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Mine Action Portfolio 2010-2011

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On the monumental day of August 1st 2010, the convention that prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions (CCM) entered into force. Together with the Mine Ban Treaty, these two international conventions do not merely serve as legal frameworks for NPA’s global work. They also serve as major motivators for all of us who are daily involved in both the practical and political work of this particular humanitarian sector. NPA was heavily involved in the leadup to the Mine Ban Convention of 1999, and we were instrumental in the process that now has given us a second legal framework for the protection of civilians, the CCM.

As NPA enters its 19th year as a major supplier of safety in war torn countries by contributing to the effective removal of landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW), we remain one of the core demining and cluster clearance NGOs. An important element of NPAs strategic approach to the global problem of explosive remnants of war is our decision to continuously strive for a role beyond being a mine or cluster clearance operator. NPA’s mission statement is founded in the be-lief that only by projecting our practical and empirical experiences and our institutional knowledge from nearly two decades of extensive field work, can we influence the development of politics, policies, methodologies and best practices to address the problem of ERW.

In the coming period, inspired by the new convention on cluster munitions, NPA will continue its commitment and drive to deliver and develop high quality and effective clearance programs to eliminate the threat from landmines and ERW. NPA will also continue to do its outmost to bring to the table all relevant aspects and experiences from our nearly 20 years of involvement, in order to ensure that the implementation of the CCM and the design of clearance programs will be ef-fective and built on relevant and functional lessons learned from the Mine Ban Treaty. NPA will also maintain and further its focus on assisting countries where treaty obligations are within close reach, or where completion may be further away than the size and scope of the problem would indicate. Additionally, NPA will, in all aspects of its work emphasize the roles and responsibilities of the governments of the affected states.

We thank our committed donors for your support, and we thank our international and national staff for their dedication and hard work.

Per NergaardDirector, Mine Action Department

Norwegian People`s AidMine Action DepartmentStorgt. 33 A, Oslo, Norway

Telephone: +47 22 03 77 00Telefax: +47 22 20 08 70E-mail: [email protected]

Donation informationIn order to continue its work and expand into other regions the NPA Mine Action Department needs financial support. Any donations are greatly appreciated.

For donations, please use the information below:

Account number: 9001.05.00000IBAN NUMBER: NO94 9001 0500 000SWIFT / BIC: LABANOKKXXXName of bank:SpareBank 1 Oslo ASPostboks 778 Sentrum0106 OSLONorway Or visit our webpage www.npaid.org for online donations

NPA treats all information regarding your gift strictly confidential and we do not share information with other parties.

Front page:Sudanese deminer on her way to work. © Dixie

MINE ACTION

MILJØMERKET

241 TRYKKSAK 716

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Norwegian People’s Aid’s more than 9500 members are organized in local branches all over Norway. First aid, mountain rescue services and emergency aid are important components in our work. Other focus areas are the running of reception centers for refugees, voluntary activities for the elderly and disabled, as well as work against racism.

On an international level, Norwegian People’s Aid has commitments in more than 30 coun-tries. Local competence is the key for sustainable projects. That is why we always work though local partners and with local authorities.

The work of Norwegian People’s Aid has four main pillars;• Work against oppression, poverty and unfair distribution of resources• Fighting racism and discrimination• Working for gender equality, and against violence and abuse• Prevention, promoting voluntarism and building competence

Norwegian People’s Aid is one of the leading organizations worldwide in humanitarian mine action. We have actively promoted the international treaties banning landmines and cluster munitions.

About

NORWEGIAN PEOPLE´S AID

Norwegian People’s Aid is a humanitarian organization rooted in the Norwegian Labor Movement. We support people in their struggle for more power and influence over their own lives and in the development of their societies.

MINE ACTION

During the war in Sudan the area around the school in Atende was a battlefield. After the war Norwegian People›s Aid made the school yard safe for the kids to play in, removing antipersonnel landmines. Today the school has 293 students between 5 and 15 years old.

We thank Norad for their support in the publication of this document.

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NPA’s political engange ment 4

Advocacy and Operations 4

MBT & the road ahead 5

Implementing the CCM 6

Angola 9

Bosnia Herzegovina 10

Cambodia 11

Croatia 12

Ethiopia 13

Georgia 14

Guinea Bissau 15

South Iraq 16

Jordan 17

Tools & Methods 18

Lao PDR 20

Lebanon 21

Moldova 22

Sudan 23

Serbia & Tajikistan 24

Thailand 25

Uganda 26

Vietnam 27

Completion Initiative 28

Zambia 29

Mozambique & Western Sahara 30

Kosovo & Iran 31

Northern Iraq & Sri Lanka 32

Serbia & Malawi 33

Rwanda & Gaza 34

GTC 35

Ongoing NPA programme

Completed NPA programme

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NPA´s political

ENGAGEMENTAnti personnel mines and cluster munitions are indiscriminate weapons that injure and kill civilians in every corner of the globe, every day. They do not recognize ceasefires and claim victims long after the end of conflicts. They instill fear in communities and are a lethal barrier to development.

be freed so that local populations can make productive use of it for developmental impacts. Since 2006 NPA has engaged heavily with UNDP and concerned donors to engage less affected countries in survey and clearance, resulting in four more countries declaring themselves free of landmines at the 2nd Review Conference in Cartagena, Colombia in December 2009.

NPA, more than any other NGO operator, engages with natio-nal authorities (most often state parties to the two Conventions) to make sure that they themselves have capacity to take overall responsibility for the problem inside their borders, by providing survey capacities and data, data management capacities and technology and by assisting in clearance of land. This is disarma-ment politics in practice!

NPA is presently engaging with the growing discourse on the problem of explosive weapons more generally, in particular the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, the growing use of Impro-vised Explosive Devices (IED), the safe and efficient destruction of the enormous amount of Explosive Remanants of War (ERWs) scat-tering the globle and the safe and secure management of stocks of explosive weapons as part of a larger Good Governance agenda.

By Per Nergaard

NPA has been actively engaged in the political struggle to ban landmines from the mid-1990s, and in recent years has been an integral part of the global coalition to ban cluster munitions. As an active and strong partner in both the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) NPA has been engaging in ban activism as well as implementation advocacy assisting states parties to fulfill their obligations under the two Conventions. The implementation advocacy work has seen NPA initiate and participate in NGO-driven activities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of clearance operations, survey and socio-economic prioritization of work and quality assurance. For NPA’s political engagement entails staying the course and making sure states parties, in addition to aligning and ratifying the Conven-tions, and non-signatories alike will never again use landmines and cluster munitions, that stockpiles of landmines and cluster muni-tions will be destroyed cost-efficiently and without environmental side-effects to prevent future disasters, to make sure that these weapons are not traded and to make sure that affected land will

Advocacy and operations

– TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COINIn the field of humanitarian mine action, NPA is one of very few organizations on a global scale that are active both in operational clearance and in advocacy. To NPA, field operations and advocacy are two sides of the same coin.

Every single mine and UXO removed from the ground improves living conditions for post-conflict populations. It is of equal humanitarian importance though to develop international humanitarian legislations that will prevent or reduce further contamination of mines, cluster mu-nitions and other UXO. Moreover, it is crucial to continuously influence states to respect and implement this legislation.

In NPA’s mine action efforts the operational work and the advocacy work are seen as mutually reinforcing activities, both aimed at changing realities on the ground. Thus, we invest resources and staff to continuously stay active in both areas.

NPA’s advocacy ambitions are based on the knowledge garnered in our clearance operations. Our field work informs our policy and advocacy formulation and gives us credibility and increased impact as an advocate. In return, our policy and advocacy work gives us credibility as an operator, and this facilitates access in the field and attracts a broader group of partners and donors.

NPA has been deeply involved in the processes to ban mines and cluster munitions, bringing field experience and knowledge to the attention of states through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

Successful negotiations at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions May 19 – 30, 2008.

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Anti- Personell Mine Ban Treaty

STATUS AND THE ROAD AHEAD

The Mine Ban Treaty is the most successful disarmament legislation the world has seen. To date it covers more than 75 % of the world’s countries, and signed by 156 per April 2010. In December 2009 the states parties to the MBT gathered in Cartagena (Colombia) for the 2nd Review Conference to sum up the achievements so far. Landmine Monitor, the civil society driven monitoring mechanism, summed the achievements up:

• It is still unclear as to the accurate size of the landmine pro-blem globally, but estimations are that the total problem is less than 3,000 square kilometers.

• 11 states have cleared all their landmines.• Since 1999 at least 1100 square kilometers of land has been

cleared of landmines, in 2008 alone around 160 square kilo-meters were cleared (the largest annual number in the history of the MBT).

• There are still challenges in many countries, but recent me-thodological developments (like the Land Release break-through) will help reduce the problem even more effectively over the next ten years

When it comes to financing of the landmine work (the so cal-led Article 6) USA, EC, Japan, Canada and Norway are among the largest funders, while Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Cambodia are among the largest recipients.

Norwegian People’s Aid’s analysis is that even though the MBT has been a huge success and has saved thousands of lives over the last ten years there are still challenges in relation to sensible, efficient and results focused resource utilisation, development and quality assurance of new methodology and ensurance that funding levels are kept at 2008 levels.

By Atle Karlsen

• Despite the fact that 39 countries still have not acceded to the MBT, including large producers and former users like USA, Russia, China, India and Pakistan, the Convention has had a deep normative effect.

• It has not been proven that any state party has used landmines in the last years.

• The only countries where landmines are either used or sus-pected used are Myanmar, Georgia and Russia.

• Positive effects have also been shown on Non State Actors (NSAs) and only in seven countries has such use been proven in 2008.

• Of more than 50 previous producers there are just 13 coun-tries still producing or reserving the right to produce (only India, Pakistan and Myanmar have verified production).

• In relation to landmine trade the Convention has effectuated a de facto ban, also among the countries that have not acce-ded. Illegal trade in 2009 is minimal.

• In relation to destruction most countries are on their way to reach their obligations and more than 44 million landmines have been destroyed.

In relation to Article 5, landmine clearance, status is as follows:• 70 countries and seven other areas (not legally recognized as

countries) are affected by landmines to a larger or lesser extent.

