Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ddasaccident488, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

This memo serves to convene a formal Board of Inquiry (B01), effective 16th January 2006, to investigate the circumstances into the death of [the Victim] (Ins No. 2233), Deminer and injury of three other team members in Kabul CDS.

Ddasaccident535, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the 10th December 2005 deminer [the Victim] was carrying out clearance in Minefield 14 Bisqua using the raking method. Whilst raking the earth in the front of his lane a P-4 mine detonated.

6th Meeting Of The States Parties To The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (2005), Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

Sixth 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,

Zagreb, Croatia 28 November – 2 December 2005

Ddasaccident579, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The deminer was doing clearance around an accident site where an AP mine blew off the tire of a car on the 23rd November. The soil in the area is hard and there are lots of metal pieces in the ground. The mine was detonated by the deminer during excavation most likely due to incorrect procedures. The blast went through a gap between the visor and the vest and caused injuries to the deminers face. Also the thumb on his right hand received injuries. The leather gloves the deminer was wearing saved him from worse injuries.

Ddasaccident487, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Based the [International demining NGO] OPS Officer verbal report, the injured Deminer was during the prodding /excavation of sub surface check of Battle field in Qala e Zini area to initiating the unexploded Fuse when the prodder touched with a sensitive part of this buried fuse and blow up, so accident happened.

Ddasaccident525, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The primary cause of this accident is listed as “Deminer inattention” because the Victim slipped into the cleared area. Questions arise about the suitability of his footwear. The secondary cause is listed as a “Management control inadequacy” because the management of the demining group declined to make the accident details available. Although this is sometimes done to protect the Victims, in this case the Victim’s name was among the limited detail made available. It is possible that the managers have chosen to avoid transparency because they are afraid that the circumstances of the accident would reflect badly on their organisation.

Ddasaccident523, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Details of this accident have been withheld by the demining NGO that employed the Victim. A spreadsheet including the Victim’s name and very brief details of the accident was made available in 2007. Some details can be inferred from the information released. For example, the face injury implies that the victim’s visor was not being worn in the correct manner.

Ddasaccident522, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The primary cause of this accident is listed as “Unavoidable” because it is possible that the Victim was working properly in the way that he was trained, and that he was also using a long and blast resistant tool when the accident occurred.

Ddasaccident576, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

…one professional deminer working for a private demining company… was …injured during submunition disposal … in 2005.. [in the city] Industrial zone, Niš… Niš, the third largest city in Serbia and one of the most heavily affected by the bombings, suffered almost daily strikes in the course of the 78-day-long air campaign.

Ddasaccident578, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Initial reports state that [the victim of the first accident] was working in his lane when he initiated an unknown item. The size of the blast would indicate a partial or fuse assembly. A few seconds later, a larger explosion was heard, where [the Victim of this accident] had moved from his lane to assist [the first Victim]. [The Victim of this accident] moved using the shortest possible route, through uncleared area.

Handicap International 1995–2005: Learning How To Respond To The Needs Of Mine-Affected Communities, Stan Brabant

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Handicap International (HI) was born 23 years ago, in a refugee camp on the Thai-Cambodian border. The organization was created in order to respond to the suffering caused by landmines and to provide support to people with disabilities in general. Ten years later, in 1992, HI was one of the founding members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). Simultaneously, the organization started developing mine action programs in the field.

Mine Action: Success And Challenges, Sayed Aqa

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since the launch of the first-ever civilian mine action operations in Afghanistan in 1988, significant progress has been made to rid the world of this terrible weapon—a weapon that kills and maims so many and presents a persistent obstacle to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in many countries. Based on the successful advocacy of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the organization's work with governments, 122 states banned the production, use and stockpiling of landmines by signing the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 1997. Today, just eight years later, 144 states have ratified or acceded …

Adopt-A-Minefield®: Engaging Civil Society In Mine Action, Nahela Hadi

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 1998, following the signing of the Ottawa Convention, the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) began developing a program to address the landmine issue. The challenge was UNA-USA wanted to do more than just raise awareness of the landmine problem. We did not want to leave people without the ability to act once they had learned about the problem and felt compelled to act. We wanted to do something different through a program that would engage civil society in clearing minefields. Thus, the Adopt-A-Minefield (AAM) campaign was born.

