Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

Humanitarian Mine Action In Northern Iraq, Tim Carstairs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Through sustained efforts, the Mines Advisory Group has made significant progress in the demining of war-torn Northern Iraq. Cooperation with local villagers has been a key to their success.

Technology Needs: Mine Clearance In Egypt And Jordan, James Trevelyan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

I visited Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon in September and October 1999 to learn about mine clearance techniques being used in the Middle East (Trevelyan 2000). This paper summarizes some of my observations and suggestions for further developments.

Strategic Planning In Yemen, Tim Lardner, Matt Craig

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The first ever Landmine Impact Survey was completed in Yemen in July 2000 by the Mine Clearance Planning Agency. With the help of Cranfield Mine Action, Yemen has been developing a strategy to maximize the efficiency of its mine action program.

Landmine Survivor’S Network Provides Victim Assistance In Jordan, Kathleen Powers

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

According to military figures, most mine incidents occurred during the latter part of the 1960s and early 1970s, when the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict spilled into Jordan. Incidents rose again during the early part of the 1990s due to heavy rains and floods that shifted landmines from their originally marked and mapped fields into unrecorded areas.

Background On The Mine/Uxo Problem, Mohamed Ahmen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Twenty-two years of conflict have left a significant number of unfenced and unmarked mine fields in southern Lebanon, requiring strong coordination between various organizations in order to meet emergency demands.

Mine Field Breaching In Desert Storm, Thomas Houlahan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

During the Gulf War, Iraqi troops laid over seven million mines throughout Kuwait, which resulted in a need for advanced techniques allowing American troops to quickly breach landmine-afflicted areas.

Israel, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Israel

Libya, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Libya

Syria, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Syria

Lebanon, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Lebanon/p>

A Pioneer In The Field Of Humanitarian Mine Action: Mine Clearance Planning Agency (Mcpa), Qadeem K. Tariq

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA) aims to effectively contribute to humanitarian mine action and advocacy activities in Afghanistan and other landmine-infested countries in order to make the hometowns of refugees and displaced people land-mine free and to implement essential rehabilitation and development activities in mine-affected communities.

What The Dog’S Nose Knows, Ian Mclean

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mine clearance is an ongoing process that is both tedious and expensive. Mine detection dogs are one tool in the toolbox. These dogs are far from fool-proof, yet they are constantly making strides in assisting demining efforts worldwide.

Egypt, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Egypt

Let's Go About Our Work, Dennis Barlow

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The partnerships and spirit which develop within the context of mine action activities sometimes seem almost as important as the remediation of landmines itself.

Returning Mine-Free Land To The Afghani People: Afghanistan Mine Detection And Dog Center, Susanna Sprinkel

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As a result of conflicts faced over the past 23 years, Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily landmine-afflicted countries. The Mine Detection and Dog Center has built one of the world’s largest mine detecting dog programs with the goal of saving lives and returning mine-free land to the Afghani people.

Iraq, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Iraq

Kuwait, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Kuwait

Iran, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Iran

Aiding The Innocent: Victim Assistance In The Middle East, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Hussein Khair Allah, a landmine survivor, recently spoke of his experience: "I was returning from a fishing trip on November 15, 1997, when I was injured by a landmine on the bank of the river Jordan, severing my right foot up to the ankle. I am a fisherman and the major source of my income was from fishing, which I am no longer able to do because of my injury. I need to work again to be able to support my wife and six children." Allah’s story mirrors those of many other landmine victims throughout the Middle East. However, Allah …

Yemen Humanitarian Demining Program, Jack Holly

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Republic of Yemen is the southern-most nation on the Arabian Peninsula and has unique geographic features for this region. Like most Middle East countries, it contains desert land, rich oil reserves, and major ports for shipping. Unlike its neighbors, Yemen’s landscape rises quickly from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden into mountain ranges well over 2,000 meters above sea level. Much of this landscape is fertile farmland on which the Yemeni people grow their food and raise livestock.

Algeria, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Algeria

Landmines In Lebanon: An Historic Overview And The Current Situation, Harald Wie

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

It is estimated that 150,000 landmines of all categories are currently in Lebanon. The exact location of most of these weapons remains unknown. In addition, a large number of UXO continues to pose a serious threat to local populations, particularly in the south.

