Amnesty International

Manet

Hun

Cambodia government

Dear Prime Minister Hun Manet and Minister of Interior Sar Sokha,

I am writing to express my grave concern for the victims and survivors of scamming compounds inside Cambodia. According to Amnesty’s new report, serious doubt on the effectiveness of the latest government crackdown and raises concerns about the further harm it may have caused to survivors. Based on 73 testimonials from survivors, people continue to be subjected to forced labour, torture and sexual violence. When survivors do leave scamming compounds, either by escaping or government intervention, they are left without any support, including to return to their home countries if they wish. The survivors are nationals of Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Uganda and Venezuela, and even more.

It is distressing to learn that Cambodia’s crackdown has failed in key areas, both in investigating and shuttering some of the most well-known compounds across the country and in protecting and assisting the victims who escaped or were removed from compounds. Not one of the 73 survivors interviewed by Amnesty International was identified by the Cambodian authorities as a victim of human trafficking, despite Amnesty determining they all meet the internationally agreed legal definition of the term. Instead of  applying a presumption of victim status, authorities appear to have prioritized charging visa-overstay fees rather than proper victim identification processes, with some forced to take loans to pay their way out of Cambodia. I believe these testimonies show the patterns and bigger issues that many more survivors are facing.

Moreover, probable collusion between compound managers and local authorities appeared to have significantly undermined the effectiveness of police interventions. Survivors described how managers coordinated moves to evade crackdowns, such as by transferring victims at night to other compounds, likely with prewarning from police. Interventions where police actively undermine the goal of the intervention cannot be considered effective interventions.

I therefore call on you to:

Prioritise the support and protection of victims of human trafficking, including by ensuring the screening process for identifying human trafficking victims, providing funding to shelters and assisting victims to stay in hotels or other safe locations until immigration processes can occur. The state should also consider opening shelters, not immigration detention facilities, for this specific purpose;

Uphold the non-punishment principle by refraining from arresting, detaining or prosecuting identified or presumed victims of human trafficking for immigration or alleged criminal offences that may have been carried out as a direct consequence of their human trafficking.

Urgently conduct a thorough and effective investigation into each of the scamming compounds identified by Amnesty International and bring perpetrators to justice.

Yours sincerely,

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Sokha