Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

Caught In The Crossfire: Challenges To Providing Victim Assistance In Colombia, Michelle Miller

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to ongoing civil conflict, many Colombian civilians experience both financial and physical harm, but those living in rural areas have limited or no access to much-needed medical and economic assistance. In conjunction with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, as well as multi-national corporations, the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development assesses the needs of and provides rehabilitative services to residents in these remote areas.

Risk Education In Northern Jordan, Lindsay Aldrich, Suzanne Fiederlein, Jessica Rosati

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 2013 and 2014, the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at James Madison University led a project funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) to provide explosive remnants of war risk education to Syrian refugees living in urban areas of northern Jordan. At the time, it was unclear whether the hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing the civil conflict and seeking refuge in neighboring countries would be able to return home in the near future, but there was still significant hope this would happen.

Remote Risk Education In Syria, Nikolaj Søndergaard

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Unable to be physically present in Syria due to ongoing conflict, DanChurchAid (DCA) is collaborating with a network of journalists and activists in order to assess the need for risk education in the country. By framing its risk education curriculum and strategies around this information, DCA’s mine action initiatives are tailor-fit for the hard-to-reach populations of war-ravaged Syria.

Evolution Of Disability Rights In Iraq, Ken Rutherford, Megan Hinton

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to the many years of conflict in Iraq, landmines and explosive remnants of war resulted in a large population of persons with disabilities. People with disabilities in Iraq lack adequate housing, medical care, educational opportunities and legislation protecting their rights. Now is the time to create the legal framework protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

Project Renew’S Prosthetics And Orthotics Mobile Outreach Program, Dang Quang Toan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Project RENEW established a mobile outreach program to provide prostheses, orthotics and education to explosive remnants of war survivors in the remote communities of Vietnam.

Roots Of Peace: Cluster Munitions To Crops, Tucker Kuhn, Heidi Kuhn

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

By facilitating the removal of explosive remnants of war in rural Vietnam, Roots of Peace (ROP) aims to restore contaminated farmland to a safe, productive state. ROP encourages economic empowerment by training farmers in the production of cash crops, such as black pepper and taro.

Providing Integrated Peer-Support Assistance To Landmine Survivors, Amir Mujanovic

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Landmine Survivors Initiatives implemented a three-pronged, peer-support assistance system to meet landmine survivors’ needs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This practice is the combination of an approach and methodology to provide integrated assistance to landmine survivors.

Management Of Residual Explosive Remnants Of War (More) Issue Briefs, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

This guide is one of several addressing different aspects of Management of Residual Explosive Remnants of War (MORE) and linking with wider information resources held by the GICHD. It should be read in conjunction with other guides in the series. Related publications are indicated in the text and a range of tools, which may help users when addressing their own situations, are identified whenever they are relevant.

This guide was released during the June 2015 International Symposium "Long-term ERW management in Southeast Asia" in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Landmine Monitor 2015, Icbl-Cmc

Global CWD Repository

Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor provides research and monitoring for the ICBL and the CMC and is formally a program of the ICBL-CMC. It is the de facto monitoring regime for the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It monitors and reports on States Parties’ implementation of, and compliance with, the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and more generally, it assesses the international community’s response to the humanitarian problems caused by landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). The Monitor represents the first time that NGOs have come together in …

Landmines, Explosive Remnants Of War And Ied Safety Handbook, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

This handbook is not an instruction manual for working with landmines and explosive hazards. It is not a guide for working with landmine, ERW and IED affected communities. Rather, its aim is to raise awareness and provide basic safety information concerning the threat of landmines, ERW and IEDs to organizations and individuals working in affected areas, and to help them:

• Establish appropriate safety procedures;

• Avoid contact with mines, ERW and IEDs and

• Take appropriate action in emergency situations.

The Humanitarian And Developmental Impact Of Anti-Vehicle Mines, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Anti-vehicle mines (AVMs) have always had a humanitarian impact, but their significance has often been overshadowed by the higher-profile topic of anti-personnel mines (APMs), and thus the need to address AVMs has been neglected. In some countries, AVMs now present a greater threat to civilian populations than APMs, yet they are often viewed as a marginal issue in international fora. This publication seeks to depict the physical, social, economic and developmental impact of AVMs. AVMs are landmines designed to be triggered by vehicles rather than individual people. They can remain active for decades, and a number of them are difficult …

Doing No Harm? Mine Action And Land Issues In Cambodia, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Land conflict, tenure insecurity and an inequitable distribution of land are among the most pressing challenges facing Cambodia today. In a country in which most people depend on agriculture, livestock rearing, fishing and forest products for their livelihoods, secure access to safe and productive land is crucial. Yet, over the past decade land conflict has increased dramatically, with one NGO reporting having recorded disputes involving 700,000 people between 2000 and 2012. Land distribution is highly unequal: In 2010 it was estimated that just one percent of the population owned 30 percent of Cambodia’s land.

