Excellency Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice President, Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority

Mr Sim Sothun, Director, Persons with Disabilities Foundation

Ms Yeakyung Ji, Deputy Country Director, Korea International Cooperation Agency

Mr Ryan Tierney, First Secretary, Australian Embassy

Colleagues and friends

Today’s ceremony shows the importance that the Royal Government of Cambodia under the leadership of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority gives to victim assistance. In partnership with the Persons with Disabilities Foundation and the Battambang Physical Rehabilitation Centre to victims of explosive ordnance and persons with disabilities valuable rehabilitation services are availed to enhance people’s quality of life, social inclusion and wellbeing.

These services attend to short, medium, and long-term needs of women, girls, boys, and men who were injured by explosive ordnance and have suffered physical, psychological and sensory trauma as a result, whilst also addressing the needs of affected families and communities. This is a core pillar of mine action and requires a holistic and integrated multi-sector approach.

As the world and Cambodia grapple with COVID-19, communities affected by explosive ordnance cannot be forgotten or left behind – the risks and inequalities they face every day are exacerbated by constraints imposed by the pandemic.

The United Nations Development Programme, through the Clearing for Results: Mine Action for Human Development project, was able to expand its victim assistance component thanks to the valuable contribution of USD 1.1 million by the Republic of Korea to support work with the Persons with Disabilities Foundation and Physical Rehabilitation Centres.

With the Republic of Korea’s mine action approach - Mekong Peace Village Development Program - and starting today, the Clearing for Results project can boost its support to Rehabilitation Centres through much needed rehabilitation equipment and infrastructure, and outreach activities to enable people in remote areas or those with limited mobility to access these vital services. It will also develop the capacity of physical therapists and prosthetic and orthotic technicians to build a pool of local expertise.

Of course, these efforts are not done in isolation, and I would like to highlight our valuable partnerships with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Trauma Care Foundation, and the Cambodian Disabled People’s Organization, and all other actors in the mine action sector.

UNDP is a proud partner of the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand on mine action, working together to remove landmines and reduce their social, economic, and environmental impacts and to achieve Cambodia Sustainable Development Goal #18 and its ambition for mine free-Cambodia by 2025.  

Thank you.