Public Policy Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Ddasaccident706, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

While the deminer try to recover one missing AP mine (M14) assigned for him by the team leader after grapping all the visible APs in the cluster and the central AT, the mine blasted 2.2 metres away from the deminer while searching the area with the heavy RAKE after pinpointing a signal using the metal detector.

Ddasaccident711, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 27 May 2009 at 0840 hrs [the Victim] the section leader of [Demining group] DT-16 entered to a mined area which was not covered in current MF, stepped on a mine and caused the accident. According to the investigation report the section leader left the site for admin area in order to bring painted rocks for the marking purpose, on the way back from the admin area he wanted to use the shortest way, entered to unsafe area and the accident occurred. He had taken off his PPE and visor. As a result of accident the victim has lost …

Ddasaccident699, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

According to the preliminary investigation the deminer approached to the mine using the proper procedure (15 cm from the side and front), but the depth was less than 15 cm, and the mine was deeply buried (about 18 cm).

Ddasaccident683, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

While the deminer try to recover one missing AP mine (M14) assigned for him by the team leader after grabbing all the visible APs in the cluster and the central AT the mine blasted 2.2 metres away from the deminer while searching the area with the heavy RAKE after pinpointing a signal using the metal detector.

Ddasaccident744, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 11 May 2009 at 09:20 the de-miner [the Victim] was excavating a detected signal in his clearance lane, he stroked the top of a PMN2 mine with his bayonet and the accident happened. As the ground profile is uneven and the accident occurred in an area where the extra soil is brought by seasonal floods and the depth of mine was around 25cm. The deminer failed to go deeper as per procedure and discover the mine properly, so he stroked the mine and caused the accident. According to the investigation report and the pictures of victim deminer the visor …

Ddasaccident748, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 10 May 2009 at 10:35 [the Victim] the deminer of [Demining group] DT-02 was excavating on a detected signal in his clearance lane where he hit the top of an anti-personnel mine by bayonet and it caused the mine going off. The procedure of investigating a pinpointed signal was ignored by this deminer and he was working carelessly. As a result this accident the deminer got several injuries to different parts of body i.e. both hands and thighs. The deminer had only used the jacket of his PPE without skirt. If he would wear the skirt too, his lower …

Ddasaccident754, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On 07th of May at 10:00 hours the de-miner [the Victim] was working in his clearance lane excavating a detected signal by unsuitable excavation tool (Pick). He hit the top of mine with a pick and caused it to go off. According to the investigation report the signal was not pinpointed correctly and the de-miner has used his pick carelessly. As a result he sustained multiple superficial injuries on his eyes, chest, Face, and both hands, the injured parts of the deminer body and his PPE clearly indicate that he had not used his PPE during operation. Because there is …

Ddasaccident760, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

According to the investigation report and as seems from the pictures of scene, the deminer was working with a big shovel. On 19th of April 09 one of the MACCA operations assistant found the team using big shovel and raised a non-conformity report, but the team leader and then the operations officer of [Demining group] did not accept the non-conformity report. However the problem was showed to be solved during the re-audit visits, but in reality it had not been solved and consequently the accident occurred.

Ddasaccident677, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

According to the preliminary investigation the incident happened due to individual mistake while the deminer trying to recover an invisible mine and to prevent like incident in the future all invisible Mines would be investigated using the metal detector.

Ddasaccident592, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the 21st of April 2009 an UNMAO QA Officer from the Juba Sub-Office whilst conducting distance and bearing checks during a completion QA for the handover of a cleared DA-SS-796 in Central Equatoria State suffered serious injuries after stepping on an AP mine resulting in the traumatic amputation of his right foot. The injured was transferred to UNMIS medical facilities in Juba where he was stabilized and subsequently transferred abroad for further medical treatment. The BOI determined that MDD assets had cleared the specific area of the accident and there were missed mine which resulted in the serious injury …

Ddasaccident622, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

According to the preliminary investigation the incident is caused due an individual mistake that the deminer according to the SOP have to use first off all the Light RAKE to investigate the signal), then if there is a need to use the heavy RAKE he have to approach it 15 cm from the side and 15 cm from the front with a 15 cm depth (which was not followed properly) and instead of that he hack the mine from the centre of the signal.