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By Grethe Østern

As an active member of the Cluster Munition Coalition, NPA cam-paigned hard for the negotiation of a strong ban on cluster mu-nitions. We did so, because as a clearance operator, we simply could not watch the contamination caused by cluster munitions to continue to build up, while we and other organizations were working hard to rid the world of landmines. A ban on cluster mu-nitions was necessary, because this type of weapon was killing and injuring too many civilians.

The CCM, Convention on Cluster Munitions, is the most sig-nificant international disarmament treaty since the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. It bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions, sets strict deadlines for clearance of contami-nated land (within 10 years) and destruction of stockpiles of the weapon (within 8 years), and includes groundbreaking provisions for assistance to victims and affected communities.

With the CCM having entered into force on 1 August 2010, the time has now come for implementation - translating the legal obligations into real actions. States Parties to the CCM can count on our support in their work to meet the deadlines to clear land and destroy stockpiles.

NPA’s message to all States Parties with contaminated land to clear or stockpiles to destroy, is to START NOW! By making their specific needs known and with early and concrete planning, we are convinced that the vast majority of states should be able to finish clearance and destruction well before the deadlines. We stand ready to assist States Parties in this important endeavor.

Many countries that are contaminated by cluster munitions or that have legacy stockpiles of cluster munitions are low income countries and have already stretched capacities to respond to these challenges. But they will not have to meet their obligations alone. Cooperation and assistance among States Parties will be vital in ensuring that they collectively succeed in destroying their stockpiles. The CCM should not be seen as a burden, but rather an opportunity for affected states to get support for work that they would otherwise have to undertake anyway in exercising their fundamental duties towards their citizens.

NPA will also continue to encourage states that have not yet joined the CCM to get on board immediately. This is a question of political will and placing a priority on the protection of civilians over outdated and indiscriminate weapons.

Implementing the Convention

ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS

Norwegian People’s Aid was heavily involved in the Oslo Process to ban cluster munitions. It is now our aspiration to remain a catalyst for the States Parties to realize this Convention’s potential to save innumerable lives.

Destruction of cluster munitions in Moldova 2009.

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Clearing cluster munitions remnants and saving livesFor populations living near areas contaminated with cluster muni-tions remnants, the consequences are severe. For decades after a war has ended, submunitions continue to kill or maim children, women and men that encounter them as a part of their daily activities. Cluster munition remnants also pose impediments to economic and social development.

Clearance is crucial to prevent further casualties from cluster munitions. Article 4 of the CCM obliges States Parties to clear areas contaminated by cluster munitions as soon as possible but no later than 10 years after entry into force of the Convention for that State Party.

With the exception of some very few countries like Lao PDR, all countries affected by cluster munitions should be able to meet their clearance obligations within the first five years of joining the treaty or even earlier - provided that they identify the extent of the problem and start clearance as soon as possible.

NPA has extensive experience with cluster munition clearan-ce and have chosen to dedicate resources to the development of methodologies for safe and efficient surveying and clearance of areas contaminated with duds from cluster munitions, as distinct from mine clearance.

We have executed cluster munitions specific clearance pro-grammes in Lebanon, Georgia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Serbia and Zambia, and have also cleared cluster munitions as part of our mine/ERW clearance activities in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sudan, Angola, Croatia and Iraq.

Destroying cluster munition stockpiles and preventing a future humanitarian crisisThe destruction of stockpiles is a crucial obligation in the CCM, a treaty which at its heart is about prevention. Destruction of stock-piles of cluster munitions is about preventing a future humanita-rian crisis at its source! The only way to be sure that no cluster munitions are ever used again by States Parties, is to ensure de-struction of each and every cluster munition in their stockpiles. This preventive action will systematically and definitively ensure that new unexploded submunitions do not contaminate our land, and thus that innumerable and unnamed children and adults will not not be maimed or killed.

Article 3 of the CCM obliges States Parties to destroy stockpi-les “as soon as possible”, but within 8 years. As with the clearance deadline, the most important thing that states can do, is to START NOW!

During the Oslo Process it became clear that several nations were concerned over their obligations to destroy cluster muni-tion stockpiles under Article 3 of the CCM. For some nations, this concern was also considered an obstacle to joining the conven-tion. In NPA’s view this was caused by an undue emphasis being placed on the complexity and cost of the destruction of cluster munitions. Moreover the need for industrial solutions to destroy stockpiles was also exaggerated.

Implementing the Convention

ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre congratulates Afghani ban advocate Soraj Ghulan Habib with the successful signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo December 2008.

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Destruction of cluster munitions - although more technically demanding than the destruction of most landmines - is a per-fectly feasible task. If all States Parties are to be successful in destroying their stockpiles in time, then both the large industrial destruction facilities and alternative small-scale national or regio-nal destruction programmes are needed and should be seen as complementary.

Thus during the course of 2008-2010, NPA has examined and developed a concept of low-tech “help to self-help” de-struction of stockpiles of cluster munitions. This approach can be implemented with our expert advice in small-scale in-country destruction programmes that are both affordable, safe, practical and environmentally friendly. Advantages also include national ownership and capacity-building.

NPA’s help to self-help approach to destruction of cluster mu-nitions is in particular suitable for States Parties with small or unusual stockpiles of cluster munitions. It can be fielded in all shades between a turn-key operation and as an advisory function, depending on the needs of the stockpiling country.

The success of this concept was highlighted in the partners-hip between NPA and the Republic of Moldova, a country which has shown admirable international leadership in the field of cluster munitions stockpile destruction. NPA partnered with the Government of Moldova in 2009 - with assistance from OSCE - in assessing the feasibility, and conducting research on, the de-velopment of self-help, efficient disposal programme for its air dropped cluster bombs that are a legacy from the former Soviet Union. The destruction programme was successfully implemen-ted over the course of a very short period of time in May-June 2010, with funding from the Spanish & Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By the time that the CCM came into force on the 1st of August, 2010, with this important international assistance, the Republic of Moldova could declare that it is free from cluster munitions under its jurisdiction and control.

NPA’s work on the destruction of cluster munitions is an inte-gral part of our initiative to promote the CCM and to show through practical examples that its obligations can be met and the cluster problem overcome.

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NPA Luanda Office

NPA Malanje Office

ANGOLACountry in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia,

the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Area: 1.246.700 sq kmPopulation: 16,941,000

Demographic:

Ovimbundu 37% Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13% European 1%, and 22% other.

State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemAngola has been plagued by civil war since independence from Portugal in 1975 until the peace accords between the government and UNITA were signed the 4th of April 2002. Mines as well as a whole other slew of traditional ammunitions and explosives were used by both sides during the conflict, making Angola one of the most mine infected countries in the world. Large portions of the country are still not accessible due to mines and ERW, and it is estimated that one fifth of the population has its day to day life af-fected by mines and ERW.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryUpon request by the UN, NPA involved itself with mine clearance in Angola in 1994. Initially, the task was to map the coastal provinces and other areas pinpointed as camps for demobilized soldiers, as well as clearing the main highway between Luanda and Malanje. Due to the mine problem and the huge distances, three separate bases for clearance were established throughout the country. From 1995 to 2004 these bases were located in the cities of Malanje, Lu-ena and Lubango. In 2003 NPA took part in the country wide survey of the mine problem, and became responsible for 5 provinces in the northwestern part of Angola (Malanje, Kwanza Sul, Kwanza Norte, Uige, Zaire).The result of said survey created the base for strategic plans for mine clearance in Angola by national authorities (2006-2013). The strategic plan then created the basis for a large increase in funding by Angolan authorities for mine clearance. Several inter-national donors have since chosen to pull out of Angola, but NPA has had continued support from its donors until 2010-11, albeit at a considerably reduced level compared to previous years.

NPA has since 2003 reduced its assets in Angola such as the bases in Lubango and Luena as well as its mine detection dog project. At the end of 2009 NPA also closed its base in Gabela, Kwanza Sul Province running all provincial operations out of Ma-lanje. Today, NPA is located in Malanje with a country office in Luanda and the programme will continue to decrease until 2011 when further reconsiderations will be made. Today, NPA’s main fo-cus has been less on large scale full clearance and more on the development of methodologies for Land Release to release impac-ted land via Non-Technical Survey (NTS) and Technical Survey (TS) utilizing its remaining mechanical and manual demining capacities in a more focused, effective and cost efficient manner, as well as support to national authorities on land release policy, survey and capacity building training in these areas.

CapacityPersonnel: 100 local employees, 2 international staff.Consisting of 40 manual deminers, mechanical demining with 2 Aardvark machines and 2 Casspir vehicles, 2 Combined Survey/ EOD teams, logistics personnel, medics and communication as well as administrative staff. Planned procurement of additional til-ler machine and vehicles.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ends December 2010), The US Department of State, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Statoil.

Angola is one of the most mine infected countries in the world with human suffering and hampered development as a consequence

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NPA Sarajevo Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThe war in Bosnia and Herzegovina has left behind a grim legacy of mines and other ERW, which can be found in almost all parts of the country. The leftover mines and ERW have a great impact on the society in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its economy. One fourth of populated places and one third of the population in Bosnia and Herzegovina is affected by mines and ERW. Most of the 11,443 mine suspected areas were identified between the former confron-tation lines, stretching for more than 18,000 km. The estimated size of suspected areas contaminated by mines and ERW is about 1,555 square kilometers, or 3.04 % of the total land surface area. Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is among the countries with the largest average number of mine and ERW casualties per million in-habitants. Since 1992 until the end of 2009 there were registered 5,033 mine and ERW casualties in B&H. In the period after the war there were 1,694 casualties, of these 495 fatalities.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA has been running its Mine Action Programme in B&H since 1996. Initially, the MA Programme worked in the Tuzla area, in sup-port of the NPA Reconstruction Programme. In 1998 the focus shifted to the Sarajevo Canton, and most NPA MA assets worked in the Sarajevo Canton from 1998 – 2003, but also in other regi-ons, namely Herceg-bosanski Canton, Hercegovačko-neretvanski Canton and the Republika Srpska. After examining the results of the Landmine Impact Survey conducted in 2003, NPA decided to focus on the Bosanska Posavina region as this region was the most affected by the long-term negative effects of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. Consequently, since 2004 NPA has been working, with most assets and focus, in the Bosanska Posavina region, combining individual demining tasks based on mine action plans with community liaison, technical survey, mine clearance, mine risk education and permanent marking of af-fected communities. Since 2005, NPA has supported B&H Mine Action Centre through the secondment of general survey teams conducting identification of mine suspected areas, and creating new projects for technical survey and mine clearance tasks. Since 1996, NPA has surveyed 185.1 square kilometers, and returned 115.6 square kilometers to local communities, destroying 8,381 mines and 43,402 ERW.

