Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said democracy has taken strong hold in Cambodia.
Speaking to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Hun Sen also said human rights is fully protected in his country. He admitted the road ahead toward social and economic development will be long and difficult but Cambodia is committed to it.
With regard to development, Hun Sen said politically driven hidden agendas and shifting ideologies aimed at bringing coercive influence on the recipients must end. He said they only served to punish the poor.
The prime minister said most aid money do not reach the real poor because a large amount was paid for technical assistance and studies. He said a lot of money ends up benefitting the economy of donor countries or consultants from other countries, who were either incompetent or ignorant about conditions of the countries receiving aid.
He said successful development required a greater net transfer of resources for real investments in poor countries in the form of grants. That way, Hun Sen said, poor countries would be able to implement projects and reap the benefit.
While Prime Minister Hun Sen was speaking inside the UN headquarters, about 30 Cambodian-Americans from different states gathered in front of the UN to protest against the prime minister's government.