Following
the adoption of the Mine Ban Treaty in October 1997, Mine Action and
Effective Coordination: the UN Policy was submitted by the Secretary General
to, and welcomed by, the 53rd session of the UN General Assembly in
1998.
The policy defines humanitarian mine action as having five components: mine
awareness; advocacy; survey, mapping and clearance; ‘victim
assistance’; and stockpile destruction and divides the responsibility for
these activities across 11 UN agencies and departments, outlining co-ordination
mechanisms for UN and other organisations such as the International Campaign to
Ban Landmines, (ICBL) ICRC, and NGOs.
UNICEF has been given responsibilities in relation to three of these five
components:
‘UNICEF, working in collaboration with the UN Mine Action Service,
is the UN focal point for mine awareness education [now known as mine
risk reduction education]. In this capacity, it will provide appropriate
guidance for all mine awareness programmes, liaising closely with concerned
partners such as OCHA, WFP, UNHCR, WHO, and UNDP. In addition, UNICEF, in
collaboration with WHO, ICRC, and other partners ... will ensure
comprehensive rehabilitation of landmines survivors, including psychosocial
counselling, physical rehabilitation (including the provision of prosthetics and
orthotics), and education for those with disability. Finally, UNICEF will
continue to be an active advocate for the promotion of a total ban on
anti-personnel landmines and the ratification of the Ottawa
Convention’(Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The UN Policy,
1998).
BACKGROUND
UNICEF has been a strong advocate for a mine ban
treaty since the early 1990’s, and has been increasingly involved in mine
risk education since that time. In 2000, in response to its new mandate from the
UN General Assembly, the UNICEF Executive Board mine action in the UNICEF Core
Corporate Commitments (CCC’s) in Emergencies, which aim to reinforce
UNICEF’s commitment to partnership in emergency action, and to strengthen
the special protection of victims of armed conflict, disasters, and all forms of
violence.
In 2001, UNICEF helped to develop the interagency UN Mine Action Strategy
2001-2005, and began to develop its own Mine Action Strategy in order to ensure
that its responsibilities and commitments under both the UN policy and UN
strategy, its own mandate, and its Core Corporate Commitments in Emergencies,
are met. The Strategy is based on the following statement of intent, and set of
principles:
UNICEF STATEMENT OF INTENT AND PRINCIPLES FOR MINE ACTION
In collaboration with its partners, UNICEF will
work to ensure that children, their families and communities are protected from
the physical, social, economic and psychological impact of mines and other
explosive remnants of war.
UNICEF takes a rights-based approach to mine action and works with others to
put the voice of affected children, their families, and their communities at its
centre.
UNICEF pursues mine action in accordance with its Mission Statement, its
Core Corporate Commitments in Emergencies, its Peace and Security Agenda
(including the Machel Report), the World Fit for Children Outcome Document, and
the UN Mine Action Policy.
Mine action responses must be integrated with political and advocacy
initiatives as part of a comprehensive, rights-based approach to
programming.
Initial mine action responses and life-saving assistance should move rapidly
toward medium- and long-term solutions, with an emphasis on community based
recovery strategies.
UNICEF supports integrated UN mine action and plays a key role in the UN
Mine Action Strategy 2001-2005, subscribing to its vision and principles, and
working to fulfill its obligations, as stated therein.
UNICEF recognises that mine action is a crucial supporting element to
broader humanitarian relief, development and peacebuilding, and sees
coordination within mine action, and the broader interagency context, as crucial
to the effectiveness of mine action programmes.
UNICEF’S ROLE IN MINE ACTION
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PROGRAMMES LANDMINES TEAM
Although responsible
for mine risk reduction education for all at-risk groups, UNICEF has tended to
be particularly active in school-based and other child focused components of
mine risk reduction education, as these are its more traditional areas of work.
Yet while MRE often links in well to other country programme components in
health and education, UNICEF regional, area and country offices often request
additional technical expertise or support, as do many UN and national mine
action centres. To meet these needs, UNICEF Office of Emergency Operations has
established an MRE Field Support capacity within headquarters. This, where
necessary is supplemented by the deployment of ‘flying team’
consultants with substantial experience in mine action in a variety of country
contexts. These consultants can be deployed for short periods on short notice
for country programme capacity building and emergency response. Since April 2001
this capacity has been deployed to 10 countries, including Lebanon, Occupied
Palestine Territories (OPT) in April 2002, Sudan and Sri Lanka in May 2002 and
Chad, Afghanistan and Angola in June 2002.
