VZCZCXRO9384
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0782/01 1590744
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080744Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8534
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000782 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, INL/AAE--CHARLES BOULDIN, KISHA 
TOWN AND INL/C/CJ--GREG STANTON 
BANGKOK FOR NAS--TERRY DARU, DEA--SCOTT SEELEY-HACKER, PAT 
CHAGNON, AND JOHN SWAIN 
HANOI FOR DEA--JEFFREY WANNER AND POL--PETER ECKSTROM 
VIENTIANE FOR NAS--CLIFF HEINZER 
PACOM FOR JIATF-WEST--DAVID KILBOURN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PGOV KCRM SOCI CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA:  EFFECTIVE NARCOTICS CONTROL AND 
TREATMENT FACE SUBSTANTIAL HURDLES 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 515 
 
     ¶B. PHNOM PENH 536 
     ¶C. PHNOM PENH 767 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Cambodia has a wide-ranging and growing 
narcotics problem which the government has only limited 
funding, equipment, skills, and political will to address. 
During a May 21-23 visit to Phnom Penh, two INL officers 
learned that drug use in Cambodia is growing, and that while 
ATS use still accounts for the vast majority of use, drug 
users are increasingly turning to other drugs as well.  The 
government is rapidly developing a large network of drug 
treatment centers, but these facilities offer little beyond 
boot camp-style discipline and are unlikely to be effective. 
Cambodia's location near major drug-producing areas, combined 
with its limited law enforcement effectiveness and 
corruption, create an attractive target for drug trafficking 
and other illegal behavior and make tackling these issues a 
USG priority.  End Summary. 
 
Officials Outline Narcotics Successes and Needs 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Cambodian narcotics and law enforcement officials 
were enthusiastic about US assistance in combating drugs and 
thanked the USG for its various training programs, including 
INL-funded Daytop drug treatment training; INL-funded, 
DEA-taught interdiction training; JIATF-West training 
missions; and regular contact and advice from the DEA Bangkok 
Country office.  Col. Khieu Saman, the Deputy Director of the 
Anti-Drug Police, highlighted several recent busts and drug 
trends, and briefed the State Department team on the 
methamphetamine super lab bust (refs A and B).  INL/AAE Team 
Leader and Poleconoff met with officers involved in the bust, 
many of whom had completed INL-funded, DEA-taught 
interdiction training in 2006, and congratulated them on 
their success.  National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) 
Secretary General Lour Ramin outlined the Cambodian drug 
 
SIPDIS 
trafficking and use problem, echoing many of the findings of 
an earlier INL/embassy trip to the Lao border (ref C), and 
describing recent busts.  On the policy front, Lour Ramin 
stated that in recent years the government has reformed the 
NACD, amended the drug law, ratified three UN drug 
conventions, finalized a five year plan for combating drugs, 
and inserted drug issues into the national development plan. 
He characterized Cambodia's weaknesses as limited drug 
laboratory capability, a lack of equipment for law 
enforcement officers, difficulty in disseminating information 
to the field, and limitations in providing drug treatment. 
 
Cambodian Drug Users:  Young, Male, and Mostly Using ATS 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶3.  (U) NGOs working with drug users report that drug use is 
growing across the country and the drug scene in Phnom Penh 
is rapidly diversifying.  Amphetamine-type stiumlants 
(ATS)--which account for 80% of all drug use--and crystal 
methamphetamine cross class and social barriers and touch all 
segments of Cambodian society, from the homeless to the 
wealthy children of the elite.  In Phnom Penh, swallowing or 
snorting ATS--a habit which often starts in junior high or 
high school--sometimes leads users to experiment with 
injecting ATS or using heroin or ecstasy.  In rural areas, 
ATS is essentially the only drug available, and is used 
mainly by laborers (some who knowingly take the drug and 
others who are told by their employers that they are taking 
"vitamins") and young adults, although drug use is beginning 
to spread to the general community. 
 
¶4.  (U) The NGO representatives noted that women and 
minorities have different drug use patterns from Cambodian 
males, who make up the vast majority of the nation's drug 
users.  Women are less likely to try drugs other than ATS, 
and their drug use is often linked to sexual/romantic 
activity such as prostitution or mistress relationships. 
Ethnic Vietnamese make up a disproportionate share of 
intravenous drug users, and strong anti-Vietnamese prejudices 
often make it difficult for them to access the few health and 
other services available. 
 
