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Sudan's Expensive Minefields: An Evaluation Of Political And Economic Problems In Sudanese Mine Clearance, Matthew Bolton

Global CWD Repository

Sudan is an extremely difficult place to run a demining program. Mine clearance agencies face astronomical prices of goods and services, monumental logistical challenges, bureaucratic impediments from government, fraught labor disputes and a deeply embedded political economy of conflict. This multitude of problems has made Sudan one of the most unproductive demining programs, in terms of ordnance or area cleared per US dollar, in the world. This begs the question whether the level of international investment in Sudanese mine action is truly worth it. This paper will argue that in terms of saving lives or increasing access to socio-economic development, …