The 2003 European Community contribution to mine action in the world is of
both financial and strategic nature. In order to appreciate both features one
must start from the wider picture and then gradually focus on the year’s
operations.
The widest picture is provided by the overall EU (EC plus Member States)
contribution to mine action since the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty.
From the 1st of March 1999 until 2003, the EU showed a sustained commitment to
the mine issues by steadily increasing its funding. The total EU support to the
fight against Landmines over those five years reached the record figure of
€688,381,434.
This represents almost one third of the total world-wide assistance generated
since 1997, amounting to US $ 2 billion over seven years.
This financial effort has consistently been accompanied by the political
commitment to the universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty and to its
processes.
The second framework is represented by the EC APL multi-annual Strategies and
Programming, which integrate and complement annual and multi-annual commitments
to be undertaken in a mainstreamed way, under geographic instruments. This
approach ensures that the policies and budget specifically intended to pursue
the achievement of the objectives of the Mine Ban Treaty are utilized in full
coherence with the significant funds being committed to respond to the complex
humanitarian, security, socio-economic and development needs of the local
populations and are used in synergy with related programs.
The underlying principle of these Strategies is that the EC efforts in this
field should be directly related to the goals set by the international community
and that the EC can be best appreciated for its catalyzing capacity.
Their value is further enhanced by their capacity to offer a common platform
to EU Member States to co-ordinate and focus efforts and assistance on common
objectives.
The Multi-annual Strategy and Programming for 2002-2004 addressed the mine
problems in 33 countries and was endowed with a Community budget of
€125,745 million of which €42,897,125 for 2003.
The figure of €125,745 represented an increase of 44.3 percent compared
with the total EC contribution during the previous three years (€87
million) when the EC had not yet a dedicated APL legal and budgetary instrument,
complementing mainstreamed assistance.
Under the 2002-2004 Strategy, priorities addressed threat reduction and
capacity building.
Thus, over those three years the EC focused its assistance both on mine
threat alleviation projects such as mine clearance, risk education and stockpile
destruction, as well as on structural capacity building, so as to raise the
level of mine action management capacity in mine affected countries. Such
structural investments have to be made as early as possible in the life of a
program in order to bring about optimal efficiency on further mine action
activities. Within the context of the Mine Ban Treaty this support was intended
to lay the necessary foundations for the second lap of the Ottawa Convention
regime coinciding with new round of Action resulting from the First Review
Conference.
In the years covered by the 2002-2004 Strategy, among other capacity building
activities, the EC massively supported all nine Landmine Impact Surveys carried
out. We expect from the LIS considerable enhancement of the decision making and
priority setting of local mine action and related capacity and efficiency of
local management.
The EC contribution in 2003 is thus just one element of that wider
picture.
Its amount total €42,897,125 and its details are described below:
Caucasus & Central Asia
Afghanistan, €12,000,000. Integrated mine action. The objectives
of this integrated program are to support EC-financed reconstruction projects
through mine clearance activities, to reduce the threat of mines and other
unexploded ordnances from the mine affected areas in Afghanistan in order to
allow the safe return of refugees and displaced people to their homes and the
resumption of essential economic activities in the country, and to provide
training as well as to coordinate mine action through the Mine Action Centre for
Afghanistan (MACA).
Armenia, €1,400,000. Landmine Impact Survey. This project
consists of an integrated program, which includes a landmine impact survey, a
technical survey, training and technical assistance to the Armenian National
Centre for De-mining, mine risk education and victim assistance.
Azerbaijan, €1,350,000. Mine action capacity building & mine
clearance. The principal goal of this project is to enable the Azerbaijan
National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) to attain sustainable skills, knowledge
and resources so that it can reduce the mine/UXO contaminated land and
casualties in the most appropriate ways, thereby boosting the local economy.
Northern Caucasus, €170,000. Mine awareness education for
children in the Northern Caucasus. In the light of the UNICEF Mine Action
Strategy 2002-2005, this project will ensure that communities in Chechnya as
well as IDP communities in Ingushetia (with focus on children and youths) are
not only aware of the risks of mines and UXOs, but also encouraged to behave in
a way which reduces the risk to people, property and the environment. The
ultimate objective is to contribute to the reduction of the risk to a level
whereby people can carry on their daily life safely.
Asia-Pacific
Burma / Myanmar, €500,000. Integrated mine action. The main aim
is to ensure that mine victims in Myanmar receive proper prosthetic treatments.
Complementary objectives will be, among others, to promote compliance with
international humanitarian law and respect for the civilian population by the
parties concerned, to initiate a community-based mine-awareness program and to
provide materials and training.
Cambodia, €460,000. Mine clearance in Battambang and Pailin.
Lao People Democratic Republic, €275,000. UXO awareness raising,
humanitarian UXO clearance and mine victims assistance concerning 10,500
individuals, 53 remote villages in Boulapha and Yommalath districts, Khammouane
Province.
Sri Lanka:
€1,239,000. Mine Clearance combined with minefield survey, to ensure
the safety of returnees and resident populations and to contribute to the
socio-economic recovery of the North and East Province of Sri Lanka.
€2,240,000. Mine Risk Education / Mine Survey, demarcation, mapping/
Mine Clearance/ Care for landmine victims to mitigate risks presented by mines
and UXO to returnees and resident populations and to support mine victims.
€600,000. De-mining and Completion of national survey and production of
integrated work-plan for high priority mine clearance in the country for
2004-2006 for the benefit of 2,635,351 returnees and residents. Manual and
mechanical mine-clearance in Jaffna, including de-mining training. UXO bulk
demolition and destruction in situ. Ambulance service for mine victims.
Location: Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavunya, Mannar, Trincomalee,
Batticaloa, Ampara and Polonnaruwa districts.
€400,000. Surveys & Mine Risk Education Surveys and mine risk
education for 200,000 beneficiaries: Level 1 surveys, mine risk education,
technical survey and fencing, emergency mine clearance. Location: Vanni region:
Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu districts and Vavuniya north.
€600,000. De-mining & Mine Risk Education. Mine field surveys, mine
risk education, manual and mechanical mine-clearance in the Vanni region:
Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu districts and Vavuniya north.
€300,000. Mine Risk Education. Mine awareness for the benefit of
260,000 IDPs and resident populations, especially children and women:
community-based MRE activities, MRE in schools through training of teachers and
provision of educational material, building up of local MRE capacity,
development of mass media campaign; support to 250 mine-victims. Location:
Jaffna, Kilinocchi, Mullaitivu, Vavunya, Mannar, Trincomalee and Batticaloa
districts.
€100,000. Mine victim assistance. Revival of the Mine victims
rehabilitation center: production and distribution of prostheses, orthoses and
other assistive devices, as well as physiotherapy services, occupational therapy
and psychosocial/psychiatric counseling. Location: Batticaloa
€240,000. Mine Risk Education Mine Risk Education Activities (MRE) for
370,000 IDPs and 240,000 local community members; establishment of a MRE
training capacity and development of a mass media strategy for MRE; survivor
assistance. Location: Jaffna, Vanni, Vavunija, Trincomalee.
Middle East
Iraq:
€4,470,000Humanitarian Mine Action Mines and UXO Clearance in
Southern Iraq
€700,000. Humanitarian Mine Action Mines and UXO clearance in
Baghdad
€700,000. Humanitarian Mine Action Mines and UXO clearance in central
and northern Iraq
€2,000,000. Landmine Impact Survey & Mine action capacity
building Contribution to the UNDP’s Thematic Trust Fund for Crisis
Prevention and Recovery (TTF). UNDP plans to provide mine action support in Iraq
in the following areas: Institutional Support to the Iraqi Mine Action
Authorities, Operational Capacity Development and Supporting Specific Mine
Action Activities.
Lebanon, €504,309. Humanitarian mine action to alleviate the
risk to life and development constraints posed by mine/UXO contamination within
South Lebanon. Location: Saidoun village.
Africa
Angola €1,169,970. Humanitarian De-Mining Activities through
NGOs; €1,500,000. Landmine Impact Survey. The survey is to be further
funded by several donors and is to be finalized in 2005.
Democratic Republic Of Congo, €986,585. Mine clearance in the
Katanga province
Erithrea, €300,000. Landmine Impact Survey. UNDP will complete
the Landmine Impact Survey in Eritrea and have the survey published in 2004.
Guinea Bissau, €600,000. Mine clearance in the capital area
Mozambique, €1,000,000. Capacity building. The aim of this
project is to develop sustainable national capacity at the National De-mining
Institute (IND). The main activities of the project will focus on: i) improving
planning and evaluation through the introduction of techniques used in the
general development sector; ii) restart and implement a national mine risk
education program; iii) and, train and deploy a southern region quality control
capacity.
Sudan:
€1,046,261.Emergency Mine Action Response in Nuba Mountains, to
reduce direct and indirect impact of APL on civil population by ensuring safe
access to key locations through de-mining activities. Capacity building of local
NGO in De-mining.
€2,000,000. SLIRI II phase. The SLIRI project aims to establish a
comprehensive information network throughout all potentially mine-affected areas
of Sudan in order to access accurate landmine- and UXO-related information.
These cross-conflict data-gathering networks gather relevant information on
individual landmine and UXO incidents involving humans and/or livestock, of
confirmed minefield locations and of land which is unused as a result of the
actual or suspected presence of landmines.
€500,000. Technical survey. The technical survey teams will survey all
major routes and all known Dangerous Areas (marked in the IMSMA Data Base)
throughout the area and either verify or discredit the presence of mines so that
an appropriate follow-up on clearance assets may be tasked with a definite
clearance objective.
Europe
Bosnia & Herezgovina:
€660,000.Mine clearance and de-mining capacity building.
De-mining activities in support to the return of refugees and internally
displaced persons in BiH (a priority for EC assistance in the sector 'Democratic
Stabilisation'). Implementation of the second phase of the Exit strategy for
creation of sustainable de-mining capacities within the Federation BiH.
€340,000. Mine clearance and de-mining capacity building. De-mining
activities in support to the return of refugees and internally displaced persons
in BiH (a priority for EC assistance in the sector 'Democratic Stabilisation').
Implementation of the second phase of the Exit strategy for creation of
sustainable de-mining capacities within the Republic Srpska BiH.
Croatia, amount not yet decided. The de-mining budget is linked to the
support of other infrastructure and economic projects still to be decided.
Worldwide
Worldwide, €500,000. Mine ban awareness. The aim of this program
is to persuade armed non-state actors (NSAs) in Colombia and the Middle East not
to use antipersonnel (AP) mines under any circumstances and to commit themselves
to a total AP mine ban, specifically through the signing and implementation of
Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment.
EC Joint Research Centre (JRC). Representation of the European Commission in
International Test and Evaluation Program (ITEP); Hosting ITEP Secretariat,
participation in Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Subgroups. Leading
the establishment of CEN (Comité Européen Normes) Workshop
Agreement 14747:2003 which standardizes Tests and Evaluation for metal
detectors. Performing verification studies of CWA in laboratory and blind field
trials with existing and novel detectors. (esp. ITEP project 2.1.1.2 with BAM).
EC JRC, €10,000. Publication of a field handbook on metal detectors for
de-mining. Provision of Ispra test facility and web database of results (inc.
use by 5FP project DEMAND). Workshop for T and E of radar in de-mining. Support
to EUDEM2-SCOT conference. Research in soil properties, data fusion, IR imaging
etc. with numerous scientific papers and reports.
Intersessional Meetings - Geneva: February & May 2003. €36,000,
Interpretation Contribution by the European Commission, of the cost of the
services of 6 interpreters, at the 'Works on Mechanism Inter-sessions of the
Ottawa Convention' Meeting (February & May 2003).
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