VZCZCXRO6284
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0114/01 0500606
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 190606Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0404
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0795
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 26 PHNOM PENH 000114 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, EAP/RSP, EAP/MLS 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID ASIA BUREAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF ELAB SMIG KCRM KTIP KWMN KFRD ASEC
CB 
SUBJECT: 2009 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 contribution toward 
the preparation of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report for 
Cambodia, covering the period April 2008 - March 2009.  Responses 
follow the questions outlined in Ref B.  The entire report is 
classified Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU). 
 
THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION 
--------------------------- 
 
1A.  (SBU) What is (are) the source(s) of available information on 
trafficking in persons?  What plans are in place (if any) to 
undertake further documentation of human trafficking?  How reliable 
are these sources? 
 
There are no firm estimates or reliable numbers available as to the 
extent or magnitude of the overall trafficking problem.  Two surveys 
have attempted to measure the commercial sex industry in the 
country:  a 1997 report by the Commission on Human Rights and a 2003 
study by a former Fulbright researcher, Thomas Steinfatt.  The 1997 
Commission on Human Rights for the National Assembly report included 
a country-wide survey of brothels, and estimated that there were 
14,725 brothel workers in Cambodia (ignoring other venues) and that 
81 percent of workers were Cambodian and 18 percent Vietnamese.  The 
study did not attempt to differentiate between voluntary sex workers 
and trafficking victims. 
 
Steinfatt's 2003 statistical study on the number of prostitutes and 
sex trafficking victims in Cambodia estimated 18,256 sex workers 
(all venues) in Cambodia, of which 65.6 percent were Cambodian and 
32.8 percent Vietnamese.  The Steinfatt study estimated that there 
were 2,000 sex trafficking victims in Cambodia, with 80.4 percent of 
the sex trafficking victims being ethnic Vietnamese.  Steinfatt's 
trafficking estimates have been disputed by some who believe the 
actual victim numbers to be higher, although no separate data exist 
that accurately quantify sex trafficking victims. 
 
Limited trafficking statistics are available from RGC border 
authorities involved in the repatriation of Cambodians from 
neighboring countries.  Cambodian authorities, in cooperation with 
international organizations such as UNICEF and IOM, try to 
distinguish between illegal migrants and trafficking victims, 
particularly children, and have some statistical information. 
Within Cambodia, NGOs that provide services to victims referred by 
police, judicial, and social service officials often are another 
source of limited statistical information based on their respective 
operations. 
There are many organizations, international agencies, and government 
institutions and ministries working on human trafficking issues. 
They have been useful contacts in providing statistics, information 
and updates on human trafficking.  A Cambodian government anti-human 
trafficking National Task Force (NTF); the NTF's oversight 
mechanism, the High Level Working Group (HLWG), chaired by DPM Sar 
Kheng; Ministry of Interior's Department of Anti-Human Trafficking 
and Juvenile Protection, Ministry of Justice (MOJ); Ministry of 
Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSAVY); Ministry 
of Women's Affairs (MOWA); other relevant ministries and 
governmental agencies; and, local and international NGOs are good 
sources of information of human trafficking and sexual 
exploitation. 
 
1B.  (SBU) Is the country a country of origin, transit, and/or 
destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or children? 
Does trafficking occur within the country's borders?  If so, does 
internal trafficking occur in territory outside of the government's 
control (e.g., in a civil war situation)?  To where are people 
trafficked? For what purposes are they trafficked?  Provide, where 
possible, numbers or estimates for each group of trafficking 
victims.  Have there been any changes in the TIP situation since the 
last TIP Report (e.g., changes in destinations)? 
 
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 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  002 OF 026 
 
 
poverty and poor economic conditions compared with its immediate 
neighbors; Cambodian women and girls 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 secondary cities within the country, and from Vietnam to Phnom 
Penh and other cities as well. 
 
In Cambodia, commercial sex work goes on in guesthouses, karaoke 
clubs, massage shops, beer gardens, restaurants and nightclubs that 
provide direct and indirect sex workers.  Barbershops, noodle shops, 
and other commercial establishments may also function as venues for 
commercial sex operations either on the premises or "on delivery" 
for clients.  Both TIP victims and voluntary sex workers are 
intermingled at such venues.  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.  Debt 
bondage is also a factor in the recruitment of Cambodian trafficking 
victims, who are initially convinced that they are accepting 
legitimate restaurant, factory, or other work opportunities in Phnom 
Penh or other cities and then forced into sex work. 
 
Thailand is the major destination country for trafficked Cambodians, 
but there are no reliable numbers on how many persons are trafficked 
to Thailand each year.  According to a 2008 UN Inter-Agency Project 
against Human Trafficking (UNIAP) report, approximately 130,000 
individuals are deported back to Cambodia from Thailand each year. 
However, UNIAP reported that the number of deportees who are victims 
of trafficking is unknown because it is believed that Thai or 
Cambodian authorities do not or cannot identify those deportees who 
are TIP victims.  Cambodian men are trafficked to work in the Thai 
fish, 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. 
 
The 2008 UNIAP report detailed a July-August 2008 study of Cambodian 
deportees from Thailand at the Poipet immigration police checkpoint 
on the Cambodia-Thai border.  Of 50 deportees interviewed, a total 
of 56 instances of labor migration were recorded (some of the 
deportees migrated more than once; 32 instances male, 24 instances 
female), with 13 of those instances indicating strong evidence of 
human trafficking (11 men and two women), and 16 additional 
instances of some evidence of exploitation (nine men and seven 
women). 
 
There continued to be incidents of Cambodian men and women 
trafficked to Malaysia via Thailand for commercial sexual 
exploitation, agricultural labor, and domestic work.  The Kamrieng 
border crossing point in Battambang (connecting to Trat in Thailand) 
was one trafficking/smuggling route.  In previous years, there were 
scattered reports of individuals trafficked to farther destinations 
such as India and off the coast of Somalia.  There was also a report 
confirmed by an official of the Embassy of the Philippines in Phnom 
Penh of a Filipino woman trafficked to Sihanoukville for the sex 
trade in 2007.  The Philippine Embassy reportedly assisted the 
victim to return to her home country. 
 
In 2004, UNICEF indicated the beginnings of a change in TIP 
patterns, with evidence suggesting a rising number (if not yet 
significant compared to the main routes) of trafficking cases to 
Hong Kong and Taiwan.  In 2007, there were reports of Cambodian 
women who went to Taiwan through marriage but are now left in legal 
limbo for political and diplomatic reasons.  It is reported that 
there are about 5,000 Cambodians in Taiwan, some of whom were 
trafficked for sexual exploitation.  During the reporting period, 
there were no new reported cases of women trafficked to Hong Kong 
and Taiwan. 
 
In 2008, the NGO Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC) assisted 204 
victims of trafficking, 13 of whom were victims of cross border 
trafficking.  The NGO AFESIP assisted 149 victims of trafficking 
among the 302 residents admitted to its shelters during the year. 
According to statistics from the High Level Working Group of the 
National Task Force, between April and December 2008, the Ministry 
of Interior (MOI) made arrests in 21 human trafficking cases 
involving 82 victims, of which nine were cases of sex trafficking 
and 12 of labor trafficking.  The Ministry of Social Affairs, 
Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSAVY) reported that from April 
to December 2008, police referred to MOSAVY 407 victims of sex 
trafficking.  In addition, MOSAVY received nine victims of sex 
trafficking and 71 victims of labor trafficking returned from 
Thailand.  An additional 486 victims of labor trafficking were 
referred to MOSAVY after being returned from Vietnam.  During 2008, 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  003 OF 026 
 
 
IOM identified 160 victims of trafficking, out of 683 Cambodian 
returnees from Vietnam, and 112 victims of trafficking, mostly 
children, out of 132,795 Cambodian returnees from Thailand. 
 
The NGO International Justice Mission (IJM) observed that the sale 
of underage girls in brothels, bars, and restaurants in 2008 
remained at a level similar to 2007.  The NGO reported that their 
investigations indicated the majority of activity was in brothels, 
disco clubs, and karaoke establishments.  IJM believed there was an 
increase in the number of large entertainment establishments in 
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, with reports of some establishments having 
as many as 100 or more adult and underage females, and where rooms 
are typically made available for sex.  IJM reported that its 
investigations indicate that a high percentage of the minors in 
these establishments were Vietnamese who came to Phnom Penh and Siem 
Reap from the Cambodian provinces or from Vietnam. 
 
IJM reported its observation that the virginity trade continues to 
be problematic in Siem Reap, and that foreign (mostly Asian) and 
Cambodian men paid USD 800 to 4,000 to have sex with virgins.  This 
is a change from 2007 when one NGO reported that Asian men paid USD 
1,000 or less for three days with a virgin. 
 
The victim services NGO Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC) 
reported intake of more TIP cases in 2008 compared to 2007 but added 
that it does not view the increase in numbers as a reflection of a 
growing trafficking problem, but rather of intensified law 
enforcement efforts.  Victim services NGO Agir Pour Les Femmes en 
Situation Precaire (AFESIP) reported that it provided services to 
149 trafficking victims, and that MOSAVY referred other victims to 
the NGO during the course of the year who chose not to stay with 
AFESIP for services.  Those referrals are not reflected in AFESIP's 
statistics, and AFESIP was unable to report whether they have 
noticed a trend in the number of TIP victims from 2007 to 2008. 
 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported a 
decrease in trafficking victims returned to Cambodia from Vietnam -- 
160 returnees in 2008 compared to 224 in 2007. IOM could not confirm 
the reasons for the decrease, but stated that some possibilities 
were:  more effective interventions with persons vulnerable to TIP, 
better cooperation between Cambodian and Vietnamese officials to 
prevent trafficking from occurring, and economic development in 
border provinces.  IOM stated their belief that the statistics do 
not accurately portray the size of the TIP problem.  IOM stated that 
programs such as information campaigns, vocational skills trainings, 
and micro credit schemes in border town areas have provided 
effective alternatives to labor migration and have helped to educate 
those who migrate legally about trafficking schemes. 
 
World Hope International reported more referrals by law enforcement 
to its assessment center during the year.  In 2008, the center 
received 84 victims of trafficking, compared to 59 in 2007, and 
believed the increase was a result of Cambodia's new Law on 
Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation being 
enforced by police as a tool to combat human trafficking. 
 
1C.  (SBU) What kind of conditions are the victims trafficked into? 
 
 
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. 
As in previous years, CWCC stated that an increasing number of 
victims repatriated from Malaysia who seek support from CWCC report 
that they ended up in exploitative labor conditions after migrating 
to Malaysia as domestic workers with the assistance of legal labor 
migration companies.  The Cambodian government has licensed 17 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 Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) 
continues to have serious concerns about the protection of Cambodian 
women working in domestic positions in Malaysia and the potential 
for abuse or coercion and trafficking into the sex industry.  The 
MOWA has advocated the establishment of a follow-up mechanism to 
ensure the well-being of domestic workers after arrival in Malaysia. 
 
