Phnom Penh (FN), Sep. 17 – Ly Thuch, First Vice-President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) and also the President of the Ottawa Convention, chaired the meeting with Committee on Cooperative Compliance and Ukraine with Yevheniia Filipenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva held on Tuesday (Sep 17).
Ly Thuch began with the expression of sincere appreciation to the members of the Committee on Cooperative Compliance and particularly Yevheniia Filipenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva.
He also recognized and praised the participation of Ukraine in the Regional Conference on Advancing Victim Assistance Implementation and Cooperation Victim Assistance in August in Slovenia. The president also encouraged Ukraine to continue providing an update on the issues to related to mine clearance as this is important for the Convention and relevant stakeholders to find ways to support Ukraine while the contamination in Ukraine is increasing due to the current war.
For her part, Ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko appreciated the efforts of the Convention and relevant stakeholders and acknowledge that it is important to ensure the clearance to make sure that the people can return to their normal life. Ukraine remains committed to the Convention and will continue to demonstrate openness and cooperations. The ambassador stated that Ukraine needs support from Cambodia as the country is experienced in mine action. Assistance and support from all States Parties is appreciated as clearing mines and explosive remnants of war requires a lot of resources and time.
Lastly, the president of the Ottawa Convention appreciated the commitment of Ukraine in continuing to provide an updated on mine clearance and affirmed that the Convention would work closely with Ukraine as this is important for the Fifth Review Conference. He stated that there had been serious discussion when drafting the Siem Reap-Angkor Action Plan to ensure that the new plan is realistic and operational.
=FRESH NEWS
