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Ecuador, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

At the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in November 2008, Ecuador was one of 15 countries to request an extension on the Ottawa Convention deadline for completing landmine clearance. These 15 States Parties were the first group to do so since the adoption of the Convention in 1997. Delegates agreed unanimously to grant Ecuador’s request, extending the original 2009 deadline a full eight years to 1 September 2017. In its request, Ecuador reported fulfilling its Article 52 obligations in 53 of 128 suspect areas—totaling 118,707 square meters (29 acres) of cleared area. Approximately 498,633 square meters (123 acres) in the …

Masg Update, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The following article highlights the recent activities of the Mine Action Support Group, including updates on the United Nations Mine Action Service, the United Nations Development Programme and UNICEF. It is excerpted from the United Nations' newsletter covering the period from November 2008–February 2009.

Predicting Soil Influence On The Performance Of Metal Detectors: Magnetic Properties Of Tropical Soils, Jan Igel, Holger Preetz, Sven Altfelder

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mine detection and clearance are costly and time-consuming procedures necessary to benefit the communities these weapons affect. A complication surrounding mine detection is the influence of the soil on landmine detection, but little research has been done on the subject. This article discusses how soil can affect mine detectors and research plans to improve mine-detection efficiency.

Sustainability In World Education’S Uxo Education And Awareness Program In Lao Pdr, Barbara Lewis, Sarah Bruinooge

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

World Education’s work in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, one of the most heavily bombed countries in the world, offers an example of effective implementation of unexploded-ordnance-risk awareness at all levels. This article explores World Education’s work with the government of Lao PDR in achieving higher levels of UXO-risk awareness.

International Trust Fund, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance is an organization that raises donations for mine action in Southeastern Europe and administers the donations to areas in need. The goal of the organization is to “eliminate the effect of mine contamination ... by 2010.” In 2008, the ITF managed US$33,999,200 in donations from 31 organizations (such as nongovernmental organizations, civic organizations, philanthropies and private companies) and 13 donor countries. It was the largest amount of donations the ITF had received in any single year.

2008, A Year Of Advances And Accomplishments, Johanna Garcia Garcia, Erika Estrada Chau

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since 1990, the Organization of American States’ national demining assistance programs have been working to educate citizens about landmines and eliminate existing minefields in Nicaragua. The OAS Acción Integral contra las Minas Antipersonal program has successfully worked to coordinate with the Ministry of Education, local representatives, community leaders and volunteers to promote awareness about landmines, protect people from further injuries and provide rehabilitation for survivors.

In 1982, the Argentine junta government, faced with recession and declining public support, invaded the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, whose ownership had long been disputed with the United Kingdom. To the surprise of the Argentine generals, the United Kingdom counter-invaded the territory it claimed as the Falkland Islands. By the end of the three-month conflict, the Falkland/Malvinas Islands were again under British control. Ownership of the islands has long been disputed, but since 1833, excluding a brief period during the Falklands War, Britain has been in control. Despite numerous U.N. resolutions directing the United Kingdom and Argentina to seek a peaceful resolution …

Colombia, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Colombia, a country overwhelmed by four decades of war, has the highest concentration of contamination from landmines and other explosive remnants of war in the Americas. The conflict, which was and continues to be waged between the Colombian government and various nonstate actors, reached its peak during the early 1990s.The use of improvised explosive devices, anti-personnel landmines and other forms of explosive ordnance has rapidly increased in Colombia since then, due to heavy usage by NSAs such as the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. In the past, the Colombian government laid landmines around 34 military bases to protect key infrastructure, …

Endnotes Issue 13.1, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Endnotes Issue 13.1

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 13.1 (2009), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus: Central and South America | Feature: Mine-risk Education | Special Report: Small Arms/Light Weapons and MANPADS | Notes from the Field | Research and Development

International Support To Mine Action In Colombia: Mitigating Impact And Protecting Rights, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ending the decades-long violence in Colombia is the only way to eliminate all landmines from the country. Until that time, there is a need to mitigate their impact, minimize the number of new victims and assure better assistance to survivors.

Comprehensive Medical Assistance For Landmine Survivors In Nicaragua, Cecilia Bustamante

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The victim-assistance component of the Acción Integral contra las Minas Antipersonal program was established in Nicaragua in 1997, and similar programs were set up across Central America. In Nicaragua, the AICMA victim-assistance element aims to help landmine victims obtain physical and psychological care, and provides them access to medical specialists they could not otherwise see. With many victims unable to pay for their medical treatment, the AICMA is coordinating funding and removing the financial burden of travel and lodging for treatment.

U.S. Department Of State Humanitarian Mine-Action Support In Colombia, Edmund Trimakas

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Years of conflict between the Colombian government and the militant groupFuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia has left the country littered with landmines and millions of internally displaced persons. The Colombian government is trying to address this situation. The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs’ Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State is working with Colombian organizations and nongovernmenal organizations to clean up contaminated areas and resettle Colombia’s IDPs.

Latin Victims Are Invisible To The International Media, Vinicius Souza, Maria Eugênia Sá

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Colombia continues to be the country with the highest number of new anti-personnel landmine victims in the world, with 10 other countries on the American continents having problems with mines as well. This situation, however, seems not to exist for the international news media. Even specialized publications seldom show a picture or publish an article about Central or South America; consequently, most people still believe that the landmine problem is confined exclusively to Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Mine-Risk Education In Mine Action: How Is It Effective?, Sharif Baaser, Hugues Laurenge, Eric Filippino

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While mine-risk education has faced questions about its effectiveness, it has been an important part of mine action for the past 20 years. As mine action continues to evolve, so does MRE and the ways in which it operates and works with at-risk communities. Continued success in many different countries has shown the effectiveness of MRE and the necessity of the discipline.

