Royal Government of Cambodia

Cambodian Government's Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons Issues

Peace art of guns

The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has launched a series of activities to address the problem of small arms & light weapons proliferation and misuse in Cambodia. They have undertaken these efforts both independently and in cooperation with the civil society and the international community, including the Working Group for Weapons Reduction (WGWR). The following text is a summary of significant government actions on small arms & light weapons since early 1999.

Weapons Destruction

Weapons burning

Collection and Destruction of Weapons
• During early 1999, the Municipality of Phnom Penh implemented an urban weapons collection campaign. 3,855 of the weapons collected in the campaign were publicly destroyed on 5 May 1999.
• The Ministry of Interior (MoI) followed with a national weapons collection campaign, collecting more than 130,000 weapons in 22 provinces until June 2003.
• The RGC destroyed more than 131,000 weapons (crushing and burning) in 32 public ceremonies across the country.

Natinal Small Arms Workshop
• On 14-15 June 2000, the MoI cooperated with the WGWR to organize a workshop, the first occasion on which small arms were openly discussed at a national level in Cambodia.
• The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed national and international communities and NGOs that had assisted and will assist in reducing and controlling arms in order to bring peace and stability to Cambodia.

National Commission
• On 21 June 2000, Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the National Commission for Weapons Management and Reform (NC).
• The NC is responsible for small arms efforts in Cambodia and directs the Provincial Weapons Confiscation and Collection Committees.

Weapons Legislation
• There is a one-page arms law in Cambodia from 1992. Other regulations exist, the most important being Sub Decree No. 38 (30 April 1999), which was the basis of the MoI collection program.
• The RGC is currently reviewing a draft arms law co-drafted by the MoI and the EU-ASAC. In October 2002 this new draft arms law in the National Assembly. The National Assembly will pass this law after the national election 2003.

Provincial and Inter-Provincial Small Arms and Security Workshops
• WGWR, in cooperation with local authorities and local NGOs, has organized provincial workshops to discuss local security and small arms issues, and their respective roles. - To date, there have been nine (9) such workshops encouraging government-civilian dialogue.
• WGWR and National Commission co-hosted the inter-provincial workshop on small arms collection campaign: reviewing and future action plan.

Demobilization and Disarmament
• The RGC plans to demobilize a total of 31,500 soldiers from the armed forces (RCAF).
• The Council for Demobilization of Armed Forces (CDAF) demobilized 1,500 ex-combatant soldiers between May and July 2000 in a pilot project. From 15 October to 26 December 2001, CDAF- demobilized an additional 15,000 soldiers in ten provinces.
• No collection of issued weapons took place before any of the demobilization phases.

International Cooperation Projects
• The RGC is cooperating with the European Union and JSAC (Japanese Assistance Team for Small Arms Management in Cambodia) on small arms and light weapons projects in Cambodia.
• Secured weapons storage facilities are being built in several provinces in Cambodia.
• A "Weapons for Development" pilot project is being undertaken in Kratie and Pursat provinces.
• The GRC is cooperating with the Oxfam Great Britain and WGWR on arms trade treaty.

Regional and International Engagement
• Regional Track-One and Track-Two dialogue on small arms took place in Cambodia during February 2001 through the ASEAN-ISIS network and the Asia Regional Forum (ARF).
• The RGC participated in the UN conference on the Illicit Trade in Small arms and Light Weapons in New York, USA July 2001, supporting the program of action.
• The RGC representatives participated in many regional and internationa lmeetings/workshops/conferences related to small arms and light weapons.

WGWR cooperates with the Royal Government of Cambodia in order to support the creation of national structures, policies, and action that demonstrate a commitment to weapons reduction and management and arms trade treaty campaigning.

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