Interior, Labour ministries call for cooperation in the fight against human trafficking

The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training issued a joint press statement calling on all relevant ministries and institutions to cooperate in the fight against human trafficking and to effectively implement foreign labour inspection work.

In a press statement dated October 21, the two ministries said that they had put in place inter-ministry prakas on the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to work on foreign labour inspection.

It said that along with this prakas, the authorities from both ministries had carried out operations against all forms of human trafficking and illegal gambling based on measures in the law on labour, law on immigration, and relevant legal provisions.

“To allow this inter-ministerial committee to successfully enforce this action, the interior ministry and labour ministry appeal to all relevant ministries and institutions, national and sub-national administrations, authorities, factories and enterprises, and all business which hire foreigners to support and participate with the committee to ensure legal enforcement in order to achieve a good result,” the statement said.

Cambodia has been actively combating human trafficking and illegal gambling as of late with both activities largely concentrated in Preah Sihanouk province.

Interior minister Sar Kheng led a meeting on October 21 to discuss the issue of foreign labour. He said in the first 10 months of 2022, police had inspected the accommodations of 30,834 foreign workers and had fined 2,416 foreigners for having no work permits.

Early this month, five business locations in Preah Sihanouk province were permanently shut down for suspected links to human trafficking, while another four were told to temporarily halt their operations while investigations continue.