By:
• Sao Phal Niseiy

• September 13, 2024 , 5:15 PM

PHNOM PENH – Prime Minister Hun Manet says the country’s sustainable future depends on the government's ability to empower and listen to the voice of the young generation and respect for human rights.

At a United Nations-run Global Call event online, he spoke of the country's strong commitment to engaging with young people to shape Cambodia’s sustainable future. 

“Our national initiatives aimed at empowering and involving youth highlight our dedication to ensuring their voices are heard nationally and globally,” he said at the September 12 event. 

He also spoke of the importance of human rights, which Cambodia considered to be another core of the national vision.

“We are determined to ensure that our nation’s progress is just and inclusive,” he said. 

Cambodia has long been criticized for failing to uphold human rights standards and backsliding on democracy, including clamping down on human rights and environmental activists despite last year's leadership change. In August, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reported that Cambodian authorities had arbitrarily arrested at least 94 people since late July 2024 for publicly criticizing the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV).

However, the Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) rejected the claim, stating that the arrest was justified based on concrete evidence and necessary to maintain public order and national security.

Manet's speech was given at the event, which Namibia and Germany co-hosted ahead of the Summit of Future (SoF), scheduled for 22-23 September at the UN headquarters in New York. 

UN Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder said the upcoming landmark SoF would offer a platform for global leaders to work together and envisage innovative solutions to address increasingly complex global challenges as it is expected to gather around 130 heads of state and governments. 

After the summit, three important documents will be adopted, including an inter-governmentally negotiated, action-oriented Pact for the Future, to which two other documents will be annexed, a global digital compact, and a declaration on future generations.  Member states are in the final stages of negotiating the documents.  

“The idea of the Summit of the Future is to render the United Nations a multilateral system more effective in the fulfilment of its mandate, to make it more participatory, more networked, this in the face of the very clear global challenges that we face,” Ryder said.

Hun Manet underscored the government’s key priorities in balancing economic growth with environmental protection while leapfrogging its digital transformation. 

“Cambodia is making great strides in closing the digital divide and promoting digital literacy,” he said, pointing out that ensuring fair access to technology is key to innovation and sustainable economic development.

Cambodia’s key contribution to the Pact for Future

Hun Manet drew attention to Cambodia’s history of conflict and civil war, pointing out that peace is the foundation of every nation’s progress.

“History shows that without peace, goals like ending poverty, providing quality education, addressing climate change, and achieving sustainable economic development have become far more challenging,” he said.  

This experience reminded all countries that solidarity is key to achieving shared global goals. 

On global peace and security, Manet emphasized Cambodia's continuous commitment to global peace by deploying its forces for peacekeeping missions under the UN's umbrella.

“Since 2006, over 9,000 Cambodian peacekeepers—800 of whom are women—have participated in 11 UN missions, particularly focusing on demining efforts."

He reaffirmed Cambodia’s commitment to the UN's principles and the Pact of the Future goals, which the members will issue following the summit. 

“History is a testament to the power of peace, and as a nation, we stand ready to fully engage with the international community to ensure peace, stability, and shared prosperity become a lasting reality for all,” he concluded.  

Call for ambitious actions among member states to safeguard a better future 

Sharing the stage at the Global Call Event, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the leaders of member states to bolster their efforts and commitment in the final stages of negotiating documents. 

“As we reach the end of negotiations on the three texts, I appeal to all governments to be as ambitious as possible—to restore the hope and trust we need to address the dramatic challenges of our time with a new global consensus,” Guterres said. 

In his speech, Guterres focused heavily on increasing global challenges, ranging from rising conflicts to intensifying impacts of the climate crisis and the lack of global financial contribution to assist least developed countries in lifting themselves out of debt and investing in sustainable development and climate action. 

Guterres noted that as shocks become more complex and disruptive, they require more updated and reformed global institutions to engender more innovative and effective solutions.   

“We have no effective global response to new and even existential threats,” the UN chief stressed.

“The Summit of the Future is an important step in the journey to build stronger and more effective multilateralism.”