VZCZCXRO9613
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0419/01 1770808
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 260808Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0852
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000419 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, G/TIP, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN KTIP SOCI CB
SUBJECT: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES 2009 TIP REPORT; 
FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 194 
     ¶B. 07 PHNOM PENH 1059 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Ambassador Rodley delivered the 2009 
Trafficking in Persons Report for Cambodia to Deputy Prime 
Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, during a meeting 
the afternoon of June 16.  The DPM accepted the news of 
Cambodia's tier reduction, noting that Cambodia "has been 
there (on the Watch List) before."  He also stated that the 
commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to 
combating trafficking remains strong, but many of the issues 
raised in the report were beyond the control of the Ministry 
of Interior.  He ended by expressing optimism about future 
multi-agency efforts to continue the fight against 
trafficking.  Success will depend on the ability of all 
relevant Ministries to improve anti-trafficking efforts.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Cambodia Drops to Tier 2 Watch List 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On June 16, Ambassador Rodley met with Deputy Prime 
Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng to provide an 
advance copy of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report 
narrative on Cambodia to the RGC, and to discuss the problem 
of human trafficking in Cambodia.  After one year at Tier 2, 
Cambodia fell back to the Tier 2 Watch List; the Ambassador 
emphasized the report's conclusions about weak enforcement 
and lack of progress by the RGC since the prior year.  She 
focused in particular on the decline in numbers of 
prosecutions and convictions, telling the DPM "it's hard to 
argue with the numbers." 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Initial Reaction - We're Doing Our Best 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The DPM accepted the news of the lower tier 
placement.  He noted that Cambodia has been on the Watch List 
before, that the trafficking issue has been evaluated 
extensively, and that the RGC has done its best to combat the 
problem.  He believes that the RGC and USG have very good 
cooperation on anti-trafficking in general, and welcomed 
assistance from the Embassy to continue the fight.  He said 
that the RGC commitment to combating trafficking has not 
diminished, illustrating this with a presentation about the 
RGC's efforts to reduce and control marriages between 
Cambodian nationals and foreigners that have been a source of 
trafficking concerns in the past.  He pledged to encourage 
law enforcement officers and the courts to increase arrests 
and prosecutions.  But he stated repeatedly that many of 
areas of recommendation contained in the report are beyond 
his control -- particularly prosecutions and convictions, 
which fall under the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme 
Council of the Magistracy. 
 
---------------------- 
Resource Commitments 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Ambassador raised the issue of resources, 
especially operating budgets for police investigations.  She 
acknowledged that police units have the will to conduct 
investigations and arrest traffickers, but they frequently 
lack basic resources to do so.  Law enforcement agencies at 
Post, as well as NGOs in the field, have made clear that 
police often lack resources such as fuel for motorbikes or 
cars, handcuffs for restraining suspects, or cameras for 
documenting evidence.  The Ambassador encouraged the DPM to 
consider putting more money into the police operating budget, 
and said that having a line item in the national budget for 
this purpose would be very helpful. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The DPM agreed with these points, but said that the 
budget remains very limited.  He said police officers try 
very hard and sacrifice a great deal in order to pursue 
trafficking investigations. 
 
------------- 
Ly Vouch Leng 
------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The DPM raised the case of former President of the 
Appeals Court Ly Vouch Leng, and speculated that the 
controversy surrounding the dismissal of the case against her 
was a significant reason for Cambodia's tier reduction 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000419  002 OF 002 
 
 
(Reftel A).  He claimed the Appeals Court decision to 
overturn the convictions of the Chhay Hour II brothel owners 
was a big mistake, and said he understood that it created a 
suspicion of corruption by the judge (Reftel B).  He stated 
that after an investigation, the police could not find enough 
evidence of official misconduct by Ly Vouch Leng.  (NOTE: 
The only evidence against her was a witness account, which 
was contradicted by other witness accounts; the investigating 
judge dismissed the case.  END NOTE).  As for Ly's 
appointment to a staff position with the Council of 
Ministers, he stated that this was beyond his control, and 
that if he had known about it sooner he might have been able 
to intervene, but after the fact it was not possible. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Ambassador Rodley pointed out that while the case 
may have been a contributing factor to the tier ranking, it 
was not the only factor, or even the most important one.  She 
emphasized again the importance of improving enforcement of 
the anti-trafficking law. 
 
------------------- 
Focus on the Future 
------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The DPM stated a desire to focus on future action, 
and said he would appeal to all levels of government to focus 
on fighting trafficking.  He said that a proposed merger of 
the National Task Force and the High-Level Working Group 
would involve officials from all relevant Ministries, and 
from the local and national levels.  He confirmed that the 
proposed new structure is awaiting the approval of the Prime 
Minister.  He also pledged to find out the status of the 
draft commentary on the trafficking law and the draft 
national minimum standards, and do what he could to push 
those forward. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) DPM Sar Kheng introduced Lieutenant General Kang 
Sokhorn as the new Deputy Commissioner General of the 
National Police in charge of justice.  Lt. General Kang 
replaces Neth Savoeun, who was promoted to Commissioner 
General of the National Police after Hok Lundy died last 
November.  Lt. General Kang oversees five departments within 
the National Police, including the Anti-Human Trafficking and 
Juvenile Protection department.  The DPM also asked his staff 
to gather statistics on arrests from all provinces and ensure 
all cases had been sent to the Ministry of Justice for 
judicial action.  Poloff has since consulted with staff 
members at MOI and confirmed that this information-gathering 
is underway. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Despite his disappointment with the ranking, Sar 
Kheng took a positive approach by focusing on the future, and 
the desire for continued bilateral cooperation in combating 
trafficking.  At the same time, his repetition of the fact 
that a large part of anti-trafficking policy is beyond his 
control demonstrates the need to seek greater commitment from 
all relevant Ministries and the judicial oversight body at 
the Supreme Council of the Magistracy.  The Ambassador plans 
to meet with the Ministers of Justice and Women's Affairs in 
the coming weeks to discuss actions by those Ministries to 
improve the RGC's response to the problem.  Emboffs also plan 
to speak with officials at the working level, and are 
developing a plan to help the RGC focus on key elements 
necessary to improve the shortcomings in its anti-trafficking 
efforts.  Sar Kheng's lukewarm reception to the idea of 
increasing resources for police investigations may indicate 
that he does not control sufficient funds to make this 
happen.  The Embassy may need to engage more with the 
Ministry of Economy and Finance and other relevant budget 
policy-makers to convince them to devote more support to 
police anti-trafficking efforts.  END COMMENT. 
RODLEY