Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice-President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), asked the recently appointed UNDP Representative to Cambodia Alissar Chakar to continue support and provide additional resources for Cambodia’s demining efforts.

Thuch requested the assistance when he met Chaker during a courtesy call at the CMAA headquarters, where they discussed cooperation in mine action in Cambodia.

He thanked UNDP for supporting development in Cambodia, including mine clearance since 2006 through the Clearing for Results project. Phase IV of the project is underway.

“On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I request that Alissar Chaker continue to mobilise additional resources from donor communities and development partners to join the government in improving the lives of local people, saving lives and providing safe land by taking part in humanitarian mine clearance in Cambodia,” he said.

Chaker said UNDP was pleased to work with the government and was committed to continuing support in the work of demining to help the country reach its 2025 mine-free goal.

CMAA said that from 2006 to September 2021, the Mine Clearance Project has cleared 275sq km of land. The land has since been cultivated with house built for affected communities.

CMAA added that under the project, 71,849 anti-personnel mines; 1,515 anti-tank mines; and 214,542 explosive remnants of war had been detected. A total of 1,078,022 rural people have benefited from the project.