Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Time To Stem Lightweight Approaches And Focus On Real Minefield Data?, John Fardoulis, Xavier Depreytere

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While preparing for airborne IR thermography fieldwork as part of the Odyssey2025 Project between Humanity & Inclusion and Mobility Robotics in Chad, a comprehensive literature study was conducted by the authors From the literature reviewed, the authors identified a disconnect between thermography-related research projects and practical, real-world HMA operations. The importance of real fieldwork, the significance of undergoing a literature review before starting your own research, and the need for researchers to work in conjunction with HMA operators are all essential, not only to those working in HMA, but more importantly, to the post-conflict communities the sector strives to help.

Mine Action In The Time Of Covid-19: A Donor's Perspective, Wolfgang Bindseil, Ian Mansfield

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since the beginning of humanitarian mine action (HMA) in the late 1980s, the sector has relied heavily on donor support. The funding is provided through various channels and covers the full range of HMA activities, including risk education, survey and clearance, stockpile destruction, victim assistance, advocacy, capacity building, and coordination. Over the years, donors have also influenced the HMA sector in more ways than by just providing money. For example, MASG members have called for the development of common sector-wide standards (e.g., International Mine Action Standards), hosted technical workshops and training activities, and actively participated in international and national level …

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

International Mine Action Standard 10.60 Safety & Occupational Health - Investigation And Reporting Of Accidents And Incidents: Notes On The Revised Second Edition, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 2019, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) received permission from the International Mine Action Standard (IMAS) Review Board (RB) to update IMAS 10.60, Safety & occupational health – Investigation and reporting of accidents and incidents. The first edition of the document, originally drafted in October 2001, was last amended in June 2013. The second edition was published in 2020. This article covers some of the key improvements made in the second edition, such as a new emphasis on evidence, a simplified reporting sequence, the introduction of causal analysis, revised independence of investigation levels, introduction of near miss …

Strengthening A Sustainable National Capacity For Gender And Diversity Mainstreaming In Mine Action, Laura Biscaglia, Ros Sophal, Khun Sochenda

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

There have been many positive developments in recent years in relation to promoting gender equality and inclusion in mine action. At the same time, some challenges remain, such as the lack of a gender and diversity mainstreaming capacity with clear roles and responsibilities in some mine action institutions and organizations. To reinforce positive achievements and strengthen gender and diversity mainstreaming capacity among national mine action authorities/centers (NMAA/Cs) and operators around the world, in 2019 the GICHD developed the flagship Gender Focal Point Capacity Development Programme. Through the achievements of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) and Norwegian …

Standardising Beneficiary Definitions In Humanitarian Mine Action (2nd Ed.), Danchurchaid, Danish Demining Group, The Halo Trust, Humanity And Inclusion, Mines Advisory Group, Norwegian People's Aid, Swiss Foundation For Demining

Global CWD Repository

This document lays out standard definitions and guidelines for measuring recording and reporting beneficiary numbers for EORE, land release, victim assistance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) spot tasks. The guidelines do not include beneficiary definitions for the two remaining mine action pillars: advocacy and stockpile destruction.

It is hoped that this document can be used as a guide for other mine action operators donors and national authorities, to share best practice and contribute to international standards for the sector in beneficiary reporting.

A Guide To The Oslo Action Plan And Provisional Results Of 2020 Monitoring: Survey And Clearance, Mine Action Review

Global CWD Repository

This Guide and provisional results of 2020 monitoring by Mine Action Review aim to support the measurable and accountable implementation of Article 5 of the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. They do so by focusing on the Oslo Action Plan, adopted at the Fourth Review Conference in November 2019, describing how the Action Plan addresses survey and clearance, and explaining how progress in implementing those commitments in the Action Plan will be assessed. This Guide follows the Oslo Action Plan’s approach by detailing commitments that apply specifically to survey and clearance operations in all affected States Parties, as well …

Clearing The Mines 2020: A Report By Mine Action Review For The Eighteenth Meeting Of States Parties To The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, Mine Action Review

Global CWD Repository

Key Findings:

• In 2019, a global total of more than 131 square kilometers was cleared of anti-personnel mines, with more than 96% of recorded clearance occurring in States Parties to the APMBC. However, this total is a marked decrease on output in 2018 of more than 155 square kilometers, and was the lowest recorded clearance globally for more than ten years. The true total area of clearance is probably considerably greater, but data recording and reporting problems prevent accurate reporting of a higher figure, in addition to a lack of transparency by several States not party.
• In total, almost 164,000 …

The Socioeconomic Impact Of Employing Female Deminers In Sri Lanka, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

This report outlines the key findings of the study looking at the socioeconomic impact of employing female deminers in Sri Lanka. 10 years after the first clearance operations in Sri Lanka, hundreds of Sri Lankan women and men are now employed in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. The key findings highlight how employment has transformed female and male deminers’ capacity to access and own resources and services, as well as changes in female deminers’ decision-making capacities, how they perceive themselves, and shifts in their families’ and community members’ attitudes towards gender norms.

Whither Hma Policy: Linking Hma And Development Assistance, Lewis Rasmussen, Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 1988 The HALO Trust was credited with coining the term “humanitarian demining” as it differentiated military demining in Afghanistan from efforts designed specifically to reduce the ongoing threat to civilians, livelihoods, communities, and public infrastructure in terms of post-war reconstruction. Since then, many donor governments began to shift policy and programming to reflect this distinction. As but one example, the U.S. established an inter-agency Humanitarian Demining Program in 1993, which included the Agency for International Develop (USAID). Unfortunately, for many years the demining and development assistance communities proceeded more along parallel tracks, acknowledging each other and vectoring off to …

Detonating The Media: Raising The Profile Of Mine Action, Paul Mccann

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In January 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, travelled to Angola with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). She did not travel alone. Around ninety international journalists and TV crews accompanied her. It is unlikely that Angola’s sleepy second city of Huambo saw similar numbers of press until September 2019, when her son, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, walked in her footsteps. The two visits, separated by twenty-two years, produced arguably the greatest amount of media attention ever achieved by humanitarian mine action (HMA). Comparable with the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) conference in December 1997, such exposure is …

Understanding The Logic Of Rebel Restraint On Landmine Use, Henrique Garbino

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs)² have become the most frequent users of landmines and the main drivers of new landmine contamination. Often portrayed as the “perfect soldier” due to their low cost, easy availability, and high lethality, landmines have become the weapon of choice of many rebel groups. An initial assessment by Geneva Call reported that, in 2005, at least sixty rebel groups in twenty-four countries had used mines. ^3-5 In contrast with state governments, rebels have considerably less incentives to comply with existing humanitarian norms.⁶ Engaging them in restricting or renouncing the use of landmines remains one of …

Confidence-Building Through Mine Action On The Korean Peninsula, Guy Rhodes, Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Korean Peninsula is divided by a strip of land, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which represents the de facto border between North Korea, and South Korea. Contrary to its name, the DMZ is the most militarized zone on earth, and it delineates a stand-off between militaries composed of several million professional and reservist soldiers on both sides. It is the “Cold War’s last divide and one of the most symbolic barriers between two nations. It is also heavily mined with both anti-personnel and anti-vehicle landmines, and contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) from extensive ground battles and heavy aerial bombardment.

This …

A New Approach To Understanding, Achieving, And Demonstrating Imas Compliance, David Hewitson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mine action organizations routinely state that they are “IMAS compliant,” but it isn’t clear exactly what that means, how anyone knows with confidence whether they are compliant or not, or who is authorized to make such statements. This article draws on recent work by Fenix Insight Ltd. to database the requirements and recommendations found in IMAS, setting out a rigorous, evidence-based approach to answering key questions about the compliance status of mine action organizations. It suggests methods for determining which requirements are relevant to which organizations, what different levels of compliance there might be and how to integrate compliance checking …

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Statements On Matters Related To General Statements By States And Organizations, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Written submissions from States and organisations on matters related to the status of implementation of the Convention and the Oslo Action Plan: European Union, Spain.

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Committee On The Enhancement Of Cooperation And Assistance, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Preliminary observations from the Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Committee On Article 5 Implementation Observations, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Background documents and preliminary observations of the Committee on Article 5 Implementation from the following countries:

• Angola
• Argentina
• Cambodia
• Croatia
• Ethiopia
• Iraq
• Mozambique
• Oman
• Peru
• Serbia
• Sudan
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• Yemen
• Zimbabwe

Gender And Diversity Annual Report 2019, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The Gender & Diversity Annual Report highlights the efforts made towards more gender and diversity inclusive practices at the GICHD. In 2018, the GICHD took the decision to elevate the topics of gender and diversity at the highest level of its new 2019-2022 Strategy. This included a strategic objective to promote gender equality and inclusion and the empowerment of women and girls. In March 2019, the Gender and Mine Action Programme (GMAP) and the GICHD entered in a new agreement which saw the integration of GMAP as a division of the GICHD. This decision not only reaffirmed the GICHD’s commitment …

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Statements On Matters Related To Article 5 Implementation, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Written submissions from States and organisations on matters related to the status of implementation of the Convention and the Oslo Action Plan.

