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.
Victim Assistance In Peru,
2011
The Polus Center for Social & Economic Development
Victim Assistance In Peru, Theresa Kane
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Landmines still plague parts of Peru as a result of the 1980–92 internal conflict with the Shining Path (in Spanish, Sendero Luminoso), guerrillas and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. This article examines the work of the Polus Center in its victim-assistance efforts which strive to provide landmine survivors with the tools they need to reintegrate into society and earn a viable income.
Daniel Yuval: A Survivor’S Hope,
2011
Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR)
Daniel Yuval: A Survivor’S Hope, Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Just a little more than a year since an explosion blew off his right leg, Daniel Yuval has experienced unprecedented success in prompting Israel to take action against landmines. His call to the Israeli Parliament, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to remove landmines has resulted in a majority-sponsored bill in Parliament to establish a landmine-removal agency.
Victim Assistance And Inclusive Livelihoods,
2011
Handicap International
Victim Assistance And Inclusive Livelihoods, Wanda M. Jaime
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Handicap International first started its operations in the Thai-Cambodia border refugee camps in 1982. At that time, the organization’s main focus was physical rehabilitation. However, over the years, HI has adopted a more comprehensive approach that can be exemplified by a livelihoods project specifically targeting Cambodia’s victims of mines/explosive remnants of war. This article explores the links between the international victim-assistance legal and policy framework and field practice through the experience of the Towards Sustainable Income Generating Activities for Landmine/ERW Victims project.
Somalia: Working In High-Risk Environments And Fragile States,
2011
Danish Refugee Council
Somalia: Working In High-Risk Environments And Fragile States, Ann Mary Olsen
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
As the security situation continues to deteriorate in Somalia, humanitarian organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to achieve their desired results. Working conditions for these organizations in Somalia are particularly harsh, even when compared to those in other developing countries. Humanitarian-aid workers must accept these risks as a fundamental requirement of their involvement, and donors must be prepared to take more chances in these environments as well.
