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

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.

The Mine Action Visitor Center In Vietnam, Phu Thanh Nguyen, Chuck Searcy

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

To raise public awareness of the dangers of explosive remnants of war and current mine action activities, Project RENEW created the Mine Action Visitor Center in Quang Tri province, a former demilitarized zone during the Vietnam War.

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.

Outcome Monitoring In Humanitarian Mine Action, Mikkel Nedergaard

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Humanitarian mine action programs are attempting to develop better ways to monitor and document the socioeconomic results of their programs. Lessons learned from the journal and use of Danish Demining Group’s Impact Monitoring System provide examples of how to build or improve current outcome- and impact-monitoring systems.

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

Applying Ngo Resource-Mobilization Strategies To The Mine Action Community, Dane Sosniecki, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to funding concerns, the mine action sector is shifting its approach to resource mobilization and allocation. Emerging funding trends suggest that it would be advantageous for mine action centers and nongovernmental organizations to increase sustainability by seeking financial and technical support from a variety of sources.

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.

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.

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.

Demining Quality Management: Case Studies From Jordan, Jamal Odibat

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Two case studies of clearance in the Jordan Valley and along Jordan’s northern border highlight the importance of quality management to ensure efficiency of clearance and credibility of land release.

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.

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.

Faces Of Mine Action: Ammco’S Ermira Keraj, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ermira Keraj lives in the Kukes district of Albania, a region that until recently had the most landmine contamination in the country. Keraj became involved in mine action to make her country, especially her home district, a safer place to live.

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

Adapting Survivor Assistance To The Needs Of Child Survivors, Ayda Eke

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The needs of child survivors of landmine and explosive remnants of war incidents differ significantly from those of adult survivors and must be considered when developing assistance programs.

Faces Of Mine Action: Aepd’S Nguyen Thi Thanh Hong, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Nguyen Thi Thanh Hong has a personal connection to her work at the Association for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (AEPD).

Faces Of Mine Action: Osce’S Azamjon Salokhov, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With almost 10 years of mine action experience, Azamjon Salokhov has an impressive resume in mine risk education and developing mine action programs in his home country of Tajikistan.

Faces Of Mine Action: Tran Hong Chi Addressing The Legacy Of Uxo In Vietnam, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Tran Hong Chi grew up amid Vietnam’s unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination. Now as an adult, Chi works as a program coordinator for Clear Path International, which provides medical and rehabilitative assistance to survivors of UXO incidents.

Abandoned Ordnance In Libya: Threats To Civilians And Recommended Responses, Bonnie Docherty, Anna Crowe

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In a report released in August 2012, “Explosive Situation: Qaddafi's Abandoned Weapons and the Threat to Libya's Civilians,” researchers from Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) examined Libya's abandoned ordnance problem and its humanitarian consequences for the local population. Based on field and desk research, the report documents the threats these weapons pose, analyzes steps to address them and offers recommendations to minimize civilian harm. IHRC co-published the report with the Center for Civilians in Conflict (formerly CIVIC) and the Center for American Progress. In this article, two of the report's authors summarize its 2012 findings and recommendations.

Securing Health Care Rights For Survivors: Developing An Evidence Base To Inform Policy, Jo Durham

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Analysis of current literature on landmine/explosive remnants of war casualties in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam reveals flaws in recording systems. An integrated course of action should aid mine action and public health communities in preventing incidents and providing care to survivors.

Prevention Of Unplanned Explosions At Munitions Sites In Tajikistan, Artyom Harutyunyan, Ramzia Mamadnazarova

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Poorly stored stockpiles of aging munitions continue to pose threats in Tajikistan. Since 2009, the Fondation Suisse de Déminage (the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action or FSD) has worked with Tajikistan’s Ministries of Defense and Interior and its border guards to dispose of surplus weapons and munitions. These efforts were funded by the government of the Netherlands and the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA).

Preventing Unplanned Explosions At Munitions Sites, Chris Loughran, Daan Redelinghuys

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Unplanned explosions at munitions sites (UEMS) frequently result in contamination and destruction similar to that resulting from conflict. Preventive measures can reduce the risk of UEMS and are significantly easier to deploy than clearance after an explosion.

Assessment Of Vietnam’S National Mine Action Program, Ted Paterson, Thao Griffiths

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A December 2012 assessment conducted by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation found that despite Vietnam’s well-received mine action program reform efforts, various factors, including economic and bureaucratic challenges, continue hindering progress.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 17.2 (2013), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Unplanned Explosions | Asia and the Pacific | Underwater Clearance

Association For Empowerment Of Persons With Disabilities In Quang Binh, Vietnam, Nguyên Thị Thúy Nga

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Association for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (AEPD) was established in May 2010 to continue the work of Survivor Corps in rural Vietnam. AEPD uses peer support to empower persons with disabilities who have sustained mine, explosive remnants of war or other war-related injuries. This approach employs survivors, who have successfully reintegrated into communities and recovered from psychosocial trauma, as peer-outreach workers. AEPD staff host training workshops, partner with local health clinics, assist in creating self-help groups and provide economic opportunity activities. AEPD also leads landmine advocacy action in Vietnam.