List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

There is evidence that children between the ages of 5 and 14 engage in the production of bovines in Cambodia.  In Cambodia, bovines are primarily used for domestic consumption and for farming purposes, and are raised by approximately 1.4 million smallholders primarily located in provinces bordering the Mekong River, with a heavy concentration found in the southern rice-producing provinces.  Based on analysis of the 2016 Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey, an estimated 59,693 children are involved in child labor in the production of bovines.  The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Cambodia’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgment that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

Khmer Translation

There are reports that children ages 5 to 17 produce sugarcane in Cambodia. Child labor in the sugarcane sector occurs on both commercial plantations and smallholder farms. Children from families that have lost land through concessions to sugar companies are particularly vulnerable to exploitative labor on plantations. According to international organizations, NGOs, and media reports, child labor in the Cambodian sugarcane sector is a widespread concern, with numerous incidents reported across the country, including reports of hundreds of children cutting cane on plantations in the Koh Kong province. Children laboring in the sugarcane fields often work long hours under the hot sun and report difficulty breathing, headaches, and dizziness as a result. Child workers in this sector perform hazardous tasks such as carrying heavy bundles of sugarcane, using dangerous tools, and spraying toxic pesticides. Many children incur injuries on the job, including skin infections and cuts from sharp cane leaves or knives. 

Khmer Translation

There are reports that children are forced to produce bricks in Cambodia. According to international researchers and NGOs, numerous incidents of forced child labor have been reported in Cambodia. Reports estimate over 9.3 percent of brick workers are children. However, with upwards of tens of thousands of workers employed at brick kilns and the casual nature of work in brick kilns, this number is likely higher. A cycle of multi-generational debt bondage is created when adults are unable to pay back the high interest charged on loans offered by brick kiln owners and are forced to pass along outstanding debts to their children. Children either inherit or are born into debt bondage and are threatened with arrest or are forced to pay additional debt if they try to leave the brick kiln without repaying their debts in full.

Khmer Translation