CMAC report over 3M munitions destroyed
SINCE 1992, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) has detected and destroyed over 3 million munitions, while clearing over 1,735sq km of minefields.
This was highlighted during CMAC’s annual meeting, held on January 2 to review its past achievements and set working direction for 2024.
“In a little over 30 years, we have made remarkable progress. These achievements were made possible because we constantly strengthened the capacities of its officials, equipped them with the latest technology and upgraded our operational standards,” said a recent CMAC report.
From 1992 to 2004, CMAC had cleared an average of 12sq km of minefields each year. This had grown to 22sq km by 2005, and was dwarfed by the more than 200sq km cleared in recent years.
It added that from 1992 to December 2023, the centre detected 589,962 anti-personnel mines, 11,430 anti-tank mines and 2,440,297 munitions or unexploded ordnance (UXO), as well as 126,091 aerial or cluster bombs.
CMAC has also built a network of volunteers in over 3,500 villages, to raise public awareness of the dangers of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs), while also strengthening its relationship with authorities at the village, commune and districts level.
In 2023, officials from the centre conducted community outreach campaigns to raise awareness of landmines and ERWs, reaching approximately 1.2 million people.
The report explained that CMAC has clear procedures and standards which have gained international recognition for the quality of its demining operations, and widely considered a knowledgeable and talented resource.
“CMAC also fulfils the role of training. Demining staff are required to have many skills, including map reading and research, as well as how to neutralise and dispose of mines and ERWs. We have trained many members of the National Police, as well as soldiers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces [RCAF], in mine clearance,” added the report.
Having observed the successes of the centre’s highly skilled staff, the governments of Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Angola, Ukraine and Colombia have requested that CMAC share its experience with them.
The Japanese government, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Cambodia, funded several of the centre’s overseas training missions.
At the January 2 meeting, CMAC director-general Heng Ratana discussed the continuation of six projects which were underway in 2023, adding that this year, they planned to clear 284sq km of land of mines and ERWs.
“We also plan to conduct further studies into what is needed to achieve the government’s Mine-Free Cambodia 2025 goal,” he was quoted as saying in a CMAC social media post.