Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

Sa/Lw And The Osce Response, Jernej Cimperšek

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The illegal dissemination of small arms/light weapons has recently come to the forefront of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s agenda. Through security forums and the provision of literature and physical assistance to affected countries, the OSCE is working to rid Europe of SA/LW that may potentially spread to more militant nations. Working with other international organizations such as the United Nations, the OSCE aims to encourage implementation of its Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons, drafted to address the spread of SA/LW and related issues, and to completely rid the area of dangerous arms.

Identifying Synergies Between Mine Action And Small Arms/Light Weapons, Eric Filippino

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Over the last few years, there has been considerable discussion around linking small arms/light weapons with mine action, although, to date, there has been little concrete exchange between the sectors at an operational level. Accordingly, the U.S. Department of State commissioned the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining to look at areas of possible synergy, resulting in the study Identifying Synergies Between Mine Action and Small Arms/Light Weapons.

Mag Involvement With Sa/Lw, Steve Priestley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In less than 20 years, Mines Advisory Group, involved in the identification and destruction of small arms/light weapons, has made a real impact. Maintaining technical support at hand-in points, offering capacity-building training and conducting assessments of stockpile management are just a few of the services MAG provides.

Impact Study On The Effects Of Demining Operations In Nicaragua, Carlos Orozco

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

To evaluate demining operations in Nicaragua, the Acción Integral contra las Minas Antipersonal program conducted a study on the effects of demining in communities directly affected by landmines. The study showed both the negative effects of anti-personnel mines and the consequences they had on the community, but and also the positive effects that demining had in terms of security, trust and economic benefits.

The Gradual Process Of Nationalizing Mre In Afghanistan, Samim Hashimi, Mutahar Sha Akhgar

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Afghanistan, a country torn apart by decades of conflict, is implementing a successful plan for national mine-risk education. Successes, strategies, and at-risk populations are discussed and analyzed in this article.

Ddasaccident752, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 1st July 2009 MU-16 of [Demining group] started clearance operation on mentioned task. On 08 July 2009 at 0919hrs while [the Victim] was investigating a signal in his clearance lane, he found two bullets. He re-checked the spot and found the same signal, this process repeated for three times. Finally he found a root stump in the excavation trench with a thickness of around 2.5 cm and started to remove it, because it was blocking further excavation there. However the deminer had proper tool in his toolkit to cut such obstacles, but he tried to cut it with his …

Ddasaccident623, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The incident caused by individual mistake while the deminer using the heavy RAKE in a hacking motion not as the proper procedure the Raking motion, and most of the mines in the area are surfaces mines that they can be recovered just with the usage of the light RAKE even if that will cost the deminer more sweat but it will still safer.

Ddasaccident604, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

While the deminer try to investigate a signal in lane 15 (12 O’clock mine) he didn’t approached the mine in the proper procedure which caused the deminer to hit the mine from the top of the pressure plate and initiate the mine 2.2 m away from the deminer (the distance of the heavy RAKE).

Ddasaccident824, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 1st July 2009 at [International demining organisation] BAC Task CBU-681, a detonation of a US M series submunition occurred while [the Victim] an [International demining organisation] Searcher ID No. LS 444 was conducting subsurface search and excavating the signals. [The Victim] sustained injuries in his left arm, little finger.

Based on all available evidence, the BOI team concludes that the immediate response to the accident by the team leader and the treatment by the medic enabled an effective casevac and subsequent medevac from the task to Najdeh hospital in Nabatiyeh. Supervised by both the TFM and Site Supervisor.

United States Institute Of Peace Teaches International Security Personnel To Resolve Conflicts Without Resorting To The Use Of Force, Mary H. Schwoebel

Conflict Resolution Studies Faculty Articles

Over the past decade, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has trained members of police and military forces around the world to prepare them to participate in international peacekeeping operations or to contribute to post-conflict stabilization and rule of law interventions in their own or in other war-torn countries. Most of the training takes place outside the United States, from remote, rugged bases to centrally located schools and academies, from Senegal to Nepal, from Italy to the Philippines. Training Programs for International Security Personnel Today's crisis, conflict, and post-conflict contexts are characterized by complexity, multiple parties, blurred boundaries, blurred …

July Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

What Next for Sri Lanka's 2.5 Million Tamils? by Amantha Perera. Time. May 26, 2009.

and

How to Defeat Insurgencies: Sri Lanka's Bad Example by Bobby Ghosh. Time, May 20, 2009.

