VZCZCXRO1246
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0628/01 2380811
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260811Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1113
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000628 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, H, P, D, DRL, G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OREP KTIP KWMN CB
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL LERNER VISITS CAMBODIA 
 
REF: PHNOM PENH 549 AND PREVIOUS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  A Senate staff delegation (STAFFDEL) 
visited Cambodia from August 15-19 to discuss trafficking in 
persons, human rights, and refugee issues.  The STAFFDEL met 
with government officials at both the provincial and national 
levels, opposition politicians, and a variety of 
non-governmental organizations.  The STAFFDEL noted how 
foreign donor interest in HIV/AIDS and TIP has yielded a 
patchwork quality of government that is quite progressive in 
its response to some issues, but deeply lacking in others. 
Moreover, they agreed it was still early for this 
post-conflict society to address effectively some of these 
difficult issues.  END SUMMARY. 
 
DPM Sar Kheng: Cooperation Key to Anti-TIP Efforts 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) STAFFDEL Lerner, comprised of Robin Lerner, Counsel 
to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ; Janice Kaguyutan, 
Counsel to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
Committee; and Ann Norris, staff to Senator Barbara Boxer had 
a varied schedule of meetings in Cambodia August 15-19, 
primarily focused on TIP.  In their highest level meeting, 
the STAFFDEL, accompanied by the Deputy Chief of Mission 
(DCM), met on August 18 with Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and 
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng.  The DPM, head of the Royal 
Government of Cambodia's (RGC) anti-TIP efforts, described 
the interagency structure the RGC is putting in place to 
improve cooperation and communication between ministries, and 
between the RGC and NGOs, to combat human trafficking.  He 
stated that this improved National Commission to counter 
trafficking will be formalized with a Sub-Decree signed by 
the Prime Minister this fall.  Following the adoption of the 
Sub-Decree, the National Commission will examine and put a 
five-year anti-trafficking plan in place (covering 
2009-2013). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The DPM noted that he had reviewed convictions in 
TIP cases with the Minister of Justice, and indicated his 
intention to continue joint reviews of arrests and 
convictions, and to establish clear standards for 
investigating and pursuing TIP cases.  In addition, the DPM 
has proposed that a police officer be present at every 
TIP-related trial, to provide additional testimony as needed, 
and to protect cases for successful prosecution. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The DPM acknowledged that defining TIP can be 
difficult, especially when relating it to cases of interest 
to the USG.  Ultimately, he said, the RGC defines TIP 
perpetrators as those who persuade people to travel to a new 
place with the promise of a good job, and then place them in 
a brothel or other exploitative situation. (COMMENT: This 
definition demonstrates that the DPM has a clear 
understanding of the issue, as defined in U.S. law, though 
lower-level officials in the RGC often struggle to understand 
the problem.  END COMMENT.)  The DPM lamented that many 
victims claim they participate in exploitative activities 
voluntarily, making intervention difficult.  He stated that 
the problem cannot be solved quickly, but that he believed it 
was slowly getting better. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  When asked about the main challenges facing 
anti-TIP efforts, the DPM said that the RGC needs greater 
efforts to spread information about the TIP problem to the 
general public, especially in the provinces.  He thanked 
USAID and The Asia Foundation for their assistance in these 
efforts, but recognized that the RGC must still do more with 
the limited resources available to it.  He also expressed a 
need for more standardized police training, such as a 
national seminar, to broaden knowledge and experience with 
TIP cases to all members of the police forces.  He expressed 
appreciation for U.S. cooperation toward this goal. 
 
Victim Protection Challenges Remain 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The STAFFDEL also met with working-level contacts 
on TIP at the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSAVY), Ministry 
of Interior (MOI) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ).  All 
meetings raised the issue of victim protections, and the need 
to improve protection standards to support more prosecutions. 
 MOI officials emphasized a need for the RGC to provide 
incentives to encourage victims to identify themselves and 
testify against their abusers.  At MOJ, contacts said witness 
reluctance to testify against perpetrators remained a 
challenge, but that because victim testimony in court is 
required under Cambodia's legal system, encouraging victim 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000628  002 OF 003 
 
 
testimony was a key priority. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) As evidence of the need for the RGC to improve and 
standardize victim protections, one MOJ contact described a 
call she received from a victim protection NGO requesting 
help because a victim's parents were suing the shelter for 
illegal detention of their daughter.  Victims located by 
police and social workers are referred to shelters through an 
order signed by the MOSAVY, but there is no guardian ad litem 
law in Cambodia that transfers legal guardianship of children 
to the State.  In this case, a female minor was referred to a 
shelter for care, but her mother, who is believed to have 
sold the victim initially, has sued individual shelter 
workers for refusing to return her daughter to her.  The NGO 
workers could countersue for personal defamation, or file a 
civil complaint on behalf of the victim alleging human 
trafficking, but the groups involved say they are highly 
reluctant to do so because they don't want the public 
spotlight attendant with a countersuit.  The shelter director 
believes the suit is without merit, since they have the 
referral form signed by MOSAVY, and has asked the MOJ for 
assistance in getting the case dismissed. 
 
