Cambodia in ASEAN

Cambodia joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 30 April 1999 as the organization’s tenth member and has taken the chairmanship of ASEAN twice, in 2002 and again in 2012. Human rights-related achievements or statements of intent under Cambodia’s Chairmanship include:

• The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and Phnom Penh Statement in November 2012,
• 2012 ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the Establishment of an ASEAN Mine Action Center to address the humanitarian challenges of landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Other achievements include the adoption of a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea by ASEAN Foreign Ministers and China on 4 November 2002. The Declaration is designed to diffuse tension between ASEAN Member States and China caused by conflicting territorial claims over the South China Sea.