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U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration speaks with the press in Phnom Penh.
U.S. State Department's Top Refugee Expert Visits Cambodia
Phnom Penh
February 6-9, 2007
Ellen Sauerbrey, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, visited Cambodia February 6-9, 2007 for consultations with Cambodian government officials and civil society representatives on refugee and human trafficking issues. During her time in Cambodia, Ms. Sauerbrey visited UNHCR Montangard sites in Phnom Penh, visited a training center for high-risk trafficking victims in Svay Rieng province, and met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of the Interior Sar Kheng and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. The Assistant Secretary also conducted a press conference during which she answered questions related to refugee issues -- local, regional and worldwide -- as well as issues related to human trafficking in Cambodia.
In her press conference opening remarks, Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey stated, "It's very heartening to see the rapid development of good relationships between our two countries and to see the changes that are occurring here in Cambodia in terms of improvement in human rights, in religious tolerance, in labor law, and …. in the issue of trafficking [in persons]." She went on to say, "We also visited the [Montangard] refugees who are here in the three sites in Cambodia, and I have to report that I am very happy with the cooperation of the Cambodian government."
Ms. Sauerbrey became Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration in January 2006. The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration provides protection, assistance, and sustainable solutions for refugees and victims of conflict, and advances U.S. population and migration policies.