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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

James Madison University

2024

ERW clearance

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Angola: Hidden Danger, Sean Sutton Jun 2024

Angola: Hidden Danger, Sean Sutton

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Lucala-2 is a small village located in the northern part of Angola, with 750 residents situated by a bridge crossing the Lucala river. This area gained strategic importance during the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), particularly due to the Lucala bridge, which served as a critical crossing point. Throughout the war, minefields were strategically laid at all four corners of the bridge, illustrating the extensive use of landmines that has continued to impact Angola. These mines remain a harrowing legacy, contributing to ongoing casualties and significantly hindering development efforts long after the war's conclusion. The community explained how they have been …


The Prioritization Of Survey Through Open-Source Research In Ukraine, Anda Riza, Andro Mathewson Jun 2024

The Prioritization Of Survey Through Open-Source Research In Ukraine, Anda Riza, Andro Mathewson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With the increasing quantity of available and relevant open-source information online, the mine action sector is well poised to take advantage of its accessibility for conducting research, analysis, and investigations. In current conflicts, such as in Ukraine and Yemen, online sources are a rich repository of information which can be leveraged for survey and clearance operations. Humanitarian mine clearance actors can harness this vast quantity of information to map conflicts and their effects, including the location of landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). In turn, this can be used to help prioritize survey efforts, especially in contexts where …


Surveying Eighty-Year-Old Battlefields In Solomon Islands, Simon Conway Mar 2024

Surveying Eighty-Year-Old Battlefields In Solomon Islands, Simon Conway

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Surveying battlefield sites and abandoned ammunition depots eighty years after a conflict presents a challenge. There are few living witnesses, and the land has often changed beyond recognition. In Solomon Islands, the situation is exacerbated by a combination of familiarity and lack of information. Civilians have grown accustomed to the presence of ordnance and concluded that the problem is intractable. At the same time, it is not known how many people have died or been injured because of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned (AXO) ordnance. Nor is it known where the accidents occurred or what the victims were doing at …


The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Cisr Jmu Mar 2024

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

No abstract provided.


Emergency Explosive Ordnance Risk Education: Lessons Learned From Ukraine, Nick Vovk Mar 2024

Emergency Explosive Ordnance Risk Education: Lessons Learned From Ukraine, Nick Vovk

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Following the Russian Federation military offensive launched on 24 February 2022, the context and extent of Ukraine’s explosive ordnance (EO) contamination drastically changed, leaving mine action (MA) operators with the need to provide emergency explosive ordnance risk education (EORE). Faced with scarce up-to-date guidance and good practices on the topic, the global EORE Advisory Group (AG)[1] produced a refreshed document to support implementation. In September 2023, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) also surveyed the entire MA community in Ukraine and organized a joint lessons-learned workshop to review the past eighteen months of emergency EORE programming. The workshop addressed various …


The Detection Problem: An Eight-Decade Challenge: The Difficulty Of Practically Detecting And Discriminating Mines, Booby Traps, And Victim Operated Improvised Explosive Devices, Roly Evans, Tracey Temple Phd, Liz Nelson Mar 2024

The Detection Problem: An Eight-Decade Challenge: The Difficulty Of Practically Detecting And Discriminating Mines, Booby Traps, And Victim Operated Improvised Explosive Devices, Roly Evans, Tracey Temple Phd, Liz Nelson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Reliably detecting and discriminating mines, booby traps, and victim operated improvised explosive devices remains a stubborn problem for both humanitarian demining organizations and the military. Since mines were widely used during the Second World War, much effort has been expended on the detection problem, with limited success. The aim of being able to positively identify a device first time remains elusive since the scientific challenge of positively identifying different substances in the ground is formidable. This article critically examines the detection problem and suggests that in the continued absence of a ‘silver bullet’ technological solution, the best means currently available …