The meeting was unanimous in its support for the holding of free, fair and credible elections in Cambodia on schedule and emphasised the international community's ongoing interest in seeing technical preparations put in place for the elections, without further delay. Australia is already providing technical assistance for the elections, and a number of other countries indicated that they also intended to provide assistance.
International support is vital if preparations are to be put in place in time.
I also call on the Cambodian Government to pass crucial electoral law and set up an independent National Electoral Commission in order to facilitate preparations for the elections. The meeting welcomed a number of recent positive developments in Cambodia, including the assurances given by the Cambodian Government to guarantee the safety of returning Cambodian politicians and the UN's role in monitoring their safety and full resumption of political activity. The meeting also welcomed signs that a political solution is being developed which will allow Prince Ranariddh to return to participate in the electoral process should he so choose. I would encourage all the Cambodian parties to move forward on a compromise which would assist in the credibility of the electoral process. There was considerable optimism at today's meeting that Cambodia is now moving in the right direction.