Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Response To Bob Keeley’S Letter To The Journal Of Mine Action, Daniel Wolf, Steven Barmazel

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

We appreciate Bob being "picky" in examining our article on applying a public-health approach to demining. The lives at stake in demining are worth the extra care. As it happens, we generally agree with his views.

First, let’s do get our terminology straight. Thanks, Bob, for the lesson in British diction. We had hoped that placing the modifier mechanical before detonator would make our intentions clear. That it did not, we apologize to our readers. More substantive issues await us.

As Bob rightly points out, our ideas are not new. The public-health/cost-benefit approach predates the birth of everyone reading these …

Current Mine Action Situation In Afghanistan, Susanna Sprinkel

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Millions of landmines littering Afghani soil pose a horrifying threat to civilians fleeing their homelands and soldiers entering the area in response to the rising war on terrorism. Meanwhile, those attempting to clear these lands face their own malicious enemies.

Non-State Actors And Their Significance, Margaret S. Busé

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Non-State Actors must be involved in any considerations about reducing the use of landmines, a mission which the Non-State Actors Working Group has set out to accomplish

Interview With Martin Barber, Chief Of United Nations Mine Action Service, Margaret S. Busé

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The United Nations Mine Action Service has a successful program operating in Afghanistan that employs 4,000 local Afghans in mine action. Currently, they are mobilizing their efforts to respond to the current refugee situation and the new mine action situation.

Travelogue: Afghanistan, Oren J. Schlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In early July 2001, I traveled to the Afghan cities of Kabul, Jalalabad, Herat, and Kandahar. The purpose of my trip was to assess the status of our Adopt-A-Minefield® program in the country. I was hosted by the Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (MAPA), which is a part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan (UNOCHA). This report was written after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC on September 11, 2001. Adopt-A-Minefield® is a program of the United Nations Association of the USA.

Returning Mine-Free Land To The Afghani People: Afghanistan Mine Detection And Dog Center, Susanna Sprinkel

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As a result of conflicts faced over the past 23 years, Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily landmine-afflicted countries. The Mine Detection and Dog Center has built one of the world’s largest mine detecting dog programs with the goal of saving lives and returning mine-free land to the Afghani people.

Landmine Survivor’S Network Provides Victim Assistance In Jordan, Kathleen Powers

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

According to military figures, most mine incidents occurred during the latter part of the 1960s and early 1970s, when the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict spilled into Jordan. Incidents rose again during the early part of the 1990s due to heavy rains and floods that shifted landmines from their originally marked and mapped fields into unrecorded areas.

Mine Field Breaching In Desert Storm, Thomas Houlahan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

During the Gulf War, Iraqi troops laid over seven million mines throughout Kuwait, which resulted in a need for advanced techniques allowing American troops to quickly breach landmine-afflicted areas.

Landmine Impact Survey In The Republic Of Yemen, Qadeem K. Tariq

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Republic of Yemen is located in the Middle East, bordering Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the Gulf of Aden to the south and the Red Sea to the west with an area of 550,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 15 million. The country is divided into 19 administrative units, called governorates.

Landmines in Yemen were laid as a result of several separate conflicts over a period of about 30 years, starting during the 1962—1975 conflicts between the Republicans and Royalists in the north. In addition, landmines were laid during the 1963—1967 war of …

The Quantification Of Safety And Risk: A Critical Review, Peter Schoeck

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

It is shown that the concept "safety factor," as presently used as a criterion for declaring a demined area safe for use, is impractical and should be replaced by its complement, called "risk factor," which stands for the ratio of the size of the mine-polluted portion of a demined field to its total area. An equation expressing the risk as a function of the efficiencies of the demining processes applied is developed. The limitations of applying this equation in the quantification of the risk are then shown by means of a case study. The necessity of an error analysis for …

Efficient Level 2 Surveys Using Mechanical Detonators: Returning More Land, Creating More Wealth, Saving More Lives, Daniel Wolf, Steven Barmazel

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The biggest problem facing demining enterprises is this: productivity of individual deminers is so low that total labor costs per unit of land cleared remain exorbitant—despite minuscule wages in mine-affected countries. Clearing agricultural land in developing countries typically costs many times the land’s expected mine-free annual revenues. Most remediation is uneconomic for public and private parties alike, and funding is never enough.

What The Dog’S Nose Knows, Ian Mclean

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mine clearance is an ongoing process that is both tedious and expensive. Mine detection dogs are one tool in the toolbox. These dogs are far from fool-proof, yet they are constantly making strides in assisting demining efforts worldwide.

Combating Subterranean Terror, Her Majesty Queen Noor

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Over the past 25 years, driving past Jordan Valley mine fields fenced off by barbed wire, visiting with landmine victims, or tallying the grim statistics, I have grieved for the children and adults in the Middle East routinely maimed or killed by these weapons of mass destruction in slow motion. Our region has been called the landmine heartland of the world, with an estimated 50 million mines scarring the earth from Morocco to Afghanistan. Beyond the physical and psychological torture of those who have been injured, or lost loved ones, is the further punishment of land made desolate, lost to …

Background On The Mine/Uxo Problem, Mohamed Ahmen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Twenty-two years of conflict have left a significant number of unfenced and unmarked mine fields in southern Lebanon, requiring strong coordination between various organizations in order to meet emergency demands.

