The presence of uncleared anti-personnel landmines (AP mines) and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in areas needed for human settlement and economic activity is among the world's most serious humanitarian problems. More than 60 countries are affected. (See map XI, pages 94 and 95.)
AP mines kill or injure indiscriminately. Victims are usually civilians, killed or injured after hostilities have come to an end. The ICRC estimates that throughout the world, every month some 800 people are killed and another 1,200 maimed as a result of accidents with landmines and UXOs: about one victim every 20 minutes.
The impacts of landmines and unexploded ordnance extend far beyond individual casualties; they are a major impediment to post-conflict reconstruction and development, particularly in mine-affected developing countries where economic activity is still centered on agriculture. In many cases, landmines have been laid to prevent the use and rehabilitation of farmland, bridges, roads, and water supply facilities. After a conflict ends, landmines or even the perceived threat of landmines can pose significant obstacles to the resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons. In the longer-term, by denying people access to their land, landmines are a significant factor in the impoverishment of entire communities. In some areas of Cambodia, for example, landmines deployed during the 18-year-long civil war rendered over 50 per cent of the cultivable area inaccessible. In addition to causing severe physical injuries, landmines also cause psychological trauma. The already weak health-care systems in war-torn societies are faced with the need to invest scarce resources in complicated surgeries, long hospital stays and expensive prosthetic and rehabilitation services. If they do not, mine victims and their families often from the poorest sectors of society are left to cope on their own with the life-long medical and socio-economic consequences of mine injuries.
Since AP mines and UXOs retain their lethal capacity for decades, their humanitarian impact also will continue for decades, unless they are systematically addressed at the earliest opportunity. Yet mine-clearance, given currently available technologies, is slow, costly, labour-intensive and risky, and more cost-effective technologies are only slowly becoming available for humanitarian application. Overall estimates for the total cost of clearing the world's landmines with current technologies run into billions of dollars.
It is important to recognize, however, that while landmines, unexploded ordnance and other debris of war litter vast areas, not all present an immediate threat. Mine-infested land which is either uninhabited or uninhabitable may, for example, remain uncleared without posing undue risk. Properly targeted national humanitarian mine-clearance programmes such as in Cambodia can quickly have a significant impact in liberating productive land and reducing casualties.
United Nations humanitarian mine action: principles
The United Nations system, together with Member States, the ICRC, and several dedicated non-governmental organizations, have helped establish mine action programmes throughout the world. In September 1994, the United Nations Secretary-General designated DHA as the United Nations focal point for all demining and landmine-related issues with a view to fostering an integrated and coordinated approach to address this problem. At the same time, the Secretary-General set up a Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine-Clearance.
DHA is mandated to "develop more formal working arrangements with all parties in order to outline more clearly the role each agency will play in the provision of assistance in mine clearance."1 To achieve this, DHA has put forward the following principles or guidelines, as a starting point in clarifying these individual roles:
Priority 2: clearing occupied, contaminated land in which a high casualty rate is being experienced;
Priority 3: clearing land for agriculture;
Priority 4: clearing land for community development needs, e.g. schools, places of worship, hospitals, etc.; and
Priority 5: clearing land for reconstruction and development projects.
The issue of capacity building
The primary responsibility for taking action against the presence of mines lies with the concerned state. Where, as is often the case, local capacity to demine is lacking and must be developed, the United Nations will assist in creating a local capacity that can continue once direct support through the United Nations has ended. Mine-clearance is a necessary task in its own right, however, and capacity building is not an end in itself. There is little merit in training more and more deminers if the task can be accomplished more effectively and faster by other means. The balance between capacity building and rapid, efficient demining must clearly be in favour of the latter. Therefore, as the appropriate technologies mature, reliance on the current slow, high-risk, labour-intensive methods of demining must be reduced or eliminated entirely, and local capacity developed to utilize the new technologies.
DHA role in humanitarian demining
In its capacity as the designated United Nations focal point for mine action, DHA cannot and does not carry out the complex range of actions required to address the mine problem on its own. Based on its mandate, the previously elaborated principles and its experience in field operations, the DHA role can be broken into four stages: planning and assessment; initiating the mine action programme; consolidating and executing the programme; and transferring or terminating the programme. ( See box on A summary of mine action activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1996-early 1997 )
Planning and assessment. DHA is fully engaged in the planning and preparation of new humanitarian mine action programmes. With representation appropriate to the emergency at hand, a team or teams will be formed to conduct assessment missions and prepare an implementation plan. If a mine action programme is being transferred from a peace-keeping or other mission, DHA plans and facilitates the transfer.
Initiating the mine action programme. DHA establishes the mechanisms for coordination, including a Mine Action Centre (MAC) with primary responsibility for coordinating the entire mine effort in the affected country. DHA mobilizes the resources necessary to initiate the programme: utilizing existing stand-by personnel to run the programme in country, in-kind contributions from donors, and funds from the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine-Clearance.
Consolidating and executing the programme. In principle, DHA does not itself execute a programme on the ground unless absolutely necessary. It will work out the best division of responsibilities among the operational organizations, taking into account their comparative advantages and in-country capacity. For example, UNHCR, UNICEF and ICRC have conducted mine-awareness training and risk reduction education; WFP and UNHCR have initiated mine-clearance programmes; and UNDP and UNOPS have administered a range of programmes at the field level. As peace building proceeds, local authorities may begin to take more control of the operation, while DHA's involvement declines to one of coordination and policy. Funding for this phase comes directly from donors, through the United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal process.
Transferring or terminating the programme. The goal of any mine action programme is to build local capacity to such a point that the host government can take full responsibility. Beforehand, DHA ensures that all elements of the programme are in place, that priorities have been negotiated and established, and that the programme is being executed as efficiently and effectively as possible. Where such a transfer is not practical, the United Nations programme continues as long as there remains a need and sufficient external funding.
The Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine-Clearance
The Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine-Clearance can be drawn upon at any time for:
Since the Fund was set up in November 1994, approximately US$ 31 million has been received and US$ 6.5 million pledged by almost 40 Member States and various organizations. The ten largest contributors have been: the European Union, Japan, Denmark, the United States of America, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. As of April 1997, more than US$ 29 million has been spent or committed for expenditure on mine action programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angola, Mozambique, Croatia/ Eastern Slavonia, Afghanistan, Laos and Yemen, as well as on studies, conferences and other operating costs.
Towards a global ban on anti-personnel landmines
Over the past two years, there has been clear progress in the coordination of humanitarian mine-clearance activities, especially at the field level. No matter what progress is made in mobilizing these various institutions to address the global landmines threat, however, mine-clearance alone cannot and will not solve the landmines problem. It is equally important to pursue efforts to proceed towards a total ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of anti-personnel landmines. As the United Nations focal point for mine action, DHA works with the ICRC and many NGOs including the International Coalition to Ban Landmines in support of this goal.
There is a growing recognition by the international community that AP mines are an unacceptable weapon. The Secretary-General has urged all States to ensure the early entry into force of amended Protocol II to the 1980 United Nations Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons. He has also expressed appreciation for the 78 Member States which have made unilateral declarations or adopted national measures to curb the transfer or production of landmines, as steps leading to the ultimate elimination of these weapons. The Ottawa International Strategy Conference of 3-5 October 1996 has also further stimulated support for a total ban: winning wide endorsement from the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 51/45S (1996). This so called Ottawa Process is to be continued at a conference in Brussels in June 1997 and has the goal of inviting States to sign a treaty on a ban on AP mines by the end of 1997. To date, more than 60 countries have indicated their willingness to support the Ottawa Process. In Geneva, the Committee on Disarmament also has an AP mines ban under consideration.
While progress towards a ban on AP mines will be determined in these inter-governmental fora, DHA will continue to network, support international conferences, and make information available to Member States and others concerned with this important issue ( See box on Major conferences towards a global ban on landmines ).
Notes:
1 Report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly, A/50/408, 6 September 1995.
2 See The Priority Reconstruction Program: From Emergency to Sustainability, World Bank, November 1996.
3 See Cambodia Mine Action Centre (CMAC) Five-Year Strategy: May 1996 to December 2000.