2003 represents UNICEF’s 11th
year of direct engagement in the sector of humanitarian mine action, starting
with Mine Risk Education (MRE) programmes in El Salvador, Somalia and Cambodia.
Over the years, UNICEF has supported mine action activities in 35 countries,
with 29 country programmes planned, ongoing, initiated or concluded in 2002 and
by early 2003. Following the adoption of the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997,
Mine Action and Effective Coordination: the UN Policy was welcomed by the
53rd session of the UN General Assembly in 1998. The Policy defines
humanitarian mine action as having five components: mine awareness [a.k.a: mine
risk education]; advocacy; survey, mapping and clearance; ‘victim
assistance’; and stockpile destruction. The Policy divides the
responsibility for these activities across eleven UN agencies and departments,
outlining co-ordination mechanisms for UN and other organisations. UNICEF has
accepted responsibilities in relation to three of these five components: MRE;
the rehabilitation of landmine survivors; and advocacy for a total ban on
anti-personnel landmines. These responsibilities are carried out in close
cooperation with concerned partners.
UNICEF Mine Action Strategy 2002-2005
The UNICEF Mine Action Strategy was
formulated to provide a framework for UNICEF to fulfil its commitments in the
field of mine action laid out in the UN Policy. The Strategy encapsulates
UNICEF’s humanitarian agenda and provides a rights-based approach for
action. Following is an outline of UNICEF’s approach to mine action,
reflected in the Strategy.
In mine affected countries, UNICEF works with and supports states, non-state
actors, other UN agencies and like minded civil society partners and
international organisations to help children, their families and their
communities understand how to reduce mine risks, focusing in particular on MRE,
and advocates for and with them on mine related issues. UNICEF acts to identify
at-risk populations, carry out emergency and long term MRE, and support other
risk reduction activities, such as hazardous area
marking.[1] Included in
UNICEF’s action is a commitment to address problems associated with other
explosive remnants of war (ERW), such as cluster munitions, and to work for the
further development of international law in relation to ERW.
UNICEF works to promote ratification and implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty: helping to ensure that states and non state actors are aware of the
threat of landmines and fully conscious of their terrible effects; that existing
landmines are destroyed, hazardous areas marked; that new landmines are neither
procured, manufactured nor laid; and that services are in place for survivors -
particularly women and children.
UNICEF advocates for and with mine survivors and other people with
disabilities to ensure their voices are heard, rights respected, basic needs met
and that they are able to fully participate in their societies. The main role of
UNICEF is in identifying needs, and advocating for them to be addressed in the
planning and provision of health, social, education and other services. UNICEF
focuses on access of mine survivors and other people with disability to services
and programmes, rather than on service provision itself. Among the 29 countries
where UNICEF is supporting mine action, eleven have survivor assistance
components.
In all its activities, UNICEF takes a rights-based approach to mine action,
which recognises the legal and moral obligation and accountability of states to
the rights and needs of their peoples, and affirms that children, women and men
are subjects of rights - rights holders - rather than objects of charity. It
thus follows that they should have the opportunity to express their views, and
participate in decision-making on issues affecting their lives. For these
reasons, UNICEF places affected children, their families, and their communities
at the centre of mine action, and encourages its partners to do likewise. UNICEF
believes mine action responses must be integrated with political and advocacy
initiatives, and that initial mine action responses and life-saving assistance
should move rapidly toward medium and long term solutions, with an emphasis on
national capacity building, community participation and community based recovery
strategies. UNICEF sees mine action as a crucial supporting element of the
broader humanitarian, development and peace building agenda, and sees
coordination within mine action and other sectors as essential to the
effectiveness of mine action programmes.
Global Projects & the Landmines Team
To support the implementation of the Mine Action
Strategy and provide technical assistance to UNICEF country and regional
offices, UNICEF’s Office of Emergency Programmes maintained a mine action
support capacity within its New York headquarters. In order to manage an ever
increasing workload the team expanded in 2003 to include five staff. The primary
responsibilities of the Team include:
UNICEF mine action policy development and coordination
The maintenance and development of international mine action partnerships
and cooperation with agencies such as UNDP, UNMAS, UNOPS, DDA, Cranfield Mine
Action, GICHD, Center for Disease Control, the ICRC, the ICBL, NGOs, and donor
organisations, among many others
Coordination and the promotion of best practice in MRE, including
co-convening the MRE Working Group with the ICBL
Global advocacy on mines and other explosive remnants of war, the rights and
needs of mine affected communities and mine accident survivors
The team also supports UNICEF regional and country offices in:
Assessing MRE needs and ensuring these are met, especially in emergencies
Building national/local capacity through the provision of guidelines and
training
Supporting local advocacy initiatives
Mobilising resources and facilitating international
partnerships
During 2002/3 the team focussed on the provision of support to country
offices through its ‘Flying Team’. This Team is a roster of mine
action professionals managed by the Landmines Team who are deployed to country
offices on a relatively short term basis to provide timely technical support to
mine action implemented by UNICEF and its partners. In 2002-2003 this capacity
has been deployed to Lebanon, Angola, Chechnya (Russian Federation), Burundi,
Eritrea, Occupied Palestine Territories, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Chad, Afghanistan,
Iran and most recently to Iraq.
In addition the Landmines Team was busy with the finalisation of the UNICEF
Mine Action Strategy; the development of the MRE component of the International
Mine Action Standards; co-convening the MRE Working Group with the ICBL; the
development of a UNICEF landmines advocacy kit and a publication on
children’s rights within the framework of the Mine Ban Treaty; and
a study of best practice and lessons learned for UNICEF in mine action.
The Team was also fully involved the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional
process, meeting of State Parties and attended the various Standing Committees.
The Team was engaged in the development of the UN Victim Assistance Policy and
participated in the second Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral
International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of
Persons with Disability.
UNICEF with UNMAS have also provided support for the innovative work of
Geneva Call to engage armed non-state actors in the ban on landmines, and
continued to support calls for an optional protocol to the Convention on
Conventional Weapons regarding ERW.
Country Programmes & Activities
During 2002 and 2003 UNICEF was supporting,
planning or concluding mine action activities in 29 countries, including:
Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia,
Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guatemala,
Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Kosovo (FYR), Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mauritania,
Nicaragua, Panama, Russian Federation (North Caucasus), Somalia, Sri Lanka,
north and south Sudan, Syria (Golan Heights), and
Vietnam.[2] In these countries,
UNICEF’s approach to mine action differs according to the particular
context: some country programmes incorporating a wide variety of mine action
activities; while in others focussing on a particular element of mine action,
such as school based MRE. In 2002, UNICEF’s global financial requirements
for mine action exceeded 17,000.000 US dollars and in 2003 are forecast at more
than 19,000.000 US dollars. Some examples of UNICEF country programmes are
briefly outlined below:
Afghanistan
As one of the most heavily mine affected countries
in the world, over 2002/3 UNICEF stepped up its mine action efforts in
Afghanistan. Along with the placement of MRE technical advisors in the national
Mine Action Centre, UNICEF with its implementing partner META continued to
support the development of generic training package and training of all
implementing partners on community based MRE methodologies. With regard to
school based MRE, after training 18,000 school teachers as part of the winter
teacher training program UNICEF, in collaboration with the Ministry of
Education, is currently working to organise and train more teachers over the
summer of 2003.
Angola
Angola is acknowledged as having the third highest
level of mine contamination in the world. During 2002/3, UNICEF continued to
support community based NGOs working in the seven most mine affected provinces,
training MRE trainers and working with authorities to provide life-saving
information to children and women prior to resettlement. However, financial
limitations continued to hamper the urgent need to expand MRE activities in 2003
to newly accessible municipalities, outside provincial capitals. Presently
UNICEF is increasing its efforts to raise support in response to increased
population movements and avoid a likely rise in the number of mine incidents
during 2003.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
UNICEF has been involved in the implementation of
mine risk education since 1995. In 2002, an MRE Technical Advisor was assigned
to support the Mine Action Centre (BHMAC), while UNICEF continued to support the
MRE efforts of the Ministries of Education within the framework of BHMAC
co-ordination mechanisms. With the local NGO Genesis, UNICEF undertook
school-based risk education for young children through interactive and
participatory puppet shows and workshops. This project was broadened to include
disability awareness and collaboration with victim assistance agencies to allow
for the referral of persons with disability to appropriate services. UNICEF also
continues to support the Child Landmine Victim Assistance Project implemented by
the NGO Jesuits Refugees Services which aims to facilitate the reintegration of
children who have been disabled by landmines and unexploded ordnance. Presently,
UNICEF is preparing a comparative study on the provision of assistance to mine
victims and people with disability and problems of inequity and non-fulfillment
of entitlements. The findings of the study will provide essential baseline
information to support the development of a national policy on landmine victim
assistance.
Cambodia
Cambodia remains one of the most mine and UXO
affected countries in the world and one of UNICEF’s oldest and most
comprehensive mine action programmes. Throughout 2002, UNICEF Cambodia with its
many partners was supporting the integration of MRE in schools, victim
assistance activities, focussing particularly on children, proximity mine
clearance and mined area marking, and the development of a new approach to MRE
with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, with a greater focus on community
orientation, integration and liaison. In addition UNICEF has consistently
supported initiatives linked to the promotion and implementation of the Mine
Ban Treaty, as well as public information events such as the National Mine
Awareness Day. In view of its wide range of activities in Cambodia, the country
office released a document which collects practices and lessons learned over the
years in the area of mine/UXO accident prevention and survivor
assistance.[3]
Iraq
MRE in Iraq is UNICEF’s newest project and
has been urgently established to respond to the burgeoning problem of stockpiles
of explosive remnants of war, particularly associated with UXO in the immediate
aftermath of the recent conflict. UNICEF, with HI and WFP, has disseminated
172,000 MRE posters and leaflets throughout the country. This material was
designed to complement the ICRC mass dissemination campaign implemented at the
same time. The initial emergency public awareness campaign is now moving into a
longer term capacity building phase, engaging the involvement of networks such
as the education and public health systems, religious organisations and civil
defence organisations. Casualty data gathering systems are also under
development, which will provide a better understanding of vulnerable groups and
dangerous activities, and drive the development of more targeted, community
oriented MRE. UNICEF in partnership with MAG is working with UNMAS as a member
of the UN Mine Action Co-ordination Team, and ensuring that MRE activities are
coordinated nationally, are complementary and integrated into mine survey and
clearance. National standards are also under development through the MRE
Technical Working Group, chaired by UNICEF.
[1] See UNICEF’s Cambodia programme
for an example. [2] In ten of these
countries, UNICEF is the only UN agency working in mine
action. [3] A Collection of Practices
from UNICEF’s Mine Action Experience in Cambodia; UNICEF Cambodia, June
2002.
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