June 2014 E-Newsletter No. 16

Foreword Foreword Miss Kurdistan turns deminer

Siraj Barzani * Ako Aziz Hamad* variety of challenges facing long term strategic planning enik Mu- A continue looming in the ho- hammad Ab- rizon in all circumstances affecting dulKarim, 25, the efficient achievement of program F who is originally from mission statement. External political the Kurdistan region’s and economic threats in particular second largest city, may result in considerable disrup- Slemani, then immi- tions in the normal course of pro- grated to Switzerland, gram implementation. Here in Kurdistan Region-, one was crowned the sec- such threat has been the lengthy and ond ever Miss Kurdis- unusual delay in the approval process tan in , capital of of Iraq’s 2014 budget. The delay has the Kurdistan region, severely harmed the projects imple- on Sep. 27, 2013. mented in the country; all new proj- The ceremony was ects have been brought to a halt while attended by interna- previously approved ongoing projects tional judges as well suffer considerable delays or are even as singers, actors and suspended. foreign diplomats and The situation is further aggravated in guests among them the Kurdistan Region of Iraq due to Miss Greece and Miss the Federal Government’s political Albania. decision to willingly breach the 2013 In partnership with budget law and cut off salaries and Zagros TV, a Kurdish pensions of public service employees satellite channel, Miss working in the Region. Kurdistan 2014 lived In terms of clearance operations, even a full deminer’s day though demining projects implement- starting from an early ed by private sector companies are no morning departure to exception to the general climate de- scribed above, nonetheless IKMAA’s a minefield in order direct implementation teams continue to learn about this their clearance operations at 100% ca- profession and high- pacity in DMAC areas and around one light its importance in third capacity in EMAC and SMAC Kurdistan. areas of responsibility. All other activ- During the visit which ities continue normally and clearance took place on June 5, education officer, meeting with a group operations in EMAC and SMAC are 2014, Miss Kurdistan received a brief of women, children and men in a village also expected to return to normal af- about the demining process and espe- affected by Mines/ERW. ter IKMAA secures funds for its hired cially the duties of a deminer. Wearing In the last stage of her demining tour, vehicles. PPE and handling a mine detector, she she paid a visit to a disabled person who For Kurdistan in these times of cri- experienced firsthand the daily life of a lost his fingers in 2005 due to tamper- sis, the stakes are high and the waters deminer. ing with mines when he was a shepherd. rough but the constitutional guaran- She immediately noticed the predomi- She took this opportunity to highlight tees secured for the Kurdish people in nantly male nature of the profession the importance of adhering to safety in- Iraq are solid enough for the people in Kurdistan and believed that female structions at all times. of Kurdistan to be confident that the deminers could perfectly live up to the She also confirmed that disturbing current stand-off between the central challenge and that Kurdish social code minefields is dangerous and that no one government in Baghdad and KRG in and traditional culture were eroding any should tamper with mines randomly: Erbil can only end in a peaceful reso- interest from female candidates to apply “Mine clearance is a professional career lution to their advantage and in the best interest of Iraq’s development for this perilous job. and only authorized deminers are able to and prosperity. Mine Action and all During the same day, Miss Kurdistan do this job” She noted. She wished safe- other sectors alike have a bright future 2014 was acquainted with IKMAA’s ty and good health for all those living in in Kurdistan. MRE program which contrary to dem- affected areas. ining, boasts a considerable number of * Head of IKMAA female team leaders and team members. *Director of MRE/IKMAA-HQ She played herself the role of a mine risk [email protected] No. 16 E-Newsletter The Deminer Post June 2014 2

