Oz offender ban may be felt in Cambodia
The Australian government on May 30 announced plans to ban those listed on the country’s national sex offender registry from travelling abroad – a plan that would nullify the passports of 20,000 offenders, including those who may be living or travelling in Cambodia. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said at a press conference in Canberra that 800 of the country’s registered sex offenders travelled abroad last year, and nearly half went to Southeast Asia. Many of those flouted requirements to notify authorities before leaving the country, she said. Cambodia, meanwhile, has long been a magnet for sex tourists, and Australian nationals have been arrested in the Kingdom on child sex charges in the past. Before coming into effect, the new law would have to be approved by the Senate, where the government does not hold a majority, but Bishop told reporters that she expected the other parties in the upper house to support the effort to curb international sex tourism involving minors.
