PHNOM PENH, 15 November 2019 – Over a period of more than 20 years, the Royal Government of Cambodia has cleared almost 1,900 square kilometers of land from landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). Making the land safe and putting it back to productive use have saved lives and raised incomes for more than 5.3 million people living in the rural areas in the North West of the country and along the border with Thailand.

The Government of Australia has been a long-term partner in this essential humanitarian and development work providing close to AUD 100 million towards clearance activities. From 2006 onwards, Australia has been a key contributor to the Clearing for Results (CfR) project, partnering with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victims Assistance Authority (CMAA), which has demonstrated strong leadership in driving clearance efforts, and with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Governments of Canada and Switzerland have also provided substantial support.

The first three phases of the project have successfully cleared and released 239 square kilometers of the most densely landmine and ERW contaminated lands. Albeit the safety issues, these areas had been used prior to clearance by local communities for farming or residential purposes.   This clearance has contributed to a remarkable decrease in the number of landmine and ERW casualties in Cambodia from 4,320 in 1996 to 58 in 2018. The project has also provided technical support to the CMAA to improve their effectiveness in regulating and leading the landmine sector.

Despite these achievements, landmines and ERW still persist across the country, and continue to hinder the full development and constrain the livelihood activities of the affected communities. A total area of proximately 2,000 square kilometers remains contaminated with landmines and ERW, according to the National Mine Action Strategy (NMAS) 2018-2025.

Building on their ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, Cambodia and Australia will continue to cooperate with each other and the United Nations/UNDP to implement the Convention’s norms. By signing the joint statement of commitment today, the CMAA, UNDP and Australia reaffirm their ongoing commitment to working towards a mine-free Cambodia by 2025.

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For media inquiries and interviews, please contact:

Mr. Eng Pheap, Director of Public Relations Department, CMAA, through engpheap@cmaa.gov.kh

Mr. Samruol IM, Communications Analyst from UNDP Cambodia through samruol.im@undp.org