The overall objective of the NPA mine action programme is to enhance the ability of affected communities and endangered groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina to control their own lives, increa-sing their safety and improving their living standards. Furthermore, NPA works consistently in exploiting the potential for the creation of synergies through partnerships with local communities and re-levant state authorities involved in mine action. Finally, NPA makes a significant contribution to national authorities in their successful completion of obligations under the MBT.

CapacityPersonnel: 124 national staff, 1 community liaison team, 8 general survey teams, 6 manual clearance/technical survey teams, 2 Mini MineWolf medium sized tiller/flail machines, 1 Tempest-5 mini-flail, 1 armoured Frontloader, 8 operational mine detection dogs, 1 EOD Team, 6 medical teams.

Donors The core program funding comes from the Royal Norwegian Mi-nistry of Foreign Affairs. Additional funding from The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs through International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) and the German Fe-deral Foreign Office through ITF.

BOSNIA HERZEGOVINACountry in South East Europe bordered by Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea.

Area: 51.129 sq kmPopulation: approx. 4,000,000

Demographic:

Bosnian 48 %Serbs 37,1 %Croats 14,3 %others 0,6 %


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NPA Phnom Penh Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemAfter three decades of armed conflict, Cambodia is one of the most mine/UXO contaminated countries in the world. Cambodia expe-riences several hundred landmine and UXO victims per year. The Cambodian Mine Action Authorities have requested an extension on the Mine Ban Treaty Article 5, which was approved in 2009. Since then Cambodian mine action authorities have launched a Base Line Survey (BLS) in cooperation with all operators in order to prepare a new map defining the extent of remaining contamination with a high degree of accuracy.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA’s presence in Cambodia dates from 1992 with the first demi-ners deployed to the North-West under UN auspices. Since 1993 and until today NPA has provided financial and technical assistan-ce to the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC). In January 2007, upon request by Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), NPA initiated the project called Empowering CMAA with objectives to assist the national authority (CMAA) and local operators (CMAC, army and police) in the process of analy-zing, planning, the dissemination and use of mine action data.

Today, NPA has three running mine action projects in Cambo-dia: 1. Information Management with CMAA, supporting the infor-mation management unit at CMAA to facilitate for further develop-ment of the Database Unit’s maintenance and monitoring capacity, providing an effective planning and problem monitoring capacity in order for Cambodia to efficiently comply with the MBT. 2. Survey and land release with CMAC, with the aim to develop and imple-ment a land release concept and methodology through the natio-nal mine action operator CMAC, in order to improve efficiency and impact of CMAC operations. Resources have also been put into as-sisting CMAA in developing national standards on land release and survey. 3. Mines and explosive detection dog capacities with CMAC to ensure a high quality and cost efficient mine detection dog and explosive detection dog performance, as well as a sustainable dog capacity. NPA also takes on an active role in influencing the Cam-bodian government to become a signatory to the CCM.

CapacityNPA presently provides one Technical Advisor (TA) to the CMAC Mine Detection Dog Program. In further support to CMAC, NPA provides a Technical Advisor to assist development of the CMAC Technical Survey capacities in line with the land release methodo-logy. Furthermore, NPA is providing one Technical Advisor on Infor-mation Management that is assisting CMAA and local operators to streamline their information management systems. All three TA’s are utilized in the effort to empower CMAA in their different roles to coordinate, monitor and regulate the mine action activities in Cambodia as well as supporting the other NPA programmes in the region.

Donors The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US Department of State and The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

CAMBODIACountry in Southeast Asia, bordering Thailand,

Lao PDR, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand.

Area: 181.040 sq kmPopulation: 14,500,000 (2009)

Demographic:

Khmer: 90%Vietnamese: 5%Chinese 1%other 4%

State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Conven-tion on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Kei Khonn with granddaughter Linn Srey Neth, Cambodia 2008

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NPA Zadar Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemCroatia declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Re-public of Yugoslavia in 1991. The Yugoslav Army (JNA) took the side of Serb forces that fought for the construction of a break-away Serb Republic within the borders of Croatia. After the JNA had pulled out in 1992, fighting between Serb and Croatian forces continued until 1995. Landmines were used extensively, and as a result, at the end of 2009, approximately 887.7 square kilometers of land in Croatia is still contaminated or suspected to be contaminated with mines, cluster munitions and unexploded ordnance. Almost one million people, that is, almost one quarter of the entire population lives or in some way makes use of the areas treated as mine suspected.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA started a mine action programme in Croatia in the fall of 2001. The programme was set-up in the town of Benkovac in Zadar Co-unty. Since its establishment in Croatia, NPA has been engaged in tasks located in southern Croatia in Zadar and Sibenik-Knin Counties and in north-eastern Croatia in Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem Counties. In accordance with its most recent strategy, NPA is predominantly engaged in Zadar County. NPA’s strategic objective in Croatia is to release the entire mine suspected farmland securing sustainable improvement of living conditions of returnees in Zadar County. Per December 31, 2009 NPA had surveyed over 40 million square meters and released land covering approximately 25.6 million square meters. In accordance with its exit strategy– NPA MA Croatia will complete its mine rela-ted activities in the country with the 2010 project.

CapacityPersonnel: 30 national staff as of February 2010. One team con-ducting general survey, task impact assessment, community liaison and mine risk education, two technical survey / manual mine cle-arance teams, one mechanical team (one MV-4 mini-flail), two mine detection dog teams (4 mine detection dogs), and two medical teams.

Donors The core programme funding comes from the Royal Norwegian Mi-nistry of Foreign Affairs. Additional donors have been the Australian Embassy in Zagreb, the Canadian Government through UNDP and In-ternational Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF), the Kingdom of Spain through ITF, the Principality of Monaco directly and through UNOPS and the US Department of State through ITF.

CROATIACountry in South Eastern Europe, bordered by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia , Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea.

Area: 56.542 sq kmPopulation: 4,500,000

Demographic:

Croat 89.6%Serb 4.5%Bosnian 0.5%others 5.4%


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NPA builds local capacity for the training of Mine Detection Dogs in Ethiopia

NPA Addis Ababa Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemMine Action in Ethiopia is a mature activity managed by a national authority, the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO), established in 2001 and now supported by operational assets. The area identi-fied by the Ethiopian Landmine Impact Survey (ELIS) covered 2500 square kilometers and found that more than 1.9 million people live in a total of 1,492 mine-affected communities. The threat is ex-tensive and widespread with 10 of the 11 regions affected and ranging from pattern minefields in the north to random pattern low density suspected hazardous areas (SHA) in the remainder of the country. Mine and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) contamina-tion stems from a series of internal and international armed con-flicts, including the Ogaden war between Ethiopia and Somalia (1977-1978), the border war with Sudan (1980), internal conflicts (1974-1991), and the Ethiopian-Eritrean war (1998-2000). The ELIS also recorded 16,616 casualties, more than half of whom had been killed.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA was first involved as the implementer of the 2003 – 2004 Et-hiopian Landmine Impact Survey conducted with the EMAO, then become directly involved with capacity development initiatives which resulted in the introduction of Mine Detection Dogs (MDD) and specialised Technical Survey teams using Land Release me-thodology in a 2005 – 2007 project period. Cooperation further led to the development of a Mine Action Training Centre, transfer of Technical Survey teams into also becoming Rapid Response teams and improvements of operational planning. A complete re-survey of the Ethiopian landmine and ERW problem has been conducted with results to be used as the foundation for all future operational planning and the new EMAO Mine Action plan.

NPA and EMAO are now in the final stage of the 2008 – 2010 project period and have started discussions for a new project period, 2011 – 2013. NPA continues to support the MDD capacity and sup-plies more dogs to EMAO from the NPA Global Training Centre in Sarajevo (GTC), including a puppy project. Equally important is con-tinuing to build the competence of EMAO MDD personnel to a level where they can train dogs themselves and sustain an MDD capa-city with direct support from GTC. With the planned increased Land Release and continued funding Ethiopia will reach its June 2015 obligation of the MBT.

CapacityNPA has 2 international staff (Programme Manager and Senior Technical Advisor) and 5 national staff (Finance Officer, Adminis-tration Officer, Project Assistants and Logistic Assistant) to build up and sustain the Mine Detection Dog capacity and the development of the Mine Action Training Centre. Currently NPA supports 52 MDD staff; in addition capacity initiatives are conducted with other senior management and operational staff including direct coope-ration between Programme Manager and EMAO Director General.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Embassy, Addis Ababa (Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Finland.

ETHIOPIAEthiopia is a landlocked country situated

in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti.


Demographic:

Oromo 34.49%Amhara 26.89%Tigray-Tigrinya 6.07%and other

State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Conven-tion on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

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NPA Tiblisi Office

NPA conducted an underwater survey of the Poti Harbour in Georgia.

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThe war between Russia and Georgia the fall of 2008 left a large number of unexploded ordnances in Georgia. During the conflict, both sides used cluster munitions. The cluster problem was mainly limited to the conflict area, especially in the region Karteli, north of Gori.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA began its Battle Area Clearance program in September 2008 when 13 people were transferred from NPA’s Bosnia Herzegovina program to Georgia. This team cleared the village of Ruisi until De-cember 2008. During this time span more than 1.1 million square meters of land was cleared and returned to the population.

It was then decided that the program would continue with locally employed and trained staff and new clearance operations were resumed in March 2009. During the year 2009, NPA cle-ared more than 4.2 million square meters and released another 657,000 through Non-Technical Survey.

2009 also saw the implementation of the General Mine Action Assessment (GMAA) of Georgia. NPA identified 15 Hazardous Are-as within Georgia totaling an estimated 4.5 million square meters, most being legacy minefields linked to the collapse of the USSR.

NPA Georgia also conducted an underwater survey of the Poti Harbour. The Project employed eight (8) Norwegian divers to con-duct the survey over a three (3) week period.

NPA BAC activity ceased in Georgia in 2010 and no further continuation of the program is planned.

