Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Cambodia (Ratification: 2006)

Article 3(c) of the Convention. Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee previously noted that a draft law on juvenile justice had been submitted to the Council of Ministers. The Committee notes that, according to the UN Human Rights Council’s national report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 16/21 (A/HRC/WG.6/18/KHM/1, paragraph 91) in 2013, while this law remains in draft form, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Rehabilitation and the National Council for Children have also initiated a new law on child protection and a working group in that respect. Noting the absence of any new information supplied by the Government on this point, the Committee requests it to provide information concerning the finalization of the draft law on juvenile justice and the new law on child protection, as well as to provide information on the functioning of the working group on child protection.

Article 8. International cooperation. Trafficking. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s various cooperation initiatives with Cambodia, China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as the National Task Force (NTF) to implement all agreements and Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) between Cambodia and other countries on the elimination of trafficking in persons and to assist victims of trafficking. The Committee notes the Government’s recent information concerning subregional meetings to develop a joint progressive effort to combat human trafficking and to accelerate the effective actions to counter human trafficking. It also notes, however, the information contained in the report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime entitled Victim Identification Procedures in Cambodia (page 20) concerning international trafficking, which indicates that despite the MoUs between Cambodia and Viet Nam, including within the context of the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT), victim identification abroad remains ad hoc and the Government’s reactive investigatory model does not permit effective cross-border investigations. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to continue to enhance its international cooperation to combat trafficking in children, particularly as regards victim identification and assistance. Noting that the Government has not provided any information on this point, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the action of the NTF and of the Leading Task Force in implementing the regional agreements and MoUs between Cambodia and other countries and on the number of child victims of trafficking it has assisted.

[The Government is asked to supply particulars to the Conference at its 104th Session and to reply in detail to the present comments in 2015.]