The concept of
Humanitarian Mine Action was developed as a response to the growing concern
about the impact of landmines on people and communities. Humanitarian Mine
Action (HMA) seeks to minimize the impact of landmines as a threat to life and
limb, and as an impediment to the progress of post-conflict reconstruction and
social and economic development. Today, HMA encompasses a wide range of
activities: surveys and assessments, the marking, mapping and clearing of mines,
mine awareness activities, victim assistance, capacity and competence building,
coordination, planning, and quality assurance. The information presented here
is based upon data collected by Landmine Monitor researchers for Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, various UN documents, reports, and information from
various mine action agencies, media reports, and on the findings from
Landmine Monitor Report 1999.
Landmine Problem
A total of eighty-eight states are affected to
various degrees by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Of the mine-affected
countries, thirty-three are states parties to the Mine Ban Treaty and an
additional eighteen are signatories. In addition, Landmine Monitor has
conducted research on eleven areas which are not internationally recognized
states, but which are mine and UXO-affected: Abkhazia, Chechnya,
Falklands/Malvinas, Golan Heights, Iraqi Kurdistan, Kosovo, Nagorny-Karabakh,
Palestine, Somaliland, Taiwan, and Western
Sahara.[13]
AFRICA
AMERICAS
ASIA-PACIFIC
EUROPE/
CENTRAL ASIA
MIDDLE EAST/
NORTH AFRICA
Angola
Chile
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Burundi
Colombia
Bangladesh
Armenia
Egypt
Chad
Costa Rica
Burma (Myanmar)
Azerbaijan
Iran
Congo (Brazzaville)
Cuba
Cambodia
Belarus
Iraq
Democratic Republic of Congo
Ecuador
China
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Israel
Djibouti
Guatemala
India
Bulgaria
Jordan
Eritrea
Honduras
Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of
Croatia
Kuwait
Ethiopia
Nicaragua
Korea, Republic of
Cyprus
Lebanon
Guinea-Bissau
Peru
Laos
Czech Republic
Libya
Kenya
Mongolia
Denmark
Morocco
Liberia
Falkland/Malvinas
Nepal
Estonia
Oman
Malawi
Pakistan
Georgia
Syria
Mauritania
Philippines
Greece
Tunisia
Mozambique
Sri Lanka
Kyrgysztan
Yemen
Namibia
Thailand
Latvia
Niger
Vietnam
Lithuania
Golan Heights
Rwanda
Moldova
Northern Iraq
Senegal
Taiwan
Russia
Palestine
Sierra Leone
Slovenia
Western Sahara
Somalia
Tajikistan
Sudan
Turkey
Swaziland
Ukraine
Tanzania
Yugoslavia
Uganda
Zambia
Abkhazia
Zimbabwe
Chechnya
Kosovo
Somaliland
Nagorny-Karabakh
Survey and Assessment
HMA programs set about reducing, and ultimately
removing, the threat of landmines and UXO through a series of phased activities.
In order to implement efficient responses to the landmine problem, assessment
and survey work is required in order to generate good baseline data. Without
good data it is difficult to allocate resources properly, set priorities and
measure progress. So far, reliable and comparable data on the landmine problem
has been scarce, both concerning the actual location of mines and minefields and
concerning the social and economic impact of landmines and UXOs on countries and
communities.
In many mine-affected countries, militaries claim to have all the information
needed to begin mine action activities. Over a decade of field experience in a
variety of mine-affected areas has taught mine action agencies that this is
seldom the case. Even in relatively peaceful situations the information
available to the military often does not represent the complete picture of the
mine situation. Nor does the information available about the location of
minefields provide much insight into the impact on affected communities. In
order to address the mine problem in a rational manner, and to be able to
allocate resources, it is necessary to address the impact of the mines in
relation to the affected communities, rather than limit the assessment to the
geographical location of the minefields.
