Phnom Penh: Cambodia has called for continued support from the international community to protect the Preah Vihear Temple site, a World Heritage Site.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts on July 22, 2026, Ms. Phoeung Sakona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, led the Cambodian delegation to attend the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which will be held from July 19 to 29, 2026 in Busan, Republic of Korea.
In her address to the meeting, the Minister expressed her deep gratitude to the Republic of Korea for its warm hospitality and thanked the World Heritage Center ICOMOS and all international partners. who continued to support Cambodia’s efforts to conserve and protect the Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage Site.
Cambodia also expressed its appreciation for the international community’s attention to the Preah Vihear Temple following the armed conflict on the Cambodian-Thai border in 2025, in particular the dispatch of a joint advisory mission between the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS that was carried out in March 2026 at the invitation of the Royal Government of Cambodia.
The Minister informed the meeting that the armed conflict in July and December 2025 had caused serious damage to the World Heritage Site, affecting its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), integrity and authenticity. The temple structures have been severely damaged by direct attacks, while local communities are still forced to relocate and are unable to access sacred sites that are part of their cultural, traditional, religious and identity heritage.
The Minister also highlighted that, with the support of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and other international partners, Cambodia has implemented several urgent measures, including clearing cluster munitions and artillery fragments, preparing 3D documentation of the temple, protecting vulnerable structures and registering, and documenting architectural fragments to support future conservation and restoration work.
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