Thuch firms up agenda for November mine conference
LY THUCH, vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), led a delegation to a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss plans for November’s 5th Review Conference of the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention, to be held in Siem Reap province.
While attending the January 22-27 meeting, the CMAA delegation met with senior officials from several participating nations, aiming to ensure the success of the conference.
The Kingdom was elected chair of the Ottawa Convention in November last year.
Thuch chaired meetings with officials from Turkey, England, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico, Austria, New Zealand, France, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Germany, Thailand, Sweden and Australia, as well as representatives from several organisations which support the convention.
He also held bilateral talks with Jullien Thoni, deputy permanent representative at the Swiss mission to the UN Office in Geneva.
According to the CMAA, Thoni expressed his admiration to Cambodia for its commitment to the 2024 chair of the Ottawa Convention, pledging that he would provide support to ensure that the Siem Reap summit is as successful as expected.
The Swiss side also pledged financial support for the summit, as well as for several meetings set to take place in Switzerland in June.
While meeting with Belgian permanent representative Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, Thuch extended an invitation to Belgium’s Prince Gabriel to attend the Siem Reap summit in November.
De Buytswerve pledged support for
the Kingdom’s chair of the conference, saying he would conduct research into the nations that have not yet become signatories to the convention, in a bid to encourage increased membership.
Thuch also met for talks with Latsamy Keomany, Lao permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva. He requested that Laos consider becoming a state party to the convention.
“As the chair of the 2024 Ottawa Convention, Cambodia has sought out cooperation and assistance from our development partners and donors in support of mine clearance action in Laos,” Thuch said.
“We requested that the Laos side consider becoming a state party to the Ottawa Convention. We will support demining activities in Laos, which follow the standards of the convention,” he added.
Keomany said Laos would consider Cambodia’s
request to join the convention.
“Even though Laos is not a state party to the Ottawa Convention, we support the implementation of its standards. We intend to attend the 5th review conference in Cambodia,” he said.
Thuch also held bilateral talks with Davaasuren Gerelmaa, Mongolian permanent representative to the UN Office, and made the same request for Mongolia to ratify the convention. He also pledged technical support, knowledge exchanges and mine clearance training.
Mongolia has previously announced its intention to join the convention, but has yet to do so.
Gerelmaa expressed her appreciation for Cambodia’s offer of assistance, and promised she would convey the Kingdom’s request to the Mongolian government for consideration.