Next week, Cambodia’s record on child rights will be scrutinised by a United Nations panel in Geneva.

As one of 193 states to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Cambodia undergoes a record review by experts and member states periodically. Its first review was in 2000.

This year, issues in question include abuse of children in orphanages as well as child prostitution, labour and trafficking.

In a report assessing Cambodia’s child rights situation, NGOs provided dozens of recommendations, including to repeal corporal punishment, review laws for domestic adoption, update regulations for residential care facilities, implement birth registration policies and clarify legal guidelines for children working in informal or hazardous sectors.

The government’s response to the UN’s request for data on the topics and to the NGOs’ report, if submitted, was not available.

At the conclusion of the review at the end of this month, the UN committee will make its own recommendations on how Cambodia could strengthen child rights protections.