory, or other work opportunities in Phnom
Penh, other cities, or overseas, but who are then forced to work in
exploitative conditions. Foreign victims found in Cambodia
generally came from Vietnam. Many ethnic Vietnamese sex workers in
voluntary sex work were originally trafficked to Cambodia through
debt bondage; some sex workers are still in debt bondage.

Within Cambodia, from April 1, 2009 through February 10, 2010, the

PHNOM PENH 00000138 002 OF 019

National Committee reported that the Ministry of Interior (MOI) made
101 arrests in human trafficking cases involving more than 200
victims, of which 56 were cases of sex trafficking and 45 of labor
trafficking. In the same period, the National Committee reported
that police referred 408 victims of sex trafficking to MOSAVY, which
made subsequent referrals for aftercare to various NGOs.

Thailand is the major destination country for migrant Cambodian
workers, but there are no reliable numbers on how many are
trafficking victims. In 2009, the Asian Development Bank estimated
that 240,000 Cambodians migrated to Thailand for work, most without
legal permits. Cambodian men are trafficked to work in the Thai
fishing, construction and agricultural industries; women and young
girls are trafficked for factory and domestic work, and are also
subject to sexual exploitation in the Thai commercial sex industry.

According to UN Inter-Agency Project against Human Trafficking
(UNIAP), on average Thai authorities deport approximately 36,500
individuals each year. However, the number of trafficking victims
among these deportees is unknown because Cambodian authorities lack
the resources to interview all the deportees. An August 2009 survey
of 400 Cambodian deportees from Thailand found 92 who experienced
some form of exploitation and cheating by their employers;
thirty-one of those were held involuntarily and forced to work.
During the reporting period, MOSAVY reported receiving two victims
of sex trafficking and 81 victims of labor trafficking returned from
Thailand.

Malaysia is a common destination for Cambodian migrant workers,
particularly women and girls looking for work as domestic servants.
UNIAP estimated that since 1998, nearly 20,000 Cambodians have
migrated to Malaysia through 25 licensed recruitment agencies in
Cambodia. Furthermore, there are incidents of Cambodian men and
women, who cannot afford the fees charged by recruiting companies to
migrate legally, migrating illegally to Malaysia via Thailand, and
thus being more vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. The
number of these workers, both legal and illegal, who become
trafficking victims is not known. From April to December 2009,
MOSAVY received four trafficking victims from Malaysia who were
trafficked to work on Thai fishing boats.

Vietnam is also a popular destination country for labor migrants,
some of whom become trafficking victims. The total number of
victims is not known, although MOSAVY reported receiving 898
returnees from Vietnam, 143 of whom authorities identified by survey
questionnaires as likely victims of labor trafficking.

Additional destination countries reported in the past include South
Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, although the numbers of victims are
far fewer.

Neither the RGC nor NGOs reported changes in the patterns of
trafficking, such as routes or destinations, since the 2009 TIP
Report.

C. Conditions Faced by Victims

The lack of statistical data impedes attempts to characterize
changes in the trafficking climate from one year to the next. As
long as the economies of Cambodia's neighbors continue to expand,
Cambodian labor remains cheap and jobs inside the country are
scarce, Cambodians will continue to migrate out for labor purposes.

Conditions on Thai fishing boats have received greater attention
from the RGC and NGOs. While the boats are Thai-flagged and
Thai-owned, they venture into international waters. Men who flee
the boats have been found in Malaysia and Indonesia. On January 21,
five Cambodian men jumped overboard from such a boat and were
rescued by fishermen from East Timor. Cambodian victims in 2008 and
2009 reported being deceived about their expected length of service,
how much they would be paid, and how that payment would be made.
They also reported being forced to labor on the boats for days
without rest, and complained of lack of food and water, lack of
medical care, and harsh beatings by boat captains. IOM reported
that a number of international and local NGOs repatriate such
victims unofficially, so the total number of victims returning to
Cambodia is not known. IOM assisted the RGC in officially
repatriating 35 such victims in 2008, but the five in East Timor are
the only during this reporting period. The number of repatriated
victims is believed to be only a fraction of the total number of

PHNOM PENH 00000138 003 OF 019

Cambodian men trafficked onto fishing boats.

Conditions for Cambodians migrating to Malaysia as domestic servants
have become a focus for the RGC. Women who returned from such jobs
and sought assistance reported ending up in forced and abusive labor
conditions after migrating to Malaysia as domestic workers with the
assistance of legal labor migration companies. The RGC has licensed
25 such labor export companies; however, there is inadequate
monitoring of migration and work conditions, and a lack of
protection for domestic workers in Malaysia. The governments of
Cambodia and Malaysia are negotiating a memorandum of understanding
on combating human trafficking and the protection of Cambodians
working in domestic positions in Malaysia. Cambodia's Ministry of
Women's Affairs (MOWA) is leading the MOU process, and has advocated
establishing a follow-up mechanism to ensure the well-being of
domestic workers after arrival in Malaysia.

D. Vulnerability to TIP

Due to poverty, lack of jobs, family problems and unequal access to
educational opportunities, women and children, especially those in
rural areas where 80 percent of the population resides, are most
vulnerable to trafficking. Such persons are particularly
susceptible to the lure of employment, often via the intercession of
relatives, friends, neighbors, community members, or unknown
persons, to pay off personal or family debts incurred due to factors
such as drought or the serious illness of a family member.

There are no studies that suggest minority groups are more
susceptible to trafficking. Some provinces, by virtue of their
proximity to neighboring Thailand or Vietnam, are source areas for
migration to those countries, and thus trafficking victims. In a
2004 survey, PACT-Cambodia found a correlation between residential
origins of trafficking victims and communities along major highways.

An IOM study in August 2007 identified a high prevalence of
trafficking among commercially sexually exploited women and girls in
Siem Reap, Koh Kong and Sihanoukville provinces. The study showed
that groups that those persistently vulnerable to trafficking
include: women and girls who have severed relations with their
family households, often due to physical and sexual abuse; women and
girls who preiously worked as child domestic workers; and ethnic
Vietnamese women and girls who became domestic trafficking victims
through recruitment or coercion into the virginity trade.

Children are not prevented from crossing the Thai border with
strangers or alone, and Cambodians can cross the border without the
need to show identification. Poipet/Aranyaprathet is the primary
Cambodia-Thai border post for transit. Children from Banteay
Meanchey and Battambang provinces in Cambodia's northwestern region
continue to be trafficked to Thailand to beg, sell candy or flowers,
and shine shoes. Nearly all children repatriated from Thailand at
the Poipet border crossing receive special screening, and
trafficking victims are routed through the Poipet Transit Center,
which is staffed by MOSAVY personnel with support from UNICEF.
According to UNICEF, there were seven official repatriations
involving 53 children in 2009; less formal deportations of a further
1,416 persons included 64 unaccompanied children identified by the
Mobile Border Team.

Children trafficked for begging in Vietnam are taken across the
border by Cambodian facilitators three to four at a time. A single
trafficker may coordinate several facilitators, and border controls
are minimal. Cambodian traffickers personally supervise the
children in Vietnam, and reportedly have few problems with police
raids. A 2007 IOM report stated that some Cambodian children
migrate together with parents or relatives who migrate seasonally as
whole families, or one or two children with parents, to beg in
Vietnam. In 2009, MOSAVY reported receiving 898 returnees from
Vietnam, of whom 143 were identified as trafficking victims through
a questionnaire; all 143 were minors.

