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