Human trafficking in Cambodia

In 2006, Cambodia was a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. The traffickers were reportedly organized crime syndicates, parents, relatives, friends, intimate partners, and neighbors.[1]

Cambodia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in July 2007.[2]

Despite human trafficking being a crime in Cambodia,[3] the country has a significant child sex tourism problem;[3][4][5][6] some children are sold by their parents, while others are lured by what they think are legitimate job offers like waitressing, but then are forced into prostitution. Children are often held captive, beaten, and starved to force them into prostitution. Fraud factories have also proliferated in Cambodia during the 2020s.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report downgraded Cambodia to "Tier 3" due to the Cambodian government's failure to meet the minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking and insufficient effort to address human trafficking.[7] Cambodia had previously hovered between Tier 2 and the Tier 2 watch lists.[1][8] The country remained at Tier 3 in 2023.[9]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 8.5 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting a sharp increase in numbers after Covid.[10]

  1. ^ a b "Cambodia 2005". HumanTrafficking.org. 2005-05-06. Archived from the original on 2006-04-20. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  2. ^ United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  3. ^ a b "Children for sale". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  4. ^ Gittings, John (2000-11-16). "The tragic tale of the Cambodian child prostitutes". Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  5. ^ Harding, Andrew (2005-06-11). "Trapping Cambodia's sex tourists". BBC. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  6. ^ "Cambodia gets tough on child sex trade". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  7. ^ "2022 Trafficking in Persons Report". US Department of State. July 2022.
  8. ^ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  9. ^ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  10. ^ Organised Crime Index website, Cambodia: 2023