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Explosive ordnance in Syria: impact and required action

May 2022

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Explosive ordnance (EO) puts one in two people in Syria at risk of death and injury and impedes the delivery of crucial humanitarian assistance. However, the extent of EO in Syria and its devastating impact is not sufficiently known or discussed among donors and humanitarian actors. International humanitarian mine action (HMA) actors operating in Syria for over ten years have come together to address this gap, sharing data and insight from their work on the ground. They produced a report to highlight the extent of EO contamination in Syria; its devastating impact on people, vital infrastructure and provision of humanitarian assistance; the crucial activities performed by humanitarian mine action (HMA) actors; and the action required to address this issue

No safe recovery: The impact of explosive ordnance contamination on affected populations in Iraq

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
October 2021

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Based on desk review and qualitative interviews with land release operators, local and international humanitarian actors, government representatives, community leaders, survivors and members of their families and communities, this report identifies and describes the negative impact of Explosive Ordnance (EO) contamination on affected communities in the Ninewa governorate, Iraq. EO continues to pose a threat to people’s lives, their safety, and their access to land and other resources and services in contaminated areas in Ninewa. It also hampers the efforts of humanitarian and development actors. Moreover, certain groups, such as women and persons with disabilities are likely to be more vulnerable to the reverberating effects of EO contamination.

The report focused on Iraq’s heavily populated governorate of Ninewa, home to the cities of Mosul, Sinjar, and Tel Afar. Demining bombed-out cities costs six times as much as it does to clear a rural setting.

Intersessional Meetings 20-24 June 2021. Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction

June 2021

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This year’s Intersessional Meetings are particularly important given efforts to build upon the established baseline for the implementation of the Oslo Action Plan (OAP).

 

The sessions included:

Preliminary Observations of the Convention's Committees

Thematic Session – Mandate of the President

Thematic Session - Victim Assistance: Establishing or Strengthening a Centralised Database

Thematic Session: Integrating Gender and the Diverse Needs of Affected Communities in Operational Planning and Prioritization

Informal Presentation of Requests for Extensions to be considered by the Nineteenth Meeting of the States Partie

Thematic Session: Completion and Sustainable National Capacities

Thematic Session: Mobilising Resources Towards a Mine-Free World

Thematic Session: Strengthening Compliance Measures

Landmine Monitor 2020

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES – CLUSTER MUNITION COALITION (ICBL-CMC)
November 2020

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This is the 22nd annual Landmine Monitor report. Landmine Monitor 2020 provides a global overview of the landmine situation. Chapters on developments in specific countries and other areas are available in online Country Profiles at www.the-monitor.org/cp. Landmine Monitor covers mine ban policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling; includes information on developments and challenges in assessing and addressing the impact of mine contamination and casualties through clearance, risk education, and victim assistance; and documents international and national support for mine action. This report focuses on calendar year 2019, with information included up to October 2020 where possible.

 

The victim assistance coordination section covers the following topics: Participation of victims and their representative organizations; A relevant government agency to coordinate victim assistance; Multi-sectoral efforts in line with the CRPD; National referral mechanisms; Centralized database with needs and challenges

Death sentence to civilians: The long-term impact of explosive weapons in populated areas in Yemen

BOTTOMLEY, Alison
SALAVERT, Lise
et al
May 2020

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In five years of war, Yemen has experienced every manner of explosive weapons—aerial bombs and missiles, artillery, mortars, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and much more. The explosions destroy bridges, ports, roads, hospitals, water systems, and generate long lasting civilian harm. When explosive weapons strike roads and bridges, they greatly increase the time it takes to re-supply cities. Such damage cuts deeply into food and water access, and has negative effects on population health.

The report highlights six case studies, showing the extent and impact of such bombings. One case study looks at the long-term impact on specific populations including: internally displaced persons; persons with disabilities; women and children.

Study on explosive hazard victim reporting and data management processes in Iraq

NIJHOLT, Sarah
April 2019

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Handicap International (HI) commissioned a study on on explosive hazard victim reporting and data management processes in Iraq. The overall objectives of the study were to:

  • Understand what explosive hazard victim reporting and data management processes exist in Iraq;
  • Identify who is collecting such information, for which reasons and how it is being shared, and how it is being officially used;
  • Identify whether international victim data collection good practices and reporting standards are being followed up, and make concrete recommendations to help meet the standards;
  • Understand the successes, shortfalls, and challenges in data collection and information sharing;
  • Identify the needs of the data collection community in terms of ensuring sufficient victim reporting and data collection;
  • Identify if and how the data on victims is being collected and used by government authorities and the international fora.