Matters related to Article 5 Implementation for the following affected States Parties: Chad, Croatia, Iraq, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, Sudan, Tajikstan, Turkey, United Kingdom, Yemen.

Other States Parties and Organizations: Chile, Ireland, Switzerland, United Nations Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action

Ap Mine Ban Convention Intercessional 2020 Meeting: Statements On Matters Related To Stockpile Destruction And Retained Mines, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Written submissions from States and organisations on matters related to the status of implementation of the Convention and the Oslo Action Plan.

Matters specifically related to Stockpile Destruction and Retained Mines: Chile, Indonesia, Ireland, Netherlands

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Full Program, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Full program for the 2020 APMBC Intercessional Meeting June-July 2020 including concept notes for several panels including:

• Effective Implementation for All: Gender and Diverse Needs in Practice
• Aligning Donor Coordination to Support Implementation of the Oslo Action Plan
• Victim Assistance, Safety and Protection in Situations of Risk and Humanitarian Emergencies
• Addressing Anti-Personnel mines of an Improvised Nature under the Convention’s Framework
• Cooperative Compliance and the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: President Of The Eighteenth Meeting Of States Parties, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

President of the Eighteenth Meeting of the States Parties:

• Preliminary Observations of the President on Stockpile Destruction
• Status of Article 7 Reporting
• Anti-Personnel Mine Reported Retained under Article 3
• Guide to reporting - updated June 2020
• 18MSP draft provisional agenda

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Committee On Victim Assistance Observations, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

APMBC Intercessional Meeting June-July 2020 Committee on Victim Assistance preliminary observations by the following countries:

• Algeria
• Angola
• Cambodia
• Chile
• Colombia
• Croatia
• Ethiopia
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Mozambique
• Peru
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Yemen
• Zimbabwe

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Statements On Matters Related To Victim Assistance Implementation, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Updated information submitted by States and organizations on matters related to the status of implementation of the Convention and the Oslo Action Plan. States parties that have declared significant numbers of landmines survivors: Iraq, Peru, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Yemen.

Other States Parties and organizations: Chile and United Kingdom.

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Statements On Matters Related To Cooperation And Assistance, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Matters related to the status of implementation of the Convention and the Oslo Action Plan.

Specific matters related to Cooperation and Assistance: Chile, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Netherlands, Peru, Senegal, Sudan, Switzerland, Tajikistan, United Kingdom

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Statements On Matters Compliance, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Matters related to the status of implementation of the Convention and the Oslo Action Plan.

Matters specifically related to the subject of compliance: Chile, Iraq, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Ap Mine Ban Convention 2020 Intercessional Meeting: Committee On Cooperative Compliance, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Preliminary observations from the Committee on Cooperative Compliance

Death Sentence To Civilians: The Long-Term Impact Of Explosive Weapons In Populated Areas In Yemen, Hi

Global CWD Repository

In Yemen, the massive use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas has not only had deadly consequences for civilians, but has also had a dramatic impact on the infrastructure and systems that civilians depend upon to access essential services. Yemen shows how the long-term or reverberating effects of explosive weapons use, referring to how the destruction of infrastructure has implications for the wider systems of services in a country, are just as deadly in a crisis as injuries from the explosion and even impact a greater number of people than those in the vicinity of the …

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 …

Landmine Monitor 2020, Icbl-Cmc

Global CWD Repository

This is the 22nd annual Landmine Monitor report. It is the sister publication to the Cluster Munition Monitor report, first published in November 2010.

Landmine Monitor 2020 provides a global overview of the landmine situation. Chapters on developments in specific countries and other areas are available in online Country Profiles at www.the-monitor.org/cp.

Landmine Monitor covers mine ban policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling; includes information on developments and challenges in assessing and addressing the impact of mine contamination and casualties through clearance, risk education, and victim assistance; and documents international and national support for mine action. This report focuses on …