PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsUN call to stop criminalisation of surrogates in Cambodia

BioNews

UN call to stop criminalisation of surrogates in Cambodia

Published 15 November 2019 posted in News and appears in BioNews 1024

Author

Dr Lea Goetz

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis

The UN has called on Cambodia to repeal the criminalisation of surrogates...

The UN has called on Cambodia to repeal the criminalisation of surrogates. 

Cambodia outlawed commercial surrogacy in 2016, following similar bans in India, Nepal and Thailand (see BioNews 915). Last year 30 pregnant surrogates were imprisoned for 'cross-border human trafficking' because they were carrying children for, predominantly Chinese, intended parents. They have since been released on the condition that they raise the children themselves. 

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) condemned the decision, raising concern that 'such an obligation creates an additional financial and emotional burden on women who are in precarious situations, which led them to act as surrogates in the first place.' 

In addition to not receiving the $10,000 they were promised, the women must now raise an unplanned child and 'face discrimination and stigma from their families and communities for having acted as surrogates.'

The Cambodian government argues the arrest of the surrogate mothers themselves was necessary to protect the rights of the unborn children, and that the women were fully aware they were committing a crime and therefore had to be held responsible.

'[The women intended to] exchange their children for money. To bear a child and then sell it is very inhumane,' said Chou Bun Eng, the Secretary of State and Permanent Vice Chair of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking of Cambodia (NCCT). 

Conversely, CEDAW considers the women victims, as the current legislation does not 'take into account the unequal relations between the parties to a surrogacy arrangement,' and forms part of more general discrimination against women in Cambodia.  

At present, there are no legal or financial consequences for the Chinese clients, highlighting the need for international regulations.

'Surrogate women in Cambodia are likely to be at the sharp end of various economic and political hardships that caused them to make the decision to become a surrogate,' Chak Sopheap, Executive Director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights told Voice of America.

Sources and References

  • 13/11/2019
    Voice of America
    UN Reiterates Call to Abolish Criminalization of Surrogates
  • 11/11/2019
    United Nations
    UN women’s rights experts issue findings on Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, and Seychelles
  • 15/11/2019
    New Straits Times
    Women's rights situation in Cambodia still a concern

Related Articles

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Comment
21 October 2019 • 4 minutes read

Assisted reproduction crime network in Greece highlights need for monitoring surrogacy

by Katia Neofytou

This September, news broke of the dismantling of an organised crime group involved in illegal adoptions, egg-selling and commercial surrogacy in Thessaloniki, Greece...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
News
7 December 2018 • 2 minutes read

Cambodia releases detained surrogates

by Dr Eleanor Lynam

Thirty-two Cambodian women charged with human trafficking for acting as surrogates have been released on bail on the condition that they keep the children...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
News
16 November 2018 • 2 minutes read

Cambodia arrests 11 more surrogates, as Australian nurse released

by Dr Melanie Krause

A total of 18 people, including 11 pregnant women, arrested in Cambodia have been charged with offences relating to human trafficking for allegedly engaging in surrogacy for foreign couples...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
News
13 July 2018 • 1 minute read

Pregnant Cambodian surrogates charged with human trafficking

by Dr Melanie Krause

At least 32 pregnant Cambodian women have been charged for involvement in human trafficking...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
News
29 June 2018 • 2 minutes read

Cambodian raid finds 33 pregnant surrogates, with trafficking charges brought

by Dr Sam Sherratt

Police in Cambodia have discovered 33 pregnant women who were working as part of an illegal surrogacy operation in Phnom Penh...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
29 August 2017 • 2 minutes read

Cambodia moves to permanently ban commercial surrogacy

by Taqdeer Sidhu

Commercial surrogacy will be permanently banned in Cambodia if a new law drafted by Women's Affairs Ministry is approved...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Egg freezing petition forced to close by general election

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Call to end ban on HIV-positive partner gamete 'donation'

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Melanoma invades new tissues using nerve cell gene

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Exceeding alcohol limits could damage DNA and accelerate ageing

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Blood cell gene mutations affect mitochondria, increasing cardiovascular disease risk

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Jumping gene helps immune system fight viruses

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856