 

Desk research was carried out and data collection took place in March 2019 in Erbil, Baghdad and Ninewa governorates in Iraq. In total, the qualitative researcher spent 3 days in Erbil, 4 days in Baghdad, and 6 days in Ninewa governorate to conduct interviews through a snowball approach. In total, 22 interviews were conducted with a variety of stakeholders, including humanitarian mine action actors, government officials, hospital directors, police and community leaders. This report provides an overview of the main findings.

‘Power-Hurt’: The Pains of Kindness Among Disabled Karen Refugees in Thailand

COLE, Tomas
2019

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In this paper I show how, for many Karen living as refugees in ‘temporary-shelter-areas’ in Thailand, acts of care and kindness often slipped into something painful and controlling. Drawing on fieldwork among Karen refugees disabled by landmines I show how asking for and receiving help was almost always accompanied by the visceral sensation of ana, literally, ‘power hurt’. On the one hand, ana was the force driving the circulation of care and kindness, provoking people to help others. On the other hand this circulation also carried with it the constant potential to compromise not only the recipient’s but also the donor’s ‘power’, which was understood as their capacity to have an effect on the world. In this manner ana may offer us with a way to grasp the ethical-affective basis of a social arrangement that slips smoothly between lateral solidarities and vertical hierarchical relations allowing egalitarianism and hierarchy to co-exist.

Landmine Monitor 2018

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES – CLUSTER MUNITION COALITION (ICBL-CMC)
November 2018

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Landmine Monitor 2018 provides a global overview of the landmine situation. Chapters on developments in specific countries and other areas are available in online Country Profiles. Landmine Monitor covers mine ban policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling, and also includes information on contamination, clearance, casualties, victim assistance, and support for mine action. The report focuses on calendar year 2017, with information included up to November 2018 when possible.

 

The Victim Assistance section covers: assessing the needs; frameworks for assistance; enhancing plans and policies; inclusion and active participation of mine victims; availability of and accessibility to services; guaranteeing rights in an age- and gender-sensitive manner; national legal frameworks and broader frames for assistance.

 

An integrated approach to victim assistance in Cambodia & the role of Australia as supporting state

De BEAUPUIS, Gaetan
HOTTENOT, Elke
November 2018

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The objective of this case study was to review how Cambodia, as an affected state, and Australia as a donor, promote the provision of victim assistance in sectors including health, rehabilitation, disability, socio-economic development and poverty reduction. It documents promising practices and proposes next steps to ensure the sustainability of victim assistance provision in the near and long-term future. This study aims to inspire the mine action community in both affected and donor states to increase its contribution to victim assistance. This case study focuses on both prongs of the integrated approach to victim assistance by describing: i) Broader multi-sector efforts that reach casualties, survivors and indirect victims; and ii) Specific victim assistance efforts to improve victims’ quality of life deployed by mine action stakeholders, other actors in charge of coordinating victim assistance in Cambodia, and Australia as a donor state. An analysis of these specific efforts revealed that they fall into one of two of the following categories: a) Bridging gaps in data collection and service provision, or b) Advocating for, and facilitating, a multisector response.

 

Humanity & Inclusion (HI) and the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) conducted the study in November 2017 in seven provinces. The methodology comprised three steps: a desk review of project documents, national plans and policies from a range of sectors with a focus on programmes funded by Australia; interviews with key personnel from the mine action and the disability sectors; and a field survey comprising 31 individual indepth interviews with 19 survivors and 12 other persons with disabilities (23 male and 8 female), 12 focus group discussions as well as field visits to observe the initiatives described in this publication. 

 

 

Landmine Monitor 2017

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES – CLUSTER MUNITION COALITION (ICBL-CMC)
December 2017

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Landmine Monitor 2017 provides a global overview of the landmine situation. Chapters on developments in specific countries and other areas are available in online Country Profiles on the website.

Landmine Monitor covers mine ban policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling in every country in the world, and also includes information on contamination, clearance, casualties, victim assistance, and support for mine action. The report focuses on calendar year 2016, with information included up to November 2017 when possible.

The Victim Assistance section covers: assessing the needs; frameworks for assistance; enhancing plans and policies; inclusion and active participation of mine victims; availability of and accessibility to services (medical care, rehabilitation including prosthetics; socioeconomic inclusion; education, pyschosocial support); guaranteeing rights in an age- and gender-sensitive manner; communicating objectives and reporting improvements; legal frameworks and new laws.

