Children in Cambodia are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, and in forced labor in brickmaking. (1-3) Table 1 provides key indicators on children's work and education in Cambodia.

Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2019, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021. (4)
Source for all other data: International Labor Organization's analysis of statistics from Socio-Economic Survey (CSES), 2017. (5)

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children's work by sector and activity.

† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

In Cambodian brick factories, some children engage in forced labor, sometimes in dangerous conditions, to offset family debt to employers. (3,9-11,24,28,30,32) The rapid growth in the construction industry, particularly in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, has increased the demand for bricks and fueled child labor and debt bondage. (3,10,30,33) Failed harvests from droughts have compounded farmers' debts, which they sell to brick kiln owners, thus placing their families into hereditary debt bondage until the debts are repaid. (3,10,11,30,32,33,34,35) During the reporting period, the government released data from the 2019 census of all 486 operational kilns in the country, claiming to have found no instances of child labor or debt bondage. These results contradicted findings by independent researchers, which show high rates of child labor and debt bondage at brick kilns. (10,14,24,31,35-39)

In 2020, labor inspectors conducted surveys of 68 brick kilns, during which they interviewed workers, children, and kiln owners. However, the inspectors failed to take legal action or issue any fines or warnings related to child labor violations, claiming these visits were "educational" and they would impose fines in the future. (14,28,35,39) In addition, they continued to instruct owners to sign agreements saying that they would not loan money to their workers or engage in child labor. (14,28,35,39)

Research indicated that some children work on rubber plantations in northeastern Cambodia to help pay off loan debt taken on by their parents, putting them at risk for situations of debt bondage. There is also research indicating that children in domestic work face similar debt bondage conditions, including approximately 30 percent of child domestic workers under the age of 18. (14)
During the reporting period, two surveys conducted by NGOs found an increase in the number of children engaging in child labor due to economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. (14,40,41) The first nationwide survey of child labor since 2012, conducted in 2019 by the government and the ILO, has yet to be released and made publicly available. (10,13,14,37)

Children increasingly migrate to the Middle East and within Asia where traffickers may force them to work on fishing vessels, especially on Thai-owned and -operated fishing vessels, in the agriculture and construction sectors, in factories, domestic work (often through debt-based coercion), or they exploit them through commercial sexual exploitation. The pandemic decreased such migration along with all types of cross-border travel. (11,27,28) Children, girls in particular, are subject to human trafficking domestically, from rural to urban areas, and internationally, to countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, for commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC). (3,11,12,24,26,27) Girls as young as 14 are "bride trafficked" to China for CSEC, and research found that the number of these cases doubled during the reporting period due to pandemic-related job losses, especially in the garment, hospitality, and tourism sectors. (14,27,42)

The largely unregulated growth of Chinese casinos, entertainment establishments, and other commercial enterprises in Preah Sihanouk Province has led to an increase of Cambodian girls in forced labor, including sex trafficking. However, these numbers dropped sharply due to the pandemic and the government's ban on online gambling, which resulted in casinos shutting down due to a lack of revenue. (11,14,24,27)

Online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) is reportedly increasing in Cambodia, facilitated by an increase in cheap, high-speed Internet access. (9,10,26,27,43,44) Furthermore, during the reporting period, a survey conducted by NGOs noted a rise in the reported number of OSEC cases after schools closed at the height of the pandemic. With children spending more time online, it noted that 15 percent of children reported having been contacted by strangers on social media, and 2 percent reported having been asked to share intimate pictures or videos, or to perform inappropriate acts in front of their webcams. (14,41,45) To help address the emergence of OSEC within Cambodia, a local NGO set up an online platform and a hotline for people to report instances of OSEC. (46,47)

Research has found that children who are placed in residential care facilities or orphanages in Cambodia are at a higher risk of engaging in the worst forms of child labor, including child sexual exploitation, and are exposed to conditions that can negatively affect their developmental and health outcomes. (10,11,26,27,48) Of the 265 residential care institutions housing 7,634 children, many private institutions reportedly exploit children as "sham" orphans to lure donations from foreigners. (10,26,48)

