Contamination and Impact

On 9 July 2011, after decades of civil war that ended with a six-year Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), South Sudan formally declared its independence. Throughout the long-running conflict, landmines were used by all parties to defend their positions and to disrupt the movement and operations of opposing forces. All 10 states of South Sudan are contaminated to varying degrees with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW).

South Sudan faces tremendous humanitarian, development, and security challenges. Since independence, South Sudan has witnessed an increase in landmine/ERW threat levels from conflicts in the disputed area of Abyei and in Upper Nile, Unity, and Southern Kordofan states and from new laying of mines in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states that have resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of people into and around South Sudan and into Ethiopia.[1] In September 2011, new military clashes were reported in Blue Nile state between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). In addition, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a non-state armed group (NSAG) originating in Uganda, has attacked villages in Central Equatoria, Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Western Equatoria.[2]

Landmine and ERW threat levels increased in 2011 in South Sudan, largely from re-mining, which contributed to a spike in casualty levels in 2011[3]. The threat and impact of landmines increased significantly in the northern border areas of Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states. Three-quarters of returnees in 2011 were located in these three states. Unity State alone saw a spike of 20% in the number of reported “dangerous areas”.[4] The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan at the time, Lise Grande, said in April 2012 that re-mining has prevented humanitarian aid agencies from delivering food and medical assistance.[5]

The UN Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMACC) in Juba, formerly the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO) and re-named UNMAS South Sudan on 1 July 2012, estimates there are approximately 800 known areas containing explosive threats covering 173km² of land. As new dangerous areas are continually being identified, it is difficult to estimate the time needed to address the remaining threats in South Sudan.[6]

Mines

All 10 states of South Sudan are contaminated to varying degrees with landmines, with the states of Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, and Upper Nile the most affected. The full extent of contamination is not known, especially in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states, because some communities remain inaccessible due to poor security conditions and communications as well as flooding.[7]

Contamination in the 10 states that comprise South Sudan[8]

* A “suspected hazardous area” has been defined by UNMAS South Sudan as an area “not in productive use due to the perceived or actual presence of mines or ERW”.[9]

At the end of 2011, within the category of dangerous areas, there were 38 ammunition dumps, 44 confrontation areas, nine current ambush areas, 349 suspected minefields, and 132 unexploded ordnance (UXO) spot tasks.

 More than 30,000 mines have been found in the South Sudan states since 2004 and over 800,000 individual ERW, reflecting both the longevity and intensity of the conflict with the North.

Mines Found in South Sudan 2004-2011[10]

Cluster munition remnants

Since 2006, 129 sites containing cluster munition remnants have been identified in four states in South Sudan. Cluster munition remnants have been found in residential areas, farmland, pasture, rivers and streams, on hillsides, in desert areas, in and around former military barracks, on roads, in minefields, and in ammunition storage areas.[11] UNMAS reported that in July 2012 there were 52 known dangerous areas containing unexploded submunitions in three states: Central Equatoria, East Equatoria, and West Equatoria.

Cluster-munition-contaminated areas in South Sudan as of 13 July 2012[12]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The South Sudan Demining Authority (SSDA) was established in 2006 by presidential decree to act as the main governmental authority for the coordination, formulation, and supervision of the implementation of plans for removing mines from roads, paths and other places where mines are suspected to be laid or buried.[13] It has been replaced by the South Sudan Mine Action Authority (SSMAA).

In June 2011, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) (a peacekeeping mission) ended as South Sudan became an independent state. UNMAO redistributed its responsibilities between the UN mine action office in the north and the UN mine action office in the south and the SSDA assumed ownership of the mine action program. UNMAO reconstituted in September 2011 as the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) under the auspices of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). UN Security Council Resolution 1996 of 8 July 2011 stipulates that UNMACC has the responsibility to support the Government of South Sudan in conducting demining activities while strengthening the capacity of the SSMAA. UNMACC, with the SSMAA, coordinates, facilitates, and oversees all mine action activities in South Sudan through its main office in Juba, and its sub-offices in Bentiu, Malakal, Wau, and Yei.[14]

Nevertheless, from 2005 UNMAO (and since July 2011, UNMACC) have managed most of the key mine action planning and coordination functions, including the accreditation of mine action organizations, the development of national mine action standards, the establishment of a quality management system, and the management of the national database.[15] According to the South Sudan Mine Action Strategic Plan 2012–2016, UNMACC will not complete handover of coordination and management of mine action activities to the SSMAA until 2016.[16]

