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The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Issue 25.1, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 25.1 of The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction. A special double issue celebrating our 25th anniversary

Mine Action: The Early Years, Ian Mansfield

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

At the global level, the year 1997 was undoubtably the pinnacle of interest in mine action. This was the year that saw the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Jody Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines (ICBL), the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the opening of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) for signature in Ottawa, the establishment of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) as the UN focal point for mine action, the formation of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the genesis of the Mine Action Support Group (MASG), …

Applying "All Reasonable Effort" In The Falkland Islands Mine Clearance Programme: Encouraging Efficient, Confident, And Timely Evidence-Based Land Release Decision Making, David Hewitson, Guy Marot

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Falkland Islands Mine Clearance Programme (FI MCP) ran from 2009 to 2020, through five operational phases, some lasting only a few months, some extending across several years. A core objective was to release land as efficiently as possible, only applying technical assets to those specific areas of land that justified such attention. This article describes the approach that was adopted to determine whether all reasonable effort (ARE) had been applied to each task in such a way that current (and future) stakeholders would have confidence in that decision so as to manage the fear of mines being missed.

Linking Mine Action And Development: The Case Of Komyshuvakha, Nick Vovk

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The protracted crisis in Ukraine raises many developmental, humanitarian, and mine action challenges, and while these are interconnected, the response to them continues to be dichotomous. In part perpetuated by donor preferences and reinforced by technical specialty, humanitarian mine action (HMA) organizations often run parallel to the rest, leaving much of the potential for integration untapped. At the onset of the conflict in 2014, Danish Refugee Council-Danish Demining Group (DRC-DDG) returned to Ukraine and became the first international nongovernmental organization (INGO) to initiate a response to the acute need for HMA in its eastern regions. Throughout, DRC-DDG has been leveraging …

Impact Caused By The Covid-19 Pandemic On Humanitarian Demining In Colombia, Salomé Valencia Aguirre, Angela De Santis Ph.D., Sebastián Tovar Jaramillo

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

cisrExchange · 25.1-Valencia-Aguirre

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mine action sector globally. In this article, the authors look at how the pandemic has affected Colombia, specifically concentrating on how the pandemic has affected humanitarian demining (HD)-related activities. To do so, the Swiss Foundation for Demining (FSD) compared key HD indicators from 2019 to 2020 in order to evaluate the performance of HD operations in Colombia, and carried out an assessment among HD organizations (HDOs) operating in-country through the Quick Impact Survey on COVID-19 Impact on Humanitarian Operations. Moreover, the authors provide an example of community service activities and …

Mental Health: Taking A Proactive Approach To Support Staff In Mine Action, Laura Biscaglia, Abigail Jones, Robert White

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As public awareness on mental health in the workplace has increased in recent years, the humanitarian sector—along with the CHS Alliance, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Antares Foundation, and others—has been stressing the need for aid organizations to ensure that their duty of care responsibilities encompass the health, safety, security, and well-being of staff.¹

This article aims to contribute to existing conversations on how actors in the mine action (MA) sector can work together to promote mental health in the workplace as well as prevent and mitigate adverse mental health outcomes. The article is also a call …

An Innovative Approach To The Mental Health Needs Of Humanitarian Mine Action Personnel, Ken Falke, Bret A. Moore Psy.D., Abpp, Richard Tedeschi, Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the fields of humanitarian demining and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), physical traumas related to blast and fragmentation injuries receive a great deal of research attention. In contrast, focus on the psychological health and wellness of humanitarian mine action personnel (HMAP) is lacking. Although research on the incidence of mental health disorders among HMAP is extremely limited, compared with the general population, this group likely suffers more from psychiatric conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. HMAP work in a high state of hypervigilance because at any given moment in a demining operation, there is risk of …

Data-Driven Decision-Making In Southeast Asia, Mikael Bold, David Avenell

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Automated management information systems to enhance decision-making abilities are becoming more important today. Funding and resources are scarce, but technological developments are making it possible to conduct sophisticated analyses that will enhance planning and prioritization: doing more with less. Centered around optimization and efficiency, the geographic information system (GIS) tools provided by Esri¹ have been crucial in providing MAG (Mines Advisory Group)with decision-making software.

A Virtual Reality Application For The Training Of Deminers, Lynn Al Khansa, Elias Bou Saada, Rachid Maalouf, Mohammed Al-Husseini Ph.D., Ali El-Hajj Ph.D., Mohammed Baydoun Ph.D., Hassan Ghaziri Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As virtual reality (VR) tools continue to improve, more fields are finding ways of implementing the technology to take advantage of training opportunities that reduce costs, alleviate logistical challenges, and more. Where humanitarian deminers must prepare for dangerous work, VR facilitates training that minimizes the danger while giving trainers a level of control over the different conditions of the training and the ability to easily monitor and instruct the user. For this purpose, the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the Beirut Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) developed a VR application for the basic training of deminers, which is called …

Recognizing And Reducing Risks From Ammunition And Explosives, Martina Salini, Samuel Paunila

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) first engaged in the stockpile management of conventional ammunition in 2013 and has since developed in-house technical, operational, and strategic capabilities for ammunition through-life management. The GICHD is an active supporter of the ammunition management community of practice, and has authored and contributed to articles on this topic, including raising awareness of ammunition safety and security concepts.¹ The GICHD also collaborates with the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) at James Madison University by jointly managing the Collaborative Ordnance Database Repository (CORD). This article discusses ammunition and explosives management from …

Alternatives To Open Burning And Open Detonation: The Disparity Between Hma And Commercial Best Practices, Linsey Cottrell, Kendra Dupuy

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

cisrExchange · 25.1-Cottrell

Munition and explosive residues have the potential to cause long-term harm when released into the environment. Common explosives, such as TNT and RDX are toxic, with both classed as possible carcinogens.^1,2 The environmental fate of explosives is complex and varied. TNT absorbs onto soil, slowly leaches, and degrades to form degradation products such as DNT, which has a higher toxicity than TNT itself.³ RDX leaches from soil more readily, degrades slowly, and can persist in the environment. The residual soil and water contamination at military ranges caused by the firing, detonation, and disposal of munitions …

First Steps To Limiting Conflict Pollution In Central Vietnam, Allan R. Vosburgh

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Awareness and concern are growing worldwide regarding pollution resulting from conflicts. In Vietnam, decades of wars have left a legacy of contaminated land and increasingly polluted water. Golden West Humanitarian Foundation (Golden West) believes future success in eliminating explosive remnants of war (ERW) will depend on highly-skilled, dedicated Vietnamese technicians who can apply training, tools, and techniques that mitigate ERW without unnecessarily adding new contaminants to the environment. Open detonations always contribute steel fragments and particles of explosive residue in the ground along with smoke and detonation products in the air. Golden West is helping to develop facilities, technology, and …

Managing Risk Through Transparency And Cooperation: Improving Lebanon’S Pssm Capacity, Jamie Mcghee

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Weapons and ammunition management (WAM) is a global issue in which nations are responsible for the physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) of weapons and ammunition to help mitigate weapons diversion and proliferation, and to prevent against an unplanned explosions at munitions sites (UEMS). Although in most instances preventable, UEMS incidents have increased, leading to significant loss of life, life-changing injuries to innocent civilians, and damage to property.¹

Measuring Explosive Munitions Use With Open-Source Data: A New Tool For Enhancing Humanitarian Mine Action, Jonathan Robinson, Christoph Baade

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since 2011, there has been widespread use of explosive weapons—including conventional weapons, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and landmines—by all sides in the Syrian conflict.¹ As is known from other contexts, a proportion of these either fail to detonate, becoming unexploded ordnance (UXO), or are abandoned by combatants to become abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO).² Long after conflicts have ended, these explosive remnants of war (ERW) endure as multi-generational threats to a community’s population and future development.³

Assisting Landmine Survivors In Yemen, Elise Becker, Tamara Klingsheim

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Over the past ten years, the Marshall Legacy Institute’s (MLI) Mine Victim’s Assistance Program (MVA) in Yemen has helped over 800 male, female, and child landmine survivors in Yemen. MLI and our in-country program partner have worked to identify survivors and provide them with the assistance they require, including prosthetic services, vocational training, and self-employment opportunities, to improve their lives and increase their prospects for a brighter future.

Remote Sensing And Artificial Intelligence In The Mine Action Sector, Martin Jebens, Rob White

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are included in discussions of how technology and innovation can improve humanitarian action and international peacekeeping. These technologies have the potential to improve the capacity to assess needs and to monitor changes on the ground and can be useful for both the mine action (MA) and broader humanitarian sectors. Even though remote sensing and AI are not the silver bullet in MA and come with several challenges (e.g., operational and data protection), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) believe that the integration …

How To Implement Drones And Machine Learning To Reduce Time, Costs, And Dangers Associated With Landmine Detection, Jasper Baur, Gabriel Steinberg, Alex Nikulin Ph.D., Kenneth Chiu Ph.D., Timothy De Smet Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Two rapidly emerging technologies revolutionizing scientific problem solving are unpiloted aerial systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, and deep learning algorithms.¹ Our study combines these two technologies to provide a powerful auxiliary tool for scatterable landmine detection. These munitions are traditionally challenging for clearance operations due to their wide area of impact upon deployment, small size, and random minefield orientation. Our past work focused on developing a reliable UAS capable of detecting and identifying individual elements of PFM-1 minefields to rapidly assess wide areas for landmine contamination, minefield orientation, and possible minefield overlap. In our most recent proof-of-concept …

Issue 25.1 Endnotes, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 25.1 Endnotes

Letter From The Editor: The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Celebrates 25 Years!, Steven Costner

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction is the leading publication in the fields of humanitarian mine action (HMA) and munitions destruction and security. Since 1997, experts in these fields have shared their critical thinking and innovative ideas on how to make their practical work safer and more efficient at the same time. For this 25th edition of The Journal, I invite you to join me in celebrating all the present and past authors who have shared their ideas, inventions, and perspectives to improve the lives of countless communities around the world.

Past, Present, Future: Mine Action In Motion, Ambassador Stefano Toscano Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The story of mine action is one of an adaptive and solution-oriented sector. Time and again, mine action has developed new approaches, tools, and standards to meet evolving challenges and circumstances at the field level. A strong partnership among all key actors has characterized the sector since its early years and has been instrumental to its agility and evolution.

The Exploitation Of Landmines In The Falkland Islands, Colin King

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Throughout the eleven-year mine clearance program in the Falkland Islands, the exploitation (disassembly, detailed analysis, and testing) of live mines was a regular feature. In addition to assessing the condition of the mines in order to optimize the safety and efficiency of the clearance process, there was intense interest in the subject of long-term residual risk.

The rigorous demining program was highly successful, and the Falkland Islands have now been declared clear. However, a mine recently washed up on the shore near the Capital, Stanley, and it’s possible that others will do so over the next few years. It is …

Explosive Ordnance Risk Education In Ukraine During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Anonymous N/A

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

All modern conflicts bring dangers of explosive remnants of war (ERW), including unexploded ordnance (UXO), abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO), improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and/or landmines, and the conflict in eastern Ukraine is no exception. While the conflict is still ongoing, it is currently in a state of relative stalemate, limited to shelling, sniper fire, and small skirmishes along the 280-mile line of contact.¹ However, civilians are still directly at risk as a result of military actions but also indirectly as a result of ERW and landmines, which are scattered across the region due to the frequent shifting of the line …

Landmine Clearance And Socioeconomic Development: A Study In Colombia, Oliver Ford, Amazia Zargarian, Eric Keefer

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The HALO Trust (HALO) arrived in Colombia in 2009 and, once accredited, began operations in 2013. HALO is currently the largest civilian humanitarian demining organization in the country, operating in twenty-five municipalities across eight departments.¹ The United States has supported HALO from the outset in Colombia and remains the single biggest donor for demining in the country. In 2019, through U.S. Department of State support, HALO began an innovative study to investigate the causal link between landmine clearance and socioeconomic development in Colombia. The study focused on two municipalities in the south of Antioquia Department—Nariño and La Unión—both of which …

Moving The Story Forward Utilizing Deminer Narratives To Increase Women’S Empowerment In Mine Action And Beyond, Brenna Matlock

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The humanitarian mine action (HMA) sector, as a part of the wider security and peacebuilding field, has made significant gains related to gender equity in field operations. In recent years, women deminers have received increased donor and media attention. As a result, there now exists a wide breadth of texts, literature, documentaries, etc., about women who work to remove landmines and other explosives from the ground. The availability of this new information and recent increased public and media attention generates the following questions: Are the narratives accurate, and do women deminers agree with them? How do women deminers view the …

Digital Rehabilitation Technologies Deliver Hope For Survivors, Abder Banoune

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Humanity & Inclusion (HI) has been making prostheses and orthoses since its launch in refugee camps along the Thailand/Cambodia border in 1982, when it was known as Handicap International. The organization has since developed a global approach to disability, aiming to reduce poverty and situations of vulnerability, while working to ensure development and emergency responses are accessible to all. After nearly forty years of action, teams in fifty-five countries perform this critical work today.

A Note From The Interim Director, Suzanne Fiederlein Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

No abstract provided.

Key Performance Indicators (Kpis) For Land Release And Stockpile Destruction Operations—Notes On A New Technical Note For Mine Action, Roly Evans, David Hewitson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In March 2021 the International Mine Action Standards Review Board (IMAS RB) adopted by consensus a new Technical Note for Mine Action (TNMA): Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Land Release and Stockpile Destruction Operations.¹ The TNMA detailed new Common Counting Rules for land release outputs, identified elements of Context Capture at points of data entry and underlined the need for operational staff to prioritize the collection of relevant good quality data. The purpose of this article is to set out why the TNMA was developed and explain certain aspects of its content, particularly those where prolonged debate was necessary in …

The Elusive “Just Enough”: Re-Inventing Explosive Hazard Clearance Management In Iraq, Mark Wilkinson Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Government of Iraq viewed rehabilitation of infrastructure contaminated with explosives during the conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as a prereqisite to socioeconomic recovery and political stability, which, in turn, established a need for the mine action community to deploy qualified, certified clearance teams as quickly as possible. While these teams could deploy quickly, their reliance on international staff and their associated costs attributable to security and other factors introduced a high overhead business model that became an accepted standard during a first clearance phase from 2015 to 2019, despite the understanding that this …

Developing National Landmine Clearance Capacity In Ukraine, Tobias Hewitt, Ronan Shenhav

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The mine action sector in Ukraine has seen significant growth and progression since the outbreak of hostilities along the eastern border in 2014. Continued development of government capacity is required to respond to the scale of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination. The HALO Trust (HALO) has supported the Ukrainian authorities to address mine contamination since 2015, through survey and large-scale mine clearance, as well as by assisting state entities such as the State Emergency Services (SES) to strengthen humanitarian mine clearance practices and procedures. HALO’s ongoing capacity-development efforts aim to enhance existing resources in order to establish …

Saving Lives In Eastern Ukraine: Alternative Eore Approaches, Anonymous N/A

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Armed conflict has been ongoing in the east of Ukraine since 2014 and continues to have a fundamentally devastating impact on children, women, and men. With continuing hostilities and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the dire humanitarian situation in the region, 3.4 million people are projected to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021. The elderly, persons with disabilities, female-headed households, and children are among the most vulnerable. Additionally, the large-scale population displacement from government and nongovernment controlled areas (GCA and NGCA respectively) of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, separated by the 427-km-long contact line, remains one of the highest concerns.