On December 3, 2009, the RGC promulgated a new adoption law designed
to bring Cambodia into compliance with the Hague Convention on
Inter-Country Adoption and address concerns surrounding trafficking
of infants for foreign adoption. A moratorium since 2001 on
international adoption by some countries, including the United
States, has largely curbed reports of adoption trafficking, though
countries still processing adoptions in Cambodia continue to report
substantial fraud and irregularities in the small number of cases
processed since then. The RGC is working with international

PHNOM PENH 00000138 004 OF 019

organizations and other donors to establish transparent, ethical,
Hague-compliant adoption processes. As part of this effort, on
January 19, 2010, the RGC suspended processing of all new adoptions
until March 2011.

E. Traffickers and Their Methods

Traffickers are sometimes parents who sell their child into debt
bondage to serve as domestic help for other families, or into
brothels. In several cases during the reporting period, police
arrested immediate family members of victims, such as parents, aunts
or uncles, siblings, or grandparents. Due to poverty, lack of jobs,
family problems and unequal access to educational opportunities,
families may give their child to other relatives, who subsequently
traffic the children unbeknownst to the parents. Traffickers may
also be more distant relatives or acquaintances who promise work in
Phnom Penh or secondary cities. In some cases, boyfriends, husbands
or fathers take women or underage girls and sell them to a brothel.
A 2007 IOM study of trafficking recruitment and facilitating
networks found a system that is evolving in order to evade
counter-trafficking efforts by communities, local authorities, and
NGOs.

Research conducted by Friends International and UNIAP in 2007 on
child begging in Thailand found that the majority of Cambodian child
beggars traveled to Bangkok with their mothers or other family
members and that most beggars had a degree of control over their
day-to-day lives. In contrast to previous assumptions, the research
found that the majority of Cambodian child beggars in Bangkok did
not experience abusive practices or trafficking; the concerns are
more related to those of vulnerable migrants rather than
trafficking. However, the research found also that almost 20
percent of children questioned came with a facilitator or non-blood
relative; while most of the children who came with their mother said
they were happy with the situation, half of those who came with a
facilitator said they were unhappy.

In labor recruiting, most brokers are independent contractors.
There are 25 licensed labor recruiting firms in Cambodia, but these
represent a small portion of the total number of brokers and agents
operating throughout the country. Some observers have reported that
individual recruiters mislead rural and urban victims, claiming to
work with labor agencies or claiming to have connections to good
jobs in cities or in other countries (usually Thailand or Malaysia).

In April 2009, the RGC instituted a new process for foreigners
seeking to marry Cambodian citizens. The new process reflects
efforts of the RGC to prevent human trafficking to other countries
through sham marriages, though some believe the new procedures were
weakly enforced. The MFA reviews documents in the application
process, and the prospective couples must be interviewed by officers
of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department of
the Cambodian National Police before MOI will authorize the
marriage.

The Svay Pak brothel area continues in operation, despite numerous
attempts by anti-TIP police to close it down. Underage girls are
available in Svay Pak establishments upon demand, but generally do
not stay on site. Current trends show that underage girls from Svay
Pak are delivered to various brothels and establishments during the
evening, or are available on order. A trafficker convicted in
December 2009 operated a business from Svay Pak, brokering deals
with pedophiles and then delivering victims to the perpetrators'
hotel rooms. IJM reported continued difficulty in raids of the
area, due to attempts to hide the crime and the nearly impenetrable
layout of the area which allows traffickers to escape quickly.

Vietnamese women and children, many in debt bondage, were trafficked
from Kieng Yang, Can Tho, Dong Thap and other provinces in Vietnam
to Cambodia for commercial sex work. Information from AFESIP, CWCC,
and UNICEF indicates that Vietnamese women and girls also are
trafficked through Cambodia by organized Vietnamese criminal gangs
to onward destinations in Thailand and Malaysia.

Cambodians are often brought through porous borders with Thailand or
Vietnam without documentation. Some women are reportedly trafficked
by boat from the Cambodian province of Koh Kong to Thailand to enter
the sex trade. Women are reportedly trafficked to Malaysia with
valid Cambodian passports, with allegations of complicity on the
part of Thai and Malay border and immigration officials. RGC
attempts to persuade Malaysia to grant legal rights to foreign

PHNOM PENH 00000138 005 OF 019

domestic workers have been unsuccessful, although the Ministry of
Women's Affairs continues discussions on this issue. Some NGOs
claim that trafficking networks run by Vietnamese, Thai and
Chinese-Malay criminals traffic drugs, guns, women and children to
Thailand and Malaysia. A UNIAP representative reported that
although trafficking networks were likely involved in some cases,
small brokers were responsible for most trafficking cases.

3. (SBU) SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE RGC'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS
--------------- --------------- --------------- ----------

A. Acknowledgement of TIP

The RGC openly acknowledges that trafficking is a serious problem in
Cambodia. The Prime Minister has called for more extensive RGC
efforts to combat the problem and Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng repeatedly reiterated in 2009 the RGC
commitment to combating trafficking.

On September 25, 2009, the Prime Minister signed the sub-decree
establishing a new National Committee on the Suppression of Human
Trafficking, Smuggling, and Labor and Sexual Exploitation. The
National Committee merged the former National Task Force with the
High-Level Working Group to form a single body designed to
facilitate better communication and coordination among relevant
government ministries and agencies, and civil society partners. The
government formally launched the National Committee on December 9,
2009, chaired by DPM Sar Kheng with wide participation from national
committee members, members of the provincial committees, civil
society partners and international organizations. A National
Committee Secretariat, which leads the day-to-day coordination work
of the government's anti-TIP efforts, has six working groups with
interministerial membership. Each group also has a permanent
vice-chair for an NGO representative, to ensure inclusion and
dialogue between the RGC and NGO community.

Each province has a provincial committee (PC), a local governmental
committee that coordinates anti-trafficking efforts and reports to
the National Committee. The PCs developed provincial action plans
to monitor entertainment and other establishments for TIP cases,
report such suspected cases to local police, supervise protection
efforts within the province, and direct public awareness and other
prevention activities. The PCs of Siem Reap and Svay Rieng
Provinces have served as models; they developed structured,
realistic action plans partly based on input from the 2008
provincial dialogues and aligned with Cambodia's National Plan of
Action for 2010. Among the results achieved was a public awareness
campaign presented to university students, featuring a documentary
film about anti-trafficking and a local official from the Department
of Social Affairs who hosted a question-and-answer session following
the film.

B. Lead Agencies and Interagency Cooperation

The National Committee on the Suppression of Human Trafficking,
Smuggling, and Labor and Sexual Exploitation leads anti-trafficking
efforts in Cambodia, under the direction of DPM Sar Kheng. Four
vice-chairs of the National Committee are the Ministers of Justice,
Social Affairs, Labor, and Women's Affairs. The remaining 13
members are the Ministers of Tourism, Health, and Education; the
Commissioner General of the National Police; the Commander of the
Military Police; and secretaries of state from the ministries of
Interior, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Information, Economy and
Finance, Culture, and Post and Telecommunications. USAID provides
technical assistance to the National Committee.

C. Limitations and Challenges Faced by the RGC

The RGC has made great strides to coordinate anti-trafficking
activities internally and with international partners, but its
ability to combat trafficking effectively remains limited. The lack
of resources is acute; training and funding for law enforcement and
courts are wholly inadequate, and the overall level of human
resources -- trained and competent people -- is still greatly
affected by Cambodia's legacy of decades of civil war. For example,
there are only 309 prosecutors and judges to staff Cambodia's 24
provincial courts, plus the Appeals and Supreme Courts. Newly sworn
in judges and prosecutors represent a better educated and more
sophisticated civil service. However, enrollment at the Royal
Academy for Judges and Prosecutors is capped due to resource
constraints at 55 students per year. More graduates are needed to
handle the existing judicial workload, let alone an increased

PHNOM PENH 00000138 006 OF 019

workload generated by more vigorous police action.

