Govt Deflects, Makes Excuses at Human Trafficking Meeting

[geovalin]

Government officials tried to shift blame, claim ignorance and accuse critics of not understanding the “technical” nature of cases when asked about foreigners being trafficked into online fraud operations in Cambodia. Though officials appeared to acknowledge there are high rates of foreigners being trafficked into Cambodia, they also hit back at reporters reporting stories about the alleged sale of foreigners into online gambling and scam operations. 

 

Chou Bun Eng, the permanent vice-chair of the national counter-trafficking committee, led a press conference on Friday in response to this year’s Trafficking in Persons report from the U.S. state department, which lowered Cambodia’s ranking to the lowest “Tier 3,” citing sex trafficking, labor trafficking and the rise of the online gambling and scam industry. She began the conference by explaining that such organized crime is difficult to track and act on as it is constantly shifting in nature.

 

“What we have seen is that even with what we have done, there have still been loopholes so that it continues to happen,” she said. “As I have explained, the perpetrator is not standing still and they always keep waiting to see any holes that they can go into and do it so that we need to chase them.” She added that the government needs cooperation, and turned to reporters in the room to ask them to share information with officials instead of publishing it. 

 

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