Cambodia

First of all, may I be permitted to join previous speakers in expressing deep sadness and sorrow at the loss of thousands of lives in Killari, India, as a result of the tragic earthquake on 30 September 1993. On behalf of the Government and people of Cambodia may I offer our profound condolences to the Government of India and to the relatives of the victims. It is a privilege and an honour for me to address the General Assembly at their forty-eighth session as the First Prime Minister of the democratically elected Royal Government of Cambodia, where, in accordance with the mandate given to the Organization by the Paris Agreements of 23 October 1991, the United Nations has played a historic, decisive and successful role in ending 23 years of suffering and misery for our people. May I express a warm welcome and congratulations to Mr. Samuel Insanally of the Republic of Guyana on his election as President of the United Nations General Assembly at its forty-eighth session. I am sure that Ambassador Insanally will lead the deliberations of this body to a successful conclusion. I also wish to convey our warmest thanks and appreciation for the tireless work undertaken by his predecessor, Mr. Stoyan Ganev of the Republic of Bulgaria, for his judicious and capable management of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. Cambodia welcomes Andorra, the Czech Republic, Eritrea, Monaco, the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Macedonia to this international body. Their decision to become Members of the United Nations will no doubt help to strengthen peace and security in the world. On behalf of His Majesty, Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia, of His Excellency, Mr. Hun Sen, Second Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia, and on behalf of our people, may I be permitted to express our profound and everlasting gratitude to Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, former Secretary-General of the United Nations; to Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, current Secretary-General of the United Nations; and to Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Cambodia, who are the artisans of the success of the United Nations operation in Cambodia, which has brought to our people peace, freedom, independence and the beginning of a period in which democracy will be established in our motherland. Availing myself of this solemn opportunity, I should like to recall the important historic role played by Indonesia, France, Thailand, Japan and the People’s Republic of China, which hosted crucial meetings on Cambodia that have led to the present positive results. I should like to express my deepest gratitude to the following eminent personalities, their Excellencies President Suharto and President François Mitterrand, Mr. Roland Dumas, Mr. Ali Alatas, Mr. Gareth Evans and Mr. Ahmed Rafeeuddin for their tireless contributions to the success of this precious peace process. We are most gratified by the many congratulatory messages from Governments welcoming the promulgation of the new Constitution of Cambodia and the reaccession to the throne of His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk. Last, but not least, the official recognition extended to the new, democratically elected Royal Government of Cambodia constitutes an act of justice, which to us is of great encouragement. The success of the United Nations operation in Cambodia can be described as a combination of trust in the good will of the international community to save Cambodia and of the will of the whole Cambodian population to save its homeland. Forty-eighth session - 4 October l993 7 The Cambodian people, by their participation, in huge numbers, in the free and fair elections held in our country last May, played a decisive role in sowing the seeds of democracy in Cambodia. His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk, father of the Cambodian nation, played a crucial role in encouraging and nurturing national reconciliation among all Khmers, and provided firm support for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and for Mr. Yasushi Akashi, the leader of UNTAC. The steps taken by His Majesty ensured success for the last stage of the peace plan, including the drafting of our new Constitution and the orderly transfer of power. I am indeed pleased to report that the peace process in Cambodia continues in accordance with the Paris Peace Agreements. The elections, in which, happily, huge numbers of my compatriots participated, were free and fair. Despite tremendous difficulties and constraints, the outcome was most encouraging for the future of democracy in Cambodia. Cambodia’s new Constitution, which was drafted by a sovereign Constituent Assembly, established a constitutional monarchy within the framework of a democratic and liberal political system, under which the people are the sole source of State power, and the judiciary is totally independent of the legislature and the executive. The constitutional monarchy represents the will of the people, expressed through their elected representatives in the constituent Assembly. Under the new Constitution, respect for human rights and individual freedoms has a key place. Even though we have the same leadership as we had during the transitional period, when the provisional Government was in power, the establishment of the Royal Government of Cambodia will ensure the social stability and peace that are so necessary to enable us all to dedicate ourselves to the reconstruction and development of our homeland. We still need a peaceful settlement of the Khmer Rouge problem. This problem must be resolved by the Cambodian people. We hope that a solution will be arrived at during the course of the November round-table discussions, at which His Majesty the King will preside. In this regard, the position of the Royal Government of Cambodia is perfectly clear: we are ready to welcome the Khmer Rouge group as advisers to the Royal Army and the Royal Government. However, we demand that, in return, the Khmer Rouge group assume the same responsibilities as were undertaken by the other three former parties that signed the Paris Agreements: that its administration be dismantled; that its armies and its zones become part of a single national entity, a unified and indivisible Cambodia whose territory and land and maritime borders are internationally recognized, as was the case in the 1960s; and that there be a central governmental structure consisting of a national Assembly, a Royal Government, Royal armed forces and a Royal Administration. The international community should guarantee the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia. Indeed, a unique international guarantee is clearly enshrined in the text of the Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict of 23 October 1991, Part III, which is entitled "Agreement concerning the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, neutrality and national unity of Cambodia". The Royal Government of Cambodia solemnly pledges that it will scrupulously respect the relevant clauses of articles 1 and 3 of Part III of the Agreement. Cambodia requests that, in return, all signatories to the Paris Agreements of 23 October 1991 respect the clauses contained in articles 2, 4 and 5 of Part III. The new Cambodia counts on all countries signatories to the Paris Agreements to "solemnly undertake to recognize and respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, neutrality and national unity of Cambodia." Notably, the parties must "refrain from interference, in any form whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, in the internal affairs of Cambodia." The Royal Government of Cambodia urges that those countries which have not yet subscribed to the Paris Agreements of 23 October 1991 do so in order to help Cambodia and the Cambodian people, who have suffered so much, to maintain and reinforce this fragile peace. This is something that benefits not only Cambodia but the entire Asia-Pacific region. Maintenance of peace will be the sole guarantee of recovery and reconstruction in Cambodia. 