INTERAGENCY
UNICEF is an active member of the Interagency
Co-ordination Group on Mine Action (IACG-MA), and of the Steering Committee on
Mine Action (SCMA). UNICEF continues to participate in all UN interagency
Assessment Missions to mine-affected countries, and has recently participated in
missions in Mauritania and Sudan. UNICEF has provided technical expertise and
assistance towards the preparation and development of additional mine risk
education programmes based on the above assessments and seeks to integrate all
mine-related issues within its regular programming work.
COORDINATION OF MINE RISK REDUCTION EDUCATION
In 2002, UNICEF established the Mine Risk
Reduction Education Working Group (MRE/WG), co-convened by UNICEF and ICBL, and
later linked up to the umbrella of the Steering Committee of Mine Action (SCMA).
The MREWG comprises non-profit organisations engaged in MRE, and aims to bring
together MRE practitioners to coordinate activities, share lessons learnt, and
identify and find ways to meet field support needs. Working Group members
oversee and participate in global projects such as the integration of MRE into
the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) and the Information Management
System for Mine Action (IMSMA), and steer the development of MRRE training.
THE MREWG meets approximately three times per year, usually in conjunction
with intersessional and annual meetings of States parties to the Mine Ban
Treaty. In addition to providing a forum where practitioners can learn from each
other, the MREWG tries to offer more formal training and educational
opportunities, as requested by members. The next MREWG meeting, for instance,
will include a workshop on behavior modification strategies, presented by
educational psychologists using examples from HIV-AIDS and road safety
campaigns.
BEST PRACTICE/STANDARDS
In 1999, UNICEF published the International
Guidelines for Landmine and UXO Awareness Education. In 2000, during the
Intersessional Meeting of the Standing Committee of Experts (SCE) on Victim
Assistance, Socioeconomic Reintegration and Mine Awareness Member States called
upon UNICEF to take the lead in developing Guidelines for the Monitoring and
Evaluation (M&E) of Mine Awareness Programmes, and also International
Standards for Mine and UXO Awareness/Risk Reduction Education Programmes.
The Standards, which will replace the existing Guidelines and incorporate
monitoring and evaluation, will be included in IMAS version 2, to be completed
by end 2002.
In 2001, in a workshop on mine awareness media and messages hosted by
Rädda Barnen in Yemen, UNICEF undertook to develop a series of simple,
user-friendly ‘how to’ manuals for mine risk reduction education.
These will form a Mine Risk Reduction Education Implementation Manual to IMAS,
and will be completed in 2003.
UNICEF is also planning to develop an accredited MRE programme managers
course, under the auspices of the MREWG, and next year will pilot two Field
Epidemiology for Mine Action Courses (FEMACs), in co-operation with the
International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch of the Centres for Disease
Control (CDC).
MINE RISK REDUCTION EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
UNICEF is undertaking, supporting or planning mine
action programmes, mostly mine awareness education and advocacy, in 25
countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia- Herzegovina,
Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (Kosovo), Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mauritania,
Nicaragua, Russian Federation (North Caucasus), Panama, Somalia, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, Syria (Golan Heights) and Vietnam.
Within its mandate, UNICEF responsibility for mine risk reduction education
is discharged in different ways in different country contexts. Increasingly,
this is as part of integrated UN mine action programmes. In Eritrea, for
example, UNICEF sits in the UNMEE Mine Action Coordination Centre, whereas in
Ethiopia, UNICEF works alongside UNDP to support the Ethiopian Mine Action
Authority. In Afghanistan, UNICEF has recently recruited a mine action
curriculum development expert to assist the local NGO META to develop a training
package for mine risk education volunteers, a monitoring and evaluation
specialist to assist in developing a system to support and monitor volunteer
trainers, and a national officer for the UN Mine Action Centre (MACA). Other
examples are Sudan, where the UNICEF MRE officer works together with the UNMAS
Chief Technical Advisor based in Khartoum, and Lebanon.
UNICEF’s main role in Mine Risk Reduction Education at field level is
to identify needs and to ensure – usually through working with
implementing partners - that they are met in a timely and appropriate fashion.
UNICEF also seeks to ensure that mine risk reduction activities are coordinated,
are effectively integrated into broader mine action programmes, reflect the
needs and priorities of affected communities, and are in support of broader
humanitarian, relief, and development goals.
