VZCZCXRO6905
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH RUEHPW
DE RUEHPF #0445/01 1511053
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301053Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDMI/HUMANITARIAN DEMINING COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAB/AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN PRIORITY 0004
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY 0005
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 0004
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 0014
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2287

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000445 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, G/TIP, IO, AND DRL 
USAID FOR ASIA BUREAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN PHUM KPKO CB
SUBJECT: TIP AWARENESS TRAINING WELL-RECEIVED BY CAMBODIAN 
DE-MINING TROOPS HEADED TO SUDAN 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 179 CAMBODIA TIP LAW PASSED AND 
        PROMULGATED 
     ¶B. 07 STATE 75692 HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING FOR 
        DE-MINING COMPANY 3 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  Cambodia's anti-human trafficking National 
Task Force (NTF) on May 30 provided a trafficking-in-persons 
training session to 115 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces troops 
who are headed to Sudan on a one-year de-mining mission.  The 
de-miners are currently the only troops that Cambodia sends 
on peacekeeping or other similar missions abroad.  The troops 
exhibited enthusiasm for the training, listening intently to 
the NTF-designated trainer, talking about their own 
experiences, and asking a number of pointed questions.  The 
training helps Cambodia meet one of the newest Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act (TVPA) minimum standards: to address 
trafficking and exploitation associated with multinational 
peacekeepers.  End Summary. 
 
Cambodia Provides Anti-TIP Training to De-miners 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On May 30, 115 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) 
de-mining troops at the Cambodia Training Mine/UXO Clearance 
Center (TMCC) received anti-trafficking-in-persons training 
from a National Task Force-designated trainer.  The trainer, 
The Asia Foundation Program Officer Lim Siv Hong, provided a 
45-minute session.  She conveyed to the troops the Royal 
Government of Cambodia's strong commitment to combating TIP, 
including information about the NTF structure and its role in 
fighting trafficking; definitions of various types of TIP, 
including trafficking of women and children for sexual 
exploitation; and a brief overview of Cambodia's new anti-TIP 
law (Ref A). 
 
De-miners Engaged 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Lim Siv Hong said after the training that she was 
impressed by the troops' level of engagement at the session. 
During her opening comments, she asked the de-miners why they 
should care about trafficking-in-persons.  One of the 
soldiers responded, "Because when we're on a mission, we want 
to know how to respect our laws and people's rights."  Later, 
the unit commander stated that they have to be careful when 
they are in Sudan because the people there are also poor and 
may be vulnerable to trafficking there, too.  Several times 
during the presentation, de-miners chimed in with stories 
they had heard or accounts of TIP in their own communities. 
They also asked informed questions such as, "Trafficking has 
been a problem for a long time in Cambodia, why was the NTF 
just established in 2007?"  Lim Siv Hong responded that the 
government has realized that an interlinked, coordinated 
government structure to combat TIP is the most effective way 
to tackle the problem.  The NTF provided to the troops copies 
of the new anti-TIP law and the national anti-TIP public 
awareness campaign flier. 
 
(SBU) U.S. Mission Connected the RGC Working Parts 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Mission -- including ODC, USAID, and State 
Department officers -- helped facilitate communication 
between the NTF and the TMCC given our contacts with both. 
Both sides were eager to ensure the de-miners received the 
training, evidenced by the NTF and unit commanders' 
willingness to organize the training in a few days' time. 
National Task Force Chair and Ministry of Women's Affairs 
Secretary of State You Ay designated Lim Siv Hong, who has an 
extensive training background, to conduct the TIP session on 
behalf of the NTF.  TMCC Director Sem Sovanny also pushed 
through approval on the RCAF side, communicating with his own 
superior after business hours. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The 115 De-mining Company 3 troops headed to Sudan 
next week are the only troops that Cambodia is planning to 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000445  002 OF 002 
 
 
send on peacekeeping or other similar missions abroad this 
year.  In addition to the RGC's own commitment to combat TIP, 
it is also conscious of TVPA minimum standard requirements. 
With the new 2008 standard that countries should attempt to 
address trafficking and exploitation associated with 
multinational peacekeepers, the NTF training is a laudable 
activity taking into account their quick response to the new 
standard.  (Note:  Cambodia is just over the numerical floor 
of troops deployed for the standard to kick in.  End note.) 
Cambodia's anti-TIP training of its peacekeepers is also a 
timely activity on the world stage vis-a-vis a Save the 
Children report that gained wide international media coverage 
this week.  Based on findings in three countries, the study 
found that peacekeepers and aid workers have perpetrated 
crimes of abuse and exploitation in war and disaster zones. 
We consider Cambodia's training activity today to be part of 
the solutions to such heinous crimes. 
CAMPBELL