Blog

21 Oct
ARMAC Joints Collaboration with GICHD to Conduct Study on Gender Equality and Empowerment in Mine Action

Phnom Penh, 21 October 2021 —The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) is pleased to announce its joint collaboration with the Geneva International Center for Human Demining (GICHD) to conduct a study/research on gender equality and empowerment in mine action in the ASEAN region, more specifically a study on the mine action sector’s approach towards the monitoring and reporting of the gendered impact of land release conducted in the region with country case studies. The project will examine the overarching question of how can mine action stakeholders (donors, national authorities, and stakeholders) better understand and communicate the impact of clearance activities on gender equality and inclusion in the results chain and reporting. The outcome of the project is a joint GICHD-ARMAC paper which will be presented in a regional forum on September 2022. The study is one of the deliverables for the project, Strengthen Gender Equality and Empowerment in Mine Action in the Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) affected ASEAN Member States which is financed by the Government of Italy.

19 Aug
Signing an Agreement between CMAA and ARMAC on Co-Implementation of the Project “Enhance Victim Assistance Programme in the ASEAN Member States”

19 August 2021 – ARMAC signed an agreement on Co-Implementation of the project “Enhance Victim Assistance Programme in the ASEAN Member States” with Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).

Executive Director of ARMAC, Mr. Prum Suonpraseth and Secretary General of CMAA, H.E. Mr. Prum Sophakmonkol signed on the agreement.

The new partnership between ARMAC and CMAA is established to ensure that the two parties have a mutual understanding and clear directions to implement the project.  This will mark another milestone in promoting and addressing victim assistance work in Cambodia and other landmine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) affected ASEAN Member States.

01 Jun
ARMAC signs MOU on Mine Action Technical and Resource Mobilisation Cooperation with Federation Handicap International

01 June 2021 – ARMAC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Federation Handicap International (Humanity & Inclusion). Mekong Regional Program Director Ms. Pilar Duat Llorens, signed on behalf of HI, while Mr. Prum Suonpraseth represented ARMAC.

The online signing ceremony was attended by HI Country Manager for Cambodia Ms. Edith van Wijngaarden, HI Mine Action Coordinator in Lao Mr. Julien Kempeneers and Ms. Araceli Knaik, ARMAC Senior Technical Officer.

The MOU aims to strengthen the existing cooperation between HI and ARMAC in order to facilitate Mine Action-related joint programming and resource mobilization. The partnership will support of Mine Action-related capacity development of relevant national institutions through technical cooperation.

11 Jan
ARMAC Joins Forces with the Republic of Korea and Other Stakeholders for Victim Assistance in ASEAN

Phnom Penh, 11 January 2021 – The Government of the Republic of Korea through ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF) provided the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) with an approximate amount of USD 2,061,429.68 to fund the “Enhance Victim Assistance Programmes in the ASEAN Member States” programme.

The aforesaid three-year programme aims to strengthen the assistance provided to victims through the achievement of five objectives. First objective of this project is to promote the establishment of a victim assistance network as a regional platform for various stakeholders within ASEAN. This network will provide a platform for victim assistance stakeholders in the region to communicate and coordinate among each other.

Taking into account the importance of expertise, knowledge and experience exchange among victim assistance stakeholders, this programme also aims to assist the AMS on victim assistance related knowledge sharing, needs and resources assessments and its mobilisation. It is hoped that through this exchange all the victim assistance stakeholders in ASEAN are able to improve their assistance provision to the victims of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW).

This programme will also play an important role in assessing the needs of the victims of mines/ERW for the government and other victim assistance providers to consider the provision of adequate assistance to these victims. This will also help ARMAC in setting priorities for its victim assistance programme activities in the coming years.

Further, in collaboration with SingHealth, ARMAC and Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority will organise train-the-trainers in psychosocial support to victims of mines/ERW in Cambodia by targeting more than 150 trainees from various stakeholders including survivor networks, medical practitioners and relevant organisation/institution in Cambodia.

The Executive Director of ARMAC, Mr. Prum Suonpraseth, explained that “the programme will be an essential attempt for ARMAC to not only establish a platform for ASEAN Member States and relevant stakeholders to exchange expertise, knowledge and experience, but to also collaborate in providing adequate assistance to ensure the welfare of the victims of mines/ERW.” Going further, Mr. Prum highlighted that “victim assistance is the essence of ARMAC’s programme and we intend to continue facilitating assistance for a better life of these victims and their family.”

This programme will also touch upon conducting two researches on “Mine Victim Assistance Inclusive Services in Cambodia,” and “Community Perspectives on Humanitarian Mine Action in Lao PDR and Vietnam.” In the implementation, the research will emphasize the community participation to ensure outreach and effectiveness of its results once finalised.

Commencing in January 2021, the programme will be implemented until the end of 2023, benefiting communities-in-need in the ASEAN Member States, particularly those affected by mines/ERW. ARMAC also aims to engage more partners in implementing this programme.

