The
primary responsibility for managing mine action programmes in mine-affected
countries lies with the national and local authorities. In many instances,
however, these countries request the assistance of the UN to effectively manage
their responses to mine and UXO contamination over the long term. Within the UN
system, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) fulfills this critical
role. The purpose of UNDP’s work is to create an environment and
framework in which all mine action activities are conducted to greatest impact
and efficiency and that donor funds are effectively utilized. UNDP’s
field- and Headquarters-based services are intended to assist national
authorities to establish the institutional structures necessary to address the
mine threat in an integrated, pragmatic fashion.
UNDP’s approach to mine action is not just about removing mines, but
rather about addressing the larger socio-economic implications of the landmine
threat against the divergent historical backdrops of the countries that it
assists. Not all solutions work for all countries. Differing cultures and
experiences require different approaches to tackling the mine problem, and UNDP
is well placed to bring this expertise to the mine action field.
UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery
UNDP coordinates its global response to mine
action needs in post-conflict environments through the Mine Action Team (MAT) of
its Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR). The Mine Action Team,
together with UNDP’s network of field-based staff, provides support to
countries emerging from crises and conflicts that require development
assistance. The MAT provides two types of services to respond to the rapidly
growing demand from mine-affected countries for assistance: (a) technical,
operational, material, managerial and resource mobilization support to national
mine action programmes, some in countries where conflicts have recently ceased
and projects are in their initial phases of development, and others in countries
with ongoing, mature programmes; and (b) a range of Global Partnership Projects
that support UNDP’s overall effort to strengthen national mine action
capacities, including UNDP’s mine action management training courses and
mine action exchange programme.
UNDP Countries
UNDP currently provides mine action support to 23
countries, including several which were not featured in last year’s
Landmine Monitor Report. These countries fall into three general categories:
New Programmes: Several new mine action programmes were
established during the reporting period, at the request of the host governments.
In Afghanistan, UNDP is developing a detailed transition plan under the auspices
of the Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan, in coordination with the Afghan
Administration, which will ensure a smooth and gradual transfer of
responsibility for the coordination of mine action to appropriate Government
authorities. In Angola, the key areas of UNDP’s assistance include
technical support to the Inter-Sectoral Commission on Demining and Humanitarian
Assistance (CNIDAH), the national coordinating body, and the establishment of a
provincial level support project to help rationalise the Government’s
effort to introduce streamlined approaches to mine action activities throughout
the country. Four new capacity building projects have recently been established
in Colombia, Iran, Jordan and Tajikistan. In Sri Lanka, UNDP has moved into the
main phase of its capacity building project, providing technical support to the
National Steering Committee for Mine Action (NSCMA) and regional mine action
offices.
Ongoing Programmes: UNDP continues to support existing mine
action programmes in several countries where there is an increased need for
funding, training and development of exit strategies. These countries include
Albania, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon and Somalia. In each
country, UNDP is helping to strengthen national management and coordination
structures and policy-making bodies. UNDP also works closely with national
authorities to establish mine action strategies and to support Government
efforts to integrate mine action within long-term development plans.
Mature Programmes: UNDP continues to support countries that
have mature mine action programmes that have either been handed over to national
authorities or will shortly be handed over, and which require further financial
support. In Azerbaijan, UNDP continues to provide capacity building support to
the Azerbaijan mine action programme. In Bosnia, specific achievements in the
past year include: (a) enactment of a national law on demining; (b)
establishment of a unified, national mine action centre, transforming the two
Entity Mine Action Centres into two regional offices; (c) a commitment by the
Government to directly support the mine action programme by financing staff
salaries; and (d) development of an eight-year national strategic plan, which
seeks to render the country free from the effects of mines by 2010. In Cambodia
and Laos, UNDP has been assisting the authorities in developing national mine
action strategies, linked to national development and reconstruction plans. In
Croatia, UNDP is primarily focused on helping the Croatian Mine Action Centre
(CROMAC) establish a long-term strategic plan for mine action and developing
national standards within the framework of the International Mine Action
Standards.
One of the key accomplishments of UNDP’s capacity building programme in
Mozambique has been the successful establishment of the National Demining
Institute (IND), which has taken the lead in coordinating a national response to
the mine/UXO problem and ensuring that this response is well integrated within
national development plans. UNDP has recently provided support to the
Government of Ukraine to address its significant stockpile of antipersonnel
landmines, including large numbers of PFM mines that are deemed to be too
dangerous to destroy by traditional methods. UNDP is also assisting the
Government with the process of ratification of the AP Mine Ban Treaty. Finally,
in Yemen, UNDP continues to help the Government clear all high-impact
communities and address the medical and socio-economic reintegration issues of
mine victims. More than 2.5 million m2 of land have been released
for productive use and 70% of high-impact communities cleared of mines and UXO.
UNDP plans to phase out its current capacity building project in Yemen over the
next two years, after which the Government will assume complete control over its
own programme.
Early Capacity Building Support
One of the important lessons of recent years,
particularly in immediate post-conflict environments, is that the United Nations
must begin long-term planning from the very beginning, even during the initial
stages of emergency responses. Accordingly, in countries like Afghanistan,
Eritrea, Lebanon and Sudan, where peacekeeping missions are present and the UN
Mine Action Service is implementing emergency mine action programmes, UNDP is
working closely with the national authorities to develop the necessary
capacities to address the needs of these countries once the emergency phases are
over. This parallel approach recognizes from the outset the importance of
national ownership.
Cooperation Among Mine-affected Countries
One of the key initiatives undertaken by UNDP in
the past year has been the promotion of cooperation among mine-affected
countries. UNDP recognizes that although the scope and impact of the mine
problem on affected communities is often unique to individual countries, many
broad similarities exist among all mine-affected countries. In this regard, the
sharing of information and knowledge about how individual countries have been
affected by mines and how they have tackled their mine problems can be valuable
to other mine-affected countries, as well as the international mine action
community as a whole. The individual lessons learned and the unique approaches
that mine-affected countries bring to addressing the socio-economic, cultural
and human impact of mines on their communities are an invaluable complement to
the more traditional means of technical assistance that the international mine
action community provides.
One of the practical steps that UNDP has taken to promote such cooperation is
its Mine Action Exchange Programme (MAX), which was launched in 2001. The MAX
programme provides a mechanism for the staff of mine action programmes to
undertake short assignments to other programmes or international mine action
organizations. The purpose of the MAX programme is to develop and strengthen
relationships and networks among indigenous mine action programmes and to share
experiences and lessons learned. To date, seven UNDP-supported mine action
programmes have participated in the MAX programme, including Afghanistan,
Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Lebanon, Mozambique and Somalia.
Management Training Courses
The key to UNDP’s national capacity building
efforts is to encourage national ownership and sustainability of mine action
programmes, including mine clearance and mine risk education projects. An
integral part of this effort is training national staff to more effectively
manage their respective programs. As part of its broad effort to strengthen
national capacities, UNDP continues to offer its successful mine action
management training courses to train national staff in effective management
practices. The courses, which are implemented in collaboration with the
UK-based Cranfield University, have provided basic and advanced management
training skills to more than 300 senior- and mid-level mine action managers from
more than a dozen mine-affected countries.
Landmine Impact Surveys and Impact-based Strategic Plans
In the past year, UNDP has supported landmine
impact surveys (LIS) in 10 mine-affected countries. These surveys have provided
important data about the scope and impact of the landmine problem in affected
communities, and they have helped mine action operators prioritize their tasks
accordingly. In Afghanistan, UNDP is managing a national landmine impact
survey, which seeks to identify the impact of mines/UXO on the local population,
thereby assisting mine action operators in their prioritization of activities.
In Angola, UNDP is working closely with CNIDAH, the national coordinating body,
to implement a LIS to support the development of a comprehensive mine action
strategic plan incorporating key long-term priorities. In Azerbaijan, Cambodia
and Chad, UNDP has worked closely with national authorities to incorporate the
results of landmine impact surveys into impact-based strategic plans. In
Eritrea, UNDP continues to support the Eritrean Landmine Impact Survey, which
has completed training of data collectors at the Zoba (province) and sub-Zoba
(district) levels and is now operational. LIS are also underway in Ethiopia,
Lebanon and Somalia. In Yemen, where the first comprehensive landmine impact
survey was conducted, UNDP has helped develop an impact-based strategic plan
based on the results of the LIS. This plan, in turn, has helped national
authorities prioritize the mine action programme’s approach to the mine
problem.
Technical Assistance to Develop Legislation Based on IMAS
An integral part of establishing an effective
national mine action programme is to develop a legal framework within which to
conduct mine action operations. In its support role to national governments,
UNDP, in partnership with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian
Demining (GICHD), has undertaken a study to examine the legal foundations of
national mine action programmes. The study has assembled examples of mine
action legislation enacted by governments, collected case studies, identified
common themes, and reviewed national mine action structures in typical
mine-affected countries. The results of the study have been compiled into an
information kit designed to assist countries to address the landmine problem
more effectively, including advising States Parties on how to meet their
obligations under Article 6.1 of the AP Mine Ban Treaty. UNDP and GICHD are
currently organizing a series of regional training workshops to discuss the
findings of the legislation study, debate varying applications of the study, and
develop strategies for applying the study to their respective countries. The
long-term aim is to create a comprehensive approach to drafting legislation,
which will provide a legal foundation for establishing and operating national
mine action institutions.
Resource Mobilization
UNDP has mobilized over US$67 million for mine
action in the past year, with more than US$15 million channeled through its
newly-established Thematic Trust Fund for Crisis Prevention and Recovery
(TTF), a new financial instrument designed to help UNDP address its development
priorities. The TTF enables donors to provide contributions to UNDP in support
of its thematic priorities, including mine action. Since its inception, the TTF
has demonstrated its relevance as an important vehicle for channeling donor
funds to UNDP mine action projects in the field and at Headquarters. UNDP
expects to receive an increasing share of financial contributions through the
TTF in the coming year.
One of UNDP’s most successful public-private partnerships,
Adopt-A-Minefield, has raised over US$3 million in the past year. The program,
formalized by an agreement between the United Nations Association of the USA and
UNDP in 1998, raises funds for UN mine clearance operations in several
mine-affected countries, including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Cambodia, Croatia, Iraq, Mozambique and Vietnam. The funds were raised from
tens of thousands of supporters worldwide, including school children, community
leaders, educators, corporate leaders and celebrities. Of the US$8 million
raised to date, Adopt-A-Minefield and UNDP have cleared over four million square
meters of land, with a further four million square meters currently being
cleared.
Transition Strategies
UNDP is currently drafting guidelines for
transition strategies for UN-supported mine action programmes that support
capacity building efforts at the national and local level.
‘Transition’ in this context is defined as either the termination
of, or a move towards a substantial reduction in the size and scope of, a
capacity building project led by international advisors. The final guidelines,
which will be issued in early 2004, are intended to be incorporated into future
mine action project documents and to be used throughout the life cycle of a mine
action capacity building project. UNDP-supported mine action programmes that
have reached a mature stage of development and that will benefit from the
guidelines include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia and Yemen.
Mainstreaming Mine Action
One of UNDP’s key initiatives in the past
year has been to engage key stakeholders in discussions about mainstreaming mine
action within national development strategies. Although mine action is a
recognised development problem, it has not traditionally been addressed within a
formal development framework. Rather, mine action has typically been treated as
a humanitarian problem that attracts significant funding in the immediate
aftermath of hostilities, but considerably less over the long-term. While
humanitarian funding should continue, a parallel strategy of incorporating mine
action into development planning and budgets should be embraced. One of the
practical ways to achieve this goal is to ensure that mine action is fully
addressed in the development planning tools of mine-affected countries. The
inclusion of mine action in these frameworks would reflect a recognition of the
obstacles that mines pose to poverty reduction and broader development
challenges in post-conflict environments.
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