International humanitarian law and persons with disabilities

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS
July 2017

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International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules that, in times of armed conflict, seeks – for humanitarian reasons – to protect persons who are not, or are no longer directly participating in hostilities, and to restrict means and methods of warfare. IHL requires parties to armed conflicts to afford special respect and protection to persons with disabilities and helps ensure their inclusion. A number of weapons-related treaties aims to prevent certain disabilities from occurring by prohibiting the use of particular weapons and reducing the dangers they pose. They also seek to ensure that victims receive appropriate assistance.


In addition to IHL, international human rights law (IHRL) – particularly the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol – contains important protections. For example, the CRPD recognizes States Parties' obligations under, inter alia, IHL and IHRL and obliges States Parties to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities during armed conflict (Art. 11).

Special appeal 2016 : Disability and mine action 2016

ICRC
November 2016

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This Special Appeal covers the funding requirements for physical rehabilitation activities for all persons with disabilities – among them, victims of armed conflict, other situations of violence and mines/ERW – as well as for initiatives related to mine action. It also summarizes the ICRC’s wider approach to addressing the needs of persons with disabilities, including its other efforts to facilitate the social and economic aspects of inclusion. The work of the Physical Rehabilitation Programme (PRP) and the Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) is outlined. Topics associated with reducing the impact of weapon contamination and with promoting legal frameworks and government are discussed. 

LANDMINE MONITOR report 2016

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES – CLUSTER MUNITION COALITION (ICBL-CMC)
November 2016

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Landmine Monitor 2016 provides a global overview of the landmine situation. Chapters on developments in specific countries and other areas are available in online Country Profiles at www.the-monitor.org/cp. Landmine Monitor covers mine ban policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling, and also includes information on contamination, clearance, casualties, victim assistance, and support for mine action. The report focuses on calendar year 2015, with information included up to November 2016 when possible. 

Guidance on an integrated approach to victim assistance

THE CONVENTION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS (CCM)
November 2016

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This Guidance was developed by the Convention on Cluster Munitions Coordinators for 2016 and 2017 on Victim Assistance (Australia, Chile and Italy) and Cooperation and Assistance (Austria, Iraq and Australia), with technical support from Handicap International, through funding provided by the Government of Australia. The Coordinators collected the range of good practices and national examples of effective implementation of an integrated approach presented in the Guidance. The dual imperatives of this integrated approach are to: (1) ensure that as long as specific victim assistance efforts are implemented, they act as a catalyst to improve the inclusion and well being of survivors, other persons with disabilities, indirect victims and other vulnerable groups; and (2) ensure that broader efforts actually do reach the survivors and indirect victims amongst the beneficiaries.

Guidance on an integrated approach to victim assistance: By states for states

CONVENTIONS ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS COORDINATORS
2016

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Realizing the rights, and addressing the needs of victims of cluster munitions, landmines, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW), requires a long-term commitment that should continue well after clearance work has been completed.

This Guidance was developed in a participatory manner through tailored questionnaires, a workshop, and an online platform with contributions from a total of 30 states, as well as from representatives of survivors’ organisations and a range of international and civil society organisations. With assistance from Handicap International, from the feedback received, the Convention on Cluster Munitions Coordinators selected a range of good practices and national examples of effective implementation. These have been identified at three levels: legislation, policies and plans; ensuring equitable and equal access to services and resources; and measuring progress.

In recognition of the fact that affected States and donor States face different challenges in implementing an integrated approach, the Guidance is divided into two parts – the first part addresses the practices of affected States, and the second those of donor States. Each part is further divided into two main sub-sections dealing with the dual imperatives of an integrated approach: ensuring that specific victim assistance efforts act as a catalyst for inclusion; and ensuring that broader efforts contribute to the realization of victim assistance obligations. Each sub-section highlights relevant provisions, challenges, good practices, and national examples for each of the three levels

Guidance on victim assistance reporting

2016

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In addition to a brief overview of victim assistance in the context of international humanitarian and human rights law, the Guidance on Victim Assistance Reporting is presented in two main parts: an overview of reporting obligations under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the CCM, and Protocol V to the CCW, and available guidance on these obligations; and, the introduction of a consistent approach to comprehensive victim assistance reporting. To support this approach, the Guidance on Victim Assistance Reporting includes in its Annexes a detailed questionnaire which is intended to provide guidance to States on the collection of relevant information to enhance their reporting, and sample reports using the questionnaire as a guide.

The Guidance was developed in consultation with key stakeholders, including members of the Victim Assistance Committee, victim assistance coordinators for the CCM and Protocol V to the CCW, as well as relevant United Nations and other international agencies, NGOs and disability actors

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