Sokhonn Prak, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, said that for decades, war and genocide traumatized his people and destroyed his country, but peace was finally achieved through the win-win policy of Samdech Techo Hun Sen that ended 30 years of conflict without a single bullet being fired.  “This peace allowed us to rebuild from complete ruin,” he stressed, citing the average 7 per cent annual growth that positioned Cambodia to graduate from least developed country status by 2029.  “Through this development, millions have been lifted out of poverty in the past decades,” he said.

With “complete peace” at home, Cambodia has been able to offer its contribution to peacebuilding and peacekeeping around the world.  “From a country once hosting a UN peacekeeping mission, Cambodia has become a steadfast contributor to global security,” he noted.  Since 2006, it has deployed over 10,000 peacekeepers – more than 800 of them women – to 10 UN missions across the globe.  “Cambodia’s transformation embodies the UNGA-80 theme, namely countries once in need can now become providers of peace and stability for others,” he said, warning that the hard-won peace is threatened “not by internal division, like in the past, but by a border conflict with a neighbour.”

“We are grateful that a ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump, effectively halted armed clashes that had caused deaths, injuries and destructions, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands innocent civilians,” he said. The ceasefire remains fragile.  He expressed concern over the forced eviction of Cambodian civilians and threats to evict hundreds more from the lands they have lived on for decades.  “As recently as this morning, there was an unprovoked attack near a sensitive site, following an allegation that our forces had opened fire first,” he said, underscoring that Cambodia’s troops had not - and had even refrained from any retaliatory action, as Cambodia is committed to peace.  He reaffirmed calls for dialogue and the peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues, urging strict and sincere adherence to the agreed terms of the ceasefire.