Although the Education Law establishes free basic education, unofficial school-related fees, such as for building maintenance and school uniforms, are prohibitive for some families. (10,14,21,49) Other barriers to education include denied enrollment for children without birth certificates, limited transportation to schools in remote areas and at "floating schools," lack of drinking water, sanitation and toilet facilities in some schools, language barriers, threat of corporal punishment, and an insufficient number of teachers. These barriers particularly affect ethnic minority children, children with disabilities, and children from rural and disadvantaged communities. (8,10,11,14,48,50-55) Furthermore, children may only transfer schools during two designated periods per year, resulting in some children repeating a year of schooling because of the disruption in the school year, which can contribute to dropout rates among children living in temporary settings, including migrant children. (14,55)

During the reporting period, the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MOEYS) ordered all provincial Departments of Education to provide academic transcript certifications of foreign education for children of returning migrant families to help ensure that they could continue their studies upon their return to Cambodia. (28) In addition, MOEYS, in cooperation with several NGOs, designed and approved a new school curriculum entitled “Education to Prevent Trafficking in Persons,” aimed at educating students from grade four through nine on the signs and dangers of human trafficking. The curriculum will be included in social studies and civic education coursework at public schools throughout Cambodia in 2021. (28) Furthermore, to address the needs of all Cambodian students—including indigenous students—MOEYS developed the Multilingual Education National Action Plan, 2019–2023, which has been implemented in 18 districts in the 5 targeted provinces of Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, Mondulkiri, Preah Vihear, and Kratié, and in 5 local languages. (56,57) This national action plan focuses on strengthening and extending equal and equitable educational access to indigenous and ethnic minority students, allowing them to increase their participation and commitment to attending school. (39,55,57)

Cambodia has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

The government has established laws and regulations related to child labor (Table 4). However, gaps exist in Cambodia’s legal framework to adequately protect children from the worst forms of child labor, including the minimum age for work and prohibiting the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Although the Labor Code prohibits work by children under age 15, the law does not apply to children outside of formal employment relationships and, therefore, does not conform to international standards that require all children be protected under the law that sets a minimum age for work. (48,59) The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MOLVT)'s regulation on household work extends minimum age protections for domestic workers to age 18 and provides clear definitions of household work. However, the regulation does not specify legal protections for household workers employed in informal relationships, including when working for their relatives without a contract. (9,48,58,65,66)

Cambodian laws also do not sufficiently prohibit the commercial sexual exploitation of children, as the use or offering of a child for pornographic performances is not criminally prohibited (21,60)

Education is free, but not compulsory, through grade nine. (48,49,66) The lack of compulsory schooling makes children under age 15 particularly vulnerable to child labor because they are not required to be in school but are not yet legally permitted to work. (49,58,66,67)

The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the operations of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws.

During the reporting period, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSAVY) launched a digital case management system called PRIMERO for child protection service providers; approved the Guidelines for Case Management during Infectious Disease Outbreaks; launched the Guidelines of Basic Competencies for Social Workforce; and launched the USAID-supported "Strong Family" Campaign, which aims to end violence against children and prevent unnecessary family separation. MOSAVY also organized two workshops on guidelines and procedures for identifying victims of human trafficking for law enforcement officials at the village and district level. (14,72,73)

Labor Law Enforcement

In 2020, labor law enforcement agencies in Cambodia took actions to combat child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the operations of MOLVT that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws, including financial resource allocation.

During the reporting period, MOSAVY reported delivering services to 220 human trafficking victims, including 11 children. (28) In addition, MOSAVY processed the intake of 1,005 children it identified as either victims of, or vulnerable to, CSEC, including 63 children who had been deported by Thai authorities and sent back over the border to the MOSAVY-run Poipet Transit Center. (14)

During the reporting period, labor inspections were halted for several months at the height of the pandemic and moved instead to Internet-based assessments and factory self-assessments. MOLVT held trainings for labor inspectors on these changes. However, the National Committee on Countering Child Labor (NCCL) continued conducting joint labor inspections with inspectors from other labor bureaus in the garment sector—in parallel with the ILO's Better Factories Cambodia inspections—to improve inspection efficiency while continuing to implement its zero-tolerance policy for child labor. (10,14,39) Children discovered in garment factories are immediately removed and placed in vocational training or other studies, and upon reaching the legal working age, are guaranteed employment. (10,14,22,74) Children discovered working in other sectors are removed and referred to MOSAVY for assessment. (9,10,75)

