IOM ask Cambodia to nominate a candidate for Counter-Trafficking Award

IOM ask Cambodia to nominate a candidate for Counter-Trafficking Award

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has asked Cambodia to nominate a candidate for the Counter-Trafficking Award, citing that the Kingdom has taken great initiative among countries to combat human trafficking.

This was disclosed yesterday by Chou Bun Eng, Ministry of Interior secretary of state and vice chairwoman of National Committee for Counter Trafficking, in a meeting held to review their work last year and to set new initiatives for this year.

“The IOM has noticed Cambodia’s efforts to fight against human trafficking and its good achievements. This has led to IOM encouraging us to nominate a candidate for the award,” she told reporters after the meeting.

She said Prime Minister Hun Sen has agreed to nominate a candidate for the award, but as to who and when to submit the name has yet to be determined.

As to the anti-human trafficking work last year, Bun Eng said, the National Committee for Counter-Trafficking and the committees in the provinces and capital had made serious effort to fulfill their duties as planned throughout last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

She called on the working groups in the committee to continue their good work and to put more effort again to meet the objectives and initiatives laid out last year.

Bun Eng said the fight against human trafficking is an ongoing battle with Cambodian migrant workers returning to the Kingdom from Thailand due to the COVID-19 outbreak and many of them rendered jobless.

She added that the uncertainty of economic recovery coupled with the closure of factories and people being jobless is when human traffickers cash on the vulnerability of migrant workers and they become susceptible to human trafficking.

With the support of the international community, including IOM, the Cambodian government has built a comprehensive legal and institutional framework to address trafficking in persons, IOM said. Khmer Times