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Thursday, April 03, 2008

Exploitation concerns prompt Cambodia to halt processing foreign marriages

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia has stopped processing documents for the marriage of its citizens to foreigners in a move to minimize the possibility of human trafficking.

The suspension follows a recent surge in the number of Cambodian women marrying South Korean men.

Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs You Ay says that as of last Saturday, approval for all paperwork needed for marrying foreigners has been put on hold.

She did not say how long the suspension will last, but that it was introduced so that government agencies handling foreign marriage requests "can work to strengthen their procedures."

The South Korean connection made headlines last month after a report by the Geneva-based International Organization of Migration said some 2,500 Cambodian women had married South Korean men over the previous four years.

Most of the marriages occurred through the services of underground matchmaking businesses.

The report said each man would pay up to $20,000 to marry a Cambodia woman, but that a bride's family would collect only about $1,000, while the rest of the money would go to brokers.

You said the government did not want to deny Cambodians the right to marry foreigners.

"But we have also seen the negative aspects out of such marriages," she said, adding that the suspension affects all foreigners, not just South Koreans.

She was not able to say how many Cambodian nationals had married foreigners.

Although the marriages appeared to be legal, the government has expressed concerns that brokered marriages could become a cover for human trafficking, in which women are tricked or forced into marriage.

Last month, it shut down two South Korean companies for engaging in the matchmaking business. Interior Minister Sar Kheng denounced the firms' activities as "human trafficking."

"You're bound to have this type of problem when it's a business-oriented, profit-making type of environment," said John McGeoghan, a project co-ordinator in Cambodia for the Geneva-based IOM.

He said the suspension "probably is going to upset a lot of people" but is "a good preventive measure" especially "if you want to protect these girls and have more potential for a better marriage."

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