Bringing It All Together

Mine Action: Where are we today?

Mine action is an international relief mechanism that responds to the changed nature of warfare, specifically the increase in unconventional warfare that involves NSAs, terrorists, insurgents and partisans. The threat landmines pose to civilians increased dramatically with the shift away from conventional warfare. Mine action will continue to evolve as warfare changes and as the international community learns new and better ways to meet post-conflict reconstruction needs.

Mine action is a relatively new field within the broader context of relief and development. While traditional humanitarian assistance activities have developed over the course of the second half of the twentieth century, humanitarian mine action (or humanitarian demining, as it was first called) came into existence only in the late 1980s in Afghanistan and Cambodia.

The recent effort to support coordinated mine action programs across countries and organizations is one of the most heartening aspects of this global undertaking. The NGOs, military units and commercial companies that have operated in numerous countries have often served as "learning catalysts," allowing for the rapid diffusion of lessons learned and best practices. Four distinct trends highlight this development: demining technology, establishing effective national programs, social development, and program coordination and integration.

How does demining technology figure into the mine action equation?

There has been a great deal of progress made in developing a comprehensive "toolbox" of mine clearance methodologies that serves to accelerate overall clearance rates by means of area reduction (declaring areas "safe") or of preparing an area for clearance operations.

Since the exact location of a mined area is seldom known, prudent deminers often begin clearing the total suspected area. The use of machines, brush-cutters and MDDs can quickly delineate the boundaries of a minefield and dramatically enhance total clearance productivity. In the future, we are expecting more and better tools to be added to this kit, including wide area detection systems and GPR. These items will not remove the need for a deminer and a detector, but they will serve to maximize the deminer’s efficiency and further speed clearance rates.

Demining, however, still comes down to one person or team with a metal detector and a probe. While the mine detectors are of better quality and dependability today than 10 years ago, the threat and the environment demand the same kind of courage and skill. Uncovering and destroying mines remains a slow, tedious and dangerous process. It does not appear that there will be a major technological "silver bullet" breakthrough any time in the near future.

How are effective national programs established?

There is a growing recognition that restoring security and safety to war-torn societies is a vital role of successful post-conflict reconstruction. Similarly, in the future, mine action will be viewed less as a unique "stand-alone" effort. Instead, it will be incorporated into a range of post-conflict activities aimed at eliminating the effects of war on civilians and allowing for social development, the resettlement of displaced civilians, and the stimulation of local agriculture, commerce and education.

How is mine action a precursor to social development?

There is a growing recognition that restoring security and safety to war-torn societies is a vital role of successful post-conflict reconstruction. Similarly, in the future, mine action will be viewed less as a unique "stand-alone" effort. Instead, it will be incorporated into a range of post-conflict activities aimed at eliminating the effects of war on civilians and allowing for social development, the resettlement of displaced civilians, and the stimulation of local agriculture, commerce and education.

How have program integration and coordination affected mine action?

Recently, great strides have been made to overcome deficiencies that existed initially in humanitarian demining, such as competition for resources among mine clearance organizations and lack of information and coordination among organizations.

The Impact Survey process, feeding into the IMSMA, provides managers with the tools and the knowledge required to develop more structured country programs with clear strategic objectives and unified work plans. Program performance can now be measured in terms of land restored and communities rehabilitated, forming a vital link with a country’s overall development goals.

What is the potential for mine action in the future?

Mine action is more than the sum of its parts. It is a central component of any comprehensive response to post-conflict reconstruction and national reconciliation. The widespread presence of landmines is one of the factors that stand in the way of economic development, contributing instead to social instability and poverty. Future mine action efforts will be more responsive to the wider needs of war-ravaged countries, effectively planned and prioritized, and efficiently using resources to address the most pressing needs first.

This is an exciting and unique endeavor, altogether appropriate for a new millennium. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Rarely has there been the promise of so many diverse organizations doing so much for so many different people."

What is needed for mine action programs to be successful?

Well-organized mine action centers, a diverse cast of players and adequate funding are the key elements for mine action success.

Mine Action Centers Given the range of activities and the number of players involved in mine action, coordination is a prerequisite to the effective implementation of mine action programs in the field. The establishment of a Mine Action Center (MAC) or national landmine office is a central component of most mine action programs. MACs are normally initiated and developed under the authority of local and national governments. The United Nations typically assists by coordinating international support. This assistance is provided through the UNMAS, for programs developed in the context of peacekeeping operations or in response to immediate humanitarian needs, and through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), for long-term capacity-building programs. As a part of their bilateral efforts to improve mine action in countries at risk, many donor countries and NGOs support and fund national or regional offices.

To be successful, MACs rely on two primary supports:

• The commitment of the national government to mine action
• The strength of the partnerships they build with international donors, operators, humanitarian agencies and the local communities.

Typical major MAC activities include:

• Managing and coordinating outreach and operation activities
• Conducting geographical surveys
• Conducting socio-medical surveys
• Prioritizing mine action projects in coordination with host-nation reconstruction and rehabilitation planning
• Coordinating mine/UXO clearance operations
• Conducting survivor assistance
• Conducting MRE
• Maintaining landmine-related information.

A Diverse Cast of Players The number and diversity of organizations involved in mine action includes donor countries, NGOs, international organizations, military units, commercial firms and host-nation agencies. Unfortunately, they do not always coordinate and communicate.

Some countries (such as the United States) rely heavily on bilateral nation-to-nation support; others combine their energies with those of a region, such as the European Commission; and some rely on international or regional organizations to coordinate national mine action efforts.

Militaries, with their special training in countermine operations, often play key roles by developing training programs and offering valuable advisory assistance. NGOs such as Mines Advisory Group, HALO Trust and Norwegian People’s Aid have played a critical role. UNMAS and the Swiss government-sponsored GICHD offer international support and coordination, and focus on such issues as mine action standards and mine action information management.

Funding A key problem for many mine action organizations is a lack of long-term funding commitments from donors. It often takes months and sometimes years for a successful mine action campaign to be completed. Donors understandably want to see results, but indicators of success are difficult to measure. Early attempts to measure effectiveness by ordnance destroyed or even area cleared have proven to be inadequate. Many donors have been reluctant to commit funds for extended operations. Nevertheless, many humanitarian organizations and agencies continue to work tirelessly to improve the quality of life in communities threatened by landmines. Great strides have been made and many successful operations have rendered hundreds of communities and countries mine safe.

Why is it important to talk of the landmine problem in terms of impact rather than numbers?

Nobody knows exactly how many landmines have been used or how many still remain in the ground as a threat to life and livelihood of civilian populations. What we do know, however, is that the threat of landmines denies people access to infrastructure, health care, schools, and agricultural land and impedes a nation’s progress in economic development. One landmine hidden in the playground of a school is enough to deny a class of students access to education.

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