Focus on Arts and Ecology

By Sar Socheath, September 27, 2021 

Cambodia reaffirmed its support for the United Nations’ Security Council reform, Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) from Phnom Penh, via videoconference on Saturday night.

Mr Hun Sen emphasised that the changing realities of the twenty-first century demand a newly revamped and responsive United Nations.

“The organisation requires a more democratic, inclusive, and representative approach to the problems of the day. In this light, Cambodia fully supports the Secretary-General’s proactive efforts to make the organisation nimbler and responsive to the needs of its Member States”, he said. “The relationship between the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the United Nations Secretariat must also be reinvigorated. In this regard, Cambodia wishes to reaffirm its support for the Security Council reform”.

“We are of the view that the foremost priority should be given to increasing the representation of developing countries which comprise the vast majority of Member States”, he underlined.

During his address, Mr Hun Sen also expressed his heartfelt appreciation to Volkan Bozkir for his past efforts to guide the work of the 75th Session of the UNGA, and also congratulated Abdulla Shahid for his election as the president of the 76th UNGA Session.

He also congratulated Antonio Guterres on his second term reappointment as the UN Secretary-General.

Mr Hun Sen reiterated the government’s commitment and contribution to world peace and said international peace and security are of utmost importance for a sustainable future.

“Cambodia would like to reiterate its longstanding position that the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security rests with UN,” he said.

He noted that since 2006, Cambodia has contributed more than 7,500 troops to serve in various UN peacekeeping missions across the globe, and a number of them have made the ultimate sacrifice during their mission to protect the innocent.

Mr Hun Sen said that moreover, Cambodia supports the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping Plus (A4P+) initiative and also the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda which will help integrate a meaningful gender perspective in various peacekeeping operations.

On climate change, Mr Hun Sen said it is another impending challenge that requires urgent and concrete global actions at all levels.

In this context, Cambodia supports the Secretary-General’s call to scale up support for regional adaptation and mitigation efforts and reaffirm our commitment to the Paris Agreement, in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, he said.

At the same time, the premier also told the world about Cambodia’s hosting virtually the 13th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM13) with a theme “Strengthening multilateralism for shared growth” and being the incoming chair of ASEAN next year.

Cambodia will seek to address the common challenges facing our region. With a strong solidarity from ASEAN Member States and the support of its external partners, Cambodia will aim to further advance the ASEAN Community building process and to sustain ASEAN as a region of critical importance for global trade, investment and supply chains. Cambodia will continue to push for a more vibrant and harmonious ASEAN Community with better protection of migrant workers, a greener and more inclusive development agenda, and a more advanced digital transformation for MSMEs, women and youth entrepreneurship, he added.

(Sources: Khmer Times)