HRC 57: Women’s Network for Unity & SRI Statement to the adoption of Cambodia's UPR

57th Human Rights Council Session Item 6. Universal Periodic Review 

Statement by: Action Canada for Population and Development

Thank you President, 

Action Canada makes this statement on behalf of Women’s Network for Unity in consultation with the sex worker community in Cambodia, and the Sexual Rights Initiative. 

We welcome the acceptance by the Royal Government of Cambodia of recommendations focused on gender equality, the empowerment of women in all sectors, and on the prevention of violence against women.  

However, we regret that there were no recommendations explicitly made on the rights of sex workers. Whilst current legislation does not criminalize sex work, the 2008 Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation prohibits activities associated with sex work, leading many to believe that sex work itself is illegal. Further, the legislation continuously conflates sex work with trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation. Such conflation, together with the omnipresence of deeply rooted socio-cultural gender norms and power imbalances, further fuels discrimination against, and stigmatisation of, sex workers. Sex workers are excluded from, and lack protections under, current labour provisions in Cambodia. 

The impact of criminalisation is to further marginalise sex workers, forcing them to work underground in possibly unsafe work conditions, and increasing their vulnerability to violence. For example, between 2020 and 2024, 385 sex workers were arrested under these provisions and significantly, there were 219 cases of sex workers experiencing violence at the hands of the police, staff of detention centres, security guards, landlords, clients, and even their neighbours. 

We call on Cambodia to:

1. Provide legal protections for sex workers, and ensure that national laws differentiate between sex work and human trafficking;
2. Effectively implement CEDAW’s Concluding Observations on Cambodia made in 2019
3. Conduct nationwide awareness raising on TV, radio and social media aimed at combatting stereotypes and violence against sex workers 

Thank you