Cambodia:

What is the human trafficking situation in Cambodia?

Human trafficking in Cambodia is far from a homogenous phenomenon. Trafficking networks in Cambodia range from small-scale ad hoc activities to large-scale and well-organised operations. Cambodia now experiences significant internal and cross-border trafficking, and is a country of origin, transit and destination.

Cambodia's turbulent history has impacted significantly on human trafficking trends. Societal structures and traditions, such as the centrality of the family, the Buddhist religion and respect for elders, have been undermined. While peace has returned, the impact of the violence on society and communities is still visible. Poverty and economic inequality is also a significant
contributing factor to human trafficking in Cambodia. 34% of Cambodians live on less than US$1 per day. Many people still experience periods of hunger, resulting in 45% of children under five being underweight and 13% severely underweight.

Limited opportunity for education and vocational training has created a large pool of unskilled workers seeking employment. The lack of viable employment opportunities in Cambodia and the inadequacy of rural farming options for supporting families have encouraged many Cambodians to seek employment elsewhere, often resulting in irregular and uninformed internal and cross-border migration which renders them vulnerable to traffickers.

As a result of the deaths of approximately 2 million people in Cambodia under Khmer Rouge rule (1975-1979), nearly 50% of the population in contemporary Cambodia is below 20 years old. 150,000 to 175,000 people join the labour force annually and this is expected to increase to over 200,000 by 2010. At present, the job creation rate does not support the increasing labour supply. The urgent need for more legal employment opportunities for Cambodians is a particular concern for the development sector. In Cambodia, where international employment opportunities may be the most viable solution to an increasingly burgeoning labour supply, ensuring the protection of migrant workers recruited into international positions is imperative in preventing human trafficking.

Some other causes commonly cited to explain the emergence and detection of human trafficking in Cambodia include the economic liberalisation and opening up of the country during the arrival of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC); uneven economic development from the influx of foreign currency; corruption; discrimination and gender inequality; increasing scarcity of productive agricultural land; natural disasters; debt pressures; inadequacy of safe and legal avenues for migration; and increased tourism.

Who is being trafficked in Cambodia?

Human trafficking affects men, women and children. It is commonly acknowledged that women and children are more vulnerable to trafficking than other sectors of the population. Whilst this may be the case, trafficking in men is also a serious issue that is quite commonly overlooked in discussions on human trafficking.

Of the officially repatriated cases, almost all victims repatriated from Thailand and Vietnam were children identified as being trafficked into begging or street selling and were from localized areas in key border provinces of Cambodia. The Cambodians repatriated from Malaysia and the Vietnamese repatriated from Cambodia were all women trafficked for the purpose of
commercial sexual exploitation. While men are only newly acknowledged as victims of trafficking in Thailand with the passing of the new Thai human trafficking law, counter-trafficking NGOs report receiving increasing numbers of complaints from Cambodian men trafficked to Thailand to work in the fishing industry over the last few years. Within Cambodia,
trafficking is predominantly women for commercial sexual exploitation and children and women for domestic work.

What is the scale of human trafficking in and from Cambodia?

Human trafficking is an underground crime with a complex definition making it difficult to holistically quantify. No universally accepted estimate of the number of trafficked persons being trafficked into, out of, or within Cambodia exists. Whilst existing numbers do not represent the whole problem of trafficking in and from Cambodia, they do reveal that a significant problem
exists and that effort is needed to address the problem. 1061 victims of human trafficking have been officially repatriated in government-to-government repatriations between 2005-2007 (see breakdown on next page). 179 cases of human trafficking were received from 25 NGOs in an ECPAT survey on trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation between 2005-2006.

SIREN human trafficking data sheet
STRATEGIC INFORMATION RESPONSE NETWORK
United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP)