U.S. launches 4-year anti-human trafficking program in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Thursday launched here a four-year counter human trafficking program to support and coordinate Cambodia's efforts to combat all forms of human trafficking, according to a U.S. Embassy's press release.

The 5.4-million-U.S.- dollar second phase program (2012-2015) will continue efforts in the coordination, prevention, protection, and prosecution, with an expanded focus on addressing labor trafficking and exploitation, it said. The Winrock International NGO will be the program's implementer.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng, also minister of interior, said that the fight against human trafficking was still one of the top priorities for Cambodia.

Mekong Countries Meet To Curb Human Trafficking

Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“Cambodians can be easily trafficked and exploited.”

Nearly 50 representatives from Mekong region countries met in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to find better ways of cooperating to prevent human trafficking.

Plans include more informal cooperation between regional police, formal cooperation on legal structures and improved victims support agencies.

An estimated 20,000 Cambodians are trafficked throughout the region each year. Some are trafficked into the sex trade or are forced into labor on fishing boats.

The pim is an anti-human trafficking cop: IS there anything left to Wonder in the Kingdom?

Brothel protection charge leads to warrant

Thursday, 20 October 2011
Kim Yuthana and Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post

Phnom Penh municipal court has issued an arrest warrant for the deputy chief of the municipal police commissions for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for warning brothel owners of impending raids, officials said yesterday.

Municipal court investigating judge Phou Povsun said that he had issued an arrest warrant for Iem Rattana, who is also the former chief of the municipal anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection police, after he did not appear in court for questioning.

“I decided to issue the arrest warrant because he did not come to explain in court, although the court summoned him three times,” he said.

He added that a brothel owner in the capital who was arrested by anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection police informed the court in June that Iem Rattana and another brothel owner had accepted US$1,200 per month from him in exchange for protection against raids.

Cambodia Rapped for Poor Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Cambodia remains a Tier 2 country, putting it in a category above China, which is on a “watch list,” and Burma, which is a major source of trafficking. Other Tier 2 countries in Asia include Indonesia, Laos and Singapore.

Friday, 01 July 2011

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“Cambodia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. However, it is making significant efforts to do so.”

Cambodia remains both a source and destination for trafficked persons, especially for the sex trade, fishing industry and increasingly labor export to Malaysia, an annual US report says.

“Cambodia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” according to the US State Department, which issued its annual human trafficking report this week. “However, it is making significant efforts to do so.”

The country remains a Tier 2 country, putting it in a category above China, which is on a “watch list,” and Burma, which is a major source of trafficking. Other Tier 2 countries in Asia include Indonesia, Laos and Singapore. “Endemic” corruption remains a major problem to curb trafficking, the report said.

Minister Lashes Out at Wasted Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Sar Kheng: All talk no action?

The US lists Cambodia among those countries that need to do more to combat trafficking—which generally means Cambodians being trafficked abroad.

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“In the past, activity has been conducted at a distance, with no clear goals or strategies and no compromises, which has caused overlaps in work.”

Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Thursday upbraided government agencies and non-government groups for failing to cooperate against human trafficking, saying the lack of a clear strategy was adding to the problem.

Sar Kheng, whose ministry oversees a special anti-trafficking unit, said the lack of cohesion meant a a waste of resources. He spoke at an anti-trafficking workshop in Phnom Penh to about 80 participants from the government and NGOs, including provincial authorities.

“In the past, activity has been conducted at a distance, with no clear goals or strategies and no compromises, which has caused overlaps in work,” he said.

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Cambodia, Malaysia to sign anti-human trafficking MoU

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Malaysia will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for anti-human trafficking cooperation, a Cambodian governmental official said here on Tuesday.

"We are preparing the draft MoU for anti-human trafficking cooperation between the Cambodian an Malaysian governments and it will be inked soon," Ith Rady, secretary of state for the Justice Ministry, said at a seminar on investigation skills against human-trafficking crime.

The issue of human trafficking is one of the primary concerns of the country and the Cambodian government has the goodwill to combat human-trafficking crime in conjunction with other countries, he said.

The criminals have adopted many new ways to transport and exploit the victims and human-trafficking acts have seriously affected the social order and human dignity, he said.

"It is a serious crime and also a border-crossing crime," he added.

Cambodia already inked MoUs for anti-human trafficking cooperation with two regional countries, Vietnam and Thailand.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government established a working group to cope with the crime, which is headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng.

Rockers Placebo play anti-slavery gig at Cambodia's Angkor Wat

'The Click Five' perform at Angkor Wat
Spectators at the first concert ever at Angkor Wat

Monday, December 08, 2008

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AFP) — Had there been a roof, Placebo would have raised it as they headlined the first rock concert in history at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple.

Some 1,200 fans of all ages, mostly Cambodian, watched the London-based alternative rockers top a bill Sunday backed by musicians from Cambodia and across the world in aid of a campaign against human trafficking.

"I cannot believe that in a supposedly civilised world this kind of heinous form of modern slavery still exists, and I truly believe that we can all do something to stop this," frontman Brian Molko told AFP.

"It all starts with caring and compassion."

