Cambodia Launches National Mine Action Policy 2026–2035 to Eradicate Explosive Remnants and Secure Land for Development

• Proeksa Meas
• 14 September 2026
• Local News
• 70 Views

Cambodia has officially launched its National Mine Action Policy 2026–2035, establishing a definitive national commitment to eradicate all landmines and explosive remnants of war across the Kingdom by 2035. Spearheaded under the direct guidance of Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet, the comprehensive ten-year roadmap was announced on social media and official channels by Senior Minister Ly Thuch, First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority.

Senior Minister Ly Thuch emphasized that the National Mine Action Policy 2026–2035 marks a major evolutionary shift in Cambodia’s humanitarian demining mission. After more than three decades of operations, national success will no longer be evaluated solely by the physical square kilometers of land cleared, but by the tangible socio-economic gains, infrastructure, and safe livelihoods that local communities build upon the reclaimed land. The ultimate objective is to achieve a nation entirely free from the impact of war hazards, ensuring that no Cambodian community is forced to live under the threat of explosive ordnance.

The strategic policy sets clear, phased targets to address all known contaminated areas across the country. Under its primary milestones, Cambodia aims to completely liberate all known landmine-contaminated fields by 2030, followed by the full clearance of all known cluster munition sites and high-priority explosive remnants of war areas by 2035. The scope of the policy explicitly encompasses newly impacted border zones and locations affected by Thai military strikes in 2025, ensuring a complete and systematic sweep of all nationwide hazards.

The ambitious decade-long policy builds upon extensive achievements recorded since the inception of Cambodia’s formal humanitarian mine action program in 1992. Between 1992 and December 2025, joint demining operations cleared and released a total of 3,541 square kilometers of contaminated land. Over this period, national and international demining teams located and safely destroyed more than 1.2 million anti-personnel mines, 26,700 anti-tank mines, and over 3.24 million explosive remnants of war, laying a safe foundation for agricultural expansion and rural development. (read more)

• Mine clearance
• UXO