Words of Thanks

by His Excellency Mr. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister,

Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers,

Chairman of the Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO

Madame President,

The inscription of the Sacred Temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List is a matter very dear to the hearts of all Cambodians as the Temple represents one of the great triumphs of Khmer civilization.

The road to inscription has been long and not without difficulties. Many people have contributed to overcoming these difficulties and I would like to take this opportunity to express to them on behalf of my government and on behalf of the Cambodian people, our gratitude.

Last year in Christchurch, I spoke to the Committee with thanks to two great ladies. Let me do so again today, but this time I speak of three great ladies.

First, I would like to thank Her Excellency Madame Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director General for Culture of UNESCO. She has generously devoted many hours of her precious time to listening to all sides involved in the process and to finding the right path to inscription. Her exceptional diplomatic skills have been at times tested to the full and without her devotion and dedication, inscription might not have been achieved today. We thank her with all our heart.

Second, I would like to mention Her Excellency Ambassador Louise Oliver, US Permanent Representative to UNESCO. She too has lent her great diplomatic skills and brilliant mind to the cause of the inscription of the Sacred Temple of Preah Vihear. Her Excellency has taken the time to visit personally the Sacred Site of the Temple and thus knows at first hand why it is so worthy of inscription and why it is so dear to the heart of all Cambodians.

With her at this Session has been His Excellency Gerald C. Anderson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of States. He also has worked tirelessly to find a way to overcome the difficulties we have encountered and deserves much personal credit for today’s happy outcome.

The people of Cambodia will be forever in their debt.

Third among the great ladies, Madame President, I wish to acknowledge your exceptional contribution to the outcome of today’s decision. The Cambodian delegation is most grateful to you for your wise counsel and for your commitment to the achievement of a favourable outcome. You, also, have the eternal gratitude of the Cambodian people.

As I have said, Madame President, many people have given of their time and skills to the cause of inscription. The State Party of Cambodia expresses its gratitude to the governments of Belgium, the United States of America, France and India for providing support for the work of the experts who assisted in the preparation of the progress report and to the governments of China and Japan, as well as to ICCROM, for providing valuable input to this process. Of course, we express our thanks to each of those experts as well as to Her Excellency Ambassador Aziza Bennani, Permanent Delegate of Morocco to UNESCO and Her Excellency Ambassador Irène Rabenoro, Permanent Delegate of Madagascar to UNESCO.

Finally, Madame President, the Royal Government of Cambodia thanks the members of the World Heritage Committee for having decided today to inscribe the Sacred Temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List.

I would also like to reiterate the Royal Government of Cambodia’s long-standing position that the inscription of the Temple will not affect nor prejudice the rights of Cambodia and Thailand on the demarcation work of the Joint Commission for Land Boundary of the two countries.

Though Cambodia and Thailand may have had some differences of views regarding the listing of the Temple, this issue has not in any way affected the long-standing ties of friendship and co-operation between our two Kingdoms and peoples. Cambodia will therefore continue to co-operate with Thailand on all aspects of our rich relationship.

The Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to assure the Committee that it will make every reasonable effort to ensure that the Management Plan for the Sacred Temple of Preah Vihear will continue to be prepared in conformity with international conservation standards and with a view to maintaining the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. We dedicate ourselves to this objective with renewed vigour, inspired by the Decision of the Committee today.

Let me conclude by expressing the congratulation of the people of Cambodia to the people of Québec on the auspicious occasion of Québec’s 400^th Anniversary, and to the people of Canada on the occasion of their Confederation Day on 1 July.

Thank you Madame President.