New Drug Treatment Centers Open, but Quality Low 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000782  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Cambodian government is undertaking an 
aggressive campaign to open drug treatment centers in each 
province.  There are currently six operational government-run 
centers (four of which have opened in the past two years) and 
three centers which have been constructed but have not yet 
accepted residents.  A recent Cambodian government/UN joint 
report catalogs shortcomings in the drug treatment system, 
which in Cambodia has focused on military-run boot camps with 
no therapeutic value.  The report found that even 
participants aged 18 or over are admitted based on their 
parents' wishes or police direction rather than providing 
consent themselves.  Because incoming assessments are rarely 
performed, the physical and mental health needs of 
participants and their degree of drug dependence are unknown. 
 Centers do not have the medical staff needed to manage 
withdrawal and other health issues and do not utilize 
psychosocial therapies (such as cognitive behavior therapy, 
motivational interviewing, and contingency management) which 
are recognized as best practices in treating ATS dependence. 
Finally, there is no attempt to follow up on discharged 
participants or to refer them to community resources. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) INL Program Analyst, Poleconoff, and Polecon 
Assistant visited two drug treatment centers--Orkas Khnom 
("My Chance") Center, operated by the Phnom Penh 
municipality, and Green House, operated by the NGO Mith 
Samlanh.  Staff at the My Chance Center had no prior 
experience in drug treatment or related fields.  Three staff 
members had attended weeks 3 and 4 of Daytop's six week drug 
treatment training program and were enthusiastic about 
incorporating some of those techniques into their daily 
routine.  Nonetheless, other than Daytop's "morning 
meeting"--which they use as a time to address community 
concerns and give morality instruction--there is no group or 
individual therapy and most of the day is filled with 
agricultural labor, physical exercise, watching television, 
and free time.  Most of the 140 residents are homeless 
individuals who are brought to the center by the police, and 
their inclusion at the center seems to be driven more by an 
interest in cleaning up Phnom Penh's streets than in 
improving the lives of individual drug users:  the center's 
director repeatedly compared residents to animals and 
described how their unkempt appearance and body odor could 
frighten tourists and the general public. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Green House is a far smaller operation (maximum 
capacity 30 individuals) serving only street youth, run by 
the well-respected NGO Mith Samlanh.  In the absence of 
social work degree programs, Green House recruits 
college-educated professionals with backgrounds in teaching 
or academic psychology to serve as counselors.  Their 
treatment plan includes medically supervised detoxification 
and group and individual therapy sessions.  As participants 
end their treatment, they are referred to Mith Samlanh's 
street youth center for 18 months to two years of vocational 
training, education/literacy tutoring, and HIV treatment if 
needed.  All participants are followed up for three years 
after leaving the Mith Samlanh programs.  Green House reports 
that they have a 25% recovery rate after one year--a rate 
they proudly say is high compared to the international 
average of 5%, but which they expect to decrease in future 
years as their earliest participants are likely to be those 
most motivated to kick their drug addiction. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Cambodia is starting from such a low base in its 
narcotics and law enforcement sector that its needs can seem 
overwhelming.  To be sure, an effective strategy must not 
only supply equipment and training, but must also provide 
expert on-the-ground support to provide mentoring and 
pressure to ensure that the police not only become more 
effective at cracking down on small-scale smugglers and 
users, but also go after the bigger players, who may be 
well-connected and/or in positions of power.  Effective 
efforts to promote better drug treatment must recognize the 
utter lack of trained professionals in this area and work 
closely with existing well-run programs to share their 
lessons learned about operating in the undeveloped Cambodian 
social service sector.  Cambodian officials are eager to earn 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000782  003 OF 003 
 
 
the respect of the international community for their 
anti-drug efforts and welcome international assistance. 
While change in this area is likely to be slow, Cambodia's 
poor law enforcement, high levels of corruption, and location 
make it an attractive target for drug smugglers and a 
priority for the USG's drug control efforts.  End Comment. 
MUSSOMELI