There are approximately 50,000 police in the Cambodian National
Police force. The average education for most police officers, as
for most Cambodians, ends in middle school. While a National Police
Academy exists, most police officers, particularly those in
provinces distant from Phnom Penh, do not receive training in law
enforcement techniques. Funding for specialized training in complex
issues such as anti-trafficking is extremely limited. Observers
generally perceived evidence collection and its use in court to be a
particular weakness of the Cambodian criminal justice system due to
a lack of training, equipment, and funding. If a victim did not
testify, police typically had little evidence to use against the
perpetrators. The National Committee and Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
officials recognized the need for training of court and other RGC
officials on the new law. Section 4F details 2009-2010 RGC training
programs on TIP.

Law enforcement and court officials also typically lack necessary
equipment to handle cases appropriately. There is a severe lack of
capital resources such as vehicles, computer and communication
equipment, investigative tools such as cameras, and office space
where perpetrators and victims could be held separately.

Standardized collection of statistics on trafficking crimes and
their disposition by the courts remains a limitation. A 2007
sub-decree described the need for courts to provide case information
to the Ministry of Justice, and an April 2009 letter to all
provincial and municipal courts from MOJ requested standardization
of statistics reporting. The letter included a sample statistical
table used by the Phnom Pehn Municipal Court and provided detailed
instructions on completing the table. Nonetheless, most courts lack
sufficient human resources to report statistics in a timely fashion.
Reports are hand-written and not stored in a centralized location
at each court. Computer support is nonexistent. MOJ official
travel to provincial courts in order to obtain statistics is limited
by funding.

Under the French-based civil code system, police and court officials
investigate TIP cases separately, and the relationship between
police and investigating court officials was largely limited to
cases in which police requested search and arrest warrants.
Although coordination efforts improved in 2009, prosecutors and
judges only occasionally called on police for clarification, follow
up information, or to testify during trials.

Impunity, endemic corruption, and related rent-seeking behavior
continue to impede progress in combating trafficking in persons.
Donor countries have continued to press the RGC on anti-corruption
efforts generally, and to pass an anti-corruption law consistent
with international standards. At year's end the Council of
Ministers approved a draft Anti-Corruption Law and transmitted it to
the National Assembly, which is expected to debate the legislation
beginning April 2010.

The Supreme Council of Magistracy (SCM) has the power to remove
judges, but has done so only rarely. The SCM also lacks the
investigative resources to respond to allegations of corruption.

There are approximately 1,250 social workers nationwide, serving a
population of 14 million that is widely believed to suffer high
levels of post-traumatic stress disorders stemming from decades of
civil war. According to NGOs, there are very few accredited
psychiatrists, psychologists, or other trained mental health
professionals.

RGC resources for victim assistance must be augmented by assistance
from international organizations and foreign and domestic NGOs. The
RGC has difficulty in defining issues of temporary guardianship
pertaining to victims and witnesses taken from brothels, and the
legal authority of NGOs to take temporary guardianship of children
is unclear.

D. RGC Monitoring of Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Under the National Committee structure, 14 participating ministries
provide data on their anti-trafficking activities to the Secretariat
of the National Committee on a quarterly basis. MOSAVY has a
database to keep track of victims officially repatriated under RGC
agreements. MOI has a database to track police intelligence,
investigations, and arrests of sex crime offenders. The National
Committee Secretariat provides the data it collects, and individual

PHNOM PENH 00000138 007 OF 019

ministries cooperate and provide information upon request.

The most persistent challenge has been the institutional and
resources limitations that hinder MOJ from collecting accurate and
complete statistics from the court system. To remedy shortcomings
in the collection, analysis and reporting of TIP-related prosecution
data, MOJ has requested technical assistance with short- and
long-term efforts to build a new reporting structure, train
judiciary officials on that structure, and develop data collection
systems to capture and analyze trafficking prosecution data. MOJ
created a new paper-based data collection system, and is
collaborating with a USAID implementing partner to develop a
computer database to match.

E. Establishing the Identity of Local Populations

The MOI administered a modernized birth registration system, but not
all births were registered immediately, due principally to parent
delays. In addition, children born from the mid-1970s to mid-1990s
were often not registered under any system as a result of the Khmer
Rouge regime, Vietnam occupation, and persistent civil conflict
during those decades. Many of these unregistered persons who later
had families of their own did not perceive a need for registration.
It was common for young people not to be registered until a need
arose.

F. RGC Data Gathering Capability

As stated above, the RGC is not capable of gathering the data
required for an in-depth assessment of law enforcement efforts,
although the structures are now in place to do so, through the
National Committee and its Secretariat. The principle challenges to
gathering such data are lack of equipment and lack of human
resources - both in training existing staff and hiring additional
staff to address the workload. Additional time and funding is
needed to sustain and improve RGC efforts.

4. (SBU) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
--------------- -------------- -------------- --------

A. Existing Laws against TIP

In February 2008, the RGC promulgated the Law on the Suppression of
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation (hereafter the 2008 TIP
Law). The law criminalizes all forms of trafficking, including
trafficking through debt bondage, and covers both internal and
transnational forms of trafficking. Chapters Seven and Eight
provide civil penalties such as asset forfeiture by perpetrators,
and nullifies any contracts made in the process of a trafficking
offense, including loan contracts that would be considered illegal
debt. In October 2009, the National Assembly passed a new Penal
Code that includes the same language from the 2008 TIP Law in its
articles. The Penal Code came into partial effect in December 2009
and will come into full effect in December 2010.

Previously, police and court officials charged child sex
exploitation perpetrators with debauchery under a general 1996 law.
The 2008 TIP Law contains articles to prosecute for child
prostitution, sexual acts with a minor, and indecent acts with a
minor, as well as containing more specific definitions of other TIP
crimes. The 2008 TIP Law made it easier to separate true TIP crimes
from trafficking-related crimes, but also presented challenges to
police and judicial officials in proving the more specific charges
in the law.

RGC officials, especially those in the National Committee,
understood the need for training on the new law. Training efforts
during the reporting period are described in Section 4F. MOJ
officials are drafting Explanatory Notes on the 2008 TIP Law to be
distributed to judges, prosecutors, and other RGC officials in late
2010; a legal advisor to assist MOJ with this effort was funded by
UNICEF. One goal of the Explanatory Notes is to provide clarity on
which articles of the 2008 TIP Law are trafficking crimes.

Other relevant laws under which traffickers could be prosecuted
include the 1997 Labor Law, which prohibits debt labor, slavery, and
the labor of minors. The Labor Law makes child labor (by those
under age 15) illegal, but allows children aged 12-15 to engage in
light work provided the work is not hazardous to the child's health
or mental and physical development. The work must also not affect
regular school attendance or participation in guidance programs or
vocational training. However, confusion regarding the issue of

PHNOM PENH 00000138 008 OF 019

parental consent and the lack of specific penalties for child labor
have prevented successful prosecutions of child labor violations in
Cambodia. Articles 363 and 368 of the Labor Law set monetary
penalties for violating child labor provisions at 31 to 60 times the
basic monthly wage.

Articles 172-181 of the Labor Law generally proscribe certain forms
of hazardous child labor. Persons 15-18 years old may only work in
non-hazardous occupations. Responsibility for determining whether
jobs are either "light" or "hazardous" rests with the Labor Advisory
Committee (LAC). The Labor Law also prohibits the hiring of someone
to pay off debt.