CapacityNPA Georgia had 35 local employees as well as 2 international advisors

Donors BAC - The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. GMAA – The International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victim Assistance (ITF)Poti Harbour Survey – United States Department of State (USDoS)

GEORGIAGeorgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, bordered by the Black Sea, Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.


Demographic:

74,9 % Georgians, Ossetians, Abkhazians8,1 % Armenians, 6,3 % Russians5,7 % Azerbaijanis, 5 % others

Georgia is not a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

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NPA Bissau Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemAccording to a landmine impact survey eighty-one percent of the communities affected by ERW and landmines in Guinea Bissau are compact villages, relying on small-scale agriculture for survival. Alt-hough the overall scale of contamination and impact is somewhat limited, there is evidence from surveys that clearance will amelio-rate currently blocked or compromised access to agricultural and pasture land for almost half of these communities. The regions most affected are Cacheu and Oio in the north; this is mostly due to mine contamination from the Casamance Conflict. They, together with Buruntuma in Gabu region, constitute the highest priorities for clearance.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA was asked in 2009 by the national mine action coordination centre, Centro Nacional de Coordenação da Acção Anti-Minas (CAAMI) and UNDP to assist with non technical and technical sur-vey in order to help Guinea Bissau (GBS) reach its Article 5 obliga-tion by November 1st 2011. Without external technical assistance, GBS will not be able to meet its obligations.

CapacityNPA Mine Action is currently in the process of setting up a program in Guinea Bissau with the team which has finished our work in Zambia, we expect to be fully operational early fall 2010. NPA will re survey the country in order to redefine the mine problem and consequently use clearance assets where appropriate in order for Guinea Bissau to be able to reach its Mine Ban Treaty obligations.

Donors The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs & UNDP

GUINEA BISSAU The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is located in West Africa.

It is bordered by Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west.


Demographic:

African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%)European and mulatto less than 1%


A minefield in the Balkans

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NPA Basrah Office

NPA EOD team in Baghdad 2003

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemIraq is massively affected by landmines and ERW, the result of in-ternal conflicts, the 1980-1988 war with Iran, the 1991 Gulf war, and the conflict that has been ongoing since the 2003 invasion by the US-led Coalition. Since then, there have been almost daily attacks with car bombs and other IEDs on civilians. Iraqi security forces and coalition forces indicate vast amounts of abandoned ammunitions left unsecured after the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime. Much of this has been plundered and is assisting ongoing insurgencies. In addition to this, ERW is currently limiting access to agricultural and pasture land, and also affects other areas such as school yards and such.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA has been involved in Mine Action in northern Iraq since 1995, the Northern Iraq Mine Action Program closed down in 2009. In 2003 NPA established a one year program in Baghdad to remove hazardous Unexploded Ordnance and stockpiles around and within the city.

During 2009 NPA decided to establish a Mine Action Program in Central/South Iraq. The decision was made to establish NPA in the Basrah region to set up a program to assist in the capacity building of the Regional Mine Action Center South (RMACS) and to start clearance in the region.

CapacityNPA is, as of April 2010, in the process of setting up a Mine Action program in the Basrah region in southern Iraq.

Donors The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign AffairsThe United States Department of State

SOUTH IRAQ The republic of Iraq is located in the Middle East. It is bordered by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iran.

Area: 438,317 sq kmPopulation: 28,945,569

Demographic: Arab 75%-80%Kurdish 15%-20%Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%

Iraq is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Signatory to the Con-vention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

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NPA Amman Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThe mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem in Jordan de-rives from the 1948 partition of Palestine, the 1967–1969 Arab-Israeli conflict, and the confrontation with Syria in 1970’s. The mi-nefields were limited to three major areas, the Northern Highlands, the Jordan Valley and Wadi Araba in the south. There are also UXO in a small number of areas centered in the Ajloun and Irbid go-vernorates. According to military estimates, some 305,000 anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines were laid on Jordanian territory. Jordan’s mine action plan of June 2005 claimed that 35 million square meters of land across 314 minefields remained contamina-ted with 203,094 mines.

Mines in Jordan directly affect over eight percent of the popu-lation. Mine contamination blocks access to valuable agricultural land, delays irrigation and hydroelectric projects, restricts housing construction, and isolates historic and cultural heritage sites.

Jordan ratified the Mine Ban Treaty in May 1999 and is commit-ted to its revised obligation to clear all landmines before May 2012.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryIn 2006, the National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR) invited NPA to become the first international demining en-tity to work in Jordan. NPA was tasked with the clearing of the land-mines that were laid by Israel on the border to Israel in Wadi Araba and Aqaba between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea.

Following the success of removing more than 50,000 mines at the Wadi Araba/Aqaba Project, NPA was tasked with the clearance of all landmines on Jordan’s border with Syria, which constitutes the last known stretch of minefields in Jordan. The project is named the Northern Border Project and is a 104 kilometers of continuous mi-xed minefields with an estimated 136,000 AP- and AT-mines. NPA started clearance 1st of April 2008 and plans to complete the project by December 2011 provided that the necessary funding is available.

CapacityNPA-Jordan currently has over 150 personnel, including 3 expatria-te staff members. Manual clearance is supported by two demining machines and 10 mine detection dogs.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Japan in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the German Federal Foreign Office, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ASEZA, the Government of Canada & the EC, The United States Department of State.

JORDANArab country in Southwest Asia, bordered by Syria,

Iraq, the West Bank, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.


Demographic:

87 % Arabs and Palestinians7 % Armenians2 % Kurds2 % Cherkessk


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The global landmine and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) pro-blem can be solved provided we are willing to devote the neces-sary resources to its solution. Experts no longer talk in terms of hundreds of years to rid the world of the impact of mines, but rather of decades. Humanitarian efforts aimed at clearing unsafe areas for use by local civilian populations have developed enormo-usly since the first tentative programs started in the mid-1990s. A better understanding of the scale and nature of the problem ena-bles us to see more clearly how these problems can be solved. There is no single, simple solution to the global landmine problem. Every single area affected by mines has its own special characte-ristic, depending on the extent, duration and nature of the problem. Landscape, climate and existing infrastructure also imposes its li-mits as to how each specific problem can be solved. Mine infested areas in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, regions were Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) work, all demand different solutions due to technical and logistical challenges. NPA has developed an adjustable response to the many challenges represented by mine-fields around the world. These instruments, a variety of methods and technologies, can be deployed where they are most suited. We call this our demining toolbox.

TOOLS AND METHODS

Mine Risk Education (MRE)Those who live in mined areas before the mines are removed un-dergo mine security training aimed at reducing the risk of detona-ting a mine or an Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). The training is ai-med at both children and grown-ups, and can substantially reduce the number of mine accidents. Drama, cartoons, posters and the likes are used in raising awareness among the population.

Information Management (IM)In order to gain an over-view of the mine problem in a given area, all available information related to the suspected and confirmed mine fields is collected, systematized and may be coupled with Geographic Information Systems. A complete survey (Non-Technical Survey and/or Technical Survey) of the mine problem in a given area, the nature of the places which have been mined, their locality and their effect, eases the prioritising of resource use, the measu-rements of possible results and the devising of realistic plans for clearance.

Task Impact Assessment (TIA)TIA is a tool used actively by NPA before, during and after clearance activities, this in order to determine and measure the impact of

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clearance. TIA is a crucial tool for NPA in determining the socio economic effect NPA’s work has on people who live in, and the environment of, mine and cluster contaminated areas.

Manual DeminingThis method is used worldwide. Deminers systematically search an area with metal detectors and prodders in order to locate pos-sible mines. When a suspicious object is detected, the surrounding soil is carefully removed and the mines are defused or detonated. Manual demining is work and time consuming, but very reliable to the defined depth, and has the advantage of not requiring large investments to get started. Manpower is recruited and trained lo-cally, and therefore manual demining has the additional advantage of creating employment.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Battle Area Clearance (BAC) EOD personnel operate as specialized separate teams or within a demining unit. Specialized EOD personnel are also used for the disposal of Cluster Munitions. BAC teams are organized similarly to manual demining teams in order to undertake clearance of ERW in areas not contaminated with mines, such as our Cluster Munitions clearance programmes in Lao PDR, Vietnam, Georgia and Lebanon.

Mechanical Mine Clearance (MMC)Armoured machines with various forms of earth removing equip-ment, rotating chains and the like are driven over the minefields. The machines reveal, destroy and/or explode mines lying in the ground. Different follow-up techniques to assure that the land is safe for the end user is then applied, from visual investigation to a full demining drill depending on the situation in terms of terrain, vegetation, type of mines/ERW and the regulations in country. Mechanical mine clearance is effective in suitable areas, and has proven extremely useful when employing the Land Release methodology in order to define mine fields, and limit the area of a search. The development of mechanical mine clearance has progressed from heavy military equipment to lighter, more flexible civilian machinery.

Mine Detection Dogs (MDD) and Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD)Dogs can be trained to detect Mines and remnant of explosives. NPA breeds, trains and uses Mine Detection Dogs (MDD) and Ex-plosive Detection Dogs (EED) in its operations in Africa, Asia, Eu-rope and the Middle East. Dogs are particularly effective in detec-ting mines and ERW in areas where it is difficult to determine the exact location of an ordinance and bigger areas must be verified. Also where mines have been scattered unsystematically, in difficult terrain and where mines and ERW are buried deep, dogs are an ef-fective and sometimes the only tool that can be used. On clearance tasks, NPA uses a two-search procedure where initially, dogs on a long leash search a defined area, followed by a short leash dog search, and the dog handler walks in the area cleared by the dog. NPA is the only organization which uses this approach, an appro-ach that has built up a high trust between the handler and the dog as well as the end user.

Land ReleaseHistorically, inconsistent and inefficient methods of identifying and clearing mines and ERW have wasted precious demining resources and left affected areas contaminated. Past efforts to improve and optimize mine and ERW clearance have revealed that clearance and survey assets are often used too frequently, commanding sig-nificant resources to clear land with little or no actual contaminati-on. Limited demining resources are made available and, despite an acknowledged need, this does not seem likely to change. Norwe-gian People’s Aid has worked intensively in cooperation with other demining stakeholders, towards the creation and implementation of a Land Release policy. The Land release method emphasizes the use of non technical and technical survey for the release of land, a method now widely recognized by stakeholders. The Land Release method frees expensive and time consuming demining resources for the clearance of actual mined areas and more rapidly frees land for the population for housing, infrastructure projects, agricultural purposes or other development activities.

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NPA Vientiane Office

NPA has established operations in the three southern provinces of Saravan, Sekong and Atapeu as an independent operator

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemDuring the Indochina war Lao PDR experienced the heaviest aerial bombardment in history. US bombing records show an average of 176 sorties a day over nine years and more than two million tons of bombs were dropped between 1964 and 1973. A survey carried out by Handicap International in 1997 collected detailed informa-tion from 7,675 villages determining the presence of ERW, the type of land contaminated and types of UXO observed, the number of casualties caused by UXO and their impact on affected communi-ties. Preliminary results from a recent national Victim Survey show that previous recorded accident rates have been too low, with a realistic accident rate of 300 new victims per year being caused by UXO in Lao PDR since 1974.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA’s program in Lao PDR started in 1997 through technical as-sistance to the national operator UXO Lao with the deployment of technical advisors in the fields of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Mine Risk Education, Quality Assurance and Finance. The partnership with UXO Lao then switched to national level studies on Clearance Systems and then Enhanced Technical Survey (ETS), the latter project being nationalised in 2009. The partnership with UXO Lao continues: assistance is provided for UXO Lao operations in Khammouane Province.

Most recently, NPA established operations in the three south-ern provinces of Saravan, Sekong and Atapeu as an independent operator; the strategic goal for the programme is to reduce the hu-manitarian and socio-economic threat posed by UXO in Lao PDR.

2010 is also a key year for the UXO Sector in Lao PDR as Lao PDR will host the first Meeting of States Parties (to the Convention on Cluster Munitions) in late 2010. NPA has been a key stakehol-der in the ‘Oslo Process’, as a member of the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC), and will be providing substantive support to the National Regulatory Authority in the build-up to this important in-ternational meeting.

CapacityAs of the 28th of February, 2010, NPA has established operations in Saravan, Sekong and Atapeu. An initial capacity of 2 Survey Teams, 2 Clearance Teams and 1 Roving Team – in each province - was planned but there is already scope for further expansion. The use of Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD) will also be assessed during 2010. Staff; 190 national staff, 9 international staff.

Donors The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and US Department of State

LAO PDRLao PDR is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Area: 236.800 sq kmPopulation: Approx. 6,800,000 (est. 2009).

Demographic:

Lao Loum 68%Lao Theung 22%Lao Soung (incl. Hmong and Yao) 9% ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%.

Lao PDR is not a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CMC)

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NPA Beirut Office

NPA Tyr Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine Problem15 years of civil war coupled with 22 years of Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon has left the country with a considerable pro-blem of mine- and UXO contamination.

In 2005, 150 million square meters had been recorded as sus-pected hazardous areas. Approximately 33 million square meters of this has been cleared by the national army, the UN and interna-tional NGOs. A national plan is in place to clear all remaining high and medium impact communities throughout Lebanon by 2013 and remaining areas by 2015.

The 2006 war with Israel resulted in up to 500,000 new unex-ploded submunitions being scattered across more than 1,000 cluster strike sites. At the beginning of 2009, both the UN and NGOs reported major funding shortages to clear the remaining submunitions, which have resulted in the closing of operations and less clearance.

The landmine monitor has registered a total of 709 mine/ERW causalities in Lebanon in less than 10 years (1999-2008).

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryAfter the liberation of South Lebanon, Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) and local partners launched a Landmine Victim Assistance (VA) and a Mine Risk Education (MRE) Program in Lebanon in 2001. NPA provides medical rehabilitation to mine victims and provides financial, managerial and technical assistance to national partner NGOs involved in Mine Victims Assistance and Mine Risk Educa-tion projects such as micro-credit to mine victims and community meetings about the risk of cluster munitions. NPA is a co-chair of the National Committee for Mine Risk Education and The National Committee for Mine Victims Assistance together with the Lebanon Mine Action Centre.

Following the war with Israel in 2006, NPA established a Battle Area Clearance Project in South Lebanon to support the efforts by National Authorities through the Lebanese Mine Action Centre to remove and clear all sub-munitions as soon as possible.

CapacityWithin VA and MRE, NPA operates through national NGOs and in partnership with the Lebanese Mine Action Centre with one pro-ject coordinator. NPA is the only NGO to have a program for Mine Victims Assistance.

The Battle Area Clearance (BAC) Program has 69 staff, inclu-ding 3 international staff members. NPA operates 4 BAC teams, each with an accredited site supervisor, a section commander, and 8 searching staff.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

LEBANONCountry in the Middle East bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Syria and Israel


Demographic: Arab 95%Armenian 4%other 1%

Lebanon is not a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

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NPA Chisinau Office

In June 2010 NPA implemented a stockpile destruction program in Moldova. By the time the Convention on Cluster Munitions came into force, Moldova could declare itself free of cluster munitions under its jurisdiction and control.

Cause and Scope of the Stockpile ProblemIt has been recognized that 87 countries are stockpilers of Cluster Munitions. As a legacy from the former Soviet Union, Moldova had stockpiles. On the 22nd April 2010, in front of mass media and re-presentatives from Norwegian People’s Aid and OSCE the Moldo-van Ministry of Defence allowed the invited guests to witness the disposal programme of its 152mm Cluster Munition Projectiles.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryMoldova disposed of its Orkan rockets in 2006 and began destroy-ing its stockpile of 834, 152mm projectiles in early 2010. Nor-wegian Peoples Aid partnered with the Government of Moldova; with assistance from OSCE in 2009 in assessing the feasibility and conducting research and development of a self help, efficient disposal programme for air dropped cluster bombs. In May 2010 NPA implemented a stockpile destruction program in Moldova, in partnership with OSCE and the Moldovan Ministry of Defense and by the time that the CCM came into force on 1st August 2010, with this important international assistance, the Republic of Moldova was able to declare that it is free from Cluster Munitions under its jurisdiction and control.

CapacityNPA provided four Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technical Advisors to the project who worked in close collaboration with Moldovan authorities and the Organization for security and coope-ration in Europe.

Donors Organization for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Spa-nish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

MOLDOVACountry in Eastern Europe, bordered by Romania and the Ukraine.


Demographic:

Moldovan/Romanian 78.2%Ukrainian 8.4%Russian 5.8%Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3%

State party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

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NPA Yei Office

NPA Juba Office

Nancy Sunday John (22) is the only female Mine Wolf operator in Southern Sudan, maybe even in the whole world.

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemMore than 21 years of civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the Animist and Christian south has created a considerable problem with landmines and UXO in central and southern Sudan. Since the civil war broke out some 4 million people have been dis-placed and some 1, 5 million people have been killed by manmade or natural disasters. A Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) bet-ween the North and the South was signed in January 2005.

The mine threat is found in a number of regions in Sudan. The highest contamination (excluding border areas with Egypt in the North) is found in South Sudan. The Land Impact Survey (LIS) con-firms that the states of Eastern and Central Equatoria (bordering Kenya and Uganda) have been found to have the highest level of contamination, it is worth noting that the border regions to Ethiopia have for a variety of reasons not yet been surveyed, and it is rea-sonable to expect that the region may be contaminated by mines and UXO. The UXO threat is in fact just as significant as the mine threat. The United Nations Mine Action Program (UNMAP) reported 41 casualties in 2009.

The initial focus of work in Sudan was the survey and clearance of roads that had become inaccessible because of the perceived or real mine threat. The bulk of this work is now complete so the emphasis is switching towards the release of land for agriculture, return and resettlement programs, and infrastructure projects, as well as surveying and clearing un-assessed areas, and opening up secondary and tertiary routes.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountrySince 1986, NPA has been the international organization most consistently working in Southern Sudan. NPA has mainly worked within four areas: food security, health care, development of local communities, and various training programs for the local popula-tion. Peace negotiations between the SPLA and the government of Sudan started to bear fruits in the summer of 2002, with the sig-ning of the Machakos protocol in July 2002. There has been a de facto cease-fire in the South since the end of 2002. Given the favo-rable circumstances with sustainable peace in sight, NPA decided to establish a mine action program in South Sudan in March 2004. Initial priorities were to train national staff, and to start opening up transportation routes for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

CapacityNPA has established a mine action program in Yei in the province of Western Equatoria. International staff have recruited and trainedapproximately 222 local Sudanese staff for different positions in the program. The programs now consists of 1 TIA team, 2 Survey Teams, 6 manual demining teams, 2 BAC Teams and 2 EOD Teams.In addition NPA Sudan has 1 MineWolf flail/tiller machine, 1 Mini MineWolf machine, 1 MineWolf Bagger machine and 4 MPV (Mine Protective Vehicles). From 2010 two Technical Advisors have con-ducted the capacity building of the Southern Sudan Demining Aut-hority, and this will further expand in 2011.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US Depart-ment of State, the German Federal Foreign Office, The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sports

SUDANCountry in Northern Africa, bordered by Egypt, the Red Sea, Eritrea ,Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda,

the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Chad and Libya.


Demographic:

Indigenous tribal groups 52%Arab 39%Beja 6%others 3%

Sudan is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CMC)

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NPA Belgrade Office

Cause and scope of the ERW problem Following the break-up of Yugoslavia parts of the border between Serbia and Croatia were mined. By the end of 2009 all these mi-nefields were cleared. During the NATO bombing in 1999, NATO used cluster munitions on several targets in Serbia. Based on NPA’s estimates, around 15 km2 need to be cleared of unexploded clus-ter sub-munitions. Moreover, landmines were also used by Albanian rebel forces in southern Serbia in 2000-01. According to a hazard assessment by NPA in 2010, around 1.5 km2 are defined as sus-pected hazardous areas in need of further survey and mine cle-arance. Both unexploded cluster munitions and landmines affect agriculture, forestry, development of infrastucture and the security of the local population in affected areas.

SERBIACountry located in South Eastern Europe, bordered by Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria Makedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro.

Area: 88,361 sq kmPopulation: 7.500,000 (not including Kosovo)

Demographic:

Serb 83% Hungarian 3.9%, Bosniak 1.81%, Roma 1.44%, Yugoslav 1.08%, Croat 0.94%, Albanian 0.82%, other 7.01%

Serbia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Serbia is not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemContamination from Landmines and UXO/ERW exists within three distinct regions of Tajikistan; the Central Region a result of the ci-vil conflict between 1992–1997; the Tajik-Afghan Border (TAB) contaminated during the 1991-1998 period; and the Tajik-Uzbek Border (TUB) contaminated with AP mines laid during 1999-2000. Most of the Tajik- Afghan and Central areas have been surveyed while the Uzbek border is currently being surveyed.

According to the data gathered and information from national authorities the implications of the current landmine threat is se-vere. Currently, 456,790 people live in mine-affected areas, appro-ximately 70 % of which are women and children. The risk areas are

TAJIKISTANThe Republic of Tajikistan is located in Central Asia. Bordered by Kirgizstan, China, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.


Demographic:

Tajik 79,9%Uzbek 15.3%Russian 1.1%Kyrgyz 1.1%other 2.6%


usually located in hills and mountains where most villages are loca-ted. These areas negatively impact the development of the region.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA was asked in 2009 by the national mine action coordination centre, the Tajikistan Mine Action Centre (TMAC), to assist with non technical-, technical survey and clearance in order to help Tajikistan reach its Article 5 obligation. The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force for Tajikistan in April 2000 and TMAC applied for an extension in March 2009. Without external technical assistance, TMAC will not be able to meet its new deadline for treaty obligations in March 2020.

CapacityNPA Mine Action is currently in the process of setting up a program in Tajikistan and expects to be fully operational by fall 2010.

Donors The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

NPA Dushanbe Office

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA cleared 1 km2 of minefields on the border between Serbia and Croatia in 2006. NPA also started a general survey project of areas affected by unexploded cluster munitions in Serbia in November 2007. NPA currently hopes to clear roughly one third of the areas af-fected by unexploded cluster sub-munitions in southern Serbia. The project is stipulated to last for three years, employing 35 personnell.

CapacityPersonnel: 4 surveyors seconded to the Serbian Mine Action Center as of September 2010.

Donors The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US State Department and the Spanish Ministry Of Foreign Affairs through the International Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance in Slovenia.

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NPA Bangkok Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThailand has experienced intense ground warfare and deployment of a large number of landmines and littering of explosive remnants of war (ERW) in limited areas in the country. Land is still out of bounds due to landmines and ERW: the main problem being a high level of landmine contamination in the Cambodia-Thailand border areas, a lot of which are designated for the establishment of natio-nal parks. Mine/ERW accident rates were in 2001 at approximately 175 victims per year concentrated to the areas bordering Cambo-dia. Thailand also receives a large number of mine and ERW victims having accidents across the border to Myanmar but the situation along this area is mainly unknown at present. According to the National Authority the estimated area of landmine contamination is 528 square kilometers. There is also a considerable problem with explosive violence in the South of the country with a considerable number of injuries and deaths.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA carried out the national Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) of Thai-land in collaboration with the Thailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC). The survey included mapping of mined and ERW areas using the methodology at the time. NPA resumed support to TMAC in 2008, mainly providing technical advice on TMAC’s capacities in Strategic planning, on information management and introducing the concept of land release.

CapacityNPA has supported TMAC during 2009 with technical advice on strategic planning, information management and land release; co-ordinating closely with UNDP and TMAC and other stakeholders such as the Jesuit Refugee Service on advocacy and the Landmine Monitor. The programme also works towards getting Thailand to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions and address’ the issue of stockpile destruction in particular which is the only known chal-lenge for Thailand in regards to the CCM.

NPA will during 2010, and based on the on-going project on information management and land release, assess the possibility to establish survey and clearance operations in cooperation with TMAC. It is NPA’s intention to then develop a technical survey ca-pacity based on the land release methodology, providing essential additional resources to assist Thailand in meeting their obligations under the APMBT.

Donors The Landmine Impact Survey was funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, United States Department of State, UK Department for International Development, United Nations Founda-tion, Australia, Canada-DFAIT, Finland, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and Japan Alliance for Humanitarian Demining Support.

The current programme is funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

THAILANDCountry in Southeast Asia, bordered by Lao PDR,

Myanmar, Cambodia, the Gulf of Thailand, and Malaysia.


Demographic: Thai 75%Chinese 14%Other 1%

Thailand is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

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NPA Kampala Office

NPA brought one of its Mine Wolf 370 machines to Uganda in 2010 to help the authorities reach its Mine Ban Treaty deadline.

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemLandmines and ERW in Uganda are a result of armed conflict and civil strife over the past four decades. The main problem is in the north of the country, following many years of conflict with the non state armed group, the LRA, and includes mines, UXO and abando-ned explosive ordnances.

Uganda ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on the 25th of February 1999 giving it a deadline of August 1st 2009 to comply with Arti-cle 5 of the convention. Until recently it looked as though Uganda would manage to achieve its deadline, however, with the discovery of new mined areas in the north in the border regions with South Sudan, Uganda applied for a tree year extension on the MBT dead-line, until August 2012.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA Mine Action has a large program based in Southern Sudan. In 2009 NPA Mine Action Sudan was approached by Danish De-mining Group (DDG) who was providing technical, management, capacity-building and logistical support to the Ugandan Mine Action Center (UMAC), and UMAC and asked to assist with mechanical demining on one of the two remaining minefields, in order to help Uganda reach its MBT deadline. NPA MA Sudan alongside with UMAC and DDG began working on the Ngomoro minefield in Janu-ary 2010. The project was finished in mid 2010, and is so far consi-dered a successful cooperation across borders and organizations. NPA may continue to support UMAC in 2011.

CapacityNPA MA Sudan has brought down one of its Mine Wolf 370 machi-nes for the project, along with an operations manager, two technical advisors, 4 operators, a medic and a mine wolf technician. Adminis-trative support is provided from the Sudan program.

Donors The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

UGANDAThe Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. Bordered by Kenya, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.


Demographic:

Baganda 16.9%, Banyakole 9.5%, Basoga 8.4%, Bakiga 6.9%, Iteso 6.4%, Langi 6.1%, Acholi 4.7%, Bagisu 4.6%, Lugbara 4.2%, Bunyoro 2.7%, other 29.6%


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NPA Ha Noi Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemNPA is currently working in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue Province in central Vietnam.

During the last war these provinces saw intense conflict, espe-cially along National Route 9 from the Vietnam-Lao border towards Dong Ha Town and onto the coastal areas. During the Tet offensive in 1968 the battle for Hue city was one of the most intensive during the war and in 1972 Quang Tri province was subjected to one of the war’s most extensive bombing campaigns. Almost every village in Quang Tri province was destroyed. According to statistics at that time, 328,000 tons of bombs and other weapons of explosive ordnance were used and thousands of landmines were laid. The United States combat records show that Quang Tri was the most targeted and this is where the majority of BLU-26/36 cluster bombs and M79 40mm grenades are found, accounting for 65 percent of all injuries since 1975. According to Landmine Monitor report, 35 percent of land in central Vietnam cannot be used for cultivation or resettlement.

Between 100,000 to 140,000 people became victims from unexploded munitions from 1975 and until today. Vietnam still has one of the highest civilian accident rates in the world as a result of these unexploded remnants of war. It is expected that 400 to 450 people a year will continue to become victims from the war legacy.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryThe NPA program was initially requested by the People’s Commit-tee of Quang Tri Province, as a result of findings from the Health Service and Mine Victim study conducted in June 2006. The results of the study clearly demonstrated the need to increase the removal of cluster munitions and other UXO from inhabited areas. In part-nership with Project RENEW, a national Vietnamese organization mandated to work with Mine Action, NPA facilitated the develop-ment of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capacity.

In 2009, requested by provincial authorities NPA conducted a needs assessment in Thua Thien Hue province. Following the findings from the assessment NPA has developed a community based risk reduction project and will in 2010 increase this capacity with one EOD team. The newly established National Vietnamese Mine Action authority in Hanoi (VBMAC) has requested that NPA provide support for development of a National Mine Action infor-mation management system.

This project will start in 2010 and provide the National autho-rities with a better management system for collecting information and prioritizing of mine action activity in Vietnam.

CapacityNPA provides support for two mobile EOD teams and one Battle Area Clearance team (BAC) under its partnership with Project RE-NEW in Quang Tri province.

In Thua Thien Hue province NPA has established a project of-fice and started a community based risk reduction project. The project is targeting the local community and aims towards redu-cing accidents among people that collect scrap metal (one of the key sources for scrap metal is found in unexploded munitions). In 2010 NPA will increase the project with one EOD team, to be able to respond immediately to munitions found during the work in the rural communities.

One international advisor and a small project office is providing support to the VBMAC - The Vietnam Bomb and Mine Clearance Action Center in Hanoi.

NPA has an active role in influencing Vietnam to become a sig-natory to the CCM and will continue its efforts towards this goal.

The total staff for NPA in Vietnam is: 3 International advisors and 70 National staff

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US Department of State

VIETNAMCountry in Southeast Asia, bordered by China,

Lao PDR, and Cambodia.


Demographic:

Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%,Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1%

Vietnam is not a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

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The Completion Initiative was developed by the UNDP, in relations-hip with clearance operators, in 2006. It seeks to accelerate mine action activities in countries where a concerted effort and a com-paratively small investment would aim to solve the landmine pro-blem within treaty stipulated deadlines. Although the Completion Initiative aims to focus on the AP mine problem in an attempt to meet treaty obligations, the initiative strives to ensure the develop-ment of national clearance and survey capacities to undertake ERW work in general and national ownership of the mine action programme. This capacity would also be equipped and trained to address any residual mine problem that may occur well beyond treaty deadlines. Whilst anti-vehicle mines and other ERW are not subject to obligations under the APMBT, operators clear all AP, AV and other ERW as their main objective is to reduce the humanitari-an and socio-economic threat posed by landmines and other ERW.

The Completion Initiative provides a significant humanitarian, de-velopment as well as political benefit to target countries and com-munities. In addition, by aiming at solving the problem in less-af-fected countries, the international community will subsequently be in a position to focus efforts in countries where mine action is likely to be required over the longer term. This approach may secure ad-ditional resources for mine action and improve efficiency through the creation of economies of scale. It will also draw attention to and thereby maintain the international momentum that has been generated to rid the world of mines through the successes of the APMBT.

This approach promotes both the aims of the APMBT and Protocol V of the CCW by enabling more countries to develop a plan that aims at reaching completion of Article 5 of the APMBT and imple-mentation of Protocol V.

Among the number of States Parties that successfully meet their obligations, achieving such a goal will strengthen the argument for continued funding of the APMBT obligations and will keep the po-sitive momentum of the Treaty.

With this in mind, the Completion Initiative can, in partnership with other stakeholders promote similar efforts, ensure timely delivery of completion efforts by States Parties that are likely to meet their obligations under Article 5 if the essential support is provided.

For those countries that will require an extension to their deadlines the Completion Initiative can be applied in a slightly modified versi-on and promote compliance with Article 5 obligations by ensuring that these States Parties have addressed all aspects of extension requests to ensure political endorsement of the extension requ-ests. This approach will also provide a ‘safety-net’ for those States Parties that for reasons beyond their control such as, for example, insufficient resources to complete the job within the deadline will be forced to seek extensions.

Norwegian People’s Aid has worked, in cooperation with con-cerned donors and UNDP, to implement the Completion Initiative and through this work has assisted three states parties thus far in achieving their Article 5 obligations (Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda).

The

COMPLETION INITIATIVE

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NPA Lusaka Office

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThe former mine and UXO problem in Zambia stems from freedom fighters in neighboring countries having used Zambia as a safe haven. The mine problem was mainly along its borders with Angola, Congo, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, especially in former refugee populated areas and areas previously used as guerrilla/freedom fighter camps. Landmines were used for ambush purposes, in order to deny access to areas and for protection of permanent / semi-permanent bases within Zambia.

NPA Mine Action History in the Country – an example of NPA’s contribution & commitment to the UNDP Completion InitiativeIn August 2008 NPA was invited by the UNDP and ZMAC-Zam-bia Mine Action Center (ZMAC) to conduct a Landmine Survey in Zambia. The NPA team previously working in Malawi was brought over and the general survey was completed on the 31st of Au-gust 2009. The results of the survey revealed that there were no suspected hazardous areas or roads containing landmines, they had all been cleared by the Zambian Army. The problem in Zambia however, was one of UXO and Cluster Munitions, rather than land-mines. Consequently, Zambia was officially declared a landmine

free country in November 2009. NPA then re-committed to help Zambia rid itself of the cluster munitions and to reduce the impact of UXO in the communities. In July 2009, NPA started clearance of the areas confirmed to contain cluster bombs and ERW in bulk as well as areas containing sporadic UXO. By July 2010 Zambia was also declared free of cluster munitions within the deadline set by the International Convention on Cluster Munitions and the impact of UXO in the communities will be substantially reduced allowing the affected communities to build their livelihoods without fear.

CapacityThe survey project was undertaken in close partnership with the Zambia Mine Action Centre (ZMAC) who were responsible for the national staff in the project. The project manager was from NPA Angola, while twenty key staff with in dept knowledge from survey operations from NPAs former Malawi and Mozambique program-mes formed the survey teams.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP)

ZAMBIAThe Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in

Southern Africa. Bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe,

Botswana, Namibia and Angola.


Demographic: 90% (Bemba, Nyanja-Chewa, Tonga, Tumbuka, Lunda, Luvale, Kaonde, Nkoya and Lozi)

Zambia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

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Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThe landmine contamination in Mozambique has its origin in three distinct phases of conflict: 1964-1975 – Minefields laid by the Portuguese as protection against incursions by the independence movement, FRELIMO. 1976-1979 – Zimbabwean independence war and the emergence of RENAMO. 1979-1992 – Civil conflict between FRELIMO and RENAMO. During all three stages, the for-ces loyal to the government of the day laid large numbers of mines to defend economic infrastructure and military installations, while the opposition forces often planted anti-tank mines on roads, brid-ges, and river crossings to inhibit government troop movement, interdict shipments, and cripple the economy. During at least the conflict between FRELIMO and RENAMO, both sides also used mines more indiscriminately, resulting in many small or low-den-sity minefields.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA initiated its mine action program and operations in 1993 as an emergency activity in order to secure the repatriation of refugees from the neighboring countries after the signing of the General Peace Accord in October 1992. NPA’s area of operation was mainly the central provinces of Tete, Manica and Sofala. The mine clearan-ce operations ran for 12 years up until mid 2005 when operational clearance was phased out and a survey project was launched in September the same year.

CapacityThe number of staff was reduced from approximately 500 at the start of 2002 to 126 staff, 12 mine detection dogs (MDD) and 4 machines for mechanical mine clearance at the end of 2004. The programme had about 25 employees upon phase out, which con-tinued to work for NPA in Malawi and Zambia.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark with DA-NIDA, Sweden with SIDA/ASDI, US Department of State, United Nations WFP, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The United States Department of State.

1993-2006

MOZAMBIQUECountry in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and South Africa.


Demographic: Makua, Sena, Shona and other

Mozambique is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signa-tory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemAccording to Landmine Monitor report 2008. “Western Sahara is contaminated with antipersonnel mines, anti vehicle mines, and ex-plosive remnants of war (ERW), especially (cluster) sub munitions and other unexploded ordnance (UXO). According to Landmine Action, Western Sahara is one of the most heavily mined territories in the world.”

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA ran a Mine Awareness project for refugees in Western Sahara in the period 1998-2000. More than 13 team leaders and 40 in-structors completed the Mine Risk Awareness training and served 90 000 refugees. Due to the stalemate conflict between Morocco and Western Sahara, NPA was not able to expand its areas of ope-rations for continued mine action activities.

CapacityThe project consisted of one technical advisor with national staff.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1999-2000

WESTERN SAHARA Western Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and the Atlantic Ocean. Western Sahara is disputed by Morocco and the Polisario Front Independence movement

Area: 266.000 sq kmPopulation: 382.000

Demographic: Arab, Berber 99%

Western Sahara is not eligible to adhere to international treaties such as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) or the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

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2001-2006 and 2008

IRANLocated in the Middle East, bordered by Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan,

the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Turkey and Iraq.

Area: 1.65 million sq kmPopulation: approx. 72,200,000

Demographic: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%

Iran is not a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemFrom July 1999 large areas of Kosovo were contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) that posed an immediate threat to people’s lives creating a serious obstacle to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, the reconstruction of homes, infrastruc-ture and essential services for the rebuilding of civil society.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA was one of the first organizations to set up a demining program in Kosovo, commencing operations in July 1999. As an emergency response to the immediate mine threat posed for the remaining inhabitants and returning refugees, thirty-two experienced demi-ners were sent from the NPA’s mine action program in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were tasked to deal with emergency demining in the western part of Kosovo, under the direction of the United Nations. This included supervisors, deminers, medics, house cle-arance personnel and dog handlers with mine detection dogs. They conducted surveys and demined in high priority task areas, such as houses, wells and schools from July to September 1999.

1999-2001

KOSOVOA disputed region in the Balkans.

Kosovo is landlocked and bordered by Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro.

Area: 10.887 sq kmPopulation: 1, 804, 838

Demographic:

88 % Albanians6 % Serbs3 % Muslims2 % Roma people1 % Turks

Kosovo is not eligible to adhere to international treaties such as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) or the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemLandmines and explosive remnants of war remain in Iran from the 1980-1988 conflict with Iraq. Mines were used by both sides in large numbers. This combined with heavy shelling in many areas during the armed conflict, has caused a considerable landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem in the country. NPA wor-ked in Western Iran along the border to Iraq in the Ihlam province in 2001-2006. This area was an essential part of the war-theatre during the Iran-Iraq conflict. The extent of contamination is still not known with any precision.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA’s project in Iran started in 2001 through technical assistance to the Norwegian oil and gas company Norsk Hydro with support both to the management in Oslo and the head office in Teheran and later the deployment of technical advisors to the “Anaran Ex-ploration Block” in the Ihlam province. NPA’s team in the field coor-dinated its operations both with Norsk Hydro and the French seis-mic company CGG. The first period of this contract ran from 2001 until the end of 2006, and the second contract was for 4 months in 2008. In both periods NPA’s role was to support with quality assurance and documentation of the mine- and explosive remnant of war status in the seismic exploration area and to give mine risk education briefings to all staff related to the project. In the 2001-

2006 period NPA also were responsible for field operations with assessments and clearance of roads, seismic lines, shot points, areas for administrative installations and rig cites.

CapacityPersonnel: in the 2001 – 2006 period when NPA supported Norsk Hydro we had 16 international EOD operators in the field at ma-ximum capacity. In 2008 NPA seconded two EOD operators to StatoilHydro.

Donors:The program funding came from the Norsk Hydro in the period 2001 – 2006 and StatoilHydro in 2008.

The mine clearance program in Kosovo was always viewed as one achievable within a finite period. Despite initial projections made in 1999 that it would be a five year program, the final end date for all mine clearance operations in Kosovo was set by the United Nati-ons Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMACC) at November 30th 2001. From that date all demining and BAC operations came under the responsibility of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) and demi-ning is still ongoing.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNOPS

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Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThe war between Iran and Iraq in the 80s, two decades with inter-nal conflict, the gulf war, as well as the American led invasion of Iraq in 2003 has left the country with a huge problem with land-mines and UXO.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA began its mine clearance program in Northern Iraq in 1995. Initially the main priority was clearance in order for displaced Kurds to be able to return to their homes. The geographic focus has been on the area of Mawat in the Sharbazher district in Suleymaniyah. Since Saddam Hussein’s fall both the geographic and operational focus increased. Later on NPA Mine Clearance focused more on the southern regions of Khanaguin and Diala. NPA also removed large ammunition storages and disposed of explosives in these areas.

In 2003 NPA established a separate one year project in Bagh-dad to both remove hazardous unexploded ordnance and stockpi-les around and within the city of Baghdad. NPA was by far the big-gest non governmental mine action operator in the city and more than 300 000 explosive units were removed during the year NPA was operational in Baghdad.

The latest position was nationalized in 2001 and the program was running without international advisors. Within NPA’s strategy, capacity building is one of its main pillars – Iraq has been a great success with respect to this.

Due to reduced funding by the NMFA and internal NPA reprio-ritization, Iraq’s demining program closed in 2009. There are still larger areas in Northern Iraq that require clearance.

CapacityNPA had in northern Iraq 88 local employees. This capacity was gradually reduced in 2009 and the program ended in December 2009. The core of NPA’s program in Northern Iraq, has with NPA’s support established a Kurdish NGO, Mines and UXO Impact Relief which are operational in 2010.

