PREFACE

Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War

Peace agreements may be signed, and hostilities may cease, but landmines and explosive remnants of war are an enduring legacy of conflict.

Antipersonnel mines are munitions that explode from the presence, proximity or contact of a person. Antivehicle mines are munitions that explode from the presence, proximity, or contact of a vehicle as opposed to a person.

Explosive remnants of war (ERW) refer to unexploded and/or abandoned ordnance left behind after a conflict. ERW includes unexploded artillery shells, grenades, mortars, rockets, air-dropped bombs and cluster submunitions. Cluster munitions consist of containers and submunitions. Launched from the ground or the air, the containers open and disperse submunitions over a wide area.

Landmines are victim-activated and indiscriminate – whoever activates the mine, whether it is a child or a soldier – will be its next victim. Mines used in a conflict against enemy forces can kill or injure innocent civilians decades later.

Weapons that for some reason fail to detonate as intended become unexploded ordnance (UXO). These unstable explosives are left behind during and after conflicts and pose dangers similar to landmines. Abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) is explosive ordnance that has not been used during armed conflict and has been left behind and is no longer under control of the party that left it behind. It may or may not have been primed, fuzed, armed or otherwise prepared for use. ERW consist of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO).

Both landmines and ERW pose a serious and ongoing threat to civilians. These weapons can be found on roads, footpaths, farmer’s fields, forests, deserts, along borders, in and surrounding houses and schools, and other places where people are carrying out their daily activities. They deny access to food, water, and other basic needs and inhibit freedom of movement. They prevent the repatriation of refugees and internally displaced people, and hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid.

These weapons instill fear in communities, whose citizens often know they are walking in mined areas, but have no possibility to farm other land, or take another route to school. When land cannot be cultivated, when medical systems are drained by the cost of attending to landmine/ ERW casualties, and when countries must spend money clearing mines rather than paying for education, it is clear that these weapons not only cause physical damage to people injured or killed by them – they are a lethal barrier to development and post-conflict reconstruction.

There are solutions to the global landmine and ERW problem. The 1997 Mine Ban Treaty provides the best framework for governments to use in alleviating the suffering of civilians living in areas affected by antipersonnel mines. Governments who join this treaty must stop use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel mines immediately. They must destroy all stockpiled mines within four years, and they must clear all antipersonnel landmines in all mined areas under their jurisdiction or control within 10 years. In addition, States Parties in a position to do so must provide assistance for the care and treatment of landmine survivors, their families and communities, and support for mine risk education programs to help prevent mine incidents.

To date, the only international legislation explicitly covering ERW is Protocol V of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Its provisions are considered insufficient by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but Protocol V does make efforts to address responsibility for ERW clearance, sharing information for clearance, risk education, warning civilian populations, and assistance.

In 2006, the Norwegian government started a process to create a legally binding agreement prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. Negotiations for this new treaty are expected to conclude in 2008. NGOs, working in partnership with governments and international organizations, are using the Mine Ban Treaty as a model for this new agreement, and hope to build on its strengths and to remedy its shortcomings.

These legal instruments provide a framework for taking action, but it is up to governments to implement treaty obligations, and it is the task of NGOs to work together with governments to ensure they uphold their treaty obligations.

The ICBL’s ultimate goal is a landmine and ERW free world, where civilians can walk freely without the fear of stepping on a mine, and where children can play without mistaking an unexploded cluster submunition for a toy.

International Campaign to Ban Landmines

The ICBL is a coalition of more than 1,000 organizations in 72 countries, working locally, nationally and internationally to eradicate antipersonnel mines.

The campaign is a loose, flexible network, whose members share the common goal of working to

eliminate antipersonnel landmines, and to stop the use of cluster munitions which cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

The ICBL was launched in October 1992 by a group of six non-governmental organizations: Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Medico International, Mines Advisory Group, Physicians for Human Rights and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. These founding organizations witnessed the horrendous effects of mines on the communities they were working with in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America and saw how mines hampered and even prevented their development efforts in these countries. They realized that a comprehensive solution was needed to address the crisis caused by landmines, and that the solution was a complete ban on antipersonnel landmines.

