Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Can Mine Action Improve The Management Of Free From Explosive (Ffe) Items?, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Assessing and making items free from explosive (FFE) are among the most dangerous things we do in mine action and are perhaps the least regulated. Mine action operations use items that have been made FFE or INERT for training and demonstration purposes. However, the sector does not really have sufficient procedures or qualifications to assess items as certified free from explosive (CFFE), or to make items FFE/INERT. Assessing or making items FFE are explosive processes and should be treated as such more consistently within the mine action sector. This article will outline the current state of play concerning FFE items …

The Time Has Come For Digital Explosive Ordnance Risk Education, Robin Toal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The increase in the number of civilian casualties from landmines and other explosive ordnance (EO) in recent years has driven the demand for new and innovative ways to provide communities with risk education. Additionally, with access limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, humanitarian organizations like MAG (Mines Advisory Group) have had to adapt their approach, focusing on digital explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) to reach individuals and communities affected by EO.

Open-Source Research And Mapping Of Explosive Ordnance Contamination In Ukraine, Andro Mathewson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the scale of explosive ordnance (EO) contamination in Ukraine has reached unprecedented levels, necessitating new methods to assess and track the different types of ordnance and the level of contamination across the country. As the most documented, active war on social media to date, The HALO Trust (HALO) has successfully harnessed open-source research to better plan and conduct survey, clearance operations, and explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) across the country.

Explosive Weapons Use And The Environmental Consequences: Mapping Environmental Incidents In Ukraine, Linsey Cottrell, Eoghan Darbyshire, Phd, Kristin Holme Obrestad

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

All conflicts result in environmental impacts. The use of explosive weapons can cause massive damage to civilian and industrial infrastructure, resulting in the contamination of air, soil and water resources. The war in Ukraine has highlighted the heavy toll on the environment, and the risk of significant environmental harm.

A Brief History Of Mine Detection Dogs, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since their first use in World War II, the use of Mine Detection Dogs (MDD) has been subject to ongoing debate. How effective are they really in finding mines? Are they really worth the expense they entail? As with so many aspects of modern survey and clearance operations, many of the lessons we continue to learn today have already been learned in the past. A brief history of the contribution of MDD over the past eight decades can help us put their performance into perspective and understand where they can add significant value, while also appreciating their limitations.

Gender And Operational Efficiency, Raphaela Lark, David Hewitson, Dominic Wolsey

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This study explores the relationship between gender and operational efficiency in the context of staff in field-based mine action roles. The aim of the study is to address stereotypes and unproven assumptions that may still exist in the mine action sector regarding women’s performance and availability to work in certain field-based roles. Operational efficiency was investigated using two key indicators: individual operational productivity and availability to work. Operational and human resource data was collected from fourteen country programs from four separate mine action organizations across four continents. A quantitative analysis of the data found no meaningful difference in operational productivity …

Mapping Unexploded Ordnance In Syria: Harnessing The Power Of Open-Source, Hampton Stall, Jennifer Hudson, Evan Leendertse, Hari Prasad, Chris Mcnaboe, Rana Shabb, Jonathan Robinson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

For over a decade, the widespread use of explosive weapons by all sides in the Syrian conflict has been well documented by a litany of public sources. Many of these explosive munitions fail to detonate as intended, thereby becoming unexploded ordnance (UXO) that threaten post-conflict recovery. To begin the process of clearing these explosive remnants of war (ERW), desk studies/non-technical studies can be utilized to initially assess the concentration and distribution of explosive weapons across a conflict zone, which in turn suggest the risk of UXO in an area. Traditional methods in non-technical surveys (NTS) focus on unweighted conflict intensity …

The Evolution Of Physical Security And Stockpile Management: A Successful Implementing Partnership Perspective, Lee Moroney, Mark Veneris

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

To avoid unplanned explosion of munitions (UEM) and to lower the risk of illicit diversion, the humanitarian requirements ensuring strong ammunition management structures, systems, and processes by states have been well documented in past issues of this Journal and other publications. These needs have led to the evolution of multilateral and bilateral support from donor nations that see the humanitarian value of supporting physical security and stockpile management (PSSM).

The Deadly Legacy Of World War Ii In Alaska, Kenneth Rutherford

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the middle of the Bering Sea—closer to Japan than the continental United States and more than 1,000 miles from Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage—sit the Alaskan islands of Attu and Kiska. It was the summer of 1942, nearly six months after Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, that Japanese forces invaded these islands in what was some of World War II’s most brutal fighting and use of explosives.

Clear Then Grow: Integrating Mine Action With Food Security In Northeast Syria, Katarina Cvikl Balić

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Over the past several years, considerable attention within the mine action community and in the wider development sector has been devoted to conceptualizing mine action interventions within the broader sustainable development goals (SDGs), or more recently, the so-called triple nexus. Aiming to find linkages between, for instance, clearance efforts and food security is not a new concept. This article, however, looks at the operationalization of these links through an integrated mine action and agricultural recovery program within Northeast Syria (NES).

Mine Action In Afghanistan And Tajikistan: Challenges And Opportunities, Markus Schindler

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Rugged mountains, challenging road conditions, ongoing security concerns, and a fluctuating donor landscape present a wide range of obstacles to mine clearance efforts in Afghanistan and neighboring Tajikistan. The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) first entered the region in 2001 in the wake of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Since then, the mine action sectors in both countries have seen significant progress and growth. FSD has been part of this process since its early days through its country programs in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, engaging in a variety of mine action activities including clearance (manual, mechanical, and with mine detection …

Proof: How Tir Imaging Can Locate Buried Cluster Munitions In The Iraqi Desert, John Fardoulis, Xavier Depreytere, Jonathon Guthrie

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In this article, we follow on from our previous work published in The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction that proved how buried thirty-year-old legacy anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines could be located using thermal infrared (TIR) sensors in the Sahara Desert, northern Chad.¹ This time, the emphasis is on proving how the location of buried submunitions from cluster munition strikes in the desert of southern Iraq can be identified using TIR sensors.

Missed Opportunities: A Chance To Develop Synergy Between Humanitarian Mine Action And Humanitarian Forensic Action, Patrick Nowak

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article aims to identify the opportunities for synergy that exist globally between humanitarian mine action (HMA) and humanitarian forensic action (HFA) through the lens of their specific objectives. Moreover, it recommends how best to leverage existing touchpoints and establish networks between the two disciplines; explores the access and placement that can enhance both mine action and forensic objectives; shows how subject-matter experts currently remain underutilized in explosive mitigation missions and human remains recovery operations; and indicates how to remedy that through combined efforts.

Mine Action And The Reintegration Of Former Combatants: Expanding The Debate, Laurie Druelle, Henrique Garbino, Eric Mellado Åhlin

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the last decades, humanitarian mine action (HMA) and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR)² processes have increasingly been recognized as essential to paving the way for sustainable development thanks to their contributions towards human security, livelihood, and access to services. The integration between the two processes, however, has not yet been fully addressed in the literature or practice. This paper seeks to identify areas where DDR and HMA intersect and, supported by anecdotal evidence, suggest a conceptual framework for future research and implementation. Most importantly, we hope to widen the debate on the potentially synergic relationship between HMA and …

New Conventional Eod And Iedd Competency Standards For Mine Action: Notes On T&Ep 0930, 0931, And Imas 0930, Roly Evans, Dan Perkins

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In February 2022, the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) Review Board approved a fully revised Test and Evaluation Protocol (T&EP) 09.30 explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) Competency Standards. It also approved amendments to the accompanying IMAS 09.30 (subject to the approval of the IMAS Steering Group and Inter Agency Coordination Group) and the T&EP 09.31 IEDD Competency Standards. The approval marked the culmination of sustained work over four years since 2018 to update not only conventional EOD competencies but to add improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD) competencies suitable for mine action rather than traditional security tasks. The changes made are significant …

Environmental Soil Sampling And Analysis: Application In Supporting Sustainable Land Use Practices In Areas Impacted By Explosive Ordnance, Bui Doan Bach, Kimberly Mccosker, Linsey Cottrell

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Assessing the humanitarian impact of explosive ordnance (EO) has been an integral part of the land release process for decades. However, rarely have environmental aspects been included, despite the fact that EO can impact the environment in several ways, adding to the overall humanitarian impact of the use of explosives.

Endnotes, Issue 25.3, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

No abstract provided.

The Recovery Of Human Remains In Weapon-Contaminated Settings: Towards Guidance For The Mine Action Community, Lou Maresca, Chris Poole, Jane Taylor, Phd

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mine action and forensic services are critical elements in the response to humanitarian needs during and after armed conflict. Mine action operators will work to identify, mark, and eventually clear areas contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Forensic specialists and other related experts will be operational in the search for missing persons and the management of the dead by locating, recovering, and helping to identify human remains, while ensuring maximum protection, dignity of the deceased, and attention to their families.[1] These professions can often intersect in situations where human remains and explosive hazards are both present.

A Note From The Interim Director, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

No abstract provided.

Ukraine: Coordinating The Reponse, Greg Crowther

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The war in Ukraine has seen the use of ground and aerial weapons on a scale not seen in Europe for decades, causing immense devastation and human suffering. And the legacy of explosive hazards since the onset of the war, in the form of unexploded ordnance, landmines, and cluster munitions, will take decades to address. It’s a legacy that will kill and injure civilians long after the conflict has ended. This is not just a problem for the future, however but a challenge for the present: explosive ordnance risks civilian lives, hampers efforts to deliver emergency humanitarian aid, and prevents …

Integrating Humanitarian Mine Action And Humanitarian Forensic Action, Lauren Cobham, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Mike Harris, Caroline Barker, César Sanabrina Medina, Javier Naranjo-Santana, Gareth Collett

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Humanitarian mine action (HMA) and humanitarian forensic action (HFA) have had a global impact in recent decades. However, these two areas could work more closely together in view of some of the contexts in which they operate. Often when HMA operators clear explosive ordnance (EO) after conflict, they find human remains, especially in urban areas. When human remains are encountered, operators have responsibilities to ensure that they are dealt with appropriately. When both HMA and HFA actors are present, there is a need for an increased awareness and understanding of each other’s role. Human remains should be returned to families …

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Issue 25.3 (2023), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

• Ukraine
• Human Forensics
• Reintegration of Former Combatants
• Afghanistan and Tajikistan
• Mental Health of Survivors and HMA Personnel
• Iraq
• Notes on T&EP 09.30, 09.31, and IMAS 09.30
• Environmental Soil Sampling and Analysis
• TIR Imaging

National Capacity Building For Humanitarian Mine Action Activities In Iraq, Mark Wilkinson Phd

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the last two years, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) Iraq has conducted detailed research into its management and delivery of improvised explosive device (IED) clearance activities. Some of this research has already been published, providing a more detailed insight into how operational efficiency and effectiveness can be developed from models and tools derived from on-the-ground evidence. Much of this research has been shown to have real-world application. The purpose of this research has actually been quite simple: show that when methodologically sound observation and analysis are contextualized within an operational mine action environment there can be clear …

Tnmac's Victim Assistance Activities: The Mental Health Aspect Of Survivors And Hma Personnel, Reykhan Muminova, Md, Phd, Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, Phd

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Tajikistan, a State Party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) since 1 April 2000, contains a significant number of landmine victims and survivors. The Tajikistan National Mine Action Center (TNMAC) is using the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) Core for its data collection and reporting, including information on persons killed or injured by mines as well as their needs and challenges. This information is disaggregated by gender, age, and disability. Since 1992, the total number of casualties resulting from accidents with landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) is 885 (535 survivors; 350 fatalities).

Mechanical Equipment In Ied Clearance: Observations From Iraq, Pehr Lodhammar, Mark Wilkinson Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mechanical equipment has been in the inventory of conventional military forces for the purposes of military engineering—including demining—since the Second World War. The integration of mechanical equipment into the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) Iraq clearance activities may have therefore seemed a natural evolution from what might be considered ‘conventional’ mine clearance, yet it brought with it a number of issues. First, the absence of any clear doctrine for the use of mechanical equipment in improvised explosive device (IED) clearance generated resistance and criticism from specialist IED clearance companies operating at that time in Iraq. It was argued that …

Tailoring Explosive Ordnance Risk Education: How Mag Addresses Gender/Cultural Sensitivities And Local Risk-Taking Behavior, Sebastian Kasack

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The relevance of risk education is widely acknowledged as reflected in the Oslo Action Plan (OAP) with its distinct chapter on ‘Mine risk education and reduction’ and five explicit actions. Good risk education must be tailored. MAG’s experience delivering explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) in four-teen countries confirms the relevance of tailoring EORE to the local reality: to people’s risk taking behaviors, to the actual explosive ordnance (EO) threat, to seasonality, availability of people for risk education sessions, and approaches that re-spect gender and diversity and take conflict sensitivity into account.

Accident Response To Mitigate Risk: A Call To Action, Lillian Gates

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Effective accident response in humanitarian mine action (HMA) contributes to increased safety in future demining work. Mine action organizations play a variety of roles in the improvement of accident response, with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs being the most recent to adjust their accident response process by establishing the Accident Review Panel (ARP). This panel consolidates the office’s efforts and allows for standardized accident response protocol and the collection and analysis of accident data. Other organizations active in cultivating better accident responses include the United Nations Mine Action …

Hidden Crisis In Borno State, Sean Sutton

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

At the end of 2019, Nigeria reported a significant increase of landmine, explosive remnants of war (ERW), and improvised explosive device (IED) contamination in its states. In 2019 alone, a total of 239 known mine casualties were recorded in Nigeria. Although the exact amount of contamination in Nigeria today is unknown, the Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor asserts that Borno is the most heavily affected state in the country. Due to mounting mine contamination and increasing pressure from non-state armed groups (NSAG), internally displaced persons (IDPs) and communities are unable to safely return to the region. Extensive landmine use by …

A Note From The Interim Director, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

No abstract provided.

Innovative Finance For Mine Action, Camille Wallen, Peter Nicholas, Anna Von Griesheim

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Achieving a world free of landmines will require at least US$1 billion in additional funding. Bridging this gap will require using all available funding sources and maximizing the efficiency of spending. Innovative finance can help achieve both aims by accessing funding not tradition­ally available for mine action. To explore these options further, the UK government commissioned work to examine the potential roles of innovative finance in mine action. After discussions with a range of stakeholders, a broad consensus emerged around three approaches. First, outcomes finance, whereby funding disburses against independently verified results, such as mine clearance and recov­ery of activity …