The NCCL relies on other bureaus within MOLVT to alert them to possible child labor issues in their specific sectors before inspections occur. Due, however, to the segregated nature of MOLVT, bureaus are not equipped with the proper technical training and expertise to identify child labor, resulting in bureau staff typically asking very few questions during inspections. (9,10) In an effort to improve labor inspectors' performance, MOLVT requires that, in order to continue working as labor inspectors, all national-level labor inspectors take and pass a yearly online examination that aims to assess and improve overall technical skills and legal knowledge; it is unknown whether this training took place in 2020. (10,39,76) During the reporting period, the government issued two new prakas—ministry-level regulations—that established joint inspection teams composed of officials from MOLVT, the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Tourism. These teams are tasked with monitoring adherence to labor laws in the garment, tourism, industrial, handicraft, and entertainment and nightlife sectors. (14,39,77,78) However, MOLVT was unable to cite any specific examples of such joint inspections occurring in 2020, and acknowledged that these prakas have not been fully implemented. (14)

The government only proactively inspects two sectors for child labor: the brick kiln industry and the export garment sector. During the reporting period, MOLVT cited the construction and entertainment industries as two additional focus areas for inspections. (10,14,74) However, research indicated that labor inspectors were rarely able to conduct inspections in the constructions sector, as owners who were closely affiliated with government officials were able to obstruct labor inspectors from accessing their properties. (10,14,28,39,76) MOLVT officials said they had not yet conducted inspections in the entertainment sector, in part because they were not sure if they had sufficient legal authority to do so. (71) In the brick kiln industry, authorities often provided brick kiln owners with advance notice of inspections, enabling them to conceal abuses, including child labor violations. In addition, many police officers are unaware that the policing of brick kilns falls under their investigative purview. (11)

The government, the ILO, and NGOs all agree that the labor inspectorate is insufficiently funded, resulting in insufficient training opportunities for labor inspectors and an insufficient number of labor inspections. This, in turn, impacts the ability of the labor inspectorate to conduct inspections outside of Phnom Penh and in rural communities due to lack of funding for transportation costs, resulting in most child labor inspections occurring in the city of Phnom Penh and in the provincial, formal-sector factories rather than in rural areas in which a majority of child laborers work. (6,9,10,14,48,76) The lack of funding is also one factor preventing the labor inspectorate from conducting inspections in hospitality and nightlife establishments after business hours, because the labor inspectorate is unable to pay inspectors for overtime work. (9,14,48) In addition, the labor inspectorate does not have the ability to inspect child labor abuses on private farms or domestic work, which is overseen by the Sub-National Committee of Women and Children. Police, however, investigated cases of violence against child domestic workers. (9,10,14) While unannounced inspections are permitted, they rarely happen in practice. (9,10,14,52)

According to the government, the labor inspectorate will have sufficient funding in 2021 due to the passing of a new prakas called the "Joint Prakas on Public Service Fees." This new regulation, which was approved in March 2020, requires factories in the garment, footwear, and travel goods sectors to pay an annual fee of $250 towards a fund that will help cover the cost of announced inspections. (14,79) Enterprises in other sectors have to pay an annual fee of $100. Government officials noted that this new regulation will help rectify the previous insufficiency in labor inspectorate funding. (14,79)

MOLVT has established regulations for children on hazardous work in several sectors, including in agriculture, brickmaking, and fishing. However, malfeasance within MOLVT and law enforcement agencies limits the capacity of local authorities to adequately enforce these regulations, resulting in penalties related to the worst forms of child labor rarely being imposed in accordance with the law. (8-10,14,48,80-82) Overall, research indicates that the government lacks the capacity to deal with child labor and is overwhelmed by the scale of the issue, particularly in Preah Sihanouk, leading to an increase in the number of child laborers at construction sites and entertainment venues, including casinos, hotels, and karaoke bars. (10,14) Such child labor has become less common since Cambodia banned online gambling in 2019, which resulted in the closure of most casinos and the suspension of many construction projects. However, NGOs report that this has been replaced by a rise in child begging and other street work due to the economic impact of the pandemic and lack of economic opportunities. (71)

The government did not publish data on the number of labor inspections conducted at worksites.