The founding organizations brought to the international campaign a practical experience of the impact of landmines. They also brought the perspective of the different sectors they represented: human rights, children’s rights, development issues, refugee issues and medical and humanitarian relief. ICBL member campaigns contacted other NGOs, who spread the word through their networks, and word of this new coalition and the need for a treaty banning antipersonnel landmines stretched throughout the world. The ICBL organized conferences and campaigning events in many countries to raise awareness of the landmine problem and the need for a ban, and to provide training to new campaigners to enable them to be effective advocates in their respective countries.

Campaign members worked at the local, national, regional and global level to encourage their governments to support the mine ban. The ICBL’s membership grew rapidly, and today there are campaigns in 72 countries.

The Mine Ban Treaty was opened for signature on 3 December 1997 in Ottawa, Canada, 10 years ago. It is in part due to sustained and coordinated action by the ICBL that the Mine Ban Treaty became a reality.

Part of the ICBL’s success is its ability to evolve with changing circumstances. The early days of the campaign were focused on developing a comprehensive treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. Once this goal was achieved, attention shifted to ensuring that all countries join the treaty, and that all States Parties fully implement their treaty obligations.

The ICBL works to promote the global norm against mine use, and advocates for countries who have not joined the treaty to take steps to join the treaty. The campaign also urges non-state armed groups to abide by the spirit of the treaty.

Much of the ICBL’s work is focused on promoting implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, which provides the most effective framework for eliminating antipersonnel landmines. This includes working in partnership with governments and international organizations on all aspects of treaty implementation, from stockpile destruction to victim assistance.

The ICBL remains committed to pushing for the complete eradication of antipersonnel mines. The campaign has been successful in part because it has a clear campaign message and goal; a non-bureaucratic campaign structure and flexible strategy; and, an effective partnership with other non-governmental organizations, international organizations and governments.

Ten years after its opening for signature the ICBL considers the Mine Ban Treaty a success in progress, meaning that an enormous amount has been accomplished so far, but that continued vigilance is required to ensure the remaining work on universalization and implemention of the Mine Ban Treaty is done. ICBL member campaigns will continue their work until the goal of a mine-free world becomes a reality.

Landmine Monitor

Landmine Monitor Report 2007 is the ninth annual report. Eight previous annual reports have been released since 1999, each presented to the annual meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Landmine Monitor is the ICBL’s research and monitoring initiative and the de facto monitoring regime for the Mine Ban Treaty. It monitors and reports on States Parties’ implementation of and compliance with the Mine Ban Treaty, and more generally, to assess the international community’s response to the humanitarian problem caused by landmines and ERW. The Landmine Monitor project represents the first time in history that NGOs have come together in a coordinated, systematic and sustained way to monitor a humanitarian law or disarmament treaty, and to regularly document progress and problems, thereby successfully putting into practice the concept of civil society-based verification.

In June 1998, the ICBL formally agreed to create Landmine Monitor as an ICBL initiative. A four-member Editorial Board coordinates the Landmine Monitor system: Mines Action Canada, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, and Norwegian People’s Aid. Mines Action Canada serves as the lead agency. The Editorial Board assumes overall responsibility for, and decision-making on, the Landmine Monitor system.

Landmine Monitor is not a technical verification system or a formal inspection regime. It is an attempt by civil society to hold governments accountable to the obligations they have taken on with respect to antipersonnel mines. This is done through extensive collection, analysis and distribution of publicly available information. Although in some cases it does entail investigative missions, Landmine Monitor is not designed to send researchers into harm’s way and does not include hot war-zone reporting.

Landmine Monitor is designed to complement the States Parties transparency reporting required under Article 7 of the Mine Ban Treaty. It reflects the shared view that transparency, trust and mutual collaboration are crucial elements for the successful eradication of antipersonnel mines. Landmine Monitor was also established in recognition of the need for independent reporting and evaluation.

Landmine Monitor aims to promote and advance discussion on mine-related issues, and to seek clarifications, to help reach the goal of a mine-free world. Landmine Monitor works in good faith to provide factual information about issues it is monitoring, in order to benefit the international community as a whole.

The Landmine Monitor system features a global reporting network and an annual report. A network of 69 Landmine Monitor researchers from 57 countries, and a 23 person Editorial Team gathered information to prepare this report. The researchers come from the ICBL’s campaigning coalition and from other elements of civil society, including journalists, academics and research institutions.

