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STATEMENT BY

HE. MS. MU SOCHUA

MINISTER

MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND VETERANS AFFAIRS

OF THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF CAMBODIA

TO THE 23rd SPECIAL SESSION OF THE UNITED

NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

"WOMEN 2000 : GENDER EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT,

AND PEACE FOR THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY."

New York, June 07, 2000

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Cambodia is a country in the process of recovery after decades of war and the destruction of its social structures. The need for the inclusion and participation of the women of Cambodia in the development process is not merely one of political correctness but rather a pre‑requisite for the country's economic and social regeneration, a fact that the Royal Government is well aware of and dedicated to the implementation of change.

The Royal Government has taken steps to address the social and economic destruction caused by the armed conflict and the emerging challenges of the introduction of the free‑market economy and globalization which impinge on the lives of the women of Cambodia and of society in general.

A full‑time female minister of the Ministry of Women's and Veterans' Affairs was appointed after the election of 1998. Neary Rattanak ‑ Women are Precious Gems, the five‑year plan, launched on International Women's Day March 8, 1999 is to direct the operations of the Ministry in the medium term. The plan elaborates a nation‑wide effort to examine the status and rights of women and to devise the means by which to bring women into the decision‑making process at all levels.

In applying the Neary Rattanak, the Ministry of Women and Veterans' Affairs has not only engaged in policy‑making. We have established clear strategies to mainstream gender and ensure nation‑wide mechanism to monitor the implementation of these strategies, with clear indicators and a check board to measure the improvement of the status of women and the girl child in four main areas: (1) education; (2) reproductive health; (3) economic empowerment and; (4) legal protection.

In order to educate all citizens on the devastating social and economic consequences of trafficking in women and children, recently the Ministry has launched a major national campaign on the Prevention of all Forms of Trafficking in Women and Children. Further, the Ministry of Interior, in order to improve the capacity of the police, judiciary and prosecutors, has launched a program on Law Enforcement against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children. Such capacity building and educational campaigns are expected to have a deep impact on the societal values and the physical protection of girls and women in Cambodia.

In addition, the Ministry of Education has prepared a National Action Plan for Girls' Education aimed at raising education attainment of girls. Within this framework, quality and efficiency improvements to basic education of girls will be complemented by support for adolescent girls to continue their basic education.

The key issue of the legal protection of women is now being advanced in the context of the setting up of a National Council on Judicial Reform. It will be necessary to integrate gender issues from the earliest stages of development of the comprehensive judicial reform program in order to establish mechanisms for effective legal protection for women. Other initiatives such as promoting the recruitment of female officers among the police and the appointment of women judges, intensive training for legal professions on women's legal rights, and legal literacy for the general public on gender issues are also planned.

The Royal Government attaches great importance to increasing women's access to quality health care and services. Since 1996, the Ministry of Health has undertaken far‑reaching organizational and financial reforms to strengthen the health system, including the quality of, and access to, services for women and girls. HIV/AIDS has been recognized as a major threat to women. In 1999, a Policy on Women, the Girl Child and HIV/AIDS was developed to address this growing concern.

With regard to civil society, the social inclusion of women has been addressed by the Royal Government in the active encouragement and participation of women in the planning and management of local development through elected village and commune development committees. Forty percent of the members of these local development committees are women. This commitment to the inclusion of women in the decision‑making processes was evident by the large participation of women in the 1998 National Election and the entry of 14 women members, an increase from S, into the National Assembly.

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In my brief intervention today, I have given you a summary of the most significant developments with regard to the advancement of women in Cambodia as laid in the Beijing Platform for Action. However, much remains to be done, a fact acknowledged by the Royal Government and to which it is committed. Although the commitment is in place, Cambodia still requires substantial external financial support and solidarity to achieve this.

Thank You.