Malaysia: H.E. Lork Kheng, Chairwoman of the Commission on Public Health, Social Affairs, Veteran, Youth Rehabilitation, Labour, Vocational Training, and Women's Affairs of the National Assembly of Cambodia, on Thursday afternoon attended the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians of AIPA (WAIPA), held during the 46th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Malaysia.
According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, the meeting brought together delegations from AIPA member parliaments to deliberate on five draft resolutions, of which three were adopted. These included: Championing Collaborative Efforts on Women's Political Participation and Leadership in ASEAN, proposed by Malaysia and co-sponsored by Cambodia; Empowering Women and Advancing Gender Equality in ASEAN through the Care Economy, also proposed by Malaysia and co-sponsored by Cambodia; and Advancing Gender Equality by Promoting Digital Skills for Women, proposed by Laos and co-sponsored by Cambodia.
In her intervention, H.E. Lork Kheng reaffirmed Cambodia's commitment to ensuring that 'women and young girls across ASEAN and around the world can realise their full potential.' She stressed that during times of conflict and crisis, 'women and children are the most vulnerable,' and underscored the duty of parliamentarians to hold governments accountable for maintaining peace and stability.
The Cambodian delegation also raised concern over the recent armed conflict involving Cambodia, which had posed serious threats to human security, particularly for women and children. 'Peace and stability are at the centre - without them, we cannot achieve anything,' the delegation stated, cautioning that Thailand's continued violations of the ceasefire undermine trust, risk renewed hostilities, and damage ASEAN's credibility.
H.E. Lork Kheng expressed gratitude to the international community for supporting the Cambodia-Thailand ceasefire and concluded by urging all parliamentarians to 'uphold the values of peace and adhere firmly to the UN Charter and international law.'