Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mine Action With A Human Face: A Human Security Doctrine For Mine Action, Matthew Bolton

Global CWD Repository

Mine action needs to rediscover its ‘human face',1 to remember, as UNMAS has said, that “It is not so much about mines as it is about people….”2 Empirical research in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan show that mine action is in danger of becoming distracted by commercial and strategic priorities. This is especially true since the advent of the ‘War on Terror' and the continuing trend of consolidating the commercial mine action sector into the private security sector. Ten years ago a group of NGOs critical of the donor and commercial interests tried to develop a framework to guide mine action. …