The government’s National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) expanded its ranks and set out a new four-year plan to increase its reach in the fight against human trafficking during an event Tuesday at the Interior Ministry.
The NCCT—founded in 2009—underwent an evaluation in 2013 and 2014, leading to the new plan, spreads its work among the ministries of interior, justice, labor, social affairs, women’s affairs and education.
“Before [the NCCT] had a staff of only six people. Now there will be 50 people,” said Sara Piazzano, chief of party at Winrock International, the NGO that led the evaluation of the NCCT and creation of the latest action plan.
“Priorities are clear but ministries need to be clear that they have to allocate resources, they have to show results,” she said, adding that priorities included increased undercover investigations and stronger cooperation with other countries in the region.
In 2013, the U.S. downgraded Cambodia in its global Trafficking in Persons Report in the absence of any discernable improvements in the government’s efforts to combat human trafficking over the previous year.
