Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) is going to dispatch its task forces to Colombia to help Colombian government clear minefields after 50 years of civil war.
According to Mr. Heng Ratana, CMAC's Director General, in response to the request made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, CMAC will dispatch its task forces to Colombia in order to help to train Colombian mine clearance officers to be able to set up and manage their own mine action center based on Cambodian experiences. The training course will take four year, from 2017 to 2020, and is supported by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
On the other hand, at the end of 2017 and 2018, with the support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, CMAC will also send about 30 officers each year to Colombia to train Colombian officers on how to clear landmines.
In addition, CMAC is going to send its experts for short period training of three to six months. The Cambodian experts will conduct training for international and national NGOs working to clear minefields in a number of Colombian provinces.
As a result, Mr. Ratana said that he was very proud that Cambodia could send its experts in minefield clearance abroad. This fact proves that Cambodia's landmine clearance expertise is at a very high level recognized by other countries around the globe.
Besides Japan, the United States is also helping Cambodia to clear landmines by investing more than $114 million on humanitarian projects in the country.
In January, Ambassador William Heidt visited the field operations of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in Ratanakiri province where the NPA was doing an ongoing work supported by the U.S. government to eliminate unexploded ordnance (UXO) and landmines.
“The United States has a long history of working with our partners in government, communities, and the NGO sector to address the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnance,” Ambassador Heidt said. “What I saw today in Ratanakiri shows the dedication of the many professionals who are putting their lives on the line to make Cambodia a safer place to live.”
According to the US Embassy in Cambodia, the NPA is one of many NGOs supported by the US government to clear explosive remnants of war in Cambodia.
Other partners that do large-scale survey and clearing operations include The HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Cambodia Mine Action Center (CMAC), and Cambodian Self Help Demining.
The U.S. government supports also the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation to develop Cambodia’s first underwater explosive ordnance team while the Spirit of Soccer is providing mine-risk education to teach children about the dangers of landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
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