According to Landmine Monitor research, between 1997 and 2000, regional or
national assessments and surveys have taken place or are underway in twenty-four
mine-affected countries and areas. These range from comprehensive impact
surveys, to UN assesment missions, to single agency studies. There are concrete
plans for surveys in nine additional countries and areas in the near future.
The principal tool for making this assessment is a Level One Impact Survey.
This survey provides an assessment of the amount and general location of mines,
as well as the impact on the population and other areas affected by the mines.
Different international bodies are now conducting assessment missions and
surveys in several countries, building on national operations and the knowledge
base made available by the military in the different countries.
In Yemen, the first Level One Impact Survey is due to be completed by July
2000. Similar Level One Impact Surveys are either underway or planned in
Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Kosovo,
Lebanon, Mozambique, Somaliland, Thailand, and Western Sahara. The operations
are conducted by different organizations, mostly NGOs, and in some cases based
on surveys already conducted in the country.
UNMAS has conducted assessment missions in 1999 and 2000 in the following
countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Ecuador, Egypt, Namibia, Peru, Sierra Leone, Sudan,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe. A mission to Belarus is to be conducted in 2000.
Additionally, surveys have been undertaken by various national or entity level
institutions in such places as Abkhazia, Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Kuwait, and Vietnam.
Mine Clearance
Mine clearance operations can be divided into
military and humanitarian. Military clearance is mainly for tactical purposes
such as clearing access roads and breaching enemy minefields. Humanitarian mine
clearance is clearance of mine and UXO infested areas for civilian purposes, and
is regulated by a set of standards developed by the UN and the mine action
community in 1995. Central to humanitarian mine clearance is the complete
removal of all dangerous objects from a given area, including antipersonnel and
antivehicle mines and UXO.
The UN standards regulate both the end effect, as well as the methods for
operations, including safety measures for the deminers. Humanitarian mine
clearance as defined by the UN can be, and is, implemented by commercial
companies, humanitarian NGOs, local authorities, military agencies and
personnel, and other actors. The NGOs involved in mine clearance usually also
have aims that go beyond the clearance of mines; for example the opening up of
affected areas for productive use by marginalized groups. A comprehensive
framework for this kind of humanitarian mine action was formulated in the NGO
Bad Honnef guidelines.
Humanitarian Mine Action can be divided into different categories by
implementing agency: mine action conducted by the army/ministry of defense; mine
action conducted by an NGO; and mine action funded by/conducted through a UN
organ. In each country it is possible that a mixture of these categories is
operational, with various funding sources and implementing agencies.
Most mine-affected countries have a capacity for clearing mines and UXO, for
example by deploying military forces or special police. However, clearing large
areas to the humanitarian standards established by the international
community[14] demands efforts of a
different character.
Mine clearance in some form is taking place in sixty-five mine-affected
countries or areas. There are Humanitarian Mine Action programs in forty-six
countries or areas: Abkhazia, Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia
& Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia,
Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraqi
Kurdistan, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Moldova, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nicaragua, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Sudan,
Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
There is smaller scale mine and UXO clearance—spot, on demand, or
limited military clearance—in nineteen more countries and areas: Armenia,
Belarus, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Estonia, Georgia, Greece,
Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Oman, Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine,
Western Sahara, and Yugoslavia.
According to the information made available to Landmine Monitor researchers,
in 1999 seven of the largest humanitarian mine/UXO clearance programs cleared a
combined total of 168.41 square kilometers of
land.[15]
Afghanistan, 110 square kilometers cleared in 1999. Between 1993-1999, 465
square kilometers were cleared.
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 3.7 square kilometers cleared in 1999.
Cambodia, 11.9 square kilometers cleared in 1999. Between 1993-99, 155
square kilometers were cleared.
Croatia, 23.59 square kilometers was cleared in 1999.
Kosovo, 8 square kilometers were cleared in 1999.
Laos, 6.22 square kilometers cleared in 1999.
Mozambique, 5 square kilometers were cleared in 1999 bringing the country
total to 194 square kilometers.
Coordination of Mine Action
The lack of coordination of mine action efforts is a
problem in many areas. Mine action coordination, either by a designated body or
by existing planning and coordination structures, is necessary to ensure that
resources are spent according to needs and priorities, as well to ensure quality
assurance, necessary accreditation of operators, and to avoid duplication of
efforts. A competent and strong mine action coordination mechanism is of
particular value in situations where donors and operators converge in large
numbers.
The absence of coordinating bodies increases affected states' dependence on
donors and foreign operators and this also affects the setting of mine action
priorities. Similarly, only a minority of the mine-affected countries is
reported to have included mine action in the overall planning and priority
setting for social and economic development.
Landmine Monitor has identified coordination structures in nineteen
mine-affected countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Egypt, Eritrea, Georgia, Guatemala, Jordan,
Laos, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sudan, Thailand, and Yemen, as well as in
Abkhazia, Kosovo, and Iraqi Kurdistan. In the rest of the mine-affected
countries and areas, mine action is mainly the domain of the military
structures.
Planning of Mine Action
A national plan for removing landmines helps to
ensure that priority areas most needed by the population are cleared. A national
plan also helps to establish a measure against which to assess the social and
economic impact of mine clearance. In this sense, planning is in part dependent
on the survey and assessment activity conducted in an affected country.
However, few countries have national plans with clearly delineated
priorities.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EMAC is responsible for making sure that areas
are clear. EMAC also develops Annual Workplans in which the priorities and tasks
for demining are addressed. In Abkhazia the HALO Trust and AMAC set the
priorities for mine action (e.g. to ensure a return of refugees/IDPs, to demine
agricultural land, and to demine infrastructure such as schools and bridges).
The Albanian Mine Action Executive (AMAE) is responsible for the implementation
of the AMAC policy. In Croatia the government has a Plan for the Demining of
Croatian State (priorities therein include the repatriation of refugees, and
reconstruction of residential and public areas). The Kosovo Mine Action
Coordination Center (KMACC) is responsible for the planning of mine action and
has divided this into three phases: the preliminary, the emergency, and the
consolidation phase.
Rwanda has established the National Demining Organization (NDO), responsible
for implementation of the plans decided by the government and the Mine Action
Center. In Eritrea the Humanitarian Demining Program (HMP) has put out
priorities for demining. These priorities are resettlement for refugees;
transportation infrastructure; and use of land resources by the general
population. In Vietnam there has been some discussion by the government
concerning a national mine and UXO clearance plan. In Egypt the Army defines the
priorities, as is the case throughout the Middle East—when priorities
exist at all. In Kuwait, the Ministry of Defense set the national demining plan
in 1991, and this plan still determines priorities.
Reconstruction and Development of Cleared Land
In many areas, mine action programs are freeing up a
scarce resource, safe land. It is vital to ensure that cleared land is being put
to good use by those entitled to it. Ownership of and entitlement to land in
post-conflict areas is a general problem, and to ensure that poor or
marginalized groups are not denied the cleared land they are entitled to, it is
vital to have proper procedures in place. Although little systematic information
is collected on this important aspect of mine action, this year’s Landmine
Monitor research indicates that both operators and coordinating agencies have
not made this issue enough of a priority.
Once demining operations have been completed, the next step is to ensure that
the land is transferred to those entitled to it. This is directly related to the
national plan and the priority setting in the countries, and will play a key
part in any measure of the socio-economic impact of the demining operations. In
order for the communities to benefit from the operations, and to make sure that
the cleared land is being used, it is often necessary to carry out studies after
the operations are finished. For example, in Cambodia the HALO Trust conducted a
study between 1993 and 1999.
In Yemen in December 1999, after the first group of deminers in the country
completed a clearance operation, an area was delivered to local villagers. In
Zimbabwe a 220 square meter field was handed over to the local town council,
while a 359 square meter minefield was cleared by a private company and handed
over to the Ministry of Defense. In accordance with Guatemala’s National
Plan for Demining, cleared land was handed over to a community for the first
time in January 2000. CMAC (Cambodia) conducted a socio-economic assessment in
1999 of some 9,977,573 square meters of cleared land. The study indicated that
12% of the land was used for settlement, 50% for agriculture, 2.7% for roads,
22% for other and that 14% remained contentious.
In Norway, a research project called Assistance to Mine-Affected Communities
(AMAC) has explored the impacts of landmines and of HMA. The project is based at
the International Peace Research Institute (PRIO), Oslo, and has been conducting
studies in Afghanistan, Angola and Mozambique. Through conducting case studies
of communities hosting HMA operations, the AMAC project has found that agencies
tend to focus mainly on the technical aspects of their work, while paying
insufficient attention to the needs and capacities of affected populations.
Whereas this applies to all aspects of HMA operations, one example taken from
AMAC’s research is that it often takes years for cleared land to be taken
into use, because agencies have failed to see that building confidence requires
enduring interaction with the local population. The AMAC project is gradually
moving from researching impact issues and organizational approaches to HMA,
toward offering capacity-building for agency staff and for representatives from
mine affected communities. AMAC’s main funder has been the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Research and Development
In Austria, the Schiebel Austria Company produces
mine detectors and related equipment. Currently it is concentrating on
developing the CAMCOPTER, an unmanned, remote controlled mini-plane that can
detect mines from the air. Belgium has engaged in numerous initiatives in the
development of mine detection and clearance technologies, including protection
equipment, detection by physical methods, satellite minefield mapping,
ground-penetrating radar, electronic- and animal-assisted detection, and
processes for the destruction of devices containing explosives or harmful
residues such as chemical munitions. It allocated $1.4 million for R&D in
1999.
In the Netherlands, the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and
Earth Science (ITC) in 1999 presented an airborne remote sensing minefield
detection system that was tested in Mozambique. This system is a result of a
joint international project, involving Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom,
Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, and it is financed by
the European Commission, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom,
Portugal, and ITC.
Germany has allocated around $5.13 million to test field projects in
Mozambique, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cambodia. Sweden has supported tests of
Swedish mechanical mine clearance equipment in Croatia. In Bosnia and
Herzegovina there have been several foreign-made products that have been tested.
Norwegian People’s Aid has been working with Development Technology
Workshop on development of different mechanical mine clearance equipment. In
Lithuania since 1994 intensive development has been underway of systems capable
of locating and identifying underground objects.
The U.S. Department of Defense has a Humanitarian Demining Research and
Development program which researches, tests, and modifies existing technology
and equipment. R&D in the U.S. accounts for about 22% of the total HMA
funding (some $64 milllion to date, including $18 million in 1999). In Canada,
the total budget for research and development in FY 1999-2001 is US$1.7 million,
which goes to the Canadian Center for Mine Action Technologies (CCMAT); perhaps
the most significant contribution to date is the development of "surrogate"
mines for use in the test and evaluation of equipment.
The Australian Defense Science and Technology Organization (funded by the
government) will spend US$2,426,000 over the next five years on mine detection
and neutralization. The research program for 1999-2000 is examining, among other
things, deminers' needs, the current tools and methods for demining, evaluation
of new tools, and development of techniques for more accurately estimating of
the costs of mine clearance. The South African company Mechem has been involved
in the mine issue for more than twenty-eight years. In March 1999, the U.S.
Defense Department awarded Mechem a $494,000 contract to field-test a mine
sniffing electronic dog’s nose. South Africa is also doing research on a
multi-sensor mine-detecting suite consisting of ground penetrating radar,
infrared and metal detector sensors.
[13] In most places with a mine problem, there
is also a problem with UXO. For convenience sake, the term mine-affected will
often be used to include both mines and
UXO. [14] The recognized standard is that a
defined area can be considered cleared if it can be put to use by civilians
without exposing them to danger. UN Standards for Humanitarian Mine Clearance
are under revision in 2000, to be completed
2000-2001. [15] Comprehensive information on
areas cleared in 1999 was not available for clearance programs in other
nations.