Hun Sen applauds Cambodia's membership of UN's heritage committee

Oct 27, 2009, 9:30 GMT

   Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday welcomed his country's appointment as a member of the World Heritage Committee (WHC), the decision-making body of the UN's cultural body UNESCO.

   The committee decides what sites will be awarded World Heritage status, and asks member states to take action when listed properties are not properly managed.

   'Cambodia was elected as a member of the WHC thanks to her richness in cultural properties and history including intangible cultural properties, several of which were inscribed on the World Heritage List, namely the Royal Ballet, the Shadow Theatre, Angkor [Wat] area and the temple of Preah Vihear,' Hun Sen said.

   Chuch Phoeung, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, told the German Press Agency dpa that the election marked an important step.

   'Now that we are on the committee, we will have a voice at the table,' he said. 'We want other sites in Cambodia to be listed because many of our temples and national heritage properties have international value.'

   Chuch Phoeung said the annual meeting would provide Cambodia with a good opportunity to raise issues it felt were of importance.

   'We are just a small country, but our name is known to the world because of the diversity of our culture,' he said. 'And we want to share our experience in protecting World Heritage Sites to the world, and to learn from other countries to strengthen our knowledge.'

   Committee membership is for six years, but most members typically choose a four-year term, UNESCO notes on its website. Cambodia has been a member of UNESCO since 1951, but this is the first time it has been elected to the decision-making board.

   Cambodia and Thailand have a long-running disagreement over Preah Vihear, the ancient temple which sits on Cambodia's northern border and was awarded to Cambodia by the World Court in 1962. Some Thai nationalists were angered in 2008 when UNESCO added the site to the World Heritage List.