More generally, UN Security Council Resolution 1996 authorized UNMISS to support mine action through assessed peacekeeping funds.[17] In 2010–2011, the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) commissioned a series of studies on transitioning mine action programs to national ownership. The in-depth study on Sudan documents the development, implementation and lessons learned concerning the transition process to national ownership in South Sudan from 2004 to 2011. The study describes the struggles in coordination among the UN Mine Action Team (UNMAT); the challenges of building national capacity while trying to meet the operational goals of the UNMIS mission of clearing roads of mines; and stresses the importance of both international and national staff stability at the UN and the SSDA, among others, on the planning and implementation of a successful transition plan.[18]

In June 2011, according to the GICHD study, “SSDA had no capacity to task and manage mine action activities.” The three sub-offices (Malakal in Upper Nile State, Yei in Central Equatoria State, and in Wau in Western Bahr El-Ghazal) were said to be barely functioning at the time of the transition. The information management office, though properly equipped, suffered from a lack of regular electricity supply, and the resource mobilization office appeared to be “at best, very low and at worst, nonexistent.” As a result, after South Sudan became a state, UNMAS, through UNMACC, assumed a stronger operational role than had originally been planned.[19] Although national ownership is a key goal of the mine action program, it is currently dependent on support from international donors (see the Support section of the South Sudan profile for further details) and will require the SSMAA to dialogue with donors, seek assistance, and report on progress. As reported above, the SSMAA is not expected to assume complete responsibility for all mine action activities until 2016.[20]

On 26 July 2012, the SSMAA and UNMAS South Sudan held the first donor meeting in collaboration with DanChurchAid (DCA), Danish Demining Group (DDG), Handicap International (HI), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), and South Sudan Integrated Mine Action Services (SIMAS), each of whom made presentations to the donors. Representatives from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) attended the meeting.[21]

NPA has been a key partner in building the capacity of SSMAA since 2010. Originally asked by UNDP to provide training and support to the South Sudan Demining Authority (now the SSMAA), NPA has provided information technology equipment, training in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), and other management training including for quality assurance. NPA has also provided training in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) levels one and two as well as a manual demining training course.[22]

The GICHD provides support to the SSMAA, UNMAS South Sudan, and other mine action actors in South Sudan in the field of strategic management, operations, and information management. The SSMAA has a seat on the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) Review Board.[23]

In February 2012, the SSMAA (with assistance from UNMACC, Cranfield University, James Madison University, and the GICHD) developed the South Sudan National Mine Action Strategic Plan for 2012–2016. The chairperson of the SSMAA, Jurkuch Barach Jurkuch, said the government of the Republic of South Sudan was committed to assuming full responsibility for mine action activities, but the government did “not have the financial and technical capacity to support its mine action program. UN agencies, development partners and international organizations will need to support the programme in providing technical and financial assistance.”[24] It is estimated it will cost US$204 million over five years to implement, most of which is expected to come from the UNMAS Voluntary Trust Fund (UN VTF) and from assessed peacekeeping funds.[25]

In April 2012, UNMACC and Mechem International opened an Explosive and Drug Detection System (MEDDS) facility using dogs in Juba. Ingemar Anderka, Operations Manager for Mechem, said the major challenge they faced was the re-mining of already cleared areas in Unity State and mined areas along the border with Sudan.[26]

Land Release

Mine action operations face major challenges in South Sudan. The state of the infrastructure, inaccessibility of large areas during the wet season in July, August, and September, and sporadic nationwide outbreaks of violence require good planning and flexibility from mine action operators.[27] Since the UN established a mine action program in South Sudan in 2004, 5,381 hazards have been cleared, released by survey, or canceled.[28]

Survey and clearance operations target highly impacted communities and are carried out by 50 mine clearance teams from DDG, G4S Ordnance Management (G4S OM), Mechem, MAG, MineTech International (MTI), NPA, The Development Initiative (TDI), and the only local organization in South Sudan, SIMAS.[29] Since 2004, South Sudan has been able to release 19.58km² of mined area and 27.47km² of battle area. During clearance operations, 25,904 antipersonnel mines and 4,312 antivehicle mines have been destroyed. UNMACC has also reported that 797,068 ERW have been destroyed during both mine and battle area clearance (BAC) since 2005.[30] UNMACC also reported that more than 1,000km² have been released through General Mine Action Assessment (GMAA) since 2004, with over 990km² released through survey in 2008 alone.[31]

Summary of Land Release 2004-2011[32]

Mine clearance in 2011

In 2011, South Sudan cleared 2.56km² of mined areas and found 1,213 antipersonnel mines and 1066 anti-tank mines. In 2011, operators found more mines during BAC than during mine clearance. In theory, however, and in accordance with the IMAS, BAC should be conducted on areas in which there exists no mine threat.