Mine Action In Egypt: The Landmine Struggle Center And Arabic Mine Action Campaign, Jenny Lange

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Egypt’s land is plagued with almost 20 million mines/UXO dating back to WWII. The government does not want to remove them without help from those who planted them. In response, the Landmine Struggle Center and Arabic Mine Action Campaign were formed to help those who are affected.

Npa: Improving Lives In The Middle East And Throughout The World, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

An organization based on human equality, NPA "…endeavors to improve the conditions under which individuals live, and to contribute to a more humane society for all." Accordingly, landmine issues are a fundamental element of their mission. Since 1992, when they entered Cambodia, NPA has been heavily involved in mine clearance throughout the world, becoming one of the world’s largest humanitarian mine clearance organizations and concentrating most of their labors on educating local populations about the dangers of landmines. More recently, they began to focus their efforts in the Middle East and Northern Africa, where they began an extensive program in …

New International Standards Debut October 1, 2001, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On October 1, 2001 the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) officially released twenty-two documents that comprise the initial set of new International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). The standards replace the International Standards for Humanitarian Mine Clearance Operations. The new standards represent the culmination of two years of work to revise and expand the old standards based on changes in practices, procedures and norms that emerged from the continuing operations of mine action programs around the globe.

Cost Effectiveness Of The Ethiopian And Eritrean Demining Programs, Michael Litzelman, Wayne Perry

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Long after anti-personnel landmines (AP) were planted to gain military advantage in battle, they continue to destroy lives by killing and maiming civilians and livestock, inhibiting productivity and preventing economies from developing in poor, third world countries. Landmines contribute to political instability in regions vital to the United States. The U. S. Department of State claims that there are approximately 85 to 200 million mines in 63 countries, producing approximately 15,000 casualties per year, an average of 70 people per day, or 500 people every week, most of them innocent civilians (DOS 1994). Of these, an estimated 9,500 people are …

Comments On The "Detonation" Approach, Robert Keeley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Daniel Wolf and Steven Barmazel discussed the Public Health approach to demining in an article entitled "The Necessity of Implementing a Public-Health Approach to Humanitarian Demining," making some very valid points. However, Robert Keeley points out some problems with this approach that he feels need to be addressed before this method can be successful.

Geneva Diary: Report From The Gichd, Paddy Blagden

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The GICHD has been assisting the ICRC with technical information on both AT mines and submunitions. GICHD also addresses other areas of special concern to mine action.

U.S. Humanitarian Demining In The Middle East, Stacy L. Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The United States seeks to relieve human suffering caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) while promoting U.S. foreign policy interests. U.S. objectives are to reduce civilian casualties, create conditions for the safe return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes and reinforce an affected country’s stability. The U.S. seeks to accomplish these objectives by helping to establish and support sustainable indigenous mine action capabilities in mine-affected nations where appropriate. Since fiscal year 1993, the United States has committed almost $500 million (U.S.) to global mine action initiatives, including research and development and survivor assistance. Nearly $90 million (U.S.) …

A Pioneer In The Field Of Humanitarian Mine Action: Mine Clearance Planning Agency (Mcpa), Qadeem K. Tariq

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA) aims to effectively contribute to humanitarian mine action and advocacy activities in Afghanistan and other landmine-infested countries in order to make the hometowns of refugees and displaced people land-mine free and to implement essential rehabilitation and development activities in mine-affected communities.

Afghanistan, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article has been removed.

Libya, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Libya

The Journal Of Mine Action Issue 5.2 (2001), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Landmines in Central and South America

Colombia: 35 Years And Still Struggling, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The civil wars in Colombia have caused the deaths and disappearances of many innocent victims. Guerillas, insurgent groups and paramilitaries are all fighting to find peace, yet peace seems far away.

Landmines In Chile: Who Is At Risk?, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Captain Patricio Undurraga of the Chilean Ministry of Defense discusses the mine problem in his country and describes present and future demining efforts of the Chilean army and navy.

Landmines:A Deadly Reminder Of Chile’S Military Past, Louise Egan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Although the fighting is long over, a number of anti-personnel landmines still remain in Chile, posing a threat to civilians even today. With casualties increasing, the people are calling on the government to take action.

Interview With An Amateur Deminer, Nicaragua 2001, Russell Gasser

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

After losing a bull and a pig to landmines in his fields, a Nicaraguan campesino undertakes the arduous task of meticulously removing 500 AP mines from his farm. The Nicaraguan Army discourages amateur demining because of the danger, but many who depend on the land for survival resort to mine clearance to make their plots safe and usable.

Victim Assistance In Central America: A Regional Effort, Juan Carlos Ruan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The OAS facilitates victim assistance efforts by connecting the victim to appropriate medical resources. As the OAS program continues its programs in the countries of