 
In previous years, IOM stated that Cambodian laborers returning from 
various locations such as India, Malaysia, and off the coast of 
Somalia have reported that they were trafficked for labor.  In 2008, 
IOM helped facilitate the return of 17 Cambodian men who had been 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  004 OF 026 
 
 
trafficked from Cambodia onto fishing boats in Thailand, sailed to 
Malaysia, and then escaped into Malaysia.  However, IOM stated there 
were no confirmed cases of trafficking to India or off the coast of 
Somalia in 2008. 
 
1D.  (SBU) Vulnerability to TIP: Are certain groups of persons more 
at risk of being trafficked (e.g., women and children, boys versus 
girls, certain ethnic groups, refugees, IDPs, etc.)? 
 
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 
trafficking victims.  In a 2004 survey, PACT-Cambodia found a 
correlation between residential origins of trafficking victims and 
communities along major highways. 
 
PRM funded an IOM study released in August 2007 on patterns of 
trafficking among commercially sexually exploited women and girls in 
Siem Reap, Koh Kong and Sihanoukville provinces -- provinces 
identified as having a high prevalence of trafficking.  The research 
showed that groups that appear to be 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 previously 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 buy a border pass to cross 
the border without needing to show any identification. 
Poipet/Aranyaprathet is the primary Cambodia-Thai border post for 
transit.  Children mainly 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.  IOM and UNICEF have contact with nearly all children 
repatriated from Thailand at the Poipet border crossing, and select 
out the trafficking victims for special care through IOM's Poipet 
Transit Center, which is staffed jointly by IOM and MOSAVY staff. 
According to UNICEF, in 2008 there were 7,193 children deported from 
Thailand to Cambodia and among them, there were 53 unaccompanied 
children.  According to IOM, Thai authorities repatriated 58 women 
and children who were identified as TIP victims and deported another 
54 alleged TIP victims, out of 132,795 returnees in 2008. 
 
Social Services of Cambodia and HAGAR released findings of an 
exploratory study funded by World Vision Cambodia in January 2008 
about the sexual abuse and exploitation of males in Cambodia. 
Researchers met with 40 adult and underage males who were known to 
be victims of abuse.  Key findings from the exploratory study 
included: Cambodian male victims were sexually abused by Cambodian 
and foreign adults in a variety of settings; male victims were also 
abused by other children, adolescents and in some cases women; and, 
abuse risk factors included exposure to poverty, separation and/or 
divorce or death of a parent and/or siblings, domestic violence, and 
drug and alcohol abuse in the home. 
 
According to IOM's 2008 statistics, children in two districts of 
Svay Rieng Province continue to be trafficked to Ho Chi Minh City in 
Vietnam for begging.  Cambodian traffickers contract with the 
children's parents, with monthly payments ranging from 100,000 riel 
(USD 25) to 150,000 riel (USD 37) per child.  IOM explained that 
Cambodian facilitators take three to four children at a time across 
the porous border to Vietnam.  A single trafficker may coordinate 
several facilitators.  Border controls are minimal and the children 
cross to Vietnam freely, according to IOM.  Cambodian traffickers 
personally supervise the children in Vietnam, and reportedly have 
few problems with police raids.  In a 2007 report, IOM stated that 
in some cases Cambodian children migrate together with parents or 
relatives who are seasonally migrating as whole families, or one or 
two children with parents, to beg in Vietnam. 
 
In 2009, to address concerns surrounding trafficking of infants for 
foreign adoption and to bring Cambodia into compliance with the 
Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption, the RGC continued the 
process of drafting new adoption legislation and the new law is 
currently with the Council of Ministers for review.  A moratorium 
since 2002 on international adoption by some western countries, 
including the United States, has largely curbed reports of this type 
of trafficking, though receiving countries still processing 
adoptions in Cambodia continue to report irregularities even with a 
very small caseload.  The Cambodian government is working with 
international organizations and other donors to establish 
transparent, ethical adoption processes in the future to diminish 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  005 OF 026 
 
 
the trafficking of infants for profit. 
 
1E.  (SBU) Traffickers and Their Methods: Who are the 
traffickers/exploiters?  Are they independent business people? 
Small or family-based crime groups?  Large international organized 
crime syndicates?  What methods are used to approach victims?  For 
example, are they offered lucrative jobs, sold by their families, or 
approached by friends of friends?  What methods are used to move the 
victims (e.g., are false documents being used?).  Are employment, 
travel, and tourism agencies or marriage brokers involved with or 
fronting for traffickers or crime groups to traffic individuals? 
 
From April 2008 to November 2008, the RGC banned marriages of 
foreigners to Cambodians, thereby halting migration to South Korea 
through marriage.  The marriage suspension was a reaction to a 2007 
IOM report of an increase in migration to South Korea through 
marriage to South Korean men, and that some Cambodians migrating to 
South Korea for marriage were vulnerable to trafficking.  IOM noted 
that the potential for trafficking there was slim, as the Korean 
government strictly enforces the law and protections for women. 
According to IOM, in 2004 there were 74 South Korean visas issued to 
women who married South Korean men; in 2007, there were more than 
1,000.  On February 19, 2008, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the 
Ministry of Commerce to annul business licenses for companies 
seeking husbands for Cambodian women, calling the business a form of 
human trafficking.  In November 2008, the Prime Minister signed a 
sub-decree drafted by the MOI and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 
containing guidelines for international marriages that should have 
lifted the suspension.  However, as of February 2009, marriage 
applications of Cambodians to foreigners were not being processed by 
the RGC.  Some observers believed that the measures of the 
sub-decree will be hard for Cambodian authorities to verify and 
enforce, and would not be effective in preventing TIP through 
marriages to persons in other countries.  However, the suspension of 
marriages to foreigners was widely believed to be a sincere effort 
of the RGC to prevent human trafficking to other countries. 
 
Research conducted by Friends International and UNIAP in 2007 on 
child begging issues 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 
issue is more related to migration of vulnerable migrants rather 
than trafficking.  However, the research found that almost 20 
percent of children questioned came with a facilitator or non-blood 
relative.  Most of the children who came with their mother said they 
were happy with the situation, while half of those who came with a 
facilitator said they were unhappy.  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 the segment of society most 
vulnerable to sex trafficking.  These victims are particularly 
susceptible to the lure of employment, often via the intercession of 
relatives, friends, 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. 
 
NGOs have identified certain risk factors that increase the 
probability of a girl being lured into prostitution:  an older 
sister, relative, or friend is already involved in the commercial 
sex industry; the parents of the girl have divorced or separated; 
one or both of the parents are dead and the girl is living with 
relatives or friends; one or both parents are drug addicts, 
alcoholics, or gamblers; the family is desperately poor; the girl 
has little or no education; and the girl is of the appropriate age 
for the sex industry.  NGOs report that domestic violence and rape 
are often precursors to trafficking, as girls who are raped are 
culturally stigmatized and left with little hope of having a normal 
life. 
 
Traffickers of Cambodian women and children for sex can be 
known or distant acquaintances who promise work in Phnom 
Penh, or relatives, boyfriends or husbands who take the women or 
underage girls and sell them to a brothel.  A 2007 IOM study of 
trafficking recruitment and facilitating networks found a dynamic 
system that is ever-evolving in order to evade counter-trafficking 
efforts by the communities, local authorities and NGO partners.  TIP 
networks are most prevalent in areas which have a high level of 
labor migration and high level of impunity for traffickers. 
Networks were found to take advantage of family dysfunction, 
gender-based norms that support violence against women, and social 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  006 OF 026 
 
 
shame to perpetuate trafficking practices. 
 
The notorious Svay Pak brothel area reportedly continues to be in 
operation, despite an extended 2004 crackdown by anti-TIP police and 
IJM.  Underage girls are available on site in Svay Pak 
establishments upon demand, but generally underage girls do not stay 
on site in Svay Pak.  Current trends show that underage girls from 
Svay Pak are delivered to various brothels and establishments during 
the evening, or are available on order.  IJM reported that attempts 
to raid the area in 2007 proved to be difficult, if not impossible, 
due to the hidden nature of the crime and the nearly impenetrable 
layout of the area which makes it easy for traffickers to escape 
quickly.  In 2008, IJM reported that police did not follow through 
with the NGO's investigations into and tip-offs on Svay Pak 
establishments.  A study conducted in 2005 by AIDTouS and the 
Coalition to Address Sexual Exploitation of Children in Cambodia 
(COSECAM) to re-evaluate the impact on children of closing Svay Pak 
found that the closure did not stop the commercial sexual 
exploitation of children.  The 2005 study found that many of these 
children were scattered to other brothels in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap 
and Sihanoukville, and may have been living in worse conditions in 
underground operations. 
 
A 2007 PRM-funded IOM study reported that traffickers are sometimes 
parents who sell their child into debt bondage to serve as domestic 
help with other families, or into brothels.  The study reports that 
there are cases in which family members, friends, or boyfriends 
reportedly coerced or forced victims into sex and labor trafficking. 
 Other observers have reported that individual recruiters coerce 
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). 
 
The same 2007 IOM study stated that commercial sale of virginity is 
one of the major routes into commercial sexual exploitation with 38 
percent of women interviewed having had their virginity sold 
(voluntarily or involuntarily).  The same study showed that nine 
percent of women interviewed reported their virginity trade client 
was of Western origin, and the remaining reported having Asian 
clients including Cambodian, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Thai, 
Filipino, and Chinese persons. 
 
When Cambodians are moved abroad, they often are brought through the 
porous borders with Thailand or Vietnam without documentation.  Some 
women are reportedly trafficked to Thailand for sex by boat from the 
Cambodian province of Koh Kong.  In cases of human trafficking to 
Malaysia, women are reportedly entering the country with valid 
Cambodian passports, with allegations of complicity on the part of 
Thai and Malay border and immigration officials.  Attempts to lobby 
Malaysia to grant legal rights to foreign domestic workers have been 
unsuccessful, although the Ministry of Women's Affairs continues 
discussions with its counterpart in Malaysia on this issue. 
 
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 primarily in Phnom Penh. 
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. 
 
When victims are trafficked out of Cambodia, some NGOs claim that 
trafficking networks are involved.  Vietnamese, Thai and 
Chinese-Malay criminals are alleged to have regional networks that 
traffic drugs, guns, women and children to regional markets such as 
Thailand and Malaysia.  A UNIAP representative reported that 
trafficking networks were involved in some cases, but believed that 
brokers were responsible for most trafficking cases. 
 
SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
2A.  (SBU) Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a 
problem in the country?  If not, why not? 
 
The government openly acknowledges that trafficking is a serious 
problem in Cambodia.  The Prime Minister in March 2006 spoke out 
against TIP and called for greater government efforts to combat the 
problem.  During a June 2008 joint press conference with the Charge 
and Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Sar Kheng, the DPM stated that while 
the RGC was pleased with the 2008 tier placement, the RGC believed 
there was still much more to be done to eliminate TIP in Cambodia. 
 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  007 OF 026 
 
 
In April 2007, in an effort to coordinate Cambodia anti-TIP 
programs, government entities, and NGOs, the government established 
an anti-TIP National Task Force.  USAID is providing support to the 
NTF through technical assistance.  The NTF has an oversight 
mechanism known as the "High Level Working Group," sometimes called 
the "Leading Task Force." The High Level Working Group (HLWG) is 
chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng 
who has played a leading role in the government's anti-TIP efforts. 
The NTF has a structure of five thematic working groups that focus 
on prevention, protection, prosecution, implementation of MOUs and 
bilateral agreements, and monitoring activities at the provincial 
level. 
 
