Cambodia Hotel

The United States strongly condemns the December 8 attack in Phnom Penh on the non-governmental organization, Agir pour les Femmes En Situation Précaire--Acting for Women in Distressing Situations (AFESIP). This NGO, which receives U.S. and international assistance, provides shelter and support to trafficking victims in Cambodia. Armed assailants abducted all but one of the 91 women and children under AFESIP’s care. Just one day earlier, Cambodia’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department under General Un Sokunthea had rescued 84 of them from a hotel notorious as a brothel for sex trafficking of children. We are deeply troubled that eight of the hotel’s operators who had been arrested on December 7 were subsequently released and reportedly participated in the attack on AFESIP. ... [Read More]

Cambodia

Most workers were subsistence rice farmers, and although there was an expanding service sector, most urban workers were engaged in small-scale commerce, self-employed skilled labor, or unskilled day labor. Unions also suffered from a lack of resources, training, and experience. Only a small fraction (estimated at less than 1 percent) of the labor force was unionized, and the trade union movement was still nascent and very weak. Unions were concentrated in the garment and footwear industries, where approximately 25 to 30 percent of the more than 200,000 workers were union members. In September, nine tourism and service industry unions joined to form the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers Federation, which represented over 3,500 hotel, casino, and airport workers. The one public-sector union operating in the country, the Cambodia Independent Teachers Association (CITA), was registered as an "association." Local and provincial authorities acting on the Government's orders banned most o ... [Read More]

Press Releases-Speeches-Remarks

Press Releases / Speeches / Remarks (Posted ... [Read More]

Cambodia

In December, the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police raided a notorious Phnom Penh hotel, detaining 8 suspected traffickers and placing 83 women and girls from the hotel under NGO care. A day after the raid the suspects were released by police, and a mob of family members and other unidentified persons removed or caused to be released 91 women and girls from the NGO shelter, including the 83 women and girls taken from the hotel. The Government subsequently failed to protect the women and girls during the process of an investigation that was still pending at year's end. It has not yet been determined how many of these women and girls were trafficking victims. ... [Read More]

Investment Climate Statement

Dispute Settlement Cambodia's legal system is a mosaic of pre-1975 statutes modelled on French law, communist-era legislation dating from 1979-1991, statutes put in place by the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) during the period 1991-93, and legislation passed by the Royal Government of Cambodia since 1993.  The legal system contains many gaps in key areas such as company law, bankruptcy and commercial arbitration. [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: U.S. Condemns Attack Against Anti-Trafficking NGO in Cambodia

In a statement released December 9, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli reported that 84 women and children, who had previously been rescued from a hotel used as a brothel for sex trafficking of children, and six others were kidnapped from the AFESIP shelter. He also said the United States was "deeply troubled" that eight of the hotel's operators who had been arrested on December 7 were subsequently released and reportedly participated in the attack on AFESIP. ...

The United States strongly condemns the December 8 attack in Phnom Penh on the non-governmental organization, Agir pour les Femmes En Situation Précaire--Acting for Women in Distressing Situations (AFESIP). This NGO, which receives U.S. and international assistance, provides shelter and support to trafficking victims in Cambodia. Armed assailants abducted all but one of the 91 women and children under AFESIP's care. Just one day earlier, Cambodia's Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department under General Un Sokunthea had rescued 84 of them from a hotel notorious as a brothel for sex trafficking of children. We are deeply troubled that eight of the hotel's operators who had been arrested on December 7 were subsequently released and reportedly participated in the attack on AFESIP. ... [Read More]

Report to the Congress on the Anti-Thai Riots in Cambodia on January 29, 2003

Cambodian demonstrators broke into and burned the Thai Embassy on January 29, 2003, then moved on to methodically attack other Thai businesses, including the Samart and Shinowatra telecommunications firms. The demonstrators also burned down the Royal Phnom Penh Hotel and vandalized the Juliana Hotel. Damage to the embassy and Thai businesses has been estimated at about USD 50 million, although business claims for compensation are subject to negotiation with the Cambodian government. No Cambodian businesses were attacked and no Thai citizens were seriously injured, although many were threatened. ... [Read More]