Blog

27 May
ARMAC joins the 24th International Meeting of Mine Action National Director and United Nations Advisers

ARMAC joins the 24th International Meeting of Mine Action National Director and United Nations Advisers

24-27 May 2021 – ARMAC Executive Director Prum Suonpraseth and Programmes staff participated in the online meetings. The meetings provided an opportunity for the mine action community to reconnect, share knowledge and enhance the collective capacity to address old and new challenges under the overarching theme of “Perseverance, Partnership, Progress”.

This year’s meeting was organized by the United Nations with the generous support from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. For more information on the 24th NDM, see 24th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers | E-Mine

(ARMAC, 27 May 2021)

19 May
Proposed partnership with JICA-CMAC and ARMAC

19 May 2021 – ARMAC Executive Director and Senior Technical Officer met with Mr. Hayashi Akihita, JICA Technical advisor to CMAC to discuss possible collaboration between ARMAC, CMAC and JICA. The proposed partnership aims to facilitate the sharing of Cambodia’s experience with other countries through international cooperation.

ED welcomed the opportunity to partner with the Governments of Japan and Cambodia as both countries have been actively supporting ARMAC since its inception. ED conveyed that ARMAC as a regional institution can facilitate knowledge sharing on areas that will be identified by the partnership.

(ARMAC, 19 May 2021)

14 May
Landmine Working Group, Hanoi – Vietnam

Landmine Working Group - Viet Nam

14 May 2021 –  ARMAC Executive Director and the Programmes Team joined the Landmine Working Group which was co-chaired by UNDP Viet Nam and MAG International for a virtual meeting.

ED and Senior Technical Officer delivered a presentation on ARMAC activities in the region. The meeting was a good opportunity for ARMAC to reach out to Viet Nam Mine Action Center and other mine action stakeholders in the country.

(ARMAC, 14 May 2021)

14 May
Landmine Working Group – Viet Nam

14 May 2021 –  ARMAC Executive Director and the Programmes Team joined the Landmine Working Group which was co-chaired by UNDP Viet Nam and MAG International for a virtual meeting.

ED and Senior Technical Officer delivered a presentation on ARMAC activities in the region. The meeting was a good opportunity for ARMAC to reach out to Viet Nam Mine Action Center and other mine action stakeholders in the country.

(ARMAC, 14 May 2021)

06 May
13th Coordinating Conference for the ASEAN Political-Security Community

06 May 2021 – ARMAC Executive Director participated in a virtual meeting of the 13th Coordinating Conference for the ASEAN Political-Security Community (ASCCO). ED delivered a presentation entitled “Addressing the Challenges of Mine Action through Regional Cooperation among interested ASEAN Member States”.

ED ARMAC underscored the challenges facing effective mine action in the region, discussed about ARMAC’s achievements in addressing these challenges, and rallied the ASEAN Political-Security Community to actively support regional cooperation programs like ARMAC’s. ED thanked the ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat for their continued support to ARMAC. ED likewise expressed his confidence of cooperation programs with the APS community in the future.

(ARMAC, 06 May 2021)

10 Mar
Meeting with H.E. Ms. Ayda Ünlü, Ambassador of the Turkish Embassy in Phnom Penh

Meeting with H.E. Ms. Ayda Ünlü, Ambassador of the Turkish Embassy in Phnom Penh

10 March 2021 – the Chair of the Steering Committee of ARMAC, H.E. Mr. Pengiran Kasmirhan Pengiran Tahir, and the Executive Director of ARMAC, Mr. Prum Suonpraseth, paid a courtesy call on the Ambassador of Turkey to the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Ms. Ayda Ünlü.

The aim of the call was to introduce the new Chair and Executive Director of ARMAC to the Ambassador and to discuss future collaboration on the Humanitarian Mine Action between Turkey- and ASEAN. ARMAC would like to thank H.E. Ms. Ayda Ünlü for the warm welcome, her support to ARMAC’s Project under ASEAN-Turkey Fund on Building a Regional Community of Practice in Mine/ERW Action among ASEAN Member States and looks forward to enhance this partnership in years to come.

(ARMAC, 10 March 2021)

16 Feb
Meeting with His Excellency Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister

On 16 February 2021, it was an honor for ARMAC Permanent Secretariat led by Executive Director Prum Suonpraseth to have the opportunity to pay a courtesy call to the His Excellency Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

During the meeting, ARMAC’s ED provided updates and progress achievements of ARMAC, including the current and future program activities of the Center to His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister.

The ED also took the opportunity to extend his thanks and sincere appreciation to His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister for his noble vision, wise leadership, dedication and perpetual support to ARMAC in addressing the humanitarian aspects of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the region and in the world at large.

(ARMAC, 16 February 2021)

12 Sep
Regional Training on Quality Management in Mine Action

From 7 to 12 September 2020 – The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) co-organised the Regional Training on Quality Management in Mine Action. The training was funded by the German Federal Foreign Office through GICHD. As a ramification of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the training was conducted in a virtual format.