Humanitarian Demining In Egypt: A Half-Century Struggle, Timothy Kennedy

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Over the years and with limited resources, Egypt has demonstrated a strong commitment to eradicating the landmine threat through its dedicated Army Corps of Engineers demining campaign. Since 1948, with limited financing and direction, they report clearing approximately 31 percent of the total mined areas and 51 percent of the mines or UXO. These clearance operations have been costly—Egypt expended over $91 million (U.S.) in national funds and lost over 200 deminers. Competing priorities and dwindling financial resources imposed a halt to active HD operations in 1998. Egypt requested U.S. government HD assistance, and the U.S. Central Command developed a …

The Quantification Of Safety And Risk: A Critical Review, Peter Schoeck

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

It is shown that the concept "safety factor," as presently used as a criterion for declaring a demined area safe for use, is impractical and should be replaced by its complement, called "risk factor," which stands for the ratio of the size of the mine-polluted portion of a demined field to its total area. An equation expressing the risk as a function of the efficiencies of the demining processes applied is developed. The limitations of applying this equation in the quantification of the risk are then shown by means of a case study. The necessity of an error analysis for …

Landmine Impact Survey In The Republic Of Yemen, Qadeem K. Tariq

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Republic of Yemen is located in the Middle East, bordering Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the Gulf of Aden to the south and the Red Sea to the west with an area of 550,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 15 million. The country is divided into 19 administrative units, called governorates.

Landmines in Yemen were laid as a result of several separate conflicts over a period of about 30 years, starting during the 1962—1975 conflicts between the Republicans and Royalists in the north. In addition, landmines were laid during the 1963—1967 war of …

Israeli Landmine Policy And Related Regional Activity, Ahron Etengoff, Gerald Steinberg

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Although the dangers posed by landmines are particularly acute in the Middle East, responses to the Ottawa Convention are limited. Jordan, Sudan, Tunisia and Qatar are State Parties, and Algeria has signed but not ratified the Ottawa Convention. The lack of signatories in the region reflects the continuing conflict and instability as well as the role that mines play in territorial defense.

In Israel, there is significant support for both the concept and effort to abolish landmines, but security considerations and continued warfare outweigh arguments in favor of accession to the Convention. Israel is active in international cooperative programs to …

The Effects Of Landmines On Women In The Middle East, Mary Ruberry

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The countries of the Middle East are beset with troubles caused by nature as well as man-made strife. The region is prey to earthquakes, droughts and flooding, and years of conflict have left the region riddled with landmines and UXO. As a result, national economies have suffered, leaving social and medical infrastructure battered and scarred. Regional turmoil has caused the flight of millions of refugees and displaced persons who survive in sparse camps, many for decades.

Npa: Improving Lives In The Middle East And Throughout The World, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

An organization based on human equality, NPA "…endeavors to improve the conditions under which individuals live, and to contribute to a more humane society for all." Accordingly, landmine issues are a fundamental element of their mission. Since 1992, when they entered Cambodia, NPA has been heavily involved in mine clearance throughout the world, becoming one of the world’s largest humanitarian mine clearance organizations and concentrating most of their labors on educating local populations about the dangers of landmines. More recently, they began to focus their efforts in the Middle East and Northern Africa, where they began an extensive program in …

New International Standards Debut October 1, 2001, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On October 1, 2001 the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) officially released twenty-two documents that comprise the initial set of new International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). The standards replace the International Standards for Humanitarian Mine Clearance Operations. The new standards represent the culmination of two years of work to revise and expand the old standards based on changes in practices, procedures and norms that emerged from the continuing operations of mine action programs around the globe.

Global Focus On Landmines In Afghanistan, Joe Lokey

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Even though it has one of the longest running mine clearance programs, Afghanistan is still believed to be one of the most severely mine-affected countries in the world. The Mine Action Program in Afghanistan (MAPA), a United Nations-supported entity, is one of the largest and most successful national programs in the world and one almost exclusively run by the Afghans themselves with fewer than a dozen or so of the 5,000-person workforce being non-nationals.