During the reporting period, the NTF completed its establishment of 
all 24 municipal and provincial anti-TIP working groups led by 
governors and deputy governors.  The working groups were instructed 
by the HLWG to create provincial action plans, and were generally 
expected to monitor entertainment and other establishments for TIP 
cases; inform police of suspected cases; and, regularly report 
activity to the High Level Working Group of the National Task Force. 
 The working groups of Siem Reap and Svay Rieng Provinces have 
served as models for other provinces.  The Asia Foundation (TAF), 
funded by USAID, has worked closely with the model working groups to 
develop structured, realistic action plans partly based on input 
from the 2008 provincial dialogues and aligned with Cambodia's draft 
National Plan of Action.  IOM worked closely with the Koh Kong 
Province working group to help develop a Koh Kong action plan. 
 
2B.  (SBU) Which government agencies are involved in 
anti-trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the lead? 
 
The National Task Force (NTF) against Human Trafficking takes the 
lead in coordinating anti-trafficking efforts in Cambodia.  USAID is 
providing support to the NTF through technical assistance.  DPM Sar 
Kheng chairs the HLWG that serves as an oversight mechanism for the 
NTF.  Several ministries and agencies in the Cambodian government 
have responsibility for combating trafficking in persons, and are 
integrated into the NTF structure including: the Ministry of 
Interior; Ministry of Women's Affairs; Ministry of Justice; Ministry 
of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitations; Ministry of 
Labor and Vocational Trainings; Ministry of Tourism; Ministry of 
Education; Ministry of Information; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
and International Cooperation; and the inter-ministerial Cambodian 
National Council for Children, which has a Sub-Commission on 
Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children. 
 
 2C.  (SBU) What are the limitations on the government's ability to 
address this problem in practice?  For example, is funding for 
police or other institutions inadequate?  Is overall corruption a 
problem?  Does the government lack the resources to aid victims? 
 
In the past, efforts in Cambodia to end human trafficking have been 
impeded by lack of coordination among groups working on the problem. 
 With the March 2007 launch of the government National Task Force, 
the government is making strides to coordinate the efforts of 11 
government ministries, three government agencies, and more than 200 
international and local NGOs. The NTF structure includes working 
groups on prevention, protection, and prosecution, and has recently 
established provincial working groups which will report local 
anti-TIP efforts to the NTF. 
 
Nonetheless, the Cambodian government is severely limited in its 
ability to effectively combat trafficking.  In general, Cambodian 
government institutions remain very weak as a result of 25 years of 
civil war and genocide.  The lack of resources is acute; training 
and funding for law enforcement and courts are wholly inadequate; 
corruption is a major problem; and the overall level of human 
resources -- trained and competent people -- is still greatly 
affected by the legacy of decades of civil war.  Government 
resources for victim assistance must be augmented by assistance from 
international organizations and foreign and domestic NGOs.  The 
government has also been slow in defining custody issues pertaining 
to victims and witnesses taken from brothels, as well as the legal 
authority of NGOs in the process.  In February 2007, the five 
responsible government ministries signed an agreement with NGOs 
providing victims assistance that established guidelines for 
cooperation on these issues.  The NTF is also developing a national 
minimum standard for victim care to resolve the problem of victim 
assistance. 
 
Lack of coordination and cooperation between police and courts 
allowed some traffickers to escape prosecution.  While some NGOs 
reported cooperative relationships with government authorities on 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  008 OF 026 
 
 
TIP cases in Phnom Penh, there are complaints regarding police 
officials at the provincial levels.  An NGO director reported that 
it is relatively easier to target small traffickers, but large-scale 
operations have been difficult to coordinate; the large number of 
people involved in the process increased the chances of compromising 
the operation. 
 
During the reporting period, the Cambodian government has 
encountered new challenges in its fight against TIP.  While the 
February 2008 passage of Cambodia's Law on the Suppression of Human 
Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation was hailed as a success, the law 
created some challenges with police and court officials who received 
no training on the law before its passage.  During the reorting 
period, lower courts and the Appeals Court applied charges and 
sentences that appeared inappropriately matched to crimes.  One 
example from the year was a Phnom Penh Municipal Court decision 
charging Thomas Wayne Rapanos with a misdemeanor charge of indecent 
acts against a minor despite testimony that money exchanged hands 
for sex with 12- and 16-year-old female victims.  Rapanos was 
sentenced to two years and six months in prison and ordered to pay 
USD 1,250 (5,000,000 riels) to the government and USD 750 (3,000,000 
riels) compensation to the victim.  An Action Pour Les Enfants 
(APLE) lawyer for the victims believed there was enough evidence for 
the court to have convicted the perpetrator on felony charges of 
"Purchase of Child Prostitution," which would have carried a seven- 
to 15-year prison sentence due to one of the victims being under age 
¶15.  Rapanos reportedly filed an appeal for a lighter sentence. 
 
NTF and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials recognized the urgent 
need for training of court and other government officials on the new 
law.  Section 3F below details 2008-2009 RGC training programs. 
 
By April 2008, law enforcement implementation of the Law on the 
Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation was in full 
effect.  Also in April, NGOs implementing USG-funded HIV prevention 
programs reported reductions in contacts with brothel-based 
prostitutes and increases in the number of street-based prostitutes. 
 An increase in police crackdowns on brothels -- credited by some to 
the passage of the new law -- were reported to have resulted in many 
prostitutes selling sex outside of brothels, on the streets, 
increasing their vulnerability to violence and HIV infection as 
condom usage is less likely outside of brothels.  Additionally, 
owners of some establishments such as karaoke bars or beer gardens 
were reported to be less collaborative with health workers who 
provide HIV prevention information and condoms, apparently seeking 
to avoid being seen by police as a place of prostitution. 
 
Also connected to the increased police efforts to crackdown on 
brothels were reports that some police officers and guards working 
at Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation 
(MOSAVY) rehabilitation centers abused prostitutes who were rescued 
during raids.  In April, a rights group reported that some 
prostitutes had been raped, beaten, robbed, extorted, and detained 
without due process.  The reports spurred much criticism and an 
advocacy group protested at the UN in New York.  As NGOs and IOs 
carried out more in-depth investigations into the allegations of 
prostitute abuses that reportedly occurred because of raids to 
implement the new law, it became apparent that the majority of the 
persons held at MOSAVY detention centers were not prostitutes. 
Nonetheless, after the negative reports came to light, MOSAVY 
released detainees and indefinitely closed the detention centers 
where many of the abuses reportedly occurred.  The rescue of adult 
prostitutes and arrest of pimps and brothel owners is not anti-human 
trafficking work, per se.  However, many of the Cambodian 
government's challenges combating TIP during this reporting period 
have been attributed to the passage of the new law which combines 
TIP crimes and other crimes such as prostitution, pornography, and 
child sex abuse.  We have included more information on the 
challenges related to the passage of the new law in section 3A 
below. 
 
NTF officials were receptive to the critical reports regarding 
implementation of the new law, and urgently sought solutions.  In 
October 2008, DPM Sar Kheng signed into effect Guidelines on the 
Implementation of the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and 
Sexual Exploitation in an attempt to address concerns about human 
rights abuses of prostitutes and other victims rescued during 
brothel raids; HIV/AIDS prevention efforts being negatively affected 
by enforcement efforts using the new law; and, police arresting 
perpetrators on charges that appeared inappropriately matched to the 
crime.  The guidelines are generally considered to be helpful in 
emphasizing that prostitutes should not be treated as criminals. 
However, the guidelines did not clarify the difference between 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  009 OF 026 
 
 
trafficking victims and prostitutes, nor provide guidance on 
screening of prostitutes or others rescued from brothels for 
indications that human trafficking took place.  Section 3F below 
describes training on the law enforcement implementation guidelines 
and victim screening. 
 
Government sources and NGOs reported that police and court officials 
investigate TIP cases separately, and the relationship between 
police and courts was mainly based on instances when police 
requested search and arrest warrants.  Prosecutors and judges rarely 
called on police responsible for investigating crimes for 
clarification, follow up information, or to testify during trials. 
 
 
There was no prohibition against conducting undercover operations in 
commercial sexual exploitation cases; however, IJM reported that 
police were afraid of accusations by courts and arrested suspects 
that they had wrongly investigated cases, and typically refused to 
conduct undercover operations until they were granted warrants to do 
so.  IJM reported that there have been cases in which court 
officials threatened to prosecute IJM investigators and police 
involved in undercover operations.  During one operation, an IJM 
investigator posed as a pedophile seeking to buy sex with minors. 
Court officials told the investigator that acting as the "buyer" 
essentially made the investigator and police traffickers. 
 
Observers generally perceived evidence collection to be a weakness 
of the Cambodian National Police, including the national-level 
Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department and 
anti-TIP units at the provincial level.  During several brothel 
raids involving IJM, when women and girls were taken to police 
stations for statements, IJM reported that the rescued victims 
refused to make incriminating statements against the brothel owners. 
 Without victim testimony, police had little evidence to use against 
the perpetrators.  Police evidence collection limitations were 
widely seen as due to a lack of training, equipment, and funding. 
 
Donor countries have continued to press the government on 
anti-corruption efforts and passage of an anti-corruption law that 
is consistent with international standards.  The government has 
missed multiple deadlines for passage and implementation.  Donors 
have also pushed for the establishment of an independent 
anti-corruption commission.  In 2006, the government established an 
Anti-Corruption Body to combat corruption but it remains largely 
inactive. 
 
The Supreme Council of Magistracy (SCM) has the power to appoint and 
remove judges, but does not use this power except in rare 
situations, and in the past there was evidence that disciplinary 
actions were often politically motivated.  The SCM also does not 
have investigative resources to respond to allegations of 
corruption.  However, in an important move that sent a signal that 
corruption will not be tolerated, in August 2007 a government decree 
removed a judge in the SCM who was also the President of the Appeals 
Court based on suspicions of corruption.  The MOJ rotates judicial 
personnel every four years in the hope that the movements will 
lessen opportunities for corruption.  In January 2009, SCM imposed 
disciplinary actions on three provincial judges for non-TIP related 
misconduct and transferred 25 provincial and municipal judges and 
prosecutors as part of routine rotation efforts. 
 
2D.  (SBU) To what extent does the government systematically monitor 
its anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts -- prosecution, victim 
protection, and prevention) and periodically make available, 
publicly or privately and directly or through regional/international 
organizations, its assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
The MOSAVY has a database to keep track of repatriated victims and 
the MOI has a database to track police intelligence, investigations, 
and arrests of sex crime offenders.  The MOJ, with assistance from 
UNICEF, started collecting information in 2007 for a database of 
court cases involving children.  However, only a few courts provided 
statistics for the MOJ database.  In March 2008, the NTF initiated 
the first phase of a nationwide data collection system that will 
eventually incorporate statistics from existing databases into one 
consolidated database. 
 