For these reasons, UNICEF works with UN agencies and other stakeholders to
develop joint country mine action plans, although in emergencies, where there is
no UN plan in place, UNICEF uses the advantages of its widespread country
presence, strong regional and country structures, and national partnerships, to
respond quickly and flexibly to the urgent needs of communities in high-risk
areas. Jenin (Occupied Palestine Territories), and Sri Lanka are two recent
examples. This natural progression of programmatic responses emanated from the
fact that thousands of children were being injured and killed by landmines each
year, and is also part of UNICEF’s efforts to mainstreaming emergency
response into its regular programming.
LANDMINES LESSON LEARNT STUDY
A study of UNICEF’s MRE interventions to
date, aimed at analysing and learning from UNICEF’s experiences since it
first became involved in mine action, and MRE in particular, is underway. The
study is being carried out by a consultant who is conducting assessments via
field visits to main and regional capitals in selected countries. The consultant
is collecting primary and secondary-documentation, and most importantly, is
interviewing relevant UNICEF staff and other stakeholders major programmes. The
result will be a report titled UNICEF Landmines Lessons Learnt , which
will be completed by the end of 2002.
ADVOCACY
As the premier advocate on behalf of children and
women, UNICEF continues to play an active role in supporting a total ban on
anti-personnel mines, including promotion of the universal ratification and
implementation of the Anti-Personnel(AP) Mine Ban Convention through the
extended outreach of its headquarters, regional and field office staff, and in
close collaboration with UN agencies and partners such as the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC).
LANDMINES ADVOCACY KIT
With the assistance of ICBL, GICHD, and ICRC,
UNICEF has developed a Landmines Advocacy Kit to ensure that UNICEF country and
regional offices throughout the world have the necessary resources and tools to
work for universal ratification and implementation of the MBT.
LANDMINES PUBLIC INFORMATION KIT
UNICEF is developing a Landmines Public
Information Kit to serve as a landmines advocacy tool for the general public.
The Kit will provide information and fact sheets on landmines issues generally
and from a UNICEF perspective, and will serve to inform the public of
UNICEF’s work on landmines issues.
PUBLICATIONS
UNICEF also advocates for the needs and welfare of
those affected/potentially affected by landmines and other explosive remnants of
war in a wide range of humanitarian and development forums, publications and
media releases. In 1996 UNICEF published A Child Rights Guide to the
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, and in 2002, A Child Rights
Guide to the Mine Ban Treaty. The latter aims to assist everyone engaged in
either mine action or child protection to gain a better understanding of a) how
mines impact on children, b) the legal mechanisms through which these impacts
can be mitigated, and c) how the Mine Ban Treaty can be of assistance in
addressing the impact of mines on children.
SPECIAL SESSION ON CHILDREN (SSOC)
During the United Nations Special Session on
Children (SSOC), which took place in May 2002, there were several events themed
around the Children and Conflict sub-agenda at the Conference. The
Landmines/Small Arms team at UNICEF, in partnership with ICBL, International
Alert, The Quaker United Nations Office, Biting the Bullet, UNMAS, and the
Centre for International Rehabilitation, organised a landmines/small arms
workshop entitled: Taking Charge! Youth Action Planning on Landmines and
Small Arms. The goal of this workshop was to increase awareness of landmines
and small arms issues with SSOC youth participants, and provide an opportunity
for them to identify ways in which to engage in these issues in their
communities, begin planning future actions, and to take creative actions
together as a group.
VICTIM ASSISTANCE
Landmine victim assistance is part of
UNICEF’s work in the broader areas of disability and child protection. The
work in victim assistance is focussed on strengthening partnerships with the aim
of providing effective support to children and others injured by landmines and
ensuring access to services. UNICEF has been involved in the preliminary
discussions for the development of a UN Victim Assistance Policy and is involved
in the study, commissioned by UNMAS and undertaken by GICHD, on the nature and
scope of victim assistance as part of mine action. UNICEF has also taken part in
discussions on the care and protection of child landmine survivors in a range of
forums, including the Inter-agency Working Group consisting of WHO, ILO, UNESCO
and UNICEF, and has also participated in disseminating to UNICEF regional and
country offices the WHO technical guidelines on responding to child victims. A
database of consultants with experience in community-based rehabilitation and
other relevant skills has been developed.
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