The Landmine Crisis in North-East Nigeria 2

Hidden Scars The Landmine Crisis in north-east Nigeria 2

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, MAG was able to deliver its explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) to boys and girls with interactive puppet shows maginternational.org Hidden Scars 3 Hidden Scars The Landmine Crisis in north-east Nigeria

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a global humanitarian and advocacy organisation that finds, removes and destroys landmines, cluster munitions and unexploded bombs from places affected by conflict.

Since 1989, MAG has helped over 19 million people in 68 countries rebuild their lives and livelihoods after war.

MAG has been at the forefront of a developing humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria since April 2017.

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Colouring books are just one of the ways EORE is being delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic maginternational.org Hidden Scars 5 Foreword

By DEBORAH CROWE sources to provide additional context. East and Central Africa Regional Director Mines Advisory Group The picture it paints is, regrettably, bleak. Little real progress has been made in north- North-east Nigeria is at the centre of a east Nigeria when it comes to the survey or chronic and enduring humanitarian crisis removal of landmines. And, at the time of which is inflicting widespread and acute writing, there seems little prospect of peace. distress on millions of people. That bleak outlook is made all the darker The causes are complex and multitude - a because of the profoundly disturbing truth constellation of factors which, in combination, that it is women and children who are have created a perfect storm of anguish, disproportionately impacted. hardship and human suffering. Progress is unlikely, in our view, until such The now almost 12 years long conflict time as the world pays closer and sustained involving Boko Haram, other non-state armed attention to the crisis. The purpose of this groups and the Nigerian military has resulted report, therefore, is to shine a light on the in huge swathes of territory effectively situation. It is part of our commitment to becoming no-go zones. People have been ensure that the plight of people in north east forced to flee their homes to seek Nigeria does not go unnoticed. sanctuary on a massive scale. That sanctuary has proved too often I want to end this foreword to be illusory and people by saying thanks. Firstly to have had to flee again, and those organisations that again. fund our work: the United Deborah Nations Development When they do flee, Crowe Programme (UNDP), they have to travel over UNICEF, the Nigeria land contaminated with Humanitarian Fund, the improvised landmines and United Nations Mine Action the lethal debris of war. Service (UNMAS), Nigeria Many have died as a result Humanitarian Pooled Fund, and many more have been Fund to End Violence Against injured. People are kidnapped, Children, the German Federal enslaved and murdered on a regular basis. Foreign Office (GFFO), Stichting Vluchteling (SV) and the Swedish International Some families can only avoid starvation by Development Agency (SIDA). taking the most desperate and dangerous risks, leaving the safety of the IDP camps in Mostly, however, I want to thank our staff in order to scratch a living from the soil. Nigeria who carry out our difficult work. The vast majority of these staff are Nigerian and These already toxic circumstances have been they demonstrate the highest levels of skill, exacerbated this year by the impacts of the commitment and courage as they tirelessly Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted seek to improve their communities and the humanitarian relief and created new barriers lives of their compatriots. which have to be overcome. Please read our report and consider what The focus of this report is on the particular you or your organisation can do to alleviate and cruel threat posed by landmines and the tragedy which has engulfed this part of other explosive devices but it draws on other the world.

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The crises in north-east Nigeria disproportionately affect women maginternational.org and girls, MAG delivers gender-sensitive EORE across the regionHidden Scars 7 Contents

Executive summary...... 9

New landmine use and casualties...... 11 The humanitarian context...... 11 New landmine contamination...... 12 Casualties...... 13 IDP populations and explosive accidents in north-east Nigeria...... 14 Impact of landmines and explosive ordnance...... 15 Child casualties and known unknowns...... 15 Impact on women and girls...... 17

The mine action response ...... 19 Mine action planning and integrated humanitarian response...... 19 Risk education and survey...... 21 Casualty surveillance and assistance to survivors...... 22 Developing mine action in Nigeria...... 22

Conclusions...... 25 Recommendations...... 27

Notes ...... 29

Acknowledgements...... 31

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EORE session being delivered at the Bakassi IDP camp in Miaduguri, Borno state ©MAG/KC Nwakalor maginternational.org Hidden Scars 9 Executive Summary h North-east Nigeria is at the epicentre to consider them ‘legitimate targets’ - in of a humanitarian crisis that has spread June 2020, five humanitarian workers throughout West Africa’s Lake Chad basin. were abducted and executed and, in July 2020, a UN helicopter was attacked. h As a result of conflict involving non-state armed groups (NSAGs), including Boko h Preventing further loss of lives and limbs Haram, north-east Nigeria is experiencing will depend on close alignment between a new landmine crisis. mine action organisations and broader humanitarian planning. Greater effort will h An estimated 10.6 million people, almost also be required to ensure that the needs half of them girls and boys, are in need of survivors are met. None of this will of humanitarian assistance in Borno, happen if Nigeria’s new landmine crisis Adamawa, and Yobe state. remains underreported. h Research by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has uncovered 1,052 casualties from 697 accidents involving landmines and unexploded bombs between January 2016 and August 2020 - although this number is thought to be even higher due to underreporting. h The crisis hit a peak of one casualty every day for the first 15 weeks of 2020 (113 casualties were recorded) - Nigeria is one of the top five countries in the world for Danliti Adamu was a victim of a hidden landmine casualty rates. improvised landmine that killed seven h Nigeria was the first state in Africa people killed and left him with serious to encounter new use of locally- injuries ©MAG/KC manufactured landmines on this scale. Nwakalor h The crisis comes as the international community is still contending with the new landmine emergency in the Middle East, a legacy of the conflict involving ISIS. h As part of its response to the emergency, MAG delivers life-saving explosive ordnance risk education sessions (EORE) which have reached more than 188,120 people over the last two years. h Additionally, MAG undertakes contamination survey to locate areas affected by explosive ordnance (EO). h At the same time, the situation is becoming more dangerous for humanitarian workers as Boko Haram announced their intention

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Falmata lost her grandson, Mustapha, and her son, Bakura, was badly injured when a shiny ‘toy’ they found exploded. ©Sean Sutton/MAG

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New landmine use and casualties

THE HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT boys.4 Women, girls and boys continue to The crisis in north-east Nigeria remains one be disproportionately impacted by the crisis, of the largest and most severe humanitarian making up the vast majority of the crisis crises in the world today. population (81 per cent) - with a quarter of those affected being girls and boys under five In 2020, the protracted conflict between years of age.5 Boko Haram, other NSAGs, and the Nigerian army entered its 11th year. The significant gendered dimensions of displacement (87 per cent of all new Tens of thousands of civilians have been displacements are women, girls and boys) are killed in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe since having a significantly adverse impact on the 2009,1 with the deadliest violence taking status of women and girls. place in Borno. The conflict in the north-east continues to Borno state remains the epicentre of the contribute to the overall destablisation of crisis, where over 1.5 million people have Nigeria at large. been displaced.2 The conflict in Nigeria is expected to continue A total of 10.6 million people - more than to escalate while civilians suffer some of one in two of those who live in the crisis- the worst conflict-related food insecurity, affected states - are in need of humanitarian socioeconomic vulnerability, and inequality assistance,3 including 4.6 million girls and issues in the world.

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NEW LANDMINE CONTAMINATION Intense fighting between Nigerian security The devastating impact of the conflict on forces and Boko Haram has left widespread the physical and mental wellbeing, living contamination of explosive ordnance standards, and capacity for resilience and throughout the region. recovery of populations in north-east Nigeria is compounded by the dangers posed by Locally-manufactured anti-personnel landmines and other explosive ordnance. landmines have been deployed on roads, in fields and also in urban areas (see Box 1.1). In addition, MAG and other organisations have encountered unexploded rocket-propelled grenades, projectiles, mortars, grenades, and air-dropped weapons.

Mine clearance is not yet an option in north-east Nigeria due to the ongoing conflict and insecurity.

The current capacity to address the contamination is also hindered by the absence of a national mine action authority and limited explosive ordnance disposal teams among the Nigerian army and police.

Box 1.1

THE WORLD’S NEW Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its work in LANDMINE EMERGENCY banning and clearing anti-personnel mines. An anti-personnel mine is an explosive munition that detonates due to the As a result, over 55 million stockpiled anti- presence, proximity, or contact of a person. personnel mines have been destroyed, Mines are indiscriminate – or ‘dumb’ – state production has all but ceased and weapons. They cannot distinguish between landmines have become one of the most legitimate military targets and civilians. They stigmatised weapons in the world. keep functioning long after conflict has ended. In 2016, MAG reported a new emergency from locally produced anti-personnel As a result of activism by the International landmines in parts of Iraq and Syria formerly Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), held by ISIS. the weapons were banned by the Anti- Personnel Mine Ban Convention, which The use of anti-personnel mines in Nigeria was negotiated and signed by 122 States in was first noted in 2015 and confirmed in 1997. 2018.

Since then, another 42 countries have In 2019, at the fourth review conference of joined the treaty, bringing the total number the Mine Ban Treaty, Nigeria recognised of States Parties to 164 and making it one of the threat posed by the new landmine the world’s most successful treaties. As part contamination and made a commitment to of the ICBL, MAG was co-recipient of the tackle the crisis.

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Yakhatum was injured when an explosive remnant of the conflict detonated in the tent neighbouring hers in Bakassi IDP camp in Miaduguri, Borno state ©MAG/KC Nwakalor

CASUALTIES Locally-manufactured mines of an improvised Although the full extent of contamination is nature, and improvised explosive devices not yet known due to the inaccessibility to (IEDs) have been used extensively by Boko many conflict-affected areas, MAG’s data Haram and other NSAGs, and they make up shows that the casualty toll from explosive the majority of devices recorded by MAG. ordnance is high and relentlessly rising. Nigeria is the first state in Africa to have A staggering 1,052 people have been encountered new use of locally-manufactured reported to be killed or injured by landmines on this scale. explosive ordnance since 2016 across the most afflicted north-eastern states of Borno, These devices present a particularly lethal Adamawa and Yobe, although this number threat to girls and boys, who often mistake is estimated to be even higher due to them as household items or toys while underreporting. playing outside.

Casualty figures averaged one person per Contamination from conventional weapons day in the first fifteen weeks of 2020, with (air-dropped bombs, mortars, projectiles, Nigeria among the top five countries in the grenades, etc.) is also found in these areas world with the highest casualty rates from as a result of clashes between government landmines. forces and NSAGs as well as from air-raids.

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IDP Populations and Explosive Accidents in north-east Nigeria

NIGER CHAD

CHAD

YOBE JIGAWA BORNO

BAUCHI GOMBE

ADAMAWA CHAD

PLATEAU CAMEROON

Legend

Accidents/Finds TARABA Inaccessible Areas Areas of Interest Sum Of IDP Population 95601 - 155846 38501 - 95600 12301 - 38500 84 - 12300

The boundaries and names shown and the Document Name: 20201027NG_IDPUXO _A3 designations used on this map do not imply Date: 10/28/2020 ocial endorsement or acceptance by Coordinate System: GCS WGS 1984 0 75 150 Km Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Datum: WGS 1984 Units: Degree Sources: https://dtm.iom.int/nigeria

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IMPACT OF LANDMINES AND EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE Borno state, with a population of 5.6 million, relies heavily on rural livelihoods: agriculture, pastoralism, and fisheries management. Explosive ordnance contamination continues to hamper the ability of affected populations to access basic services, sources of livelihoods, and land for farming and grazing.

These hazards also represent a substantial threat to the safety and security of humanitarian workers trying to mitigate the effects of the conflict for local populations, reducing their access and ability to support vulnerable communities.

Explosive ordnance pose a dangerous threat to the many internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and returnees transiting throughout the region. As IDPs and refugees migrate or return home – often through unfamiliar terrain – they are at significant risk of entering areas contaminated by landmines and other explosive ordnance. Likewise, People have to travel far into dangerous territory to returning to villages that are contaminated find firewood and grazing land before the Ngala by explosive ordnance puts returnee International IDP camp in Borno state secures its communities at risk, as well as limiting the gates at 1830 every evening ©Sean Sutton/MAG degree to which they can begin rebuilding homes and livelihoods. to the international community. Access to Preparing communities with the knowledge several other LGAs is limited to the outskirts and resources to reduce the risks of of one or two towns and only accessible by landmines is imperative to avoid a larger helicopter. Rural populations in Borno can crisis in the future. An estimated 1.7 million only be reached in a few areas around the people are urgently in need of mine action state capital of Maiduguri, along some main intervention across north-east Nigeria.6 roads, and in LGAs to the south of the state. Meanwhile, some areas are under the control CHILD CASUALTIES of Boko Haram and other NSAGs. AND KNOWN UNKNOWNS According to MAG’s analysis of the available Over one million civilians remain outside of data, of the 412 civilians who were killed the reach of humanitarian assistance across or injured, 72 were under the age of 18. north-east Nigeria, the vast majority of whom However, limited and incomplete reporting are in Borno state.7 mechanisms mean that the age of at least 222 casualties is not known. It is almost Given the intensity of conflict and the certain that the real number of girls, boys and confirmed new use of landmines, inadequate teenagers killed or injured by landmines and or absent medical facilities and the lack of unexploded bombs is higher. reporting systems, we can be certain that casualties from landmines and unexploded Currently, two local government areas (LGAs) bombs are going unreported, likely in in Borno state remain entirely inaccessible significant numbers.

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Box 1.2

KEY STATISTICS with Nigeria among the top five h Over half of the population in Borno, countries in the world with the highest Adamawa and Yobe states – 10.6 million casualty rates from landmines. people – are in need of humanitarian assistance, with one in four who are h More than a third of Borno state is under the age of five. inaccessible or only partially accessible for international humanitarian h 1,052 people have been reported organisations. to be killed or injured by explosive ordnance since 2016 in Borno, h An estimated 1.7 million people are Adamaway, and Yobe states, although urgently in need of mine action this number is likely to be higher due to intervention across north-east Nigeria. underreporting. h Women, girls and boys are 81 per cent h Casualty figures averaged one person of the overall crisis population and 87 per day in the first 15 weeks of 2020, per cent of all new displacements.

Box 1.3

IMPACT OF COVID-19 virus, MAG has had to adapt how h The coronavirus pandemic has we deliver our sessions – which hampered humanitarian organisations’ are now delivered in smaller groups of efforts to reach affected communities ten, with social distancing practices in with lifesaving risk education. place.

h Lockdown measures have exacerbated h Female-headed households, especially the poor access to services. People those in IDP camps, reported that they have reported a 49 per cent increase have had even more difficulty accessing in disruption to services because of services related to food and non-food COVID-19. items due to their marital status, and that men tend to have more access than h In order to keep everyone safe from the women.8

maginternational.org Hidden Scars 17 Women and girls hit hardest by the crisis

By AISHA BABA SHEHU lack the financial independence to escape Community Liaison Officer, Nigeria abusive relationships while, on the other, risk being left without an income should a male The ongoing crises in Nigeria have a partner be killed or injured by a landmine or disproportionate effect on women and girls. unexploded bomb. Women and girls make up the majority of the population of the internally displaced Meanwhile, conflict has seen schools peoples (IDP) camps in which I work with my destroyed and abandoned while coronavirus colleagues. As a Community Liaison Officer, restrictions have closed others - increasing part of my job is to build relationships with the numbers of girls and boys have no access to women and girls in IDP camps - to listen to formal education. them and the issues they are facing. Boys are at risk of being kept out of From sexual harassment, domestic violence, education in the long term as they are forced segregation to the denial of access to to help their families maintain a livelihood. medical and NGO services, the situation for far too many women and girls is traumatic. Girls, however, are at increasing risk of being And it comes on top of a conflict and kept out of school to be pushed into early landmine crisis that has forced them from marriages – and some girls are prevented their homes. from going to school in the first place by male family members. At the community and institutional levels, the everyday experiences of women and girls are It is with great sadness that I hear variations excluded by systems that structurally exclude of these same stories repeated so often, from women. so many different women and girls.

In most places, women are not allowed to For me, these issues are too often lost in participate in the decisions which affect their conversations around Nigeria’s humanitarian lives. Where women are permitted to speak, crises - the international community needs it is at the behest of male leaders - with most to do much more to support the fight women feeling like their views are not against gender-based violence and taken into account or prioritised. sexual exploitation and gender inequality. For women and girls, The recent, and continuing COVID-19 landmines and unexploded bombs crisis is only worsening the situation, are just one of the dangers they with women reporting increased cases face daily. of domestic violence, sexual assault and unwanted pregnancy. With some The best place to start is to male partners stopping their listen to women and wives accessing medical girls, include them in and NGO services, these all decision making incidents are likely to be processes and underreported. encourage and support girls’ Economic inequality education. and pandemic- enforced restrictions also mean women, Aisha Baba Shehu on the one hand,

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MAG community liaison teams deliver EORE sessions to vulnerable communities in Gamga- ru in Borno state ©Sean Sutton/MAG

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The Mine Action Response

The mine action community has been collecting water and firewood and carrying active in north-east Nigeria since the end of out other essential activities. Work to date 2015, led by NGOs and with support from will have helped save thousands of lives UNICEF, the United Nations Development and limbs, but it will not on its own provide Programme (UNDP), and the UN Office for a durable solution to the new contamination the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. from landmines, unexploded ordnance and MAG joined the Danish Demining Group in abandoned IEDs. Instead, it should act as a north-east Nigeria early 2017 to implement platform for a comprehensive mine action explosive ordnance risk education projects. response, building on existing strengths and capacity. In 2018, UNMAS deployed to Nigeria with the mandate of leading the humanitarian mine MINE ACTION PLANNING AND action sector. This marked a positive step INTEGRATED HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE forward for mine action in Nigeria, reflecting Currently, humanitarian clearance of the recognition among the international explosive ordnance is not possible in Nigeria community for the need to prioritise the owing to the security context. Thus, MAG landmine crisis. One of the five ‘pillars’ of operations in north-east Nigeria focus on mine action, EORE aims to prevent casualties addressing the adverse impact explosive from explosive ordnance by working with ordnance pose to local communities. communities to develop safer action and behaviour. MAG already has information As such, MAG’s core activities of providing showing that communities in garrison towns explosive ordnance risk education to are exposed to the risk of accidents when at-risk communities and surveying of

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Case Study: Bakura

In an IDP camp in Borno, just a few months ago, nine-year-old Mustapha lost his life to an explosive after fleeing Boko Haram with his family. His fourteen- year-old uncle, Bakura, was also injured in the accident and rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

The two boys had found a metal object. Oblivious to its danger and thinking they could sell it for scrap, they brought it into the camp where they lived with Falmata, Bakura’s mother.

The explosion killed boys recognise dangerous Mustapha instantly, and explosives, what to do if seriously injured Bakura, you spot one, and how to Falmata and a neighbour. report the discovery.

Neither boy had yet been Bakura and Falmata have reached by a life-saving now both received risk EORE lesson from MAG. education from MAG’s The lessons help girls and team.

explosive contamination, play a critical activities. MAG operations are playing a role in risk reduction measures. Recording critical role in developing comprehensive information about the location, nature contamination profiles with mine action and extent of contamination is an integral sector partners and local authorities, as well part not only of community risk reduction as informing humanitarian and development but also coordinating activities across priorities. the humanitarian sector and government agencies. Continued engagement with communities and other humanitarian organisations will While extensive contamination of explosive remain critical to designing the broader mine ordnance has been widely documented, action response. There have been some ongoing conflict and difficulty accessing positive developments in strategic planning areas with active hostilities mean that the true with mine action referenced in a number of extent of new contamination is not yet fully humanitarian strategies, including the 2019 known. and 2020 Humanitarian Response Plans. The importance of demining was also referenced Adding to the challenge is the absence of a in the ‘Buhari Plan’, released in 2016 by the National Mine Action Authority in Nigeria to Federal Government of Nigeria’s Presidential oversee mine action plans and coordinate Committee on the North-east.

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RISK EDUCATION AND SURVEY In addition to the thousands of men, women, Until landmine clearance is possible, MAG boys and girls who have benefited from continues to provide lifesaving EORE to help EORE, MAG also targets humanitarian communities learn how to identify, respond workers, teachers, government officials, and report explosive ordnance when they are and other service providers. This network encountered. of service providers trained in EORE has enhanced the impact of MAG’s work and Since October 2018, EORE conducted by promoted institutional sustainability of EORE MAG and our partners reached over 188,120 interventions among a diverse array of women, girls, boys and men, broadly in equal stakeholders. number. The majority of recipients of risk education are from communities displaced Another risk education initiative in Nigeria is or affected by the conflict. Activities aim MAG’s training of key community leaders in to support them on their return to areas of key risk education messages and known or likely contamination. response mechanisms. By training these community focal points, risk education MAG has found through its ongoing interventions are sustained and expanded activities that on average only 22 per cent of from within the communities themselves. people in conflict affected communities can This also enables stronger communication identify a landmine or unexploded ordnance feedback loops between MAG, affected before receiving EORE, highlighting the low communities, and the authorities if/when level of understanding of the threat posed by explosive ordnance is discovered in the these devices.9 future.

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MAG also maps contamination of explosive provision of rehabilitation and support to devices through non-technical survey (NTS) survivors and their families. MAG’s research in accessible areas. NTS is the first step has highlighted the absence of a structured in identifying the presence of explosive injury and casualty surveillance system in ordnance to prepare for clearance. For areas north-east Nigeria. A comprehensive system inaccessible to MAG teams due to security, needs to be established as soon as possible suspected contamination is documented in order to support effective assistance for through remote contamination baseline survivors, but also to fully capture the extent assessments (RCBAs). and nature of contamination.

RCBA is an innovative methodology first The mine action sector is continuing to pioneered in MAG Myanmar and further expand victim needs assessments and expanded by MAG Nigeria. As part of this developing an integrated referral service approach, focus group discussions and network among NGOs and healthcare interviews are organized with key informants facilities. Further stakeholder mapping and to document information from those who coordination mechanisms are needed to have seen explosive ordnance in their address the complex nature of the impact villages or while fleeing to IDP camps. from accidents. MAG is focusing on improving data collection on victims, expanding These survey activities not only complement response networks, and supporting the and inform EORE, by allowing teams to establishment of a National Mine Action better understand the disparate risks and Authority to lead the national response effects of explosive ordnance addressing the impact of across communities, but explosive ordnance. they are crucial in building the national capacity of Collation and analysis of mine action response in victim data across the Nigeria. mine action sector and with key government Contamination profiles agencies, is used developed by MAG have by MAG to enhance not only strengthened contamination mapping humanitarian planning profiles. This information and coordination with aid is also leveraged to better partners across the sector, understand the conditions but have laid the foundation for under which certain groups clearance operations once conditions are more vulnerable to explosive allow. ordnance accidents, thereby allowing for more context-specific implementation to CASUALTY SURVEILLANCE AND meet the needs of the community. ASSISTANCE TO SURVIVORS The sharp rise in casualties since 2016 DEVELOPING MINE ACTION IN NIGERIA creates a requirement to support survivors There can be little doubt of the significant of accidents as well as their families, whose need for survey and clearance of landmines needs endure for life. To date, capacity to and other explosive ordnance in north-east support survivors has so far been limited to Nigeria. It must be given higher priority within trauma response and basic psychosocial humanitarian response planning. Survey and services by the government health sector, clearance of explosive ordnance must be supported by the ICRC and a number of considered a protection priority and more international NGOs. closely integrated into planning for any return of displaced communities. With contamination The mine action response must be integrated likely to be extensive and presenting a risk and comprehensive, including the sustainable to returning communities, mine action’s maginternational.org Hidden Scars 23

Case Study: Maimuna The Bakassi IDP camp where Maimuna Maimuna is ten years old lives ©MAG/KC Nwakalor and lives in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in north-east Nigeria.

The ongoing conflict forced Maimuna and her mother to flee their home in Kawuri, near Maiduguri, when Maimuna was just two. They moved around Borno State before eventually settling in the camp − where they have been living for the past seven years. she believes there is a of explosives. Maimuna is better life for her outside of lucky that she has never Maimuna does not the camp − a life that she encountered an explosive remember life outside of wants to find one day. before, but now she knows the camp. what to do if she does MAG’s Community Liaison come across one. IDP camps are a difficult Officer, Rukaiya Alhaji Bilal, place for a child to grow delivered one of our life- Maimuna said: “I liked up. They can be bleak saving lessons to Maimuna the lesson, especially and, above all, very boring. in the camp where she the colouring book. I feel Maimuna has some friends lives. They used songs and safe and I can teach other that she plays with regularly, colouring sheets together children how to stay safe but she told our team that to identify different types from dangerous items.”

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response should be considered critical to of robust reporting structures between supporting returns and early recovery. stakeholders regarding information on contamination and accidents will remain a Initial survey activities are already being vital priority for MAG’s operations. undertaken by MAG and other humanitarian organisations and these should be The right expertise nevertheless exists, encouraged. Planning for clearance can also particularly among international NGOs, and start now, but expectations must be realistic. the time needed to train and equip people Any promises of ‘quick fixes’ will not be met can be measured in weeks and months. by reality. We have learned from many other Almost thirty years of mine action responses emergencies that it can take time to train have shown that recruiting and training staff teams to the necessary level. from communities enhances the effectiveness of programmes. It is also the right thing to do MAG has taken several steps to build the as it supports communities to lead their own capacity of local communities, authorities, and recovery from conflict. mine action sector partners that should be continued. Training the right Drawing on recent lessons from the Middle community members (village heads, East, it is also of critical importance to teachers, religious leaders) has shown to reaffirm that mine action is an inherently be an effective method to increase humanitarian activity and should only take community outreach and to facilitate place in areas where active hostilities have awareness raising within communities in the ceased. However, other actors are involved long-term. in explosive ordnance disposal, for security of commercial purposes. It is vital that These trained community members must humanitarian mine action is not merged or be inclusive of gender considerations and confused with these activities. There must be thereby include adequate representation a clear and visible separation of actors and of female points of contact to transmit activities, including within the United Nations information. Additionally, the development system.

Box 2.1

MINE BAN TREATY OBLIGATIONS In 2019, the Nigerian government Like all other States Parties to the Anti- acknowledged the existence of new Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), landmines on its territory and committed to Nigeria has a legal obligation to report any becoming mine-free by 2025. new suspected or confirmed contamination from anti-personnel landmines to other It also announced the creation of an States Parties. inter-ministerial committee tasked with Mine Ban Treaty compliance and the re- Nigeria also then has an obligation to clear establishment of a national mine action all new landmine contamination within its authority, as well as its intent to develop a borders. landmine clearance work plan to be shared with States-Parties. This covers landmines used by other parties to a conflict (including non-state These were positive and important steps armed groups like Boko Haram) and covers which, if met by action at field level, can any munition that meets the definition of an unlock the potential of mine action in anti-personnel landmine. Nigeria.

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Children in the Ngala International IDP camp are excited to receive puzzles and cartoons that teach lifesaving lessons (taken pre-COVID-19) ©Sean Sutton/MAG

Conclusions

Explosive ordnance risk education What is certain is that there aren’t any quick activities and the initial formal and informal solutions to the new contamination and the coordination mechanisms to oversee prevention of further casualties will depend its delivery have achieved significant on the successful integration of mine action and impressive outreach to displaced into humanitarian planning and coordination. communities. This work will contribute to The response should draw on three decades the prevention of future casualties from of lessons learned in emergency mine action landmines and unexploded bombs. It has response programming, including the national also laid the foundations for a mine action and international community response to new community in Nigeria. landmine use in parts of the Middle East. It must have a foundation in national ownership Mine action must form an essential and be tailored to the specific conflict and component of the broader humanitarian humanitarian context in Nigeria. response in Nigeria and be closely linked to it. How it develops and is championed and The following recommendations aim to assist supported will have an important bearing on and inform decision makers in their approach its effectiveness and impact. to the further development of mine action programming in north-east Nigeria.

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Songs form part of the interactive EORE sessions delivered to girls and boys across north-east Nige- ria ©MAG/KC Nwakalor

maginternational.org Hidden Scars 27 Recommendations Nigeria should re-establish and resource a national mine action centre with a foundation in 1 the principle of national ownership. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Mine Ban Treaty should grant the centre sufficient authority to coordinate demining operations and deliver the national mine action strategy. It should also welcome support to the centre from partner nations and specialist organisations.

Mine action must be a cornerstone of Nigeria’s return and recovery strategy:.Displaced 2 families must be assured that their homes and lands are safe before being encouraged to return home. Mine action must therefore be incorporated in the government’s plans for return, and mine action organisations must be allowed to conduct survey and clearance wherever it is needed.

Humanitarian mine action, aligned with international standards, must be the benchmark 3 for success in Nigeria. Decisions about when to declare land safe and release it to communities must be based solely on work done by mine action operators in line with international standards. Cases of ordnance disposal by the military or police should be recorded and shared with the national mine action centre - but should not be the basis for declaring land safe or encouraging displaced people to return.

While accelerating plans for clearance, national authorities and donors should continue 4 to support risk education and non-technical survey to identify the nature, extent and location of contamination. These efforts should continue to be designed and implemented in a way that is sensitive to age and gender, and also linked to planning for the return of displaced communities. They should be expanded as access allows, inform the work of other humanitarian actors, and include and empower women and men from conflict-affected communities.

Anti-personnel landmines, including those of an improvised nature, should be reported as 5 such, per Nigeria’s commitments under the Mine Ban Treaty. The language of “improvised explosive devices” (or IEDs) should be avoided when referring to any work with, or incidents involving, munitions meeting the definition of landmines. Failure to do this will compromise humanitarian activity and undermine Nigeria’s full implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, including effective clearance and support to victims.

Nigeria should embrace the principle of transparency in mine action:.Having acknowledged 6 its new obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty, Nigeria is required to update states-parties annually on its progress. Nigeria should welcome input from civil society, and fellow states- parties, to make these reports clear and comprehensive.

Victims must receive comprehensive assistance - now, and for the long term. The mine 7 action community in north-east Nigeria should establish a system for identifying victims of landmines and other explosive ordnance, and then referring them to specialised care providers. They should work alongside a newly reestablished Nigerian mine action centre to ensure victims are formally registered and receive long-term assistance according to their needs.

Donor countries and the United Nations should assist and encourage humanitarian 8 mine action in Nigeria. This should include technical and financial assistance to Nigeria’s proposed mine action centre, as well as funding for civil society-led clearance, risk education, and victim assistance. Mine action should also remain a protection priority within the UN’s humanitarian response plan.

The Landmine Crisis in north-east Nigeria maginternational.org 28

The Landmine Crisis in north-east Nigeria maginternational.org 29 Notes

1 Global Conflict Tracker (2020). [Online} www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/ https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/ documents/files/ocha_nga_humanitarian_ conflict/boko-haram-nigeria [Accessed 30 response_plan_march2020.pdf [Accessed Nov. 2020] 30 Nov. 2020] 2 UNHCR (2020). [Online] https://data2. 7 OCHA (2020). [Online] https:// unhcr.org/fr/documents/details/79099 www.unocha.org/story/nigeria- [Accessed 30 Nov. 2020] access-constraints-drive- 3 OCHA (2020). [Online] https://reports. humanitarian-needs#:~:text=In%20 unocha.org/en/country/nigeria/ [Accessed Borno%20State%2C%20most%20 30 Nov. 2020] roads,assistance%20and%20civil%20 4 OCHA, Humanitarian Response, authority%20services [Accessed 30 Nov. Humanitarian Insight and the Financial 2020] Tracking Service (2019). [Online] https://www. 8 CARE, UN Women and Oxfam (2020). acaps.org/sites/acaps/files/key-documents/ [Online] https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/ files/nigeria_december_2019.pdf [Accessed rapid-gender-analysis-north-east-region- 30 Nov. 2020] nigeria-july-2020 [Accessed 30 Nov. 2020] 5 ibid. 9 MAG Pre Post Survey Analysis, Explosive 6 OCHA, Humanitarian Response, Hazard Awareness in Borno State, July 2019. Humanitarian Insight and the Financial A total of 1,154 people participated in surveys Tracking Service (2019). [Online] https:// before and immediately after explosive www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/ ordnance risk education sessions.

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maginternational.org Hidden Scars 31 Acknowledgements

This report is based on independent field Written and edited by: Anna Kajino, Deborah research conducted in Nigeria by Anna Kajino Crowe, Michael Boyce, Pierluigi Candier, and Onyeka Onwuama supported by Brittany Brittany Hilyer and Liam Ward as an update to Hilyer, Liam Ward, Michael Boyce, Pierluigi a 2018 report written by Avishek Banskota, Candier and Deborah Crowe as an update Chris Loughran, Sebastian Kasack, and Nina to research conducted by Sebastian Kasack Seecharan and supported by Avishek Banskota, Alasdair Designed and produced by: Bus Stop Burton and Younes Al-Qaryouti. It also draws Editorial Services/MAG on data from MAG’s field operations as well Published by: MAG, Manchester (United as interviews and a range of public reports. Kingdom), November 2020 UK Registered Charity No. 1083008 The report builds on a research project UK Registered Company No. 4016409 supported by UNICEF, with funding from the Registered Office: MAG, Suite 3A, South German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO). The Central, 11 Peter Street, Manchester M2 5QR views expressed in this report and its findings Contact: [email protected] do not necessarily reflect those of UNICEF or Photographs: Sean Sutton and KC Nwakalor/ the GFFO. This report can be used as long as MAG MAG and the publication are referenced.

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