Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

To Walk The Earth In Safety 23rd Edition (Fy2023), Cisr Jmu

Global CWD Repository

In this year’s edition of To Walk the Earth in Safety, we highlight the many ways that U.S. conventional weapons destruction assistance promotes post-conflict recovery. For example, our humanitarian demining funding enhances food security by helping to revitalize agricultural fields in countries like Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This funding is especially critical in Sri Lanka where more than 6 million people—nearly 30 percent of the population—are currently food-insecure. In Vietnam, our commitment to promoting agricultural security is a key component to successful post-conflict recovery, even decades after war ended.

The United States is the world’s top supporter of conventional …

Mine Mark Digital Eore: Being Innovative As A Small Ngo In The Mine Action Sector, Nils Hegel, Jonathan Walsh

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Children account for approximately one-third of all civilian casualties caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO), yet explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) for young people is often outdated, dry, or too technical.1 In this article, the Mine Mark Foundation outlines the promising potential for digital EORE, the challenges and opportunities faced by smaller nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the benefits they can offer the global mine action community.

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 27.2 (2023), The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

• Updates on recent enhancements to IMAS.
• Food security and its connection to mine action as it applies to Ukraine.
• Digital EORE as a small NGO in mine action.
• A case study on moving beyond "do no harm" in environmental mainstreaming in mine action.
• Efforts of JICA and CMAC in fostering South-South cooperation in mine action.
• UAV Lidar imaging in mine action to detect and map minefields in Angola.
• Land disputes and rights in mine action.
• Computer vision detection of explosive ordnance.

To Walk The Earth In Safety 21st Edition (Cy2021), U.S. Department Of State

Global CWD Repository

The United States is committed to reducing these threats worldwide and is the leading financial supporter of CWD, providing more than $4.2 billion in assistance to more than 100 countries since 1993. This makes the United States the world’s single largest financial supporter of CWD. The Department of State, Department of Defense, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) work together with foreign governments, private companies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to reduce excess SA/LW and conventional munitions stockpiles (including MANPADS), implement best practices for PSSM at conventional weapons storage sites, and carry out HMA programs.

In 2021, …

To Walk The Earth In Safety 20th Edition (Cy2020), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

2020 was a year of exceptional challenges for the Department of State due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the United States remains the world’s largest international donor to CWD, providing more than $4 billion to support humanitarian mine action (HMA), physical security and stockpile management (PSSM), and associated activities in over 100 countries since 1993.

Despite the pandemic, the United States was able to provide significant cooperation on a range of programs around the world. Here are a few highlights from 2020:

• The Department provided PSSM assessments in Lebanon following the Port of Beirut explosion on August 4. This …

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Issue 24.2 (2020), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

• Editorial: HMA and COVID-19: A Donor's Perspective
• Editorial: Time To Focus on Real Minefield Data
• Mine Action Information Management in Iraq and Northeast Syria
• IMAS 10.60 Update: Investigation and Reporting of Accidents and Incidents
• The Mine Free Sarajevo Project
• SALW in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the DRC
• Gender and Diversity in Mine Action
• Victim Assistance in Ukraine
• Landmines in the American Civil War
• Risk Education in Colombia
• R&D: The Odyssey2025 Project

Explosive Ordnance Victims And Risk Education: Lessons Learned From Colombia 2012-2019, Salomé Valencia, Angela Desantis, Matt Wilson, Sebastián Tovar Jaramillo, Angela Patricia Cortés Sánchez, Ana Jaquelin Jaimes Alfonso

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In Colombia, the use of anti-personnel mines is the result of more than sixty years of armed conflict. The Office of the High Commissioner for Peace - Descontamina Colombia (OACP-DC), the current national mine action authority in Colombia, recorded 11,828 explosive ordnance (EO) victims between 1985 and 2019. Furthermore, Colombia is one of nine countries where new anti-personnel mines are still being emplaced by non-state armed groups, which presents a challenge for the mine action sector. The aim of explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) is to reduce the risk of accidents by raising awareness and promoting safe behavior among EO-affected …

Measuring Behavior Change Resulting From Eore And The Need For Complementary Risk Reduction Activities, Helaine Boyd, Sebastian Kasack, Noe Falk Nielsen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Risk education (RE) in mine action has been around since 1992.[i] However, explosive ordnance risk education (EORE)[ii] operators are still struggling to measure how and whether EORE has resulted in positive behavior change.[iii] Of course, various monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methods have been pursued in the past, predominantly the use of knowledge, attitude, practice, and beliefs (KAPB) surveys; simpler pre-/post-EORE session surveys; the use of proxy indicators such as number of explosive ordnance (EO) accidents or victims; and number of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) callouts from the community. However, these methods come with some limitations in accurately …

To Walk The Earth In Safety 19th Edition (Cy2019), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