NGO Meetings Describe Anti-Trafficking Programs 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The STAFFDEL also met with a number of NGOs while in 
Phnom Penh, including International Justice Mission (IJM), 
LICADHO, The Asia Foundation (TAF), International 
Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Inter-Agency Project 
on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), and World Hope International. 
Of particular note was the conversation with IOM and UNIAP 
that focused on labor-trafficking issues and the effects of 
the economic downturn on the commercial entertainment 
industry that is often a front for prostitution and a gateway 
to trafficking.  UNIAP discussed the outcome of its survey of 
women currently working in entertainment venues such as bars, 
karaoke parlors, and massage parlors.  UNIAP's Lim Tith said 
the study found that approximately 10% of the women surveyed 
self-reported that they believed they had been trafficked 
into the industry.  The study found an increase in the number 
of women entering entertainment work in the last nine months, 
but no increase in reported use of deception, cheating, or 
brokering that is typically involved with trafficking. 
 
 
Opposition Discusses Human Rights and Women's Issues 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The DCM hosted a reception for the STAFFDEL and a 
select group of politicians representing opposition political 
parties.  Approximately 15 guests attended from the Sam 
Rainsy Party (SRP) and Human Rights Party (HRP), including 
Party Presidents Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha.  The STAFFDEL 
spoke in-depth with the politicians about recent 
constrictions on free speech and assembly.  Tioulong Saumura, 
the MP from Phnom Penh and Sam Rainsy's wife, discussed the 
unequal treatment of women in Cambodia and the need to 
provide better opportunities for education to women and girls 
in Cambodia.  Referring to the recent defamation case against 
MP Mu Sochua (septels), Tioulong expressed support for Mu's 
case against the PM, opined that many Cambodian women were 
offended by the Prime Minister's April 4 speech, and believed 
that many would think differently about supporting the PM in 
the future. 
 
Trip to Siem Reap Highlights NGO Activity 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The STAFFDEL also spent two days in Siem Reap 
visiting NGOs and provincial government officials.  A stop at 
the rehabilitation shelter run by Somaly Mam's AFESIP 
organization provided an overview of the problems facing 
trafficking victims.  Of the more than 60 girls resident at 
the shelter, more than half had lived there for over a year. 
While the shelter provides vocational training in sewing, 
hairdressing, and other tasks, many of the girls struggle 
with basic literacy and numeracy they would need to open 
their own businesses.  Some of the girls had recently 
returned to Siem Reap after attending a program in Colorado 
to work on English-language skills, and they led the tours 
around the shelter.  Mam told the STAFFDEL of her goal to 
train a group of former victims as public speakers, who could 
tell their stories and be representatives of trafficking 
victims world-wide. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The STAFFDEL also visited a USAID-funded 
hospitality school for at-risk youth, which trains young 
people to become restaurant cooks, servers, hotel 
housekeepers, or front desk representatives.  Students of the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000628  003 OF 003 
 
 
school, Sala Bai, are often in high demand by industry 
businesses, since the one-year training program ensures the 
students have the necessary skills to do the work.  Several 
former students were on hand during the school holiday break 
to describe how the opportunity to train for a hospitality 
job meant increased employment options, higher starting 
salaries, and more rapid advancement in their careers. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The STAFFDEL met with representatives of four 
provincial government departments who are members of the Siem 
Reap Provincial Command Unit (PCU), along with three 
permanent staff of the PCU Secretariat.  Where the National 
Task Force brings together high-level representatives from 
all national ministries with a role in anti-trafficking 
policy, the PCU does the same at a provincial level.  All 
provinces in Cambodia have been asked to establish such a 
unit, and two - in Siem Reap and Svay Rieng - have received 
additional training and assistance through a USAID pilot 
program to improve the functioning of the group.  As in Phnom 
Penh, the provincial officials stressed the importance of a 
strong victim protection network and how better protections 
might persuade frightened victims to identify themselves. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) This was the first visit to Cambodia for all three 
staffers.  The variety of meetings during their trip made it 
clear that in this post-conflict society, "it's still early 
days," in terms of being able to address TIP.  The STAFFDEL 
noted how foreign donor interest in HIV/AIDS and TIP has 
yielded a patchwork quality of government that is quite 
progressive in its response to some issues, but deeply 
lacking in others.  They cited as an example the existence of 
the 2008 anti-TIP law, but the lack of a current Penal Code 
that defines crimes.  The staffers each noted that "you 
really have to come here to understand; it's so much easier 
to judge the deficiencies when you haven't been here to 
understand what's missing." 
 
¶14.  (SBU) For their part, the Cambodian interlocutors 
welcomed the STAFFDEL, using the opportunity to emphasize and 
highlight the work being done to combat TIP.  Government 
contacts were relatively forthcoming with the visitors, with 
one MOI contact noting that they "know the anti-TIP law is 
not perfect," but they are working on implementation and hope 
to improve it as a tool over time.  The STAFFDEL seemed quite 
pleased with the apparent good cooperation and the work being 
done by many USG agencies in Cambodia.  The trip was 
successful in promoting a realistic picture of the successes 
and challenges of Cambodia's anti-trafficking efforts; we 
hope in turn that it helps inform a realistic view in 
Washington as well.  END COMMENT 
RODLEY