ASEAN REGIONAL MINE ACTION CENTER
27
Jan
Meeting with H.E. Mr. Patrick Murphy, Ambassador of the United States (U.S) Embassy in Phnom Penh
On 27 January 2021, ARMAC was delighted to receive H.E. Mr. Patrick Murphy, the United States (US) Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, for a meeting with the Chair of the Steering Committee of ARMAC and Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Mr. Pengiran Kasmirhan Pengiran Tahir, and the Executive Director of ARMAC, Mr. Prum Suonpraseth.
ARMAC thanks Ambassador Murphy for his visit to ARMAC Permanent Secretariat, and welcome the US longstanding commitment to address landmines/explosive remnants of war (ERW) issues in Cambodia and the ASEAN region.
Moving forward, ARMAC looks forward to strengthen the joint efforts with the US Government in this matter.
11
Jan
ARMAC Joins Forces with the Republic of Korea and Other Stakeholders for Victim Assistance in ASEAN
Phnom Penh, 11 January 2021 – The Government of the Republic of Korea through ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF) provided the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) with an approximate amount of USD 2,061,429.68 to fund the “Enhance Victim Assistance Programmes in the ASEAN Member States” programme.
The aforesaid three-year programme aims to strengthen the assistance provided to victims through the achievement of five objectives. First objective of this project is to promote the establishment of a victim assistance network as a regional platform for various stakeholders within ASEAN. This network will provide a platform for victim assistance stakeholders in the region to communicate and coordinate among each other.
Taking into account the importance of expertise, knowledge and experience exchange among victim assistance stakeholders, this programme also aims to assist the AMS on victim assistance related knowledge sharing, needs and resources assessments and its mobilisation. It is hoped that through this exchange all the victim assistance stakeholders in ASEAN are able to improve their assistance provision to the victims of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW).
This programme will also play an important role in assessing the needs of the victims of mines/ERW for the government and other victim assistance providers to consider the provision of adequate assistance to these victims. This will also help ARMAC in setting priorities for its victim assistance programme activities in the coming years.
Further, in collaboration with SingHealth, ARMAC and Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority will organise train-the-trainers in psychosocial support to victims of mines/ERW in Cambodia by targeting more than 150 trainees from various stakeholders including survivor networks, medical practitioners and relevant organisation/institution in Cambodia.
The Executive Director of ARMAC, Mr. Prum Suonpraseth, explained that “the programme will be an essential attempt for ARMAC to not only establish a platform for ASEAN Member States and relevant stakeholders to exchange expertise, knowledge and experience, but to also collaborate in providing adequate assistance to ensure the welfare of the victims of mines/ERW.” Going further, Mr. Prum highlighted that “victim assistance is the essence of ARMAC’s programme and we intend to continue facilitating assistance for a better life of these victims and their family.”
This programme will also touch upon conducting two researches on “Mine Victim Assistance Inclusive Services in Cambodia,” and “Community Perspectives on Humanitarian Mine Action in Lao PDR and Vietnam.” In the implementation, the research will emphasize the community participation to ensure outreach and effectiveness of its results once finalised.
Commencing in January 2021, the programme will be implemented until the end of 2023, benefiting communities-in-need in the ASEAN Member States, particularly those affected by mines/ERW. ARMAC also aims to engage more partners in implementing this programme.
26
Nov
Meeting with Resident Representative Mr. Nick Beresford of the UNDP in Cambodia
On 26 November 2020, ARMAC had the great opportunity to visit Resident Representative Nick Beresford of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Cambodia.
ARMAC took this opportunity to thank the UNDP for accepting the invitation to join Friends of ARMAC (FOA), and looks forward to the inaugural reception of FOA on 10 December 2020. ARMAC and UNDP wish to pursue further regional collaboration and partnership to achieve the common goal of ending threats from landmines and explosive remnants of war.
19
Nov
Meeting with H.E. Mr. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and the First Vice President of the CMAA
On 19 November 2020, ARMAC had the great opportunity to pay a courtesy visit to HE Mr. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and the First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority.
Both parties enjoyed past cooperation and wish to pursue further collaboration and partnership to achieve the common goal of ending threats from landmines and explosive remnants of war in Cambodia and the region.
ARMAC is very grateful to the governments of the ASEAN Members for supporting the Center in order to collectively tackle the humanitarian aspects of landmines and ERW through an integrated approach of experiences sharing, skills training and other capacity building activities.
06
Nov
Training on the Best Practices of Financial Reporting and Taxation for Mine Action Organizations
Phnom Penh, 06 November 2020 – The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) was supported by the Grant Thornton Cambodia to provide training to finance/accounting personnel of mine action organizations in Cambodia.
The Grant Thornton Cambodia through the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia supported ARMAC to conduct training on the “Best Practices of Financial Reporting and Taxation for Mine Action Organisations”, on 6 November 2020.