The Marshall Legacy Institute: The Development Of A Mine Action Non-Profit Organization, Amy Eichenberg

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) celebrated its eighth anniversary in March 2005 as a successful mine action non-profit organization. The goals and focus of the organization have evolved over time to help war-torn countries help themselves.

Raking It All Up After 10 Years, Andy Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

For two years, Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) in Sri Lanka has provided assistance to the Tamil demining groups and authorities, helping them to refine their own systems and to meet the requirements of the International Mine Action Standards. Uniquely, they have achieved this without losing the low-cost features that are essential to any locally sustainable method. Recently NPA has begun to support a similar process in government-controlled areas, working with both the army—in cooperation with RONCO—and civil demining groups. Their civil partners are the Milinda Morigoda Institute for People's Empowerment, HORIZON and SARVATRA—the first is a local Sri Lankan non-governmental …

Reflecting On 10 Years Of Ronco Operations In Mine Action, John Lundberg

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ten years ago, RONCO was carrying out mine action operations in five countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Mozambique and Rwanda. Today, the company has over 200 demining-related projects in its portfolio, has worked in almost 30 countries, and has emerged as a world leader in landmine and UXO removal. While the underlying principle of RONCO's work remains the same—building local capacity by training, mentoring and overseeing host-nation organizations—its methodology and the environments in which it is asked to operate have changed considerably.

Intersos Mau: Demining Operations And Lessons Learned, Fernando Termentini

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

INTERSOS' involvement in demining activities originated from its experience in humanitarian operations in post-war contexts, during which it confronted a large number of mine casualties and severe constraints to the restart of socio-economic life due to mine contamination. Therefore, INTERSOS decided to get involved directly in the mine action efforts of the international community, establishing in 1997 the Mine Action Unit (MAU) on a permanent basis.

Roadmap For Mine Action Robotic Technology Development, Pedro Santana, António Mestre, José Barata, Luís Flores

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This paper presents some of the AMI-02 project preliminary work. The project is being developed by Integrators for Robotic Systems (IntRoSys) with funding from the Portuguese National Defence Ministry. The strong bond between Portugal and some African countries (i.e., former Portuguese colonies) is the main drive for the application of this project.

Some Steps To A Refined Rest Technology, Kai-Uwe Goss

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the Remote Explosive Scent Tracing (REST) technology, air from a suspect site is passed through a filter in order to trap the target odor. The filter is then analyzed in a laboratory environment, usually by animals. Although REST is a potentially efficient technology for area reduction, it appears that there has not yet been any strict optimization of the technical procedure. The following work gives a theoretical analysis of the REST concept and first results of a lab study on the performance of various filters for the sampling of gaseous 2,4-DNT.

Anti-Personnel Landmines: A 10-Year Review Of Eu Action, Daniela Dicorrado-Andreoni

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This issue of the Journal of Mine Action comes at an important juncture in the European Community's (EC's) fight against landmines and is the right moment to look back and reflect. November 2004 brought the first Review Conference of the Anti-personnel Landmine Ban Convention in Nairobi, which marked significant progress made by the international community in this area. The EC's Multi-Annual Programme and Strategy 2005–2007 was adopted at the end of 2004, which responded to the Nairobi Action Plan.

The Missing Link In Strategic Planning: Alara And The End-State Strategy Concept For National Mine Action Planning, Chip Bowness

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Planning for mine action programs has come a long way since 1989 when the United Nations first supported mine clearance under the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA). The first mainstream use of the term “mine action” occurred when the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) stood up as a national institution in 1993, with responsibilities extending far beyond clearance of mines and UXO. The world had begun to understand that solving the landmine and UXO problem would be a huge undertaking and require an incalculable amount of time and money to alleviate human suffering …

Engaging Civil Society Through Public-Private Partnerships, Stacy Davis, James Lawrence

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Remember when you washed cars with your classmates to raise money for a band trip? Or perhaps your children sell wrapping paper to raise funds for their schools. These, and a variety of other fundraising techniques, from the simple to the sophisticated, are being used across the United States and around the world to raise awareness and generate resources for humanitarian mine action. The U.S. Department of State’s Public-Private Partnership Program seeks to harness the power and creativity of individuals, civil society and the private sector to address the harmful effects of landmines, as well as unexploded ordnance and other …

