CAMBODIA'S BURGEONING YOUTH POPULATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PHNOM PENH 000113 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, DRL, INL/AAE -- BRANDON NEUKOM BANGKOK FOR DEA AND TCAO -- SCOTT ROLSTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREF PREL ASEC EAID CB SUBJECT: CAMBODIA'S BURGEONING YOUTH POPULATION INCREASINGLY SEDUCED BY THE "PERFECT HIGH" REF: A. 2009 PHNOM PENH 391 (MINI-DUBLIN) ¶B. 2009 PHNOM PENH 203 (METH BUST) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A recent uptick in drug use, particularly ice - the crystallized form of methamphetamine preferred by Cambodia's new urban elite - has resulted in increased scrutiny of the social triggers and available treatment for Cambodia's young population. Reported increases in teens holding "drug parties," domestic violence, rape, and gang activity have a potential to affect social stability and in part have been attributed to lack of jobs, inadequate recreational activities for the youth, the wide availability of methamphetamines, and absence of effective drug treatment facilities. Drug treatment centers have long been accused of human rights abuses, and the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) is just now beginning to grapple with a response. As the youth population continues to swell and job creation continues to diminish or stagnate, there is an acute need to address drug dependence in Cambodia. END SUMMARY. The Youth Problem -------------- ¶2. (SBU) A recent Interagency Conflict Assessment revealed that the growing youth population and low law enforcement capacity are two of the most significant issues threatening Cambodia's political, economic and social stability. Cambodia enjoyed double digit economic growth over the past decade. High growth rates have created expectations of continued prosperity among young people in a society where the median age is 25 and 24% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 25. As the global economic crisis hit Cambodia's export-driven economy, a widening gap developed between expectations and reality. The effect struck particularly hard on a naive Cambodian youth population who are slowly realizing that their expectations of easy jobs and money may be left unfulfilled. As a result, they are overly susceptible to negative social forces, and rates of drug abuse and illicit activity are on the rise. ¶3. (SBU) Stories of "spoiled children" running into trouble with the law litter the local media. These same teens in rehabilitation centers tell of selling gifts from their parents, such as motos and jewelry, to buy drugs. One rehabilitation resident stated he spent $1000 of his parent's money in one month on drugs, a huge sum in a country where the average family lives on less than a dollar a day. GDP per capita has steadily increased over the past decade, with only a slight drop in 2009 due to the global economic crisis. While reliable estimates on the size of Cambodia's emerging middle class do not exist, one of the country's leading think tank directors believes it to be anywhere from 5-10% of the population. For the Cambodian youth that is part of this growing middle class, the new concept of disposable income appears to be both seductive and dangerous. The Drug Problem -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Officially, law enforcement and education leaders state that the majority of middle class youth regularly attend school, stay out of trouble, and drug use has decreased due to "Prime Minister Hun Sen's crackdown on drugs and violence." However, this assessment does not necessarily reflect the reality on the ground. Although the exact number of illicit drug users in Cambodia is not known, the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) estimates it to be 6,000. According to NGOs and law enforcement experts working in the field, the actual figures are likely to be much higher - the United Nations has estimated that as many as half a million people in Cambodia may be drug users. Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO),the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and others have reported sharp spikes in drug use and increased production. According to DEA, there has been an uptick in regional contacts discussing the amount of drugs coming from Cambodia, and large lab busts indicate that Cambodia is no longer simply an easy transit route (Ref B). Off the record, the same RGC officials who laud the government's ability to control delinquent behavior told Poloff that there has been a sharp increase in violence and drug use among youth specifically from middle class and wealthy families. PHNOM PENH 00000113 002 OF 004 ¶5. (SBU) University students corroborate this by stories of rising drug use and premarital sex at school (both taboo in Cambodian culture). A Muslim student from Kampong Cham University told Poloff that approximately "65% of students take meth regularly. It is cheap, cool, easy to access, and then they can't stop." According to another student, "Five years ago it was mainly gangs - now everyone does it." An administrator for a semi-private drug rehabilitation center in Phnom Penh stated that just under half of his clients are students, with another third just out of school and the remainder social "undesirables" such as the homeless, sex workers, and street children who are placed there by the authorities. Middle class teens regularly buy easily available drugs and are known to rent rooms in guest houses with friends to hold "drug parties." Apparently this has become so widespread that in early February the district Governor of one of the more notorious drug areas in Phnom Penh warned guest house owners that failure to stop such gatherings would result in their businesses being shut down. High-end night clubs throughout Phnom Penh are filled with youth who have enough money to both