The participants in the training are finance/accounting personnel from the various mine action organizations, including governmental, national and international institutions based in the Kingdom of Cambodia, including:
– Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA),
– Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC),
– National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces (NPMEC),
– Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA),
– Mines Advisory Group (MAG),
– Cambodia Self Help Demining (CSHD),
– Halo Trust,
– Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS),
– APOPO
The training discussed the importance of internal control system, common issues on organizations’ internal control, sharing of best practices on preparation of financial reports, as well as on recently updated applicable laws and regulations (Cambodia specific jurisdiction).
20
Oct
NCT Virtual Asia 2020
NCT Virtual Asia 2020
Phnom Penh, 20 October 2020 – ARMAC has a pleasure to partner with Non-Conventional Threat (NCT) Virtual Asia 2020 particularly in providing a speaker to the event.
NCT Virtual Asia 2020 will be organised on 12-13 November 2020, via online platform. The registration is available from 1 October 2020 at https://nct-events.com/event/nct-virtual-asia-2/.
The event will be participated by various key stakeholders in Asia including but not limited from Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and explosive (CBRNe), Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) and Explosive Ordnance Department (EOD). This will be a great opportunity to exchange knowledge, build partnerships and promote innovation.
NCT Virtual Asia 2020 will feature presentations from high level speakers and industry exhibition, which will allow the participants to also earn about new technologies in a realistic and interactive environment. Meanwhile, the networking can be done through private chats, group discussions, video chats.
For detailed information, visit https://nct-events.com/event/nct-virtual-asia-2/.
15
Oct
ARMAC bid farewell to its Executive Director Ly Panharith and welcome Executive Director-designate Prum Suonpraseth
On 14 October 2020, at ASEAN HOMs’ Lunch hosted by Ambassador Michael Tan of Singapore, ARMAC bid farewell to its Executive Director Ly Panharith and welcome Executive Director-designate Prum Suonpraseth.
The event was joined by representatives from the host country-Cambodia, ASEAN Diplomatic Corps, and Partners of ARMAC – UNDP, Japan and Republic of Korea.
Ambassador Vu Quang Minh of Vietnam and current Chair of ARMAC Steering Committee thanked the outgoing ED for his contribution to ARMAC, and welcomed and wished the incoming ED a successful term with ARMAC.
10
Sep
Rapid Assessment on Health and Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 to Mines/ERW Victims in Cambodia
Rapid Assessment on Health and Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 to Mines/ERW Victims in Cambodia
Phnom Penh, 10 September 2020 – Today is more or less six months since the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised Corona Virus Disease (COVID)-19 as a global pandemic. Meanwhile, countries in ASEAN and all over the world including Cambodia have been facing imminent impacts in various aspects of life, particularly health and socio-economic aspects, as ramification of COVID-19. These impacts are more severe, if not similar, to victims of mines/explosive remnants of war(ERW) in Cambodia.
Hence, in order to learn the extent of health and socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 to victims of mines/ERW in Cambodia, mainly in Kampong Chhnang and Pursat Provinces, the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) and Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) joined efforts to conduct rapid assessment to identify health and socio-economic impacts of COVID to the victims of mines/ERW in the mid of August 2020.
In the assessment, with facilitation from Physical Rehabilitation Center (Kampong Chhnang Province) and Disability Development Service Program (Pursat Province), twenty-six (26) victims of mines/ERW from both provinces participated in the interview. Thus, ARMAC extends its gratitude for support from DDSP Pursat and PRC Kampong Chhnang. Special thanks also goes to CMAA for making the field visit and assessment happened.
The report is available at the weblink below:
Further to this, ARMAC and CMAA aim to use the report to take into account challenges and/or new threats faced by victims of mines/ERW amidst the pandemic, so that projects/programmes can then better accommodate the needs required by these victims.
Disclaimer: The number of correspondents may not be as representative as it should be. However, it could give a general point of view on both impacts (in health and socio-economic aspects) and needs required by victims of mine/ERW.
(ARMAC and CMAA, 10 September 2020)
19
May
Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in ASEAN in a Time of Pandemic
The new Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged and compounded the huge challenges of Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) all over the world including the ASEAN Region. In this regard, the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) responded by hosting its first Regional Webinar “Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in ASEAN in a Time of Pandemic” today (19 May 2020).
The Regional Webinar gathered more than fifty representatives from explosive ordnance affected ASEAN Member States (AMS), mine action related organisations, academics and individuals from all over the world. Overall, it aimed to identify all potential available means and capabilities to ensure the continuity of EORE operations within affected AMS. Despite the complex challenges, EORE should continue to be provided to the affected communities using alternative safer approaches, where possible, which reduce the risk of spreading the pandemic.
The Webinar was welcomed and introduced by Mr. Ly Panharith, Executive Director of ARMAC. He expressed his appreciation to the participants for their interest to join the webinar, and highlighted the importance of various EORE adaptations that should be considered and the possible new normal in EORE and overall mine action sectors in the aftermath of the pandemic. He also underscored the necessity of exchange of information, experience and good practices since the pandemic brought about an unprecedented challenge to EORE.
