Cambodia Hosts 5th Asia-Pacific Community-Based Inclusive Development Congress

The 5th Asia-Pacific Community-Based Inclusive Development Congress kicked off at Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel this morning under the chairmanship of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

In his keynote address, Samdech Techo Hun Sen highlighted the Royal Government of Cambodia’s commitment to promote the rehabilitation of the people with disabilities.

H.E. Vong Sauth, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation and the Chairperson of 5th Asia-Pacific Community-Based Inclusive Development Congress, said that the international event is held from Mar. 15-17, 2023 in close cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Community-Based Inclusive Development Network (CBID AP Network) and with the support of the national and international partners.

The three-day event is themed “Strengthening Social and Economic Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic through Community-Based Inclusive Development.”

Cambodia has paid high attention to promoting, supporting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities to enable them to participate in our society without any barriers, he said.

“I strongly believe that this useful event will give opportunities to all participants, through sharing their experiences and enhancing their solidarity, to achieve a disability inclusive and harmonious community in line with the principle of ‘Leave No One Behind’,” he underlined.

On this basis, for nearly a decade, the Royal Government has realised many great achievements that contribute to implementing the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022; the Incheon strategy “to make the right real” and to comply with the commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Cambodia Sustainable Development Goals (CSDGs), said H.E. Minister.

The first Asia-Pacific Community-Based Inclusive Development Congress took place in Thailand in 2009, the second in the Philippines in 2012, the third in Japan in 2015, and the fourth in Mongolia in 2019.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse