Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Anti-trafficking status static

Anti-trafficking status static

Repatriated fishermen depart the Phnom Penh International Airport early last month after being rescued from slave-like conditions in Indonesia.
Repatriated fishermen depart the Phnom Penh International Airport early last month after being rescued from slave-like conditions in Indonesia. Vireak Mai

Anti-trafficking status static

For the third straight year in a row, Cambodia has found itself on the Tier 2 Watch List of the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, a ranking reflective of a seeming inability to fully implement the country’s own anti-trafficking plan.

A Tier 2 ranking indicates a country does not meet the minimum standards of the US’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act, but is making “significant efforts” to do so.

Being placed on the “Watch List”, however, indicates a lack of evidence of “increasing efforts” to fight against severe trafficking, including increased protections for victims and prosecutions for perpetrators and complicit authorities.

Tier 3 countries – such as Thailand, a common destination for trafficked Cambodian labourers – are identified as neither adhering to minimum standards, nor making significant efforts to do so.

“Cambodia was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is devoting sufficient resources to implement that plan,” the report states.

The report notes some strides made by Cambodia in certain areas, such as “modest progress in prosecutions and convictions”.

Though the government didn’t provide data on its enforcement measures, the report says, information gathered from various sources shows that 29 traffickers were convicted in 2014, up from 18 in 2013.

The report also points to a promising decline in child prostitution, but also notes that “the Svay Pak area outside Phnom Penh, once known as an epicenter of Cambodia’s child sex trade, is now sometimes a transit point for sex trafficking victims from Vietnam”.

Despite an increase in the prevalence of male trafficking victims, the report goes on to say “the government did not make progress in providing protection” to them.

The State Department also faulted the government for, among other things, its slowness in allowing the practice of undercover sex-trafficking investigations, its “weak and corrupt legal system”, and a lack of diplomatic assistance for victims abroad – long a criticism highlighted by rights groups.

However, government spokes-man Phay Siphan yesterday contested the assertion that Cambodian embassies were poorly equipped to repatriate trafficking victims.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very active on that issue,” he said, referring to the dozens of women repatriated from China, where they had been lured into abusive marriages.

“The embassy has an open door and open telephone lines.”

Siphan went on to say that the government was committed to fighting the factors that make emigration attractive and open up would-be migrants to exploitation.

“We do take action. One, through education; second, through improving lives . . . increasing salaries . . . giving a chance for better work opportunities.”

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm