[BACK]   [HOME PAGE]

Tourism

   (i)            Introduction

Cambodia is rapidly becoming a favorite destination for foreign tourists with numbers jumping from 463,000 in 2001 to 790,000 in 2002. It also has a growing reputation as a new destination for pedophiles and sex tourists taking advantage of weak law enforcement machinery[1]. While the Cambodian government has a 5-year plan to combat the sexual exploitation of children it has asked for support through international aid efforts to assist in achieving this task.[2] This task is further complicated by the spread of information and images internationally promoting the availability of children. Child prostitutes pictured alone or with significantly older men have featured in international print and television media. Internet sites provide details of where to go how much to pay and testimonies from past customers. Some cases have involved child involvement in video or photographic pornography[3]. This information attracts more men traveling to Cambodia intent on pursuing children for sex. Those who profit from supply will meet demand locally. There is also demand for children from domestic tourists. World Vision currently works in partnership with the Ministry of Interior, UNICEF and other international organizations to strengthen the application of existing legal mechanisms to prosecute offenders and protect children[4]. The challenge for those who oppose the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) is to influence different stakeholders in the tourist sector and community to develop its potential responsibly in the interests of all Cambodians. This includes reporting crimes against children and ensuring that those who work in the tourist sector can recognize and respond to exploitative activity.

Tourism is one of the four main economic planks identified by government to promote the counties future development. Tourism numbers have increased significantly in recent years as have the range of tourism services in the private sector.  In 2000, World Vision together with the Ministry of Tourism and the Cambodian National Council for Children researched the problem of child sex tourism and recommended a variety of action to combat this growing problem[5]. The British Government supported the establishment of a 2-year project to work with the ministry of tourism to build capacity. This project has been successful in mobilizing government response to this type of sexual exploitation. Outcomes from the first 2 years have been the development of informational tools to promote awareness of child protection concerns in the tourism sector, children and communities where tourism is a major economic activity. An official training curriculum used in workshops with over 700 tourism officials. The establishment of Child Safe Tourism monitoring structures at both national and provincial levels. Partnership with Local NGOs support child participation in advocating for change in the three tourism targeted locations. Community workshops have promoted awareness of this issue and reporting mechanisms among children local leaders. This has led to increased police action and prosecution of offenders in the three targeted locations. Some offenders have been caught with large quantities of child pornographic material[6]. While these gains are significant the problem continues with greater tourist numbers, exchange of information and images via the Internet and crackdowns in countries such as Thailand on child sex offenders. 

Progress

In 2000–03 progress in this area has included the Tourism Law (Royal decree 0196-15) being strengthened through sub decree No 26 (May 2000) on the amendment of duties of departments of International Cooperation and ASEAN in the Ministry of Tourism.

·         There have been nine Child Safe Tourism Commission set up at the Municipal and Provincial Tourism Office: Phnom Penh, Siemreap, Kraties, Prey Veng, Kampong Cham, Oddar Meanchey, Svay Rieng, Sihanouk Ville, and Banteay Meanchey. 

·         CST Commission of the Ministry of Tourism has finished seven training sessions for tourism staff, guides, private tourism business sectors, children, and to educate teacher and local authority in tourism communities. There have been 350 trainees (F: 200 and M:150).

·         Nine sessions for child training courses. There are 560 children (M: 210 F:350), Child labor 13 ( M:3 F:10). There is a total of 573ps (M:213 and F:360ps). There are 48 teachers (F:33 and M:15) and 55 local authorities (M:55) from tourism communities.

·         There are 10,000 copies of small tri-language stickers warning of sex tourism printed outs.

     (ii)        Key Issues

Foreign exchange earnings from Tourism were estimated in 2002 to be US$576 million. Employment opportunities were created for more than 100,000 people. Its growth forecast of 30 percent predicts that by 2010 direct earnings from tourism will be US$1,529 million dollars. Capital investment in infrastructure from 1998 to 2000 is estimated to be over US$362 million dollars. Investment by government on training monitoring and ensuring child safe standards are in place needs to be a priority for the Cambodian Government. Failure to act will see Cambodia cement its place as a preferred destination for child sex offenders and cast doubt over statements by senior political figures that child sex tourism has no place in Cambodia’s drive for sustained cultural and natural tourism.

