Cambodia/ Malaysia HUMAN “They Deceived Us at Every Step” RIGHTS Abuse of Cambodian Domestic Workers Migrating to Malaysia WATCH “They Deceived Us at Every Step” Abuse of Cambodian Domestic Workers Migrating to Malaysia Copyright © 2011 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-823-6 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org NOVEMBER 2011 ISBN: 1-56432-823-6 “They Deceived Us at Every Step” Abuse of Cambodian Domestic Workers Migrating to Malaysia Summary and Key Recommendations ................................................................................. 1 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 18 I. Background ................................................................................................................... 20 Migration of Cambodian Women and Girls ............................................................................. 20 Migration of Cambodian Domestic Workers to Malaysia .......................................................... 21 The Migration Cycle ................................................................................................................ 22 II. Recruitment-Related Exploitation and Abuse in Cambodia ............................................ 26 Recruitment Fees and Illegal Lending Practices ....................................................................... 27 Deception and Lack of Information during Recruitment .......................................................... 28 Recruitment of Girls ................................................................................................................ 30 Collusion between Agencies and Government Authorities ....................................................... 33 Migrant Domestic Workers Who Have Lost Contact .................................................................. 37 Medical Tests without Informed Consent or Counseling ........................................................... 39 III. Abuses in Cambodia’s Training Centers ....................................................................... 44 Deaths in the Training Centers ................................................................................................ 44 Forced Confinement and Restrictions on Communication ....................................................... 46 Poor Living Conditions and Denial of Health Care ................................................................... 49 Paying the Price of Freedom .................................................................................................... 51 IV. Abuses in Malaysia ..................................................................................................... 56 Unpaid Wages ........................................................................................................................ 57 Physical, Sexual and Psychological Abuse .............................................................................. 59 Restrictions on Freedom of Movement and Poor Working Conditions ...................................... 60 Agency-Related Abuses in Malaysia ........................................................................................ 61 V. Forced Labor and Practices Akin to Debt Bondage ......................................................... 63 VI. Barriers to Justice in Malaysia ..................................................................................... 68 Cambodian Embassy Response ............................................................................................. 68 Legal Protection for Domestic Workers in Malaysia .................................................................. 72 Response by the Malaysian Authorities ................................................................................... 73 VII. Protection Failures in Cambodia ................................................................................. 77 Regulation of Labor Migration in Cambodia ............................................................................. 77 Implementation of Government Migration Policy .................................................................... 82 Lack of Effective Government Oversight ................................................................................. 82 Failure to Investigate and Prosecute Abuses .......................................................................... 84 Lack of Support for Returned Migrants ................................................................................... 86 VIII. Cambodia and Malaysia’s International Human Rights Obligations ............................ 89 IX. Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 94 To the Government of Cambodia ............................................................................................ 94 To the Parliament ............................................................................................................ 94 To the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training .............................................................. 94 To the Ministry of Interior, the Police, and the Ministry of Justice ....................................... 95 To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...................................................................................... 96 To the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Ministry of Interior ........................................................................................................................ 96 To the Ministry of Health ................................................................................................. 96 To the Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies (ACRA)............................................... 97 To the Governments of Cambodia and Malaysia ...................................................................... 97 To the Malaysian Government ................................................................................................. 97 To International Donors, including the United Nations, World Bank, United States and Japan . 98 Appendix A: Letter Sent to the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Malaysia ......................... 100 Appendix B: Letter Sent to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training ........................ 102 Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................104 Summary and Key Recommendations Human Rights Watch | November 2011 A training center in Phnom Penh, owned and managed by a private recruitment agency for domestic workers migrating to Malaysia. Human Rights Watch research found that prospective migrant workers are typically locked inside these training centers, usually for three to six months before their departure. Trainees often do not have access to adequate health care, food, and water inside the center. Some women and girls experience verbal, psycho - logical, and sometimes physical abuse. © 2011 Jyotsna Poudyal/Human Rights Watch “THEY DECEIVED US AT EVERY STEP” Abuse of Cambodian Domestic Workers Migrating to Malaysia A woman shows a picture of her relative who has not contacted her family since she migrated to Malaysia in September 2009. She said her relative wanted to be a domestic worker in Malaysia to earn enough money to build a house for her family in Cambodia. © 2011 Jyotsna Poudyal/Human Rights Watch A broker said that the company is looking for women to work in Malaysia. When I asked if there is anyone who will help my daughter if she is in trouble, the broker said that if something happens to the girl, if she dies for example, the company would pay the compensation….He said, “You can rest all your life with that money.” Nhean, father of Champel, a 21-year-old domestic worker who died in the Phnom Penh training center of VC Manpower, Cambodia, April 2011 When 16-year-old Nhon Yanna migrated to Malaysia from Cambodia as a domestic worker in 2010, all she had hoped was to earn some money to take care of her five younger siblings, an ailing mother, and an elderly grandmother. A broker promised a job that would be easy and pay her US$3,000 over two years. But things quickly soured after she signed a contract with a recruitment agency, which immediately confined Yanna to a training center in Phnom Penh for three months, and denied contact with her family. After she reached Malaysia, her employer gave her work that would have taken several people to complete. I woke up at 4 a.m.,