Starting in August 2007, the NTF produced periodic reports on the 
government's anti-TIP efforts.  The reports focused mainly on 
anti-TIP prosecution efforts with statistics on arrests and 
prosecutions.  Each provincial working group is expected to submit a 
bi-weekly report to the NTF; however, few of the provincial working 
groups have been able to follow through with the regular reporting 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  010 OF 026 
 
 
requirement to date. 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
3A.  (SBU) Existing Laws against TIP: Does the country have a law or 
laws specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons -- both for 
sexual exploitation and labor?  If so, please specifically cite the 
name of the law(s) and its date of enactment and provide the exact 
language [actual copies preferable] of the TIP provisions.  Please 
provide a full inventory of trafficking laws, including non-criminal 
statutes that allow for civil penalties against alleged trafficking 
crimes (e.g., civil forfeiture laws and laws against illegal debt). 
Does the law(s) cover both internal and transnational forms of 
trafficking?  If not, under what other laws can traffickers be 
prosecuted?  For example, are there laws against slavery or the 
exploitation of prostitution by means of force, fraud, or coercion? 
Are these other laws being used in trafficking cases? 
 
On February 15, 2008, Cambodia's new law on the Suppression of Human 
Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation was promulgated and 
went into immediate effect.  The new anti-TIP law is a comprehensive 
law containing provisions criminalizing all forms of trafficking, 
including trafficking through debt bondage. 
 
Many of the Cambodian government's challenges in its fight against 
TIP during this reporting period may be attributed to the passage of 
the new law.  The law combines TIP crimes and other crimes such as 
prostitution, pornography, and child sex abuse.  Articles on TIP 
crimes make up a minority of the law's articles; however, the law 
has been labeled an anti-TIP law (a misnomer), confusing police, 
court, and other government officials, and members of NGOs and the 
press, as well.  Police increased raids on brothels, ostensibly 
because of enthusiasm over the new "anti-TIP law."  Most of the 
raids resulted in the arrests of pimps and brothel owners who were 
charged with prostitution crimes.  The police and other government 
officials apparently wrongly believed that those arrests were part 
of the government's anti-TIP work. 
 
That the new law went into effect without any prior training of 
police, court, or other government officials presented obstacles to 
effectively implementing the law.  Police and court officials were 
accustomed to charging child sex exploitation criminals with 
debauchery using a general 1996 law.  The new 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 than the 1996 law.  Untrained judges 
and prosecutors continued to charge perpetrators with "debauchery" 
("indecent acts" under the new law), despite evidence of more 
heinous -- and most often trafficking -- crimes. 
 
There were also cases of the courts charging TIP perpetrators with 
definition articles of the law instead of with articles that 
designate activities as crimes and proscribe penalties; also with 
penalty articles that did not appear to match the crimes.  In 
September 2008 the Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted a human 
trafficking perpetrator with Article 3 "Application of this Law 
outside the Territory" which states, "This law shall apply to any 
felonies or misdemeanors committed outside the territory of the 
Kingdom of Cambodia by a Khmer citizen...."  The article defines the 
scope of the law, it does not designate any activity as illegal and 
it does not proscribe a penalty.  However, the perpetrator received 
a two-year jail sentence under the article, and the notes from the 
court indicate that the perpetrator committed a human trafficking 
crime.  Another instance from the Phnom Penh Court in August 2008 
depicts a case in which a woman was abducted to be a prostitute. 
The court initially charged the perpetrator with Article 3 but the 
judge's conviction was under Article 11 "Unlawful Removal for 
Cross-Border Transfer," an article that does not appear to be 
matched to a trafficking in persons crime. 
 
Government officials, especially NTF officials, understood early on 
the need for training on the new law.  Training efforts to date are 
described in Section 3F of this report. 
With support from USAID and UNICEF, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) 
published 10,000 copies of the law on Suppression of Human 
Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation in 2008, and 
distributed the copies to court, police, and other government 
officials.  UNICEF provided funding for a legal advisor to work with 
the MOJ to draft a commentary on the new law to be distributed to 
judges, prosecutors, and other government officials.  One goal of 
the commentary is to provide clarity on which articles of the law 
are trafficking in persons crimes.  The commentary is expected to be 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  011 OF 026 
 
 
completed and distributed in mid-2009. 
 
Other relevant laws pertain to the protection of women and children, 
and the Labor Law, which prohibits debt labor, slavery, and the 
labor of minors.  Cambodia's Labor Law, enacted in 1997, makes child 
(under age 15) labor 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 parental consent and the lack of specific 
penalties for child labor have prevented successful prosecutions of 
child labor 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. 
 
In December 2007 and January 2008, the Ministry of Labor and 
Vocational Training (MOLVT) signed into force six declarations, one 
of which defined hazardous work 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 
of the six declarations 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. 
 
3B.  (SBU) Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses:  What are the 
prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking people for sexual 
exploitation? 
 
Penalties under the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and 
Sexual Exploitation are comprehensive and vary according to crimes 
and their severity.  According to Article 15 of the Law on 
Suppression of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation, 
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 a minor, the perpetrator 
is a public official, or the crime is committed by an organized 
group, the punishment is 15 to 20 years. 
 
From April to December 2008, the MOI reported arrests in 21 cases of 
human trafficking, of which nine were on sex trafficking and 12 on 
labor trafficking.  There were 62 victims of trafficking for labor 
involved in these cases, and 20 victims of sex trafficking.  During 
the same period, police reported that they arrested five foreign 
pedophiles.  Statistics from the Phnom Penh Court showed April to 
December 2008 convictions of 14 human traffickers, and five 
foreigners who sexually abused Cambodian children. 
 
3C.  (SBU) Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are the 
prescribed and imposed penaties for trafficking for labor 
exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor?  If your country is a 
source country for labor migrants, do the government's laws provide 
for criminal punishment -- i.e., jail time -- for labor recruiters 
who engage in recruitment of workers using knowingly fraudulent or 
deceptive offers with the purpose of subjecting workers to 
trafficking in the destination country?  If your country is a 
destination for labor migrants, are there laws punishing employers 
or labor agents who confiscate workers' passports or travel 
documents for the purpose of trafficking, switch contracts without 
the worker's consent as a means to keep the worker in a state of 
service, or withhold payment of salaries as means of keeping the 
worker in a state of service? 
 
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.  For the hiring of someone to pay 
off debt, the penalty is a fine of 61-90 days of the base daily 
wage.  However, there are no cases of these laws being used to 
prosecute traffickers of children under the Labor Law, and lawyers 
have claimed it is not feasible to prosecute traffickers under this 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  012 OF 026 
 
 
law. 
 
The new trafficking law provides for criminal punishment 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 a minor, the punishment is 
15 to 20 years. 
 
Labor export companies are licensed by the government to export 
Cambodian laborers to countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and South 
Korea.  There were reports of these workers falling victim to 
trafficking due to the exploitative conditions in destination 
countries, especially Malaysia, and a lack of monitoring and 
protection in the source country.  The labor export companies and 
the Cambodian Ministry of Labor acknowledge that the recruiting 
agents often retain workers' passports upon arrival in Thailand and 
Malaysia to prevent loss.  There were no cases of labor agents being 
held responsible for the exploitation of workers, or being 
prosecuted in the courts of law.  CWCC assisted the return of 
trafficking victims from Thailand and Malaysia to Cambodia and 
reported that when victims are willing to file a complaint against 
labor companies or employers, the NGO challenges the private 
companies, mostly succeeding in gaining compensation for the 
victim. 
 
3D.  (SBU) What are the prescribed penalties for rape or forcible 
sexual assault? (NOTE:  This is necessary to evaluate a foreign 
government's compliance with TVPA Minimum Standard 2, which reads: 
"For the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking... the 
government of the country should prescribe punishment commensurate 
with that for grave crimes, such as forcible sexual assault (rape)." 
 END NOTE) 
 
Rape is a criminal offense, and punishable by a five to 10 year 
prison sentence, according to Article 33 of the UNTAC Law.  Although 
Cambodia's penal code provides penalties for rape, convictions are 
often not rendered due to the weak judicial system.  According to 
the new 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. 
 
3E. (SBU) Law Enforcement Statistics: Did the government prosecute 
any cases against human trafficking offenders during the reporting 
period?  If so, provide numbers of investigations, prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences imposed, including details on plea 
bargains and fines, if relevant and available.  Please note the 
number of convicted traffickers who received suspended sentences and 
the number who received only a fine as punishment. 
Please indicate which laws were used to investigate, prosecute, 
convict, and sentence traffickers.  Also, if possible, please 
disaggregate numbers of cases by type of 
TIP (labor vs. commercial sexual exploitation) and victims (children 
under 18 years of age vs. adults).  If in a labor source country, 
did the government criminally prosecute labor recruiters who recruit 
workers using knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or by 
imposing fees or commissions for the purpose of subjecting the 
worker to debt bondage?  Did the government in a labor destination 
country criminally prosecute employers or labor agents who 
confiscate workers' passports/travel documents for the purpose of 
trafficking, switch contracts or terms of employment without the 
worker's consent to keep workers in a state of service, use physical 
or sexual abuse or the threat of such abuse to keep workers in a 
state of service, or withhold payment of salaries as a means to keep 
workers in a state of service?  What were the actual punishments 
imposed on persons convicted of these offenses?  Are the traffickers 
serving the time sentenced?  If not, why not? 
 
From 1996-1999, the Cambodian government arrested 342 offenders of 
sexual exploitation and trafficking.  From 2000-2004, the 
government's arrest record increased to 1,009 offenders, due to the 
formation on May 13, 2002 of the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Human 
Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department.  Since the creation 
of the national-level Department, the Cambodian National Police 
established provincial-level anti-TIP units within the police 
departments of all 23 provinces the capital city. 
 
The MOI Department of Anti-Trafficking and Juvenile Protection 
reported 21 cases of human trafficking, involving 30 perpetrators, 
between April and December 2008.  Five foreigners were arrested on 
charges of indecent and sexual acts during the same period. 
 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  013 OF 026 
 
 
It should be noted that the statistics below may overlap, as a 
consolidated database on trafficking is yet to be available; 
statistics are only representative of the work of each institution. 
 
The MOJ was unable to provide reliable statistics given its limited 
resources and means of communication with the provinces.  Out of 13 
provincial and municipal courts (not including Phnom Penh) that 
provided data to the MOJ, seven courts reported seven TIP case 
convictions.  Seven other provincial courts reported 40 convictions 
on charges of "cross-border transfer."  With a general lack of court 
training on how to use the new Law on Suppression of Human 
Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, we believe some of these 
"cross-border transfer" cases could be trafficking cases; however, 
the MOJ was unable to provide detailed information from the 
provincial courts and was unable to confirm whether the cases were 
trafficking, smuggling, or other crimes.  The Phnom Penh Municipal 
Court reported that it convicted 14 trafficking in persons 
perpetrators, with penalties ranging from two to 20 years.  The 
court convicted four foreign nationals for sexual abuse of 
children. 
 
