Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

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.

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.

Promoting Firearms Marking In Latin America And The Caribbean, Lourdes Rincon

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Marking firearms is an important step in combating illicit weapons trafficking. To promote marking and tracing among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Organization of American States has strengthened national capacities to mark firearms by providing equipment and related training since 2009.

Achieving Local Ownership In Mine Action, Blake Williamson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Sustainable development is key to maintaining a self-sufficient national mine action program. To achieve self-sufficiency, programs must build capacity and transition away from the international community’s financial and technical support.

New Mine/Erw Risk Education Initiatives In Afghanistan, Samim Hashimi

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Many steps, including training midwives, police officers and teachers in mine and explosive remnants of war risk education (mine/ERW RE), have been taken in Afghanistan to ensure that mine/ERW RE is integrated into local networks. This article outlines the move toward integrating mine/ERW RE within local networks in Afghanistan to assure that high-quality and sustainable material is delivered in the areas that need it most.

Advanced Ordnance Teaching Materials, Allen D. Tan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Advanced Ordnance Teaching Materials (AOTM) program leverages recent advances in the accessibility of 3-D printing to raise the quality of humanitarian explosive ordnance disposal education worldwide.

Kurdistan’S Erbil Mine Action Center, Jamal J. Hussein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Erbil Mine Action Center (EMAC) of the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency increases mine risk education efforts in the spring to reduce high casualty rates during this season. EMAC also conducts landmine clearance in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Amendments To The Imas Land Release Series, Helen Gray

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) review board formally endorsed amendments to the Land Release IMAS in April 2013 that clarify and standardize the language and practices in the series.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 18.1 (2014), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus on land release issues

Feature: Best Practices of Residual Clearance

Special Report: Declining Donor Funding and Strategies to Attract New Donors

Environmentally Responsible Saa Disposal, Ian Biddle

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The need to dispose of small arms ammunition (SAA) for short-term stability and security concerns has traditionally outweighed the long-term need for environmentally responsible disposal. The author suggests the international community should change its procedures concerning SAA disposal and promote more environmentally friendly disposal methods.

Survivors’ Assistance In Conflict: Challenges From Eastern Drc, Douglas Felix Kilama

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Because of the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), providing aid and rehabilitation assistance to survivors of mine-related injuries is difficult. Beyond essential rehabilitation services, the United Nations Mine Action Service's victim assistance efforts in DRC aim to provide economic skills to promote self-reliance and enable survivors to provide for their families.

A Discrimination Method For Landmines And Metal Fragments Using Metal Detectors, Alex M. Kaneko, Edwardo Fukushima, Gen Endo

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While discrimination methods for distinguishing between real mines and metal fragments would greatly increase the efficiency of demining operations, no practical solution has been implemented yet. A potentially efficient method for the discrimination of metallic targets using metal detectors uses a high-precision robotic manipulator to scan the minefield. Further field research is needed, however, before this method can deploy for operational use.

Meeting Pm/Wra’S New Director Col. (Ret.) Stanley L. Brown, Alexandra Berkowitz

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Continuing the funding for conventional weapons destruction programs remains a primary objective for Stan Brown, the new director of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA). This interview introduces the director, provides a snapshot of his past experience and shares his hopes for the future of humanitarian demining.

Masculinity: The Unseen Barrier In Survivor Assistance, Anne-Sophie Duprat, Lusia Pecak

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Survivors of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) incidents suffer unique consequences from their injuries as a result of their age and gender. As they often have distinct societal roles, survivor assistance needs for women, girls, boys and men differ. Inadequate research on the effects of mine/ERW incidents on men and boys may hinder recovery for male survivors and their families and communities.

The Power Of Peers: Rethinking Victim Assistance, Ken Rutherford, Cameron Macauley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Peer support is a psychological tool that can expedite recovery time and have longlasting positive results for landmine/explosive remnants of war survivors.

Survivors Promote Victim Assistance And Disability Rights, Megan Burke, Loren Persi

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 2012, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition launched the Survivor Network Project, in which networks of landmine survivors collaborate to develop victim assistance objectives. One year after its launch, the Survivor Network Project has achieved some success.

Survivor Success Story: Mezgebu Abiyu Tesfaye, Bekele Gonfa

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mezgebu Abiyu Tesfaye, an Ethiopian landmine survivor, was born in the East Gojjam zone, Amhara region, in 1967. Raised in a farming family, Mezgebu left school after the eighth grade to help his parents care for their cattle and do daily chores.

