Public Policy Commons^™

Detection Of Landmines By Dogs: Environmental And Behavioural Determinants, Ian Mclean, Rebecca Sargisson, Ian Mansfield

Global CWD Repository

The overall aim of the study was to explore the effects of environmental variables on mine detection by dogs. Operational mine detection dogs were used to search for mines in a test mine field, near Kabul, Afghanistan. The key variable used in the analysis was whether a mine was found or missed by the dog. Measured during the study were: o Weather patterns through the year of the study. Weather variables (temperature, wind, humidity) at the time the dog crossed the mine. Dog behaviour. Vegetation over the mine. A soil sample was taken from over the mine and from a …

Regional Cooperation In Mine Action: The Case Of South-Eastern Europe, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Mine action has tended to develop on a national basis. However, the experience of South-Eastern Europe has shown that a broader, regional approach can bring greater effectiveness and efficiency to mine action projects and programmes.

The main achievements of this regional approach have been to lower costs for demining (especially through international competitive bidding) while seeking to promote a high quality of work, in particular through the quality management processes of the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF). The ITF also believes that its work has improved donor strategies for the region as well as priority …

A Review Of Ten Years Assistance To The Mine Action Programme In Mozambique, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Mine action has played a role in Mozambique's achievements over the past decade by opening infrastructure networks, reducing the toll of casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), assisting landline survivors, and clearing hazards that posed a danger to lives and a constraint on development for many communities. As is true for most activities in Mozambique, observers with the benefit of hindsight can point to many ways in which mine action organisations and the programme overall could have done better. But in broad terms, the outcomes are positive. Casualties are down dramatically, and travel in the country is basically unimpeded …

In-Country Trials Cambodia: Minehound, Arnold Schoolderman

Global CWD Repository

In the framework of the in-country trials of the hand-held dual-sensor system Minehound in Cambodia, tests additional to the main trials are executed. In this document two of these additional tests are reported. Both are blind tests. In the first test the ability of the local deminers to discriminate mine-like targets from indigenous clutter with the help of the Minehound is examined. In the second test the ability of these deminers to discriminate adjacently buried low-metal targets and targets that contain a lot of metal, is investigated. These tests were executed mid August 2005 at the test site that was …

Ddasaccident523, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Details of this accident have been withheld by the demining NGO that employed the Victim. A spreadsheet including the Victim’s name and very brief details of the accident was made available in 2007. Some details can be inferred from the information released. For example, the face injury implies that the victim’s visor was not being worn in the correct manner.

Optimizing Mine Action Policies And Practice, Alan Bryden

Global CWD Repository

Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) affect communities and individuals long after conflicts end and therefore have a profound effect on opportunities for post-conflict peacebuilding. In the immediate post-conflict phase the presence, or simply the threat, of landmines can hamper refugee return and the implementation of humanitarian assistance programmes. They pose a long-term social, economic and environmental threat that denies the use of fertile land and access to water and affects flows of people, goods and services. There is also an important security risk from abandoned explosive ordnance stockpiles or caches which, if not properly secured or destroyed following the end …

Socio-Economic Baseline Survey, Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Final Draft Report, Danchurchaid

Global CWD Repository

Socio-economic baseline assessment of humanitarian mine action in Nuba mountains which will be used by DanChurchAid to inform development initiatives in future.

Mine Detection Dogs: Operations

Global CWD Repository

The study is laid out as four case studies of five organisations (two organisations in Croatia are described in one case study). A commentary is included in each case study as a discussion, and summarising comments are made in the final chapter.

Readers will recognise that each case study is essentially a snapshot of the operational structure of the organisation at the time that the study was done. MDD technology is still in development and all MDD systems are constantly being reviewed and updated. Several of the programmes studied here have undergone significant restructuring since the study was done. Thus …

Mine Detections Dogs: Operations - Case Studies Of Operational Systems, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The study is laid out as four case studies of five organisations (two organisations in Croatia are described in one case study). A commentary is included in each case study as a discussion, and summarising comments are made in the final chapter. Readers will recognise that each case study is essentially a snapshot of the operational structure of the organisation at the time that the study was done. Each study took about a month to complete (including report writing) and seasonal and other limitations meant that it took several years to complete the series of studies. In each case, the …

A Study Of Scrap Metal Collection In Lao Pdr, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

This report sets out a basic analysis of the components of the scrap metal trade, the relationship between the scrap metal trade and UXO accidents, and the different forms of response that currently work to mitigate such accidents. It also examines the humanitarian, economic, administrative and legal context that must necessarily frame any response to this issue. The study identifies certain key areas around which decisions will need to be made in any determination of the way forward.