15 Oct
ARMAC bid farewell to its Executive Director Ly Panharith and welcome Executive Director-designate Prum Suonpraseth
On 14 October 2020, at ASEAN HOMs’ Lunch hosted by Ambassador Michael Tan of Singapore, ARMAC bid farewell to its Executive Director Ly Panharith and welcome Executive Director-designate Prum Suonpraseth.
The event was joined by representatives from the host country-Cambodia, ASEAN Diplomatic Corps, and Partners of ARMAC – UNDP, Japan and Republic of Korea.
Ambassador Vu Quang Minh of Vietnam and current Chair of ARMAC Steering Committee thanked the outgoing ED for his contribution to ARMAC, and welcomed and wished the incoming ED a successful term with ARMAC.
10 Sep
Rapid Assessment on Health and Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 to Mines/ERW Victims in Cambodia

Rapid Assessment on Health and Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 to Mines/ERW Victims in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, 10 September 2020 – Today is more or less six months since the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised Corona Virus Disease (COVID)-19 as a global pandemic. Meanwhile, countries in ASEAN and all over the world including Cambodia have been facing imminent impacts in various aspects of life, particularly health and socio-economic aspects, as ramification of COVID-19. These impacts are more severe, if not similar, to victims of mines/explosive remnants of war(ERW) in Cambodia.

Hence, in order to learn the extent of health and socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 to victims of mines/ERW in Cambodia, mainly in Kampong Chhnang and Pursat Provinces, the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) and Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) joined efforts to conduct rapid assessment to identify health and socio-economic impacts of COVID to the victims of mines/ERW in the mid of August 2020.

In the assessment, with facilitation from Physical Rehabilitation Center (Kampong Chhnang Province) and Disability Development Service Program (Pursat Province), twenty-six (26) victims of mines/ERW from both provinces participated in the interview. Thus, ARMAC extends its gratitude for support from DDSP Pursat and PRC Kampong Chhnang. Special thanks also goes to CMAA for making the field visit and assessment happened.

The report is available at the weblink below:

https://bit.ly/2F5MklR

Further to this, ARMAC and CMAA aim to use the report to take into account challenges and/or new threats faced by victims of mines/ERW amidst the pandemic, so that projects/programmes can then better accommodate the needs required by these victims.

Disclaimer: The number of correspondents may not be as representative as it should be. However, it could give a general point of view on both impacts (in health and socio-economic aspects) and needs required by victims of mine/ERW.

(ARMAC and CMAA, 10 September 2020)

04 Apr
Signing Ceremony of the MoU between ARMAC and CKS

On 12 April 2019, Mr. Ly Panharith represented ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) and Mr. Natharoun Ngo represented the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS), who signed MoU on Research, Technical and Resource Mobilisation Cooperation.

19 Nov
Signing Ceremony Between ARMAC and CMAA

Today, ARMAC and the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate greater coordination and cooperation between these two important mine action stakeholders.

H.E Mr. Prum Sophakmonkol, Secretary General of CMAA signed on behalf of Cambodia, while Executive Director Mr. Ly Panharith signed the memorandum on behalf of ARMAC. The signing ceremony was also attended by H.E Mr. Ly Thuch, First Vice President of CMAA.

Through this MoU ARMAC hopes to work closer with CMAA and share their experience of mine action to other ASEAN Member States throughout the region.

(ARMAC 19 November 2018)

27 Feb
Signing Ceremony of Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) on Hosting and Granting Privileges and Immunities to ARMAC

Signing Ceremony of Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) on Hosting and Granting Privileges and Immunities to ARMAC

H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Senior Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and H.E. Michael Tan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Singapore to Cambodia and current Chair of the ARMAC Steering Committee, signed the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) on Hosting and Granting Privileges and Immunities to ARMAC on 27 February 2018 at ARMAC Headquarters. The signing was witnessed by the members of the ARMAC Steering Committee and delegates from the Embassies of all ASEAN Member States in Phnom Penh.

The Agreement is the key legal instrument that embodies the Kingdom of Cambodia’s commitment and support to ARMAC, as the host country to the ARMAC Headquarters. It sets out the duties and responsibilities of the parties as well as the privileges and immunities granted by the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ARMAC to enable it to perform its functions and operations effectively.

ARMAC’s mandate and functions are to i) enhance awareness programmes on dangers of Explosive Remants of War (ERW) among affected communities, ii) facilitate appropriate medical and rehabilitation assistance for victims of ERW, upon requests from affected ASEAN Member States, and iii) assist interested ASEAN Member States in research and knowledge sharing on the effects of ERW and efforts to address them, including through writing proposals for technical assistance projects and funding.

Having formally begun its first year of operations, ARMAC looks forward to working together with relevant ERW-related institutions and development partners to undertake cooperative activities, projects and programmes in line with ARMAC’s mandate. The Center also welcomes interested partners to consider funding its activities and operations in areas that may be of interest to them.

H.E. Senior Minister Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia and H.E. Michael Tan, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to Cambodia and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) for 2018, signed an Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia and ARMAC for the Granting of Privileges and Immunities to ARMAC.

H.E. Senior Minister Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia with the ASEAN Ambassadors in Phnom Penh and Steering Committee Members of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center.

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