28 August, 2009
26 August, 2009
Child labour force set to rise
8/26/2009
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THE number of children in Cambodua forced into labour will rise as the recession tightens its grip on the local economy, child welfare experts warned.
"The global economic downturn threatens to put more children at risk of dropping out from school or being sent to work," Bill Salter, director of the International Labour Organisation's subregional office in East Asia, said on Tuesday.
"The trend threatens to push 200,000 people back into poverty and erect new financial obstacles in front of children trying to access education."
Speaking at the launch of a national workshop investigating the impact of the global economic crisis on child labour, Salter said the ongoing decline in garment exports would have a profound impact. Garment industry analysts suggest that more than 70,000 workers have been laid off since the crisis began, Salter said. At least 100,000 more jobs are expected to come under threat over the next two years.
As family incomes continue to dwindle, more parents will resort to sending their children to work in order to earn enough money for food and other basic necessities - to the detriment of the children's health, nutrition and intellectual development, he warned.
"The current economic crisis can push back our achievements on many fronts," he told the attending delegates.
"The decline in wage employment in Cambodia's garment, construction and tourism sectors will put much financial pressure on poor households.
Parents unable to feed their children will likely view expenses on transportation, books and uniforms as a burden, hence pulling their children out of school. With these consequences in mind, we must consider how we can urgently tackle the challenges ahead."
Veng Heang, director of the Ministry of Labour's Department of Child Labour, decried the lack of scientific research on the subject, but said the government has so far removed 22,000 of the total 253,000 children involved in the worst forms of child labour in Cambodia.
It is hoped a further 12,000 children will be helped this year, he added.
"The global economic downturn threatens to put more children at risk of dropping out from school or being sent to work," Bill Salter, director of the International Labour Organisation's subregional office in East Asia, said on Tuesday.
"The trend threatens to push 200,000 people back into poverty and erect new financial obstacles in front of children trying to access education."
Speaking at the launch of a national workshop investigating the impact of the global economic crisis on child labour, Salter said the ongoing decline in garment exports would have a profound impact. Garment industry analysts suggest that more than 70,000 workers have been laid off since the crisis began, Salter said. At least 100,000 more jobs are expected to come under threat over the next two years.
As family incomes continue to dwindle, more parents will resort to sending their children to work in order to earn enough money for food and other basic necessities - to the detriment of the children's health, nutrition and intellectual development, he warned.
"The current economic crisis can push back our achievements on many fronts," he told the attending delegates.
"The decline in wage employment in Cambodia's garment, construction and tourism sectors will put much financial pressure on poor households.
Parents unable to feed their children will likely view expenses on transportation, books and uniforms as a burden, hence pulling their children out of school. With these consequences in mind, we must consider how we can urgently tackle the challenges ahead."
Veng Heang, director of the Ministry of Labour's Department of Child Labour, decried the lack of scientific research on the subject, but said the government has so far removed 22,000 of the total 253,000 children involved in the worst forms of child labour in Cambodia.
It is hoped a further 12,000 children will be helped this year, he added.
25 August, 2009
10 villagers still missing after Thai raid
ODDAR Meanchey province villagers said that at least 10 Cambodian men are still missing after a Thai crackdown on illegal logging last week, though provincial officials said they did not know of any who remain unaccounted for.
Eleven Cambodian men were arrested in Thailand last week in an incident that villagers and officials said turned violent, with Thai soldiers firing weapons at the scene. The loggers are currently awaiting trial at a prison in Thailand's Khun Han district, Sisaket province.
Chhoun Ra, 41, of Oddar Meanchey's Trapaing Prasat district, said that Pol Ben, her 20-year-old son, had not been seen since last week. She named nine other men from several provinces who she claimed were missing as well.
"I've asked local authorities, military officers and policemen to help find the missing men, but they all seem to ignore us," she said.
Leu Chandara, deputy chief of the Thailand-Cambodia relations office at the Chom border gate, said that he believed there were no longer any such cases.
"I have not heard that there are still missing men. I only know of the 11 men who are imprisoned," he said.
Vann Kosal, governor of Trapaing Prasat district, also said he had not heard of any men who remained missing. Officials acknowledged last week that five men were missing and that a search was ongoing.
Eleven Cambodian men were arrested in Thailand last week in an incident that villagers and officials said turned violent, with Thai soldiers firing weapons at the scene. The loggers are currently awaiting trial at a prison in Thailand's Khun Han district, Sisaket province.
Chhoun Ra, 41, of Oddar Meanchey's Trapaing Prasat district, said that Pol Ben, her 20-year-old son, had not been seen since last week. She named nine other men from several provinces who she claimed were missing as well.
"I've asked local authorities, military officers and policemen to help find the missing men, but they all seem to ignore us," she said.
Leu Chandara, deputy chief of the Thailand-Cambodia relations office at the Chom border gate, said that he believed there were no longer any such cases.
"I have not heard that there are still missing men. I only know of the 11 men who are imprisoned," he said.
Vann Kosal, governor of Trapaing Prasat district, also said he had not heard of any men who remained missing. Officials acknowledged last week that five men were missing and that a search was ongoing.