The War Goes On - No Reconciliation At This Stage, Anja Mihr

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The victorious Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaska has been quite bold to pass a reconciliation note after he declared the thirty year war over. Can he be taken seriously?

To Walk The Earth In Safety 8th Edition (Fy2008), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

Welcome to the 8th edition of To Walk The Earth In Safety. Although we have seen real progress in combating the threat of mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), conflicts persist, and the destabilizing effects of other weapons threaten peace and stability around the world.

The United States works with other nations to clean up the debris of war, combat trafficking in small arms and light weapons, and improve the security and management of munitions stockpiles. Catastrophic explosions at munitions storage facilities in populated areas have become a growing problem and have the potential to create more casualties than …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 34-A, No. 7, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

About Torture: Triumph of the Human Spirit

Un Cambio Dificil Pero Necesario

Voices From Inside

Moving In The Open Daylight, Nicola Colbran

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The road ahead for Sri Lanka is certainly not easy. Although the government has declared that the LTTE ( Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) has been defeated, this “victory” has come at a high cost for civilian lives and democratic values. Decades of instability and violence have given rise to deep rooted and sustained human rights violations. Thousands of Sri Lankans have been displaced, killed or wounded, and are malnourished and traumatized after months of extended fighting between the two sides.

Justice After War: Sri Lanka And The Rights And Duties Of A Vanquisher, William Paul Simmons

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Human rights scholars, attorneys, and activists will deservedly focus on the human rights abuses committed by the Sri Lankan military as the decades - long civil war against the Tamil Tigers came to a crushing end this past spring. The military’s brutality, especially its failure to discriminate combatants from non-combatants, should be investigated by both domestic and transnational institutions. It remains to be seen whether such wanton disregard for civilian collateral damage will become the norm for regimes embroiled in civil wars and present yet another realpolitik threat to humanitarian law, or will Sri Lanka and other regimes face accountability …

Ddasaccident712, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 18 April 2009 [Demining group] DT-05 started clearance operation on mentioned task, they cleared around 19830 sqm area and found/destroyed 4 anti-personnel mines and 2 UXO till the accident time. On 27 June 2009 at 11:15 am the deminer [the Victim] was working in his clearance lane, he found a signal behind some stones, the investigation of signal was impossible with bayonet so he informed the section leader and sought his advice. Section leader instructed him to use pick, but a stone in front of pinpointed signal did not let the pick to be used easily. Therefore, the deminer …

Ddasaccident690, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Today afternoon one mine blast at Al Kaider 4, Team 5 (female deminer team) at 1550 hrs, deminer [the Victim] received the first aid treatment by the medic onsite, a superficial wound (4 to 6 mm) X 2 in her Lt. upper side of the arm, and no any other injuries noticed. Deminer evacuated to KAUH where she received cleaning and dressing of the wounds, X-ray done to clear no any fragmentations in the Arm, deminer received Anti Tetanus and Antibiotics and discharged from the hospital at 1710hrs, No sick leave given by KAUH doctors. Deminer advised to reach the …

Ddasaccident686, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 1st of June [Demining group] started clearance operation on mentioned task, they cleared 3350 sqm and found/destroyed 150 anti-personnel and 90 UXO till the accident time. On 23 June 2009 at 08:40 am when [the Victim] was working in his clearance lane a PMN2 antipersonnel mines went off and caused the accident. However the deminer had worn his PPE but he got some injures on his both legs, fortunately the injuries were not severe. According to the investigation report the ground was hard to conduct excavation easily, however the MDU was used for ground preparation, but it was failed …

Ddasaccident682, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 07:25 am the 21st of June 2009 while am working on 9 o’clock mine in section 4 Sabha 8, I was following all the procedures in the manual clearing and after I finished the first box I used the light rake first and when it was not responding to the hard ground I turned to the heavy rake to release the upper layer of the sand and grass, I pulled using the heavy rake then the accident happened suddenly while am working.

Ddasaccident734, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

[Demining group] is subcontracted by US-DOD for mine clearance in Bagram Air Field. On 15 June 2009, when the [Demining group] US-DOD related team was working on a BAC task inside the BAF, experienced an uncontrolled detonation. The accident happened when [the Victim] the deminer was excavating a detected signal using a small pick; he found a metal plate and decided to excavate beneath the metal plate, during the excavation drill his excavation tool might touched the mine and caused it to go off.

