Australia provided AUD $2 million ($1.25 million) for phase IV of the Clearing for Results Project, implemented by the CMAA and UNDP. UNDP
Australia has provided another AUD $2 million AUD (approximately $1.25 million) to support Cambodia’s demining efforts, in phase IV of the Clearing for Results Project, a cost sharing agreement between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the UNDP.
A signing ceremony was held today, January 30, at the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) headquarters in Phnom Penh.
Through the Clearing for Results project, 384 square kilometres of mine-affected land has been cleared and returned to use. From 2020 to 2024, the project spent of $16 million for clearance and non-technical surveys, of which Australia contributed $4.2 million, according to the CMAA.
Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the CMAA, addressed the signing event. He explained that Australia, the UNDP and Cambodia have woven together strengths, resources and determination to create an unbreakable bond in the service of people’s safety and prosperity.
He said Australia has contributed over AUD $100 million to Cambodia through development cooperation, including more than $35 million to the Clearing for Results project since 2006, which has transformed countless lives.
“Your support has turned hazardous fields into fertile farmland, dangerous paths into safe routes to schools and contaminated areas into thriving communities,” he said.
Thuch also thanked the UNDP for its role in shaping Cambodia's mine action sector. Since the CMAA’s establishment in 2000, UNDP technical expertise and support have helped the authority to build a robust national institution capable of leading this vital sector, he added.
According to the CMAA, the Cambodian government also allocated $30 million from the national budget for mine clearance, with Prime Minister Hun Manet affirming his determination to maintain this momentum in mine action efforts.
“Today, Australia tops up its contribution by another AUD $2 million, bringing it to 22 per cent of the project's total budget,” said Alissar Chaker, UNDP resident representative to Cambodia.
“My sincere appreciation to Australian ambassador Derek Yip and his team and the people of Australia at large for their solidarity and steady commitment to ending the threats of landmines and Explosive Remnants of War in Cambodia and strengthening lasting peace, human dignity and international cooperation,” she added.
She noted that Australia stepped in the Clearing for Results in 2006, investing over AUD57 million in improving the safety and livelihoods of people in the Kingdom’s most affected provinces: Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Pailin and Preah Vihear.
During the current phase 2020 -2025, the project cleared and released 140 square kilometres of mine-contaminated land, benefitting over a quarter of a million people as of December 2024.
Australian ambassador Yip also attended the ceremony.
He explained that the contribution marks Australia’s ongoing commitment to working with Cambodia to achieve its ambitions for a mine-impact free future.
“This is not just a commitment and ambition of governments, but also of individuals. Dedicated, selfless and courageous deminers who work with painstaking care, patience and precision, risking their lives to undertake landmine clearance operations,” he said.
Yip also praised the CMAA for their role in efforts to end the use of indiscriminate weapons of war globally. He also expressed his condolences for the lost of two deminers in Oddar Meanchey and a truck driver in Battambang in the first month of 2025.
