Nanjing, China PRC:

On 7-9 September 2023, ARMAC in coordination with the ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) of the People’s Republic of China (China PRC) co-hosted the 2nd High-Level Regional Dialogue under the theme, “Enhancing Regional Cooperation and Resource Mobilization capacity in Mine/ERW Action in ASEAN” in Nanjing city, China PRC. The dialogue was followed by a Technology and Equipment Exhibitions organized by Shanghai Emerging Science and Technology Institute.

The dialogue was made possible by the generous support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. The meeting was attended by high-ranking members of the diplomatic community and representatives from the National Mine Action Authorities/centers of the affected-ASEAN Member States (AMS), representatives of ARMAC Steering Committee, representative from ASEAN Secretariat, UNDP, UNMAS, and Canada to learn/share the successes, challenges, best practices, national strategies in implementing mine action programmes, as well as to provide the opportunity for affected AMS and their respective counterparts to further enhance bilateral/multilateral cooperation for mobilizing resources.

On 12 December 2022, ARMAC hosted the High-Level Meeting on “Enhancing Regional Cooperation and Resource Mobilization in ASEAN Mine/ERW Action” in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The meeting was made possible by the generous support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and follows from two technical working groups on this topic, hosted by ARMAC in 2021 and 2022.
The meeting was attended by high-ranking members of the diplomatic community and representatives from the National Mine Action Authorities of the affected-ASEAN Member States (AMS) and co-chaired by ARMAC Executive Director Mr. Prum Suonpraseth and Director/Counsellor Mr. Liu Zhijie of China PRC. The meeting provided a platform for AMS to propose new and innovative projects to a high-level international audience.

Environmental Impact Management in Mine Action Workshop

Today ARMAC, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), hosted Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) Organisations from around the ASEAN region in the Environmental Impact Management in Mine Action Workshop – the first of its kind in the region. The workshop is being held in Siem Reap over two days, and brings together international experts and practitioners to share best practices to ensure HMA actors take all reasonable steps to reduce the environmental impact of their activities. In opening the workshop, H.E. Ung Rachana, Chairman of the Steering Committee of ARMAC, underscored the importance of environmental management consideration, and one which would “require collective efforts to promote policy dialogue, research, capacity building, and scaling up and replicating of good practices across the ASEAN region”.

Hanoi, Viet Nam

On the 5th of July, ARMAC held its strategy stakeholder meeting in Hanoi, Viet Nam. The meeting drew representatives from over 8 government and non-government organizations to provide inputs into the preparation of ARMAC’s first five-year strategic plan.

The meeting is the third of a series of workshops that will encompass stakeholders across mine-affected AMSs. A special session meeting is taking place on 11 July where the outcome from the country consultations will be one of the key points to be discussed.

The goal of ARMAC is to reduce the impact of landmines and explosive remnants of war throughout the region through enhanced awareness in communities, victim assistance, and the sharing of knowledge amongst AMSs.

Bangkok, Thailand

On the 30th of June, ARMAC held its second strategy stakeholder meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop drew representatives from over 10 government and non-government organizations to provide inputs into the preparation of ARMAC’s first five-year strategic plan.

On the 7th of June, ARMAC held its inaugural strategy stakeholder meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The workshop drew representatives from over 15 government and non-government organizations to provide input into the preparation of ARMAC’s first five-year strategic plan.

The meeting is the first of a series of workshops that will encompass stakeholders across mine-affected ASEAN Member States (AMSs). The next workshop will be held in Thailand at the end of the month followed by Viet Nam in early July. The goal of ARMAC is to reduce the impact of landmines and explosive remnants of war throughout the region through enhanced awareness in communities, victim assistance, and the sharing of knowledge amongst AMSs.

Philippines Mine Action Stakeholders Workshop

A workshop hosted in Phnom Penh aimed at sharing knowledge to assist the Philippines to enhance their explosive hazards management capacity concluded on Thursday. The event was proclaimed a ‘resounding success’ by Mr. Prum Suonpraseth, Executive Director of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC), which co-hosted the event with the Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD) France, and the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines.

This event has brought together representatives from mine action programs from around the ASEAN member states to share their considerable knowledge and experience with our neighbors from the Philippines who are in the midst of developing their own explosive hazard management mechanisms, particularly in Western Mindanao. It resulted in a detailed road map of possible future policy, operational and capacity development activities to be considered by the Philippines authorities. Mr Suonpraseth stated.

The workshop which ran for two and a half days, was opened with an address by H.E. Mr. Ly Thuch, Vice President 1 and Senior Minister, Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, who was joined by H.E. Ms. Amelita Aquino, Ambassador of the Philippines to Cambodia and H.E. Mr. Hussein Munoz, Minister and Member of Parliament, Ministry of Public Order and Safety, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
H.E Mr. Ly Thuch stated: We often speak of regional cooperation, and today represents a tangible demonstration and a firm commitment to such cooperation. I recall back in 2012, Cambodia initiated the idea of establishing a Regional Humanitarian Mine Action Centre, mindful that the maintenance of human security is an integral part of the ASEAN Community Building efforts. Thus, ARMAC was created in line with the spirit of the APSC Blueprint that seeks to ensure that all member states of ASEAN, and indeed, all sectors of the society, benefit from the ASEAN process.
The workshop featured presentations from the national mine action authorities of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, focusing on international best practice and lessons learned in the establishment of national and regional coordination mechanisms. There was also a case study presented on the development of the Afghanistan mine action program over the past twenty years.
This type of knowledge sharing is exactly the type of regional cooperation that ARMAC was founded for. Mr. Suonpraseth added.

The workshop was focused on the Bangsamoro Region of Western Mindanao Island which has suffered from of decades of conflict, before a peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front concluded in 2014 with the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro. As a result of the conflict, items of unexploded ordnance still remain littered around the region, posing an ongoing hazard to the local inhabitants.
The workshop was funded by the European Union.

Phnom Penh: 4th of April 2022, the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC), in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Fund, marked the 2022 International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action by acknowledging the progress ASEAN Member States, and all the partners and Friends of ARMAC have made in addressing landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). However, they acknowledged that while the threat of explosive ordnance remains in the ASEAN Member States, so too must efforts continue to keep these dangers in public consciousness through consistent and regular Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) and awareness raising.