In addition to land-related disputes, landlessness …

The Maputo Review Conference Outcome Document, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

A valuable reference manual about the Convention has been released by the Implementation Support Unit (ISU), thanks to funding provided by the European Union.

The brochure serves as a valuable reference tool, as it contains the Convention’s text and the main outcome documents from the June 2014 Maputo Review Conference:

• the Maputo Action Plan,
• the Maputo +15 Declaration and,
• the mandates of the Convention’s committees and office holders.

Livelihoods Analysis Of Landmine/Erw Affected Communities In Herat Province Afghanistan, Gichd, Mine Action Coordination Centre For Afghanistan, Gender In Mine Action

Global CWD Repository

The Mine Action Coordination Centre for Afghanistan (MACCA) and the Department for Mine Clearance (DMC) are seeking to better understand the development outcomes of demining. They plan to undertake community-level surveys on a periodic basis to document these achievements and identify changes to policy and practice that could further enhance the contribution that the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) makes towards Afghanistan’s development. The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), working within the framework of the MoU between the GICHD and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), assisted with the design and implementation of a pilot project that …

Transitioning Mine Action Programmes To National Ownership, Pascal Simon

Global CWD Repository

Cambodia's mine and ERW problem is a result of the long period of civil and regional conflicts that affected the country from the late 60s until 1998. Due to these conflicts, Cambodia is now one of the most heavily contaminated countries in the world, with more than 63,000 mine/ERW victims recorded since 1979. The first efforts to address Cambodia’s massive mine/ERW contamination came from the UN Advance Mission for Cambodia (UNAMIC), which contracted the HALO Trust in 1991-1992 to survey 700 km² of land in Battambang province ahead of the probable repatriation of 360,000 Cambodian refugees based in Thailand. In …

Linking Mine Action And Development: Local-Level Benefits And Challenges, Russell Gasser

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In many post-conflict regions, landmines and explosive remnants of war remain, limiting recovery and development even after mine-clearance projects are completed. A number of mine-clearance organizations are starting to promote “linking mine action and development” as a better alternative to a separate and uncoordinated approach.

Understanding Mine Clearance In The Context Of The Ap Mine Ban Convention, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

The Convention's parties, with the support of a wide range of organisations, have made great progress in the pursuit of their aim of clearing all mined areas. There is an ongoing need, however, to ensure that all actors involved in the implementation of the Convention are clear regarding what “Article 5” obliges States to do and what it does not, what the understandings of the States Parties are concerning the implementation of Article 5, and what the mechanisms put in place related to fulfilment of Article 5 are. To assist in meeting this need, the ISU, with project funding provided …

Assisting Landmine And Other Erw Survivors In The Context Of Disarmament, Disability And Development, Apmbc

Global CWD Repository

A decade of deliberations on the problems caused by conventional weapons has resulted in various international legal instruments. Based on the precedents established through more than a decade of efforts to implement the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, there is consistency amongst these instruments. Different legal instruments, but with a uniform approach as concerns assisting victims and survivors of landmines and other explosive remnants of war, present certain opportunities. These opportunities concern ensuring coherence, closer cooperation and efficiency, ultimately with a view to achieving the greatest impact on the ground in affected communities. Taking advantage of these opportunities means enhancing the …

National Mine Action Strategy - Cambodia, The Royal Government Of Cambodia

Global CWD Repository

Cambodia’s landmine problem is the result of a protracted sequence of internal and regional conflicts that affected the country from the mid 1960s until the end of 1998. The nature of landmine and ERW contamination in Cambodia is highly complex. The northwestern regions bordering Thailand are heavily affected, while other parts of the country (mainly the East) are considered moderate to low impact, affected mainly by ERW. Mines and ERW have caused an unacceptable number of casualties, both military and civilian and have hindered national development. Mine clearance started along the Cambodia-Vietnam border by the company of women soldiers of …

Amending The Ottawa Convention: A Way Forward, Dennis Barlow

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With clearance deadlines for States Parties to the Ottawa Convention approaching or having passed, and available humanitarian aid being spread among an exploding number of worthy activities, should mine-action programs be held to the stringent letter of the Convention? The author posits that, with a simple solution, States Parties can fulfill the spirit of the agreement while eliminating costly, time-consuming and inefficient clearance obligations.

