Cambodia

Please provide us with your views on the state of peace in the country you will represent at the One Young World Summit.

The Cambodia of today is definitely very different from that a quarter of a century ago. Even though the armed conflict in Cambodia took several years to come to an end, peace and stability has brought great benefits to the country. The peace agreements paved the way for other states to lift embargoes and sanctions against the country, and then a period of impressive economic growth kicked off with a steady GDP growth rate at 7.6% a year (average). Previously known as one of the world’s extremely poorest countries, Cambodia is now categorized by the UNDP as a lower middle-income country. Billions of dollars in aid have been put into rebuilding and restructuring. However, I am of the opinion that the economic benefits of peace, stability, and foreign investment are not shared equally among all Cambodians. Cambodia’s two main political parties deeply distrust each other, and the law - while it might adequately protect most human rights and fundamental freedoms on paper - has been used to silence advocates of freedom of expression. In short, not all Cambodians enjoy genuine equality before the law without discrimination. There is undoubtedly room for improvement and development, and there are lessons that need to be learnt for the country to go forward.

How do you think your work and/or activism contribute to a sustainable peace?

I believe that my work and (media) activism have been helping to open up Cambodia’s society, engage a lot of young people in media advocacy work (training hundreds of Cambodians and others in blogging and social media) and reducing the fear to speak up about important issues in the country. We need to cultivate and nurture a system in which people can have healthy debates and they can appreciate differences in opinions.