ASEAN REGIONAL MINE ACTION CENTER
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.
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.
ARMAC Victim Assistance Project Team participated in the 2-day National Victim Assistance Workshop on “Strengthening a strategic approach to address the rights and needs of mine/ERW survivors, affected families and persons with disabilities in Cambodia” (21-22 December 2021) jointly organized by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) and UNDP Cambodia. The Workshop brought together relevant national authorities, and international agencies working in the field of victim assistance, to assess the progress made to date through SWOT analysis and consolidation of inputs and recommendations to improve victim assistance services.
Phnom Penh, 23 September 2021 — ARMAC is honored to have the honorable presence of H.E. Mr. Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia at the hybrid event for the inaugural launch of the Friends of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) or FoA hosted by the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
The FoA is an initiative proposed by former Ambassador of Viet Nam to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and 2020 Chairman of ARMAC Steering Committee Mr. Vu Quang Minh. His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn together with 2020-2021 ARMAC Steering Committee Members supported the initiative.
Over 100 participants both in person and online from the governments, bilateral donors, international and national non-government organizations, and other stakeholders from across the region attended the successful launch of the event.
(ARMAC, 23 September 2021)
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/.
This week ARMAC was pleased to provide support at a workshop for Information Management Stakeholders in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The workshop was co-hosted by the Cambodian Mine Action Authority and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, and provided key inputs which will help to develop Cambodia’s new National Mine Action Database.
All participants were fully engaged during the series of presentations and group discussions, producing valuable information that will shape the development of Cambodia’s new Information Management System for Mine Action.
In April ARMAC attended the 3rd Forum of Entities Associated with ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia, where we shared our positive experiences of working in the ASEAN family.
Beyond the Forum we also took the opportunity to meet with the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund Team, and the Finance and PCPMD Teams of the ASEAN Secretariat to further build our knowledge on financial and project reporting mechanisms.
In addition, ARMAC also paid a visit to the Mission of Canada to ASEAN to extend our thanks and appreciation for their financial support of the Inaugural Mine Action Regional Workshop held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in late 2018.
ARMAC had an opportunity to attend and assisted the National Victim Assistance Workshop: “Strengthening a strategic approach to address the rights and needs of mine/ERW survivors, affected families and persons with disabilities in Cambodia,” held on 25-26 April 2019 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The event comprised of presentations from victim assistance stakeholders and group discussion particularly on the victim assistance situation in Cambodia.
Photos provided by អាជ្ញាធរមីន – Cambodian Mine Action Authority.
ARMAC recently had the opportunity to attend the Peer Workshop on Frontline Humanitarian Negotiation organised by the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Workshop provided participants with key knowledge on the process of negotiation and how to best build strong relationships with counterparts, as well as providing a platform for attendees to share their own experiences.
We would also like to extend our thanks to the International Committee of the Red Cross Cambodia for supporting ARMAC in attending the event.