AFESIP reported the arrest of one suspect and convictions of 21 
traffickers in 2008, with penalties ranging between five and 15 
years in jail, and civil compensation of between two and 15 million 
riel (USD 500 - USD 3,750). 
 
There are no known cases of prosecution of labor recruiters whose 
companies are involved in labor trafficking.  NGOs reported 24 labor 
cases involving legal migrants to Malaysia ending up in exploitative 
circumstances, but the companies usually paid compensation to the 
victims and avoided formal remedies. 
 
Traffickers generally serve the time sentenced.  However, during the 
year there were two reported cases of the prison sentences of 
foreign pedophiles being suspended - in one of the cases there was 
reportedly evidence of trafficking.  On September 9, the 
Sihanoukville court convicted French pedophile David Makhout of 
indecent acts and sentenced him to 18 months in prison.  However, 
the judge allowed for the suspension of 10 months of the 
perpetrator's sentence.  An NGO reported that there was evidence 
that Makhout "bought" one of his underage victims from her mother, 
and then sexually abused the victim.  The general prosecutor of the 
Appeals Court immediately filed an appeal of the sentence suspension 
and Makhout remained in jail.  On July 21, a Sihanoukville Court 
judge suspended a three-year sentence of a convicted pedophile, 
Nkita Belov, and released him on probation after he spent six 
months in prison for sexually abusing two underage boys.  There was 
reportedly no evidence of trafficking in the Belov case.  The 
Appeals Court prosecutor was reported to have appealed the case; 
however, according to Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and 
Juvenile Protection, Belov left Cambodia on August 5 through the 
Poipet border into Thailand.  Belov's whereabouts are unknown. 
 
3F.  (SBU) Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute 
instances of trafficking? Specify whether NGOs, international 
organizations, and/or the USG provide specialized training for host 
government officials. 
 
The NTF, with technical assistance from TAF and funded by USAID, 
created a draft script for a victim assistance training video that 
will eventually be distributed to police and other government 
officials, and to NGOs providing victim assistance services.  The 
video will demonstrate humane treatment of trafficking victims and 
sex workers after brothel raids including:  separating victims and 
sex workers from arrested suspected perpetrators; providing 
appropriate and immediate victim counseling services and referrals 
for further services; informing victims and sex workers about what 
to expect while at police stations and courts; and, effectively 
explaining to victims and sex workers why their statements to police 
and court officials are important.  The video will also be used to 
train police trainers and is expected to be completed in May 2009, 
with training to begin in Summer 2009.  The training program is a 
direct Cambodian government response to the need for screening of 
persons rescued during brothel raids for TIP victims, and to reports 
of human rights abuses associated with implementation of the new 
law, described in Section 2C of this report. 
 
In December 2008, the MOJ and MOI collaborated to conduct a joint 
two-day training workshop on Guidelines on the Implementation of the 
Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation 
(detailed in Section 2C of this report).  The training was funded 
and partly organized by UNIAP and IJM.  Attendance included:  six 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  014 OF 026 
 
 
police officers from national-level Department of Anti-Human 
Trafficking and Juvenile Protection, 24 police officers from 
provincial Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection offices, 
21 provincial prosecutors, five staff people of various NGOs working 
on trafficking issues, and representatives from UNICEF and The Asia 
Foundation (TAF).  In addition to sessions explaining human 
trafficking articles and sexual exploitation articles of the law, 
the Director of the police Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile 
Protection Department provided a session on U.S. recommendations for 
action in Cambodia. 
 
The government's Royal Academy for Judicial Professionals (RAJP), 
where judges and prosecutors are trained, is planning to incorporate 
training on the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual 
Exploitation as standard coursework into its 2009 syllabi.  All 
student and practicing judges and prosecutors are expected to 
receive RAJP training on the law in 2009. 
 
During the reporting period, the NTF conducted a workshop at the 
National Assembly on parliamentarians' and senators' roles in 
promoting the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual 
Exploitation.  The workshop was hosted by the National Assembly and 
Senate Commissions on Health, Social Affairs, Veteran, 
Rehabilitation, Vocational Training, Labor and Women's Affairs. 
 
In late 2008, the MOJ provided training for select judges and 
prosecutors sponsored by the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons 
Project (ARTIP) on the new law, related investigation techniques, 
and evidence collection.  UNIAP provided 2008 funding for MOJ 
officials to train NGO staff and government officials, including 
judges, prosecutors, and police officers in Sihanoukville, Siem Reap 
and Koh Kong provinces on the new law. 
 
The government, in cooperation with national and international 
organizations and businesses such as IOM, IJM, LEASEC, ARTIP and 
Microsoft, conducted training for police officers on investigation 
techniques, surveillance, witness protection, case preparation and 
management of trafficking cases and cases involving sexual abuse of 
children.  To date, more than 6,000 police officers have attended 
specialized training courses, workshops and conferences, and 
meetings on human trafficking and law enforcement.  Some of these 
trainings included instruction on the Law on Suppression of Human 
Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. 
 
In 2008, UNICEF provided training courses for police officers on 
investigation and victim welfare techniques for child rape cases. 
In the past, UNICEF supported the Cambodian Bar Association to train 
lawyers of the Legal Aid Department in children's rights and to 
build their capacity in representing children.  The government 
relies heavily on training assistance from foreign governments, 
international organizations and NGOs.  Cambodian law enforcement 
officials have participated in training at the International Law 
Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok. 
 
DHS/ICE and the FBI reported participation of approximately 150 
Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville police and NGO personnel in 
PROTECT Act investigation training during the reporting period. 
 
3G.  (SBU) Does the government cooperate with other governments in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases?  If 
possible, provide the number of cooperative international 
investigations on trafficking during the reporting period. 
 
The government continues to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement 
officials on trafficking issues and other criminal cases, and also 
cooperates with other countries.  The United States and a number of 
other countries have laws to prosecute their nationals who travel 
abroad to sexually exploit children.  Since the U.S. PROTECT Act was 
passed in 2003, the Cambodian government has cooperated with the 
U.S. in 19 cases, five of which have resulted in PROTECT Act 
convictions, and two of which have resulted in convictions on 
charges other than the PROTECT Act.  During the reporting period, 
there were four arrests made by the Cambodian National Police for 
which DHS/ICE or the FBI are pursuing PROTECT Act charges.  As of 
February 2009, the Cambodian government was assisting the U.S. with 
additional investigations of suspected American child sex 
perpetrators in Cambodia. 
 
In October 2004, the Cambodian Minister of Social Affairs signed a 
memorandum on combating TIP regionally under the Coordinated Mekong 
Inter-Ministerial Initiative on Trafficking process (COMMIT).  This 
memorandum placed Cambodia on a track to developing a National 
Action Plan and taking a regional approach to combating TIP.  During 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  015 OF 026 
 
 
the reporting period, the Cambodian government has proven to be 
engaged with and dedicated to the COMMIT agenda.  The RGC 
established a COMMIT National Training Program based on regional 
training provided in Bangkok.  In 2008, Cambodia trainers provided 
instruction on anti-TIP prevention, protection, prosecution, and 
policy for 122 government and NGO participants.  The Cambodia COMMIT 
Taskforce endorsed a December 2008 UNIAP study of Cambodian TIP 
victims returned from Thailand (the study is detailed in Section 1D 
of this report) with a statement that, "The RGC understands that 
identifying the issues challenging accurate victim identification is 
critical to ensuring that trafficking victims are correctly 
identified and provided with the services and assistance they 
deserve." 
 
The governments of Cambodia and Thailand signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding on Bilateral Cooperation for Eliminating Trafficking 
in Children and Women and Asisting Victims of Trafficking on May 
31, 2003.  The MOU requires the two governments to cooperate with 
each other to investigate and uncover domestic and cross-border 
trafficking of children and women, to conduct repatriation through 
diplomatic channels, and to promote bilateral cooperation in the 
judicial procedures against trafficking. 
 
In October 2005, Cambodia and Vietnam signed a similar MOU on 
trafficking.  During the Vietnamese prime minister's March 2006 
visit to Cambodia, Vietnamese and Cambodian officials discussed 
cross-border trafficking cases concerning Cambodian child beggars in 
Vietnam.  During 2008, there were a number of cross border meetings 
between Vietnam and Cambodia on the implementation and possible 
improvements to the bilateral MOU. 
 
The Cambodian Police and MOJ cooperate with the Malaysian police on 
cross-border TIP cases, but the process is still in its infancy. 
According to the Law Enforcement Against Sexual Exploitation of 
Children (LEASEC) program, the Cambodian government has made the 
Malaysian government aware of TIP cases involving Cambodian 
nationals in Malaysia since early 2002.  LEASEC is a joint project 
of the Cambodian government, UNICEF, IOM, World Vision, Save the 
Children Norway, and the UN Cambodian Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights.  Cambodia is now negotiating an MOU 
on anti-trafficking with Malaysia similar to the MOU in place with 
Vietnam. 
 
Under the ARTIP project, police of ASEAN countries cooperate with 
each other to exchange information and evidence on trafficking 
cases, although there is yet to be a case specifically involving 
Cambodia to date. 
 
3H.  (SBU) Does the government extradite persons who are charged 
with trafficking in other countries?  If so, please provide the 
number of traffickers extradited during the reporting period, and 
the number of trafficking extraditions pending. In particular, 
please report on any pending or concluded extraditions of 
trafficking offenders to the United States. 
 
The governments of Cambodia and Thailand have an extradition treaty 
which came into force in April 2001.  The bilateral treaty with 
Thailand provides a basis for future cooperation to address 
trafficking issues.  In March 2005, a Cambodian woman arrested in 
Thailand was sentenced to 85 years by a Thai court for trafficking 
eight underage Cambodian girls to Thailand for sexual exploitation. 
The sentence was reduced to 50 years after the woman admitted her 
guilt.  The case was hailed as a breakthrough in bilateral 
cooperation between Thailand and Cambodia that led to successful 
prosecution of a Cambodian trafficker.  The Cambodian government 
continues to cooperate with foreign governments to expel persons 
charged with pedophilia for acts committed in Cambodia so that they 
can be prosecuted in their countries of citizenship. 
 
Despite the lack of a bilateral extradition treaty, Cambodia has 
cooperated to deport into U.S. custody numerous Americans accused of 
being child sex offenders. 
 
3I.  (SBU) Is there evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level?  If so, 
please explain in detail. 
 
The Cambodian government 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 believed that some individual Cambodian 
officials -- including police and judicial officials -- are involved 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  016 OF 026 
 
 
in various aspects of human trafficking, but firm evidence leading 
to the prosecution of RGC officials is difficult to obtain. 
 
3J.  (SBU) If government officials are involved in trafficking, what 
steps has the government taken to end such participation?  Please 
indicate the number of government officials investigated and 
prosecuted for involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related 
corruption during the reporting period.  Have any been convicted? 
What sentence(s) was imposed?  Please specify if officials received 
suspended sentences, or were given a fine, fired, or reassigned to 
another position within the government as punishment.  Please 
indicate the number of convicted officials that received suspended 
sentences or received only a fine as punishment. 
 
Senior government officials have often stated that official 
corruption that aids or abets trafficking or other crimes will not 
be tolerated. 
 
