PHNOM PENH: The Minister of Social Affairs, Vong Sauth, urged the continuation of the pilot program to accept minors who are in conflict with the law to receive an appropriate amount of rehabilitation and to gradually expand the amount in accordance with the capacity and ability of rehabilitation centers, as well as to expedite the completion of remaining legal documents as soon as possible.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting to review the results of 2021, and the direction of implementation in 2022, Minister Vong Sauth said that although Cambodia suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic, Cambodia was able to continue developing and building the country forward.

He urged the leadership of the Ministry to continue formulating a national social policy to determine the vision, priorities, work and responsibilities of all stakeholders to reduce difficulties, improve lives and preserve the dignity and honor of the people. He further called for the expansion of the volume of juvenile delinquents being transferred to juvenile rehabilitation centers to receive rehabilitative education and reintegrate them into society.

The Youth Rehabilitation Center, located in Bakou Commune, Kandal Steung District, Kandal Province, was officially inaugurated on 28 December 2021, to receive defendants, convicts and inmates under the age of 18 for rehabilitation to reintegrate into society. The launch of the Youth Rehabilitation Center has contributed to the promotion of juvenile justice law and the protection of the rights, safety and well-being of youth in line with the United Nations Commission on the Management of Juvenile Justice and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Minors.

There are currently 1,422 juveniles in prisons across Cambodia, including 450 defendants, 310 suspects, 421 convicts and 241 inmates. The minors in prisons were involved in 452 drug-related offenses, 125 robberies, 109 thefts, 34 murders, 31 rapes and 671 other crimes.

^{PHOTO: EAC NEWS}