Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 30 of 46
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Armed Non-State Actors: The Main Users Of The “Poor Man’S Weapon”, Anki Sjöberg
Armed Non-State Actors: The Main Users Of The “Poor Man’S Weapon”, Anki Sjöberg
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
This report, which builds on the 2004 Geneva Call initial analysis, provides a comprehensive mapping of the use, acquisition, production, transfer and stockpiling of landmines by armed non-state actors through a presentation of individual group profiles and a global analysis. The report records global occurrences of antipersonnel and anti-vehicle mine planting by NSAs during 2003–2005, whether activated by victims, vehicles or at a distance using command detonation.
Power Tillers And Snails For Demining In Sri Lanka, Emanuela Cepolina
Power Tillers And Snails For Demining In Sri Lanka, Emanuela Cepolina
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
This paper presents a project the author has been working on since January 2005 in the context of her doctoral research and offers some of the first results. The topic concerns the participatory design and development of a distributed system for humanitarian-demining operations in Sri Lanka. The completed research is expected to encompass the relationship among landmines, humanitarian technologies and development. This article looks at the adaptation of power tillers for demining applications in Sri Lanka using a participatory design methodology called the Snail System.
Endnotes, Cisr Journal
Ethiopia Part 2, Country Profile
Ethiopia Part 2, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Ethiopia’s 70-year history of internal and international armed conflict, from the Italian invasion of 1935 to the Ethiopian- Eritrean War (1998–2000), has contributed to significant landmine and unexploded ordnance contamination. Ethiopia is one of the world’s 10 most heavily mined countries, with the government estimating it will take decades to clear. The most extensive contamination is in the Tigray, Afar and Somali regions. It is estimated that during the recent Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict, Ethiopian forces laid 150,000–200,000 landmines and Eritrea laid 240,000 mines over the disputed border areas.
Libya, Country Profile
Libya, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Libya is one of the world’s largest socialist republics and has been ruled by many different foreign powers. Libya’s official name is the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. During the Turk-Italian War of 1911, there was a constant battle between the Libyans and the Italians until the Italians seized the country in 1939. It was also the major battleground in northern Africa when Italy entered World War II, which left many landmines scattered throughout Libya. Landmines were also emplaced along the border during the conflict with Egypt in 1977 and again in 1980–87 when Libya entered a conflict with …
Tajikistan Mine Action Programme, Jonmahmad Rajabov
Tajikistan Mine Action Programme, Jonmahmad Rajabov
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The Tajikistan Mine Action Centre is responsible for all mine-action-related programs in the country. The author details Tajikistan’s landmine problems and provides a report on TMAC’s progress in various aspects of mine action as well as its goals for future mine-related operations.
Angola, Country Profile
Angola, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
No abstract provided.
Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Country Profile
Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The landmine and explosive remnants of war problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been a result of armed conflict since 1996. The contamination “extends diagonally from the northwest corner of Equateur province across the center of [the] country through Kasai to the southeast in Katanga province and then north along Lake Tanganyika up to Ituri district along the border with Uganda.” The extent of the contamination, however, remains unknown because acquiring information on mine contamination in the DRC has been difficult due to some areas being isolated by the threat from explosive remnants of war.
Decade Of Service: The Maic Is 10!, Dennis Barlow
Decade Of Service: The Maic Is 10!, Dennis Barlow
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The James Madison University Mine Action Information Center is celebrating 10 years of service to the mine action community. Director Dennis Barlow looks back on 10 years of accomplishments.
Mauritania, Country Profile
Mauritania, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Mauritania is located in northwest Africa. Poverty defines this country, ranking 149th of 174 countries on the human development index, where 40 percent of the children are malnourished and 60 percent of adults in Mauritania are illiterate. Much of the citizens’ income and government’s revenue come from the cities of Tiris Zemmour and Dakhlet Nouadhibou, which coincide with the location of a majority of mines.
Mozambique, Country Profile
Mozambique, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Once a Portuguese colony, Mozambique achieved independence in 1975 after a 12-year struggle led by Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO). Between 1977 and 1992 about a million Mozambicans died as the result of fighting or famine in a war that left the country unstable and its economy in ruins. In 1992, a United Nations-negotiated peace agreement led to the end of a civil war between FRELIMO and the rebel group Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO). Following a brief period of stability, Mozambique suffered severe flooding in 2000 and 2001, which destroyed much of the nation’s infrastructure. Then in 2002, a …
Zimbabwe, Country Profile
Zimbabwe, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
During the War of Liberation between 1976 and 1979, the Rhodesian Army laid minefields along the northern and eastern borders of Zimbabwe (formerly known as Rhodesia). The Rhodesian Army handed over minefield records to the Zimbabwe National Army in 1980. The minefields were emplaced in standard patterns and were marked and posted with danger/warning signs, but many of these signs have been stolen, destroyed or removed over time. It was initially estimated that 2.5 million anti-personnel mines were emplaced in Zimbabwe and the remaining minefields stretch 218 miles. Zimbabwe signed the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention on Dec. 3, 1997, and …
Uganda, Country Profile
Uganda, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Due to the insurgency of the Lord’s Resistance Army against the Ugandan government, landmines have been placed by various groups throughout the country for the past two decades. In the early 1980s both rebel groups and Ugandan government forces laid mines. Since then, there have been no allegations of government use inside Uganda, though the Lord’s Resistance Army continues to use anti-personnel mines. Though the landmine and unexploded ordnance problem is not as severe as in other parts of the continent, these remnants of war continue to injure or kill civilians as well as pose a problem for returning refugees …
Senegal, Country Profile
Senegal, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Landmine contamination in Senegal can be found in almost all the villages between the Casamance River and the border with Guinea-Bissau, and along the border with The Gambia. The contamination stems primarily from fighting in the Casamance region since 1982 between the Senegalese Army and the Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance, especially since 1997. The area south of Casamance between the Casamance River and the Guinea-Bissau border is the most affected region. The extent of the contamination is unclear without the Landmine Impact Survey, but according to the Landmine Monitor Report, about 1,400 square kilometers (541 square miles) of …
A Rose By Any Other Name: The Interrelationship Of Landmines And Other Explosive Remnants Of War, Richmond H. Dugger Iii
A Rose By Any Other Name: The Interrelationship Of Landmines And Other Explosive Remnants Of War, Richmond H. Dugger Iii
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The author explores the vast diversification in landmine etymology, condemning efforts that sought to provide more information but only complicated an already difficult process. Dugger continues with a historical perspective on the progression of language and processes used to address problems posed by landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
Somaliland, Country Profile
Somaliland, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Landmine and unexploded ordnance contamination in Somaliland is the result of the 1964 and 1977–78 border wars with Ethiopia and the 1988 –91 civil war between the Siyad Barre regime and the Somali National Movement. The Barre regime troops laid most of the landmines, using mines to threaten the civilian population and protect military installations and civilian infrastructure against SNM attacks.
Ethiopia, Country Profile
Ethiopia, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Ethiopia’s 70-year history of internal and international armed conflict, from the Italian invasion of 1935 to the Ethiopian- Eritrean War (1998–2000), has contributed to significant landmine and unexploded ordnance contamination. Ethiopia is one of the world’s 10 most heavily mined countries, with the government estimating it will take decades to clear. The most extensive contamination is in the Tigray, Afar and Somali regions. It is estimated that during the recent Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict, Ethiopian forces laid 150,000–200,000 landmines and Eritrea laid 240,000 mines over the disputed border areas.
Eritrea, Country Profile
Eritrea, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Eritrea’s landmine and unexploded ordnance contamination problem began during World War II when British and Italian forces fought on Eritrean soil. A long struggle for independence (1962–1991) and a border war with Ethiopia (1998–2000) followed, exacerbating the problem. Eritrea has never produced or exported anti-personnel mines; all mines used in the past were stolen from Ethiopian forces from minefields or storage facilities during the War of Independence. There are no mine stockpiles except for 214 mines retained by the Eritrean Demining Authority National Training Center for training and development. Eritrea acceded to the Ottawa Convention1 Aug. 27, 2001, and it …
Egypt, Country Profile
Egypt, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Egypt is one of the most heavily mined nations in the world, with estimates ranging from 16.7 to 22 million landmines/pieces of unexploded ordnance, or an estimated one-tenth of the world’s 200 million landmines. Seventeen million landmines and pieces of UXO are estimated to be located in the Western Desert, a result of intense fighting during World War II between Allied and Axis forces at the El- Alamein perimeter. Approximately five million additional landmines were spread across the Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea coasts, largely from the Arabian-Israeli conflicts of 1956, 1957 and 1973. The Egyptian military estimates 19.7 million …
The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 10.1 (2006), Cisr Journal
The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 10.1 (2006), Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Feature: Explosive Remnants of War | Focus: Africa | Profiles | Making it Personal | Notes from the Field | Research and Development
Chad, Country Profile
Chad, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The mine and unexploded ordnance contamination in Chad is a result of decades of internal conflict, the 1973 Libyan invasion and intensive mining during Libya’s occupation of the Aouzou Strip in the north from 1984 to 1987. Most of the known mined areas are in the Borkou- Ennedi-Tibesti region in the north and the Biltine and Quaddai regions in the east. Areas such as the Wadi Doum Military Base are also contaminated with abandoned missiles, munitions and other explosive remnants of war.
Center For International Rehabilitation, Qadeem K. Tariq
Center For International Rehabilitation, Qadeem K. Tariq
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
On 7 March 2006, the Government of National Unity in Sudan with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme–Sudan officially launched the country’s National Mine Action Authority at Friendship Hall, in Khartoum, Sudan. The new NMAA gathers the other mine-action entities in the country under its umbrella and represents Sudan’s commitment to confronting and eventually eliminating its landmine and explosive remnants of war problem.
Survivor Assistance Through Technology Transfer In Tanzania, Mary Stanton, Kim D. Reisinger
Survivor Assistance Through Technology Transfer In Tanzania, Mary Stanton, Kim D. Reisinger
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
This article describes how cutting-edge technology is being developed and disseminated in landmine-affected countries. Focusing particularly on the Tanzania Training Center for Orthopedic Technologists, the authors examine how a process of appropriate, resource-effective casting is being advanced and then shared through training workshops. Improved technology and its successful transfer are vital to better assisting landmine survivors, a goal the Center for International Rehabilitation is working to achieve.
Mine Action In Mauritania, Alioune Hacen
Mine Action In Mauritania, Alioune Hacen
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Conflict with neighbouring Western Sahara has left Mauritania with a significant landmine problem. The country has taken steps to reduce the impact of mines and with international help, hopes to be rid of this scourge in time to meet its Ottawa mandated deadline.
Angola Project, Country Profile
Angola Project, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Roots of Peace, based in California, was founded in 1997 by Heidi Kuhn with the goal of freeing the world from landmines. The organization takes a unique approach to mine clearance, turning minefields into farmland. Currently, Roots of Peace is working on two projects in southeastern Angola. A 26-year civil war resulted in landmines and unexploded ordnance being scattered throughout the country and also created an unstable economy. Roots of Peace is working with Conservation International to clear access corridors for elephants and with World Vision to help Angola increase agricultural production.
Picking The Right Tool For The Right Task: Mine Clearance With The Minewolf Machine In Sudan, Christoph Frehsee
Picking The Right Tool For The Right Task: Mine Clearance With The Minewolf Machine In Sudan, Christoph Frehsee
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In 2005, Norwegian People’s Aid used the mechanical mine-clearance machine MineWolf to aid in the demining process in Yei, South Sudan. The MineWolf system combines both the tiller and flail systems. The mine clearance team overcame several challenges to transport the 25-ton machine to South Sudan. Once there, the MineWolf was used to clear over 280,000 square meters (69 acres) of land, including a school complex, a planned housing complex and a teacher-training centre.
Opening Roads To Angola’S Future, Daniela Kempf
Opening Roads To Angola’S Future, Daniela Kempf
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Angola’s Road Threat Reduction Project, funded by the Humpty Dumpty Institute, cleared heavily mined roads in the country’s Planalto region. The project made safe travel possible among the over 200 small communities and other bordering nations. With help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and HALO Trust, HDI opened several roads for the Angolan people, creating new possibilities for the developing government.
Mines Awareness Trust In Eastern Africa, Nigel Howard
Mines Awareness Trust In Eastern Africa, Nigel Howard
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Mines Awareness Trust has been involved in many mine-action programmes that are aiding the mine-clearance process and improving the way of life for the people of eastern Africa. MAT has performed needs assessments in Uganda and has supervised the Ugandan Army. It has also developed a partnership with the International Mine Action Training Centre, which resulted in a state-of-the-art mine-detection dog training facility in Kenya. MAT’s collaboration with and assistance to eastern African organisations has put the area on the path to becoming mine safe.
Tied Campaigns: Cluster Munitions, Explosive Remnants Of War And Anti-Personnel Landmines, Robin Collins
Tied Campaigns: Cluster Munitions, Explosive Remnants Of War And Anti-Personnel Landmines, Robin Collins
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The cluster munitions campaign, following the precedent of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, is beginning to make an impact on state views of banning or restricting cluster munitions. This article examines the history behind the fight to ban or restrict cluster munitions and its ties to the ICBL. The author also discusses the most recent developments in the process to ban or restrict cluster bombs.
An Alternative Perspective On Landmines And Vulnerable Populations, Shelby Weitzel
An Alternative Perspective On Landmines And Vulnerable Populations, Shelby Weitzel
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
By offering a different view on the International Campaign to Ban Landmines’ dominant message concerning mine action, this article presents an argument for possible alternatives. The author brings up such points as a lack of discussion and an acceptance of facts without proper checking of research. In addition, suggestions of constructive use of landmines in the defense of vulnerable populations are made to refute the idea of a necessary worldwide ban.