(i) Introduction
Cambodia is becoming an
increasingly popular tourist destination. Foreign tourist arrivals to
Cambodia jumped from 463K in 2001 to almost 1.5 million in 2005.
Despite Birdflu fears in nearby countries, the number of tourists arriving in
Cambodia still remains high. The importance of tourism is reflected
in the income earned and jobs created. The 2005’s earning was 777
million US Dollars and created approximately 180,000 local jobs.
Tourism is one of the six priority areas for The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC).
Along with the benefits of
tourism, there is also the negative side of attracting unwanted social problems
such as drugs, prostitution, and human trafficking. Paedophiles and
sex tourists seek out places with weak law enforcement and weak judicial
systems. The demand of children for sex does not come from only
foreign tourists; domestic tourists also take part in exploiting children.
To date, the number of sexually exploited children remains unclear.
To address the problem of
sexual exploitation of children, World Vision, in partnership with the Ministry
of Interior, UNICEF and other international organizations works to strengthen
the application of existing mechanisms to prosecute offenders and protect
children.
Working towards the country’s
National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS) and the five-year national plan
against trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, the Ministry of Tourism
signed an Agreement with ILO IPEC on the 29th of September 2005, to promote
Child Safe Tourism and prevent trafficking of children and women; it also seeks
to involve many partners in the tourism sector such as government, private
business, members of the work force, and communities. Other
governmental entities who will also take part in the initiative includes:
The Ministry of Labour Vocational Training, The Ministry of Social Affairs
Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation, The Ministry of Womens Affairs, and the
Ministry of Interior.
Some of the activities that the
group will carry out include capacity building of the entities working in the
tourism sector, raising awareness through public campaigns and TV programs, and
social services for victims and individuals vulnerable to trafficking.
In an effort to generate more jobs, the RGC is promoting the production
and the use of local products.
Progress
Some of the progress made to
date includes hotlines set up in key cities such as Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville,
and Siem Reap. Through the inter-governmental agencies, the Ministry
of tourism conducted the Launching Action Program on Promoting Child Safe
Tourism Polices to Prevent Trafficking in Children and Young Women for Labour
and Sexual Exploitation in Cambodia on 22 September 2005.
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There have been 11 Child Safe
Tourism Commissions set up at the Municipal and Provincial Tourism Office:
Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kraties, Prey Veng, Kampong Cham, Oddar Meanchey, Svay
Rieng, Sihanouk Ville, and Banteay Meanchey, Takeo, Ratanakkiri.
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There were 545 TOT Manuals
printed. About 10,150 Safe tourism booklets handed out
to the tourism industry. There were 9,500 safe tourism booklets
printed and distributed. There were 6 TOT Trainings completed with
360 participants.
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Awareness raising activities
of SECT at community level in which 2,492 children of whom 1,380 are girls,
145 parents, 99 local authorities, 5 teachers, and 44 child peer groups.
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The MoT has developed its 5
Year Plan of Action that includes child safe tourism that can also address
income generations from 2006 to 2010.
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The CST Commission of the MoT
has learned to take initiative to prevent children from being trafficked.
They had set up various Memorandums of Understandings with other
organizations to fight against sex tourism at regional, national, provincial,
and community levels.
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The MoT has set up the TOT
Team within their tourism departments to train on prevention of Sexual
Exploitation of Children. Some of those trained have also linked
with other program such Seila Program of UNDP and AIDS Program of the RGC in
providing the training sessions to target people in communities.
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The MoT had conducted the
consultative workshop on the Development of Strategic Plan, Operational
Guidelines and Training Manual in Promoting Child Safe Tourism Policies to
Prevent Trafficking in Children and Young Women for Labour and Sexual
Exploitation in Cambodia on 10-11 January 2006. The Action Plan,
Operational Guidelines and Training manual to be used in the three pilot areas
(Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanouk Ville) are finalized.
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The Prevention of Child Sex
Tourism is integrated into the new 5 Year Plan of Action 2005-2009.
(ii) Key
Issues
Though it appears that many
issues have been addressed with respect to combating sexual exploitation of
children in the tourism industry, Cambodia is far from being a safe place for
children. There is still a belief that cracking down on those who
sexually exploit children will hurt the tourism industry. For
instance, operations such as hotels, guesthouses and Karaoke bars are still not
respecting the regulations set forward by the MoT. The owners do not
take the training session seriously and often send middle management
representatives with little implementation power to workshops.
The gap between the rich and
poor is still widening as children, trapped in poverty and sometimes violent
family life, drop out of school and live on the streets where they easily fall
prey to substance abuse, child labour, and sexual abuse. Sometimes
they are even sold into sex slavery where they have to work and pay off an
exorbitant sum of money to their merciless “owners”.
(iii) Recommendations
Recommendations to the
Royal Government of Cambodia:
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That the RGC undertakes a campaign of education
for its people in de-linking the connection between income generation and the
use of children. In a poor country where children are often used as
economic goods, there is a strong need for government to take the lead in
valuing children as the future population of the country, not to be sold and
bought.
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That the MoT continues to work with the Child
Safe Tourism Project and ECPAT (Child wise Australia) to develop the capacity
to monitor how it can effectively fulfil its role.
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Political will is needed to
ensure that new regulations to protect children can be implemented.
For this reason a planned process of rolling out new frameworks are needed
with targets set for monitoring.
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Given the economic benefits
that flow from the tourism industry, it is recommended that a proportion of
the revenue generated be reinvested in training and ensuring child protection
standards agreed to by the RGC are enforced by the tourism sector.
This process needs greater practical leadership from the MoT and the Ministry
of Interior to ensure that the RGC, not only NGOs, represents children on this
issue. This may take the form of budget provision, setting targets,
and agreements with key bodies in the private sector and holding the industry
and individuals accountable.
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That the provincial Child
Safe Tourism commissions be technically and financially resourced to fulfil
their function.
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That licensing conditions for
tourism businesses to protect children from being used in prostitution be
monitored and enforced by the MoT.
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That the RGC makes a
financial commitment to the protection of children and follows the of the
Asean Tourism code.
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The MoT works with the
tourism industry to set up a monitoring team on the implementation of industry
codes through private tourism business sector.
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Adopt and Strengthen
national legislation against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism,
including extra-territorial laws and regulations allowing the prosecution of
nationals for child sex offences committed abroad and to ensure strict
enforcement of these laws.
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Conclude bilateral agreements
to facilitate extradition, mutual assistance or any other form of
international cooperation in the field of prosecution of persons engaged in
trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.
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Designate focal points within
the national tourism administration to work with other related government
departments and national commissions to prevent the sexual exploitation of
children. Implement practical measures to assist with the
protection of children, such as setting up telephone hotlines.
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Launch national
awareness-raising campaigns against the sexual exploitation of children in
tourism, in coordination and cooperation with the tourism industry and
concerned local NGOs. Support these campaigns with training
programmes for tourism personnel.
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Include provisions on the
prevention of sexual exploitation of children in the National Tourism’s Master
Plan.
Recommendations for Donors:
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Ensure that funding to
support tourism infrastructure development such as airports also makes
provision to counter negative social consequences, which may affect children.
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Hold the RGC accountable for
its management of the tourism sector in Cambodia in the interests of
protecting the future of the country, the children by implementing the
Conversion on the Rights of the Child.
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Hold the RGC accountable for
its fiscal management of revenue generated from tourism so that it can
reinvest back into a child safe tourism environment by improving the quality
of law enforcement.
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Continue to work with the RGC
and the NGOs to reduce poverty and violence in Cambodia so that children will
not be driven by circumstances at home to live on the streets and fall prey to
sexual exploitation from tourists, domestic or foreign.
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Ensure that monitoring the
negative social consequence of infrastructure or Structural Adjustment
programs is built in to funding agreements.
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Ensure NGOs or civil society
groups are supported to research and monitor emerging issues.
Recommendations for NGOs:
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NGOS working to provide
training options for Cambodians entering the tourism labor market need to
include components of child safe or child wise tourism training materials.
They need to support the child safe messages as they prepare others.
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NGOs working to promote child
protection need to use the 24-hour police hotline to report any cases they
suspect tourists or tour facilities sexually abusing children.
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Continue working towards
poverty reduction, gender equality and reduction of violence in the homes and
society.
For more information on the issues raised in
this paper, please contact:
Nuon Rithyniron, Project Manager, Child Safe
Tourism Project, World Vision.
Email:
rithyniron_nuon@wvi.org, Tel: 855-23-216052
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