Mine-Risk Education In Nepal, 2009, Purna Shova Chitraker

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Despite the signing of a 2006 peace agreement by the Nepalese government and the Maoists, Nepal’s mine clearance remains a work in progress due to the after-effects of its decade-long Maoist conflict and the emergence of small, armed groups. Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (NCBL) is at the forefront of the country’s mine-risk-education efforts. This article examines NCBL’s MRE program objectives, expectations, methods and achievements, as well as the many challenges it faces.

Usafricom's Approach To International Stability, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The United States Africa Command, created in 2007, is responsible for military relations in 53 African countries. Having assumed responsibilities formerly housed in three other combatant commands, USAFRICOM is now tasked with a broad range of humanitarian, military and policy objectives on the continent, including conducting mine action and remediating the dangers posed by explosive remnants of war. This article explores the massive tasks facing USAFRICOM as it stands up, and the ways in which the command is already making a much-needed difference.

Itf’S Experience With Regional Cooperation, Luka Buhin

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A key element to the success of the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance, particularly in Southeast Europe, has been its facilitation of a regional approach to mine action and subsequent contributions to regional structures and systems. Encouraging regional cooperation is an important confidence-building measure, not only in countries emerging from conflict but also in countries undergoing transition. A regional approach has become one of the guiding principles of ITF’s work.

Fria, The Kurdish Mine Action Magazine, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 2007, the Fria Society for Mine Action Professionals published the inaugural issue of Fria, The Kurdish Mine Action Magazine. Founded in 2006, the FSMAP, a nongovernmental, nonprofit group based in Iraqi Kurdistan, began publishing the magazine out of a desire to improve training, education, and information-sharing among Kurdistan’s mine-action professionals. According to the magazine’s publisher and FSMAP Director, Jamal J. Hussein, the magazine “is the single mine-action magazine that publishes mine-action news and issues related to mine action in (the) Kurdish language in the region.” The magazine’s staff is comprised of a core group of FSMAP-affiliated mine-action professionals, including …

Ieds: A Major Threat For A Struggling Society, Pablo Esteban Parra Gallego

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The use of improvised explosive devices by guerrillas, drug cartels and paramilitary groups has threatened Colombian society for the past 30 years. This article examines the types of IEDs found in Colombia, and the extent and history of its IED problem. Also outlined are the Colombian government’s efforts to counter IEDs, and possible solutions to the challenges ahead, such as enhanced intelligence and community security.

In Remembrance: Zarema Sadulayeva, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Zarema Sadulayeva, the head of the Chechen charity Let’s Save the Generation, and her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov, were found dead on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, in a suburb of Grozny, Chechnya. Sadulayeva and Dzhabailov, both 33 years old, were abducted from their offices on Monday, 10 August 2009, and were found the following day with multiple gunshot wounds. This is not the first time tragedy has struck the nongovernmental organization. In 2005, the former head of LSG, Murad Muradov, was found murdered. Sadulayeva began working for LSG following the murder of Muradov in 2005 and Dzhabailov joined the organization following …

Regional Cooperation:Mddc For Se Europe, Marija Trlin

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As the refinement of mine-detection methods becomes more important, the Mine Detection Dog Center for South East Europe is answering the call, training dogs and handlers for effective detection. Working with animals is not easy, but the MDDC has been very successful in its operations. The organization focuses on regional cooperation, and has worked in areas such as Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq, where it has proved to be an effective asset to mine detection and clearance.

The Colombian Hd Workshop: Developing A Plan Of Action, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Four decades of near-continuous conflict between non-state actors and government forces have left Colombia with an extensive, deadly legacy. Landmines, improvised explosive devices and other explosive ordnance litter the countryside, and casualty rates remain among the highest in the world. As conflict has subsided, Colombia has begun the challenging task of addressing and gathering information on problems caused by explosive remnants of war.

Geneva Diary: Report From The Gichd, Ian Mansfield

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining provides operational assistance to mine-action programs and operators, creates and disseminates knowledge, works to improve quality management and standards, and provides support to instruments of international law.

Unmas And Gender Mainstreaming In Mine Action, Aaron J. Buckley, Akiko Ikeda

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In order to further the development of proper protection from and response to landmines and explosive remnants of war in conflict and post-conflict countries, the United Nations Mine Action Service and the International Mine Action Standards Review Board are taking the necessary steps to ensure gender perspectives become an integral part of national mine-action plans. This article briefly describes the evolution of gender mainstreaming in mine action and how UNMAS has addressed the issue.