An investigation into the Chhay Hour II brothel case resulted in the 
President of the Appeals Court, Ly Vouch Leang, being removed from 
that position and from her position as a member of the Supreme 
Council of Magistracy for trafficking-related corruption in 2007. 
Three judges and one deputy prosecutor of the Appeals Court also 
received official letters of reprimand as a result of the same 
investigation.  RGC officials reported that the investigations of 
these officials are ongoing.  The MOI Anti-Human Trafficking and 
Juvenile Protection Department Director reported that since his 
transfer to the department in 2007, he has administratively 
transferred three police officers.  During the reporting period, the 
Director ensured that a Siem Reap police officer was demoted for 
having leaked raid operation information to a brothel owner.  In 
2007, the Director administratively transferred two officers who 
were convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison by the Phnom 
Penh Municipal Court in 2006 for trafficking-related corruption. 
The officers appealed, effectively stalling the judicial process on 
their cases.  The Anti-TIP Department Director stated that he had 
the two officers removed to inactive positions within the MOI while 
their case is under appeal. 
 
In 2006, the RGC prosecuted several police officials for 
trafficking-related corruption charges.  Colonel Touch Ngim, former 
Deputy Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile 
Protection Department, and two other officials under his supervision 
were disciplined for taking money from karaoke owners in raided 
parlors in Kampong Speu province.  In August 2006, the Phnom Penh 
Municipal Court convicted Touch Ngim to five years in prison; he is 
currently serving his sentence. 
 
3K.  (SBU) Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? 
Specifically, are the activities of the prostitute criminalized? 
Are the activities of the brothel owner/operator, clients, pimps, 
and enforcers criminalized?  Are these laws enforced?  If 
prostitution is legal and regulated, what is the legal minimum age 
for this activity?  Note that in countries with federalist systems, 
prostitution laws may be under state or local jurisdiction and may 
differ among jurisdictions. 
 
Prostitution in Cambodia has not been legalized, but the activities 
of prostitutes are not criminalized.  The new Law on Suppression of 
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation punishes the act of 
prostitution in public as a misdemeanor related to the disruption of 
public order.   According to Article 24, "a person who intentionally 
solicits another person in public in order to prostitute him/herself 
shall be punished with one to six days in prison and a fine of 3,000 
to 10,000 riel (USD 0.75 to USD 2.5)."  However, prostitutes may not 
be prosecuted for engaging in voluntary sex work.  The new law 
allows for prosecution of persons who exploited others for sex work, 
such as facilitators, intermediaries, pimps, human traffickers, and 
brothel owners.  The law also stipulates penalties of between two to 
20 years in prison, depending on the victim's age, the severity of 
force used by the pimp, and the relationship between the pimp and 
the victim. 
 
Punishment for clients of prostituted minors is two to five years in 
prison if the prostituted person is 15 to 18 years old; and seven to 
15 years if the prostituted person is below age 15.  Clients of 
adult prostitution are not specifically addressed in the law.  As 
applied to traffickers and other exploiters of persons for the sex 
trade, these laws are being enforced.  Under Cambodian law, the 
legal age of consent to sexual activity is 15, which is why 
penalties for offenses differ depending on the age of the victim. 
 
3L.  (SBU) For countries that contribute troops to international 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  017 OF 026 
 
 
peacekeeping efforts, please indicate whether the government 
vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced 
nationals of the country deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping 
or other similar mission who engaged in or facilitated severe forms 
of trafficking or who exploited victims of such trafficking. 
 
In 2008, 135 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces deminers and four 
technical advisors were deployed to Sudan.  There is no information 
that any of the demining mission members engaged in, or facilitated, 
severe forms of trafficking or exploited victims of such 
trafficking.  However, in May 2008, the NTF provided anti-TIP 
training for the demining unit before they departed for Sudan. 
Details of the training are included in Section 5G. 
 
3M.  (SBU) If the country has an identified problem of child sex 
tourists coming to the country, what are the countries of origin for 
sex tourists?  How many foreign 
pedophiles did the government prosecute or deport/extradite to their 
country of origin?  If your host country's nationals are 
perpetrators of child sex tourism, do the country's child sexual 
abuse laws have extraterritorial coverage (similar to the U.S. 
PROTECT Act) to allow the prosecution of suspected sex tourists for 
crimes committed abroad?  If so, how many of the country's nationals 
were prosecuted and/or convicted during the reporting period under 
the extraterritorial provision(s) for traveling to other countries 
to engage in child sex tourism? 
 
Cambodia is identified as a destination point for pedophiles. 
During the period covered in this report, MOI reported the arrests 
of seven foreign nationals (four Americans, two French citizens, and 
one Canadian citizen) for sexually abusing Cambodian children.  In 
2008, the Cambodian courts reported that they convicted a total of 
six foreign nationals (one American, one Austrian citizen, one 
French citizen, one German citizen, and two Russian citizens). 
Prison sentences ranged from 6 months to 13 years and civil 
compensation from USD 750 to USD 1,250. 
 
The new Cambodian 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. 
 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
------------------------------------ 
 
4A.  (SBU) What kind of protection is the government able under 
existing law to provide for victims and witnesses? Does it provide 
these protections in practice? 
 
The government has no practical ability to protect witnesses at this 
time.  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. 
 
Despite the existence of some NGO-run shelters, such protection may 
not be adequate.  For example, in one trafficking case in 
Sihanoukville, according to reports by several NGOs, after a 
suspected pedophile and his girlfriend who was a suspected 
trafficker were released from prison on bail, the girlfriend 
threatened the families of the victims and demanded the victims be 
returned to her. 
 
The NTF drafted a National Minimum Standards Guide for Victim 
Assistance after consultation with NGOs, IOs, and government 
officials.  The goal of the standards is to ensure appropriate 
support, care, and services for human trafficking victims.  The 
National Minimum Standards are expected to be approved by the RGC 
and distributed to government agencies and NGOs in late 2009. 
 
4B.  (SBU) Does the country have victim care facilities (shelters or 
drop-in centers) which are accessible to trafficking victims?  Do 
foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic trafficking 
victims?  Where are child victims placed (e.g., in shelters, foster 
care, or juvenile justice detention centers)?  Does the country have 
specialized care for adults in addition to children? Does the 
country have specialized care for male victims as well as female? 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  018 OF 026 
 
 
Does the country have specialized facilities dedicated to helping 
victims of trafficking?  Are these facilities operated by the 
government or by NGOs?  What is the funding source of these 
facilities? Please estimate the amount the government spent (in U.S. 
dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities dedicated to 
helping trafficking victims during the reporting period. 
 
MOSAVY operates temporary shelters for victims of trafficking, rape 
and domestic violence in Phnom Penh, but the facility only provides 
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 
victims of trafficking have the same access to victim care 
facilities as domestic trafficking victims.  However, there is 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, an 
IOM-run Transit Center in Poipet staffed with MOSAVY and IOM staff 
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. 
In 2008, MOSAVY identified 101 victims of trafficking from Thailand 
and placed them at the Transit Center in Poipet. 
 
For children who cannot be reintegrated into their communities, the 
USG supports IOM and other NGO activities to provide long-term care 
and reintegration assistance 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.  World Hope 
International manages a short-term assessment center for victims of 
trafficking, but also accepts rape victims when there is space 
available. In 2008, the shelter assisted 84 victims of trafficking. 
  Victims were provided with medical, psychological and legal 
services. 
 
In December 2007, the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform, with 
support from USAID, 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. 
 
4C.  (SBU) Does the government provide trafficking victims with 
access to legal, medical and psychological services? If so, please 
specify the kind of assistance provided. Does the government provide 
funding or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or 
international organizations for providing these services to 
trafficking victims?  Please explain and provide any funding amounts 
in U.S. dollar equivalent.  If assistance provided was in-kind, 
please specify exact assistance.  Please specify if funding for 
assistance comes from a federal budget or from regional or local 
governments. 
 
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.  The government 
relies on foreign and domestic NGOs to provide services to victims 
of trafficking, a situation that will likely persist for some time. 
The MOSAVY continues to fund Seva Kahpia Komar (SKK) (Child 
Protection Services), which has primary responsibility for placement 
of TIP victims with NGOs for additional care and support.  On 
occasion, the RGC also provides in-kind contributions to 
partnerships with NGOs, such as land, office space and staff 
support. 
 
4D.  (SBU) Does the government assist foreign trafficking victims, 
for example, by providing temporary to permanent residency status, 
or other relief from deportation?  If so, please explain. 
 
The government's record in assisting victims of trafficking is 
reasonably good, in view of its limited resources and lack of 
insitutional capacity.  Foreign victim assistance is usually 
conducted by an NGO or international organization, or combination of 
the two. 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  019 OF 026 
 
 
 
IOM has cooperated in training Cambodian government officials from 
MOSAVY and MOI to repatriate Vietnamese victims.  Four Vietnamese 
victims were repatriated under this process in 2008 to Vietnam, 
bringing the total number of repatriations to Vietnam to 93 since 
the initiation 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. 
 
4E.  (SBU) Does the government provide longer-term shelter or 
housing benefits to victims or other resources to aid the victims in 
rebuilding their lives? 
 
As is the case 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, a 
situation that will likely persist for some time. 
 
4F.  (SBU) Does the government have a referral process to transfer 
victims detained, arrested or placed in protective custody by law 
enforcement authorities to institutions that provide short- or 
long-term care (either government or NGO-run)? 
 
After a raid, 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 
are again interviewed for victim determination.  MOSAVY reported 
that 505 victims of sex trafficking were referred to them by local 
police during the reporting period.  The municipal and provincial 
Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth (DOSAVY) generally 
refer the victims to short- or long-term NGO shelters for further 
care depending on their needs.  According to the MOI, 137 victims of 
trafficking were rescued during the reporting period. 
 
4G.  (SBU) What is the total number of trafficking victims 
identified during the reporting period?  Of these, how many victims 
were referred to care facilities for assistance by law enforcement 
authorities during the reporting period?  By social services 
officials?  What is the number of victims assisted by 
government-funded assistance programs and those not funded by the 
government during the reporting period? 
 
In Phnom Penh, the government-funded SKK receives TIP victims and 
refers them to appropriate NGOs.  The police often referred victims 
directly to NGOs, but SKK's role has been recently reinforced as the 
primary clearinghouse for victims.  Since 2005, World Hope 
International has 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.  Since its establishment in 
June 2005, the center has assisted 227 trafficking victims. 
 
The Healthcare Center for Children (HCC) reported that its shelter 
in Koh Kong provided services to 143 victims of labor trafficking 
and 13 victims of sex trafficking in 2008.  Victims were referred to 
HCC by other NGOs. 
 
Through an IOM project on repatriation and reintegration of victims, 
provincial and municipal DOSAVY officials and IOM staff screen and 
refer victims repatriated from Thailand to appropriate NGOs.  For 
returnees from Vietnam, the project identifies victims of 
trafficking and conducts family tracing searches to help victims 
locate and reunite with their families.  Through this IOM program, 
160 Cambodian victims of trafficking from Vietnam and 54 from 
Thailand were identified in 2008. 
 
