Jim Lawrence Named Director Of Pm/Wra,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
Jim Lawrence Named Director Of Pm/Wra, Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
On 8 May 2011, James (Jim) F. Lawrence was appointed Director of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA).
New Prosthetics Offer Hope In Sudan,
2011
Project Hope Sudan
New Prosthetics Offer Hope In Sudan, Mohammad Ismail
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Unfortunately for amputees in developing countries, poverty and disability go hand-in-hand. Limb loss can make it extremely difficult for victims to provide for themselves and their families. From this reality came the inspiration for Sudanpro, an inexpensive and durable prosthetic developed by the author, an orthotist and prosthetist working with Project Hope Sudan.
Unifil Peacekeeping In Southern Lebanon,
2011
United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre
Unifil Peacekeeping In Southern Lebanon, Christina Greene
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Since 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has been working to help bring peace and security to the region. UNIFIL began humanitarian mine-action activities and cluster-munitions clearance in Lebanon in 2006. It also began to demine parts of the Blue Line, which is the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon. This overview discusses a few UNIFIL projects
Capacity Building In Western Sahara,
2011
Action on Armed Violence
Capacity Building In Western Sahara, Penelope Caswell
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Action on Armed Violence (formerly Landmine Action) is the only nonprofit organization that has carried out humanitarian mine-action activities (including survey, marking, battle-area clearance and explosive-ordnance disposal) in Frente POLISARIO-controlled Western Sahara since 2006. This article provides an overview of AOAV’s capacity-building efforts through its Mine Action Programme, which focus heavily on training national staff to efficiently identify and remove dangerous items threatening the safety of the Saharawi population, U.N. personnel and international visitors.
Building Knowledge And Partnerships In Erw Action,
2011
James Madison University
Building Knowledge And Partnerships In Erw Action, Jonah Shepp
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
As Jordan nears the completion of its mine-clearance activities, its national authority is working to reinvent itself as an international center of expertise in mine and explosive-remnants-of-war action. With funding from the United States Department of State, Jordan’s National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation developed a comprehensive training course for senior managers to help other countries replicate Jordan’s success in dealing with mines and ERW.
Modifying Imsma Training: The Mine Action Information Management Qualification Scheme,
2011
Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
Modifying Imsma Training: The Mine Action Information Management Qualification Scheme, Aurora Martinez, Daniel Eriksson
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The Mine Action Information Management Qualification Scheme (MIQ) is a new training tool for the Information Management System for Mine Action. It was created in response to the Next Generation version of IMSMA, the newest version of the system. The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining eliminated the rigid and unnecessary parts of the training-system in order to make MIQ more user-friendly. The MIQ scheme is currently being incorporated into several countries’ information-management programs, but it could still use input as it is being refined and implemented.
Victim-Assistance History In International Humanitarian Law: From Somalia To Geneva To Laos,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
Victim-Assistance History In International Humanitarian Law: From Somalia To Geneva To Laos, Ken Rutherford
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In the following article, Ken Rutherford, Director of JMU’s Center for International Stabilization and Recovery and a landmine survivor, examines how victim assistance has changed and argues that while victim assistance is a more integral element of mine action today than ever before, there is yet room to move forward.
Making A Case For Strategic Analysis In Erw/Mine-Action Training,
2011
James Madison University (JMU)
Making A Case For Strategic Analysis In Erw/Mine-Action Training, Paula S. Daly, Suzanne Fiederlein
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
As an essential element of training for managerial decision-making, case studies provide managers with applicable scenarios that benefit the professional, day-to-day lives of people working in the explosive-remnants-of-war/mine-action community. While class sessions provide pertinent instruction on how to react to potential scenarios, the opportunity to use that knowledge in well-constructed examples proves highly useful for personnel. This article reports the steps taken to implement appropriate case studies for CISR’s Senior Managers’ Course in ERW and Mine Actionand the results.
Assisting Cluster Munition Victims: A New International Standard,
2011
Embassy of Austria
Assisting Cluster Munition Victims: A New International Standard, Markus Reiterer
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The Convention on Cluster Munitions adopted a number of innovative approaches to victim assistance which are, nonetheless, firmly rooted in long-standing experience in this field. By addressing human suffering in a disarmament treaty and linking its provisions to human rights and humanitarian law, the CCM truly constitutes a milestone in the efforts of the international community toward humanitarian disarmament. The CCM contains an entire package of provisions that aim to assist cluster munition victims and establish clear responsibilities for doing so. Now the crucial phase of implementing the legal text begins.
