Cambodian children still suffer sexual exploitation despite a recent government crackdown on foreign paedophiles, child-rights activists warned on Tuesday.
Speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop aimed at combating child sex tourism, Rodney Hatfield of the United Nations Children’s Fund Unicef said the commercial sexual exploitation of children remained a serious problem in the kingdom.
”While we cannot count the actual number of children involved, we know that many are exploited and many more risk being exploited in the sex industry,” he told diplomats, non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers and police officers.
He urged Cambodian authorities to take the issue extremely seriously, while United States ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli said offenders should face harsh punishment.
Cambodia has long been known as a haven for foreign paedophiles but the government has recently attempted to crack down on child sex crime. Dozens of foreigners have been jailed or deported to face trial in their home countries for child sex crimes since 2003.
Delegates urged the government, law enforcement agencies, NGOs and travel companies to continue to work together to end the sexual exploitation of children.
”Cambodia, an attractive tourist destination with much to offer visitors from around the world, should be viewed as a singularly unattractive destination for those wishing to prey on children,” Mussomeli said.
In 2005, 1,4-million tourists visited Cambodia. Tourist arrivals in the first nine months of 2006 jumped 17% from the same period last year to 1,18-million, tourism official Hav Bunse said.
Esther Halim, Cambodia country director for NGO World Vision, said the main regions for child prostitution were Phnom Penh, the seaside town of Sihanoukville, provinces bordering Thailand, and Siem Ream, the gateway to the famed Angkor Wat temples.
”Sexual exploitation of children must not be tolerated, whether by Cambodians or foreigners,” Bill Forbes, World Vision’s peace and justice senior programme manager, said in a statement issued at the workshop. – Sapa-AFP