There are six declarations, signed by the Ministry of Labor and
Vocational Training (MOLVT) in 2007 and 2008, that govern child
labor conditions in Cambodia. One of these defines hazardous child
labor as work that is detrimental to the health and physical
development of children. The declaration includes a determination
of the types of light work, limits the working hours of children
ages 12 to 14 to no more than four hours on school days and seven
hours on non-school days, and forbids them to work between the hours
of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The other five declarations on child
labor conditions include: (1) working and living conditions in
plantations, (2) working conditions in the garment and foot wear
sectors, (3) working conditions in the fishing industry, (4) working
and living conditions in brick-making enterprises, and (5) working
and living conditions in the salt production industry.

B. Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses

Penalties under the 2008 TIP Law are comprehensive and vary
according to crimes and their severity. According to Article 15,
trafficking people for sexual or other forms of exploitation is
punishable by seven to 15 years in prison. In aggravating
circumstances, such as when the victim is under the age of 18, the
perpetrator is a public official, or the crime is committed by an
organized group, the punishment is 15 to 20 years.

Judges typically imposed sentences between the minimum and maximum
penalties allowed for crimes, except in aggravated cases where the
maximum penalty was usually applied. As permitted in Chapter Eight
of the 2008 TIP Law, judges have discretion to add mandatory
deportation from Cambodia upon completion of the sentences by
foreigners convicted in child sexual exploitation cases.

C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses

The 2008 TIP Law provides criminal penalties for the illegal
recruitment of a person using force, or fraudulent or deceptive
means. Penalties for unlawful movement of a person for the purpose
of exploitation, including for forced labor or services, is seven to
15 years. If the victim is under the age of 18, the punishment is
15 to 20 years.

According to Article 368 of the Labor Law, employers who employ
children less than 18 years of age for "hazardous work," as defined
under Articles 173 to 178 of the Labor Law, are liable to a fine of
31-60 days of the base daily wage. Indentured servitude is
punishable by a fine of 61-90 days of the base daily wage. However,
there are no cases in which the Labor Law has been used instead of
the 2008 TIP Law to prosecute traffickers.

There are 25 labor recruiting companies licensed by the RGC to
export Cambodian laborers to countries such as Thailand, Malaysia,
and South Korea. There were reports of some workers becoming
trafficking victims due to the exploitative conditions in
destination countries, especially Thailand and Malaysia, and a lack
of monitoring in the source country. The 2008 TIP Law includes
criminal punishment for recruiters who knowingly use fraudulent or
deceptive practices in order to subject workers to compelled service
in a destination country, but there have been no prosecutions of
labor recruiting companies in Cambodia for the exploitation of
workers elsewhere. NGO Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC)
assisted the return of trafficking victims from Thailand and
Malaysia to Cambodia and reported that when victims file a complaint
against labor recruiting companies or employers, CWCC generally
obtains compensation for the victim.

D. Penalties for Grave Crimes

Rape is a criminal offense, and punishable by a five to 10 year
prison sentence, according to Article 33 of the UNTAC Law. The new

PHNOM PENH 00000138 009 OF 019

Penal Code Article 239-245, which take full effect in December 2010,
contain the same penalties for rape, with additional higher
penalties in certain aggravating circumstances. According to the
2008 TIP Law, sex trafficking of minors under the age of 18 is
punishable by sentences of between 15 to 20 years in prison; and for
persons over the age of 18, the penalty is seven to 15 years in
prison.

E. Law Enforcement Statistics

The MOI Department of Anti-Trafficking and Juvenile Protection
reported 101 arrests of human trafficking offenders between April
2009 and mid-February 2010. In addition, there were 20 arrests
during the same period on child prostitution charge, which all
involved foreign pedophiles.

There are 21 provincial and municipal courts, including Phnom Penh;
of these, 18 provided basic data to the MOJ. The 18 courts reported
that during the first ten months of the reporting period there were
106 prosecutions, of which there was one acquittal and 16
convictions for confirmed trafficking. [NOTE: There were two
convictions for confirmed trafficking in Phnom Penh on March 25,
2009; this information was not available in time for inclusion in
2009 TIP Report, so is included here. END NOTE.] An additional 14
convictions are likely trafficking convictions. The MOJ was not
able to provide sufficient information to confirm whether these
convictions were based on specific trafficking offenses or on
related offenses, but Post is verifying this information directly
with court officials. There are 77 ongoing cases. [NOTE: In all
106 cases, the articles related to TIP covered charges of "selling,
buying or exchanging a person", "procurement of prostitution" and
"unlawful removal with purpose." END NOTE.]

AFESIP reported that in cases involving victims they assisted,
police arrested 10 suspects and courts convicted 15 traffickers in
2009, with penalties ranging between two and 18 years in jail, and
civil compensation of three million riel in some cases
(approximately $725 USD).

There are no known convictions of labor recruiting firms for labor
trafficking offenses. Most labor recruiters are small, independent
brokers, not formally employed by licensed labor recruiting
companies. Provincial police in Kampong Chhnang arrested one such
broker for the unlawful removal of nine victims, ages 12 to 16, with
the intent of sending them to work as servants in Malaysia. The
broker is in pre-trial detention and the case is with an
investigating judge.

Convicted trafficking offenders generally serve the time sentenced.
In two cases, perpetrators were convicted and sentenced in absentia;
warrants for the arrest of the perpetrators remain active. Judges
also began adding mandatory deportation to sentences completed by
convicted foreigners. One such foreigner, Belgian pedophile
Phillipe Dessart, who had completed his prison sentence in April
2009, was deported in September 2009.

F. RGC Training for Law Enforcement and Other Officials

The RGC implemented an extensive training initiative to educate
police officers and other RGC officials on the enforcement of human
trafficking provisions in the 2008 TIP Law. RGC officials held a
direct leadership role in most training sessions, contributing to
the design of training curricula and delivering the training to
participants. Due to limited resources, the RGC sought and received
assistance from NGOs to provide logistical and technical support for
the training, such as securing training venues, printing
RGC-produced training materials in volume, and assisting with
participant expenses. The National Committee requested that donors
voluntarily coordinate their activities with the National Committee,
in order to direct resources to priority areas identified by the
RGC.

The RGC provided significant police training with technical
assistance from the Law Enforcement Against Sexual Exploitation of
Children (LEASEC) program, a project between the RGC, UNICEF, IOM,
World Vision, Save the Children Norway, and the UN Cambodian Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. All training conducted
with LEASEC technical assistance is delivered by national police
trainers from the Training and Anti-Human Trafficking Departments of
the Cambodian National Police, who also contribute to curriculum
development. In the provinces, national trainers are accompanied by
trainers from the provincial Anti-Human Trafficking police. This

PHNOM PENH 00000138 010 OF 019

program delivered quarterly training to 200 Anti-Human Trafficking
police officers in 10 provinces; taught 950 district and commune
police chiefs and deputy chiefs on legal procedure and skills in the
investigation of trafficking and child exploitation cases; trained
1,700 officers of all ranks and departments through the Cambodian
Police Academy and its five regional training schools on handling
trafficking and exploitation cases; held two national workshops for
50 Anti-Human Trafficking police each, focusing on advanced aspects
of the law, investigation techniques, and case studies; and provided
medical forensics training in TIP and exploitation cases for 30
Anti-Human Trafficking police officers.

The RGC held a launch ceremony for approximately 100 police
officials for the initial screening of a training film on victim
identification and treatment during the rescue process. The film,
"Saving Seca," is being used as a training aid for police officers
across the country.

Cambodian National Police officials provided investigative skills
training for trafficking and sexual violence cases to 120 police
officers, with technical assistance from TAF through the Southeast
Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities (SISHA)
organization.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) conducted a series of training courses
for district police, district governors, and provincial government
officials on Strategies for Combating Human Trafficking. The six
workshops, taught by eight RGC officials and developed in
consultation with the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking
(UNIAP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the
International Labor Organization (ILO), were held in Siem Reap,
Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, Svay Rieng, Banteay Meanchey, and Prey
Veng Provinces and focused on the 2008 TIP Law and discussions of
prosecution, protection, prevention, and policy. Approximately
50-60 participants attended each workshop.

