ASEAN REGIONAL MINE ACTION CENTER
23
Oct
Gender Equality and Empowerment in ASEAN Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Action
REGIONAL WORKSHOP, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic
21-22 October 2019, Vientiane, Lao PDR– The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) alongside the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), with funding support from the Government of Canada through the Mission of Canada to ASEAN, and the Clearing for Results Project Cambodia, are pleased to launch the Regional Workshop on “Gender Equality and Empowerment in ASEAN Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Action”.
Held over two days, the Regional Workshop gathers together all 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS), including those both affected and non-affected by landmines, unexploded ordinance or ERW, to share methods on how to include gender approaches and perspectives into their national mine/ERW action activities. Crucially, the Workshop is designed to enable the participants to analyse their work in mine/ERW action through a gender and diversity lens, assessing how mine/ERW action projects and programmes are implemented with a consideration of gender aspects, and making sure that the priorities and capabilities of women, girls, boys, men and diverse groups are highlighted, and their needs are met.
Leading an essential component of the Regional Workshop, the GICHD emphasised that such events are crucial for the mine/ERW action sector as “with increased gender and diversity awareness and knowledge acquired through information-sharing events and other outreach activities, mine/ERW action operators will hopefully have the capacity and the will to effectively mainstream gender and diversity into their planning and activities.”
Beyond offering the AMS capacity building on gender mainstreaming in mine/ERW action (including some other relevant activities), the Regional Workshop also provides a platform for ASEAN countries to share their experiences, best practices and lessons learnt on integrating gender into their work.
Speaking at the event, Ms. Dwi Prameswari, Technical Officer for Mine Action at ARMAC, reiterated that “the Regional Workshop affords an opportunity to bring greater attention to the importance of gender and diversity aspects in mine/ERW action and other relevant programmes. By considering the inclusiveness of gender, the community will benefit from greater impacts and increased sustainability in future programmes. Further, as the Workshop achieved a gender balance in participants, it was encouraging to see both men and women from the ASEAN Member States sharing their knowledge, expertise and experience, and learning from each other on how to optimise gender mainstreaming in mine/ERW action.”
Funding the Regional Workshop through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives for the second time, the Mission of Canada to ASEAN emphasizes Canada’s commitment in developing and implementing gender-responsive approach towards mine action, as it is aligned with Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) for the period 2017-2022. Canada supports mine action as part of its international development assistance and remains firmly committed to advancing the goals of the Ottawa Convention (Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention) and to achieving a world free of landmines by 2025.
05
Sep
Gender Equality and Empowerment in ASEAN Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Action
The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center, the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) with funding support from the Government of Canada (Mission of Canada to ASEAN) and the Clearing for Results Project, is pleased to announce the Regional Workshop, “Gender Equality and Empowerment in ASEAN Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Action” to be held 21-22 October 2019 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
ARMAC, Lao PDR and Canada, along with other partners, are hosting the Regional Workshop with an aim to enhance ASEAN regional knowledge and cooperation on the issue of gender equality and empowerment. The Workshop aims:
▪️ To enhance participants’ knowledge on gender approaches and perspectives in Mine/ERW action programme activities including Mine/ERW clearance, Mine/ERW risk education and victim assistance.
▪️ To identify the challenges in implementing the gender approaches and perspectives; and recommend how to address these challenges
▪️ To share experiences and best practices on gender mainstreaming between ASEAN Member States.
To learn more about Canada’s contributions to ASEAN, visit the Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Website.
(ARMAC, 05 September 2019)
19
Aug
Operational Efficiency In Mine Action Training
The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) in collaboration with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining – GICHD, and the Government of Ireland, organised and hosted an ASEAN regional training on “Operational Efficiency in Mine Action” to be held from 19-24 August 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The six-day training course will draw mine action professionals and managers from across the ASEAN Member States with the aim of enhancing participants’ knowledge and skills in order to efficiently plan, implement, monitor, assess and evaluate mine action operations.
To underscore much of the rationale for the training, the GICHD stated that improving operational efficiency in mine action is a fundamental task as “resources for responding to mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination problems are costly, limited and precious.”
Ultimately, the training will seek to provide participants with a foundation of knowledge that they can bring back to their respective countries and mine action programmes so that the overall ASEAN mine action sector can be made both more efficient and effective.
15
Aug
Meeting with Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Myanmar
Following on from the Mine Risk Education Consultative Meeting that occurred earlier this week in Myanmar, ARMAC also had the great pleasure to join a meeting with H.E. Dr. Win Myat Aye, Union Minister of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Myanmar
Through collaborative meetings with key partners such as this ARMAC hopes to deepen ties and strengthen outcomes with all interested ASEAN Member States. Our sincere thanks to Myanmar for a successful visit!
(ARMAC 15 August 2019)
09
Aug
Information Management Stakeholder Workshop
Information Management Stakeholder Workshop
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.
(ARMAC 09 August 2019)
07
Aug
National Consultative Meetings on ASEAN Mine Risk Education
Supported by the Government of Japan, through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), the meeting in Hanoi is the final national consultative meeting in a one-year project aimed at developing a comprehensive and integrated approach to Mine Risk Education (MRE) that will build on the best practices of ASEAN Member States (AMS) in educating their populations on the dangers of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). As an initiative of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC), the meetings were aimed at fostering discussion on the AMS’ current approach to MRE, and to bring those affected by mines and ERW together to share their knowledge and experiences in order to build an integrated approach to MRE that can be used throughout the region.
On 6 August 2019, H.E. Mr. Prum Sophakmonkol, Secretary General of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), remarked that the meeting “presents a good opportunity for Cambodia to further strengthen its national Mine Risk Education programme and to document its best practices so that other ASEAN Member States can learn from Cambodia’s experience.”
On 13 August 2019, the meeting in Myanmar was opened by Mr. U Win Naing Tun, Director General of the Department of Rehabilitation, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, who remarked at the meeting that “nine out of Myanmar’s 15 States/Regions are contaminated with landmines, Explosive Remnant of War. The Mine Risk Working Group (MRWG) was established over seven years ago as an inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination platform under the co-leadership of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and UNICEF to ensure mine action interventions are aligned with international standards and lessons learned in Myanmar. The MRWG is now working closely with international forums like ARMAC to better respond to the needs of the affected population. We are glad that experiences from Myanmar will contribute to the integrated approach to Mine Risk Education in ASEAN.”
Following the meeting in Myanmar on 16 August 2019, a National Consultative Meeting was also organised in Bangkok, Thailand with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand. During the opening remarks, Dr. Suriya Chindawongse, Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, mentioned that the project’s implementation is an important step for ASEAN to raise awareness towards the dangers of mines/ERW and the efforts to address them.
H.E. Mr. Thongphane Savanphet, Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lao PDR, opened the National Consultative Meeting on 22 August 2019, in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Lao has made progress with regards to MRE, for example Lao has integrated unexploded ordinance awareness activities into the primary schools’ curriculum in contaminated provinces to reduce the risk of further casualties.
On 16 September 2019, Ms. Le Thi Thu, Deputy Director General, Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam, gave opening remarks, and underlined Viet Nam’s commitment to working with AMS in various issues including mine action.
In regard to the importance of the meetings, Mr Ly Panharith, Executive Director of ARMAC, mentioned “ARMAC appreciated the input from the mine risk education stakeholders in all mine/ERW affected ASEAN Member States (i.e. Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) who have been handling mine risk education with various innovative approaches. Their experience and knowledge are of critical importance to develop the integrated approach to mine risk education.”
Looking towards the future, the next steps for the MRE project will be to hold a side event during the Fourth Review Conference on a Mine-Free World on 25-29 November 2019 in Oslo, Norway, so as to establish a platform for ASEAN countries to form a collaborative community of MRE experts and stakeholders. Ultimately, it is hoped that through these consultative meetings, research and other activities undertaken through the project, that the number of victims of mines/ERW can be minimised and in so doing the socio-economic impact of mines is reduced and sustainable development outcomes are improved.
05
Aug
Information Management Stakeholder Workshop
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.
11
Jul
Meeting with Delegates from the Republic of Korea
Recently, ARMAC had the great privilege to host a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea and the Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN at our headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The meeting provided the opportunity to discuss ARMAC’s upcoming project which is pending approval, titled “Enhance Victim Assistance Programme in the ASEAN Member States”.
Also discussed was ARMAC’s current and previous contributions to the region and how we are working with ASEAN Member States to strengthen the mine action sector.
04
Jun
ARMAC Welcomes Cadets From Thailand
Today, ARMAC had the great pleasure to welcome thirty three cadets from the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (CRMA) based in the Kingdom of Thailand to our headquarters in Phnom Penh. The visit gave the cadets an opportunity to learn about the role of ARMAC and how we assist ASEAN Member States in mine action.
(ARMAC 04 June 2019)
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