Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), has suggested that the EU assist the CMAA in conducting gender mainstreaming activities within the demining sector, and support its studies of the quality of life of the survivors of unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and explosive remnants of war (ERW).

The suggestion came during his August 24 meeting with Maria del Carmen Moreno, head of the EU delegation to Cambodia, as she completed her diplomatic mission in Cambodia, according to the CMAA.

The project has already completed an assessment of more than 10,000 victims of landmines.

During the meeting, Thuch extended his gratitude to the EU for the part it has played in Cambodia’s progress to date. A number of EU member states have supported humanitarian mine action in Cambodia since 1992, he noted.

He explained that demining operations had provided safe land, reduced the risks faced by many ordinary people and improved the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands.

He also thanked the EU for its funding of the GLOBE project.

“This project provided us with financial support to host the upcoming 3rd Global Conference on Assistance to Mine Victims, Anti-Personnel and Explosive Remnants of War and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” he said.

Scheduled for October 2023, in collaboration with the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (ISU-APMBC), this forum will see delegations from more than 40 countries attending.

From 1992 up until June this year, the CMAA has cleared 2,795sq km of land mines, totalling 1,167,715 anti-personnel mines, 26,222 anti-tank mines and 3,070,526 UXOs and munitions.