ARMAC hosted a meeting with NPA lead by Mr. Steiner Essen, Head of NPA’s Humanitarian Disarmament Department.

NPA suggested that ARMAC should communicate with other centres, donors and development partners such as GICHD and UNDP for further collaboration. Mr. Ly Panharith, ARMAC’s Executive Director conveyed the need for technical assistance and capacity building related to mine action in general. Both parties agreed to explore specific cooperation opportunities in detail.

The ARMAC Permanent Secretariat requested a meeting with H.E. Christopher B. Montero, Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Kingdom of Cambodia and 2017 Chairman of ARMAC Steering Committee to congratulate and appreciate his successful chairmanship. Key milestones were achieved while he was Chairman as ARMAC transitioned into a fully functioning organisation.

H.E. Christopher B. Montero offered advice on how ARMAC should continue with the fulfillment of its mandate and functions.

ARMAC Permanent Secretariat gave their best wishes to the Chairman for the success of his mission in Cambodia and beyond.

The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center hosted a courtesy call with Ms. Allison Stewart, Chargé d’affaires, Embassy of Canada in Cambodia, on 28 December 2017. During the meeting, ARMAC’s Executuive Director Mr. Ly Panharith gave an overview of ARMAC’s history, establishment, structure, mandate and functions, and the preliminary work-plan. He also underlined that conducting a survey or discussion to assess the needs, challenges, and resources in landmine/ERW affected ASEAN states to assist with the development of ARMAC’s strategy and programmes.

A few suggestions were given by Ms. Allison Stewart regarding ARMAC’s project management manual and outlined the process of Canada’s development funding through the Canadian representative in Jakarta. The Embassy of Canada in Cambodia will assist ARMAC to transfer information regarding ARMAC.

ARMAC will continue to seek any possibilities for collaboration in the region.

ARMAC Courtesy Call with ICRC Mission in Cambodia

The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) hosted a courtesy call with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at ARMAC’s Permanent Secretariat on 25 December 2017. Both organisations gave a brief introduction about themselves and outlined cooperation opportunities for the near future.

Mr. Roman Paramonov explained that ICRC has been working in Cambodia since 1979 during the emergency situation, and currently ICRC focuses on various programmes, such as: to improve general conditions of detention and treatment of detainees in Cambodian prisons (i.e. access to equitable health care, safe drinking water, family links service, etc.), physical rehabilitation for people with disability, and to promote the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the implementation of universal humanitarian principles. In the mine action sector, ICRC contributes to both mine risk education and victim assistance in Cambodia. In Battambang and Kampong Speu, ICRC established Regional Physical Rehabilitation Centres, and support the outreach programme through mobile workshops.

During the meeting, ARMAC’s Executive Director Mr. Ly Panharith discussed the effectiveness of integrating MRE into school curricula and the potential for ICRC to implement this. Also, as CMAA’s National Mine Action Strategy includes MRE and Victim Assistance as main goals, ICRC in Cambodia may have further opportunities for cooperation.

During the meeting, Ms. Dwi Prameswari gave a presentation on the history of ARMAC’s establishment, structure, and implementation progress. Mr. Roman Paramonov mentioned his interest for potential collaboration in the future as ICRC’s programmes are relevant to ARMAC’s mandate and functions

ICRC has conveyed and offered their support to provide expertise for training in the future. In return, ARMAC also offers support on providing inputs to the ICRC workshops and/or training. As ICRC has an office in most countries in Southeast Asia, there is high potential collaboration with ARMAC at the regional level.

Enhancing Regional Coordination Efforts in Addressing ERW

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)

Ms. Dwi Prameswari, ARMAC’s Technical Officer of Mine Action requested a meeting with the Country Director of JRS in Cambodia to exchange information on victim assistance and mine action. The interaction and collaboration with various stakeholders will benefit the center to further implement its mandate and functions. The success of mine action in the region involves many actors, including the NGOs, who give inputs and suggestions, and implement their own impactful programmes.

There are 5 (five) JRS Offices in the Southeast Asia region which are involved with mine/ERW action and victim assistance. JRS Cambodia was established in 1990, and initially focused on refugees, victims of landmines, poverty and vocational training for people with disabilities. Sr Denise Coghlan was on the Steering Committee of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) when it received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

In victim assistance, besides ensuring the basic components of medical response, rehabilitation, psychosocial support and economic development given to the survivors, it is also important to encourage survivors and people with disabilities to get involved in programmes which are relevant to them. JRS published the book “I am Happy I am Alive!”, which outlines a Village-Focused Approach led by survivors with inputs from leaders and communities to make the National Plan understandable at the local level.

ARMAC requested a courtesy call to the United Nations Development Program in Cambodia on 1 December 2017. In the courtesy call, Mr. Ly Panharith, Executive Director of ARMAC, explained the history and structure of ARMAC as the center of excellence which facilitates mine action support to ASEAN Member States (AMS). The Executive Director continued to elaborate the 3 (three) mandate and functions of ARMAC.

He also underlined the importance of conducting a survey or discussion to assess the needs and challenges faced by the landmine/ERW affected states in ASEAN, as well as to map out the available resources inside and/or outside the region to support the mine action program.

Ms. Claire Vander Vaeren, UNDP Resident Representative in Cambodia expressed her interest in the work of ARMAC and the way ARMAC will collaborate with other regional and national mine action organisations. She asked ARMAC to make a specific request if any technical assistance from UNDP is needed. She also offered to connect ARMAC to UNMAS for further discussion and cooperation.

On 30 November 2017, ARMAC hosted a meeting with the Humanitarian Mine Action Initiative Myanmar and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) Cambodia, at the ARMAC Permanent Secretariat.

Mr. U Tant Zin, President of HMAI, explained that over half of Myanmar’s land area is contaminated with the landmines/ERW, with 44% of the contamination being UXO, anti-vehicle and antipersonnel mines, and 56% being unknown types. Based on the data collected from the Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), the civilian landmine casualties include men (61%), women (4%), and children (4%), and details of 31% of victims are unknown. Mr. Aksel Steen Nilsen added that the use of landmines is still quite high in Myanmar.

Among 5 (five) core components of mine action, NGOs in Myanmar have implemented programmes for 2 (two) components, mine risk education and victim assistance. NGOs such as NPA, HaloTrust, and MAG have been overseeing these mine action initiatives in Myanmar.

It is necessary to support the mine clearance in Myanmar considering the existing high contamination in the country. ARMAC will conduct a survey to further identify the actual needs and challenges faced by the affected ASEAN Member States, as well as to assess the available resources required to elevate mine action in the affected states.