A stream of visitors around Angkor Wat. [Photo by Johanna Son]

In a lengthy and impassioned speech at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)-sponsored Seventh East Asia and Pacific Ministerial Consultation on Children, Hun Sen declared that Cambodia had the most ''child victims'' because of ''mistakes'' committed by political leaders.

Cambodia is still haunted by its past and its psychological wounds are still raw. The best current estimate is that 1.7 million people died of starvation, forced labour, disease or execution during the Khmer Rouge era, from 1975 to 1979.

''After the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia was left with the most orphans in the world,'' Hun Sen told more than 200 officials, development experts and members of private aid groups at the opening of three days of ministerial-level talks on the plight of children.

The prime minister, who was initially a member of the Khmer Rouge but then fought to liberate the country from Pol Pot's rule, declared that it had taken 29 years to solve the problems created by military conflict.

But he added that Cambodia still faced problems like child trafficking and sex tourism.

Still, he said, ''The Royal Government has introduced necessary measures to prevent child trafficking and is cracking down on businesses using under-aged children as labourers."

The ministerial-level talks, also known as MINCON, is the only high-level meeting of its type dedicated to children. It has been held every two years since 1991, a year after the World Summit for Children. This year's focus is on disparity, adolescence and survival.

''Evidence indicates that inequities and disparities are increasing in this region. The fruits of growth have not been equally shared. Many families are deprived of access to basic social services that are fundamental to the fulfillment of their rights,'' said Carol Bellamy, UNICEF's executive director.

''Those in the line of fire are most often adolescents and young people, who form a growing segment of the region's population and yet remain among the most marginalised,'' she added.

''If we want to tackle disparities and achieve more equitable development, we have to invest more in children. The region, for example, spends much less per capita than the global average on public health,'' Bellamy pointed out.

When one compares indicators for Cambodia and richer countries in the region, one can see why this issue, which UNICEF's Bellamy has called the ''ugly underbelly of prosperity in East Asia'', is so important.

According to U.N. statistics, 34 percent of Cambodia's population lives on less than one dollar a day, compared with two percent for neighbouring Thailand.

Cambodia's mortality rate for children under five years of age is 140 for every 1,000 live births in 2003, compared with 26 for every 1,000 in Thailand. Life expectancy at birth is 57 years for Cambodia, compared with 69 for Thailand.

But perhaps the biggest threat facing children in Cambodia is political instability and military conflict.

Hun Sen said that these are harder to deal with than natural disasters, such as the tsunami that devastated parts of Asia in December. ''We can solve the problems caused by tsunamis in a few years, but it takes many years to solve problems caused by war."

In Cambodia, the effects of conflict are still felt everyday. According to Rodney Hatfield, UNICEF's Cambodia representative, more than 1,000 casualties occur each year from landmines and unexploded ordnance.

''This figure goes up when there is an increase in the price of scrap metal, as people look for old bombs made of good quality steel to sell,'' said Hatfield. ''There are many such devices lying around as half a million tonnes of bombs were dropped on Cambodia by the United States.''

Still, Hatfield is optimistic that real progress is being made on the plight of children. ''If we can't do something in Cambodia, I don't know where we can,'' he said. ''There is progress and there is potential for progress. There is an awful lot to do, but it's not hopeless.'' (END/Copyright IPS)