Mine Action In Yemen: An Example Of Success, Faiz Mohammad

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

During the past 30 years, from the revolution to the period of civil confrontation in 1994, Yemen has witnessed a number of conflicts, each leaving behind a significant level of problems with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). In 2000, a Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) was carried out in Yemen. The survey provided vital information about the landmine and ERW impact on the Yemeni communities. A total of 592 communities were identified as heavily impacted by landmines and ERW. Fourteen communities, with a population totaling 36,000, were found to be highly impacted, while medium or low impact was reported …

Over A Decade Of Oas Mine Action, Juan Carlos Ruan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A number of countries in the Americas have lived with the legacy of landmines that remains from, at times, decade-old conflicts. The Organization of American States (OAS) has been at the forefront in alleviating the negative effects this weapon has on communities in its member states. Over the course of 15 years, the OAS program has evolved significantly to better react to the needs of mine-affected communities. This evolution, and the adoption of a collaborative civil-military structure, has ensured the OAS remains an effective and efficient means to provide assistance in all facets of mine action.

Mine Action Lessons And Challenges: Is Mine Action Making A Difference ... Or Avoiding The Question?, Eric Filippino, Ted Paterson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Certainly, the international mine action community has learned a great deal over the past 15 years. But has mine action really made a significant difference to the people it is trying to help? Few things in mine action cause more frustration and misunderstanding among donors, recipient governments and programme managers than the question, "What results has the programme achieved?" Studies have decried that, despite data detailing the number of landmines destroyed, the area of land cleared and the number of people receiving mine awareness training, there are few data allowing an assessment of whether these achievements have enhanced the well-being …

From Demining To Mine Action: The Development Of Mine Action And The Role Of The United Nations, Martin Barber

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The aftermath of the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 marks the start of the United Nations’ involvement in mine action. In the early 1990s, programmes started in Cambodia, Mozambique and Angola, and in 1996 in Bosnia. Today, the United Nations supports mine action in 35 countries. During the past 15 years, the United Nations has learned many lessons in mine action—some the hard way.

Estonian Humanitarian Demining, Stan Reber

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Estonian Rescue Board, under the Ministry of Interior, is responsible for demining activities, planned operations, emergency response, training in mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), and mine risk education (MRE) in Estonia. The Estonian Defense Forces are responsible for military bases and ranges. The Rescue Board's EOD center is based in Tallinn, and there are three other regional units, described as militarized companies, in Tallinn, Tartu and Jõhvi. In total, there are 35 fully trained Estonian deminers, including 17 at the EOD center. Planned demining operations are usually conducted from April to October.

Spirit Of Soccer: Enriching And Saving Lives Through The Beautiful Game, Jim Marshall, Scotty Lee

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

According to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), a mine risk education (MRE) project should achieve the following:

• Provide information, assurance and encouragement required to encourage mine-safe behaviour.
• Identify and promote model mine-safe behaviour.
• Teach essential skills and ensure that beneficiaries can utilise these skills.
• Provide a social environment that supports mine-safe behaviour.
• Provide ongoing encouragement to sustain mine-safe behaviour.
• Encourage beneficiaries to transfer knowledge and information to others.

Development Of Mine Action Legislation, Emil M. Hasanov

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

There are about 72 mine action programs (MAPs) around the world, most of them working in collaboration with the United Nations—United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), etc.—depending on the political, social and/or economic situation of the country. A majority of the MAPs work in collaboration with UNDP. It is important for all MAPs to have a legal framework because it makes their jobs much easier through division of the residual responsibilities among different governmental bodies (ministries, committees, etc.). Numerous examples exist of MAPs facing competition with the Ministry …

Intersos: Thinking Over And Practicing Mre In Iraq, Pia Cantini, Valentina Crini

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mine risk education (MRE) has become ever more essential to any humanitarian mine action programme and, recently, to any reconstruction and development strategy of mine-/UXO-affected countries. MRE has been passing through an evolution, both in terms of policies and international/national capacities.