The United States is a strong and historic partner for affected states and a leader in donor assistance. Since 1993, the United States has provided more than $3.7 billion in CWD assistance to over 100 countries. These programs are implemented by commercial contractors, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), and international organizations. In 2019, the United States had active CWD programs in 58 countries, spanning Africa, the Middle East, South and Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. This 19th edition of To Walk the Earth in Safety catalogs the U.S. government’s achievements in CWD in each country and highlights the …

Improving Knowledge In A Prison Without Walls Analysing The Effectiveness Of The Mine Risk Education Activities Of [Organisation X] In Syria, Arnaud Loman

Global CWD Repository

The extensive use of mines and explosives in Syria pose a threat on all the lives of the conflict-affected population. To ensure that the population has the necessary knowledge and skills to protect themselves from this existing threat, diverse humanitarian mine action organisations, including [organisation X], design and implement mine risk education (MRE) activities. However, the number of beneficiaries reached with MRE alone does not adequately reflect the impact of the activities. There is a lack of data whether these achievements enhance the well-being of the people in communities that are affected by explosive hazards, especially in the ongoing conflict …

A Persistent Danger: Unexploded Ordnance In Populated Areas, Npa, Mines Advisory Group, Humanity And Inclusion

Global CWD Repository

The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Network on Explosive Weapons have convincingly documented that the use of explosive weapons (especially those with wide area effects) in populated areas (EWIPA) creates an unacceptably high risk of indiscriminate harm. As humanitarian mine action organizations working in urban environments, we see this harm being done in numerous conflict zones every day.

Discussion of the harm caused by EWIPA typically focuses on the immediate effects of these weapons when they explode, as well as reverberating effects leading to displacement; damage to vital services such as healthcare, water, …

Palestine Programme Eore Portfolion 2019-2020, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

The persistent conflict faced by the Palestinian population has resulted in large areas of the Palestine being contaminated by various ERW. The key threats differ regionally between Gaza and the West Bank Areas A, B and C. Whereas Gaza has been continually exposed to ERW including Israeli Aerial Bombs; the West Bank is contaminated with a mixture of mines. ERW and Riot Control Agents such as tear gas.

The UNMAS Palestine programme has worked hard to mitigate the impact of the Palestine Israel conflict in Gaza. Unfortunately, the presence of ERW is indiscriminate in Gaza and there is a possibility …

Explosive Ordnance Risk Education: Sector Mapping And Needs Analysis, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The dramatic rise in the number of civilian casualties from explosive ordnance (EO) since 2013 has triggered a debate in the mine action (MA) sector about the effectiveness of explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) (often shortened to risk education – RE). This rapid appraisal of EORE approaches, capacity, coordination and resources examines how the EORE sector is responding to new and emerging EO threats and violent operating environments to identify EORE good practices and potential needs. This report, based on document review and interviews with MA stakeholders conducted between mid-May and mid-June 2019, summarizes the research findings.

Iraq: A Photo Essay, Sean Sutton

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

MAG, Mines Advisory Group, has worked in Iraq since 1992 to make land safe for populations affected by decades of conflict. Landmines, cluster munitions, other unexploded bombs, as well as new contamination from the recent conflict with ISIS, have left a deadly legacy that prevents communities from using their land, and displaced populations from returning home safely.

Iraq Programme Report 2018, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

Upon request from the Government of Iraq and the United Nations, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was formally established in June 2015 to lead the efforts, in close collaboration with the Iraqi government, to mitigate explosive hazards in country. Our mission is to facilitate the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of internally displaced persons to their homes. UNMAS achieves this mandate through three different response modalities: » First, we provide explosive hazard management in support of humanitarian and stabilization efforts. » Second, we deliver risk education at the community, national and regional level to protect the local population …

To Walk The Earth In Safety 18th Edition (Cy 2018), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

This 18th Edition of To Walk the Earth In Safety summarizes the United States’ Conventional Weapons Destruction (CWD) programs in 2018. CWD assistance provides the United States with a powerful and flexible tool to help partner countries manage their stockpiles of munitions, destroy excess small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) and clear explosive hazards such as landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Our assistance also helps countries destroy illicitly-held or poorly-secured man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and mitigate their threat to civilian aviation and public safety.

In today’s dynamic world, threats to U.S. national security abound. The …

To Walk The Earth In Safety 17th Edition (Cy2017), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

This 17th Edition of To Walk the Earth In Safety summarizes the United States’ CWD programs in 2017. CWD assistance provides the United States with a powerful and flexible tool to help partner countries manage their stockpiles of munitions, destroy excess small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) and clear explosive hazards such as landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and UXO. Our assistance also helps countries destroy or enhance security of their man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and their threat to civilian aviation, in addition to other weapons and munitions.