The NTF is currently developing a national minimum standard for 
victim assistance and a victim assistance manual in order to better, 
and more systematically, provide assistance to victims from the 
point of rescue all the way through to reintegration. 
 
4H.  (SBU) Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, and 
social services personnel have a formal system of proactively 
identifying victims of trafficking among high-risk persons with whom 
they come in contact (e.g., foreign persons arrested for 
prostitution or immigration violations)?  For countries with 
legalized prostitution, does the government have a mechanism for 
screening for trafficking victims among persons involved in the 
legal/regulated commercial sex trade? 
 
Law enforcement authorities conduct an initial screening for victims 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  020 OF 026 
 
 
of trafficking before referring them to the provincial and municipal 
Departments of Social Affairs, where they will again be interviewed 
for victim determination.  MOSAVY reported 505 victims of sex 
trafficking were referred to them by local police during the 
reporting period. 
 
Prostitution is not legalized in Cambodia.  The new Law on the 
Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation 
criminalizes the act of pimping, but does not punish prostitutes. 
 
4I.  (SBU) Are the rights of victims respected?  Are trafficking 
victims detained or jailed?   If so, for how long?  Are victims 
fined?  Are victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as 
those governing immigration or prostitution? 
 
When trafficking victims are identified, the rights of those victims 
are respected in practice, and victims are not treated as criminals. 
 Victims of trafficking in persons crimes are not detained, jailed, 
fined, or deported. 
 
4J.  (SBU) Does the government encourage victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking?  How many victims 
assisted in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers during 
the reporting period? May victims file civil suits or seek legal 
action against traffickers?  Does anyone impede victim access to 
such legal redress?  If a victim is a material witness in a court 
case against a former employer, is the victim permitted to obtain 
other employment or to leave the country pending trial proceedings? 
Are there means by which a victim may obtain restitution? 
 
The anti-TIP police and prosecutors have become more effective at 
gaining witness testimony, but credible fears of retaliation from 
traffickers still pose major impediments to witness testimony. 
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, including the Cambodian Defenders Project 
(CDP), encourage victims to do so; the NGOs provide or refer victims 
to legal services.  However, Cambodia's weak and frequently corrupt 
legal system and lengthy legal process has discouraged victims from 
seeking legal redress.  NGOs reported that a majority of victims 
would prefer an out-of-court settlement as the fast way to obtain 
monetary compensation.  If the court process is successful, the 
victim is expected to wait until a perpetrator finishes a jail 
sentence before obtaining compensation.  The Law on Suppression of 
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation allows a victim to claim 
restitution for damage done by the trafficking perpetrator. 
 
4K.  (SBU) Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in identifying trafficking victims and in the 
provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the special 
needs of trafficked children?  Does the government provide training 
on protections and assistance to its embassies and consulates in 
foreign countries that are destination or transit countries?   What 
is the number of trafficking victims assisted by the host country's 
embassies or consulates abroad during the reporting period?  Please 
explain the type of assistance provided (travel documents, referrals 
to assistance, payment for transportation home). 
 
As described in greater detail in Section 3F, the NTF, with 
technical assistance from TAF and funded by USAID, is creating a 
victim assistance training video and related program that will be 
distributed in mid-2009 to police and other government officials, 
and to NGOs providing victim assistance services.  The training 
program is a direct Cambodian 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 new law, described in Section 2C of this 
report. 
 
UNICEF provided technical assistance to the Anti-Human Trafficking 
and Juvenile Protection police to improve investigation capacity and 
to train officers on the rights of victims while victims are in 
police custody. 
 
The LEASEC project has a training component sensitizing police 
officials to the special needs surrounding the trafficking and 
sexual exploitation of children, including developing procedures and 
training police in investigating cases of sexual exploitation and 
trafficking in children, and court procedures. 
 
In terms of social services, IOM continued to provide technical 
assistance to build the capacity of government officials in victim 
assistance.  For example, one IOM-funded project helps the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  021 OF 026 
 
 
provincial Svay Rieng Department of Social Affairs provide services 
to vulnerable families so that their children are not trafficked to 
Vietnam to participate in child-begging. 
 
UNICEF continued to work closely with the Anti-Trafficking and 
Reintegration Office (ATRO) of MOSAVY to improve victim services. 
UNICEF also supported nationwide social work training for MOSAVY 
national-, provincial- and district-level staff.  Building on an 
inter-ministerial MOU on victim assistance, UNICEF in 2009 will 
assist ATRO to conduct joint monitoring of shelters, 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 or sensitization related to trafficking and victim 
assistance.  However, former National Task Force Chair You Ay in 
late 2009 assumed her new position as Cambodian Ambassador to 
Thailand, a destination country for many Cambodian migrants and 
trafficking victims.  Cambodian NGOs working with Cambodian 
trafficking victims in Malaysia voice frustration over many RGC 
officials' indifference toward trafficked victims, as well as their 
lack of cooperation.  However, there are some Cambodian officials 
who are willing to cooperate with the NGOs and take a more proactive 
approach to helping Cambodian victims outside the country. 
 
CWCC reported assisting the repatriation of 6 victims of trafficking 
from Malaysia in 2008, most with the assistance of the Cambodian 
embassy.  The NGO reported cooperation from the embassy staff in 
assisting the repatriation of these victims.  The embassy is limited 
in its ability to assist the victims financially, but would help 
contacting the NGOs and arranging necessary documents to be 
repatriated. 
 
4L.  (SBU) Does the government provide assistance, such as medical 
aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who are 
repatriated as victims of trafficking? 
 
In this area, the government 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.  MOSAVY is mandated by the Cambodian 
government to provide care and protection to the most vulnerable 
population in the country, especially women and children, but in 
practice lacks the resources to do so without international or NGO 
assistance. 
 
4M.  (SBU) Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work 
with trafficking victims?  What type of services do they provide? 
What sort of cooperation do they receive from local authorities? 
 
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. 
Cambodian government cooperation with these NGOs is good. 
 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
5A.  (SBU) Did the government conduct anti-trafficking information 
or education campaigns during the reporting period?  If so, briefly 
describe the campaign(s), including their objectives and 
effectiveness.  Please provide the number of people reached by such 
awareness efforts, if available.  Do these campaigns target 
potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for trafficking 
(e.g., "clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor)? 
(Note: This can be an especially noteworthy effort where 
prostitution is legal.  End Note.) 
 
In September 2008, Cambodia's most popular television station, CTN, 
broadcast an anti-TIP documentary created by the NTF with 
USAID-funded technical assistance from TAF. The documentary included 
footage from five anti-TIP provincial dialogues that occurred 
earlier in the year; information about the Law on Suppression of 
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation; messages that the selling 
or buying of one's own children is illegal; interviews with persons 
who have been trafficked (facial images were blurred to protect 
identities) informing viewers of ways in which perpetrators deceive 
victims; information about how viewers can protect themselves from 
becoming a victim; and, ways in which local authorities can be 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  022 OF 026 
 
 
helpful regarding anti-TIP. 
 
From June to September 2008, the NTF worked with the international 
NGO Equal Access to create and air a series of 30 radio programs 
with anti-TIP messages.  The program was jointly funded by TAF (with 
financial support from USAID) and IOM.  The radio programs included 
information about the NTF and its activities at the national and 
provincial levels; safe migration; and, the content of the Law on 
Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation.  Equal 
Access shows are broadcast on nine radio FM stations covering 
approximately 85 percent of Cambodia's territory and off the coast 
of Thailand where there are Cambodian nationals working on fishing 
boats.  In addition, MOWA staff received training from Equal Access 
to conduct Friday call-in radio shows in two provinces on the border 
with Thailand and in Sihanoukville.  MOWA officials encourage 
listeners to call in with questions related to trafficking in 
persons, and provide information about how listeners can avoid 
becoming victims. 
 
During the rating period, the RGC, in partnership with ILO-IPEC, 
World Vision, Friends International, and ChildSafe, conducted a 
"Child Safe Tourism" campaign that teaches trainees to identify and 
protect potential victims of child sex predators.  Training was 
conducted in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, and Siem Reap with 103 
government and NGO participants.  Child Safe Tourism workshops 
provided training to 1,675 government officials, travel agencies, 
entertainment establishments, and university students. 
 
In March 2008 the NTF launched a nationwide anti-trafficking 
campaign using positive messages incorporating Khmer values and 
cultural traditions to persuade Cambodians to take action against 
human trafficking.  The NTF recruited American pop singer Robbin 
Thompson to record an uplifting anti-trafficking song in Khmer as 
part of the national campaign.  The song was incorporated into an 
anti-TIP public service announcement that was televised nationally, 
and into a karaoke video that was distributed to a number of karaoke 
parlors.  The campaign emphasized trafficking as a national priority 
and launched a national dialogue on trafficking via public forums in 
five provinces across Cambodia.  The forums also served to inform 
communities of the new anti-TIP law, forms of trafficking, new 
trafficking trends based on NTF data, and the key message that 
government authorities and communities must work together to prevent 
trafficking.  Public forums provided feedback and recommendations 
for the development of provincial action plans against trafficking. 
Clips of the public service announcement and karaoke video produced 
for the campaign are available on www.YouTube.com. 
 
The MOSAVY continued to work closely with UNICEF and local NGOs to 
set up community-based networks aimed at conducting early 
intervention programs in Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces. 
Community volunteers are recruited to help identify children at risk 
and bring their cases to the commune level for local protection. 
More difficult cases are forwarded to the district level. 
 
The Ministry of Tourism (MOT), in collaboration with World Vision, 
continued to produce pamphlets and advertisements for tourist 
brochures and maps that warn tourists of the penalties for engaging 
in child sex.  The MOT also provided workshops to hospitality 
industry owners and staff on how to identify and intervene in cases 
of trafficking or sexual exploitation of children.  The MOT 
continued to support the ChildSafe Program which builds a network of 
people to protect children at risk of trafficking and sexual abuse 
in the main tourist centers of Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, and Siem 
Reap. 
 
In January and February 2009, three of Cambodia's national 
television stations aired 30-minute CWCC-led roundtable discussions 
on the impact of migration within Cambodia, and on girls' rights to 
education.  The roundtables included representatives from the MOI, 
MOWA, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Labor and Vocational 
Training.  UNICEF also funded television spots educating the public 
about the danger of trafficking and associated penalties.  The 
Women's Media Center produced and broadcast a television show to 
raise awareness about trafficking in persons and rape. 
 
5B.  (SBU) Does the government monitor immigration and emigration 
patterns for evidence of trafficking?  Do law enforcement agencies 
screen for potential trafficking victims along borders? 
 
The Cambodian government's ability to monitor land borders with 
Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, as well as its coastline, continues to 
be marginal.  Because of its limited resources, the government does 
not have the ability to screen for potential trafficking along the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  023 OF 026 
 
 
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.  According 
to the MOLVT, eight companies provided migration statistics for the 
system, reporting 2,116 labor migrants to Thailand in 2008.  IOM 
funded the creation of LMIS in 2007. 
 
The U.S. and Australian governments have helped the Cambodian 
government 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.  (SBU) Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication 
between various agencies, internal, international, and multilateral 
on trafficking-related matters, such as a multi-agency working group 
or a task force? 
 