Judges and prosecutors benefited from a coordinated training plan
envisioned by the RGC. The Royal Academy for Judges and Prosecutors
(RAJP) is the only training school for attorneys who wish to become
judges or prosecutors. RAJP conducts annual continuing-education
training for all of Cambodia's 309 sitting judges and prosecutors,
as well as the intake program for 55 new judges and prosecutors each
year. In both, RAJP developed and delivered a module on
interviewing child victims of trafficking and exploitation, with
technical assistance from the LEASEC program. Also in both training
programs, RAJP designed and delivered a module on understanding and
using the 2008 TIP Law to investigate and prosecute trafficking
cases, with technical assistance from TAF. RAJP contributed to the
design of curricula and only RAJP judges and prosecutors delivered
the training modules in the programs. In November 2009, the
Ministry of Justice conducted a workshop on TIP data collection for
90 judiciary officials, including the presiding judges, chief
prosecutors, and chief clerks from each of the 21 provincial and
municipal courts. The workshop was designed and delivered by an MOJ
Undersecretary of State, focusing on elements of each article in the
2008 TIP Law, differentiating between TIP and TIP-related crimes,
and a process for collecting and submitting TIP prosecution and
conviction data.

Training for social workers was also a priority for the RGC. Nearly
700 social workers received specialized training on working with
child victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. The training
was delivered by MOSAVY, and created in consultation with LEASEC.
RGC trainers, with assistance from TAF, also trained 60 social
workers on participating in victim rescues, conducting victim
identification, and providing emergency psycho-social assistance to
victims. The RGC released a Policy and National Minimum Standards
for the Protection of the Rights of Victims of Human Trafficking in
September 2009, and MOSAVY officials created and held a workshop on
orientation and use of the new standards for 300 RGC officials.

The U.S. Government provided specialized training in a few cases.
The Department of State sent six Cambodian National Police officers
to attend the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) course on
trafficking in persons. The Department of Homeland Security sent
one Cambodian police officer to the Asia Transnational Crime
Seminar, and another police officer to a course on child sex
tourism, forced labor and human trafficking.

G. Cooperation with Other Governments

The RGC cooperates with other governments in the investigation and

PHNOM PENH 00000138 011 OF 019

prosecution of trafficking and child sex exploitation cases. The
RGC cooperates with U.S. law enforcement officials to return
American citizens to the United States to stand trial under the
PROTECT Act, and has done the same with nationals of other countries
that have laws to prosecute their nationals who travel abroad to
exploit children sexually.

Cambodia is an active member of the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial
Initiative on Trafficking (COMMIT) process. Through this process,
the six nations of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region meet regularly to
discuss a regional anti-trafficking agenda and share information.
Cambodia has a COMMIT Task Force, chaired by senior officials from
the Ministries of Justice and Women's Affairs.

Cambodia also has bilateral memorandums of understanding with
Thailand and Vietnam on combating trafficking, including cooperation
to investigate and uncover domestic and cross-border trafficking.
The MOU with Thailand was signed in May 2003, and with Vietnam in
October 2005.

The Cambodian Police and MOJ cooperate with the Malaysian police on
international TIP cases, and the RGC is working with the Malaysian
government on a proposed MOU to combat trafficking.

H. Extradition of TIP Offenders

The governments of Cambodia and Thailand have an extradition treaty
which came into force in April 2001. Although the treaty is a
foundation for cooperation to address trafficking cases, bilateral
relations between Cambodia and Thailand remained very difficult
throughout the reporting period, and no traffickers were extradited
under the treaty to Thailand.

The RGC continues to cooperate with foreign governments to remove
persons charged with pedophilia for acts committed in Cambodia for
prosecution in their countries of citizenship.

Despite the lack of a bilateral extradition treaty, Cambodia has
cooperated to return to U.S. custody numerous Americans accused of
being child sex offenders. Since the 2003 passage of the U.S.
PROTECT Act, the RGC has cooperated with the U.S. in 26 cases, nine
of which have resulted in PROTECT Act convictions, and four of which
have resulted in convictions on charges other than the PROTECT Act.
During the reporting period, four Americans charged in PROTECT Act
cases were returned to U.S. custody.

I. Evidence of RGC Involvement in or Tolerance of TIP

The RGC has a clear policy against human trafficking. Senior
government officials have spoken on a number of occasions about a
zero-tolerance policy toward human trafficking and officials
involved in trafficking. Because corruption is pervasive in
Cambodia, it is widely assumed that some individual Cambodian
officials -- including police and judicial officials -- are involved
in or tolerated some aspects of human trafficking, but no evidence
of such activities appears to exist.

J. RGC Steps to Counter Official Involvement in TIP

Senior RGC officials have often stated that official corruption that
aids or abets trafficking or other crimes will not be tolerated.

In June 2009, police arrested Ministry of Justice official Prum
Piseth on charges of accepting bribes and forging documents. The
forged documents were intended to secure the release of Alexander
Trofimov, currently serving 17 years in the Preah Sihanouk Province
jail for criminal sexual exploitation of children. Prum reportedly
forged the signatures of Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana and
Prime Minister Hun Sen on a counterfeit release and extradition
order, in exchange for USD 250,000 that was used to facilitate the
scheme. Prum is in pre-trial detention; the Phnom Penh Municipal
Court charged him with bribery and forgery, and the case is with an
investigating judge.

In September 2009, the Ministry of Interior demoted and reassigned
Heng Huon, the director of the Preah Sihanouk Province prison, after
Heng the previous May authorized the temporary release of the same
convicted perpetrator, Alexander Trofimov, in order to check on
several business investments in the province. Heng claimed he was
not paid to allow the temporary release.

K. Anti-TIP Training for International Peacekeepers

PHNOM PENH 00000138 012 OF 019

In 2009, 139 deminers from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces deployed
to foreign countries on UN peacekeeping missions. There are no
reports that any of the demining mission members engaged in, or
facilitated, severe forms of trafficking or exploited victims of
such trafficking. Prior to their departure, deminers received
anti-TIP training coordinated by the National Committee and
delivered by trainers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile
Protection Department of Cambodian National Police.

L. Child Sex Tourism in Cambodia

Cambodia is identified as a destination point for pedophiles.
Between April 2009 and January 2010, MOI reported the arrests of 19
foreign nationals (four Americans, five French citizens, one British
citizen, and nine other foreign nationals) for sexually abusing
Cambodian children. In the same period, the Phnom Penh Municipal
Court reported that they convicted a total of six foreign nationals
(two Americans, two British citizens, one French citizen, and one
Greek citizen). Prison sentences ranged from one to 10 years and
civil compensation from USD 250 to USD 5,000.

The 2008 Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual
Exploitation has extraterritorial coverage, allowing for the
prosecution of Cambodian citizens committing similar crimes in
another country, and the prosecution of a foreigner committing a
crime involving Cambodian victims in another country. There is no
information that Cambodian nationals have traveled to other
countries to engage in child sex tourism.

5. (SBU) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS
--------------- --------------- --------------

A. RGC Protection for TIP Victims and Witnesses

The government has limited ability to provide protection for victims
and no ability to protect witnesses at this time. RGC resources for
victim assistance are augmented by assistance from international
organizations and foreign and domestic NGOs. NGO shelters represent
the safest place for witnesses during the trial phase of a case
against a trafficker. Police have no practical ability to protect
NGOs, victims, or witnesses in high-profile cases. NGOs fill the
void by providing shelter and support to victims through vocational
training and start-up capital to start businesses. A number of
shelters and foster home programs are available for child victims of
trafficking.

