Remarks
by
H.E. Ms. Khuon Sudary, Member of
National Assembly Chairperson of Woman Politicians of National Assembly
Vice-president of the Cambodian Red Cross Member
of the Standing Committee of Cambodian People’s Party at the Closing
Ceremony of the 2nd ICAPP Workshop on Human Trafficking
Phnom Penh, 30 April 2015
- Excellencies Heads of the ICAPP Delegations;
- Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen;
1. It is a pleasure and honor for me to attend the closing of the 2nd ICAPP Workshop on Human Trafficking.
2. First of all, I would like to join previous speakers in extending
my condolences and sympathy to the Government and people of Nepal on
the loss of lives and damages of properties.
3. I also would like to take this opportunity to express my utmost
appreciation to members of the second ICAPP workshop for their active
contributions to keeping the in-principle culture of ICAPP, friendship,
mutual understanding, cooperation and mutual dialogue in order to
enhance the effectiveness of the implementation of action plan towards
the abolishment of Trafficking in persons.
4. The two-day workshop has actively deliberated three key themes,
namely (1) Raising Public Awareness on Seriousness and Urgency; (2)
Mapping Trans-border Networks of Cooperation; and (3) Establishing a
Fast-track Punishment. Back-to-back with this ICAPP Workshop, the
Ministry of Women's Affairs of the Royal Government of Cambodia has
organized an inter-ministerial meeting of COMMIT on "Regional Commitment
to End Human Trafficking through Unity and Innovation". This signifies
the strong determination of all the stakeholders, by both governments
and political parties as well as civil society organizations, to prevent
and eliminate the crime of human trafficking, which is faced by every
country in the world. Taking this opportunity, I would like to heartily
congratulate the forum on adopting the Phnom Penh Statement on Human
Trafficking, which laid down the additional commitments and directions
of efforts in continuation of the 2014 Kathmandu Statement.
5. Trafficking in persons is a heinous crime which the whole world
is facing and is regarded as modern-day slavery of a complex nature.
Human trafficking generally takes a variety of forms with national,
trans-border and international transactions, and the criminals have
used all means and methods for the purpose of exploiting the victims in
spite of severe punishments.
6. As His Excellency Dr. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister, noted in his
opening remarks yesterday morning, it is estimated that more than 20
million victims grievously suffer from forced labor and human
trafficking worldwide. Women and children are the most vulnerable and
routinely trafficked and sold like commodities, often sold many times,
in a multimillion dollar fastest growing criminal industry. To resolve
this complex issue, it is required that all countries develop strategy
diversification and comprehensive measures as well as close cooperation
and collaboration regionally and internationally, in order to
successfully combat and suppress this heinous crime. Thus, this
international dialogue is an important forum, significantly contributing
to the fight against human trafficking.
7. The Cambodian People's Party as well as the Royal Government has
always been paying close attention and high commitment to the
suppression of human trafficking in strict adherence to the 1993
Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia which stipulates in Chapter 3
Article 46 that "Human trafficking, prostitution and sexual harassment
infringing on women's dignity are strictly prohibited". In this spirit,
the Law on Suppression of Kidnapping, Trafficking and Exploitation of
Humans was adopted in 1996 and later amended in 2008 to include all
forms of trafficking and punishment degrees for the perpetrators. In
addition, the Royal Government also has other laws, policies, and legal
instruments to combat all forms of human trafficking. In order to ensure
the effectiveness and persistence of the efforts in combating human
trafficking, Cambodia has established a National Anti-Human Trafficking
Authority as a high-level national mechanism involving all stakeholders,
mobilizing all necessary forces and resources to fight against all
forms of human trafficking.
8. We also recognize that creating women’s economic empowerment is
key to enhancing income-generating and business development
opportunities for women, through promoting decent wage employment and
micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development. This also helps
to reduce vulnerabilities of women, such as human trafficking, illegal
cross-border migration or even domestic violence. As a result, several
of our national laws in Cambodia related to labor migration have been
revised and will form the basis for guidelines for recruitment agencies
and training centers, as well as complaint procedures.
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
9. During this 2nd ICCAP workshop, we have had very fruitful
discussions on these main objectives, which were the key themes of our
panels’ discussion. I believe that the outcomes of the fruitful
deliberations during this international workshop will serve as important
inputs to the efforts in combating all forms of human trafficking for
each of our ICAPP family countries. To this end, all stakeholders,
including political parties, governments, and other inter-agencies, as
well as national and international non-governmental organizations and
the general population, must work in concert to widely raise awareness
of the root causes and legal measures of human trafficking so as to
prevent, alleviate and eliminate the heinous and sweeping criminal
activities.
10. Furthermore, building on the Kathmandu Statement of the 1st ICAPP
Workshop in 2014, the discussions and deliberation of this 2nd ICAPP
Workshop have resulted in the adoption this afternoon of the Phnom Penh
Statement on Human Trafficking. In this Statement, the participants
have agreed to continue their deliberations within the framework of the
ICAPP Women’s Wing, in order to create synergies and good cooperation
among all stakeholders in the fight against human trafficking. This
includes developing effective data collection, research, and information
sharing; partnering with the private and media sectors in promoting
greater awareness raising activities; mobilizing joint efforts among
stakeholders; promoting gender equality and preventing gender
discrimination in labor markets; promoting legal migration of skilled
workers, and providing recovery treatment services, training, and
technical assistance for trafficking victims so that they can
reintegrate into society.
11. Taking this opportunity, I would like to call for more active
counter-human trafficking campaigns, at the national, regional and
global levels, so that the rights, freedom, safety and dignity of the
humanity are protected. Furthermore, may the spirit of the workshop on
human trafficking become the catalyst for the fight against all such
inhumane activities as trafficking, right abuses, forced labor,
intimidation and killing in order to contribute to the equitable,
harmonious and sustainable development.
12. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to two
leading political parties in Cambodia, Cambodian People’s Party(CPP) and
Funcinpec Party, for co-hosting the workshop, and my appreciation to
the ICAPP Women's Wing and the ICAPP Secretariat for the successful
organization of the workshop. I also extended my most sincere thanks and
profound appreciation to Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo, Prime
Minister of the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia for support
and providing means to fight human trafficking in our country.
13. I also wish to extend a special thanks to the Korea International
Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination
Agency (TIKA) for co-sponsoring the 2nd ICAPP Workshop on Human
Trafficking.
14. Once again, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the
ICAPP Secretariat and the Organizing Committee of the 2nd ICAPP Workshop
on Human Trafficking for having organized such an important forum, and
my heartfelt thanks to all the ICAPP delegates, Excellencies, Ladies and
Gentlemen for sparing their valuable times participating in this
workshop. You have demonstrated your commitment and dedication to this
important issue, and I am truly impressed and delighted by the very
active participation of everyone during these past two days.
Finally, I wish you all good health, happiness and every success.
I now declare the 2nd ICAPP Workshop on Human Trafficking closed.
I thank you for your kind attention!
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