In April 2007, the government launched the NTF to coordinate 11 
government ministries, three government agencies, and more than 200 
international and local anti-TIP NGOs.  Deputy Prime Minister and 
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has played a leading role in the 
government structure through his chairing of the NTF oversight 
mechanism called the "High Level Working Group" (HLWG). 
 
The NTF has taken an innovative approach to synchronize 
anti-trafficking services, raise awareness through media campaigns, 
and foster government-NGO cooperation to end trafficking.  The NTF 
is divided into five thematic working groups that focus on 
preventing human trafficking, protecting at-risk groups, prosecuting 
traffickers, supervising the implementation of MOUs and bilateral 
agreements, and monitoring activities at the provincial level.  The 
working groups are chaired by government ministers with elected NGO 
representatives serving as vice chairs. 
 
As stated in Section 2A above, during the reporting period, the NTF 
completed its establishment of all 24 municipal and provincial 
anti-TIP working groups led by governors and deputy governors (these 
administrative areas were changed in late 2008 to 23 provinces and 
one capital city).  The working groups were instructed by the HLWG 
to create provincial action plans, and were generally expected to 
monitor entertainment and other establishments for TIP cases; inform 
police of suspected cases; and, regularly report activity to the 
HLWG.  The working groups of Siem Reap and Svay Rieng Provinces have 
served as models for other provinces.  TAF, funded by USAID, has 
worked closely with the model working groups to develop structured, 
realistic action plans partly based on input from the 2008 
provincial dialogues and aligned with Cambodia's draft National Plan 
of Action.  IOM worked closely with the Koh Kong Province working 
group to help develop a Koh Kong action plan. 
 
As part of the UN's Interagency Project on Trafficking in Women and 
Children in the Mekong Sub-Region (Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, 
Thailand, and Vietnam), the Ministry of Women's Affairs chairs the 
project's Coordination Committee in Cambodia. 
 
In 2006, the government established an Anti-Corruption Body in lieu 
of a public corruption task force but it remains largely inactive. 
 
5D.  (SBU) Does the government have a national plan of action to 
address trafficking in persons?  If the plan was developed during 
the reporting period, which agencies were involved in developing it? 
 Were NGOs consulted in the process?  What steps has the government 
taken to implement the action plan? 
 
The Cambodian government, led by the Cambodian National Council for 
Children (CNCC), drafted a second five-year National Plan of Action. 
 The draft plan, meant to cover the period 2006-2010, follows the 
National Plan developed in 1999.  The plan was initially intended to 
cover only children's issues, and was updated in 2008 to include 
trafficking in persons goals.  The new plan will harmonize 
Cambodia's ongoing anti-TIP activities with the responsibilities 
Cambodia assumed under the Coordinated Mekong Inter-Ministerial 
Initiative on Trafficking (COMMIT) MOU of October 2004.  The new 
plan was developed and finalized in 2006, with input from NGOs and 
stakeholders, but with the revisions to include trafficking in 
persons, it is still at the Council of Ministers for final review. 
Responsibilities over the new plan have now been transferred to the 
National Task Force to supervise its implementation.  The National 
Plan of Action was not yet officially approved at the end of the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  024 OF 026 
 
 
reporting period; however, many of the activities in the plan have 
already been carried out at the national and local level. 
 
Background: The Cambodian government in 1999 established an 
inter-ministerial body known as the Cambodian National Council for 
Children (CNCC) to address child labor and other related issues; in 
July 1999, the CNCC worked with international and national 
organizations to develop the first national five-year Plan against 
Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children (2000-2004), which 
delineated the responsibilities of nineteen ministries and 
provincial governments. 
 
As described in detail in Section 5C above, provincial anti-TIP 
working groups were tasked by the NTF to develop provincial-level 
action plans.  Siem Reap and Svay Rieng have the most advanced 
action plans to date that have served as models for other 
provinces. 
 
In October 2005, the Cambodian government, represented by Minister 
of Women's Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding with Vietnam to eliminate trafficking in women and 
children and assist victims of trafficking. 
 
5E.  (SBU) What measures has the government taken during the 
reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts? 
 
The government is limited in its resources to fund programs aimed at 
reducing the demand for commercial sex acts.  NGOs such as CWCC and 
the Women's Media Center have produced television spots and drama 
aimed at educating men not to engage in commercial sex acts.  The 
shows continued to be televised during the rating period.  The 
government has been supportive of these programs. 
 
5F.  (SBU) What measures has the government taken during the 
reporting period to reduce the participation in international child 
sex tourism by nationals of the country? 
 
There are no reports of Cambodian nationals participating in child 
sex tourism in other countries. 
 
5G.  (SBU) Required of posts in countries that have contributed over 
100 troops to international peacekeeping efforts (Argentina, 
Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, 
Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, 
Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji,  France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, 
Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, 
Korea (South), Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco,  Nepal, 
Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, 
Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri 
Lanka,  Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United 
Kingdom, Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe): What measures has 
the government adopted to ensure that its nationals who are deployed 
abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar mission do not 
engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking or exploit 
victims of such trafficking?  If posts do not provide an answer to 
this question, the Department may consider including a statement in 
the country assessment to the effect that "An assessment regarding 
Country X's efforts to ensure that its troops deployed abroad for 
international peacekeeping missions do not engage in or facilitate 
trafficking or exploit trafficking victims was unavailable for this 
reporting period." 
 
On May 30, 2008, the NTF provided an anti-TIP training session to 
115 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces troops at the Cambodia Training 
Mine/UXO Clearance Center who were preparing to deploy to Sudan on a 
one-year de-mining mission.  De-mining troops were the only troops 
that Cambodia sent on a peacekeeping or similar mission abroad 
during the reporting period.  The NTF designated a TAF Cambodian 
national program officer to conduct the training 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. 
 
Anti-TIP Hero 
------------- 
 
¶6.  APLE Cambodia Country Director Seila Samleang 
 
Seila Samleang began as an investigator with Action Pour Les Enfants 
(APLE) Cambodia in 2005, and became the Cambodia office's first 
Cambodian national Country Director in 2007.  Since his assumption 
of the director position, Seila has effectively used the press to 
help pressure the government to pay closer attention to TIP court 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  025 OF 026 
 
 
cases.  When courts have convicted child sex abusers on charges that 
seem inappropriately matched with the crime, Seila provides 
assessments to media outlets, government officials, NGOs, and the 
international community in Phnom Penh regarding the inconsistencies 
of court decisions.  His efforts have informed MOJ and NTF officials 
about how courts are using a new, complicated Law on Suppression of 
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, so that the MOJ and the 
Royal Academy of Judicial Professionals can better target training 
of judges and prosecutors to properly use the law.  Under Seila's 
leadership, APLE has rescued and protected hundreds of children from 
child sexual exploitation and abuse.  APLE Cambodia's mission is to 
reduce the incidence of child sexual exploitation and associated 
human trafficking crimes in Cambodian.  The organization assists the 
Cambodian National Police with investigations and raids to increase 
the number of successful prosecutions, convictions and serious 
sentences of sex predators.  The organization also seeks to: 
increase the level of access to legal protection for victims; reduce 
the effects of trauma caused by pedophiles; and, improve current 
conditions of impunity and legal accountability.  Since APLE was 
established in Cambodia in 2003, 187 victims have been rescued, and 
82 perpetrators arrested and sent to court to face trial. 
 
Best Practices 
-------------- 
 
¶7.  Cambodia's anti-TIP National Task Force:  In April 2007, the RGC 
took the lead in combating trafficking launching a National Task 
Force (NTF) to coordinate 11 government ministries, three government 
agencies, and more than 200 international and local anti-TIP NGOs. 
The NTF has taken an innovative approach to synchronize 
anti-trafficking services, raise awareness through media campaigns, 
and foster government-NGO cooperation to end trafficking.  Deputy 
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has also played a 
leading role in anti-TIP efforts at the highest levels of the 
government.  DPM Sar Kheng serves as Chair of the NTF oversight 
mechanism, the "High Level Working Group" (HLWG).  The NTF is 
divided into five thematic working groups that focus on preventing 
human trafficking, protecting at-risk groups, prosecuting 
traffickers, supervising the implementation of MOUs and bilateral 
agreements, and monitoring activities at the provincial level.  The 
working groups are chaired by government ministers with elected NGO 
representatives serving as vice chairs.  Working groups and smaller, 
targeted cluster groups address priority areas, and have already 
resulted in important achievements, such as: 
 
-- 2008:  Creation of provincial level working groups in all 24 of 
Cambodia's provinces and municipalities.  Provincial working groups 
are expected to report to the HLWG Level Working Group, and to enact 
provincial-level action plans.  Viable action plans have been 
drafted for at least two provinces, and serve as model action plans 
for all provinces. 
 
-- March 2008:  The NTF's launch of a nationwide anti-trafficking 
campaign using positive messages incorporating Khmer values and 
cultural traditions to persuade Cambodians to take action against 
human trafficking.  The NTF recruited American pop singer Robbin 
Thompson to record an uplifting anti-trafficking song (in Khmer) as 
part of the national campaign.  The campaign emphasized trafficking 
as a national priority and launched a national dialogue on 
trafficking with public forums in five provinces across Cambodia. 
The forums also served to inform communities of the new anti-TIP 
law, forms of trafficking, new trafficking trends based on NTF data, 
and the key message that government authorities and communities must 
work together to prevent trafficking.  Public forums provided 
feedback and recommendations for the development of provincial 
action plans against trafficking. 
 
-- Ongoing:  Preparations for ChildSafe practices training for heads 
of all provincial task forces.  ChildSafe training teaches 
trafficking and exploitation prevention measures. 
 
-- Ongoing:  Development of a nationwide set of indicators for 
trafficking data, and standardized methodologies for data 
collection.  Resulting data will assist the government to develop 
effective anti-TIP policies.  The NTF launched its first national 
data mechanism in June 2008. 
 
-- Ongoing:  Research and assessment to set a national standard for 
victim assistance, including a standardized training program and 
toolkit for government and NGO service providers.  The national 
standard will ensure that every victim, regardless of the location 
or agency from which they receive assistance, can expect to receive 
a tested and effective standard of care. 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000114  026 OF 026 
 
 
 
Staff Time 
---------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Political Officers Janet Deutsch, Melissa Sweeney, and 
Gregory Lawless drafted and edited this submission and estimated 
that the drafting of this report required 40 hours of staff time; 
separately two LES political assistants spent 80 hours helping draft 
this report.  Embassy POC for this cable is Acting Deputy Chief of 
Mission Gregory Lawless (T. 855-023-728-126). 
 
Abbreviations 
-------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Following are abbreviations used in this report: 
 
ADHOC: Association de Defense des Droit de l'Homme (Human Rights 
Defense Association) 
AFESIP: Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire 
AIDTouS: Association Internationale pour le Developpement le 
Tourisme et la Sant 
APLE: Action Pour Les Enfants 
ARCPPT: Asia Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking 
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 
NTF: The National Task Force to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons 
RGC: Royal Government of Cambodia 
RSJP: Royal School of Judges and Prosecutors 
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