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Solutions For Increasing Physical Accessibility, Capacity Building And Psychological Support In Tajikistan, Reykhan Muminova

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In order to fulfill requirements of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, modified the architecture of three public buildings and implemented a new psychological training process for medical centers in the area to provide awareness about disability rights and increase provision of psychological aid. The desired end goal is that advocacy will allow for increased public acceptance and understanding of disability while moving Tajikistan toward signing the CRPD.

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.

Humanitarian Mine Action In Afghanistan: A History, Ian Mansfield

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

After a decade of Soviet occupation in Afghanistan and the resulting internal conflict, the removal of explosive remnants of war (ERW) became a complicated issue. Systematic clearance of ERW was difficult to establish due to the volatile security situation and an inability to regulate clearance work. However, due to collaboration between the United Nations and Afghan nongovernmental organizations, mine clearance operations were successfully established in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

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.

Effectiveness Of Gis In Mine Action, Hansie Heymans, Arie Claassens

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

According to a survey conducted by Geometric Solutions, Ltd., the usage of a geographic information system (GIS) stands to benefit the mine action community within the context of strategic planning and operational decision-making. Furthermore, web-based GIS can provide mobile spatial data for operations and lead to an overall improvement of mine action operations.

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.

Collaborative Ordnance Data Repository (Cord), Dionysia Kontotasiou, Olivier Cottray

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Until recently, the mine action and broader humanitarian disarmament community have relied on ORDATA for ordnance information. However, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, James Madison University and software-development company Ripple Design developed a novel aid to using ORDATA: the Collaborative ORDnance data repository (CORD). Representing a significant update to the data set, CORD is an ordnance-identification system featuring Web 2.0 concepts that allow individual users to contribute updates to the data.

Landmines In Croatia Pose Threat To Incoming Refugees, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

After Hungary formally closed its border with Serbia on 15 September 2015, refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East, Central Asia and Northern Africa have turned next to Croatia as a gateway to reach countries such as Sweden and Germany. The influx of refugees traversing the areas near the Croatia-Serbia border has raised concerns that refugees will encounter residual landmine contamination in Croatia as they make their way to Slovenia and Hungary. The contamination dates back to the four-year conflict which followed the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995. The Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC) estimates that …

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.

Counting The Uncountable: Measuring The Benefits Of Mre, Robert Keeley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The aim of this article is to propose concepts that define MRE in terms of its outcomes and beneficiaries and to open a discussion on developing a means that may then be useful in measuring the efficacy of MRE. This article defines efficacy as the ability to produce a desired or intended result.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 19.1 (2015), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus on Vietnam

Feature: Cultural and Environmental Issues in Demining

Notes from the Field

Research and Development

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 19.2 (2015), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus on Colombia | Risk Education | Notes from the Field | Research and Development

Unplanned Explosions Of Munition Stockpiles, Ken Rutherford, Matthew Williams

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Unplanned explosions at munition sites in places such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States result in mass casualties to civilians and government personnel. Although new ammunition-storage practices in the United States expanded to include a military role, not all countries have evolved their practices as quickly, leaving them more susceptible to continued explosions. The increasing role of urbanization will make ammunition site management even more important in the 21st century.

Influence Of Mre Education On Explosive Ordnance Disposal In Quang Tri, Hien Xuan Ngo, Phu Thanh Nguyen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In collaboration with local and international organizations, Project RENEW is facilitating comprehensive mine risk education initiatives in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province.

The Democratic Republic Of The Congo’S National Landmines Contamination Survey, Pascal Simon, Kevin Thoma

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The absence of accurate data on the scope and location of landmine contamination negatively affected more than a decade of mine action activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This article discusses the 2013 National Landmines Contamination Survey and its results.

Building Capacity To Promote The Rights Of People With Disabilities In Vietnam, Cameron Macauley, Heather Holsinger

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In Vietnam, legislation to guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities has advanced significantly during the past decade; however, implementation of laws and reduction of social barriers has been slow. An ongoing campaign focuses on changing the attitudes of Vietnamese government officials and of the public to promote education, employment and inclusion for Vietnam's large population of persons with disabilities.

Developers Win Mobile Apps Challenges, Blake Williamson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As more industries develop mobile technologies, demand for mobile applications (apps) increases. Within various humanitarian fields, mobile apps can serve a variety of special purposes, from providing users with the ability to communicate and share information wirelessly to facilitating disaster relief or humanitarian aid. The National Defense University saw a need for a landmine and explosive remnants of war reporting app, designing a contest to create one.

Erw Contamination In The Pacific Islands, Justin Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The legacy of explosive remnants of war (ERW) has affected the daily lives of Pacific Islanders for more than 70 years. ERW contamination in the Pacific stems from conflict between the Allied forces and Japanese forces during World War II. Survey, clearance and information-management programs are helping to manage the continued risks to the impacted populations.

Cisr’S Senior Managers’ Course: Now Regional Training, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

After delivering nine global Senior Managers’ Courses (SMC) in ERW and Mine Action on the campus of James Madison University (JMU), the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) launched its first regional SMC in Tajikistan in 2014. The regional focus will continue in 2015 when senior managers working in the field of explosive remnants of war (ERW) and mine action in Southeast Asia will participate in a course in Vietnam.

Capacity Building: Lessons Learned, Vanessa Finson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Norwegian People’s Aid believes that to deliver results in mine action programs, it must empower and support national governments to take ownership of the contamination problem. Successful capacity-building efforts require support and buy-in from national authorities and mutual respect between parties involved.

Best Practices In Managing Government Grants, Nicole Neitzey

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Dwindling funds have steadily created more competition for organizations in mine action and conventional weapons destruction. Given the current funding landscape in these fields, it is increasingly imperative for organizations to employ sound program-management practices to prove themselves worthy for continued funding. This article was adapted from several of the author’s presentations on securing funding, managing grant funds and project risk management.

10 Best Practices For Effective Program Management, Paula S. Daly

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

James Madison University College of Business Professor, Paula Daly, reflects on her experiences teaching the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery’s Senior Managers’ Course in ERW and Mine Action and provides a list of best practices for senior mine action managers.

Cwd Response To Ammunition Depot Accidents, George Zahaczewsky

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While casualties inevitably occur during wars as a result of hostilities, munitions explosions are far more dangerous because they can injure or kill thousands of civilians and military personnel in a single incident. These detonations are not a new occurrence; they have happened as far back as World War I.

Surplus Sa/Lw Destruction Project In Mauritania, Phillipe Houliat

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Handicap International, in partnership with the NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund for Mauritania, implemented a multiphase ammunition and conventional weapons destruction project to help the Mauritanian government achieve its security objectives and reduce the risk of unplanned explosions.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 18.2 (2014), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus: CWD Emergency Response

Feature: Sahel and Maghreb

Special Report: SA/LW Marking and Tracing Initiatives in Latin America

Land Release Liability, Sean Moorhouse

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Who should be responsible for any adverse events after clearance? The process of transferring liability from an operator to the state seems biased due to an inherent conflict of interest.

Disability Rights In Laos, Megan Hinton, Ken Rutherford

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Relatively poor immunization and health standards, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and explosive remnants of war from previous conflicts are prevalent causes of disability in Laos. The exact number of disabled people living in Laos today is unknown due to inadequate surveys, poor reporting and little incentive for individuals to register as disabled. Despite the large number of disabled persons in Laos, they are a highly underrepresented minority. However, disability issues have become increasingly mainstream in Lao society in recent years, and a renewed effort to secure disability rights has ensued.