Ddasaccident633, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

AF/2008/00324/H4533-13 is an anti-personnel mine contaminated area laid by the government forces during the Russian invasion in Afghanistan. The mines are laid in 2 rows as a belt surrounding Kandak-e-921 Sarhadi in order to secure their positions from the attacks of Mujahedeen. [Demining group] DT-18 was tasked for the clearance of mentioned area, on 9th of June 2009 at 07:55 am deminer [Victim No.1] was working in his clearance lane excavating a detected signal, his prodder touched a mine and caused it to explode. According to the investigation report the signal was not pinpointed correctly and the deminer has used …

Ddasaccident757, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 07 June 1035 hours [the Victim] the section leader of mentioned team stopped his deminer [Name removed] and started to work instead of him as the deminer was getting tired. He hit the top of a mine with his prodding tool so the accident occurred. There is a wound with regular edges on the forehead of section leader and some abrasions on his face and left eye. The PPE was used during the operation, but the visor was broken down by a forceful back out of excavation tool possibly the shovel and caused the injury to him. According to …

Ddasaccident610, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

In the morning before we start working the team leader gave us the safety brief and work instructions then I started searching for missing mines in section 3 Sabha 8, I removed a 12 and 3 o’clock mines then started working on a 9 o’clock mine I found a squirrel house near the mine I’m working on and found 2 stones on the right and left of the squirrel house, I used the light rake to expose the stones and then used the heavy rake to move the soil and remove the stones I went more than 15 cm depth …

U.S. Human Rights Activism And Plan Colombia, Winifred L. Tate

Faculty Scholarship

Non-governmental organizations claim to play a central role in defining U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the field of human rights. Here, I will examine the role of human rights and humanitarian groups in the debates over U.S. foreign policy towards Colombia, focusing on the design and subsequent additional appropriations for Plan Colombia, a multi-billion dollar aid package beginning in 2000. I argue that NGOs were able to build on the legacy of prior human rights activism focusing on Latin America, but failed to achieve significant grassroots mobilization around this issue. I examine the structural issues limiting such mobilization, as well …

Scoping Study Of The Effects Of Aging On Landmines, Daniele Ressler

CISR Studies and Reports

The Mine Action Information Center at James Madison University has partnered with a British EOD consultancy company, C King Associates Ltd, to conduct a preliminary study into the effects of aging on landmines. This project entailed examination and disassembly of several types of anti-personnel mines, a literature review of relevant material and analysis of the initial findings.

The study confirms a fairly obvious assumption: The characteristics of mines change significantly as they grow older. However, while this situation is constantly observed in the field through the recovery of rotted, rusted and damaged mines, it has never been adequately investigated. The …

2009 Colombia Humanitarian Demining Planning Workshop, Cisr Jmu

CISR Conference Proceedings

From 9 to 12 June 2009, representatives of the Colombian government’s humanitarian mine action office and the Humanitarian Demining Department of the Colombian military met to devise a way forward in planning for the expansion and enhancement of the country’s program to eradicate landmines from the national territory.

The Mine Action Information Center at James Madison University facilitated the Colombia Humanitarian Demining Planning Workshop (Taller de Planificación del Desminado Humanitario en Colombia) in Bogotá, Colombia. The workshop was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, and was attended by representatives from the …

Looking Forward, Backward, Or Just Away?, Chandra Lekha Sriram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The declassification and leaking of the so-called “torture memos” only supplements much which was already publicly well-known, but has offered a fresh opportunity to frankly debate American values, in particular its commitment to the rule of law, its own constitution, and international human rights and humanitarian law obligations to which it has committed itself, and which the Supreme Court has confirmed are part of domestic law. It is a shame, therefore, that the debate has been so stunted, diverted by the red herring of Dick Cheney’s rantings, and the apparent willingness of a segment of the population to accept, first, …

Let Us Not Become The Evil We Deplore, Rebecca Otis

Human Rights & Human Welfare

On 14 September 2001, Representative Barbara Lee (CA-D) voted against the House bill that granted President Bush the authority to use force in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. As the sole person to vote against the bill (by a margin of 420-1), Lee was roundly vilified as a “traitor,” a “coward, and even a “communist.” Later that day, as the only voice of dissent on the House floor, Lee delivered a speech to justify her position. Famously, she said to the elected representatives of our country, “As we act, let us not become …

Righting Past, Present And Future Wrongs, Rhona Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Three legal issues are raised by the centerpiece of this month’s Roundtable: Does the legal definition of torture include “enhanced interrogation techniques”? What are the legal responsibilities of a State when torture is committed by its agents? and What should the State do now to prevent future violations of human rights? In other words, one must characterize the actions of the past, ameliorate the damage in the present, and prevent a recurrence in the future.