The RGC is unable to fund victim assistance shelters, and has
concentrated on improving policy for victim assistance. In
September 2009, the RGC released a Policy and National Minimum
Standards for the Protection of the Rights of Victims of Human
Trafficking. In January 2010, Cambodia was recognized as the only
one of six COMMIT countries with national minimum standards for
victim protection. The new policy and minimum standards define 11
rights guaranteed to victims of human trafficking, including the
right to safety and protection, the right to privacy and
confidentiality, the right to dignity, the right to services, and
the right to freedom of movement. The minimum standards also set
out expectations of case management. A crucial component is the
expectation that all persons who come in contact with potential
victims of human trafficking take steps to determine if they are
indeed victims. For example, the minimum standards require that
service providers (including police) ensure a safe place for
conducting interviews, ensure separation of victims from
perpetrators, and conduct interviews using an approach that is
mindful of the trauma victims may have experienced. Training on the
understanding and adherence to the policy and minimum standards
began during the reporting period, and will continue throughout
2010.

B. Victim Care Facilities

The Royal Government of Cambodia strongly supports the concept of
trafficking victim care and devotes a disproportionately greater
share of government human resources to this problem. MOSAVY
operated a temporary shelter for victims of trafficking, rape and
domestic violence in Phnom Penh, in order to provide temporary
shelter and basic assistance until victims can be placed with an
NGO-operated shelter and reintegration program. MOSAVY works
closely with AFESIP, IOM, UNICEF, World Vision and a variety of
NGO-managed shelters throughout the provinces to assist initial
reintegration of victims and follow-up investigations. Foreign

PHNOM PENH 00000138 013 OF 019

victims of trafficking have the same access to victim care
facilities as domestic trafficking victims. Although growing in
number, there are a limited number of shelters with the ability to
provide proper care for foreign victims due to a lack of foreign
language capabilities, and sometimes due to perceptions about
language barriers and cultural differences.

When TIP victims were repatriated to Cambodia from Thailand, the
Poipet Transit Center, staffed by MOSAVY social workers with
assistance from UNICEF, conducted preliminary assessments and
assisted in tracing family members and reintegrating victims into
their home communities, or placing victims at appropriate NGO
shelters to serve their needs. Since April 2009, MOSAVY identified
83 victims of trafficking among persons repatriated from Thailand,
and placed them temporarily at the Transit Center.

For children who cannot reintegrate into their communities, MOSAVY
will work to place them in long-term care and reintegration programs
such as vocational training, job placement, and income generation.

Most of the NGO shelters assist victims of all forms of violence,
including rape, domestic violence and trafficking. For example,
World Hope International manages a short-term assessment center for
victims of trafficking, but also accepts rape victims when there is
space available. During the reporting period, the shelter assisted
65 victims of trafficking. Victims were provided with medical,
psychological and legal services.

Despite the number of victim assistance providers operating in
Cambodia, there are not enough places in shelters to accommodate all
victims, particularly minors. IJM reported that a raid operation
planned for December 2009 in Svay Rieng Province had to be postponed
indefinitely, as all aftercare shelters reported they were at
capacity and unable to receive additional victims.

In December 2007, the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform,
published a 65-page Legal Aid Services directory, a
province-by-province, nationwide directory of service providers
including information on which have lawyers or staff who offer
counseling and referral services, and specialties such as human
rights and women and children's issues, including trafficking in
persons. The Council distributed 5,000 directories in 2007 to
government offices, NGOs, and villages in eight provinces. An
additional 5,000 were distributed in 2008 following an update.

C. Access to Legal, Medical, and Psychological Services

MOSAVY continues to budget for Seva Kahpia Komar (SKK) (Child
Protection Services), which has primary responsibility for placement
of TIP victims with NGOs for additional care and support. During
the report period, SKK assisted 408 trafficking victims. On
occasion, the RGC also provides in-kind contributions to
partnerships with NGOs, such as land, office space and staff
support.

Because of inadequate resources, the Cambodian government relies
heavily on bilateral donors and multilateral institutions for
approximately 50 percent of its total annual national budget, and
has few resources to devote to trafficking victims. While devoting
more resources to trafficking than most other social ills, the
government relies on foreign and domestic NGOs to provide many
services to victims of trafficking.

D. RGC Assistance for Foreign Victims of Trafficking

The government's record in assisting victims of trafficking is
generally good, in view of its limited resources and lack of
institutional capacity. Foreign victim assistance is usually
conducted by an NGO or international organization, or combination of
the two, after referral by a governmental agency.

The 2008 TIP Law does not contain protection measures specific to
foreign victims. There are no reports of foreign trafficking
victims being charged or deported under immigration rules.
Cambodia's commitment under the multilateral COMMIT process and its
bilateral MOUs with Thailand and Vietnam sets out procedures for
voluntary repatriation to home countries. On December 3, 2009
Cambodia and Vietnam signed a new MOU specific to victim
identification and repatriation, including a Standard Operating
Procedure for such actions. During the reporting period, eleven
female Vietnamese victims were repatriated to Vietnam, bringing the
total number of repatriations to Vietnam to 104 since the initiation

PHNOM PENH 00000138 014 OF 019

of this project in June 1999.

Foreign trafficking victims are provided temporary residence in
shelters while awaiting repatriation. A number of NGO shelters
offer legal, education, and counseling services.

E. Access to Long-Term Shelter and Resources

As with victim assistance services such as legal, medical,
psychological, and shorter-term shelter services, because of
inadequate resources, the Cambodian government relies on foreign and
domestic NGOs to provide services to victims of trafficking.

F. RGC Referral Process for TIP Victims

In many cases of coordinated raid operations, provincial Department
of Social Affairs (DOSAVY) workers accompany police on raids to take
immediate custody of potential victims. If a DOSAVY worker is not
part of the process when law enforcement encounters potential
victims, police typically conduct a screening interview before
referring potential victims to DOSAVY for identification and
assistance. However, local police sometimes directly refer victims
to NGOs without going through social services officials.

MOSAVY reported that local police referred 408 victims of sex
trafficking to provincial DOSAVY offices during the reporting
period. DOSAVY offices, in turn, generally referred the victims to
short- or long-term NGO shelters for further care depending on their
needs. In most cases, the overall referral process was quick, with
victims receiving placements in NGO shelters within a few hours of
being taken into protective custody.

G. Identification of TIP Victims

There are no centralized statistics available on the total number of
trafficking victims identified and assisted during the reporting
period. Both social services and law enforcement authorities can
refer victims directly to NGOs. A small minority of victims may also
approach NGOs directly, and thus be completely outside RGC
monitoring.

During the reporting period in Phnom Penh, the MOSAVY-run and
-funded SKK received 408 TIP victims and referred them to
appropriate NGOs. MOSAVY continues to reinforce SKK's role as the
primary clearinghouse for victims, instructing law enforcement
officials to contact SKK officials for assistance in locating NGO
placements.

In close cooperation with MOSAVY, World Hope International operated
a short-term assessment center in Phnom Penh for referral of TIP
victims to longer-term care facilities to augment the services
provided by SKK. During the reporting period, the center assisted
65 trafficking victims.

The Healthcare Center for Children (HCC) reported that its shelter
in Koh Kong provided services to 65 victims of labor trafficking and
16 victims of sex trafficking in 2009. Victims were referred to HCC
by police and some other NGOs.

H. Proactive Identification System

Although there is now no formal, nationwide system to identify
victims proactively among high-risk groups, the government is
working on creating these methods. Building on technical assistance
from IOM, MOSAVY officials in 2009 began to interview persons
repatriated from Vietnam using a questionnaire designed to help
identify TIP victims among the returnees. MOSAVY reported
identifying 143 victims of labor trafficking based on this
questionnaire. With RGC cooperation, UNIAP is piloting similar
systems in a few provinces bordering Thailand.

In general, law enforcement authorities conduct an initial screening
for victims of trafficking before referring them to the provincial
and municipal Departments of Social Affairs, where they will again
be interviewed for victim determination.

I. Respect for Victims' Rights

When trafficking victims are identified, their rights are respected
in practice, and they are not treated as criminals. Victims of
trafficking in persons crimes are not detained, jailed, fined, or
deported.

PHNOM PENH 00000138 015 OF 019

In September 2009, the RGC released a Policy and National Minimum
Standards on the Protection of the Rights of Victims of Human
Trafficking. The new policy and minimum standards define 11 rights
guaranteed to victims of human trafficking, including the right to
safety and protection, the right to privacy and confidentiality, the
right to dignity, the right to services, and the right to freedom
of
movement. The minimum standards also set out expectations of case
management. The minimum standards require that service providers
(including police) ensure a safe place for conducting interviews,
ensure separation of victims from perpetrators, and conduct
interviews using an approach that is mindful of the trauma victims
may have experienced.

J. Victims' Participation in Legal Cases

Victims may file civil suits and seek legal action against
traffickers, and a number of NGOs in the legal, human rights, and
social services areas encourage victims to do so; the NGOs provide
or refer victims to legal services.

Cambodia's weak and corrupt legal system and lengthy legal process
sometimes impeded access to legal redress. NGOs reported that many
victims would prefer an out-of-court settlement to a court
proceeding as the fastest way to obtain monetary compensation. The
Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation
allows a victim to claim restitution for damage done by the
trafficking perpetrator. If the court process is successful,
however, the victim is expected to wait until a perpetrator finishes
a jail sentence before obtaining compensation. Credible fears of
retaliation from traffickers also pose impediments to witness
testimony.

K. Training for RGC Officials on Victim Identification

The RGC engaged in numerous training efforts during the reporting
period, many of the sessions designed to assist authorities in
identifying and providing assistance to TIP victims (see section
4F). Training for judges and social workers in specialized needs
of trafficked children was a key component of that training effort.
The National Committee launched a victim assistance training video
and related program in June 2009. The RGC distributed copies of the
training video and program to police and other government officials,
and to NGOs providing victim assistance services. The training
program is a direct government response to the need for screening
for TIP victims among persons rescued during police operations, and
to reports of human rights abuses associated with implementation of
the 2008 TIP Law.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs maintains a few programs designed to
prevent the trafficking of children to Vietnam for begging. The RGC
now operates the program in Svay Rieng Province that provides
vocational skills and community sewing opportunities as an
alternative to labor migration.

MOSAVY's Anti-Trafficking and Reintegration Office (ATRO) continued
to work closely with UNICEF to improve victim services. With
technical assistance through the LEASEC program, MOSAVY directed and
delivered training to nearly 700 social workers nationwide.
Building on an inter-ministerial MOU on victim assistance, ATRO
conducted joint monitoring of shelters during the reporting period,
together with NGO partners. In cooperation with UNICEF Thailand,
support has been provided to enhance MOSAVY's cooperation with Thai
authorities on the repatriation of vulnerable migrants.

Embassies and consulates in foreign countries do not receive
training specifically related to trafficking and victim assistance.
However, Cambodian officials overseas facilitate assistance with
NGOs to help Cambodian victims outside the country. For example,
officials from the Cambodian Embassy in Jakarta are working with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in East Timor, and IOM in Dili and Phnom
Penh, to facilitate the repatriation of five Cambodian TIP victims
who fled the Thai-owned fishing boat where they were forced to work
and were rescued by Timorese fishermen.

L. Assistance for Repatriated Cambodian TIP Victims

MOSAVY is mandated to provide care and protection to the most
vulnerable population in the country, especially women and children.
As detailed in Section 4B, the RGC operates both the Poipet Transit
Center and a child protection services agency in Phnom Penh that

PHNOM PENH 00000138 016 OF 019

provide shelter and assistance to trafficking victims, including
referrals to NGO partners for more extensive care. The government
also relies heavily on international organizations, foreign and
domestic NGOs, and other countries to provide medical aid and
shelter to its repatriated nationals who are the victims of
trafficking.

M. International Organizations and NGOs

With the strong cooperation of the Royal Government of Cambodia, an
estimated 90 NGOs work predominantly on trafficking issues, and of
those, roughly 40 NGOs provide some form of service to trafficking
victims. The services include shelter (which usually includes food,
sleeping accommodations, basic health care, counseling, literacy,
and sometimes vocational training), legal assistance, drop-in
centers, and re-integration assistance. The RGC cooperated
extensively with these NGOs on prosecution, protection, and
prevention; under the National Committee structure, the RGC began
soliciting voluntary donor coordination of activities, in order to
direct resources to priority areas identified by the RGC.

6. (SBU) PREVENTION
--------------------

A. RGC Public Awareness and Education Efforts

Public awareness and education campaigns typically target potential
victims or the general public. In the largest event of the
reporting period, the Ministry of Women's Affairs coordinated and
executed "Anti-Human Trafficking Day" on December 12, 2009 in Phnom
Penh. More than 1,500 participants attended a program presided over
by Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An and attended by Minister of
Women's Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi; members of parliament;
representatives of government ministries, foreign embassies, the UN,
NGOs, the Phnom Penh municipality; and teachers and students. The
emotional event included testimonials from TIP victims, some of them
children, and featured calls by senior officials to increase the
fight against human trafficking.

Cambodia's nine domestic television stations carried coverage of the
event over the following days, reaching an estimated 3-4 million TV
viewers with the anti-trafficking message.

Also on December 12, the government conducted anti-human trafficking
campaigns in Poipet and Siem Reap. In Poipet, the RGC collaborated
with NGOs and the Department of Social Development and Human
Security of Thailand to host an event strengthening the network for
combating human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation along
Cambodian-Thai border. In Siem Reap, the RGC celebrated "Anti-Human
Trafficking Day" with the support from CWCC, in an event focusing on
prevention of child trafficking.

The RGC cooperated with UNIAP in producing fifteen one-hour radio
talk shows on human trafficking. A wide range of topics were
discussed during the shows including the new TIP law, trafficking
onto fishing boats, trafficking through marriage, trafficking for
sexual and labor exploitation, child safe tourism, safe migration
and victim assistance.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs Department of Information, with the
support from IOM, conducted a national radio campaign to share
information about the 2008 TIP Law and the prevention of human
trafficking. The National Committee disseminated an
anti-trafficking film, with technical assistance from TAF, to 450
university students in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and Svay Rieng. The
Ministry of Tourism conducted a number of workshops on child safe
tourism in Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear,
Battambang and Prey Veng provinces, reaching 550 participants from
the tourism sector, and government agencies. The Ministry of
Tourism also trained fifty peer educators in Phnom Penh on Child
Safe Tourism.

B. RGC Monitoring of Migration Patterns

The Cambodian government's capacity to monitor land borders with
Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, as well as its coastline, is marginal.
Because of its limited resources, the government does not have the
ability to screen for potential trafficking along the borders.

In February 2008, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training
(MOLVT) launched the Labor Migration Information System (LMIS) to
record the numbers of migrant workers departing Cambodia. However,

PHNOM PENH 00000138 017 OF 019

the system has limited efficacy, as the system only tracks legal
migration and only 10 licensed labor recruiting companies provided
migration statistics for the system.