The 2007 Annual Report contains information on 118 countries and areas with respect to landmine ban policy, use, production, transfer, stockpiling, mine clearance, mine risk education, landmine/ERW casualties, survivor assistance and mine action funding. It focuses on mine-affected countries, States Parties with major outstanding treaty implementation obligations, and states not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It includes summary and analysis of trends in mine ban policy, mine action, mine risk education, casualties and survivor assistance and mine action funding. An Executive Summary is published separately, in addition to a set of maps. A CD-ROM containing the Annual Report, and translations of the Executive Summary and maps in Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish, comes packaged together with the Executive Summary. All report contents are available online at www.icbl.org/lm/2007.

As was the case in previous years, Landmine Monitor acknowledges that this ambitious report is limited by the time, resources and information sources available. Landmine Monitor is a system that is continuously updated, corrected and improved. Comments, clarifications, and corrections from governments and others are sought, in the spirit of dialogue and in the common search for accurate and reliable information on an important subject.

Acknowledgements

A broad-based network of individuals, campaigns and organizations produced this ninth annual Landmine Monitor report. It was assembled by a dedicated team of research coordinators and editors, with the support of a significant number of donors.

This report contains country and area updates researched by 69 Landmine Monitor researchers from 57 countries, selected by the Landmine Monitor Editorial Board with input from the Editorial Team. The researchers are cited separately in the List of Contributors. Landmine Monitor is grateful to everyone who contributed research to this report. We wish to thank the scores of individuals, campaigns, NGOs and international organizations, mine action practitioners, and governments who provided us with essential information.

We are grateful to the ICBL staff for their continued and crucial assistance in the release, distribution and promotion of Landmine Monitor reports.

Responsibility for the coordination of Landmine Monitor’s reporting network lies with the four Editorial Board organizations: Mines Action Canada (Paul Hannon) manages Landmine Monitor’s production and editing and coordinates research on mine action funding and non-state armed groups; Handicap International (Stan Brabant) coordinates research on mine risk education, casualty data, and survivor assistance; Human Rights Watch (Stephen Goose) is responsible for ban policy; and Norwegian People’s Aid (Stuart Casey-Maslen) coordinates research on mine action. Jacqueline Hansen manages the project and Ian Doucet is editor-in-chief.

The Editorial Team undertook research and initial country report edits for Landmine Monitor Report 2007 from April to August 2007. The Editorial Team was led by five principal editors: Stephen Goose (ban policy), Stuart Casey-Maslen (mine action), Sebastian Kasack (mine risk education), Katleen Maes (casualty data and survivor assistance), and Anthony Forrest (mine action funding).

Ian Doucet (Editor-in-Chief) provided final editing from May to September 2007 with assistance from Jacqueline Hansen (Project Manager), Maureen Hollingworth (Editing Consultant), Adam Gassner (Research Assistant), and Kathryn Meng and Aaron Shier (Mines Action Canada interns).

Jacqueline Hansen served as Project Manager for report production. Report formatting was provided by Eliquo Training and Development and Greg Thorpe. St. Joseph Communications printed the report. Rafael Jiménez and Glenn Ruga provided design. Stéphane De Greef provided cartography services. Digital Interactive produced the CD-Rom version of the report. Vision WT created the online version of the report at www.icbl.org/lm/2007.

We extend our gratitude to Landmine Monitor contributors. Landmine Monitor’s supporters are in no way responsible for, and do not necessarily endorse, the material contained in this report. It was only possible to carry out this work with the aid of grants from:

• Government of Australia
• Government of Austria
• Government of Belgium
• Government of Canada
• Government of Cyprus
• Government of the Czech Republic
• Government of Denmark
• Government of France
• Government of Germany
• Government of Ireland
• Government of Luxembourg
• Government of New Zealand
• Government of Norway
• Government of Spain
• Government of Sweden
• Government of Switzerland
• Government of the United Kingdom
• European Commission
• Holy See
• UN Development Programme
• UNICEF

We also thank the donors who have contributed to the individual members of the Landmine Monitor Editorial Board and other participating organizations.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

On 4 February 2007, Landmine Monitor researcher John Head passed away peacefully in New Zealand after a long illness. John was a long-time campaigner and researcher, who tirelessly worked to universalize the Mine Ban Treaty and ensure its full implementation throughout the Pacific.

Editorial Team

Thematic research teams contributed to the researching, writing and editing of all country reports. All members of the Editorial Board are also members of the Editorial Team.