At the Webinar, moderated by Mr. Hal Judge, ARMAC EORE Expert, organisations and institutions in the ASEAN Region shared how COVID-19 has affected their mine actions, particularly EORE activities, and their EORE adaptations in response of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Co-Chairs of international EORE Advisory Group, Mr. Sebastian Kasack (Senior Technical Advisor of Mines Advisory Group) and Mr. Hugues Laurenge (Child Protection Specialist of UNICEF), gave presentations on how EORE and COVID-19 delivery methods are being coordinated and integrated in inventive ways.
From a related perspective, Dr. Joanne Durham, Senior Lecturer of Queensland University of Technology, presented an overview of the relation of public health and mine action, as well as the impact of health crisis to mine action including EORE.
In the webinar, national mine (and unexploded ordnance – UXO) action authorities/centres, international organisations and non-governmental organisations shared their experience and strategy in adapting their operations to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. This sharing may help streamline mine action operations in ASEAN region
07
Feb
2020 Regional Consultative Meeting – Cambodia
“Good Practices and Integrated Approaches to Mine/ERW Risk Education for Affected Communities in ASEAN Member States”
6 February 2020, Siem Reap, Cambodia – Clearance of deadly landmines and other remnants of wars is extremely important for people who live in contaminated regions of the ASEAN Member States (AMS). The harsh reality is that it will take considerable time and work to de-fuse all the residual explosive devices. Meanwhile, alongside the painstaking clearance process, it is vital to protect and educate people, especially curious children, of the dangers of going into hazardous areas or triggering deadly old weapons.
To tackle these important issues, the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) took the initiative to convene a major consultative meeting on 6 February 2020 on the issue of “Good Practices and Integrated Approaches to Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Risk Education for Affected Communities in AMS.”
The Regional Consultative Meeting was the culmination of a ground-breaking one-year research and consultation project by ARMAC, with the generous financial support of the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), to analyse and document the AMS’ diversity of mine/ERW risk education (MRE) approaches in educating their populations on the dangers of landmines and ERW, as well as the efforts made to avoid these risks.
Gathering representatives from the ASEAN countries, the Regional Consultative Meeting was an ideal opportunity to formally present ARMAC’s Study highlighting the good practices, innovations and successes the AMS have achieved in integrating MRE into all mine action efforts as well as wider sectors such as development, education, sports, legislation, technology, media and others.
The mine/ERW affected AMS—namely Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam—have been centrally involved in the development of ARMAC’s Study entitled “Integrated Approaches to Mine/ERW Risk Education”. The meeting was also an opportunity to gather perspectives from all AMS and expert mine action organisations (including UNICEF, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, Mines Advisory Group, the HALO Trust, Swiss Foundation for Mine Action, Humanity and Inclusion, and Norwegian Peoples Aid). Looking forward, the meeting laid solid plans to further build cooperation within ASEAN and with international agencies to progress and enhance the MRE agenda.
During the opening, H.E. Mr. Vu Quang Minh, the Chair of ARMAC’s Steering Committee and Ambassador of Viet Nam to Cambodia, expressed his thanks to the Government of Japan for their continuing support of the project, and to the representatives from the AMS who provided their expertise and time. He further noted that at the recent ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat held in early January 2020 in Nha Trang, Viet Nam, the Foreign Ministers expressed support for ARMAC with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Mr. Prak Sokhonn highlighting that he “is very encouraged by the positive progress in terms of institutional strengthening of ARMAC.” Concluding the opening H.E. Mr. Vu Quang Minh, urged the participants to continue their good efforts in working to enhance the ASEAN capacity to effectively address the problems of landmines and ERW” and looked forward to a future of peace and prosperity.
Representing the Government of Japan and the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund, Mr. Mitori Naoki, Councilor, Consular Office of Japan in Siem Reap, noted Japan’s strong commitment to ASEAN mine action and highlighted that Japan has consistently partnered with the AMS in the mine/ERW sector through financial contributions, provision of equipment and the dispatching of experts. He further offered is commendations to “all ASEAN Member States’ efforts to promote peace building and to enhance cooperation to share best practices in the region.”
Speaking at the meeting, ARMAC Executive Director, Mr. Ly Panharith, commented that “through the publication of the Study, ARMAC hopes to encourage further efforts in connecting MRE to relevant sectors, including integrating MRE into school curriculums, mobilising volunteer networks, harnessing new technology such as smart phone aps, and other creative approaches to behaviour change.”
Consistent with the agenda of the Regional Meeting, the new ARMAC Magazine featuring stories of integrated mine/ERW risk education from across ASEAN and international developments, was launched. The magazine is now available for download from ARMAC’s website and can be found here https://aseanmineaction.org//resources/magazine.
Concluding the Regional Consultative Meeting, H.E. Mr. Prum Sophakmongkol, Secretary-General of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, added that this meeting will greatly assist ARMAC’s efforts to develop an integrated approach to MRE, including implementing recommendations from the ARMAC MRE Study where relevant and feasible.
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