UNESCO urges urgent protection of cultural heritage amid Cambodia–Thailand tensions

UNESCO voiced serious concern over renewed Cambodia–Thailand tensions on December 10, urging urgent protection of cultural heritage and saying it had shared heritage-site coordinates with the parties to help prevent damage.

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Original publication: 2025-12-11T02:53:23Z

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Phnom Penh: In a statement dated December 10, 2025, UNESCO expressed serious concern over renewed tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, including around the World Heritage-listed Preah Vihear Temple, and called for urgent protection of the region’s cultural heritage in all its forms. UNESCO reminded all parties of their obligations and commitments to respect international law, including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. UNESCO said it would continue monitoring the region’s cultural heritage to ensure its protection. It had communicated the geographical coordinates of World Heritage-listed sites and sites of national significance to all parties concerned to prevent potential damage. It stood ready to provide necessary technical assistance and implement safeguarding measures as soon as conditions allowed. The news report said Preah Vihear Temple had suffered serious damage in renewed Thai shelling and attacks beginning on December 7, 2025, after earlier damage during what it described as Thai aggression from July 24 to 28, 2025. Preah Vihear Temple was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on July 7, 2008. It stands in the Dangrek mountain range in Choam Khsant district, Preah Vihear province, approximately more than 400 kilometres from Phnom Penh. The news report stated that Thai firing and indiscriminate bombing began on December 7, 2025, with the aim of violating Cambodia’s territorial integrity, and that Cambodian forces exercised their right to self-defence to protect national sovereignty after exercising restraint for more than 24 hours. By: KPS99TV

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