Chapter 3 of the Tourism Law details what types of business are included under their regulations, details of license conditions tourism operators and details of enforcement. Article 14.5 states that if inspections by Ministry of Tourism Officials find that there have been violations of a criminal law for example child prostitution they are to immediately report to police. Article 15 states that cancellation, suspension of licenses and closure of businesses are actions the ministry can take. While the Government is to be commended for this operating framework further work is needed on its implementation. 

Sokha was sold to a foreigner at aged 13 to assist her family pay for medical treatment. From there she was involved in prostitution in tourist areas for 2 years until she became sick and clients would not take her. She was thrown out on the street. World Vision worked with her for over a year while she battled HIV. She died aged 16 weighing less than 20kg.

  (iii)          Recommendations

Recommendations for Government:

·         That the Ministry of Tourism works with World Visions Child Safe Tourism Project and ECPAT (Child wise Australia) to develop the capacity of monitors to effectively fulfill their role.

·         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 monitors.

·         Given the economic benefits that flow from the tourism industry it is recommended that a proportion of the revenue generated needs to be reinvested in training and ensuring child protection standards agreed are enforced by the tourism sector. This process needs greater practical leadership from the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Interior to ensure that the Government 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.

·         That the provincial Child Safe Tourism commissions be resourced to fulfill their function.

·         That licensing conditions for tourism business to protect children from being used in prostitution be monitoring and enforced.

·         That it make a financial commitment to the protection of children to follow its endorsement of the Asean Tourism code.

·         The Ministry of Tourism Industry set up a monitoring team on the implementation of industry codes through private tourism business sector;

·         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;

·         Conclude bilateral agreements to facilitate extradition, mutual assistance or any other form of inter-State cooperation in the field of prosecution of persons engaged in trafficking in and sexual exploitation of children;

·         Designate focal points within their national tourism administrations, who will work with other related government departments and national commission to prevent the sexual exploitation of children; and implement practical measures to assist with the protection of children, such as setting up telephone hotlines;

·         Launch national awareness-raising campaigns against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism, in coordination and co-operation with the tourism industry and concerned local NGOs; and support these campaigns with training programs for tourism personnel; and

·         Include provisions on the prevention of sexual exploitation of children in tourism in National Tourism Master Plan.

Recommendations for Donors:

·         To ensure that funding to support tourism infrastructure development such as airports also makes provision to counter negative social consequences, which may affect children such as sex tourists.

·         To hold the government accountable for its management of the tourism sector in Cambodia in the interests of honoring commitment to children through the Conversion on the Rights of the Child and Global Millennium Goals.

·         To hold the Royal Government accountable for its fiscal management of revenue generated from tourism to reinvest in quality improvement. Of primary importance is to reduce opportunities for children to be harmed due to tourism related activity. Children are not commodities and a lack of response from the government or donors to situations where they are being used as such is negligence.

·         Ensure that monitoring the negative social consequence of infrastructure or Structural  Adjustment programs is built in to funding agreements.

·         Ensure NGOs or civil society groups are supported to research and monitor emerging issues.

Recommendations for NGOs:

·         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.

·         NGOs working to promote child protection need to use the 24-hour police hotline (Tel: 023 720 555) to report any cases where they suspect tourists or tour facilities are sexually abusing children. 

[Top]    [BACK]   [HOME PAGE]


[1]Bertil Lintner, Dangerous Liaisons, The Far Eastern Economic Review, March 2003

[2] Five year Plan to Combat Sexual Exploitation of Children, Cambodian National Children’s Council 1999.

[3] Children’s Work Adults play, Child sex Tourism the problem in Cambodia, World Vision, Ministry of Tourism 2000

[4] Law Enforcement Against Sexual Exploitation of Children Project is viewed internationally as a model of effective cooperation between NGO and Government. It has been featured in regional and international forums to address CSEC.

[5] Ibid

[6] French man Pierre Guynot case Kampong Som 2000, as reported in the Phnom Penh Post June 8 2001.

_____________________________________________________________

For more information and the issues raised in this paper, please contact

Laurence Gray, World Vision, Tel: 855 (0)23 216052, Email: laurence_gray@wvi.org