Giving Protection to Those in Need

By William E. Todd, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

This week, reports about new arrivals and also some removals of Montagnards seeking asylum in Cambodia have caused concern worldwide regarding the need for fair treatment of asylum seekers.  This is why I encourage the Cambodian authorities to have an organized system in place to account for asylum seekers as they arrive.  This is important not just to the people requesting asylum but also to Cambodia's international image.  The situation of the Montagnards is likely to bring increased media attention, particularly with respect to Cambodia's obligations under the UN Convention.  The important point is that the Cambodian government has an opportunity to demonstrate its adherence to national and international obligations to register and give a fair hearing to asylum claims.  With a continued effort to protect asylum seekers and guarantee uniform application of the law, the Royal Government can show its people and the world that it is committed to the protection of human rights.

If you are a frequent visitor of the U.S. Embassy Facebook page or a reader of my weekly column, I am sure that you are familiar with the strong commitment that the United States has towards the protection of human rights globally. For example, there was a recent post on the U.S. Embassy Facebook page about USAID’s Counter Trafficking in Person (CTIP) program helping to repatriate 40 Cambodians from Vietnam. The returnees, many of whom were children, are now being interviewed to confirm whether they were victims of human trafficking. In the comments section of the post, some people suggested that all of these returnees were simply beggars that would voluntarily return to Vietnam illegally, and that programs like CTIP are a waste of money. I was disheartened to read such comments, but doing so helped me decide that human trafficking would be this week’s column topic.

I have discussed the need to end human trafficking in previous columns, but I continue to receive a number of questions and comments about this issue. Human trafficking is still a serious problem in Cambodia, and fighting it continues to be one of our Embassy’s top priorities. It is also important to clarify two distinct types of trafficking: trafficking related to forced labor and trafficking related to sexual exploitation. Through a variety of programs, we continue to encourage the four P’s – prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership – as a highly effective means of combating all forms of trafficking in persons.

As many as 27 million men, women, and children are essentially enslaved in sex or labor exploitation worldwide.  Observers report that while Cambodians are trafficked for sexual exploitation, a majority of Cambodian trafficking victims are in fact trafficked for labor purposes in the various sectors, such as fishing, construction, and agriculture.  For example, the US government has supported IOM over the last few years to return hundreds of Cambodian fishermen who have been trafficked to fishing vessels abroad and I applaud the Cambodian government’s efforts to help repatriate them and return home. 

So, this brings me to the question – what is causing human trafficking?  The simple answer is demand – the demand for cheap labor and services.  Victims of trafficking do not willingly choose to become victims of trafficking. Instead, they fall prey to unscrupulous traffickers because they live in relative poverty with poor economic prospects for the future, which contributes to their vulnerability.  As such, as an international community, part of the efforts to tackle human trafficking should also focus on the demand side. For example, we need to ensure supply chains for companies are slave free, and that working conditions meet fair labor standards. This includes looking at how Cambodians are recruited for work. Too often, the low skilled Cambodian migrant workers have to pay extortionate recruitment fees –but ask yourself, when was the last time you had to pay for your job? Why should Cambodians migrant workers pay for their job? We need to change the way in which migrant workers are recruited.   

Cambodians are being trafficked primarily within the region; however, the Cambodian government and civil society organizations report that an increasing number of Cambodians, especially men, are now trafficked to a larger geographic area. Trafficking is also taking place within Cambodia’s borders, most frequently from rural areas to Phnom Penh and other population centers. We have learned about these circumstances by listening carefully to people working closely with trafficking victims. Their stories have provided insight into how to prevent human trafficking and how to best support the victims, giving them support so they can rebuild their lives.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has openly acknowledged that trafficking remains a serious problem in Cambodia. There have also been signs of bipartisan collaboration, with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong and opposition leader Sam Rainsy meeting about the recent cases of young women and girls from Cambodia’s Cham Muslim population trafficked to Malaysia. The Cambodian government has realized the value of partnering with civil society to adequately combat trafficking in persons. For example, the NGO Winrock International has worked closely with the Cambodian government, the U.S. Embassy, and other development partners over the past year to help make the new National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking a reality. And while it is clear that Cambodia has taken some positive steps in the fight against trafficking in persons, significant challenges remain and more concerted action is needed. The fact is that human trafficking is a complicated challenge to solve, with a number of underlying and interconnected concerns relating to the problem.