Changing The Culture Of Corruption - Do Small Steps Count?, Rhona Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Corruption is endemic in modern society, but history attests this problem is as old as states themselves. No single solution to date has garnered sufficient political and/or popular support to effect change. Could education play a role in changing the culture?

Minefield Indicators And Analytical Mine Contamination Assessment In Scientific Projects And In Practice, Milan Bajic, Andrija Krtalic, Cedo Matic, Dejan Vuletic

Global CWD Repository

The key factors of the application of the airborne remote sensing technology for humanitarian demining are the minefield indicators [1] or the indicators of mine presence and the indicators of mine absence [2] and the analytical assessment of the contamination by the landmines [3]. The basic simple concept of the minefield indicators was given in [1], where it was related to the ordinary physical features of the artificial and natural objects in the mine suspicious area. Similar concept was used in other works, while in [2] were introduced signatures of the minefield indicators and additional contextual features. The signatures depend …

April Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Cambodia's Curse” by Joel Brinkley. Foreign Affairs. March/April 2009.

Cursing Cambodia, Charli Carpenter

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Joel Brinkley has written a heartbreaking piece in Foreign Affairs about Cambodian society thirty-five years after Pol Pot. We are presented with anecdote after anecdote about historical trauma, corruption, and poverty. It’s a depressing picture, and an important country case to have on the US’ foreign policy radar screen.

No Show, Mark Gibney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

For someone of my generation, any mention of Cambodia conjures up a jumble of images and emotions—albeit, nearly all from the distant past. Always appearing, but in no particular order, would be: the revelation of Nixon’s secret war; the killings at Kent State; strikes that closed down a number of American college campuses; Pol Pot; the seemingly endless debate whether to use the term Cambodia or the more radical “Kampuchea”; Prince Sihanouk; and last but certainly not least: the Khmer Rouge as the personification of a Third World liberation movement.

New Government In Cambodia, Tyler Moselle

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The government of Cambodia is replete with corruption and does not respond adequately to the needs of its citizens according to Joel Brinkley’s Foreign Affairs article “Cambodia’s Curse.” Pol Pot, the killing fields, and the Khmer Rouge still linger in the memories of most Americans when Cambodia’s name is mentioned. Yet, the country is currently languishing in the arms of an unresponsive governing elite whose fortunes may continue to improve due to oil and continuous aid grafting.

Children's Health Insurance Program: The Dynamics Of Federalism And Health Care Policy, Erik White

Political Science Theses and Capstones

On February 4^th, 2009, President Obama signed into law the reauthorization of the Children Health Insurance Program. The federal government will now spend 30 billion dollars towards the goal of ensuring that more children in the United States are insured. I investigate this particular health care policy and look at the different dynamics that affect the ultimate goal of universal health insurance for children. Because this program allows for state flexibility under broad federal guidelines, one is able to look at individual states, and their particular actions and characteristics, to determine the best approach to insuring the most …

Educational Vouchers And Academic Performance, Nicole Kvidera

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Every time our elected representatives are looking at budget, or election time rolls around, or a family is considering moving, the topic of education is in the thoughts and on the minds of many. Over the years there have been many different education reforms and proposed ideas. This presentation will go in-depth into one such educational reform idea. Educational vouchers have been studied in various ways over the years; the data for this study comes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and gathered over the course of years. The data gathered allows one to compare students in Milwaukee Public Schools and students that …

Geneva International Centre For Humanitarian Demining 2008 Annual Report, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Annual narrative report on the work of the GICHD in 2008.

Linking Mine Action And Development | National Mine Action Centres, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Mine action programmes often are not linked early and strongly enough with key development actors. Despite the availability of extensive research documenting the need for greater coordination between mine action and development organisations, concrete guidance for practitioners and policy-makers on how to link mine action with development has been lacking. In response, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Development has published guidelines on how to ensure mine action promotes development in mine-affected countries. More specifically, the guidelines seek to:

• Increase awareness that landmines and other remnants of conflict block development in many affected countries

• Strengthen coordination between mine action and …