Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Information Management & Mine Action Programs, Eric Sawyer

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Information Management & Mine Action Programs use information management and technology to increase humanitarian mine-action safety and efficiency. The work conducted in Iraq, which supports mine-clearance and victim-assistance activities, is an example of iMMAP facilitating improved information sharing in HMA. In addition, these improved information-management activities allow iMMAP to provide ongoing victim-assistance services to persons with disabilities in Iraq and to other patient populations.

Mine Action And Security Challenges, Abdul Qudos

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mostly from the 1979 Soviet invasion and an internal conflict from 1992 to 2001, Afghanistan is affected by a wide array of landmines and explosive remnants of war and remains highly contaminated (approximately 650 square kilometers [250 square miles] are currently contaminated). Recently, insurgents have added to the contamination and this hinders the ability of the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan to clear the land. MAPA is committed to developing innovative approaches to mine action, including implementing Community Based Demining, to facilitate demining and to relieve mine-affected communities.

Crescent And Dove: Peace And Conflict Resolution In Islam, Book Review

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Crescent and Dove: Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam is a collection of essays synthesized by Qamar-ul Huda to create a compelling read for peacemakers, mine-action experts and anyone interested in conflict studies. The authors elaborate on Islamic approaches to nonviolence while bridging the gaps between economic thought, political science, religious texts and spirituality.

The United States Aids Danish Humanitarian Mine Action In Lebanon, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Cluster munitions, landmines and other unexploded ordnance have long polluted Lebanon.

Building Knowledge And Partnerships In Erw Action, Jonah Shepp

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As Jordan nears the completion of its mine-clearance activities, its national authority is working to reinvent itself as an international center of expertise in mine and explosive-remnants-of-war action. With funding from the United States Department of State, Jordan’s National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation developed a comprehensive training course for senior managers to help other countries replicate Jordan’s success in dealing with mines and ERW.

The Rise In Terrorist Attacks In The Western Sahara, Mohamed Taghioullah Ould Nema

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Mauritanian government is taking steps to prevent Al-Qaeda’s terrorist acts, including suicide bombings and kidnappings in the region. Added to this threat are the explosives Al-Qaeda obtains from landmines and unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the region after years of conflict in Western Sahara. The United Nations Development Programme and various countries work to remove these landmines and items of UXO, which is complicated by the lack of a Landmine Impact Survey to access the contamination’s extent.

The Mine Action Technology Workshop, Nicole Neitzey

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Sponsored by the United Nations Mine Action Service and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, the Mine Action Technology Workshop is a biannual event held in Geneva, Switzerland in early September. The 2010 event featured theoretical and practical discussions, as well as a newly added opportunity to see technology in action. This article highlights the events and outcomes of the workshop.

Sri Lanka Works Toward A Mine-Free Nation, Vidya Abhayagunawardena

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article discusses Sri Lanka’s steps to demine its land, educate its citizens on landmine and unexploded-ordnance dangers, and offer survivor-assistance services. Sri Lanka’s national mine-action program is building on previous mine-action work done by the government and humanitarian organizations by presenting a workshop on demining issues, developing a mine-action center and improving partnerships with concerned organizations.

Strategic Planning And Information Management In Angola, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

CNIDAH is in charge of coordinating mine action and developing a mine-action strategic plan for Angola—one of the most mined countries in the world. To best implement its plan, in collaboration with national mine-action partners and with the help of the Survey Action Center, CNIDAH has begun to review and update its database of cleared suspected hazardous areas and those still in need of demining efforts.

Information-Management Activities At The Gichd, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Two years have passed since a new strategy was adopted for the information-management section at the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. A significant amount of work was completed since then, and the support and quality of the Information Management System for Mine Action has improved. The new focus on information management in a broader sense, not just limited to databases and software, has enabled country programs to collect relevant information for more effective demining operations. Although much work remains, a few key developments deserve mentioning.

Unifil Peacekeeping In Southern Lebanon, Christina Greene

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has been working to help bring peace and security to the region. UNIFIL began humanitarian mine-action activities and cluster-munitions clearance in Lebanon in 2006. It also began to demine parts of the Blue Line, which is the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon. This overview discusses a few UNIFIL projects

Amatc: Sustainable Solutions For Humanitarian Mine Action, Karen Reed-Matthee

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Kabul’s Afghan Mine Action Technology Center employs disabled deminers to create demining products. AMATC donates part of its revenue to local physical rehabilitation and treatment facilities, and now employs 11 disabled employees full time.

Peer Support And Trauma Recovery, Cameron Macauley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Peer support is becoming an important strategy to help survivors of war-related violence recover from psychological trauma. After a short training in counseling techniques, peer-support workers seek out trauma survivors in the community and help them reintegrate into society, find work, engage in sports and come to terms with their traumatic memories. Peer-support programs incur costs related to transportation and communication, but support groups may recover some costs through income-generating projects.

Lessons Learned: Sri Lankan Mine-Action Staff Visit Cambodia And Lao Pdr, Sebastian Kasack

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The need for a comprehensive mine-action program is not always recognized as countries pursue demining efforts. This article describes Sri Lankan mine-action groups’ efforts to create a more comprehensive and cohesive mine-action program through regional visits to Cambodia and Lao PDR. It offers insight and advice to groups interested in pursuing the same avenue.

Modifying Imsma Training: The Mine Action Information Management Qualification Scheme, Aurora Martinez, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Mine Action Information Management Qualification Scheme (MIQ) is a new training tool for the Information Management System for Mine Action. It was created in response to the Next Generation version of IMSMA, the newest version of the system. The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining eliminated the rigid and unnecessary parts of the training-system in order to make MIQ more user-friendly. The MIQ scheme is currently being incorporated into several countries’ information-management programs, but it could still use input as it is being refined and implemented.

Making A Case For Strategic Analysis In Erw/Mine-Action Training, Paula S. Daly, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As an essential element of training for managerial decision-making, case studies provide managers with applicable scenarios that benefit the professional, day-to-day lives of people working in the explosive-remnants-of-war/mine-action community. While class sessions provide pertinent instruction on how to react to potential scenarios, the opportunity to use that knowledge in well-constructed examples proves highly useful for personnel. This article reports the steps taken to implement appropriate case studies for CISR’s Senior Managers’ Course in ERW and Mine Actionand the results.

Action on Armed Violence (formerly Landmine Action) is the only nonprofit organization that has carried out humanitarian mine-action activities (including survey, marking, battle-area clearance and explosive-ordnance disposal) in Frente POLISARIO-controlled Western Sahara since 2006. This article provides an overview of AOAV’s capacity-building efforts through its Mine Action Programme, which focus heavily on training national staff to efficiently identify and remove dangerous items threatening the safety of the Saharawi population, U.N. personnel and international visitors.