Date: Friday, 3 July 2025, 9-11am
Venue: Conference Hall, Cam-ASEAN International School (Toul Kouk Branch)
RSVP: https://forms.gle/9kZ6h8pPsSFpD4Y67
Concept Note
This lecture aims to promote a deep understanding of the compulsory conciliation process under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as an international mechanism to settle disputes through peaceful means, particularly through the lenses of Timor-Leste’s experiences as a party directly involving in this process. The distinguished speaker, H.E. Marcos dos Reis da Costa, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Cambodia, will share his perspectives on Timor-Leste’s experiences in the compulsory conciliation process, with a focus on the country’s rationales, involvements in the overall procedures of this UNCLOS-mandate mechanism, and what these experiences contribute to peaceful dispute settlements of interstate relations in the maritime domain in the region and beyond.
Amb. Marcos dos Reis da Costa will deliver a 20-minute presentation, followed by 1 hour and a half of Q&A session. Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to CCRS, will moderate this talk.
Program
| 8:30-9:00am | Registration |
| 9:00-9:05 | Welcoming Statement Mr. Him Raksmey, Executive Director, CCRS |
| 9:05-11:00 | Presentation by H.E. Marcos dos Reis da Costa, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Cambodia Moderated by Him Rotha, Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to CCRS Q&A Discussion |
| 11:00 | End of the Public Lecture |
About Distinguished Role Players
H.E. Marcos dos Reis da Costa is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Prior to this post, he served as the Director General of Bilateral Affairs for Asia and Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MFAC).
Mr. da Costa began his career in the humanitarian sector, working with Médecins Sans Frontières, OXFAM, and the UNDP before joining the MFAC in 2001. Throughout his distinguished tenure, he has held several high-level positions, including Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister (2006) and Chief of Protocol during the 2007 UN Secretary-General visit. His foreign service includes key diplomatic postings as Second Secretary in Malaysia, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, and Counsellor at the Embassy in Jakarta.
A specialist in regional diplomacy, Mr. da Costa has spent much of his career leading technical teams and committees focused on border demarcation and negotiations with Indonesia. He holds an Executive Master of International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and a diploma in Business Administration from Malaysia. In recognition of his service to the nation, he was awarded the Order of Timor-Leste in 2025.
Ambassador Pou Sothirak is a retired academic currently serving as the Distinguished Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS). He was the Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace from May 2013 to August 2023. He was appointed as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia from September 2013 to January 2014.
He was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of the Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore from January 2009 to December 2012. He also served as Cambodian Ambassador to Japan from April 2005 to November 2008. He was elected Cambodian Member of Parliaments twice during the national general election in 1993 and 2003. He was appointed as Minister of Industry Mines and Energy of the Royal Government of Cambodia from 1993 to 1998. He has written extensively on various issues concerning the development of Cambodia and the region.