Ban Policy

• Coordinator: Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch
• Human Rights Watch: Anders Fink, Rachel Good, Mark Hiznay
• ICBL: Natalie Abdou
• Mines Action Canada: Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan

Mine Action

• Coordinator: Stuart Casey-Maslen, Norwegian People’s Aid
• ICBL: Mette Eliseussen, Jenny Najar, Sandra Velasco Perez
• Norwegian People’s Aid: Nick Cumming-Bruce

Mine Risk Education, Casualty Data Collection and Survivor Assistance

• Coordinators: Katleen Maes and Sebastian Kasack, Handicap International
• Handicap International: Cindy Gorn, Hugh Hosman, Loren Persi, Patrizia Pompili

Mine Action Funding

• Coordinator: Anthony Forrest, Mines Action Canada

Editing and Production

• Project Manager: Jacqueline Hansen, Mines Action Canada
• Editor-in-Chief: Ian Doucet, Mines Action Canada
• Research Assistant: Adam Gassner, Mines Action Canada
• Interns: Kathryn Meng and Aaron Shier, Mines Action Canada

Researchers

Africa

• Angola, Chad, DR Congo, Rwanda, Sudan: Anthony Forrest, Mines Action Canada
• Burundi: Adolphe Ngiyindanga, Mine Victim Assistance Association
• Djibouti: Abdoulkader Elmi Elabé, Association de Soutien aux Victimes des Mines
• Eritrea: Joseph Wenkoff
• Malawi: Undule D.K. Mwakasungura, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation
• Mozambique: Megan Latimer
• Sudan: Hiba Elhassan, ABRAR Organization for Care of War Disabled and Protection from Landmines
• Uganda: Edison A. Mworozi, IPPNW-Uganda
• Zambia: Robert Mtonga, Zambian Campaign to Ban Landmines

Americas

• Chile: Fabiola Fariña Mellafe
• Colombia: Camilo Serna Villegas, Campaña Colombiana contra Minas
• El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua: Peter James Sundberg
• Peru: Gisela Luján Andrade
• Venezuela: Antonio José González Plessmann
• USA: Mark Hiznay

Asia-Pacific

• Afghanistan: Mohammad Ershad
• Bangladesh: Rafique al Islam and Mizan M. Ali, Nonviolence International Bangladesh
• Laos, Singapore: Maria Fe Villena, Nonviolence International
• Burma/Myanmar: Alfredo Ferrariz Lubang, Nonviolence International and Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, Mines Action Canada
• Cambodia: Denise Coghlan and Ny Nhar, Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines
• China: Yukie Osa, Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines
• India: Balkrishna Kurvey, Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environment; Binalakshmi Nepram; Surendra Panwar, Society for All Round Development; and Shaiq Nazir, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society
• Indonesia: Els Coolen, Indonesian Campaign to Ban Landmines
• Korea, DPR and Korea, RO: John H. Kim
• Mongolia: Zolzaya Lkhagvasuren, Ordbildarna AB
• Nepal: Purna Shova Chitrakar, Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal and Prashannata Wasti, Informal Sector Service Centre
• Pakistan: Naveed Ahmad Shinwari and Riaz Ul Haq, Community Appraisal and Motivation Program and Raza Shah Khan, Sustainable Peace and Development Organization
• Pacific (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu): John Head, New Zealand Campaign Against Landmines and Mary Wareham, Oxfam New Zealand/ New Zealand Campaign Against Landmines
• Philippines: Paz Verdades M. Santos, Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines
• Sri Lanka: Prasanna Rajiv Kuruppu
• Taiwan: Serena Chang, Eden Social Welfare Foundation
• Thailand: Shushira Chonhenchob, Nipatta Quamman, Jaruwan Tiwasiri, Wasita Kitpreecha and Ananchanok Sungkhasuwan, Handicap International

Commonwealth of Independent States

• Abkhazia: Vladimir Kakalia and Aslan Kutsnia, Abkhazia Campaign to Ban Landmines
• Armenia: Jemma Hasratyan, Armenian Campaign to Ban Landmines
• Azerbaijan: Hafiz Safikhanov, Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines
• Belarus: Iouri Zagoumennov, SCAF/Belarus Campaign to Ban Landmines
• Chechnya: Narine Berikashvili, Disarmament and Nonviolence
• Georgia: Mamuka Gachechiladze, ICBL Georgian Committee
• Kyrgyzstan: Kanykey Brimkulova, IPPNW-Kyrgyzstan
• Moldova: Iurie Pintea, Institute for Public Policy
• Nagorno-Karabakh: Ashot Adamyan, Nagorno-Karabakh Committee of ICBL
• Russian Federation: Roman Dolgov, IPPNW-Russia
• Tajikistan: Bakhtiyor Begmuradov, Harmony of the World
• Ukraine: Yuri Donskoy, Ukrainian Peacekeepers Association

