Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

16th Meeting Of The States Parties To The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (2017), Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

The 16MSP is a formal meeting of the 162 States which are parties to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. The 16MSP is being held in accordance with Article 11 of the Convention and pursuant to decisions of the 2016 Fifteenth Meeting of the States Parties (15MSP).

The 16MSP takes place on the year of the 20th anniversary of the adoption and signature of the Convention and will gather together States Parties and not party to the Convention, interested organisations and members of civil society to …

General Assembly Official Records, 72nd Session : 66th Plenary Meeting, Thursday, 7 December 2017, New York, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

Ms. Radwan (Saudi Arabia) (spoke in Arabic): My delegation joined in the consensus adoption of resolution 72/75 to provide assistance in mine action because we believe in the importance of the issue and the need to provide assistance to the United Nations Mine Action Service and the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action.At the same time, we deeply denounce the provision of $14 million to what the report called the Ministry of Education of Yemen, which is an entity affiliated with the Houthi rebel militias, who are planting thousands of mines within Yemen and along the borders of …

Director's Message | Table Of Contents, Ken Rutherford

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Director's Message | Table of Contents

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 21.3 (2017), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Editorial: IEDs and IMAS

Feature: Physical Security and Stockpile Management

in the SPOTLIGHT: Colombia

Field Notes

Research and Development

Endnotes Issue 21.3, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Endnotes Issue 21.3

Black Adder Disruptors, Andy Smith, William Bagley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article reports on an empirical research and development project conducted in collaboration by researchers at University of Genoa, Italy, and Johns Hopkins University, United States. It is a progress report summarizing one element of a broader effort that is intended to provide explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operators with reliable, open-source information to assist in the development of low-order munitions disruptors. Providing operators the information necessary to make energetic tools not only reduces cost but can also circumvent the restrictions and delays that often complicate the import of disruptor components.

Clearing Landmines And Building Peace In Colombia, Vanessa Finson, Giovanni Diffidenti

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 2015, the government of Colombia and las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarais de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) invited Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), to develop a joint pilot project to survey and clear anti- personnel mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). The project was a first of its kind in terms of the composition of the teams: two warring parties working side-by-side, and a means to help build trust and de-escalate the conflict during the Colombian peace process. In 2016, NPA commissioned photojournalist Giovanni Diffidenti to visit Santa Helena and El Orejón to capture the historic demining project in …

Quality Management And Standards For Humanitarian Improvised Explosive Device (Hied) Response Activities, Robert Keeley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

There is an ongoing debate about the need for standards for improvised explosive device (IED) activities. The emergence of civilian IED response follows the development of humanitarian mine action (HMA) in many ways. In particular, the problems of defining contractual targets and norms were problematic in the early days of HMA, when, as for the IED response today, money has started to change hands for services rendered. It is the premise of this editorial that the need for humanitarian IED (HIED) response standards derives from the contractual nature of the relationship between the client and the service provider. Therefore, if …

Refining Explosive Safety Outreach, Geoff Carton, Laura Grindstaff

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Explosives safety awareness programs must identify the target audience and communicate easily understood concepts. To be effective, an audience must apply the concepts presented; however, this is not enough. The program and its message must also be adaptable to a variety of audiences based on how they assimilate information. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has at least 100 years of safety education experience. Over this time, explosives safety messages underwent several evolutions.

Crossing The Fence: Challenges Of Operationalizing Pssm, Elvan Isikozlu, Matthias Krötz, Claire Trancart

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) can be broadly defined as a series of activities that make national stockpiles of weapons and ammunition safe and secure. Over the last decade, PSSM has become a highly requested form of intervention to curb the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) and conventional ammunition (CA), as well as to keep communities safe from unintended explosions. Donors have provided substantial funding for PSSM activities to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where we have learned that the impact of PSSM assistance depends a great deal on how actively improvements are maintained.

Maintaining PSSM …

Strengthening Security In Mali With Weapons And Ammunition Management, Marlène Dupouy

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

When insurgent groups in Mali initiated a rebellion for independence in late 2011, the National Guard and the Malian Defense and Security Forces (MDSF) in Gao were at the forefront of hostilities, which included the pillaging of weapons from government stores. Concurrently, the demise of the Gaddafi regime in Libya triggered an influx of small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) across the Sahel region and the return of fighters from Libya, making northern Mali their base. That challenge was quickly seized upon by jihadists and opportunists aiming to further destabilize Mali and enlarge their bases and activities throughout the Sahel …

Using Small Unmanned Aircraft (Sua) In Hma, Andy Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With the growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) within humanitarian mine action (HMA), the need for standardized training is becoming increasingly important to mitigate factors that may otherwise inhibit their wider use. The first formal training course for people in HMA to qualify as small unmanned aircraft (SUA) pilots served as an opportunity to pursue this goal and was held at the MAT Kosovo training centre in September 2017. The instructors were from a U.K. company training to U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) standards for commercial SUA pilots. Although drone and UAV are popular terms to describe all umanned …

Making Ordnance Identification Available To Everyone, Howard Rudat

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The continued focus on the use of mobile technology in support of humanitarian demining operations has not only highlighted how these technologies can be adapted and used but has also resulted in tangible tools that can be put to use now. Despite these advances, the cost and availability of these capabilities remains a challenge when resources are limited. Together, the U.S. Army’s Unexploded Ordnance Center of Excellence (UXOCOE), the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) at James Madison University, and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) have solved a key part of that problem by providing resources …

Improvised Explosive Devices And The International Mine Action Standards, Guy Rhodes

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Improvised explosive devices (IED) are not new in mine action; they have contributed to explosive ordnance contamination in post-conflict settings since the advent of humanitarian demining almost 30 years ago.

What is new is that the systematic deployment of IEDs by armed groups is occurring today on a greater scale. The prevalence of use of these weapons by highly visible groups such as the Islamic State has accentuated the profile of IEDs even further. In addition, a large proportion of the IEDs deployed are victim-operated (VOIED) and contribute to a new landmine emergency characterized by a systematic production, standardization of …

Achieving Pssm Through Civil Society And Military Cooperation, Lee Moroney

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The core focus of physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) is twofold: mitigate the risk of unplanned explosions at munitions sites (UEMS) that could have drastic humanitarian consequences, and secure stockpiles from illicit diversion and munition theft that could fuel growing insurgencies, terrorist events, and civil conflict by state and nonstate actors worldwide. These areas of concern increase the risks associated with national and regional stability. Increasing PSSM helps professionalize a state’s military and security forces, which builds confidence and strengthens security measures between security forces, the civilian population, and its regional neighbors.

Preparing For The Future: How The Sdgs Impact Mine Action, Ursign Hofmann, Olaf Juergensen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Adopted by all U.N. Member States in September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) entered into effect on 1 January 2016 to guide development efforts. The SDGs are in the early stages of implementation and are still being mainstreamed into mine action. This article draws on a timely study from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that aims to stimulate collective thinking in the sector, provides policy recommendations, and offers implementation tools.

The Collaborative Ordnance Data Repository (Cord): 2018 Upgrades, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Collaborative ORDnance Data Repository (CORD) has been in existence since 2015. It is a database of over 5,000 entries detailing a wide range of explosive ordnance. The database is used extensively as a means of identifying munitions by those working in the field of humanitarian mine action, but also by others. Users range from mine clearance operators in Sri Lanka, police bomb disposal teams in Florida or Abu Dhabi, human rights advocates in Washington, D.C., to journalists in London. CORD is not intended as a detailed database. It is intended as a simple online ordnance identification guide with limited …

Promoting Secure Stockpiles And Countering Diversion, Eric Berman, Benjamin King

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Poor management of government stockpiles of small arms and ammunition poses significant safety and security concerns—both for the country in question and often for its neighbors. Challenges to safety are readily apparent by the frequent occurrence and consequences of unplanned explosions at munitions sites (UEMS). Security shortcomings include oversight limitations that facilitate corrupt practices and seizures of state materiel by armed groups that undercut a state’s legitimate use of force, and undermine good governance and the rule of law.

The Small Arms Survey (hereafter referred to as the Survey) actively contributes to efforts to promote physical security and stockpile management …

Humanitarian Mine Action And Ieds, Craig Mcinally, Hans Risser

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has been operational in improvised explosive device (IED) clearance in Hamdaniya, Iraq, since January 2017. Additionally, MAG (Mines Advisory Group) has operated in the same area clearing IEDs since September 2015 and has had operations in many parts of both Iraq and Syria. Other nongovernmental organizations (NGO) clearing IEDs include Handicap International and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD). Without question, IED clearance is now an established part of humanitarian mine action (HMA). Yet this does not mean HMA should adopt the full spectrum of IED disposal (IEDD) operations. Rather, NGOs can provide invaluable capacity …

The Challenge Of Long-Term Risk Management In Mine Action, Robert White

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

States affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) are faced with a number of difficult decisions when they establish their mine action program, such as “how deep should operators clear?” and “what tasks should they do first?” The deliberations and conclusions that ultimately are drawn together in national standards are part of an implicit or explicit risk management approach. Over time, risk assessments require review and modification to reflect different contexts.

Recovering The Past: A Photographic Documentary Exploring Post-Conflict Reconciliation, Ian Alderman

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

I am a London-based photographer whose great grandfather was shot at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. With this family history and the then fast-approaching centenary commemorations of the First World War in mind, in 2011 I embarked on developing a complex but unique photographic project to be entitled Recovering The Past. Since its completion, Recovering The Past has been exhibited both at the United Nations in Geneva and currently as a component of the centenary commemorations to the Battle of Passchendaele at the In Flanders Fields Museum, in Ypres, Belgium, as part of the Total War display.

The …

Ddasaccident814, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred in one of the remote Mine Field (MF) tasks (HZTJ-335-MM10) located in TAB region of Tajikistan, Shamsiddin Shohin district: 30 km from nearest hospital, 60 min of driving by narrow and bad condition restricted border zone road, and was caused due to hand excavation tool (demining trowel) penetration into the liquid explosive container of an AP blast mine type PFM-1. Penetration, fortunately, did not provoke any detonation, but resulted in rupturing the plastic mine casing and spraying of the liquid explosive charge contents into the eyes, mouth and facial area of the deminer operating the demining tool.

Ddasaccident826, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the 6th of September 2017at [International demining organisation] task CBU-575 FO, an uncontrolled detonation of an M77 sub-munitions occurred while [International demining organisation] BAC 2 searcher [the Victim] was working in his lane at 07:33 am, 5 minutes before taking his first break, and led to an injury.

The injuries sustained by [the Victim] resulted in severe wounds and fractures in his hands and legs, fragmentations in the chest and head and injuries to the eyes.

Based on all available evidences, the BOI team concludes that the accident occurred with the searcher while he was cutting vegetation in his …

The Seventh Meeting Of States Parties To The Convention On Cluster Munitions (2017), Ccm

Global CWD Repository

The Seventh Meeting of States Parties (7MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) took place from 4 to 6 September 2017 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The 7MSP, presided by Germany, was the second formal meeting of the Convention after the adoption of the Dubrovnik Action Plan, a five-year action (2015-2020) plan that provides a roadmap for States Parties to implement and universalize the Convention. 393 participants from States, international and non-governmental organizations took part in the three-day Meeting to take stock of the implementation of the CCM’s steering action plan.

Bridging A Critical Mine Action Information Management Gap: Complex Conflict Environments, Isam Ghareeb Barzangy

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Historically the Republic of Iraq is one of the most severely landmine, explosive remnants of war (ERW), and improvised explosive device (IED) afflicted nations in the world. Though possessed with a robust humanitarian mine action (HMA) program in the three northern Kurdish governorates before the Iraq War (2003–2011), the remainder of the country was largely without any HMA focus until the removal of the Ba’ath regime. Iraq’s border with Iran contains major military minefields and ERW, while small arms and innumerable stockpiles of ammunition remain throughout the country. High levels of landmine, ERW, and IED contamination are a major challenge …

21.2 Endnotes, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

21.2 Endnotes

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 21.2 (2017), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Feature: The Evolving Nature of Survey | Special Report: 21st Century Survey in Eastern Ukraine and the use of Technology in Insecure Environments | Spotlight: Southeast Asia | Field Notes | Research and Development

Interpreting Submunition Fragmentation Marks On Hard Surfaces For The Survey Of Cluster Munition Strikes, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Submunition fragmentation can produce distinct patterns on hard surfaces that can assist in establishing if a cluster munition has been used. This article will review some of the submunition fragmentation impact patterns seen in current and former conflict zones around the world. It will also underline the risks of misidentifying such patterns and the need to corroborate them with associated evidence such as the submunition fragmentation itself. Trying to accurately identify evidence of cluster munition strikes is an important skill, not just for those surveying contamination for subsequent clearance, but also for journalists and human rights advocates seeking to document …

Military-Ngo Partnerships: Lessons Learned For The 8th Theater Sustainment Command's Hma Mission In Vietnam, Shawn Kadleck, Richard Calvin

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In August 2016, U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and medical personnel executed the first phase of a four-year mission in support of Vietnam. The goal of this mission is to develop indigenous, International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) Level 3 certified instructors for the recently established Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC). USARPAC partnered with Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, an NGO that runs mine action operations around the world. Golden West provided insight and recommendations on equipment purchases, curriculum development, and other aspects of program development as it related to EOD tasks. As USARPAC looks toward the future, …

Social Inclusion Of Marginalized Communities: Mine Action In Laos, Tina Kalamar

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A complex array of factors including gender, age, disability, ethnicity, geographical location, language, religious affiliation, and economic and educational status are enabling or constraining social inclusion of people in different contexts. This paper presents a case study that illustrates how mine action can both contribute to and benefit from greater social inclusion.