Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Inclusive Data Mangement: Reporting, Storing, And Sharing Of Information On Beneficiaries In The Mine Action Sector, Maysa Hajjaj Phd, Lauren Burrows, Teia Rogers, Natalia Lozano, Phd, Sarah Kamal Elias, Samban Seng

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The mine action sector has witnessed transformative changes in data management practices, underpinned by international legal instruments such as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC),[1] the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM),[2] and Protocols II and V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).[3] Despite advancements, transitioning from operational to people-centric data practices has presented challenges, especially about gender, diversity, inclusion, and protection. This study explored current data management methodologies, emphasizing sensitive data and its interplay with gender and diverse social identities. Grounded in case studies from Cambodia, Colombia, and Iraq, the research uncovered the state …

How Can Mine Action Improve The Management Of Free From Explosive (Ffe) Items?, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Assessing and making items free from explosive (FFE) are among the most dangerous things we do in mine action and are perhaps the least regulated. Mine action operations use items that have been made FFE or INERT for training and demonstration purposes. However, the sector does not really have sufficient procedures or qualifications to assess items as certified free from explosive (CFFE), or to make items FFE/INERT. Assessing or making items FFE are explosive processes and should be treated as such more consistently within the mine action sector. This article will outline the current state of play concerning FFE items …

A Brief History Of Mine Detection Dogs, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since their first use in World War II, the use of Mine Detection Dogs (MDD) has been subject to ongoing debate. How effective are they really in finding mines? Are they really worth the expense they entail? As with so many aspects of modern survey and clearance operations, many of the lessons we continue to learn today have already been learned in the past. A brief history of the contribution of MDD over the past eight decades can help us put their performance into perspective and understand where they can add significant value, while also appreciating their limitations.

Gender And Operational Efficiency, Raphaela Lark, David Hewitson, Dominic Wolsey

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This study explores the relationship between gender and operational efficiency in the context of staff in field-based mine action roles. The aim of the study is to address stereotypes and unproven assumptions that may still exist in the mine action sector regarding women’s performance and availability to work in certain field-based roles. Operational efficiency was investigated using two key indicators: individual operational productivity and availability to work. Operational and human resource data was collected from fourteen country programs from four separate mine action organizations across four continents. A quantitative analysis of the data found no meaningful difference in operational productivity …

New Conventional Eod And Iedd Competency Standards For Mine Action: Notes On T&Ep 0930, 0931, And Imas 0930, Roly Evans, Dan Perkins

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In February 2022, the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) Review Board approved a fully revised Test and Evaluation Protocol (T&EP) 09.30 explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) Competency Standards. It also approved amendments to the accompanying IMAS 09.30 (subject to the approval of the IMAS Steering Group and Inter Agency Coordination Group) and the T&EP 09.31 IEDD Competency Standards. The approval marked the culmination of sustained work over four years since 2018 to update not only conventional EOD competencies but to add improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD) competencies suitable for mine action rather than traditional security tasks. The changes made are significant …

Mental Health: Taking A Proactive Approach To Support Staff In Mine Action, Laura Biscaglia, Abigail Jones, Robert White

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As public awareness on mental health in the workplace has increased in recent years, the humanitarian sector—along with the CHS Alliance, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Antares Foundation, and others—has been stressing the need for aid organizations to ensure that their duty of care responsibilities encompass the health, safety, security, and well-being of staff.¹

This article aims to contribute to existing conversations on how actors in the mine action (MA) sector can work together to promote mental health in the workplace as well as prevent and mitigate adverse mental health outcomes. The article is also a call …

Recognizing And Reducing Risks From Ammunition And Explosives, Martina Salini, Samuel Paunila

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) first engaged in the stockpile management of conventional ammunition in 2013 and has since developed in-house technical, operational, and strategic capabilities for ammunition through-life management. The GICHD is an active supporter of the ammunition management community of practice, and has authored and contributed to articles on this topic, including raising awareness of ammunition safety and security concepts.¹ The GICHD also collaborates with the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) at James Madison University by jointly managing the Collaborative Ordnance Database Repository (CORD). This article discusses ammunition and explosives management from …

Remote Sensing And Artificial Intelligence In The Mine Action Sector, Martin Jebens, Rob White

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are included in discussions of how technology and innovation can improve humanitarian action and international peacekeeping. These technologies have the potential to improve the capacity to assess needs and to monitor changes on the ground and can be useful for both the mine action (MA) and broader humanitarian sectors. Even though remote sensing and AI are not the silver bullet in MA and come with several challenges (e.g., operational and data protection), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) believe that the integration …

Key Performance Indicators (Kpis) For Land Release And Stockpile Destruction Operations—Notes On A New Technical Note For Mine Action, Roly Evans, David Hewitson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In March 2021 the International Mine Action Standards Review Board (IMAS RB) adopted by consensus a new Technical Note for Mine Action (TNMA): Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Land Release and Stockpile Destruction Operations.¹ The TNMA detailed new Common Counting Rules for land release outputs, identified elements of Context Capture at points of data entry and underlined the need for operational staff to prioritize the collection of relevant good quality data. The purpose of this article is to set out why the TNMA was developed and explain certain aspects of its content, particularly those where prolonged debate was necessary in …

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 …

Seventh Mine Action Technology Workshop: A Space For Innovation, Arsen Khanyan, Inna Cruz

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The 7th edition of the Mine Action Technology Workshop, a biennial event organized by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), took place from 7–8 November 2019 in Basel, Switzerland. Titled Remote Sensing and Robotics in Mine Action, the workshop welcomed 165 participants from forty-nine countries, representing eight-five organizations.¹ It offered a platform to discuss and share ideas and experiences that promote the efficient use of innovation and technology in humanitarian mine action (HMA). This unique event is aimed at bringing together mine action professionals, manufacturers, national authorities, operators, and representatives from the United Nations as well as …

Developing A Sustainable National Training Capacity: Non-Technical Survey Training In Colombia, Marc Bonnet, Helen Gray, Giulia Matassa

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In January of 2014, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) conducted its first non-technical survey (NTS) training course in Colombia with the objective of enabling participants to plan and conduct NTS. At the time, however, Colombia had the second highest number of landmine accidents in the world,[i] with non-state armed groups (NSAGs) producing explosive ordnance (EO) “mostly in the form of victim-activated improvised explosive devices.”[ii]Descontamina,[iii] the National Mine Action Authority (NMAA), planned for fulfilling its Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) commitments, and national dialogue was initiated on a Plan de Choque, “a plan of …

Long-Term Risk Management Tools For Protocols For Residual Explosive Ordnance Mitigation: A Pretest In Vietnam, Katrin Stauffer, Christelle Mestre

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The transition from proactive survey and clearance to reactive risk management represents a crucial moment in the life of a mine action program. Relevant frameworks and standards, including the International Mine Action Standard (IMAS) 07.10, usually require that all reasonable effort is applied and a tolerable level of risk with regards to a mine or explosive ordnance (EO) threat is achieved in order to move to a residual state. Such transition requires the application of risk management principles, as stressed in the IMAS 07.14: Risk Management in Mine Action.

A Twenty-Minute Walk Through Fallujah: Using Virtual Reality To Raise Awareness About Ieds In Iraq, Sandra Bialystok

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In January 2018, filmmakers from the studio NowHere Media travelled to Fallujah, Iraq, with the objective of creating a virtual reality (VR) experience to explain how improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are impacting people’s safe return home. In just a few days, they met dozens of people, all of whom had stories to tell. And then they met Ahmaeid—an Iraqi father who had returned home with his family about a year earlier. Ahmaied told them about the tragic accident that had happened just a few months prior when his two older sons entered a neighbor's home to collect wood and set …

Minefield Clearance And Casualties - Holland 1945 - Military Operations Research Unit Report No.7, Roly Evans

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In June and July 1945, two Royal Canadian Engineer officers, on their own initiative, carried out a review of the ongoing minefield clearance in Holland. The local military authorities deemed the review to be of significant value and therefore directed the Military Operational Research Unit to take up the study and “carry out a complete survey and analysis of all aspects of minefield clearance and casualties.” The study, entitled Military Operational Research Unit Report No.7 – Minefield Clearance and Casualties, Holland 1945 was initially intended to gather lessons about minefield clearance casualties in relation to combat. It became a significant …

Improvised Explosive Devices And The International Mine Action Standards, Guy Rhodes

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Improvised explosive devices (IED) are not new in mine action; they have contributed to explosive ordnance contamination in post-conflict settings since the advent of humanitarian demining almost 30 years ago.