Organiser MTV Exit -- an anti-trafficking campaign group which operates under the aegis of music channel MTV -- transformed the ancient Khmer ruins into an open-air rock venue with 15 tonnes of lighting and sound equipment flown in from as far away as Singapore.

Three of the five 12th-century minarets were lit against the night sky as graphics showcasing MTV Exit's campaign were projected against a towering fountain of water.

Local hip-hop duo Phou Klaing got the audience to its feet with a set of crowd-pleasers while US band The Click Five were applauded wildly for a rousing performance.

"When you have some kind of influence the best thing you can do is use it for a cause like this," said the band's keyboard player Ben Romans.

But it was Placebo who predictably stole the show with a number of their greatest hits, including "Meds" and "Teenage Angst."

"I'm very happy it's mostly local people in the audience tonight," Molko told AFP shortly before taking to the stage in his trademark androgynous make-up and long black hair.

Placebo had met women from a shelter for victims of trafficking before Sunday's concert, an experience lead singer Brian Molko described as "devastating".

The Click Five are due to visit a similar centre before they play their next campaign gig in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh next week.

The programme offered a mix of rock and pop tunes, with one of the biggest cheers of the night going to Australian singer Kate Miller-Heidke for her operatic cover of Britney Spears' hit "Toxic."

"It's so special, the first time MTV bands play here and I love rock music," said Dalai Cheat, 25, from Siem Reap.

"My favourite singer is Duncan Sheikh because he sings from his heart," said Zo Dara, 20, referring to the multi-Tony award-winning songwriter who took to the stage.

"It's so good to have this in Cambodia," he added.

Smoke swirled around the stage as the show began with traditional Khmer Apsara dancing following a speech by the country's tourism minister, Thong Khon.

"We believe that the concert taking place in this historical tourist location will... send a strong message to the world that Cambodia is not a child sex tourism destination," the minister told the audience.

Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as soft on human trafficking and earlier this year suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns they were being used to traffic poor, uneducated women.

The US State Department refused a visa to Cambodia's late police chief Hok Lundy in 2006 due to allegations he was involved in trafficking prostitutes.

The concert was part of a series of music shows in Cambodia organised by MTV Exit with funding from the US Agency for International Development to raise awareness in young people about human trafficking in the region.

"Let's not forget why we are here -- millions of people are currently living in slavery as a result of being trafficked. This is a grotesque human rights abuse and we must all act to stop it," MTV Exit campaign director Simon Goff told the crowd.

The last international recording artist to perform at Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was tenor Jose Carreras who sang for a charity gala dinner there in 2002.

Rockers Placebo to play anti-slavery gig at Cambodia's Angkor Wat

(Left-right) Musicians Steve Hewitt, Stefan Olsdal and Brian Molko from the band "Placebo" pose for a photo at a music festival in 2007, in California. Placebo are to headline the first rock concert at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex, putting years of catering to their fans' teenage angst behind them to speak out against human trafficking. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Michael Buckner)

Sunday, 23 November 2008
by Claire Truscott
AFP

Alternative guitar band Placebo are to headline the first rock concert at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex, putting years of catering to their fans' teenage angst behind them to speak out against human trafficking.

The December 7 gig, held as part an of an MTV Exit campaign, will transform the 12th century Khmer ruins into a rock venue that will also feature US band The Click Five and a host of other international and Cambodian stars.

Lead singer Brian Molko, best known for his androgynous looks and penchant for black nail polish, told AFP he felt "honoured" to play at the historic jungle temple complex.

"It's just one of the most breathtaking and unique places I have ever spent time in really," the 35-year-old, who visited the ruins as a tourist three years ago, said in a telephone interview from London.

"It's also a very spiritual and quite calming place and so to be able to perform in front of it is just ridiculous."

But taking on the one-off gig at the crumbling ruins has presented some technical difficulties for the London-based three-piece, whose hits include "Nancy Boy" and "Pure Morning".

"We decided that since we don't have access to a massive wall of sound... we have been forced to deconstruct our songs, tear them to pieces and put them back together in novel and unusual ways.

"It's very challenging and very stimulating," he said, describing the end result as "more melody than bombast".

Molko said he hoped the show will attract Cambodians as well as international fans and highlight the problem of this "modern form of slavery".

Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as soft on human trafficking, and earlier this year suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns they were being used to traffic poor, uneducated women.

The US State Department refused a visa to Cambodia's late police chief Hok Lundy in 2006 due to allegations he was involved in trafficking prostitutes.

"There may be people (in the audience) who wish to get more involved in trying to change things. That's all that we can do as a rock band. We are not politicians, we are not heads of police," Molko said.

The concert is part of a series of music shows in Cambodia organised by the anti-trafficking MTV Exit campaign and the US Agency for International Development to raise awareness in young people about human trafficking in the region.

The last international recording artist to perform at Angkor Wat, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was tenor Jose Carreras who sang for a charity gala dinner there in 2002.

Molko said the rock concert, which is Placebo's only outing before their sixth studio album comes out next spring, is part of a change of focus for him after becoming a father three years ago.

"When you have somebody in your life that you care about more than yourself it's a massive shift in perspective in the way that you view the world," Molko said.

"It does make you want to become involved in the planet that we live on. It's the world that you are passing on to your children."