ASEAN REGIONAL MINE ACTION CENTER
The Executive Director, Mr. Ly Panharith, is currently attending the 3rd day of the International Mine Action Roundtable: Challenges and Best Practices, organised by the Islamic Republic of Iran Mine Action Center and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The roundtable is aimed at bringing together mine action stakeholders and experts from different countries and contexts in order to exchange ideas and foster information sharing.
ARMAC had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the 22nd International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers (NDMUN22) last week at the Palais des Nations, UN Geneva. The presentations are now available for download from the NDMUN22 Website.
ARMAC convened a meeting to discuss the needs for capacity development in mine action with delegations from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand.
The 17th Meeting of the States Parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention is currently underway in Geneva. The meeting gathered more than 600 delegates to take stock of the status of the Convention and its current level of implementation.
ARMAC, represented by its Executive Director, Mr. Ly Panharith, is attending the meeting and spoke during the side event “Towards a Mine-Free Cambodia, 2025.”, which explored the country’s mine action progress and how stakeholders such as ARMAC can assist Cambodia in reaching its 2025 goal.
The Executive Director of ARMAC also had the pleasure to liaise a meeting between delegates from Thailand and Myanmar of the ASEAN family on the margins of the Meeting.
Today is the last day of ARMAC’s Regional Workshop, funded by the Mission of Canada to ASEAN. Over the last three days the Workshop has covered the full scope and breadth of mine action and brought together ASEAN and international stakeholders to share their insights and knowledge.
The Workshop’s final day’s sessions covered the areas of research and development as well as how international cooperation can be a key factor in ensuring the sustainability of mine action programmes. Also covered was how Cambodia’s support to ARMAC as host country has assisted the Center in operationalizing and continuing its future mission.
The Workshop was closed by H.E Mr. Meas Kim Heng, who noted the importance of an ASEAN focused mine action center in building connections and communications between member states to share knowledge and resources.
For more information on the workshop, including photos and presentation slides visit the 2018 Regional Workshop Website.
Day two of ARMAC’s Regional Workshop was held today in Siem Reap and began with a field trip to the Cambodian Mine Action Center Deming Unit 4. Participants were welcomed by H.E. Mr. Prum Suonpraseth, Senior Director of CMAC, who briefed the attendees on the history and progress of mine action in Cambodia.
Workshop participants also had the opportunity to tour the Peace Museum and see first hand mine detection animals including dogs and APOPO’s HeroRATs. Manual deminers also showcased their skills and helped to illustrate the realities of mine action on the ground.
In addition to the field trip the second day of the Regional Workshop also featured more panel sessions including discussions on land release methodologies as well as a talk highlighting the importance of integrating gender perspectives into all aspects of mine action.
For more information on the workshop, including photos and presentation slides visit the 2018 Regional Workshop Website.
(ARMAC 13 November 2018)
Today is the opening day of ARMAC’s inaugural Regional Workshop, funded by the Mission of Canada to ASEAN. The Workshop’s aim is to “enhance mine action knowledge and promote future platforms of mine action knowledge sharing for ASEAN Member States”.
The workshop was opened by Lt. Col Jean Gosselin, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Canada to the Kingdom of Thailand. Opening remarks were given by H.E Mr. Michael Tan, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the Kingdom of Cambodia and Chair of the ARMAC Steering Committee.
This first day features a number of sessions and discussions including presentations on the linkages between mine action and the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as panel discussions on enhancing victim assistance and sharing best practices in mine risk education.
For more information on the workshop, including photos and presentation slides visit the 2018 Regional Workshop Website.
The seminar on Enhancing Regional Coordination Efforts in Addressing ERW was organised by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) and was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on 15 December 2017. The seminar was chaired by H.E. Mr. Prum Suphakmonkol.
The seminar was attended by the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC), Cambodian Ministry of Interior, Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodian Ministry of National Defense – National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces (NPMEC), Cambodian Mine Action Centre and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), and aimed to enhance coordination between organisations. Strategies to optimise the mobilisation of available resources from other countries in the ASEAN region were also discussed during the seminar.
The seminar resulted in recommendations for ARMAC and the other organisations for potential future collaboration and potential programmes.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has committed to supporting the first 2 (two) years of the operasionalisation of ARMAC, which will be followed by a contribution from The Philippines. ARMAC will continue to encourage other ASEAN Member States to provide contributions towards ARMAC’s operations.
(ARMAC, 15 December 2017)