When evaluating efforts to combat human trafficking, the rate of convictions is a key measure. An increase in reported arrests and prosecutions is heartening, but these must be seen through to conviction and real punishment. There is always room for improvement in this regard. One area where there has been some progress is in the sexual exploitation of children. Although it may not always involve human trafficking, such exploitation of children is an interrelated issue. Cambodia is now seen as increasingly unfriendly to cyber-pedophiles and others who would seek to exploit and abuse Cambodian children. However, the bulk of the problem remains domestic and with foreigners from countries that don’t prioritize prosecuting pedophiles or protecting children. This leads to offenders not being adequately punished for their crimes.

According to a recent report by the NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), only 32 of 115 convicted foreign sex offenders were deported after their imprisonment. Furthermore, as traffickers have become more sophisticated, investigations and evidence collection have become significantly more difficult. As recommended in the 2014 Trafficking in Persons report, anti-trafficking police must have undercover investigative authority (UIA) in order to arrest and convict those involved with human trafficking and the exploitation of children. If harsher penalties are not given out and the fear of punishment is diminished, Cambodia will regress in its efforts to combat trafficking.

As migration increases – and it appears likely to grow with ASEAN integration – the risk that trafficking in persons will claim more victims also grows. Hoping to earn a better living and send money to support their families, many Cambodians are often exploited by traffickers with false promises of a better life that will come with a well-paying job in another country. Some of these victims have been provided with assistance, and Cambodia’s diplomatic missions abroad collaborated more effectively than in previous years with NGOs in repatriation efforts.  Cambodia’s diplomatic missions are making some efforts, but there is a need for standard operating procedures to reduce the prevalence of migration leading to human trafficking. Ad hoc responses for individual cases will not suffice.

Despite the growth that the country’s economy has experienced in recent years, many Cambodians are still not receiving the benefits of economic development. To help fight human trafficking, more education and economic opportunity needs to be provided for young Cambodian men and women. This will result in more jobs for people in Cambodia and a better educated workforce that will choose to stay home. This is particularly significant with the upcoming ASEAN integration, which could potentially lead to the migration of all stratifications of Cambodia’s labor force. Those with education will be less likely to be trafficked, but may still be more inclined to migrate if they can earn better wages elsewhere. In my talks with members of civil society and the business community, I have learned that most Cambodians seeking work overseas would actually prefer to stay at home and would even accept lower paying jobs, if such employment opportunities were made available to them. By investing more in education and creating jobs, we help empower these individuals while reducing the threat of trafficking in persons.

Referring back to the Facebook comments that I mentioned at the beginning of my column, it is clear that more education and outreach is necessary to inform people about trafficking in persons in Cambodia. The Cambodian government has conducted anti-trafficking campaigns targeting the general public, collaborating with donors and civil society groups to disseminate information regarding the TIP Law, child labor, safe migration, and strategies to combat human trafficking.  However, more needs to be done to ensure that not only behaviors begin to change, but attitudes and beliefs as well. Instead of seeing them as beggars, we should realize that victims of trafficking, as well as those that are potential victims, in fact represent Cambodia’s most valuable asset – its people.

It will take a concerted effort from all levels of society to reach our ultimate goal of eradicating human trafficking. I urge all Cambodians to get involved with this effort; no matter how small, any action that you take is better than inaction. I sincerely believe that by working together, we can eliminate human trafficking in Cambodia.

Thank you for reading my column this week. Please continue sending me your questions to AskAmbToddPP@state.gov and you can also follow my blog at http://blogs.usembassy.gov/todd.

William E. Todd, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia.