Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Towards Real Assistance To Landmine Victims: The Position Of Handicap International, Hi

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By banning antipersonnel landmines, States committed themselves to ending the production, use, stockpiling and proliferation of this weapon. They also committed themselves to providing assistance to those who have been victims or who still suffer from the effects of landmines. Despite the efforts first made and the declarations of intention, much remains to be done in order that the States can honour their obligations as far as assistance is concerned.

Ddasaccident330, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 09h15, the team arrived to Koshare 1. At 11h15, the Team Leader moves [the Victim] to the new working clearance lane. At 11h40, uncontrolled detonation. The mine involved in the accident is the PMA-3 blast mine.

Ddasaccident340, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Demining accident occurred on November 11th 2000 at 10.15 hrs, in the area of village Zavala, Ravno municipality. The victim was on the shift in the working lane when the accident happened. The medic tried to provide emergency first aid but stated instant death.

Ddasaccident573, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 9 November 2000, [The Victim] was accompanying a group of engineers during a routine visit to Dubinje airport in Sjenica. Their job was to assess the damage to airport facilities. Six new submunitions had been reported, having been seen lying on the ground. Not wanting to put off disposal of the duds, [The Victim] went to the marked location. The first one he approached exploded with terrible force after he ‘barely’ touched it. He suffered cardiac arrest upon arrival at hospital. Both his arms and legs had to be amputated; he has had more than 20 operations in total. …

Ddasaccident328, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The Section Commander was not looking at the Supervisor at the time of the accident and couldn’t witness the accident. When he turned around, he saw that [the Victim] was in the uncleared area, between the two rows of mines. The Section Commander called for assistance. The mine involved in the accident was a blast anti-personnel mine type PMA-2.

Ddasaccident303, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the 30th October 2000, an Anti Personnel Mine, Type R2M2, detonated app 3,5m in front of [the victim] without obvious reason.

Ddasaccident310, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim was a Section Leader who had been conducting his duties for three hours when, at 08:45 a deminer informed the victim “that there was a strange object in his excavation lane”. The Section Leader tried to excavate the object but had some difficulty “seeing it clearly because his visor was dirty and scratched. So he raised his visor halfway to see better, than grasped the object with the thumb and forefingers of his left hand and tried to pull and pry the object from the earth with the trowel”. The object detonated.

Ddasaccident302, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 5 October at 12:55, [the victim] was carrying out normal demining duties with complete PPE on. He was clearing in the Cordon Sanitaire when a mine suspected to R2M2 model detonated on its own 2,5 metres in front of him. At that particular time [the victim] was in a kneeling position excavating to try and locate another mine.

Ddasaccident437, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

In this case “while mine clearing procedure, in one canal by the state road D-7 was a vegetation burn and in other canal deminers from [Name excised] demining company were working. [The Victim] was hit in the back and legs while checking the fire.”

Ddasaccident329, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

As he was going down the row to mark the end of the row, he stood on two PMA-1 mines on top of each other. At the time of the accident, the [Demining group] reconnaissance team was conducting a Level 2 Survey without proper communication, medical support and without wearing PPE. This activity was being carried out despite an earlier decision to suspend clearance operations because of poor weather conditions.

Ddasaccident327, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The [Demining group] base informed [demining group Programme Manager] that Morina #2 clearance have started. Uncontrolled explosion occurs in Morina 2 minefield, 1 deminer injured.

Ddasaccident309, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the day of the accident the site-log recorded that work started at 06:30 and a change-over took place every 30 minutes thereafter. The accident occurred during a change-over period. While standing up from a kneeling position at 10:45, Victim No.1 lost his balance and fell forwards detonation a Type-72 antipersonnel blast mine [probably with his hand]. Victim No.1’s partner and Section Leader were standing too close to him at the time.

Ddasaccident365, Hd-Aid

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“On his normal site duties of transporting water from a water pump that was close to the minefield, [the Victim] went into the minefield behind a Baobab tree to help himself to the bush toilet. Whilst defecating behind the tree he detonated an AP mine when he pricked on the ground with his machete.”

2nd Meeting Of The States Parties To The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (2000), Apmbc

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Geneva, 11-15 September 2000

SECOND MEETING OF THE STATES PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF THE USE, STOCKPILING, PRODUCTION AND TRANSFER OF ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES AND ON THEIR DESTRUCTION

Ddasaccident341, Hd-Aid

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[The Victim] was the first one to work in the critical working lane, while supported by deminer No 2. At 08.30 explosion was heard and all the works stopped within all three teams.

Ddasaccident273, Hd-Aid

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Work began at the site at 08:00. At 09:50 a deminer reported having found a PMA-3 while prodding [no mention of detectors was made]. The victim ordered the deminers out of the field and went to "neutralise" the mine. He removed the UPMAH initiator from the mine and noticed that is was "slightly damaged". He carried the mine body in his right hand and the initiator in his left hand as he walked out of the mined area. At 10.05 the detonator in the initiator exploded in his hand.

Ddasaccident342, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Deminer in the working lane was searching the area using his prodder. When he finalised his search and finished the working lane, he started to collect the mine tape from the left side of the lane, walking the ”cleared” working lane. That is where he activated with his left foot PMA-3 mine by stepping on it. PMA-3 mine was buried.

Ddasaccident343, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Their movements were such that one walked the middle of the tunnel in front of the other who lightened the way, while one was moving closer to the left side wall into the direction of movement – leaving out. At about 22.5 metre from the entrance [a fisherman] activated a mine (most probably a PROM-1) whose explosive blast threw him badly so that his head was found 2 metres from the crater from where the mine detonated, with his legs in the direction of the exit.

Ddasaccident301, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 10:50 on 11 Aug 2000, [the victim – name withheld by group manager] detonated a mine whilst conducting clearance in the Cordon Sanitaire Minefield at UTM 0380797 8194039 in Mukumbura Communal lands.

Ddasaccident272, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred at the start of the working day when the victim began working in the same lane as he had been working in on the previous day. Work started at 08:00 and he was "squatting on his knees" and prodding at 08:20 when he detonated a PMA-3 mine.

Ddasaccident300, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The deminer identified the reading within the confirmed row of mines. The deminer acted on this reading using excavation procedures. The mines destroyed and marked within the first row were R2M2. The predominate mine in this area of the Cordon is R2M2. The deminer stated he was excavating a reading when the mine detonated. There was physical evidence of excavation and water being used.

Ddasaccident014, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The group operated using a one-man drill and a two-man team with the resting deminers in a designated rest-area. Working time varied between 30 minutes and an hour depending on "the weather conditions". The last MACC QA visit had been seven days before. [There was no mention of metal-detectors in the report, so it is presumed that a "sapping drill was being used.]

Ddasaccident363, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

It was around 15:30 that [Victim No.8], one of the drivers of the two vehicles travelling together and who had escaped alive from the scene, informed the office that their vehicles were looted, the staff were killed, and the vehicles and some staff were burnt.

Ddasaccident299, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 07:50 on 04 Aug 2000, Deminer [name withheld by demining group] detonated a mine whilst conducting clearance in the Ploughshare Minefield at UTM 0331525 8209341.

Ddasaccident271, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 11:35 Victim No.1 moved to edge of the cleared area to look at the mine he had seen and trod on a PMA-3 inside the area marked as cleared. "The victim walked/ran by himself to a safe area" where other deminers made him lie down and calmed him. The medics arrived and Victim No.1 was carried to the ambulance. He left for the Argentine KFOR hospital at 11:45 and arrived as 12:10. He was conscious at all times. The hospital released him "Later in the afternoon".

Ddasaccident356, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

One deminer injured severely by V-69 AP bounding fragmentation mine at 08:02 hrs at Chamy Trshakan minefield in Penjwen district.

Ddasaccident313, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 7th July 2000, the victim was continuing his clearance along the wire. The victim started work in the new lane and removed a metal bracket and piece of the barbed-wire. He then did a further two check sweeps with his detector before starting excavation with his enxada (digging tool, [hoe]). On the 3rd scrape (moving from left to right) an unplanned explosion occurred which threw the victim directly backwards into the safe area behind.

Ddasaccident436, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

In this case the victim was a “foreigner” from Zimbabwe working as a “deminer” when a PROM-1 was initiated and he was killed.

Ddasaccident339, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The Victim marked a detector reading and when he investigated it, found some fragments. He put the detector aside and moved to collect stones to construct a Turning Point and mark the cleared survey lane. While walking in the survey lane (within the safety margin or “overlap”) he stepped on a PMN mine.

To Walk The Earth In Safety 2nd Edition (Fy1999), Us Dos Pm/Wra

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The United States first became involved in humanitarian demining in 1988 when it sent a team to assess the landmine situation in Afghanistan. Five years later, U.S. demining-related programs were underway in Afghanistan and in seven other countries. By the end of 2000, we will have provided more than $400 million to 36 countries for various humanitarian demining efforts such as deminer training,mine awareness, mine clearance, and orthopedic assistance to, and socioeconomic reintegration programs for, landmine accident survivors and their families. More than $100 million of that amount will be spent in Fiscal Year 2000, the largest commitment of any …