The U.S. and Australian governments have helped Cambodia set up
computerized immigration systems in its national airports in Phnom
Penh and Siem Reap as well as the overland border crossings of
Poipet and Koh Kong. The British government funded a border
security project which provided training to Cambodian immigration
authorities.

5C. RGC Interagency Coordination and Communication

On September 25, 2009, the Prime Minister signed the sub-decree
establishing the new National Committee on the Suppression of Human
Trafficking, Smuggling, and Labor and Sexual Exploitation (see
section 3A).

As part of the UN's Interagency Project on Human Trafficking in in
the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma,
Thailand, and Vietnam), the Ministry of Women's Affairs chairs the
project's Coordination Committee in Cambodia.

D. RGC National Plan of Action

The National Committee is revising and updating a new National Plan
of Action to cover the period for 2010-2013, expected to be
completed in June 2010.

The six working groups under the National Committee Secretariat are
tasked with developing annual action plans for their area of
responsibility. Since the sub-decree launching the National
Committee was signed in September 2009, each of the working groups
developed its 2010 action plan based on the draft National Plan of
Action for 2010-2013.

E. RGC Efforts to Reduce Demand for Commercial Sex

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) approved and coordinated in the
production of a number of billboards, magazine advertisements, signs
on public transportation, and hand-outs targeted toward potential
consumers of commercial sex acts. The MOT seal was prominently
displayed on many of these public notices. The MOT also held
workshops on child-safe tourism in Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk, Siem
Reap, Preah Vihear, Battambang and Prey Veng provinces, reaching 550
participants from the tourism sector, and government agencies. The
Ministry of Tourism also trained fifty peer educators in Phnom Penh
on Child-Safe Tourism.

The Women's Media Center (WMC) has produced television spots and
drama focusing on Trafficking in Persons, violence against women and
children and the court system in Cambodia. Six 30-minute episodes
of TV spots were broadcast on three prominent TV stations in
Cambodia. The government has been supportive of these programs,
especially the Ministry of Women's Affairs which provided full
cooperation to WMC and other NGOs working on trafficking in persons.

F. Reducing Cambodian Participation in Sex Tourism

There are no reports of Cambodian nationals participating in child
sex tourism in other countries.

5G. Reducing Peacekeeping Troops' Participation in TIP

During the reporting period, 139 deminers from the Royal Cambodian
Armed Forces deployed to UN peacekeeping missions in foreign
countries. De-mining troops were the only troops that Cambodia sent
on peacekeeping or similar missions abroad during the reporting
period. The National Committee designated trainers from the
Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department of
Cambodian National Police to conduct the anti-TIP training for
deminers, which covered topics such as definitions of various types
of TIP, an overview of Cambodia's anti-TIP and sexual exploitation
law, and information about the RGC's commitment to combating TIP.
During the reporting period, the National Committee reported that
592 deminers received training.

7. (SBU) PARTNERSHIPS
----------------------

A. RGC Engagement with Other Governments and Civil Society

PHNOM PENH 00000138 018 OF 019

The RGC engaged extensively with other governments to focus
attention on combating human trafficking, particularly with its
neighboring countries through the COMMIT process and through
bilateral engagement. In addition to instances cited in prior
sections, the RGC hosted an Inter-Country Consultative Dialogue on
TIP in Phnom Penh in July 2009. Representatives from the RGC,
Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and South Korea participated in two
days of workshops focusing on results of programs in each country
and improving cooperation on difficult cross-border cases.

RGC engagement with civil society on TIP is also extremely high and
is devoted to the active marshalling of resources to reduce
causative "push" factors, mitigate "pull" factors, and combat
traffickers while protecting victims. There are over 2,000 NGOs
operating in Cambodia, and in some sectors these relationships are
characterized by mistrust. However, in the anti-trafficking sector,
RGC officials remain willing to engage with civil society. In
addition to numerous examples cited in prior sections, Cambodia's
National Committee Secretariat created an Advisory Group of
international organizations and donors who are highly active in
helping the RGC meet its anti-trafficking goals. The Advisory Group
meets quarterly to provide input on the National Committee
Secretariat work plan, and feedback on actions recommended by the
National Committee or its working groups. In each working group, a
permanent
vice-chair seat is assigned to an NGO representative active in that
group's area of responsibility, to ensure inclusion and dialogue
between the RGC and the TIP NGO community.

B. RGC Provision of International Assistance

Due to lack of funding, the RGC is not able to provide financial
assistance to other countries to address TIP. The RGC does share
willingly its ideas and practices in combating TIP. The
Inter-Country Consultative Dialogue mentioned in Section 6A is one
such example. Another example has been MOSAVY's willingness to
share its Policy and National Minimum Standards for the Protection
of the Rights of Victims of Human Trafficking with other interested
governments. At the COMMIT annual meeting in December 2009,
Cambodia was acknowledged as the first country in the region to
develop such policies and practices. The governments of Vietnam and
the Philippines have reportedly inquired about the development of
these standards, and the RGC has shared information with both
governments.

8. (SBU) RESULTS-ORIENTED PRACTICES
------------------------------------

A. In September 2009, the RGC released a Policy and National
Minimum Standards for the Protection of the Rights of Victims of
Human Trafficking (see section 5I).

MOSAVY took a leading role in developing and disseminating these
National Minimum Standards, with technical assistance from The Asia
Foundation. The standards have attracted interest from multiple
other governments in the region, and showcased Cambodia's ability to
pioneer new ideas. The standards establish a true victim-centered
approach for Cambodian officials to follow in combating TIP, whether
those officials focus on prosecution, protection, or prevention.
They also provide the foundation for the development of further
tools, such as nationwide victim identification procedures, which
the National Committee has identified as its next priority in the
Protection category.

9. (SBU) STAFF TIME
--------------------

A. Political Officers Jenae Johnson and Greg Lawless drafted and
edited this submission and estimated that the drafting of this
report required 80 hours by one FSN-9 political assistant, 44 hours
by one FS-04 officer, 8 hours by one FS-01 officer, and 4 hours by
one FE-OC officer. Embassy POC for this cable is Political/Economic
Chief Gregory Lawless (T. 855-023-728-125).

10. (U) ABBREVIATIONS
----------------------

A. Following are abbreviations used in this report:

ADHOC: Association de Defense des Droit de l'Homme (Human Rights
Defense Association)

PHNOM PENH 00000138 019 OF 019

AFESIP: Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire
APLE: Action Pour Les Enfants
CDP: Cambodian Defender's Project
CNCC: Cambodian National Council for Children
CNCW: Cambodian National Council for Women
COMMIT: Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against
Trafficking
CWCC: Cambodian Women's Crisis Center
CWDA: Cambodian Women Development Agency
DOSAVY: Department of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth
Rehabilitation (local jurisdiction of MOSAVY)
IJM: International Justice Mission
ILEA: International Law Enforcement Academy
ILO-IPEC: International Labor Organization-International
Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
IOM: International Organization for Migration
LEASEC: Ministry of Interior Law Enforcement Against Sexual
Exploitation of Children Project
LSCW: Legal Support for Children and Women
MOI: Ministry of Interior
MOJ: Ministry of Justice
MOSAVY: Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth
Rehabilitation
MOLVT: Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training
MOT: Ministry of Tourism
MOWA: Ministry of Women's Affairs
RAJP: Royal Academy of Judges and Prosecutors
RGC: Royal Government of Cambodia
SKK: Seva Kahpia Komar (Service for Protection of Children)
UNOHCHR: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights
UNDP: United Nations Development Program
UNIAP: United Nations Inter-Agency Project Against
Trafficking of Women and Children in the Mekong Sub-Region
UNICEF: United Nations Children's Fund
UNTAC: United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
USAID: United States Agency for International Development
WMC: Women's Media Center

RODLEY

© Scoop Media