With twenty trainees from the ASEAN region, the training aimed to provide theoretical and practical knowledge on how to implement the Mine Action project cycle for better results through improved quality. The participants expressed interest in areas such as improving their understanding of information management, using priority setting techniques for work plans, and managing risk in mine action.

The training included lessons which consist of extensive discussions of a wide range of topics revolving around quality management in mine action such as (i) Quality Management and Land Release Overview; (ii) Key Quality Management Principles; (iii) Quality Planning of Non-Technical Survey, Technical Survey and Clearance; (iv) Mechanical Demining Operations and Quality Management; (v) Quality Assurance; (vi) Quality Control; (vii) Accreditation, Testing and Evaluation of Mine Action Staff and Equipment; and (viii) Application Changes in Mine Action Organisations.

The training was mainly delivered by Mr. Yuri Shahramanyan, Advisor on Operational Efficiency at GICHD. He began with introductory topics including land release, which involves the identification of hazardous areas, the cancellation of land through non-technical survey, the reduction of land through technical survey and the clearance of land. The participants further engaged in the discussion of key quality management principles i.e. Customer Focus, Leadership, Engagement of People; Process Approach; Continuous Improvement; Evidence-based Decision Making; Relationship Management.

Further, the role of gender and diversity in mine action, particularly in quality assessment, was also outlined in the training. The trainer, Mr. Dominic Wolsey, Advisor on Gender and Diversity at GICHD, explained that women, men, boys and girls have different roles and responsibilities, different mobility patterns and exposure to risk, different participation in decision making and access to services & resources. Mr. Wolsey highlighted the importance of mainstreaming gender and diversity considerations to implement efficient and effective Quality Management.

During the training, Mr. Armen Harutyunyan, Advisor on Operational Efficiency at GICHD, also delivered a session on Introduction to Quality Management Terminology, ranging from the definition of efficiency and effectiveness, to the explanation of what process and products are in the context of quality management in mine action. Mr. Harutyunyan further remarked that “one of the main reasons for quality management is to continuously improve the way we operate”, further stating that “if we don’t aim to improve something, we go backwards”. He also discussed PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) Approach with the participants, before introducing the notion of quality assurance and quality control as parts of a mine action quality policy.

Mr. Stanislav Damjanovic, Advisor on Operational Efficiency at GICHD, also provided input on the accreditation process of Mine Action organisations and specifically the need for organisations to be formally recognized as able to plan, manage and implement mine action activities and to run an effective internal Quality Management system. Mr. Damjanovic also discussed the best approaches to training Mine Action staff and the effective transfer of knowledge, skills and attitudes.

The training also included breakout group discussion, facilitated by Mr. Shahramanyan. The discussion included cancellation of hazard areas through Non-Technical Survey, reflecting on what consideration should be given to setting metrics and tolerances prior to conducting NTS to conduct cancellation, and how confidence is achieved through evidence-based decision-making process to release land through cancellation.

(ARMAC and GICHD 15 September 2020)

05 Sep
Gender Equality and Empowerment in ASEAN Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Action

The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center, the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) with funding support from the Government of Canada (Mission of Canada to ASEAN) and the Clearing for Results Project, is pleased to announce the Regional Workshop, “Gender Equality and Empowerment in ASEAN Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Action” to be held 21-22 October 2019 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

ARMAC, Lao PDR and Canada, along with other partners, are hosting the Regional Workshop with an aim to enhance ASEAN regional knowledge and cooperation on the issue of gender equality and empowerment. The Workshop aims:

▪️  To enhance participants’ knowledge on gender approaches and perspectives in Mine/ERW action programme activities including Mine/ERW clearance, Mine/ERW risk education and victim assistance.

▪️  To identify the challenges in implementing the gender approaches and perspectives; and recommend how to address these challenges

▪️  To share experiences and best practices on gender mainstreaming between ASEAN Member States.

To learn more about Canada’s contributions to ASEAN, visit the Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Website.

(ARMAC, 05 September 2019)

19 Aug
Operational Efficiency In Mine Action Training

The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) in collaboration with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining – GICHD, and the Government of Ireland, organised and hosted an ASEAN regional training on “Operational Efficiency in Mine Action” to be held from 19-24 August 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The six-day training course will draw mine action professionals and managers from across the ASEAN Member States with the aim of enhancing participants’ knowledge and skills in order to efficiently plan, implement, monitor, assess and evaluate mine action operations.

To underscore much of the rationale for the training, the GICHD stated that improving operational efficiency in mine action is a fundamental task as “resources for responding to mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination problems are costly, limited and precious.”

Ultimately, the training will seek to provide participants with a foundation of knowledge that they can bring back to their respective countries and mine action programmes so that the overall ASEAN mine action sector can be made both more efficient and effective.

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