VZCZCXRO3166
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0637/01 2400647
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280647Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1124
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK IMMEDIATE 2767
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000637 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, D, G/TIP 
BANGKOK FOR ADAM ZERBINOPOULOUS PLEASE PASS TO G/TIP 
AMBASSADOR CDEBACA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KTIP KWMN CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA: TIP ACTION PLAN DELIVERED 
 
REF: STATE 87525 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Laying the groundwork for G/TIP Ambassador 
Luis CdeBaca's upcoming visit, Pol/Econ Chief delivered the 
2009 TIP Action Plan for Cambodia to the Ministry of Justice 
(MOJ) and Ministry of Interior (MOI) on August 25 and 26. 
Contacts welcomed the information and shared recent steps 
taken in their respective Ministries to improve 
anti-trafficking policy and enforcement.  Present at the 
meeting with MOI was Lieutenant General Kang Sokhorn, the new 
Deputy Commissioner General of the National Police, who is in 
charge of the police response to trafficking and who reported 
that police had made 100 TIP arrests in the first six months 
of 2009.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Ministry of Justice 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Pol/Econ Chief met Ministry of Justice Secretary of 
State Chan Sotheavy on August 25 to discuss the 2009 TIP 
Action Plan for Cambodia.  Chan stated her understanding of 
the emphasis on obtaining more prosecutions and convictions 
of trafficking offenders.  She described MOJ's concentration 
on obtaining from each province accurate numbers of 
trafficking cases, and how many of those cases resulted in 
convictions.  Chan said the Minister of Justice had advised 
MOJ's criminal department to examine carefully whether the 
number of cases received from police is increasing, and how 
courts are responding to the potentially increased workload. 
She also said that the Minister of Justice is a member of the 
Supreme Council of the Magistracy (SCM), and will pass the 
recommendations in the Action Plan to the SCM.  (NOTE: The 
nine-member Council chaired by the King has administrative 
authority over the courts.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Pol/Econ Chief stressed that it's not enough to 
focus only on statistics, but that decisive action on the 
recommendations will be needed for Cambodia to receive a 
positive interim assessment.  He also told Chan that 
Ambassador CdeBaca will be particularly interested in the 
Minister's role on the SCM, and what the SCM is doing to help 
implement the Action Plan, particularly the first point on 
increasing the number of prosecutions and convictions. 
 
Ministry of Interior 
-------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The following day, Pol/Econ Chief met Ministry of 
Interior Secretary of State Chou Bun Eng and Deputy 
Commissioner General of the National Police Kang Sokhorn. 
Chou has high-level authority for anti-trafficking policy in 
Cambodia, as a direct appointee of Deputy Prime Minister and 
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng (DPM), and as the Chair of the 
Secretariat for the High-Level Working Group to combat 
trafficking.  Chou welcome the Action Plan, stating it was 
very helpful to know exactly what the U.S. goals are for 
Cambodia.  While pressing the USG to clarify further the 
G/TIP criteria as they apply to Cambodia, she noted that it 
was already five months into the reporting period. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Chou acknowledged the Tier 2 Watchlist rating for 
Cambodia, and stated her belief that it was in part due to 
the Government's failure to report accurately on the work 
being done.  She described a joint initiative by the DPM and 
Minister of Justice to review arrest and prosecution reports 
from 19 provinces, and their decision to continue that effort 
after finding several gaps in the reports.  She stated that 
an inter-ministerial working group has been formed to 
synchronize and improve the efforts of the MOI and MOJ in 
working together, and this working group is expected to meet 
again in December 2009 to review the progress of TIP cases 
from arrest, to prosecution, to conviction in each of the 19 
provinces.  (NOTE:  According to MOI, there are five 
provinces that reported no TIP arrests in 2008 or yet in 
2009, which is why the effort does not include all 24 
Cambodian provinces.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Deputy Commissioner General of the National 
Police, Lieutenant General Kang Sokhorn told Pol/Econ Chief 
that the National Police has begun a pilot effort to place a 
Ministry-level police officer from Phnom Penh with the 
provincial (or municipal) police in three high-focus areas: 
Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, and Phnom Penh City.  They expect 
that the presence of an officer from the national level will 
assist those offices in coordinating rescue operations with 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000637  002 OF 002 
 
 
the National Anti-Human Trafficking police, and at the 
Ministry level.  Lt. General Kang added that the Cambodian 
police have made 300 TIP-related arrests in the first six 
months of 2009.  Of those, 100 are considered TIP-exclusive 
arrests - arrests made under the 12 Articles of the 2008 
anti-TIP law that G/TIP acknowledges as TIP.  Of the 100 
arrests, one case has been fully prosecuted, resulting in a 
conviction.  The remaining cases are still in the 
investigation stage at the courts. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Our working level contacts seemed receptive to the 
information in the Action Plan, though they regretted it has 
come so late into the reporting period.  MOI Secretary of 
State Chou was the most realistic is her assessment, stating 
that although a lot of time has already passed, they 
understood the importance of the recommendations and will 
continue to focus strongly on implementation of them.  The 
visit of Ambassador CdeBaca next week will be a perfect 
opportunity to underscore the Action Plan message to 
high-level interlocutors at the MOI, MOJ, and the Ministry of 
Social Affairs. 
RODLEY