Cambodia’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva has elaborated on the importance of multilateralism, citing Thailand’s unilateral actions for territorial expansion into Cambodia as a prime example of its absence.
Dara In, permanent representative of Cambodia to the UN in Geneva, addressed the General Debate during the UN’s Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme (ExCom), on October 8.
He stated that Cambodia had experienced displacement, endured conflict and subsequently rebuilt through law, solidarity and cooperation. The country has collaborated with the UN and UNHCR to protect the vulnerable, host those seeking refuge and contribute to peacekeeping, demining and humanitarian action.
“Yet, even as we meet here, the very principles that sustain this institution are being tested along our frontier. Armed incursions from Thailand have displaced civilians, destroyed homes and pagodas, and silenced once-peaceful communities,” he said.
“Even more alarming are threats of mass forced eviction against Cambodian families who have lived for generations under our administration — a campaign pursued under domestic pretexts that defies international law and disregards bilateral arrangements between the two nations,” he added.
Dara reminded the attending delegates that such acts are not mere border incidents but breaches of the legal order, the UN Charter and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids the forcible transfer of civilians, the destruction or seizure of property or collective punishment.
“The human toll is profound. Families flee in fear; livelihoods vanish overnight; monks, teachers and children abandon sanctuaries that were once devoted to faith and learning. Villages that had thrived for decades under Cambodian care now stand scarred and deserted — a stark reminder that when law falters, suffering multiplies,” he continued.
He reiterated that Cambodia has exercised restraint, respecting the law and holding a firm belief that justice and humanity must never yield to aggression. Cambodia also called for urgent humanitarian access and the removal of unlawful barricades surrounding civilian dwellings.
“We act not from weakness but from conviction: that restraint is strength, and that law, not might, must remain the measure of legitimacy. Yet, restraint must not be mistaken for acquiescence. The targeting of civilians, the detention of soldiers, and the threatened expulsion of entire communities strike at the heart of the international legal order,” he said, referring to the 18 Cambodian soldiers who remain in Thai custody.
He urged the member states to translate their theories into practice: to sustain humanitarian financing, strengthen field protection and defend the universality of international law from erosion by expediency.
“Cambodia’s appeal is clear: restore faith in multilateralism as the vessel of human dignity. Let no person be left unprotected; let no frontier become a theatre of fear; and let no legal obligation be traded for the politics of convenience,” he concluded.
Dara told The Post that he was deeply moved — almost overwhelmed — to address the ExCom, where every word carried the sorrow and strength of the Cambodian people along the border.
He described their anguish as more than a distant tale; it is the heartbeat of a wounded nation — aching, yet alive with courage amidst pain.
“As an ambassador, I am bound not merely by office but by conscience — to defend the dignity of our people, to ensure that their tears are not forgotten, nor their voices drowned by the noise of conflict,” he said.
“For when the law is trampled and humanity denied, silence is no virtue — it is surrender. And surrender has never been, and shall never be, our path,” he added.