The United States is committed to reducing these threats worldwide and …

The Reduction Of Weapons-Related Violence: A Global Approach To Saving Lives, Hi

Global CWD Repository

HI's history is closely intertwined with the fight against armed violence, including the use of anti-personnel landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war, and the proliferation of light and small caliber weapons. The history of Humanity & Inclusion has been marked by our humanitarian commitment to reducing the impact of conventional weapons on civilian populations. HI was founded in 1982 to help Cambodian victims of landmines, and in 1992, we launched the first of many demining programs. Today, the organization continues to advocate for the landmine and cluster munitions ban treaties and runs victim assistance, demining, and risk …

United Nations Improvised Explosive Device Disposal Standards, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

These IEDD Standards have been designed for the safe, effective and efficient disposal of IEDs. They aim at ensuring uniformity and technical specificity related to the generation of an IED disposal capability. They establish the minimum competencies required for IEDD operators and frame the methodology for the clearance of IEDs. The Standards provide guidance on how to carry out IED disposal planning, the competencies and associated training and equipment required to conduct IED disposal operations, as well as the appropriate approaches to IED clearance in rural and urban areas, IED information management and IED risk education.

The United Nations IEDD …

Using Communication Theories In Mine-Risk Education Campaigns: The Case Of Vietnam, Duong Trong Hue

Global CWD Repository

In this study, I will look at the problem from a health communication perspective with a focus on the linkage between the theories of attitude and behavioral change in the health communication field and the application of mine-risk education programs in Vietnam. This research will contribute to the field of risk education, specifically in communication campaigns to save lives and limbs in landmine affected communities. It also helps to shed more light on the real impact of mine-risk education campaigns to the mine-affected population.

The paper is organized as follows. First, I will provide a brief introduction of the mine-risk …

To Walk The Earth In Safety 17th Edition (Cy2017), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

Supporting conventional weapons destruction (CWD) is a cornerstone of our national security policy. This 2016 edition of To Walk the Earth in Safety highlights the United States programs, managed primarily by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA), that keep weapons and ammunition out of the wrong hands and assist nations in clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).

The dangers posed by mines and UXO can linger for decades. In areas reeling from recent fighting, stabilization and humanitarian assistance efforts are effectively blocked until key sites are cleared of explosive …

To Walk The Earth In Safety 16th Edition (Cy2016), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

Even after a conflict ends and the fighters have gone home, the threats from landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO), and at-risk weapons and munitions remain. These threats foment instability; as long as men, women, and children fear to move about their communities due to the lingering threat of landmines and UXO, a society can never fully heal and rebuild.

The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA) works with foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations to deliver programs and services aimed at reducing the harmful effects of at-risk, illicitly proliferated, and indiscriminately used …

Integrating Mre Into Humanitarian Responses In Iraq, Tammy Hall

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As a result of conflict in Iraq, the safety and well-being of millions of refugees and internally displaced persons is at stake due to explosive remnants of war (ERW). In order to mitigate that threat, the Danish Refugee Council enlisted the help of the Danish Demining Group to incorporate mine and ERW risk education into existing humanitarian efforts in Iraq.

Remote Risk Education In Syria, Nikolaj Søndergaard

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Unable to be physically present in Syria due to ongoing conflict, DanChurchAid (DCA) is collaborating with a network of journalists and activists in order to assess the need for risk education in the country. By framing its risk education curriculum and strategies around this information, DCA’s mine action initiatives are tailor-fit for the hard-to-reach populations of war-ravaged Syria.

Risk Education In Northern Jordan, Lindsay Aldrich, Suzanne Fiederlein, Jessica Rosati

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 2013 and 2014, the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at James Madison University led a project funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) to provide explosive remnants of war risk education to Syrian refugees living in urban areas of northern Jordan. At the time, it was unclear whether the hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing the civil conflict and seeking refuge in neighboring countries would be able to return home in the near future, but there was still significant hope this would happen.

Counting The Uncountable: Measuring The Benefits Of Mre, Robert Keeley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The aim of this article is to propose concepts that define MRE in terms of its outcomes and beneficiaries and to open a discussion on developing a means that may then be useful in measuring the efficacy of MRE. This article defines efficacy as the ability to produce a desired or intended result.

Influence Of Mre Education On Explosive Ordnance Disposal In Quang Tri, Hien Xuan Ngo, Phu Thanh Nguyen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In collaboration with local and international organizations, Project RENEW is facilitating comprehensive mine risk education initiatives in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province.

Implementing Culturally-Sensitive Risk Education In Somalia, Abigail Jones, Kjell Ivar Breili

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Somali Compact 2014–2016 outlines the objectives of the Somalia federal government to guide the process of stabilization and peace building. The Compact also recognizes the vital contributions by representatives of women, youth, civil society organizations, traditional elders, religious leaders, diaspora and the business community from all segments in each region.¹

Child-To-Child Risk Education, Tycie Horsley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Children are especially susceptible to the dangers of landmines. Through its Children Against Mines Program, the Marshall Legacy Institute extends mine risk education through club participation to children, who subsequently spread the valuable information to peers.

Mre Certification Courses In Mali, Sri Lanka And Tajikistan, Sebastian Kasack

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

UNICEF developed a mine risk education (MRE) certification course to regulate the accreditation of MRE educators. The certification courses have had varied success in Mali, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan.