European Commission – EU Mine Action
In March 2000, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the entry into force of the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention, the European Commission issued a Communication and transmitted a draft Regulation to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to lay the foundations of a dedicated EU policy on antipersonnel landmines. In the same year, the European Union, including Member States and the European Community, made record contributions to antipersonnel landmine issues totalling € 125 million.
In July 2001, the Council and the European Parliament adopted the specific legal and budgetary instrument on the "Reinforcement of the EU response against Antipersonnel Landmines". The year also saw the European Union contribute a new record figure of €145 million in support of mine action in 32 countries, as well as for initiatives at the global and regional levels. Of the total sum contributed by the European Union in 2001, the European Community's contribution amounted to €30.9 million, in support of 13 mine affected countries, regional operations in South East Europe, and global initiatives towards science and technology related activities such as test and evaluation of multi-sensors programmes.
The objectives pursued in 2001 can be grouped under two major headings. First, local capacity building and improving the effectiveness of aid. Second, mine threat alleviation. Under the first heading, and in co-operation with UNMAS, the EC supported Landmine Impact Surveys in six countries, including Afghanistan . The EC also produced a Study on the Performance and Evaluation of EC contracts, aiming at improving the procedures and to strengthen the overall effectiveness of EC funded mine action programmes.
The financial and legislative efforts of 2001 are now being enhanced through the adoption of a Strategy and Programming Paper specific to antipersonnel landmines. The Strategy covers the period 2002-2004 and contains an overall approach for detailed multi-annual programming, which, by addressing the needs of 33 countries, makes the EC assistance more predictable and coherent. Its underlying principle is that EC efforts in this field should be directly related to the goals set by the international community. As a result, the EC Strategy relates closely to the UN Strategy for Mine Action 2001-2005, and helps to reinforce objectives that are either common with, or complementary to, the UN Strategy.
The objectives of the EC are for all antipersonnel landmine affected countries to be equipped with the necessary means and capacity to properly and efficiently manage the problem while, in the process, reducing the magnitude of the threat to their populations, meeting their most pressing needs, and assisting with socio-economic development and political stability.
This means that in the three years covered by this Strategy, the EC will focus its assistance on structural investments in mine affected countries. Humanitarian priorities for EC interventions continue to be identified in the light of the humanitarian, socio-economic and political priorities set by EC Institutions with the help of experts and major partners such as the UN and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) network.
Moreover, in support of the UN Mine Action Support Group, the Commission facilitates donor co-ordination in beneficiary countries to rapidly equip them with the appropriate capacity to manage their mine issues effectively, and to promote the measurement of mine action on the ground to improve efficiency, transparency in fund dispersal, and therefore a better use of the financial resources all-round.
More information can be found at http://eu-mine-actions.jrc.cec.eu.int/
Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
Founded in 1998, on the initiative of the Government of Switzerland, the GICHD is an independent organisation supported by eighteen Governments. The Centre supports the efforts of the international community – in particular those of UNMAS - in reducing the impact of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). It is active in research, provides operational assistance to on-going demining programmes in the field, and supports the implementation of the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) as mandated by the State Parties to the APMBC.
The GICHD has completed a number of studies and others are under way. They include a whole set of research projects to improve the operational use of mine detection dogs. Other key topics of GICHD's research activities are mechanical demining, socio-economic approaches to mine action, and mine risk education. The GICHD has also been commissioned by UNMAS to review the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), a first series of which were approved in October 2001.
The Centre's second core mission consists in providing specific operational support and assistance to ongoing or emerging mine action activities and programmes mainly run by the UN. In this context, the GICHD develops and disseminates, in co-operation with UNMAS and other users, the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). IMSMA consists of a ready-to-use computer tool covering data collection, mapping and information management needs of mine action programmes in the field.
At the Third Meeting of State Parties to the AP Mine Ban Convention, the State Parties mandated the GICHD to establish an Implementation Support Unit (ISU). This new unit provides a variety of services to the Presidency and the Co-ordinating Committee and will establish a documentation and resource database facility on the APMBC and the negotiations leading to its signature.
For more information, the GICHD website can be found at www.gichd.ch
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
As part of its mandate to assist victims of armed conflict, ICRC works to alleviate the suffering of mine victims and mine-affected communities throughout the world.
At the local level, ICRC focuses its efforts on providing curative care and prosthetic services to mine victims. It provides specialised training in the management of war wounds, including sessions on how to treat mine injuries. It also conducts mine/uxo risk education programmes to help reduce the threat to those living in a mine/UXO-contaminated environment. Its programmes seek to reduce the number of casualties caused by mines and unexploded ordnance, and can be found in a number of regions throughout the world.
At the national and international levels, ICRC works closely with Governments, international agencies and non-governmental organisations to universalise and implement the Amended Protocol II to the CCW and the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC). In this context, ICRC regularly organises and participates in national and regional conferences to promote understanding of and adherence to these and other international humanitarian law (IHL) instruments. It also assists Governments in developing national legislation to implement their IHL obligations.
For more information, the ICRC website can be found at www.icrc.org
International Test and Evaluation Programme (ITEP)
The International Test and Evaluation Programme has been established to encourage and facilitate the cooperative use of test and evaluation capabilities to independently evaluate and document performance and effectiveness of equipment, processes and methods for use in humanitarian demining. Its members include Belgium , Canada , the Netherlands , Sweden , Great Britain , the United States , and the European Commission.
More information on ITEP is available at www.itep.ws/
International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF)
The International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) was established by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in March 1998 with the aim of helping Bosnia and Herzegovina in its mine clearance and mine victim assistance efforts. It has donated USD 1.3 million to finance ITF start-up activities. Since its establishment, ITF has expanded its activities throughout the region of South Eastern Europe because of the success of its operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wishes of the donors to solve the problems of mine contamination in other countries in the South Eastern European region. ITF is at present thus actively involved in Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Macedonia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia .
ITF's mission is to raise funds for demining and mine victim assistance in the region of South Eastern Europe on a humanitarian basis and thus contributing to the political stabilization of the region of SEE. Until July 2002 ITF had raised more than 94,5 million USD from 23 governments and 11 organizations and companies. ITF wishes to assist SEE region not only in the demining process but also in setting up their own structure which will enable the countries of South East Europe to conduct demining operations on their own.
Organisation of American States (OAS)
The Organization of American States (OAS) Mine Action Programme (Spanish acronym - AICMA) is an integrated effort to assist OAS Member States in addressing the continuing problems caused by the existence of antipersonnel landmines. The programme was developed from the Assistance Programme for Demining in Central America (PADCA), which was created in 1991 at the request of the mine-affected countries of Central America . Since its initiation, AICMA has incorporated the previously existing demining programme into its structure, while serving as the focal point for the OAS on all landmine issues throughout the Americas . Through its mandates, the OAS General Assembly has extended the goals of the programme to include the total elimination of landmines and the conversion of the Western Hemisphere into an antipersonnel-landmine-free zone. It has also called on the component organizations of the Inter-American System to participate in the development of programmes to support mine risk awareness and preventive education, the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims, and the socio-economic reclamation of mine cleared zones.
Since May 1995, responsibility for the general coordination and supervision of the programme has been assigned to the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD), with the technical support of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB). The main responsibilities of the UPD include fundraising in the international community, financial management, political and diplomatic coordination, and ensuring that all essential components of each national demining project are available and functioning properly. The IADB is responsible for organizing the international team of about 30 supervisors from OAS Member States that provide technical support, training and certification of demining procedures in the beneficiary countries in accordance with international standards.
A distinctive feature of the programme is its multilateral nature, with progress due, in large measure, to the support of member states including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Venezuela, and the United States, and the contributions of international donors, including Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, and Sweden, among others. Over the course of 2001, these contributions amounted to approximately US$6.8 million. Although total contributions for the year represented a high point for the program, this amount fell approximately US$ 3.5 million short of projected requirements. The negative impact of this shortfall on operations was significant, particularly in Costa Rica , Honduras and Nicaragua .
The programme also relies upon a significant level of coordination with international and non-governmental organizations. In the past year, AICMA worked with a number of entities on significant mine action projects, among these are the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Center for International Rehabilitation, the Mine Action Information Center (MAIC) of James Madison University, and the Survey Action Center.
For more information, the OAS website can be found at www.oas.org