Sihanoukville, Cambodia:
On 30 May-2 June 2023, the ASEAN Mine Action Center (ARMAC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) is co-organising a regional workshop on explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) to enhance awareness of EORE good practices, facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges and address challenges faced by EORE practitioners in ASEAN Member States. The workshop is funded by the Government of Norway and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The objective of this four-day workshop is to facilitate dialogue and cooperation between EORE practitioners within the framework of the ASEAN, as well as to provide a space for informal networking and cooperation between EORE practitioners in the region. The workshop also aims to co-design and share concrete programmatic responses to key challenges and needs identified and share global, regional and national EORE good practice i.e. tools, approaches, and partnerships.
Mrs. Lauti Nia Astri, Charge d’ Affairs of the Embassy of Republic of Indonesia to Cambodia, in capacity of the Chair of the Steering Committee of ARMAC presided over the opening of the Workshop.
In her opening address, Mrs. Lauti highlighted that, “As the Chair of ASEAN, Indonesia would like to see a resilient ASEAN and become a barometer for cooperation that would contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and world. With this spirit, Indonesia takes up a theme of ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. Indonesia puts its priority deliverables under 3 pillars: (i) ASEAN matters, (ii) Epicentrum of Growth, and (iii) implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Under these 3 pillars, Indonesia is determined to make ASEAN important and relevant for the people of ASEAN and beyond, including to actively carry out peace and humanitarian diplomacy. Along with ASEAN Political-Security Blueprint 2025 and ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the Establishment of an ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center, Indonesia sees the need to support ARMAC. Furthermore, I would like to underline that Indonesia has a high commitment to demining in global level. In this regard, Indonesia has ratified the Ottawa Convention in 2006 and actively carried out demining process under UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon and Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Over 25 participants/EORE practitioners attended the workshop representing their respective national mine action authorities in the ASEAN Region.