Donors Austcare, ECHO, The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The United States Department of State

1995-2009

NORTHERN IRAQRepublic in the Middle East, bordered by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Turkey and Syria, Jordan and Iran.

Area: 437.072 sq kmPopulation: 28, 945, 657

Demographic:

Arabs 75 %Kurds 20 %Iraqi Turkmen 13 %Assyrians, others 3 %.


Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemThe civil war that lasted for two decades between Singhalese go-vernment forces and Tamil rebels has left many areas heavily con-taminated with landmines and ERW. The total size of the area of contamination in Sri Lanka is unknown. The Cease Fire Agreement that came into force in 2002 allowed for an extensive Humanita-rian Mine Action programme in the north and east. Renewed hosti-lities commenced in 2006, and the conflict escalated during much of 2007 and 2008. In July 2007, the army took control of the last LTTE-controlled areas on the east coast and in January 2008, the government of Sri Lanka decided to terminate the Cease Fire Agre-ement and a new phase of the civil war was a fact.

NPA Mine Action History in the countryFrom 2002 the programme aimed at clearing the highest priority areas of the LTTE controlled Vanni region of mines as well as pro-vided technical support and training in the government controlled areas in the east to the Sri Lankan Army Humanitarian Demining Unit. Due to the security situation NPA adopted an emergency de-mining role in 2007. NPA remained the only international demining agency operating in the non-government controlled areas.

The NPA Mine Action Programme was suspended in January 2008 due to denied access to the Vanni region for our international staff. As the situation in the country deteriorated throughout 2008, the decision was made to close the programme by the end of 2008.

CapacityPersonnel: At its peak the programme employed 650 national and 5 international staff. At the time of suspension of the pro-gramme in January 2008, the numbers were 475 national and 3 international staff.

DonorsCore funding for the programme was provided by the Royal Nor-wegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Japan (Official Development Assistance). Additional donors include ECHO, UNHCR and UNDP.

2002-2008

SRI LANKACountry in Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean.


Demographic: Sinhalese 74%Sri Lankan Tamils 18.1% Moors, Malays, Burghers and others (7.9%

Sri Lanka is not a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signa-tory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

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2007

MALAWIMalawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa,

bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.


Demographic: Chewa, Ngonde, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni

Malwi is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemFollowing the Croatian independence declaration in 1991, a con-flict arose between Croatian and Serbian forces inside Croatia, with the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) taking the side of Serbian forces. Serbian territory was not subject to direct conflicts but was mined during the conflict as a precaution. Mine contamination however, re-presented an obstacle to development in the region and to the nor-malisation of regular border activities for both Serbia and Croatia.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA started a mine action project in Serbia in October 2006 at the request of the SMAC. The project was run by the NPA Mine Action Programme in Croatia. Geographical focus for the NPA mine action project in Serbia was the municipality of Sid on the border to Croa-tia stretching from the town of Sid to the Sava River in the west on the border between Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

CapacityPersonnel: 29 national operational staff who have done two techni-cal surveys / manual clearance teams and one medical team; the staff from NPA SEE RO Belgrade and NPA MA Croatia was used for management, TIA, administrative, finance and logistics activities.

Donors The core program funding came from the Royal Norwegian Mi-nistry of Foreign Affairs. Additional donors have been Kingdom of Spain through International Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) and the US State Department through ITF.

2006-2008

SERBIALocated in South East Europe, bordered by Hungary;

Romania, Bulgaria; the Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Area: 88.361 sq kmPopulation: 7, 500,000

Demographic: Serbs 83%.Hungarians, Bosnians, Roman Gypsies, Croatians, Montenegrins, Albanians and others

Serbia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemAs a result of the spill-over from the Mozambique internal conflict, there was suspicion of mines and ERW contamination at crossing points on the 1000 km border between Mozambique and Malawi as well as around refugee camps. There was also suspicion that 33 former Malawi Young Pioneers training bases were contaminated by Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). In addition, the Government of Malawi was concerned about the effects of flooding on the border, which could have caused migration of mines into Malawi.

NPA Mine Action History in the countryNPA closed its survey/clearance activities in Mozambique in 2006 and then brought equipment, vehicles and experienced staff requi-red to undertake a National Landmine and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Survey in Malawi. The ex NPA Mozambique staff had an ideal background as they both had the technical and operational knowledge and also were familiar with the areas of operation and could solve the task in a qualified and cost-efficient manner. From May to October 2007 NPA conducted and concluded success-fully the survey having identified 6 Suspect Hazardous areas. As a consequence of the survey NPA then cleared all suspected land through battle area clearance, technical and non technical surveys, and land release principles by December 2007.

CapacityPersonnel: 23 Mozambicans and one Angolan staff, 12 multi skil-led deminers (performed surveys, demining activities, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Mine Risk Education MRE). Logistical, medical and communication staff, and a management structure to support the operations.

DonorsThe Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemRwanda had a problem with landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of the 1990–1994 war, from the retreat of the army and Interahamwe militias to neighboring countries and their subsequent attacks launched from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1996–1998 in the northwest of the country. In a 2002–2003 assessment, four of the 12 former provinces reported a mine threat. After several years in which it’s demining program had come almost to a standstill, Rwanda has, since 2006, made significant progress in reducing its mine problem. In May 2006, almost 900.000 square meters remained to be cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in 16 minefields in the 4 pro-vinces. In March 2007, the total estimated area of contamination had been reduced to 885.930 square meters in 14 mined and battle areas. By late April 2007 following the completion of battle

area clearance in Nyabishambi (former Byumba province), the total suspected hazardous area (SHA) in Rwanda fell to 629.416 square meters. Due to thick bush and vegetation a machine was by far the best option to release the last suspected hazardous area (SHA) within a reasonable timeframe.

NPA Mine Action History in the CountryNPA was asked to take on a 500.000 square meters SHA just outside the capital and in dialog with Germany and Norway who funded the necessary assets in Sudan, NPA chose to deploy a mac-hine from Sudan to Rwanda due to the heavy bush. By the end of November 2008, the National Demining Office (NDO), with sup-port from NPA, had finished clearing the Kanombe Minefield and only one small Dangerous Area remained to be cleared – Muho-roro, 2.242 square meters.

During the whole project the National Demining Office took initiative and the lead in the coordination of the clearance of the Kanombe Minefield, assisted by technical staff and equipment from NPA MA Sudan. The cooperation between the parties was very good throughout the project.

Donors The German Federal Foreign Office and the Royal Norwegian Mi-nistry of Foreign Affairs

2008

RWANDAA small landlocked country in east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.


Demographic: Hutu 84% Tutsi15% Twa 1%

Rwanda is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

2009

GAZA STRIPLocated in the Middle East.

Area: 360 sq kmPopulation: approx. 1,500,000

Demographic: Palestinian Arab, Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 99,3%Christian 0,7%

Gaza lacks the international legal status to join international instru-ments such as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) or the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Cause and Scope of the Landmine ProblemExplosive remnants of war (ERW) remain in Gaza from numerous conflicts with Israel over time, the last one ended early 2009. The Gaza strip has been surveyed and partly cleared by the Palesti-nians, but limited support with security assessment of collapsed buildings and some EOD operations during the reconstruction and development phase will be needed.

NPA Mine Action History in the countryNPA has been present in Gaza with different development pro-jects since 1987. From February 2009 onwards NPA established a separate EOD project in Gaza which terminated the same year.

CapacityPersonnel: two international EOD operators since February 2009.

Donors The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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GTC breeds high quality dogs and currently has a capacity of pro-ducing 70 puppies a year. The center has competent staff mainly recruited from the NPA Mine Action (MA) program in BiH. The fa-cilities in Sarajevo are ideal for breeding and training of dogs.

GTC is the leading provider to MA operators of quality solu-tions for cost efficient land release in addition to being a supplier of specially trained working and detection dogs for governmental and commercial organizations.

Strategically NPA wants to expand its areas of operation and respond to requests for support both from NPA MA programs and from other MA NGOs. GTC has formalized cooperation with other national mine action authorities such as CMAC (Cambodia) and EMAO (Ethiopia).

GTC has managed to build a good internal breeding base and is not dependant on external dog purchases. There is occa-sionally a need to purchase specially selected dogs for breeding material. Close supervision and training of the dogs, combined with a good veterinary system is fundamental for minimizing the number of dogs that fail accreditation. There is also a continuous process to improve the tactical use of dogs to reduce down time and increase productivity.

Quality Maintenance MDD is a field that continuously changes and improves. GTC is actively participating in international forums and workshops in order to increase its knowledge and experience. The center also puts a strong emphasis on strengthening its human resources.

NPA

GLOBAL TRAINING CENTRE (GTC)

The NPA Global Training Center, GTC is located in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina (BiH) and it supports all NPA programs worldwide. Currently 24 people are em-ployed at the center and approximately 110 dogs are under training annually. The facilities have been steadily upgraded over the last few years and are today an excellent frame for breeding and training dogs, dog handlers and dog trainers. The center has built up an international reputation for being one of the leading Mine Detection Dogs, MDD, centers in the world.

CapacityPersonnel: 22 staff, 2 expatriates and 110 MDD.

DonorsThe Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian Transport Workers’ Union.

Links:http://www.npa-gtc.org/

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We thank our

DONORS

US Department of State

Main donors: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign AffairsUS Department of StateThe German Federal Foreign OfficeThe Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Other donors 2009/2010:The International Trust Fund for Demining and Victim AssistanceGovernment of Japan (Embassy of Japan in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan)Government of Brcko District of Bosnia and HerzegovinaGovernment of Republic of AustriaThe Swiss Ministry of Foreign AffairsSwiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sports The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) The European Commission The Government of the Principality of Monaco The Department for International Development (DFID) The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of FinlandStatoilHydroNorwegian Transport Workers’ UnionFagforbundet

Former Donors:ASEZAAustcareThe Australian Embassy in ZagrebThe Danish Agency for Development Assistance (DANIDA) The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) The Government of the Principality of Monaco GildeIrish Aid Japan Alliance for Humanitarian Demining SupportThe Government of Japan (Embassy of Japan in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) The Kingdom of Spain The Norwegian Agency for Development and Co-operation (NORAD)NERA The Swedish Agency for Development Co-operation (SIDA)The United Nations Children`s Fund (UNICEF)The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR)Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation Mine-ExThe World Food Program (WFP)Veidekke AS

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