What is new is that the systematic deployment of IEDs by armed groups is occurring today on a greater scale. The prevalence of use of these weapons by highly visible groups such as the Islamic State has accentuated the profile of IEDs even further. In addition, a large proportion of the IEDs deployed are victim-operated (VOIED) and contribute to a new landmine emergency characterized by a systematic production, standardization of …

Preparing For The Future: How The Sdgs Impact Mine Action, Ursign Hofmann, Olaf Juergensen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Adopted by all U.N. Member States in September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) entered into effect on 1 January 2016 to guide development efforts. The SDGs are in the early stages of implementation and are still being mainstreamed into mine action. This article draws on a timely study from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that aims to stimulate collective thinking in the sector, provides policy recommendations, and offers implementation tools.

Maxml: Coordinating Mine Action With Xml Technologies, Dionysia Kontotasiou, Olivier Cottray

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Mine Action XML (maXML) is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) schema developed by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). It aims to standardize data management and data exchange among actors in the mine action community, which includes individuals and groups involved in any aspect of addressing the landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination. In this field, data exchange is mostly manual and often has to deal with chaotic environments. The goal of maXML is to contribute to the automatization of many of these processes, saving valuable time for staff in the field and improving the …

Mobile Data Collection: Interoperability Through New Architecture, Elizabeth Vinek, Sulaiman Mukahhal, Olivier Cottray

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Information management (IM) requires close collaboration between all parties in a mine action program and cannot be carried out in isolation. Effective IM involves tools as well as organizational processes that clearly define how different parties interact and function with IM. Without adequately defining processes through National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), even the most advanced and fit-for-purpose IM tools will lack the foundation to be effective.

Gichd’S Eastern Europe, Caucasus And Central Asia Outreach Programme, Faiz Paktian

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Within the Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia (EECCA) region, fifteen countries affected by landmines and/or explosive remnants of war (ERW) use Russian as a communication language: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Mines and ERW pose a serious hazard to the lives and livelihoods of the people in the EECCA. Residual contamination impacts many of the countries. In Belarus for instance, 20,879 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) were found and destroyed in 2014. Significant amounts of UXO were also recovered from Estonia, Moldova and Russia. More recent conflicts led …

Priority-Setting In Mine Action: Getting More Value For The Investment, Albert Souza Mülli, Ted Paterson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article presents an overview of the main elements and key challenges involved in implementing sound national prioritization systems in mine-action programs. Since all mine/explosive remnants of war-affected countries are different, the article does not provide a standard blueprint; rather, it introduces the basic principles, components and considerations involved in prioritization. This will be valuable when implementing and designing priority-setting systems that cater to national and local contexts in each mine-/ERW-affected country.

Geneva International Centre For Humanitarian Demining, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining’s mission is to serve as a leading center of mine-action excellence, and to help States Parties implement the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (also known as the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention or APMBC), the Convention on Cluster Munitions and other relevant instruments of humanitarian law. GICHD bridges the gaps between research, lessons learned and practice. It promotes evidence-based policies and develops standards, making mine action faster, cheaper, safer, more effective, sustainable and inclusive.

Aid Effectiveness In Insecure Areas, Sharmala Naidoo

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The issue of aid effectiveness in conflict-affected and insecure areas is receiving increased attention within the development community. The Paris Declaration on Aid EffectivenessPrinciples for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations and the recent Accra Agenda for Action signal donor and recipient commitment to improve the effectiveness of aid. Conflict-affected countries often present aid-effectiveness challenges that require special attention—but what does this mean for countries affected by mines and explosive remnants of war? This article examines recent developments, highlighting some implications for mine action.