enter the clubs, and purchase the party drug of choice - ice - which is readily available and sells for approximately $40-$50 a dose. ¶6. (SBU) The effects of ice are widely known - a highly addictive crystallized form of methamphetamine which attacks the pleasure centers of the brain, can cause sleeplessness, paranoia, depression, hyper sexuality, and with prolonged high-dose use, stimulate psychosis and the potential for extreme violence. Dubbed the "perfect high," the ice return-to-use rate after twice using has been documented as high as 95% (compared to 20% for heroin or crack). Studies in the U.S. show strong correlations between meth use and increased criminal activity, domestic violence, child abuse, and rape. According to an expert who has been working on organized crime issues in Cambodia for over 10 years, meth use is "off the scale." Describing meth use as a "cancer eating the Cambodian family and culture from the inside out," the expert warned that the paranoia associated with meth and the level of Post Traumatic Stress in the country from the Khmer Rouge era has created a "dangerous brew" where individuals go from normal to extreme violence in a fraction of a second. Although there is currently no empirical evidence linking it to drug use in Cambodia, local NGO Licadho reports the number of rape cases has been steadily increasing over the past few years, with approximately 60% of last year's cases involving victims who were minors. Also disturbing is the fact that many of the perpetrators were also minors. The Social and Economic Problem -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Besides availability, experts believe that the rise in drug use among the middle class youth can be attributed to a change in the culture where both parents now work and have less control over the daily activities of their children. Overcrowding in schools, little interaction between students and teachers, and no linkage between schools and parents have been described as obstacles to controlling drug use. Furthermore, although a principal at one of the prestigious high schools in Phnom Penh stated that drug use decreased since he constructed a huge gate around the school, locked students in during class time, and began providing drug awareness training, he indicated that parents lack knowledge about drugs and should be more involved in their children's lives. He also blamed a lack of alternatives for youth, and believed that more sports opportunities or vocational training would help to decrease drug use among the idle middle class. ¶8. (SBU) In addition to the social effects, the economic burden of meth abuse can be substantial. The costs associated with meth use in Cambodia are just beginning to emerge and can be seen in the form of lab cleanups, law enforcement including the arrest and incarceration of drug users, and social and health services. Many of these expenses currently fall on NGOs and international donors. According to experts, it is likely that the percentage of the Cambodian population addicted to meth at the very least equals that in the U.S. where it is estimated to be at 0.1%. The economic cost of meth use in the U.S. has been estimated by the RAND Corporation to be approximately $23.4 billion, including the burden of addiction, premature mortality, lost productivity, and drug treatment. Although Cambodia's PHNOM PENH 00000113 003 OF 004 population is much smaller with a lower rate for services, its economy is nevertheless ill equipped to handle the costs associated with drug addiction. The Treatment and Human Rights Problem -------------- ¶9. (SBU) In 2008 the NACD reported that 2,382 people were detained in government rehabilitation centers. Official numbers for 2009 are not yet available, however an official at the Cambodian Anti-Drug Department stated that specifically the number of youth sent for treatment has increased. According to a deputy director of the NACD, parents with money try to hide their children's drug use by secretly sending them to rehabilitation centers, often abroad. This phenomenon was confirmed by Channarith Chheng, director of a local think tank, who stated the majority send their children to private clinics in China or Australia - due both to the poor quality of rehabilitation centers in Cambodia and the readily accepted story that their child has gone abroad to visit family or study. Culturally, drug use is unmentionable, and certainly does not happen among "good families," which may explain why so many of the middle and upper class drug users are secretly sent to government rehabilitation centers or abroad for treatment. ¶10. (SBU) Given the reports of human rights abuses and lack of treatment at local rehabilitation centers, it is not surprising that those who can send their children outside Cambodia for treatment. The eleven government-run rehabilitation centers in Cambodia are boot camps at best and, according to a recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "torture centers" at worst. Drawing from interviews conducted in 2009 with 74 people including 53 who had been detained one or more times in a government center, the HRW report details cruel and inhuman treatment of drug users and other "undesirables" sent to Cambodia's rehabilitation centers. Such treatment includes being shocked with electric batons, whipped with twisted electrical wire, beaten, forced to perform arduous exercise and labor, and sexual abuse. Although he realized it is unrealistic, HRW author Joseph Amon told Poloff that his recommendation to immediately and permanently close all rehabilitation centers was intended to "spark discussion" of alternatives. He is particularly concerned that NGOs are working with the centers rather than looking at ways to support change. ¶11. (SBU) Indeed, few deny the validity of human rights concerns in these centers, where the majority of detainees are