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Support for Mine Action

© Sean Sutton / MAG, May 2013 -- Deminer at work around a new monastery built on cleared land in Lebanon, a country that still suffers from landmine, cluster munition and ERW contamination.

Key Figures

• In 2013, donors and affected states reported contributing approximately US$647 million in international and national support for mine action.[1] This represents a decrease of $34 million (5%) from 2012 when the recorded contributions totaled $681 million.
• Thirty-one (31) donors contributed almost $446 million in international support for mine action to 47 affected states and three other areas: a decrease of almost $51 million from 2012.
• The Monitor identified 18 affected states which provided $201 million in contributions to their own national mine action programs—an increase of $17 million compared with 2012.
• International donor contributions accounted for 69% of support for mine action in 2013, while national contributions accounted for the remaining 31% of global funding.
• In addition to those contributions, appropriations from the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for mine action within 11 peacekeeping operations provided $150 million in 2013, an increase of 33% compared with 2012.

International Contributions in 2013

In 2013, donors contributed almost $446 million in international support for mine action—a decrease of almost $51 million (10%) from $497 million reported in 2012. While this marks a return to the same funding levels as in 2009, it is the eighth consecutive year that international contributions for mine action have totaled more than $430 million.

International support for mine action by year

Donors

In 2013, 31 donors consisting of 27 States Parties, three states not party, and one international institution—the European Union (EU)—contributed a total of $446 million to mine action.

Contributions from the top five mine action donors—the United States (US), Japan, Norway, the EU, and the Netherlands—accounted for 65% of all donor funding. Support from States Parties in 2013 accounted for 62% of all international funding with $273 million. The top five State Party donors—Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK), and Germany—provided $181 million (41%).

The top 10 donors—the US, Japan, Norway, the EU, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, UK, Australia, and Sweden—contributed more than $10 million each, representing a total of 85% of all international funding for 2013. The top 10 donors for 2013 remain unchanged from 2012. Nine of the 33 donors contributed less than $1 million.

Contributions by donor: 2009–2013[2]

Several states decreased their funding in 2013, most notably the EU and the US which both contributed about $20 million less than in 2012. The decrease of more than $20 million from the EU reflects a drop in the number of mine action programs it supported from 15 in 2012 to 12 in 2013. However, approximately $25 million was due to be provided for mine action in Angola, but no contracts had been issued under this funding as of May 2014.[3]

In total, 12 donors contributed more in 2013 than in 2012,[4] including a $2.4 million increase from Switzerland resulting in a total of $20.8 million, the highest contribution Switzerland has made since the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty in 1999. Nearly half of Switzerland’s contribution went to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).

As of October 2014, five donors from 2012 had not reported a contribution to mine action in 2013: Brazil, Iran, Monaco, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan.

Funding paths

In addition to bilateral aid, donors provided funding via several trust fund mechanisms, including the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action (VTF), administered by UNMAS; the Cluster Munition Trust Fund for Lao PDR, administered by UNDP; ITF Enhancing Human Security (established by the government of Slovenia); the Common Humanitarian Fund in Sudan; and the NATO Partnership for Peace Fund (PfP).

In 2013, 23 donors reported contributing a total of approximately $51 million to the VTF, compared with 28 donors and $59 million in 2012—a decrease of 14% in contributions. Japan was by far the largest donor to the VTF, followed by UK, Canada, and the Netherlands. The four countries combined provided 72% of all VTF contributions. Several small donors used the VTF to contribute to mine action, including Andorra, Colombia, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Oman, and South Korea.

Recipients

In 2013, a total of 47 states and three other areas received more than $379 million from 31 donors.[5] A further $67 million was provided to institutions, NGOs, trust funds, and UN agencies, without a designated recipient state or area. Most advocacy funding is contained within this category of funding.

The top five recipient states—Afghanistan, Lao PDR, Iraq, Cambodia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)—received 44% of all international contributions. Afghanistan received twice as much funding as the second largest recipient (Lao PDR).

The Asia-Pacific region received 40% of all international funding; most of the contributions went to Afghanistan, Lao PDR, and Cambodia.

International contributions by region in 2013

Note: MENA = Middle East and North Africa

The number of donors for each country and the amount of support each country received ranged from one donor contributing several hundred thousand dollars, to 19 donors contributing a total of more than $72 million toward mine action in Afghanistan. Nine states, or 18% of all recipients, had only one donor.

Of the 50 recipients in 2013, 31 states and two other areas received more than $1 million, while the remaining 17 received less than $1 million. A small number of countries received the majority of funding. The top recipient states—Afghanistan, Lao PDR, Iraq, Cambodia, BiH, and Lebanon—received 44% all international support in 2013.

International support recipients in 2013

Note: States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty are indicated in bold; other areas are indicated by italics
*Other recipients in 2013 included: Albania, Armenia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Croatia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Kosovo, Marshall Islands, Peru, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Turkey, and Uganda. All received less than $1 million

National Contributions in 2013

While there has been more transparency from affected states, overall national contributions to mine action continue to be under-reported as some States Parties and many states not party do not provide that information publicly. States Parties such as Algeria and Iraq as well as states not party India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam—all mine-affected countries with significant contamination and major clearance operations (usually conducted by the army), as well as significant numbers of survivors and need for victim assistance—have never reported annual national expenditures.

Eighteen states reported $201 million in contributions to their own national mine action programs in 2013,[6] $17 million more than the $184 million reported in 2012. Angola ($115.4 million) accounted for 57% of the total.

National support accounted for 31% of global funding in 2013.

Peacekeeping Operations

Peacekeeping operations in Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Western Sahara have mine action programs that are partially funded by UNGA assessments as part of peacekeeping mission budgets. In 2013, approximately $150 million—an increase of almost a third—was allocated to mine action for peacekeeping missions globally, including $67 million in Sudan (Darfur) and South Sudan.

Peacekeeping assessed funds for mine action[7]

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[1] This figure represents reported government contributions under bilateral and international programs as of October 2014. Mine action support includes funding related to landmines, cluster munitions, and unexploded ordnance, but is rarely disaggregated. State reporting on contributions is often varied in the level of detail and dependent upon different financial years. In addition, it is difficult to assess the amount of funding for various thematic sectors due to a lack of data. Funding for victim assistance activities are especially difficult to track because many donors report that they provide support for victims through more general programs for development and the rights of persons with disabilities. All figures presented in this chapter are in nominal amounts (unadjusted for inflation).

[2] The amount for each donor has been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. Nine states contributed less than $1 million: Andorra, Colombia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Oman, Slovenia, and South Korea.

[3] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Jérôme Legrand, Policy Officer, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Conventional Weapons and Space Division, European External Action Service (EEAS), 5 May 2014; and email, 6 May 2014.

[4] Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and UK.

[5] Only 12 recipients were not States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty: Armenia, Egypt, Georgia, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Libya, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Vietnam. The three other areas that received contributions were Kosovo, Somaliland, and Western Sahara.

[6] Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, BiH, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Colombia, Croatia, Iran, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mauritania, Mozambique, Peru, Senegal, South Sudan, Thailand, and Zimbabwe.

[7] UNMAS Annual Report 2013, pp. 37–58, bit.ly/LMM14SupportFN7.