Cambodia
Cambodia suffered from decades of armed conflict, up until the late 1990s. While its political situation has since stabilised, human rights violations and gun violence persist in the country.1 Due to this situation, Cambodia has high levels of weapons and ammunition trafficking.2 Landmines planted during armed conflicts throughout the 1980s and 1990s still pose a significant risk (mainly in the north-west of the country).3
The UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) and Nonviolence International are working on the ground to support the through-life management of ammunition in collaboration with the Cambodian Ministry of Defence. Efforts have included organising national and regional training sessions on developing plans to prevent arms and ammunition diversion and reduce illegal arms flows; sharing best practices on ammunition management; and providing training for Cambodian security forces on improving physical security and stockpile management practices.4
1 “World Report 2022: Cambodia Events of 2021,” Human Rights Watch, accessed July 19, 2022, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/cambodia.
2 Philip Alpers, Miles Lovell and Michael Picard, Cambodia – Gun Facts, Figures and the Law (GunPolicy.org, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 2022), https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/cambodia.
3 “Cambodia,” HALO Trust, accessed July 19, 2022, https://www.halotrust.org/where-we-work/south-asia/cambodia/.
4 “Ammunition Management Activity Platform (A-MAP),” GICHD, 2022, https://a-map.gichd.org.
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Further information
Accidental explosions
Since the Small Arms Survey began collecting data in 1979, four accidental explosions have been reported in Cambodia.
Table 1. Accidental explosions in Cambodia (1979–2021)
Year | Location | Owner/manager | Deaths | Injuries |
2009 | Ta Khmau | State (military) | 0 | 2 |
2005 | Andong Chen | State (military) | 6 | 20 |
2000 | N/A | State (military) | N/A | N/A |
1999 | Ream | State (military) | 0 | 0 |
Source: “Unplanned Explosions at Munitions Sites (UEMS) Database,” Small Arms Survey, updated December 15, 2021, https://smallarmssurvey.org/database/unplanned-explosions-munitions-sites-uems.
Cases of diversion
Several cases of diversion have been reported since 2019 in Cambodia.
Table 2. Cases of diversion of arms, ammunition and explosives in Cambodia since 2019
Year | Location | Description |
2022 | Siem Reap | Two AK-47 rifles and 12 bullets were stolen from a police station in Angkor Quan. |
2021 | Phnom Penh | A firearm was stolen from a police officer, along with 15 bullets. |
2020 | Battambang | Two AK guns and 36 bullets were stolen from the Aurum Doul police station. |
2019 | Derm Sre | A gun was stolen from a police officer, along with a magazine filled with seven bullets. |
Source: “Construction Worker Steals Gun and Ammo From Cop,” Cambodia Expats Online, July 30, 2019, https://cambodiaexpatsonline.com/newsworthy/construction-worker-steals-gun-and-ammo-from-cop-t30934.html; “Two Arrests after Careless Police Officer Loses Gun,” Cambodia News English, September 28, 2021, https://cne.wtf/2021/09/28/two-arrests-after-careless-police-officer-loses-gun/; “Two AK Guns Retrieved, Stolen from Police Station in Battambang,” Cambodia Expats Online, March 27, 2020, https://cambodiaexpatsonline.com/newsworthy/two-guns-retrieved-stolen-from-police-station-battambang-t37050.html; “Audacious in the Extreme! Cambodian Man Sneaks into Police Station and Steals Two AKs,” INF News, July 20, 2022, https://inf.news/en/world/96ae154c06b912badf76193cf20cd577.html.
Disposal
Insufficient information on the disposal of ammunition in Cambodia.
Needs
To further enhance safe and secure ammunition management, the following needs have been identified for Cambodia:
- Development or refinement of standards and procedures on stockpile management; and
- Capacity development for the destruction of surplus stockpiles.
Source: Cambodia, National Report on the Implementation of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) (New York: Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the UN, 2018), https://unoda-poa.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/KHM-English-63-SUBMITTED.pdf.
