2 June 2015
A three-day symposium is being held this week in Siem Reap, Cambodia on long-term management of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW). This past decade has seen much progress in reducing the often deadly risks associated with ERW and this symposium will highlight the similarities between Southeast Asian and European experiences in managing ERW contamination.
Addressing the participants at the symposium on 1 June, GICHD Director, Ambassador Stefano Toscano, noted "We have gathered here experts from countries that have been facing ERW challenges for 100 years. Indeed, experience demonstrates that the challenge posed by ERW will not end with the removal of a specific type of ordnance. Nor will it end if the entire surface of a country has been cleared. We are here to learn how one can develop policies that are appropriate to the actual risks posed by ERW, risks which depend and evolve based on time, land use, location, munition type and depth."
The Symposium has been jointly organised by the GICHD and the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance authority; it is being supported by the U.S. State Department Office for Weapons Removal and Abatement. It will run until 3 June.