PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on authorities, relevant institutions and the general public to join together to accelerate the journey towards achieving the vision of a mine-free Cambodia by 2025.

In the message released by the Prime Minister for the occasion of the 23rd Anniversary of Mine Awareness Day on February 24, he reflected on how the war left behind a large number of landmines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war in Cambodia, which caused thousands of people to be injured, maimed and killed, forcing many to face unprecedented tragedy.

The Prime Minister called on all relevant ministries and authorities at all levels to participate more actively in raising awareness on the dangers of landmines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war. He stated that the Mine Authority must continue to coordinate with national and international operators and stakeholders to identify mine-affected areas and call on donor countries and development partners to continue to support demining activities.

He also called on the people to not try and touch, burn, throw or play with any found cluster munitions or explosive remnants of war. Moreover, he urged citizens to not use land or enter areas that they are not familiar with or are suspected to have landmines, and called for a ban on buying, selling, storing and processing mines, bombs and other explosive remnants of war

For the past 29 years (1992-2021), an area of 2,325 square kilometers in Cambodia was cleared of landmines for use and cultivation, of which 71% has been allocated for agriculture, 8% for infrastructure and 21% for the general construction of houses, villagers, schools, health centers, and more, with over 7,322,536 people benefiting. In total, over 1,118,693 anti-personnel mines, 25,918 anti-tank mines and explosive remnants of war and 2,977,267 cluster munitions were found and destroyed between 1992-2021. Meanwhile, the number of victims to landmines has decreased from 4,320 in 1996 to 44 in 2021.