Using Encapsulated Fluorescent Bioprobes To Detect Explosive Materials In Soil,
2011
U.S. Army ERDC
Using Encapsulated Fluorescent Bioprobes To Detect Explosive Materials In Soil, Clint Smith, Joel Tabb
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
This article examines the methods involved in using fluorescent bioprobes to detect explosive devices within soil. By genetically modifying plants through the injection of certain chemicals, visible responses indicate the presence and placement of explosive material, aiding demining agents in the process of mapping and removing various landmines or other explosive remnants of war. The adoption of these tools proves useful for stand-off detection of low TNT concentrations in the laboratory and controlled microcosm studies.
White Phosphorus Disposal In The Gaza Strip,
2011
United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)
White Phosphorus Disposal In The Gaza Strip, Kerei Ruru, Mark Alan Russell
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
White phosphorus disposal in a central demolition site is a difficult task when faced with storage limitations, environmental and humanitarian issues, as well as a complex political and security situation. Despite these constraints, this article describes the innovative and specialized demolition techniques used in removing and destructing WP unexploded ordnance in the Gaza Strip over the period of March–May 2010.
In Remembrance: Mark Fitzpatrick,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
In Remembrance: Mark Fitzpatrick, Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Mark Fitzpatrick—“Fitzy” to his friends—was killed during a weapons demolition operation in Afghanistan’s Parwan province on 20 November 2010. Fitzy, a 34-year-old British deminer, worked with DynCorp International, a global government-services provider, as part of its weapons removal and abatement team.
The Rise In Terrorist Attacks In The Western Sahara,
2011
Cabinet of the Mauritanian National Army
The Rise In Terrorist Attacks In The Western Sahara, Mohamed Taghioullah Ould Nema
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The Mauritanian government is taking steps to prevent Al-Qaeda’s terrorist acts, including suicide bombings and kidnappings in the region. Added to this threat are the explosives Al-Qaeda obtains from landmines and unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the region after years of conflict in Western Sahara. The United Nations Development Programme and various countries work to remove these landmines and items of UXO, which is complicated by the lack of a Landmine Impact Survey to access the contamination’s extent.
In Remembrance: Mehdi Mohammad Haraz,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
In Remembrance: Mehdi Mohammad Haraz, Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
On 26 October 2010, fragments of a cluster bomb killed Mehdi Mohammad Haraz, a Lebanese national working for Peace Generation Organization for Demining, while attempting to clear a cluster bomb-infested tobacco field in Yater, Southern Lebanon.
In Remembrance: Omar Bani-Salem,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
In Remembrance: Omar Bani-Salem, Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Omar Bani-Salem, a Jordanian deminer, was killed on 21 December 2010 by the uncontrolled detonation of an M-19 anti-tank mine. Bani-Salem was clearing a minefield on the border between Jordan and Syria as part of the Norwegian People’s Aid Northern Border Demining Project when the explosion occurred.
Endnotes Issue 15.1,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
Endnotes Issue 15.1, Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Endnotes Issue 15.1
Peer Support And Recovery From Limb Loss In Post-Conflict Settings,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
Peer Support And Recovery From Limb Loss In Post-Conflict Settings, Cameron Macauley, Marcia Townsend, Melissa Freeman, Brent Maxwell
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In this article, the authors describe an unprecedented study on peer support services for landmine survivors and victims of explosive remnants of war based on the strategic approach implemented by Survivor Corps, in which survivors were trained to provide psychosocial assistance to other survivors. The study’s methodology is thoroughly explained and analyzed by the authors.
The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 15.2 (2011),
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 15.2 (2011), Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Victim Assistance | Deminers on the Frontline | Information Systems and GIS Mapping | Notes from the Field | Research and Development
Survivor Heroes Heal Lives And Landscapes Throughout The World,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
Survivor Heroes Heal Lives And Landscapes Throughout The World, Ken Rutherford
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Landmine and traumatic-accident victims and their families face numerous recovery obstacles in any setting, but in a post-conflict setting resources may be scarce. Victims must deal with emotional and psychological trauma, often for years after the event. These challenges range from physical limitations and psychological aftermath to the economic impact on their livelihoods. Some victims take their traumatic experience—which is one in which the victim is terrified, afraid for him or herself as well as for others, temporarily helpless, humiliated, and isolated—and apply them to assisting other victims through activism and support.
Paved With Good Intentions: The Realities Of “Safe” Versus “Free”,
2011
Golden West Humanitarian Foundation Humanitarian Foundation
Paved With Good Intentions: The Realities Of “Safe” Versus “Free”, Roger West
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Government-initiated landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance policies often dictate unrealistic standards and goals that differ from the practical reality of landmine/UXO removal. The end use of the land, as well as the variables of munitions deterioration due to aging and environment, and the level of expected risk should be considered in landmine/UXO policy-making.