Nama: A Gis-Based Network-Analysis Approach For Mine Action, Pierre Lacroix, Rocío Escobar, Olivier Cottray, Pable De Roulet

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

To demonstrate the potential of geographic information system (GIS) network-analysis tools in mine action, a hypothetical case study uses these tools to examine the distance survivors of mine incidents must travel for medical and rehabilitative care in one region in Colombia and suggests a location for a new facility.

Rehabilitation For Gazan Children And Young Adults, Nataša Uršič, Goran Gačnik

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Years of conflict in the Gaza Strip have killed and injured thousands. In response to the need for survivor rehabilitation, Slovenia’s ITF Enhancing Human Security and the University Rehabilitation Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (URI Soča) initiated the Gaza Project, a rehabilitation program for injured children and young adults. Since the Gaza Project’s inception in 2009, more than 300 children and young adults were medically evaluated, 100 children and young adults received treatment and 18 local medical professionals were trained at URI Soča.

The New Imsma And Victim Assistance, Angela Desantis, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A new update to the Information Management System for Mine Action will include a victim assistance module, which will facilitate the monitoring and tracking of the access of victims to their rights and the accountability of the assistance process.

Aiding Survivors Of The Syrian Crisis, Elizabeth Macnairn, Molly Feltner

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Handicap International (HI) launched operations in northern Syria in December 2012, where it provides postsurgical rehabilitation to survivors of violence. In Lebanon and Jordan, where the organization has worked since the summer of 2012, HI provides assistance to Syrian refugees, placing particular focus on people with disabling injuries.

Spirit Of Soccer In The Zaatari Refugee Camp, Mike Geddes

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan is home to almost 150,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict—many are children. Spirit of Soccer uses soccer to bring hope and teach the children of Zaatari skills that could save their lives when returning home.

Self-Help Ammunition Destruction Options Worldwide (Shadow), Lee Maroney, Kay Gamst

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In response to the increasing number of explosions at ammunition storage sites (ASA), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) created Self-Help Ammunition Destruction Options Worldwide (SHADOW), a program emphasizing national capacity building for stockpile management and destruction through low-tech and cost-effective techniques. Following the success of its first SHADOW project in Moldova in 2010, in 2012 NPA implemented another SHADOW project focused on ASAs in cooperation with Moldova’s National Army and Ministry of Defense.

Has The Ccm Accommodated Gender?, Dalila Mahdawi

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While the Convention on Cluster Munitions has taken steps to include gender, it missed the opportunity to mainstream gender into a disarmament treaty.

Miniature Aerial Photography Planes In Mine Action, Inna Cruz, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining analyzed the benefits, potential uses and cost efficiency of miniature aerial photography planes for use in mine action.

Reinforcement For Operational Mine Detection Rats, Amanda Mahoney, Christophe Cox, Bart Weetjens, Tess Tewelde, Tekimiti Gilbert, Amy Durgin, Alan Poling

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

When using animals for the detection of landmines, handlers face challenges of when to reinforce indication responses, as the actual location of landmines in the field is unknown.Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling(Anti-Personnel Landmine Detection Product Development or APOPO) evaluated an inexpensive method to reinforce rat-indication responses in field settings using TNT to contaminate ground area. Rat detection accuracy was high over the TNT contamination after an overnight soak period of 16 hours and detection accuracy decreased as a function of days passed since soaking.

Military Ordnance Found On U.S. Shores, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

(WWII) bomb was detonated 25 June 2013 after it washed ashore on Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, U.S.

Do-It-Yourself Weapons In Syria, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Free Syrian Army forces fighting against President Bashar Assad have filled major gaps in their arsenals by building improvised weapons to combat the Syrian government’s superior arsenal of artillery, tanks and warplanes.

In Remembrance: Moul Piseth, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 12 June 2013 Cambodian deminer and HALO Trust (HALO) employee Moul Piseth, 34, was killed in an explosion caused by an explosive remnant of war (ERW), possibly an anti-tank (AT) mine.

Landmine Injuries And Human Rights: The Terminology Of Victims And Survivors, Cameron Macauley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

“The words victim and survivor are not interchangeable. The word victim refers to someone who is the object of abuse and as such implies helplessness. It is correct to use victim when discussing someone who is injured by a landmine, but not someone who is in the process of recovering, since we do not consider that person to be helpless.”
~ Jerry White, co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network, November 2005