involuntary and approximately 1/3 are under the age of eighteen. Poloff visited one private and four government centers, and was openly told of involuntary methods to control the detainees, such as intense exercise and tying detainees up, and was shown electric shock wands which were "used fairly regularly" because the detainees could "get violent." ¶12. (SBU) Most RGC officials insist clients at the rehabilitation centers are there voluntarily; however the concept is far from clear. During a recent speech, the head of the NACD told the audience that "all drug users go to the centers voluntarily, and if they don't volunteer, we arrest them." This seemed to be the case in early December when the NACD was looking for volunteers for a human drug trial of a relatively unknown substance, Bong Sen, provided by the Vietnamese to "cure drug addiction." When volunteers did not materialize, drug users were rounded up and taken to the local police station where the director of the trial, Dr. Meas, told Poloff he "negotiated and convinced them to volunteer." Bong Sen had not been registered with the Ministry of Health for use in Cambodia, and information on the substance, its registration, and whether it had been subject to an ethical review was not made available to the "volunteers" or organizations involved, thereby foregoing informed and voluntary consent. ¶13. (SBU) At the Center for Education Correction and Vocation Training for the Victims of Drugs (CECVTVD),a center which Poloff visited but to which HRW was denied access, 10-20 detainees to a room are padlocked in from the outside at night and for a portion of the day after lunch. According to the director, the center receives about 20 new clients each month, 90% of whom are brought by parents or the police who have been asked by parents for assistance, and at least half of whom are students. According to the director, drug use is PHNOM PENH 00000113 004 OF 004 "shameful" and "unspeakable" for the family. Children as young as 10 have been housed at his facility and do not go to schoo during their months of "rehabilitation." ¶14. (SBU) Expenses related to drug treatment are required by law to be paid by the RGC. Nevertheless, these centers readily accept donations from parents, who also bring food and other items of comfort during the usual 3-6 month stint in the center. According to the HRW report and observers, while the centers take in the homeless, street children and sex workers, the majority of clients are from well-off families who can afford a $50-$200 a month "donation." These families can also better afford the alleged bribes needed to secure a spot in a detention center rather than being sent to prison after a drug related arrest. Given the lack of treatment provided at the centers, the profits can be high and costs low. Working on the Problems -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Although Cambodian officials dismissed both the report and its recommendation to close the centers, attention to the issue has recently sparked discussion about alternative forms of treatment. Instead of working within the centers to provide health and other essential services - as at least one NGO attempted before cancelling the program due to human rights issues - donors are now discussing ways to increase community services to eventually eliminate the need for residential centers. The idea is that, with more treatment options available for drug users, the numbers sent to government-run rehabilitation centers will slowly decrease. The Australian government has pledged funding for community services through its HIV/AIDS Asia Regional Program (HAARP). UNODC has an ongoing pilot program focusing on community based treatment in a few provinces. The head of NACD is receptive to changes in the approach to drug treatment, recently requested UNODC's program be expanded from the original 10 to 350 communes, and indicated that most of the centers will be closed by 2015. At that point, the NACD hopes to have more community based treatment options available, and will also have one "center of excellence" in Sihanoukville which is currently being built with Vietnamese funding. After a recent meeting with government officials, UNODC Regional Representative Gary Lewis stated he believes that the government is "concerned" by human rights abuse allegations in the HRW report and their intention to find alternatives is "sincere." ¶16. (SBU) At the last Mini-Dublin meeting, donors discussed the need to focus on a health and community response to the drug problem rather than a law-enforcement approach (Ref A). A prominent Cambodian intellectual whose own cousin is in China for drug treatment stated that "drug use among teenagers is increasing, and the government alone cannot control and manage its spread." He believes civil society can play an important role and that education, public awareness, job opportunities, sport and other cultural activities are the core solution to the drug problem. Others echo his views. ¶17. (SBU) While WHO, UNODC and others provide public awareness and are beginning to focus more on community based treatment, the Embassy is enhancing life skills training in schools, building capacity in health care, constructing sports infrastructure throughout the country, and has an increased emphasis on programs and opportunities for Cambodia's youth. However, until the job market is ready to absorb the approximately 200,000 youth leaving high school or university each year, the potential for increased drug use and associated economic burdens and social instability remains a real concern. Moreover, we will continue ongoing dialogs regarding involuntary confinement and other alleged human rights abuses at senior levels in an effort to eliminate or mitigate the negative impact of the centers until alternative forms of treatment are expanded to reach a wider population. RODLEY