Mine clearance in 2011[33]

In January through July 2012, South Sudan closed records on 513 dangerous areas, mined areas, and suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) while identifying 107 new areas during the same period. It also cleared 2.5km² of mined area, released 300,000m² through technical survey, and canceled 7.4km² through non-technical survey. BAC was conducted on 2.08km² of land. [34]

Road verification and clearance

Road verification and clearance to support UNMISS and the delivery of humanitarian assistance, particularly food aid from the World Food Program (WFP), as well as to facilitate the return of internally displaced people and refugees, has been a mine action priority since 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed. As of May 2012, 3,531km of road had been verified and a further 17,070km assessed allowing South Sudan to open more than 20,000km of roads, including those connecting with Kenya and Uganda[35] and enabling the construction of schools, clinics and markets, and the start-up of agricultural projects.[36]

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

In accordance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, South Sudan is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 9 July 2021.

South Sudan expects to have surveyed and recorded all SHAs by the end of 2016 to facilitate the next strategic mine action planning phase.[37]

According to UNMAS, South Sudan faces major financial and security challenges in conducting clearance activities across South Sudan. UNMAS continues to provide substantial annual contributions through the UN VTF and assessed peacekeeping funds in order to assist the government of South Sudan to meet its Article 5 clearance deadline. The assessed peacekeeping budget in July–December 2011 was US$5.27 million,[38] and through June 2012 it is approximately US$28 million.[39] In the assessed budget from July 2012 to June 2013 (the UN assessed-budget year) UNMAS South Sudan received US$40.62 million.[40]

Battle area clearance in 2011

In 2011, 11 operators, including three battalions from UNMIS before its mandate ended in June 2011, conducted BAC. Large amounts of UXO were found in some relatively small areas. Additionally, while the Cambodian Military Demining Company conducted over 60% of all BAC, they found less than 2% of all mines and UXO found in 2011.

Battle Area Clearance, by operator, in 2011[41]

Quality management

Quality management (QM) in South Sudan includes the development and annual review of National Technical Standards and Guidelines (NTSG), annual accreditation of all clearance organizations, task site monitoring, external quality assurance (QA) and monitoring of organizations’ internal QM systems.[42]

SSMAA participates in QA of all tasks from start-up to completion in all 10 states in South Sudan. It is responsible for the development and review of the NTSG.[43]

Safety of demining personnel

There were no incidents during demining in 2011.[44]

Risk Education

Risk education (RE) is targeted to at-risk populations such as internally displaced persons and refugees. The South Sudan Mine Action Authority (SSMAA) claims to have delivered RE to more than 1.3 million people or one in seven of the estimated eight million people in South Sudan since 2004.[45]

Both national and international NGOs are actively involved in RE, though several national NGOs have limited coverage due to a small funding pool available to them.

National NGOs

Operation Save Innocent Lives (OSIL) is based in Yei, covering Yei, Morobo, and Lainya counties. One team accompanies a MAG clearance team in Eastern Equatoria State. The SIMAS, based in Juba, is funded by UNICEF to conduct RE in Central Equatoria and East Equatoria states. Operation Landmine Action and Victims Support (OLAVS) delivers RE in Yei County but has very limited coverage due to the lack of funding. Christian Recovery and Development Agency (CRADA), based in Akobo and supported by UNICEF, also has very limited capacity because of funding. Unity and Cultural Development Centre (UCDC), based in Wau and supported by UNICEF, similarly claims very limited coverage as a result of a low level of funding.[46]

International NGOs

MAG has nine RE teams, based in Juba and Yei, which cover the three Equatoria states (Central, Eastern, and Western) and Jonglei state.[47] In addition to delivering RE to mine-affected communities and returnees in the Greater Equatoria region, MAG also provides RE to development and humanitarian NGOs and UN agencies in South Sudan.[48] DDG has five RE teams, based in Juba, which cover Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state and Central and Eastern Equatoria states.[49]

Since August 2011, Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan) has been providing RE in Kosti, White Nile state, for returnees from Sudan. AAR Japan distributes brochures and notebooks on how to avoid mines and UXOs.[50]

In May 2012, UNICEF and HI launched an appeal for two RE projects totaling more than US$1.46 million.[51] It is planned to mainstream RE into the school curriculum and other programs under the Ministry of Education by the end of 2016 at a projected cost of US$1 million.[52]