Vietnamese delegation visits IKMAA

Ako Aziz Hamad* of contaminated areas in Kurdistan firmed hazardous areas in Soran dis- region, the way demining teams are trict on May 21. group of Vietnamese mine ac- deployed and how operations are con- After acquiring the necessary informa- tion experts paid a visit to Iraqi ducted. IKMAA’s future program and tion on IKMAA technical affairs, clear- A Kurdistan Mine Action Agency working plans for the coming year ance methods and detailed procedures (IKMAA) in Erbil city on May 20, were also explained to the visiting del- of accreditation for international dem- 2014. The delegation was received egation. ining companies, the delegation mem- by head of IKMAA, Siraj Barzani, his The delegation members stayed for bers indicated their interest to bring in deputy, Ali Hamad Bag, and a number one week giving enough time to be Vietnamese private sector companies of IKMAA’s Board of Administration introduced into the various aspects of for work in Kurdistan. members. the mine action program in Kurdistan The delegation then visited Chamber The delegation held several meetings region. of Commerce in Kurdistan region and aiming at learning from IKMAA’s The visitors who arrived in Kurdistan met with representatives of a number experience in the areas of institution through the Slemani international Air- of commercial companies. building, commercial demining, legal port, stopped at Slemani Mine Action and contracting issues as well as IK- Center first and visited some mined *Director of MRE/IKMAA-HQ MAA accreditation policy. The delega- areas on May 18. They then moved to [email protected] tion also learned about the condition Erbil and visited some additional con- No. 16 E-Newsletter The Deminer Post June 2014 3 IKMAA sets up new branch Community based Mine Risk Education in Garmiyan project in Duhok

Nizar Saeed Salih*

ine Risk Education (MRE) re- mains a fundamental pillar of MMine Action in the KRG Mine Action Program with continued sensitiza- tion campaigns towards target groups that are at risk both for their lives and properties in contaminated areas scattered throughout the Kurdistan region. IKMAA MRE pro- gram continuously attempts new methods which aim at raising the awareness level of the affected population. Community based mine risk education (CBMRE) is one of such methods that indi- rectly disseminates Mines/ERW risk educa- tion. In this project, MRE is offered based on the cooperation and the support from members of the communities. The purpose of CBMRE is to empower members in the community so they can help their own com- munities voluntarily in raising their aware- ness about Mines/ERW risks and to work on changing hazardous behaviors of at risk groups. This project effectively helps in reducing risks in communities affected by Mines/ERW. In Duhok governorate, CBMRE is reach- ing out to 30 villages (communities) within Ahmed Fatah Wali* In Garmiyan which includes 26 sub-dis- which 47 volunteers work as MRE volun- tricts and more than 230 villages, there teer focal points in the communities. armiyan Mine Action Center are 718 minefields covering 80 million A focal point is often an indigenous inhabit- (GMAC) is the forth IKMAA square meters. Existence of mines and ant (man or women) who accepts to work GMine Action Center to be up and explosives remnants of war in this area voluntarily and thus dedicating some of her/ running in Kurdistan Region-Iraq. It was can be traced back to 1960s as a result his time for disseminating safety behaviors inaugurated as a new branch of Iraqi of Iraqi central governments’ forces com- and mine risk education in their community. Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) to relieve bating Kurdish liberation fighters and The focal point is preferably a known and some workload on SMAC (Slemani Mine densely along border areas because of the respected person who has been living in the Action Center) which was previously in Iraq-Iran war, 1980-1988. community for a long period of time. This charge of a vast contaminated territory in More than 1200 people in Garmiyan person must be active and well aware about Kurdistan Region-Iraq. GMAC will now have fallen victims to Mines/ERW (dead the behaviors of the community members. take on some of that challenge by intensi- or injured). Below are a number of indicative responsi- fying demining activities in remote war- The creation of GMAC is expected to bilities of CBMRE community focal points: torn areas in Garmiyan. boost demining and MRE activities in - Collecting information about the commu- The opening of the new GMAC Direc- a number of former SMAC areas of re- nity. torate General was declared in an of- sponsibility with a considerable impact - Observing and noticing issues that have relations with Mines/ERW. ficial ceremony on November 7, 2013 on accelerating different humanitarian - Delivering messages and awareness infor- in a new building in the town of Kalar, and infrastructure building projects de- mation to different age/gender/profession center of Garmiyan administration. Mr. livered to Garmian people by different groups (women, men, children, shepherds, Jalal Shekh Jafar has joined the IKMAA KRG ministries. Bearing in mind that farmers, tourists, etc.). Board of Administration in his capacity Garmian has been one of the worst hit - Encouraging safety behavior at all times. as the new Director General of GMAC. parts of Kurdistan by the infamous for- - Encouraging changing hazardous ac- Garmiyan is a fairly vast territory un- mer Baghdad regime genocidal cam- tivities that may result in unwanted conse- der KRG administration which encom- paigns known as Anfal, the KRG is giv- quences; this can be achieved through de- passes parts of several Iraqi governor- ing priority to this underdeveloped area livering awareness and also by asking help ates. Garmiyan is run under the auspices to catch up with other parts of Kurdsitan from community leaders. of the Kurdistan Regional Government Region-Iraq in term of infrastructure de- - Collecting information about newcomers (KRG) independently from Sulaiman- velopment. GMAC will enjoy KRG’s to the village. yah governorate. This administration independent dedication of funds and hu- - Coordination with the community in solv- includes a number of districts within Sle- man resources to be used in supporting ing daily problems. mani and Kirkuk provinces such as Kalar Garmiyan development. - Reporting anything that is in relations and Chamchmal as well as a number of with Mines/ERW to IKMAA MRE teams. districts known as disputed areas such as Kanaqin and Kifri in Diyala province and * Director of Media/SMAC * MRE Operations Manager/DMAC [email protected] Duz-Khurmatu in Salahaddin province. [email protected] No. 16 E-Newsletter The Deminer Post June 2014 4 MAG activities for Syrian refugees

Members of MAG Community Liaison staff delivering Risk Education in Domiz refugee MAG Mechanical asset excavating contaminated land in support of Explosive Ordnance camp. Disposal team in Bajid Kandal, Dohuk By: Nina Seecharan* 2,318,633 m2 of land in support of ex- nity Liaison staff working with communi- pansion and establishment/expansion of ties outside camps. This will help to keep n response to the Syrian crisis, MAG refugee camps at Domiz and Gawelan and refugees safe within the region, and will has expanded existing operations so the reception centre at Bajid Kandal; most also help prepare for the return to Syria Ithat the benefits of its activities can recently conducting clearance in support where there is a likelihood of coming into reach Syrian refugees as well as local of the expansion of Domiz camp in Febru- contact with ERW as a consequence of the communities within the Kurdistan Region ary 2014. In total, over 1,000 items have civil conflict. The teams have delivered of Iraq (KR-I). been safely removed and destroyed. In ad- almost 1500 sessions inside Domiz, Akre, Building on the experience and knowledge dition, MAG has responded to calls after Gawelan and Bajid Kandala reaching ap- gained since commencing humanitarian finding dangerous items in Akre and in proximately over 50,000 Syrian refugees demining activities in KR-I in 1992, MAG Arbat refugee camp. with lifesaving messages. has been working to protect the lives and As Syrian families and groups lack es- limbs of Syrian refugees entering the re- sential familiarity and knowledge in re- * Country Director/MAG-Iraq gion from Syria. MAG is engaging in two lation to the dangers of explosive rem- [email protected] key activities: the delivery of risk educa- nants of war (ERW), there is an increased tion to women, girls, men and boys; and, need to raising awareness of the dangers the clearance of land for the safe construc- within these vulnerable groups. In order tion and expansion of refugee camps. to provide sustainable messages, MAG In close coordination with IKMAA, has trained Community Risk Educators the national authorities and UNHCR, inside several camps to deliver risk edu- since 2012 MAG has released a total of cation messages, in addition to Commu- An overview of Amedi District Abid Taher * Out of 101 Mines/ERW affected District Summary Indicating Number of Mines/ communities reported in Amedi ERW affected communities and MFs medi, in terms of size, is district, 27% reported a single considered the largest dis- MF, 24% reported two MFs, Atrict in Duhok governor- 20% reported three or four MFs, District Community No. of ate. It is situated 80 km North and the remainder reported more Sub-district East of Duhok city. The district than four MFs. The vast majority Affected Unaffected MFs center, Amedi town consists of of MFs have been laid between five sub-districts: Sarsank, Dera- 1961 and 1988 by the military Kani mase 38 59 120 luk, Kani Mase, Bamerni, and forces of the Iraqi former regime. Chamanke. Out of the district’s With respect to the Mines/ERW Sarsink 20 15 67 385 villages and communities, blockage impacts in Amedi dis- 101 communities are affected by trict, the contaminated areas Deraluk 18 129 48 mines and explosive remnants mostly blocked access to agri- Bamerni 11 18 25 of war, ERW. Number of Mines/ cultural land, non-agricultural Amedi ERW affected communities per land (used for grazing animals, Chamanke 10 53 51 sub-district is as follows: Kani collecting herbs, collecting fire- District mase (38), Sarsank (20), Deraluk wood), infrastructure (roads, 4 10 20 (18), Bamerni (11), Chamanke power lines, oil prospection), and center (10), and the district center (4). also blocked access to education- 101 284 The sub-districts of Kani mase al or health services. and Sarsank encompass the high- Total 331 est number of minefields, with * Director of MRE/DMAC 385 120 and 67 respectively. [email protected] No. 16 E-Newsletter The Deminer Post June 2014 5 MRE project for educational supervisors Ako Aziz Hamad* 2012-13 academic year. In 2013, a Teach- the MRE subjects. ers’ MRE Guide was subsequently created IKMAA’s Mine Risk Education Director- n order to follow up on the Mine Risk for 2013-14 school year. ate in coordination with the Ministry of Education curriculum subjects at the For further follow-up on the mine aware- Education has already planned to follow IBasic School program, the Directorate ness subjects incorporated into the Basic up the Mine Risk Education subjects in the of Mine Risk Education at the Iraqi Kurd- School curriculum, IKMAA in cooperation school programs for 2014. istan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) con- with UNICEF, opened a number of 2-day Making children at school aware of Mine/ ducted several awareness courses for the courses for 313 administrative educational ERW potential risks and hazards is a top administrative educational supervisors at supervisors in February and March 2014 priority for IKMAA which is disseminat- Kurdistan Region’s education directorates. throughout Kurdistan Region provinces. ing knowledge and information not only A project has been prepared by experts During the courses, the content of Teach- through its own resources but also those of from IKMAA’s Mine Risk Education Di- ers ‘ Guide of Mine Risk Education were Ministries such as education which enjoy rectorate and MAG in cooperation with a explained for the participants, and at the a wide and far-reaching network of assets government committee from the Ministry end the supervisors were assigned to ex- and human resources. These resources of Education’s Directorate General of Pro- plain the teachers’ guide for the headmas- prove invaluable in helping IKMAA con- grams and Printing. ters and teachers of the schools they are vey the MRE message to target groups. Upon formulating the project funded by going to visit. The teachers teaching Ara- UNICEF, all parties joined efforts to suc- bic and , Religion, So- *Director of MRE/IKMAA-HQ cessfully integrate Mine Risk Education cial subjects, and Human Rights are those [email protected] subjects into basic school curriculums for chosen to dedicate some of their time for

DMAC demolish UXO

Mar’an Ahmed * Sometimes, mines/ERW are found by people in places where they are not sus- xplosive Ordinance Disposal pected or known to be hazardous. In such (EOD) teams safely destroyed cases, the explosives are not destroyed in Enearly13000 of mines/ERW during situ; but they are moved by professional the year 2013 both by government and teams to special demolition pits. private sector teams. The demolition teams also take into con- Daily findings of mines/ERW are handed sideration that the destruction activity over to expert teams of the Iraqi Kurdis- must not harm the environment and pri- tan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) and vate property, particularly in places with private companies in order to be demol- high and dense vegetation. ished professionally. The table below indicates some demoli- Alongside IKMAA demining teams, a tion activity details in Duhok for year number of local and international compa- 2013: nies have signed contracts with IKMAA, thus, expediting the clearance of Kurdis- * Demining Operations Manager/ DMAC tan Region contaminated lands. Current- [email protected] ly, active companies in Duhok are Ronco, Shanika, Valmara, and EOD Technology. No. Source Demolished Demolished Transported Transported A total of 428 mines of different types Mines UXO Mines UXO and 12,458 pieces of unexploded ordi- nance have been destroyed in 2013 by 1 IKMAA 143 27 27 38 IKMAA and its accredited companies. The demolition of mines/ERW is a typi- 2 Companies 247 37 277 37 cal professional activity that must be carried out only by the well trained and 3 Others 41 12394 118 2982 experienced staff and in safe and secure conditions. Total 428 12458 422 3057 No. 16 E-Newsletter The Deminer Post June 2014 6 Mines and the SMAC’s mobile theatre reconstruction process

Mukhlis Sharif*

The existence of mines in Kurdistan Region has critically affected people’s life and the process of reconstruction. It has slowed down the development of economy and infra- structure in affected areas of the Region. Although many attempts have been exerted in the past 20 years and a wide range of contaminated areas have been cleared by Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) as well as local and foreign organizations, the mines/ERW issue still remains critical due to the sheer scale of contami- nation in Kurdistan. Based on the available information and data, a large area in Erbil province, especially in the two districts of Soran and Choman have been contaminated with mines/ERW, and because of that many people have been facing damages physically and morally. In Addition to that, the contamina- tion of the land has put obstacles on the way of executing and implementing KRG’s service projects. One such obstacle is faced by the Choman-Haji Omran two- sided high way project which cross in several sectors a num- ber of minefields laid near the Iraq-Iran border. The same obstacle is slowing down the projects of road con- struction for four villages of Dolabon, Shore, Gele Zher, and Gundezhor at the Haji Omran sub-district and the project of Weze village road reconstruction. These areas were given priority by Erbil Mine Action Cen- ter (EMAC) and clearance operations have come to an end. The clearance teams, during their work in the fields and based on a quick and successful plan, were able to identify and demolish several anti-tank mines, hundreds of anti-per- sonnel mines and various unexploded ordnances. The clearance process has facilitated fulfilling roads and bridge constructions in the areas in a tangible way. At the same time, people are able to go around the former mined Muhammad Tahir Naqeeb* areas from now on without worrying about mines. These two projects in Choman are just an example of hun- n order to find new methods for conveying messages of self- dreds of other service projects in the entire region. Many protection from the threats of mines and explosives, SMAC’s other fields have been cleared from mines and explosive (Slemani Mine Action Center) Mine Risk Education (MRE) remnants of war in the past and many service projects have I Directorate in Slemani city formed a special team for educating been implemented following clearance projects. children about mine risks through mobile outdoor theatre. The team consists of actors (a female and a male) who use differ- * Demining Operations Manager/ EMAC ent animal themes for their performance to best convey safety [email protected] messages in an artistic and amusing way for school students and pupils about mine risks. This activity has been found to be an effective approach on chil- dren as the team have been contacted by the village schools in order to visit them and share with them these activities; the team has been able to respond to many of those requests and the proj- ect is ongoing in various communities. This program came as a result of holding several meetings at the Slemani Mine Action Center, and all the attendees of the meeting agreed that new approaches and techniques should be adhered to in order to convey safety messages to children and the villagers. The team started its works at the beginning of 2014. It conducts its activities daily at the villages and the remote areas. It is worth mentioning the members of the team are the graduates of Fine Arts Institute and have played roles in many dramas be- fore. They are also working as MRE officers and have been con- ducting mine risk education activities in the villages and risky places for 10 years.

* Director of MRE/ SMAC [email protected] No. 16 E-Newsletter The Deminer Post June 2014 7 EMAC launches new marking campaign

Jamal Jalal Hussein*

ue to poor quality and deteriorated state Dof marking signs originally placed by humani- tarian demining organiza- tions in the 1990s in Kurdis- tan Region, Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IK- MAA) has approved a com- prehensive set of marking projects to update and reor- ganize marking signs in all confirmed hazardous areas in the region by installing new marks and replacing the old ones. The projects will be based on Preliminary Technical Survey data (PTS) obtained by IKMAA survey teams. The projects aim at reinvigo- rating IKMAA prevention policy towards at risk groups and affected communities living near confirmed haz- ardous areas. A first such project is - cur between IKMAA and the individual minefield will be rently being implemented contractor, the latter is re- marked with one 2.5×2.0 by “Davara Pak”, an accred- quired to complete the proj- meter large billboard as ited private sector demining ect in 550 calendar days. well. The billboard contains company which won the 337 minefields within Erbil warning messages in three IKMAA marking tender in a province will be marked different languages (Kurd- competitive bidding process under this project and a to- ish, Arabic and English). at the Erbil Governorate. tal of 26,324 red triangle The minefield boundary, pic- Due to its sensitivity, this marks will be planted based ture of access road to nearby project is directly managed on International Mine Ac- communities, types of mines and supervised by EMAC tion Standards, IMAS. The and contact numbers in case teams. Every individual Tur- distance between each two of accident will be illustrated ing Point (TP) and coordi- red triangles should not be on each billboard for each nates pertaining to the loca- more than 25 meters and two minefield. tion of each marking sign is marks will be planted at each This project will be followed calculated and directly task turning point to show the di- by similar projects in other ordered to the contractor rection of the turning. KRG governorates to en- for execution in accordance For the first time in the his- sure all known hazards with the project scope of tory of minefield marking in the region work developed by IKMAA. in Kurdistan Region, apart are properly Based on the contract signed from the red triangles, each identifiable by inhabitants and tourists alike thus further reducing the possibility of deadly accidents in the future. * Director General/ EMAC [email protected] No. 16 E-Newsletter The Deminer Post June 2014 8 The activities of SMAC and SMAC and GMAC the history of demining in Slemani

Ahmad Fattah Wali*

Almost a quarter of mined ar- eas in Slemani province have been cleared by both govern- mental and non-governmental organizations in the past two decades. In addition to the Slemani gov- ernorate, the Garmiyan admin- istration has also been set up by KRG. This new administra- tion has provided an opportu- nity for Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) to accelerate its activities in over- coming mines/ERW problem in the province. The demining process in Sle- mani province began after the great Kurdish uprising in Ahmad Fattah Wali * 1991. Mine Advisory Group (MAG) was the first to come Over 81 million square meters in several In a press conference held for Mine Action to the region and to work in districts and sub districts of Garmiyan area Center officials in Slemani in February 18, mine action. After 1996 sev- have been contaminated with mines and 2014, it was announced that over eight mil- eral organizations like UN- the contamination history dates back to the lion square meters have been either cleared OPS, NPA and other local and 1960s. or reduced in 2013. foreign organizations entered Based on a record of victims’ names, Ab- It was also revealed in the same conference the process. Based on statisti- dulkhaliq Ahmad, Ismail Qader, Abdullah that clearance and demining process have cal reports released by Slemani Sofy, and Hussein Rasoul in Aghjalar, Sur- increased by % 12 in 2013 compared to Mine Action Center (SMAC) dash and Bingrd, are considered as the first 2012. and during almost 11 years of recorded victims in the region. Tens of oth- The fields that were submitted to their its clearance process over 17 ers can witness the existence of mines in the landowners after clearance were 137 fields and 34,000 mines and explosives were de- million square meters in 583 beginning of Baath Regime’s rise to power. minefields have been so far So far 1200 victims have been recorded stroyed in 2013. According to the same data released at the cleared. since early 1960s. But fortunately %50 of More importantly, the UN and the contaminated areas has been cleared conference, since the beginning of the pro- other international organiza- and in the next 3-5 years, the entire Garmi- gram till 2013, 126 billion IQDs have been yan area is expected to get rid of known allocated for the clearance process. tions were able to train hun- minefields. In 2014, 1.5 million Square meters is dreds of local staff in the field The contaminated areas in Slemani cover planned to be tendered, 1.5 million square of demining and MRE … etc. 225 million square meters in 11 districts, 28 meters to be directly cleared, 8 million This has become a great na- sub districts and 573 villages. But 50 mil- square meters to be released by survey tional asset which helped na- lion square meters from the total areas have teams, and 200 fields to be demarcated. tionalize the Mine Action Pro- been cleared from mines. Generally, 726 Along with the clearance process, the mine gram in Slemani and Kurdistan minefields from a total of 2118 have been risk education programs have benefited over altogether. cleared and 263 other fields are currently 24,000 people like tourists, local forces, po- under the clearance process. 260 more are licemen and citizens. But based on statisti- * Director of Media/SMAC planned to be tendered. cal reports, nine people died and 21 others [email protected] were injured in mine accident in 2013.

Executive Editor Assistant Editor Editorial Staff Translators The Deminer Post Ako Aziz Hamad Ahmed Fattah Siraj Barzani Zakariya Muhammad www.ikmaa.org Zebar Khalid Graphic Designer Ako Muhammad Abid Tahir public_relations Ako Muhammad @ikmaa.org