A Cambodian human rights group says child labour and debt bondage are being widely practiced in the country's brick factories due to a rapid urbanisation, trapping families in a cycle of poverty.

In this May 2, 2011 file photo, Cambodian children prepare bricks to dry under the sunlight at a brick factory in Chheuteal village, Kandal province, some 27 kilometres (17 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
In this May 2, 2011 file photo, Cambodian children prepare bricks to dry under the sunlight at a brick factory in Chheuteal village, Kandal province, some 27 kilometres (17 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP)

A building boom in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh has fuelled child labour and debt bondage at brick factories that are illegal under Cambodian law.

The League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or LICADHO, says the two practices are responsible for trapping families in a cycle of poverty.

"We saw trends and signs of not only extreme child labour but most importantly bonded labour where entire families and not just even the primary families but even generations were bonded to the work," Naly Pilorge of the LICADHO said.

TRT World’s Caitlin McGee reports from Phnom Penh.

Source: TRT World