Note: Below are excepts from the letter sent by the The Blood Bricks team to H.E. Ith Sam Heng, Cambodia's Minister of Labour and Vocational Training.

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In response to our newly published report “Blood Bricks: Untold Stories of Modern Slavery and Climate Change from Cambodia” , we are pleased to hear that the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has raised concerns about debt-bonded labour in the brick-making industry. We welcome the opportunity to engage with the Cambodian government on this matter.

While child labour is an important problem that our research identifies, the focus of our study is on the reasons why families become indebted, and the role of unregulated microfinance, climate change, and other factors which push families into debt-bonded labour.

Moving forward, our hope is that dialogue between Royal Holloway researchers and the Cambodian government could be productive in shaping plans for the Decent Work Programme for Cambodia 2019-2023 which we understand is a key government priority at moment. Key recommendations from our report we would welcome discussing include:

Increased social protection and livelihood support...

Increased regulation of the microfinance sector...

Enforcement of Cambodia's Labour Law and Trafficking Law in curbing debt-bonded labour...