WUNRN
The Phnom Penh Post
Chhay Channyda
27 November 2008
Cambodia: New Rules
Tighten Up Process, Mail-Order Unions Still Illegal
A ban on marriages between Cambodians and foreigners aimed at curbing
human trafficking has been lifted, officials said Wednesday, adding that new
regulations will seek to prevent internet websites from featuring mail-order
Cambodian brides.
The suspension, begun in late March, was lifted on November 3, but the
"new subdecree [regulating marriages] has not yet been widely
publicised", said Bith Kimhong, director of the Interior Ministry's
Anti-human Trafficking Department.
The ban came into effect amid alarm over the rising numbers of brokered unions
between South Korean men and poor, uneducated Cambodian women.
In 2004, the South Korean embassy in Phnom Penh issued 72 marriage visas to
Cambodian women. By 2007, that figure had jumped to 1,759, with an additional
160 visas issued in the first month of 2008.
The new subdecree states
that marriages made through agencies or brokers are still illegal, adding that
"all fake marriages aimed at labour exploitation, human trafficking or
sexual exploitation are prohibited".
The subdecree also insists that marriage must be based on the "voluntary
policy and will" of the individual.
New procedures
Bith Kimhong said that under the new rules, foreigners must
be physically present in Cambodia in order to be married and must apply for
permission with the Foreign Ministry.
"The Ministry of Interior, after receiving documents from the Foreign
Ministry, has to inform to all the relevant authorities on where the marriage
will occur," Bith Kimhong said.
"We cannot do like before. This time, foreigners must come to Cambodia to
register for marriage," he added, referring to internet unions.
Nop Sarin Sreyroth, secretary general of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre,
said that while she applauded the reinstatement of legal marriages between
Cambodians and foreigners, the new rules do not outline punishment for foreigners
who violate the rules.
"We are looking forward to monitoring the government's implementation [of
the subdecree]," she said.
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