Ddasaccident522, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The primary cause of this accident is listed as “Unavoidable” because it is possible that the Victim was working properly in the way that he was trained, and that he was also using a long and blast resistant tool when the accident occurred.

Ddasaccident576, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

…one professional deminer working for a private demining company… was …injured during submunition disposal … in 2005.. [in the city] Industrial zone, Niš… Niš, the third largest city in Serbia and one of the most heavily affected by the bombings, suffered almost daily strikes in the course of the 78-day-long air campaign.

Ddasaccident578, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Initial reports state that [the victim of the first accident] was working in his lane when he initiated an unknown item. The size of the blast would indicate a partial or fuse assembly. A few seconds later, a larger explosion was heard, where [the Victim of this accident] had moved from his lane to assist [the first Victim]. [The Victim of this accident] moved using the shortest possible route, through uncleared area.

A Study Of Manual Mine Clearance, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Manual mine clearance is the fundamental tenet of mine action, yet has never been thoroughly analysed. The GICHD has managed a study into manual mine clearance analysing the history, management, methodologies and systems in use, risk assessment and risk management of the process and product and costings of manual mine clearance programmes. The report published shows that, whilst safety has improved significantly since the early days of mine clearance, there are still room for improvements in many areas. The study identifies positive examples of innovation and novel techniques that improve productivity and ultimately value for the donor and end user …

Evaluation Of The Unmee Mine Action Coordination Centre, Frans Anema, Johanes Dirscherl, Ted Paterson, Phil Bean

Global CWD Repository

This evaluation was commissioned by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) via the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which issued a request for proposals to eight organizations on September 2, 2004. On the basis of these proposals, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) was selected to conduct the evaluation. GICHD fielded a four member evaluation team, led by an independent consultant, to complete the assignment.

Ddasaccident524, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Details of this accident have been withheld by the demining NGO that employed the Victim. A spreadsheet including the Victim’s name and very brief details of the accident was made available in 2007. Some details can be inferred from the information released. For example, the severe facial injury indicates that a visor was not worn by the Victim.

Ddasaccident772, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

“On the 28th of June 2005 [Demining group] QRT did a bulk demolition before going on stand-down. Most of the ammunition went to high order but 3 grenades went to low order and was destroyed by a second demolition. In one of the sandbags apparently one fuse was stuck after the demolition and was not discovered by the deminers when they checked the area after non exploded devices. The fuse probably went off by the heat from the fire and injured a deminer in his left arm and in his back with small metal pieces.

Ddasaccident538, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

After the team had located all metal scrap and rests from the destroyed ammunition by raking the whole demolition area and checking inside the broken sandbags that was used as protection during the demolition, they started to clean the area from the broken sandbags and vegetation. The team started to burn all the collected sandbags and vegetation. In one of the sandbags apparently one fuse was stuck after the demolition and was not discovered by the deminers when they checked the area after non exploded devices. The fuse probably went of by the heat from the fire and injured a …

Mine Action And Effective Coordination: The United Nations Inter-Agency Policy, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

This document updates and replaces the document entitled Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy, endorsed by the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action (IACG-MA) in 1998 and amended in 1999. The policy seeks to apply General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and presidential statements to the work of the United Nations in the area of mine action. It is informed by relevant international treaties, the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), and 15 years of collective knowledge, expertise, and lessons learned of the United Nations mine action team1 , governments, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), international organisations and regional organisations. …

Mid-Term Outcome Evaluation For Strengthening National Capacity For Mine Action In Yemen - Phase Ii, Ted Paterson

Global CWD Repository

The mine action programme in Yemen is showing a depth of maturity that is comparable to the best mine action programmes in the world. Since the first convening of the high-level National Mine Action Committee in June 1998 and the establishment of the Yemeni Executive Mine Action Centre in January 1999, the programme has evolved in all directions, and shows results at the outcome level that reveal focus and clarity of purpose. The fundamental reason for the progress achieved is, without any doubt, the strong commitment of the Government. This commitment is not only revealed through the establishment of a …

Ddasaccident755, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Saturday, 7 May 2005, at 10:20 a.m. local time, [Demining group] suffered a mine accident in the manual clearance teams deployed at the Nhaapua site, Chibabava district, Sofala Province, Mozambique. A deminer, working in his lane detonated a AP Gyata mine while conducting manual clearance.

Operational Evaluation Test Of Mine Neutralization Systems, Ida, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Office Of The Assistant Secretary Of Defense Special Operations And Low-Intensity Conflict

Global CWD Repository

During the Fiscal Year 2003 Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program Requirements Refinement Workshop, expert deminers expressed a need for a costbenefit and performance analysis for currently available deflagration (burning) and high-order (non-explosive binary mixture) mine neutralization systems, which carry fewer shipping restrictions compared with tradition explosives commonly used for mine neutralization. In response to this request, the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Acquisition Center-Washington, D.C., published a Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) (formerly Commerce Business Daily) announcement (solicitation number W909MY-04-T0003) on 21 January 2004 on behalf of the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Command (CERDEC), Night Vision and Electronic Sensors …

Hd R&D Field Evaluation: Mantis, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development

Global CWD Repository

The success of the Mine Clearing Survivable Vehicle (MCSV) Proof of Performance Test was the result of the efforts of a large team of people from a number of organizations. The organizations involved were the U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) Humanitarian Demining (HD) Research and Development Office located at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia; the International Test and Evaluation Program for Humanitarian Demining (ITEP); and Pearson Engineering Ltd, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. This test was also a U.S. sponsored ITEP Test (ITEP Work Plan Number 3.2.5.). During the first phase of testing in August 2004, the Project Director, …

Operational Evaluation Test Report On Beaver Micro-Vegetation Cutter, Institute For Defense Analysis, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Office Of The Assistant Secretary Of Defense Special Operations And Low-Intensity Conflict

Global CWD Repository

The Micro-Vegetation Cutter (MVC) system was tested in the late summer and early fall of 2004 at a U.S. Army Countermine development site in central Virginia. The MVC project was funded by the U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), Countermine Division, Humanitarian Demining (HD) Research and Development Office located at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. The MVC system, consisting of a remote-controlled vegetation cutter vehicle and a command vehicle, is the product of the project engineer, Mr. J. Michael Collins. Mr. Collins was responsible for the concept, its design, and directed the MVC’s fabrication. All work was performed in …

What Rights For Mine Victims? Reparation, Compensation: From Legal Analysis To Political Perspectives., Hi

Global CWD Repository

The work that we are presenting today is not only a legal exploration of current or future possibilities, of difficulties and pitfalls, outrageous oversights. It should also be seen as an indignant protest against the nonchalance of States and the producers of lethal devices, little inclined to acknowledge and assume their responsibilities. It should also be heard as an appeal to organisations and authorities specialised in the accompaniment of victims, particularly legal accompaniment, to take up this issue. Finally, it is a way of saying to victims that their determination is not in vain, that political intent constantly needs pointing …

Ddasaccident521, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

This accident is classed as a “Missed-mine accident” because the mine was presumably either missed during survey or during clearance. It is presumed that demining group included it in their spreadsheet of demining accidents because the area should have been cleared.

Post War Legacy And Poverty: Case Study Of The Landmine/Uxo Problem In Rural Communities In Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, Duong Trong Hue

Global CWD Repository

Examines the links between postwar landmine/UXO contamination and poverty in two communes of Quang Tri Province.

Global Assessment Of Ec Mine Action Policy And Actions 2002-2004, Russell Gasser, Robert Keeley

Global CWD Repository

The Anti-Personnel Landmine Regulation mandates an overall assessment of all EC mine action every three years. This report contains the first such assessment for the period 2002-2004. The total funding by all EC budget lines for 2002-2004 for mine action was about 116M, of which the horizontal mine action budget line was nearly 40% at 45M. The total for the same period for all EU mine action, including contributions by Member States, was about 410M, of which the dedicated budget line is just 11%. The overall assessment reviewed four areas: 1) how the APL Regulation was used to generate mine …

Hd R&D Field Evaluation: Rotary Mine Comb, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Christopher Wanner

Global CWD Repository

This report documents the field testing of two vehicle-based, mine clearing systems both of which are based on the use of the Rotary Mine Combing Tool (RMCT). The test was designed to expand upon the body of knowledge developed by the maker of the RMCT as well as incorporate performance data related to the implementation of the tool in the two vehicles chosen to host the systems and elements of an operational concept for employment of the systems.

The Rotary Mine Comb is an innovative tool capable of gently extricating buried objects from the soil and pushing them to the …

Ddasaccident480, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The team will continue to destroy the bomb and they ordered [the Victim], deminer at the safety point (Pressing point) to bring equipments including C4 and electronic detonator to the SEOD and Section commander to destroy the booster of 750 Lbs . When [the Victim] reached the site and handed over the C4, the section commander ordered him to stay at the safety point. The SEOD and the section leader continued their tasks; the SEOD was explaining how to connect the detonator and preparing the C4. While they placing the C4 on the fuze of the 750 Lbs, they heard …