The entrance to the Youth Rehabilitation Centre in Kandal province, which is intended to become Cambodia's primary prison for minors.

On Children’s Day 2023, amid a soaring number of minors detained behind bars, LICADHO calls on the Cambodian government, including the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior and courts, to immediately address the ongoing crisis of children unnecessarily growing up in Cambodia’s inhumane prisons.

The number of minors detained in the 19 prisons monitored by LICADHO has soared by more than 30% over the last year according to information provided by prison administrations, reaching 1,658 minors in April 2023. More than 96% of them are boys, 52% of them were in pre-trial detention, and a further 37% were awaiting a final verdict.

Cambodian law acknowledges that prison is no place for minors by providing alternatives to detention, and defines them as being aged 14 to 17 at the time of allegedly committing an offense. The 2016 Law on Juvenile Justice outlines that pre-trial detention is a measure of last resort in accordance with the presumption of innocence, and promotes diversion and community service as alternatives to prosecution and suspended sentences or conditional release as alternatives to imprisonment.

And yet these alternatives are underused, and the number of minors detained in Cambodia continues to rise at an alarming rate.

Amid Cambodia’s ongoing drug crackdown and an increase in drug-related arrests in 2022, it’s likely that the majority of minors in prison were arrested for non-violent drug offences – cases in which bail and diversion should be used when eligible to ensure a child is not needlessly sent to prison.

Legal representation is mandatory for minors suspected of crimes in Cambodia, yet many children report that they have never spoken with a lawyer or been given the chance to apply for bail. The over-use of pre-trial detention therefore often goes unchallenged, alternatives to detention are not used, and the minor’s fair trial rights and well-being are disregarded.

At least 82 young children were additionally living in prisons with their detained mothers as of April 2023, and 30 imprisoned women and girls were pregnant. Bail should similarly be granted to all eligible mothers of young children and pregnant people, so that they can maintain the mother-child bond at home.

The impact of imprisonment on children is severe, and further exacerbated by the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions that plague Cambodia’s prison system. Prisons monitored by LICADHO—in which minors are not always separated from the adult prison population—had an average occupancy rate of 250% of their official capacities as of April. Three were over 450% capacity. People in detention, children included, routinely report a lack of access to adequate food, water, space to sleep, and family contact and having to pay for these basic needs. Access to healthcare and nutritional support are equally inadequate, endangering the lives of both children and their mothers.

Number of Minors in Detention *

* In the 19 out of 30 Cambodian prisons and correctional centres monitored by LICADHO.

Attempts to address this crisis have thus far failed. Rather than seeking to limit the number of children in detention, the government has instead built a new prison labelled as a Youth Rehabilitation Centre. The prison was opened in Kandal province in December 2021, and is intended to serve as the country’s primary juvenile detention centre for children and minors up to the age of 24 years. At least 130 convicted boys have since been transferred there, from as far as Banteay Meanchey province. With just a single prison for minors from across the country, family members who live far away risk being unable to have contact with or provide essential support to their children.

We demand an end to this senseless approach of defaulting to detention—in violation of the rights of minors and the best interests of the child—whether in Cambodia’s longstanding prisons or new prisons labelled as rehabilitation centres. Excessive use of detention is unnecessarily depriving children of their freedom, family connections, and wellbeing. Authorities must immediately address this ongoing crisis and:

• Bail all eligible minors, pregnant people and mothers with young children and utilise other alternatives to detention such as diversion, including for people detained for eligible non-violent drug offences. Consistently utilise these measures in future cases, limiting pre-trial detention to a measure of last resort as required by law.
• Guarantee every minor accused of a crime has a lawyer and is informed of their right to apply for bail.
• Improve prison conditions to ensure every detained person, including minors, have access to adequate nutrition, healthcare, family visits, and age-appropriate development opportunities, particularly by reducing the total prison population.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Am Sam Ath, Operations Director of LICADHO, on Signal at (+855) 10 327 770 (Khmer)
▪ Pilorge Naly, Outreach Director of LICADHO, on Signal at (+855) 12 214 454 (English)

PDF: Download full statement in English - Download full statement in Khmer
MP3: Listen to audio version in Khmer