Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges

Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining 7bis, avenue de la Paix P.O. Box 1300 CH - 1211 Geneva 1 Switzerland Tel. (41 22) 906 16 60, Fax (41 22) 906 16 90 www.gichd.ch Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges i The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) supports the efforts of the international community in reducing the impact of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The Centre provides operational assistance, is active in research and supports the implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining 7bis, avenue de la Paix P.O. Box 1300 CH-1211 Geneva 1 Switzerland Tel. (41 22) 906 16 60 Fax (41 22) 906 16 90 www.gichd.ch [email protected] Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges, GICHD, Geneva, November 2005. This project was managed by Eric Filippino, Head, Socio-Economic Section ([email protected]). ISBN 2-88487-025-3 © Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining The views expressed in this publication are those of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area, or of its authorities or armed groups, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. ii Contents Foreword 1 Introduction 3 Executive summary 5 The evolution of the five pillars of mine action 6 The coordination and management o mine action programmes 11 So, has mine action really made a difference? 13 Part I. The Pillars of Mine Action 1. The demining toolkit Colin King Introduction 17 Mines and mine warfare 18 The beginnings of humanitarian demining 20 Fundamental flaws in the early programmes 22 Reflection and adaptation 25 Seeking new solutions 28 Mine action comes of age 32 Conclusions 35 2. Landmine detection and destruction technologies Paddy Blagden Introduction 39 The challenge for detection and destruction technologies 40 Close-in detection 41 Stand-off detection 51 Individual destruction equipment 54 Mechanical destruction/disruption 57 Detection of UXO 61 Conclusions 62 3. Landmine surveys Guy Rhodes Introduction 69 Survey definitions and terminology 70 iii Evolution of general landmine assessments 75 Emergency and general surveys 78 Evolution of post-clearance “survey” activities 86 Accuracy and reliability of non-technical survey data 89 Conclusions 96 4. Advocacy and international law Lou Maresca Introduction 101 Advocacy and the development of international law governing landmines and UXO 102 The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons 105 The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention 109 Advocacy and the development of international law on mines and UXO 112 Key features of the advocacy on mines and UXO 120 Conclusions 126 5. Mine risk education Andy Wheatley Introduction 133 Helping communities at risk 134 The rationale for MRE 135 The “key players” 136 Methodology 136 The changing environment, the UN and the growth of the mine action centre 149 Community liaison 154 Conclusions 161 6. Assistance to landmine victims Rachael Mann and Stuart Maslen Introduction 169 Who are the victims? 170 Meeting the assistance needs of mine and UXO victims 173 The provision of assistance to mine and UXO victims 180 Conclusions 185 7. Destruction of anti-personnel mine stockpiles Stuart Maslen Introduction 191 The challenge of stockpile destruction 192 Key actors in stockpile destruction 193 International legal obligations and standards 194 The implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention 201 Conclusions 202 iv Part II. The Management of Mine Action 8. The coordination and management of mine action programmes Ian Mansfield Introduction 209 National progamme coordination and management 210 Challenges in coordination and programme management 218 Geographical information systems 235 Data analysis and exchange 242 Assisting the end user 250 Conclusions 254 9. Mine action information management Mark Yarmoshuk Introduction 223 The promise of information management 224 Databases and information management in mine action 228 Geographical information systems 247 Data analysis and exchange 255 Assisting the end user 264 Conclusions 268 10.Capacity development in mine action Ted Paterson Introduction 273 What is capacity development? 274 Capacity development in the first decade of mine action: 1989-1998 277 The DHA report The Development of Indigenous Mine Action Capacities 283 Capacity development since the DHA Report 285 Assessment and current frontiers 297 11. Is mine action making a difference. or avoiding the question? Ted Paterson Introduction 305 Mine-centred or people-centred mine action? 311 Learning to deliver results 319 Working smarter, not harder 326 Conclusions 333 Select bibliography 339 Glossary of terms and acronyms 357 Notes on the authors 363 v Acknowledgements The GICHD would like to thank the authors for their contributions to this publication. Their contributions are made in a personal capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation they may be working for. The GICHD would also like to thank all those who reviewed drafts of individual chapters or of the work as a whole. This work was edited by Jack Glattbach and laid out for publication by Françoise Jaffré. vi Foreword Over the past 15 years, mine action has evolved into an established component of the relief and developments sectors, supported by more than 250 million US dollars each year. Over this period, projects and programmes for demining, mine risk education, victim assistance, advocacy, and stockpile destruction have all been discussed, refined and improved by operators, programmers, diplomats and activists. A landmark treaty banning the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of anti-personnel mines has entered into force, and already binds more than three-quarters of the world’s nations. Since 2003, the world also has an international legal instrument — a new protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons — allocating responsibility for action to counter the threat posed by other explosive remnants of war. International mine action standards have been adopted and are being translated into national realities. Most mine action programmes have a national authority and mine action centre that uses advanced geographic information system (GIS) based information management systems. Priorities are being better managed, employing socio-economic criteria to determine them. In turn, comprehensive landmine impact surveys are being carried out in affected States to assist in the identification of priorities. Standards for mine risk education have been developed, and guidelines for victim assistance have been finalised. Management training courses are being offered regularly for national mine action staff and a mine action exchange programme between mine-affected countries is progressing well. As part of its ongoing concern to reinforce the effectiveness and efficiency of mine action, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining commissioned contributions from development and mine action experts on the many lessons that have been learned over the past 15 years — and the challenges that remain to be met. These have been brought together in this work: Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges. We hope that it will contribute to debate on the future of mine action and its role within relief and development more generally. 1 Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges I should like to thank all the authors for their contributions and to acknowledge with gratitude the United Kingdom Department for International Development for funding the project. Ambassador Stephan Nellen Director Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining 2 Introduction On 18 September 1997, the Oslo Diplomatic Conference formally adopted new international law — the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines — which outlawed the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of anti-personnel mines. In December 1997, at the subsequent treaty signing ceremony in Ottawa, States pledged a total of US$500 million over five years to the global response to the landmine problem. Since 1989, the world has spent more than US$2.5 billion in seeking to rid the world of the scourge of mines and abandoned or unexploded ordnance. Humanitarian responses to the landmine problem have existed as a distinct discipline since 1989, but a comprehensive technical review of lessons learned and future challenges has not yet been conducted. With the First Review Conference of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines in November-December 2004, the international community seized the opportunity to take stock of progress made in reducing the threat posed by anti-personnel mines and other explosive remnants of war and to help map the path for the remainder of the decade. Certainly, the international mine action community has learned a great deal over the past 16 years. This work, Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges, represents the views of selected experts as to what some of the key lessons have been, and what challenges remain for the future. Following an Executive Summary of its main conclusions and findings, this work is laid out in two parts. Part I looks at the core activities — the “pillars” — of mine action: advocacy, victim

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