New United Nations resident coordinator Joseph Scheuer expressed his support for the establishment of the “Mine-Free Cambodia 2025 Fund” and hinted that the UN was interesting in helping Cambodia to achieve its 2025 goal.
Scheuer met for talks with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) on February 2 to discuss cooperation on mine sector in Cambodia.
“Scheuer understands the efforts made by the Cambodian government and the active participation of many sectors in mine action. He would like to mobilise more resources from abroad to contribute to humanitarian work in Cambodia,” said a CMAA social media post.
The CMAA said that the UN resident coordinator expressed his commitment to support demining work and hoped that the mine-free goal will be achieved.
Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and first vice-president of the CMAA, thanked the UN for supporting Cambodia’s demining efforts, which have been placed as Goal 9 of the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (CMDG) and Goal 18 of Cambodia’s Sustainable Development Goals (CSDG).
Thuch said that mine action has reached a turning point following the many achievements of the past 30 years.
“A huge area of contaminated land has been cleared and made safe for socio-economic development,” he added.
He said that on behalf of the government, the CMAA regarded the UN as a close friend who supported Cambodia through the peace process and development, let alone in mine action.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said recently that from 1992 to 2021, Cambodia had cleared 2,325sq km of minefields and restored it to available land. 71 per cent of the cleared area is now used for agriculture, 8 per cent went to infrastructure, and 21 per cent went to the construction of homes, schools, and other social services. A total of more than 7 million people have benefited from the clearances.