8 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session (spoke in French) We are determined to conclude this process, and we shall do so by ourselves. However, after 23 years of war and suffering, Cambodia is a devastated country. Thus, the new Cambodia needs aid and assistance from the international community. We pledge that we shall devote all our meagre human and financial resources and the extremely generous assistance of the international community to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of our devastated and impoverished country. We welcome the great success of the Tokyo Ministerial Conference on the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Cambodia that took place in June 1992 and the success of the international conference on the reconstruction of Cambodia that was held in Paris last month. The success of both these conferences is an indication of the international community’s great compassion for the Cambodian people, and we shall be for ever grateful. The Royal Government of Cambodia is determined, with the help of the international community, to take all appropriate measures to meet this tremendous challenge. We are determined to respect and abide fully by the arrangements provided for in Part IV of the Paris Agreements of 23 October 1991 on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Cambodia. It is precisely because we are determined to achieve these objectives that His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk, with the agreement of the United Nations Secretary- General’s Special Representative for Cambodia, asks, through the Secretary-General and the Security Council: First, a United Nations integrated office should be established in Cambodia. Secondly, the offices of the specialized agencies, such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Programme, should be retained in Phnom Penh. Thirdly, we should maintain the human rights component in Phnom Penh and expand it into a permanent human rights centre. Fourthly, we should continue the demining operations within the framework of the Cambodian Mine Action Center. Fifthly, we should actively maintain in Phnom Penh a team of military observers, who would help us to build confidence among the Cambodian people and would also serve as a guarantee against external threats. The Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to draw the attention of the international community to the problem of the mines which have been laid throughout Cambodia. Current research shows that there are between 6 million and 10 million mines in Cambodian soil. The Royal Government requests the ongoing cooperation of the international community in removing as many of these mines as possible. In particular, we request assistance from the central database of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, which is one of the most crucial aspects of the whole operation. The Cambodian Mine Action Centre has so far cleared over 3,883,230 square metres of minefield. The remaining task requires special equipment and a budget spanning the next 5 to 10 years. We hope that the international community can help us make our country safe for present and future generations. Also, as a signatory to the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and as the Angkor monuments have been listed since December 1992 as a world heritage site, we request the international community to give unstinting assistance to the Royal Government of Cambodia in its struggle against the illicit traffic of Khmer cultural patrimony, which has been subject to unprecedented looting and vandalism. In order to recover these valuable cultural properties, we appeal to all countries which export such goods and through which they are transported - whether or not they have ratified the foregoing Convention - to adopt the following steps to help us. First, they should prevent national museums and similar institutions from acquiring any antiquities which are native to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Secondly, they should ban the import of these cultural properties as soon as they are legally listed in the inventories of Khmer national patrimony, if they are not legally licensed by the competent Cambodian authorities for export purposes. Thirdly, they should take all necessary steps to ensure that antique dealers and merchants of cultural resources assist the Royal Government of Cambodia in recovering and repatriating those cultural treasures illegally exported from the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to express its deepest appreciation to the countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for their past and ongoing efforts to help Cambodia and the Cambodian people achieve peace, freedom and independence. We in Cambodia Forty-eighth session - 4 October l993 9 note with sincere admiration the tremendous development taking place in the countries of ASEAN, and we hope to learn much from their extensive experience. Cambodia very much regrets that conflict has engulfed the former Yugoslavia, a country that always maintained close and friendly relations with us. We sincerely hope that the current negotiations will put an end to the suffering of the innocent people of the various regions of that unfortunate country. Cambodia also regrets the renewal of conflicts in Somalia, Angola and Georgia. We hope that the intervention of the international community will put a swift end to these conflicts that have caused so much bloodshed. Cambodia congratulates the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Israel for reaching initial agreement on some of the issues that have divided them for so many years and caused so much suffering to the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. We urge them to pursue their efforts to achieve permanent peace. My Government is thus pleased to announce that Cambodia has officially restored diplomatic relations with the State of Israel at the ambassadorial level. Cambodia welcomes the progress achieved in the discussions between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United States of America. We support the 10-point programme proposed by President Kim Il Sung for the peaceful reunification of Korea, and we also support the total nuclear disarmament of the Korean peninsula. We have followed with satisfaction the positive developments in South Africa, where apartheid is being dismantled. We are aware that many obstacles remain and we hope that they can be removed without senseless violence and in peaceful and constructive cooperation between the black majority and the white minority. (spoke in English) Before I conclude, may I be permitted to pay profound homage to the courageous military and civilian personnel of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, who have given their lives for the cause of peace in my country. Their names are enshrined deep in our hearts. Cambodia’s complex problems have been solved peacefully thanks to the tireless efforts of Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Royal Government and people of Cambodia salute him and highly commend and praise him for his just leadership in the crucial Cambodia conflict and for bringing it to a peaceful settlement. The message the people of Cambodia have entrusted me to convey to the General Assembly is one of gratitude, of hope and of continuous cooperation with the international community with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and respect for human rights in Cambodia. We know that our task is huge, complex and by no means easy, but we pledge to do our utmost to bring it to a successful completion.