Cambodia focus training on Human Trafficking for Media

Phnom Penh, 13 May 2011

By Sok Lak

686 Cambodian suffer from human trafficking in 2010. To stop and resist all images of human trafficking, the Ministry of Information in collaboration with Cambodia Commit Task Force to organize a seminar under the theme of “Understanding Human Trafficking for Media” on 18 May in Phnom Penh.

The seminar aims to give more deep understanding on the definition of human trafficking, images of trafficking, the strategy of tradesman in human trafficking, the cause and effect of human trafficking to trainee who from media organization. 

H.E Thach Pench Secretary General of State for Ministry of Information said that human trafficking both in country and across country are activities to violate human right heavily. In the last two decade, many Cambodian citizens migrated both illegal and legal to find jobs oversea such as Thailand, Malaysia and other countries. “The dragging of trickery tradesman and many factors such as poverty less educated and lack of opportunity led Cambodia people fall down into human trafficking”

He added that the gap between city and rural area is also one factor drag Cambodian people into human trafficking activities especially involve into sexuality services.

According to report of International Labor Organization (ILO) show that 9.4 million people in Asia suffer of human trafficking and US$ 340 billion of income earn from human trafficking.

H.E. En Rady, Under Secretary of State of Ministry of Justice, said that human trafficking is complex problem around the world not only in Cambodia. Human trafficking known as a senior crime and rank number three among weapons trafficking and drug trafficking. “Human trafficking is activity that earns the highest income, so all tradesmen are not easy to abandonee this action. Therefore we need to stop those activities,” he added.

He added that human trafficking is look like a business, which creates from demand and supply. When there is a demand, there will a supply, but the demand is unlimited such as the demand on human body, demand on sexuality, demand on human labor and other demands. In this case, human trafficking happens and happen that never end.

According to data in 2010, there were 160 cases of human trafficking in Cambodia and 686 victims including 88 victims aged under 16, 109 victims aged between 15 to 17 and 489 victims aged above 18.