The Challenges Of Ied Awareness And Mre In Afghanistan, Mathias Hagstrøm

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Improvised explosive devices have become a significant threat to the people of Afghanistan and have surpassed the threat posed by other types of explosive remnants of war. In order to combat these dangers, the United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan has worked closely with other groups to develop an IED-awareness booklet that supports current mine-risk-education efforts.

The Role Of Education On Awareness Of Ammunition-Dismantling Risks, Brunilda Zenelaga

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The blasts from an ammunition dismantling factory in Gërdec, Albania, an accident caused by untrained employees at the facility, resulted in deaths and injuries and damaged homes for factory workers and nearby villagers in March 2008. This article suggests that training employers and workers to follow necessary safety procedures, as well as raising village awareness of the dangers of these ammunitions facilities, will help prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.

Beyond Weapons Collection: Promoting Safe And Responsible Sa/Lw Management, Nicolas Florquin, Karina Lynge, Klaus Ljørring Pedersen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While the traditional focuses of many small-arms/light-weapons programs have been weapons collection and curbing proliferation, some humanitarian organizations—like Geneva Call and Danish Demining Group—advocate a model based on the promotion of safe and responsible weapons management. As illustrated by the experience of DDG with communities in Somaliland and by Geneva Call’s efforts with armed non-state actors, a participatory approach to weapons regulation and management offers promising alternatives to traditional weapons-control initiatives.

Chile, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Chilean involvement in landmine distribution began in the 1970s during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. Due to strained political relations, Pinochet ordered hundreds of thousands of landmines to be emplaced along the Argentine, Bolivian and Peruvian borders as a defensive measure. Many of these landmines were located in rugged terrain with unpredictable weather, making landmine removal a difficult and expensive task. Landmine use and distribution halted when the Chilean Foreign Ministry stated “its firm and decided commitment, … in 1985, not to produce, export, import, or lay new landmines.” Since this declaration, Chile has made many strides to remove the remaining …

Peru, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Situated between Chile and Ecuador, next to the South Pacific Ocean, Peru faced a decade of military rule in the 1970s and internal conflict in the 1980s when democracy was reestablished. These periods of conflict, as well as a border dispute with Ecuador in the 1990s, have resulted in landmine problems. The Ottawa Convention went into force for Peru in 1999, meaning its deadline for total mine clearance should be reached in 2009. Peru requested, and was granted, a deadline extension through 2017, citing a lack of funding.

Venezuela, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since October 1999, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been a State Party to the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention, which it signed 3 December 1997, and ratified 14 April 1999. Upon ratification of the convention, the document became a national law of Venezuela. At the U.N. Conference on Disarmament in 2004, Venezuela announced that it had fulfilled its duties to the Convention in 2003, destroying 47,189 AP mines and keeping 5,000 landmines for military training. The country also announced that it had enacted the Disarmament Act in 2003, which sought to eliminate the illegal possession of small arms/light weapons from …

Mapping Development Organizations: Success Depends On Mine Action, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Development initiatives around the world stand to gain from stronger collaboration with the mine-action community; however, this relationship is all too often underappreciated in areas where conflict has mandated resuscitating infrastructure, revitalizing the economy and resettling displaced persons. The Survey Action Center’s ongoing project on development organizations’ use (and occasionally misuse) of mine-action information intends to help mend the partnership between mine-action and non-mine-action actors.

First Workshop On Regional Approaches To Stockpile Reduction In Southeast Europe, Daniele Ressler, Dave Diaz, Laurie Freeman

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Faced with the significant security and humanitarian impacts of stockpiled weapons and munitions, countries and organizations in Southeast Europe met in May to discuss strategies for stockpile reduction. The workshop, held in Croatia, focused on regional approaches to this problem, emphasizing information-sharing and coordination across borders.

Uzbekistan Ammunition Depot Explosion Cleanup: U.S. Dod Support, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A recent ammunition explosion in Kagan, Uzbekistan, prompted an appeal for international aid. As a result, Lieutenant Colonel Gary Bolos led a team of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Non-Commissioned Officers from the United States Department of Defense into Uzbekistan to deliver equipment and train the Uzbek Army on proper detection and removal of the ammunition with a limited budget and restricted schedule.

Prostheses For Pachyderm Landmine Survivors, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Many times the only landmine survivors considered candidates for prostheses are humans; however, there are also pachyderm victims in need of assistance. Along the Thai-Burmese border, a heavily mined area, elephants that are used for logging, as well as wild elephants, often fall victim to landmines. Lacking other options and unable to care for the animals in this condition, their caretakers frequently opt to end the animals’ lives.

Geneva Diary: Report From The Gichd, Ian Mansfield

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining has been busy over the last several months. The GICHD recently organized an African Francophone Conference on demining in Benin and provided technical input for the recent Convention on Cluster Munitions. In addition, GICHD published technical guides related to road clearance, safe ammunition storage and cluster munitions.

Proper Usage Of Torch Systems For In-Situ Landmine Neutralization By Burning For Humanitarian Demining, Divyakant Patel

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Researchers at the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command who work with the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center as part of the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, are advancing demining beyond traditional approaches with the use of torch systems for mine neutralization. This article describes trial results for three such torches.

Performance Of Flail Hammers, Frédéric Guerne

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The following article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of flail hammer use in the demining field. The author leans on his field experience with the Digger Foundation to analyze types and usage of these tools. In doing so, he aims to give advice on the best methods for using flails to achieve the best results.