"Govt Deflects, Makes Excuses at Human Trafficking Meeting", 13 August 2022

Government officials tried to shift blame, claim ignorance and accuse critics of not understanding the “technical” nature of cases when asked about foreigners being trafficked into online fraud operations in Cambodia.

Though officials appeared to acknowledge there are high rates of foreigners being trafficked into Cambodia, they also hit back at reporters reporting stories about the alleged sale of foreigners into online gambling and scam operations.

Chou Bun Eng, the permanent vice-chair of the national counter-trafficking committee, led a press conference ... in response to this year’s Trafficking in Persons report from the U.S. state department, which lowered Cambodia’s ranking to the lowest “Tier 3,” citing sex trafficking, labor trafficking and the rise of the online gambling and scam industry.

... Bun Eng asked anti-trafficking NGOs to say what they thought of the U.S.’s evaluation of trafficking in Cambodia, and none would comment.

NGOs that work in anti-trafficking like International Justice Mission, Eriks Development Partner and Chab Dai attended the meeting.

She later added that the government was “shocked” by Cambodia’s Tier 3 ranking by the U.S., echoing her criticisms shortly after the Trafficking in Persons report was released...