PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen called for an end to the use of cluster bombs in the Russia-Ukraine war due to their high rate of civilian casualties. He is one of several human rights groups and fellow world leaders to call out the use of cluster bombs, whose use is banned by 123 countries due to their lingering effects long after conflicts.

On July 9, the PM released a Telegram message responding to talk of the United States sending cluster bombs to Ukraine to defend against Russian troops. He said that such a move was dangerous and would only hurt Ukraine in the long run. Cluster bombs are especially dangerous due to the high number of unexploded ordinance which are left behind, sometimes wreaking havoc on civilian populations for decades after.

PM Hun Sen wrote, "Cambodia has a painful history of receiving cluster bombings from the United States in the early 1970s. In more than half a century now, we have not found a way to destroy them completely."

He acknowledged that Cambodia has a small voice on the international stage, but out of compassion for the people of Ukraine, he called on the US President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy not to use cluster munitions in this war, because the real victims are the people, especially the people of Ukraine.