Europe

• Albania: Anila Alibali and Ruben Hajnaj, Illyricum Fund
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Karel Bartosik, Suzana Srnic Vukovic, Esme Tihic-Hughes and Chris Hughes
• Croatia: Martina Belošević
• Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia: Suzana Srnic Vukovic
• Cyprus and Greece: Louisa O’Brien
• Denmark: Sidse Frich Thygesen
• Finland: Sanna Rummakko, Peace Union of Finland
• France: Anne Villeneuve, Handicap International
• Latvia: Igors Tipans, Baltic International Centre for Education
• Macedonia, FYR: Dane Taleski, Institute for Democracy “Sociatas Civilis”
• Poland: Katarzyna Derlicka, ICBL
• Turkey: Muteber Öğreten, Initiative for a Mine-Free Turkey

Middle East and North Africa

• Algeria, Libya and Morocco: Ashley Thornton
• Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia: Ayman Sorour, Protection
• Iran: Khalil “Haji” Dokhanchi
• Iraq: Moaffak Tawfek al Khafaji, Iraqi Handicaps and Survivors Society
• Israel: Yiftach Millo
• Kuwait: Raafat Misak, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and Prof. Abdullah Y. Al Ghunaim and Dr. Said Mahfouz, Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait
• Syria, United Arab Emirates: Ghassan Shahrour, Arab Network for Research on Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War
• Yemen: Aisha Saeed, Yemen Mine Awareness Association

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AHD	Antihandling Device
AP or APM	Antipersonnel Mine
ARF	ASEAN Regional Forum
ASEAN	Association of South-East Asian Nations
AusAID	Australian Agency for International Development
AV or AVM	Antivehicle Mine
AXO	Abandoned Explosive Ordnance
CBU	Cluster Bomb Unit
CBR	Community Based Rehabilitation
CCW	1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons
CD	Conference on Disarmament
CIDA	Canadian International Development Agency
CIS	Commonwealth of Independent States
DANIDA	Danish International Development Assistance
DCA	DanChurchAid
DDG	Danish Demining Group
DfID	UK Department for International Development
EC	European Commission
ECHO	European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office
ECOWAS	Economic Community of West African States
EOD	Explosive Ordnance Disposal
ERW	Explosive Remnants of War
EU	European Union
FY	Fiscal Year
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
GNI	Gross National Income
GICHD	Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
HI	Handicap International
HRW	Human Rights Watch
ICBL	International Campaign to Ban Landmines
ICRC	International Committee of the Red Cross
IDP	Internally Displaced Person
IED	Improvised Explosive Device
IMAS	International Mine Action Standards
IMSMA	Information Management System for Mine Action
IRIN	Integrated Regional Information Network (UN)
ISU	Implementation Support Unit
ITF	International Trust Fund (Slovenia)
LIS	Landmine Impact Survey
LSN	Landmine Survivors Network
MAC	Mine Action Center or Mines Action Canada
MAG	Mines Advisory Group
MASG	Mine Action Support Group
MAT	Mine Action Team
MDD	Mine Detection Dog
MRE	Mine Risk Education
NAM	Non-Aligned Movement
NAMSA	NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO	Non-Governmental Organization
NPA	Norwegian People’s Aid
OAS	Organization of American States
OCHA	UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
OSCE	Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
PfP	Partnership for Peace (NATO)
QA	Quality Assurance
SAC	Survey Action Center
SADC	Southern African Development Community
SMART goals	Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound goals
UN	United Nations
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNGA	United Nations General Assembly
UNHCR	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF	United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
UNMAS	United Nations Mine Action Service
UNOPS	United Nations Office for Project Services
USAID	U.S. Agency for International Development
UXO	Unexploded Ordnance
VVAF	Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation
WHO	World Health Organization

GLOSSARY

Abandoned explosive ordnance – Explosive ordnance that has not been used during an armed conflict, that has been left behind or dumped by a party to an armed conflict, and which is no longer under its control. Abandoned explosive ordnance is included under the broader category of explosive remnants of war.

Antihandling device – According to the Mine Ban Treaty, an antihandling device, “means a device intended to protect a mine and which is part of, linked to, attached to or placed under the mine and which activates when an attempt is made to tamper with or otherwise intentionally disturb the mine.”

Antipersonnel mine – According to the Mine Ban Treaty, an antipersonnel mine, “means a mine designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons.”

Antivehicle mine – According to the Mine Ban Treaty, an antivehicle mine is a mine designed “to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a vehicle as opposed to a person.”

Area cancellation – Area cancellation describes the process by which a suspected hazardous area is released based solely on the gathering of information that indicates that the area is not in fact contaminated. It does not involve the application of any mine clearance tools.

Area reduction – Area reduction describes the process by which one or more mine clearance tools (e.g. mine detection dogs, manual deminers or mechanical demining equipment) are used to gather information that locates the perimeter of a suspect hazardous area. Those areas falling outside this perimeter, or the entire area if deemed not to be mined, can be released.

Battle area clearance – The systematic and controlled clearance of dangerous areas where the explosive hazards are known not to include landmines.

Casualty – The person injured or killed in a landmine, ERW or IED incident, either through direct contact with the device or by being in its proximity.

Cluster munition – Cluster munitions consist of containers and submunitions. Launched from the ground or air, the containers open and disperse submunitions (bomblets) over a wide area. Bomblets are typically designed to pierce armor, kill personnel or both.

Community based rehabilitation – Programs designed to supplement facility-based programs within affected communities to improve service delivery, equal opportunities, and protect human rights for a larger group of people with disabilities who have limited access to services, due to uneven service distribution, high treatment cost, and limited human resource capacity.

Demining – The set of activities that lead to the removal of mine and ERW hazards, including survey, mapping, clearance, marking, and the handover of cleared land.

Explosive remnants of war – Under Protocol V to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, explosive remnants of war are defined as unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance. Mines are explicitly excluded from the definition.

Explosive ordnance disposal – The detection, identification, evaluation, render safe, recovery and disposal of explosive ordnance.

Improvised explosive device – A device placed or fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating explosives or noxious chemicals. An improvised explosive device (IED) may be victim-activated or command-detonated by the soldier. Victim-activated IEDs are banned under the Mine Ban Treaty, but command-detonated IEDs are not.

IMAS – International mine action standards developed by the UN to improve safety and efficiency in mine action by providing guidance, establishing principles and, in some cases, defining international requirements and specifications.

Landmine impact survey – A national or regional assessment of the socioeconomic impact on communities caused by the actual or perceived presence of mines and ERW, in order to assist the planning and prioritization of mine action programs and projects.

Mine action center – A body charged with coordinating day-to-day mine action operations, normally under the supervision of a national mine action authority. Some MACs also implement mine action activities.

National mine action authority – A governmental body, normally inter-ministerial in nature, responsible for managing and regulating a national mine action program.

Non-state armed groups – For Landmine Monitor purposes, non-state armed groups include organizations carrying out armed rebellion or insurrection, as well as a broader range of non-state entities, such as criminal gangs and state-supported proxy forces.

Risk education – Activities which seek to reduce the risk of injury from mines and ERW by raising awareness and promoting behavioral change, including public information dissemination, education and training, and community mine action liaison.

Risk reduction – Those actions which lessen the probability and/or severity of physical injury to people, property or the environment. Risk reduction can be achieved by physical measures such as clearance, fencing or marking, or through behavioral changes brought about by risk education.

Submunition – Any munition that, to perform its task, separates from a parent munition (cluster munition).

Survey – A study of the assessment of the location and impact of mines and ERW at the local or national level. General survey focuses on the location of mined and battle areas and the type of contamination they contain. A landmine impact survey also assesses the impact of affected communities (see separate definition for a landmine impact survey). Technical survey aims to confirm and identify the outer perimeters of the hazardous area and to gather other necessary information for clearance.

Unexploded ordnance – UXO refers to munitions that were designed to explode but for some reason failed to detonate; they are known as “blinds” or “duds.”

Victim – The individual directly hit by a mine/ERW explosion, his or her family and community.

Victim assistance – Victim assistance includes, but is not limited to, casualty data collection, emergency and continuing medical care, physical rehabilitation, psychological support and social reintegration, economic reintegration, and laws and public policies to ensure the full and equal integration and participation of survivors, their families and communities in society.