Criminal Law Enforcement

In 2020, criminal law enforcement agencies in Cambodia took actions to combat child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of the Cambodian National Police that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws, including training for criminal investigators.

Research found that criminal law enforcement officials, writ large, continued to fail to take significant actions on credible reports of government officials being complicit in the worst forms of child labor, including at entertainment establishments in which the commercial sexual exploitation of children is known to occur, and at brick kilns whose owners may subject families, including children, to debt-based forced labor in brick kilns. (11,14,24,48,75) In particular, police officers have reported that they sometimes avoid investigating child labor complaints at brick kilns, and instead assist in the capture and jailing of runaway brick kiln workers to avoid potential retaliation by politically connected owners who use their connections to avoid potential investigations and fines. (11,30,54,74,83) In 2020, the government failed to make significant efforts to investigate, prosecute, or convict government officials complicit in the worst forms of child labor. However, in February 2021, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered that the Cambodian National Police arrest a district police chief accused of releasing a labor broker after they were arrested for facilitating the illegal movement of Cambodian migrant workers into Thailand; the case remains pending. (11,24,28,54,75)

In 2020, government officials profited directly from the commercial sexual exploitation of children and indirectly by being permissive of it, especially when undertaken in establishments owned by those with ties to the government. (11,28,74,84) Furthermore, research found that owners of entertainment establishments at which child sexual exploitation is known to occur sometimes used their connections to law enforcement officials to avoid investigation, prosecution, and fines. (11,24,54,74,84) Research also found instances when raids into these establishments were thwarted by “tip-offs” from working-level police in advance of the raids. (11,24,28) To minimize internal leaks, some provincial police chiefs turned over cases to the Anti-Human Trafficking Juvenile Police, which conducted independent raids without notifying the local authorities until moments before they began. (11,28)

Anti-trafficking police units lack the specific legal authority to conduct undercover trafficking in persons investigations, which constrains their ability to pursue human traffickers, including those involved in child sexual exploitation. (10,11,24,27,48,43) The government says it grants such authority to police on a case-by-case basis. (71) With the increasingly clandestine nature in which sex trafficking operations occur, anti-trafficking police were limited to investigating more obvious manifestations, including sex-on-premise establishments in which victims were more likely to self-report and testify. (11) In addition, many law enforcement officials, particularly those located in rural areas, are unaware of how to properly conduct anti-trafficking work, as most have not received training on basic law enforcement techniques. (11,24,28) Furthermore, law enforcement officials investigating suspected human trafficking cases are expected to personally cover all expenses, including transportation costs, and are rarely reimbursed in full or on time. This has led to officials reportedly pursuing cases for which costs will be covered on their behalf, and makes some law enforcement units more susceptible to malfeasance. (10,11,24,74)

Research also found that local officials allegedly facilitated cross-border human trafficking by accepting bribes to forge identity documents. (11) Intimidation of human trafficking victims and their families also occurred during the reporting period, perpetuated by a government regulation that bars NGOs from assisting human trafficking victims in seeking formal recognition and obtaining the required identification from the government to receive available victim services. This forced victims and their families to have to interact directly with criminal law enforcement authorities, resulting in most victims declining to file complaints and obtain the IDs necessary to receive services. (11,28)

In Cambodia, judges have discretion to determine whether perpetrators of crimes related to child labor will be imprisoned or fined and the amount of the fine. The penalties imposed are not uniformly administered and do not adhere to the parameters prescribed by law. (3,11,54) In some cases, citing resource constraints and pandemic-related shutdowns, not all trafficking in person cases were brought to court despite evidence being supplied by the police. Prosecutors and judges have been known to accept bribes in return for dismissal of charges, acquittal, and reduced sentencing, especially for those with alleged ties to the government. (11,27,28,54,74) Research also found that law enforcement misused resources at their disposal to detain, prosecute, and convict some individuals for politically motivated reasons or spurious trafficking in person charges. (11) Furthermore, law enforcement generally focused on deterring foreign involvement in CSEC, despite the fact that the local population constituted the main sources of demand. (11,28)

During the reporting period, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court opened the trial of a Chinese man and four Cambodians for allegedly trafficking at least four Cambodian girls to China to be brides for Chinese men. In October, prosecutors ordered the detention of an employer for torturing her 17-year-old domestic worker. (14) In addition, law enforcement authorities reported arresting five foreign individuals suspected of engaging in CSEC, but did not report whether they initiated prosecutions in any of these cases. (11)

Research indicates that the use of "judicial supervision," where defendants are released on their own recognizance in advance of trial, has resulted in as many as 30 percent of human trafficking suspects not returning to participate in their criminal trials as law enforcement lacks the resources to monitor defendants. This severely limits the ability of law enforcement officials to hold criminals accountable, putting the population at risk. (11,24,28) Dueto a lack of resources, including personnel, and a lack of clear guidelines in the criminal procedural code regarding judicial supervision, law enforcement rarely issued arrest warrants for absconded defendants unless NGOs were available to assist in the apprehension of said defendants. (11) In addition, the government has yet to fully implement the “Child Friendly Court” program that will make it easier for child victims to provide testimony by using video-conferencing technology instead of confronting defendants in person, which can result in re-traumatization. (11,24)

Cambodian law outlines channels for victim restitution, and research indicated an increase in the number of verdicts ordering traffickers to pay some form of financial recompense to victims. However, this restitution was extremely difficult to obtain due to a legal requirement delaying payment until after the completion of the trafficker’s jail term; convicted traffickers’ frequent abscondment further complicated this arrangement. (11,27,28) Coupled with the government lacking a procedure on how to calculate compensation, victims rarely received the amount promised, and many victims’ families settled out of court with traffickers or accepted bribes to drop the relevant charges. (11,27,28)

The government's ability to properly save and store data related to the worst forms of child labor was found to be inadequate, due to outdated data collection storage platforms and a lack of resources, including training, equipment, and funding. (24,28,39) The government did not provide information on initial training for new employees, refresher courses, the number of prosecutions initiated, the number of convictions, or the number of imposed penalties for violations related to the worst forms of child labor for inclusion in the report.

The government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8). However, gaps exist that hinder the effective coordination of efforts to address child labor, including the efficacy in accomplishing mandates.

*Coordinating body was established during the reporting period.

During the reporting period, the government entered into an agreement with the Government of Thailand to establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) on bilateral anti-trafficking in persons law enforcement cooperation. The SOPs will establish official conduits for cooperation and information sharing between the two countries related to: 1) migrants and trafficking in persons; 2) regulating timely and effective investigation and prosecution on trafficking in persons; 3) outlining policies to govern victim rescue, and; 4) giving victims and witnesses additional legal protection. (28)

The Commune Committees for Women and Children continue to be underfunded. (39)

The government has established policies related to child labor (Table 9). However, policy gaps exist that hinder efforts to address child labor, including implementation.

‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor. (90,97-100)

In 2020, the government funded and participated in programs that include the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including adequacy of programs to address the full scope of the problem in all sectors.

† Program is funded by the Government of Cambodia.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (109)

During the reporting period, the Cambodian Government, with support from the Australian and German Governments, reinvested in a 2018 cash-transfer program called the Identification of Poor Households (IDPoor). This program allowed the government to provide financial assistance to the most vulnerable populations during the pandemic, including children ages 0 to 5, thus preventing children from engaging in child labor. (39,110-112) From June 2020–January 2021, over 685,000 families received approximately $200 million through the IDPoor program. (39)

In addition, MOSAVY disseminated its guidelines on the “Minimum Standards on Residential Care for Victims of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation” to shelters and other relevant stakeholders to address the management and proper care for victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation living in residential care facilities in Cambodia. (28)

The government lacked sufficient funding to put a system in place to monitor and promote the reintegration of victims of forced labor and human trafficking, including children, leaving victims vulnerable and at higher risk of re-victimization, and leaving the government heavily reliant on NGOs to fill this need. (11,27,28,74)

Many poor households in rural communities lack access to a social protection safety net, which increases the vulnerability of children to child labor as a means to supplement family income. (3,113) Although Cambodia has implemented programs that target child labor, the scope and resources provided to these programs is insufficient to fully address the extent of the problem. (9,10)

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in Cambodia (Table 11).

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