UN General Assembly
1973

189. The temples of Angkor, which are one of the most important heritages of the civilization of the world, have been militarily occupied since June 1970, in spite of the efforts of our Government, with the support of our Secretary-General and that of almost all the members of UNESCO, to place them under the special protection provided for by The Hague Convention of 1954. It is very sad to note that these monuments of inestimable artistic and cultural value have, in this way, become the objects of vandalism and have been exposed to the elements because of a lack of proper maintenance. 190. Indeed, since January 1972 these occupiers have prohibited access by the curators of Angkor, who work under the aegis of the French School of the Far East, an apolitical organization well known in the archaeological world. 191. For our part we are refraining from recovering these temples by force for fear of damaging them irremediably, even though the enemy might use them for military purposes.