Press Releases

On 24th December, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a Record of Discussions (R/D) with the Royal Government of Cambodia in Phnom Penh concerning a technical cooperation project called “The Project for Strengthening Organizational Functions of CMAC.”

As a result of the conflicts for nearly twenty years, about 2,000 square kilometers of the land of Cambodia became contaminated by landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW)*, which is comparable to the total area of the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), the biggest humanitarian mine action organization in Cambodia established in 1992, cleared 800 square kilometers of the contaminated land by 2017, with assistance from Japan and other international donors. Cambodia is required to finish clearance of anti-personnel landmines in the country by 2025 as a state party of the OTTAWA Convention (Total Ban Treaty on Anti-Personnel Mines) and this requirement will be achieved as scheduled.

Clearance of anti-personnel landmines in the country, which has been the largest part of CMAC’s activities, is expected to be finished in 2025. But CMAC need to continue clearing numerous anti-tank mines or ERW in Cambodia (these items are not covered by the Convention). Recently, CMAC has also played a role as a resource organization for the South-South Cooperation and provided training to many officers and staff of public organizations in charge of mine action in countries such as Lao PDR, the Republic of Iraq, the Republic of Angola and the Republic of Colombia. CMAC is also willing to contribute to other countries’ Mine Action Organizations through sharing its knowledge of mine action.

On the other hand, one of the challenges CMAC has is financial dependency (in 2017, 85% of the budget was covered by the fund from donors). In addition, it will face fundamental organizational change after 2025. Under such circumstances, CMAC may need reform.

In this project, JICA will support CMAC in formulating a draft plan for the future organization of CMAC and enhance the capacity of CMAC staff to solve challenges CMAC may face. This project will contribute to the achievement of SDGs Goal 16.

* “25 years in mine action path ahead 2018-2025 and beyond 2025 (CMAC)”

[Basic project information]

Country	Kingdom of Cambodia
Project title	The Project for Strengthening Organizational Functions of CMAC
Planned implementation period	48 months
Executing agency	Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC)
Target region	HQs of CMAC (Phnom Penh), Six Demining Units (Battambang, etc.), Technical Institute on Mine Action (‎Kampong Chhnang), CMAC Museum (Siem Reap)
Specific project details (provisional)	Support CMAC to examine the future organization of CMAC by dispatch of JICA Experts. Support CMAC to enhance the capacity of staff to solve the challenges.