UK Pledges £1.6 Million for Mine Clearance in Cambodia
UK Pledges £1.6 Million for Mine Clearance in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, May 6, 2026 — The United Kingdom has pledged £1.6 million ($2 million) in assistance for Cambodia’s mine clearance and explosive ordnance risk education efforts over the next year, supporting the country’s goal of becoming mine-free by 2030, officials said on Wednesday.
The funding announcement was made at the British ambassador’s residence in Phnom Penh by British Ambassador Dominic Williams. The assistance will cover the 2026–2027 period and support humanitarian demining operations, community safety programmes and post-clearance agricultural development.
The aid package will be distributed among three demining organisations — HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and APOPO.
Under the programme, HALO Trust and MAG are expected to clear around 890,300 square metres of contaminated land across Battambang, Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey, Pailin, Pursat and Koh Kong provinces. The operations are projected to directly benefit more than 5,400 people.
The programme also aims to deliver more than 4,000 explosive ordnance awareness sessions to over 44,000 people, including women and girls in affected communities.
Britain will additionally support APOPO’s “Minefields to Ricefields” project, which combines mine clearance with agricultural redevelopment. The initiative is expected to rehabilitate approximately 3.4 million square metres of land and directly benefit at least 500 farming families, with hundreds more expected to gain indirectly.
Senior Minister Ly Thuch, first vice president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), said the partnership between Cambodia and the United Kingdom in humanitarian mine action has remained strong for more than four decades.
He said Cambodia remains committed to ensuring that no communities face threats from landmines by 2030, describing the target as a national priority.
According to Cambodian officials, the United Kingdom has contributed approximately £65 million to Cambodia’s humanitarian mine action sector to date.
Cambodia remains one of the countries most heavily affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance following decades of conflict, with demining efforts continuing across several border provinces.
