Safeguarding international schools in Cambodia: country guide

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) is the education ministry. Its 2016 Policy on Child Protection in Schools covers public and private education establishments.

This guide did not find a public rulebook for licensing international schools. Ask the ministry or local counsel which licence your school holds and which child protection rules come with it.

Schools also choose an accreditor. Some in Cambodia say they are accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) or the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Some are International Baccalaureate (IB) schools. Check each body's own directory before you rely on a school's website.

This guide found no single child protection act in force. A draft Law on Child Protection dated May 2023 was still under discussion in August 2023. The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children lists no new law in its November 2024 update.

The MoEYS Policy on Child Protection in Schools (September 2016) is a ministry policy. It asks schools to set up child protection focal groups that accept complaints, and to put visitor procedures in place.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF Cambodia) reported in October 2024 that schools have been required to adopt child protection policies and name focal points. The report does not say whether this binds private schools.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current law, including whether the draft has passed, with local counsel and the relevant authority. Cambodian laws are published in Khmer, and English texts are unofficial translations.

These laws carry the main rules that reach a school.

• Criminal Code (2009): offences against children, and the duty to report abuse of a child under 15.
• Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation (2008): trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography.
• Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims (2005): violence inside the family.
• Education Law (2007): protects learners from physical and mental punishment.
• Civil Code (2007): defines a minor as a person under 18.

The Criminal Code makes failing to report an offence. Any person who knows of mistreatment or sexual abuse of a child under 15, and does not tell the court or an administrative authority, can face prison.

The penalty is one to three years in prison and a fine of 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 riels. An English translation hosted by Open Development Cambodia numbers the offence Article 542. A March 2024 legal questionnaire answered by a Cambodian law firm cites it as Article 530.

The law applies to any person, so do not assume private school staff are exempt. It names a court or an administrative authority and leaves the office open.

Ask local counsel which office your school should use. Write its name into the procedure your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) owns.

For how other countries handle this, read mandatory reporting laws for international schools.

If a child is in immediate danger, call the police on 117 or an ambulance on 119. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your DSL the same day. Post these numbers where staff and students can see them.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) developed the Strong Family site with UNICEF support. It lists child-at-risk numbers. Numbers change, so test each one every term.

• Immediate danger: call 117 for police or 119 for an ambulance, as listed in UK government travel advice.
• 1280: Child Helpline Cambodia, free and open around the clock, for children and youth up to 25.
• 1288 or 023 997 919: the National Police Hotline on the MoSVY Strong Family page. Check both before you post them.
• Your DSL: the same day, every time.
• Your local counsel: ask which office takes abuse reports.

Accreditation and inspection bodies worldwide agreed a shared set of child protection standards through the International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP). The Council of International Schools says they cover handling allegations, choosing staff carefully and detecting and reporting abuse. They also cover teaching leaders, staff and students about boundaries, putting policies into practice and working with the local community.

Age is the first gap. The Criminal Code reporting duty covers children under 15, while the Civil Code defines a minor as anyone under 18.

Timing is the second. The offence applies when a person knows of abuse. Good practice asks staff to pass on a concern the same day, long before anyone is sure.

The rulebook is the third. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is guidance for schools in England and has no legal force in Cambodia. Many international schools use it as a model, so say in your policy which parts you follow.

Write one procedure that meets the higher bar. Every concern about any child under 18 goes to the DSL the same day. The DSL and the Head then decide, with local counsel, whether and where to report outside the school.

Cambodia has no enacted general personal data protection law in the sources this guide checked. DLA Piper's overview, current to mid-February 2026, says the law has not yet been enacted.

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has a draft law, and an Open Development Cambodia record lists a version dated 31 July 2026. DLA Piper says the draft is not final. It describes consent rules, purpose limits and data minimisation, and expects breach notification duties once a law takes effect.

Open Development Cambodia also lists Sub-Decree No. 252 of 22 December 2021 on the management, use and security of personal data. This guide could not confirm its scope, so ask local counsel whether it reaches schools.

For now, the Constitution, the Civil Code and the Criminal Code protect privacy in broad terms. DLA Piper found no rule that limits sending data abroad, except for licensed banks and financial institutions.

A gap in the law does not lower your duty of care. Keep safeguarding files with the DSL team, and ask every supplier where the data is stored and who can read it. Your accreditor, home-country law or parent contracts may set stricter rules.

For what to share and with whom, read information sharing in international schools.

Child Helpline Cambodia lists Khmer as its service language. A staff member who speaks only English may need a Khmer-speaking colleague to make the call. Name that colleague in your procedure.

Schools and homes follow different rules on discipline. Article 35 of the Education Law (2007) protects learners from physical and mental punishment. MoEYS Directive 922 bans hitting, kneeling and standing under the sun in all educational institutions, according to the Global Initiative.

The Civil Code lets a parent discipline a minor child to the extent necessary (Article 1045). The Global Initiative reports that the domestic violence law does not treat traditional discipline of children as domestic violence.

Parents may hold different expectations, but your school rule applies the same on campus. A concern that a child is being harmed at home still goes to your DSL the same day. MoEYS and UNICEF both use the term positive discipline, which is useful in staff training.

Staff who have lived in Cambodia can ask for a police certificate from the Criminal Records Department of the Ministry of Justice. Canada's immigration site calls it a Bulletin of Criminal Record. Applicants in Cambodia must visit the office to give fingerprints and bring a residence letter from their commune office.

Ask for a certificate from every country where the person has lived and worked for a long period. A Cambodian certificate adds to those checks. Read more on safer recruitment in international schools.

The MoEYS policy also says teachers who have been suspended, dismissed, reprimanded or prosecuted should be recorded, so other establishments do not hire them. This guide could not confirm how private schools can use such a register. Ask MoEYS.

Use this list in your first month. It is general information, not legal advice, so confirm the current law with local counsel and the relevant authority.

• Ask your Head which MoEYS licence the school holds and which child protection rules come with it.
• Ask local counsel which office takes reports of abuse of a child under 15, and write its name into your procedure.
• Write one procedure for every child under 18, name the school's child protection focal point, and require same-day reporting to you.
• Post 117, 119 and 1280 where staff and students can see them, and test each number every term.
• Name a Khmer-speaking contact who can make calls for staff who do not speak Khmer.
• Ask each software supplier where safeguarding data is stored and who can read it.
• Collect police certificates from every country where new staff have lived and worked.