A
revolutionary approach to action on landmines that includes humanitarian and
development needs is the long-term answer Cambodia is looking for, Alpaslan
Ozerdem writes.
The human
cost of anti-personnel landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) is ever-present
for many communities affected by armed conflict across the world. For
populations in such challenging post-conflict environments, injuries and deaths
due to exposure to Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) can often occur years after
the mines were laid and long after when the conflict has officially ended.
The
landmines disrupt livelihoods, restrict commerce, and ultimately limit personal
freedom, as they prevent the safe repatriation of refugees, hamper the
provision of aid and relief, and burden already overstretched health care
systems. They deprive communities of productive land, limiting access to
economically important areas.
Therefore,
the dangers ERW pose to war-affected societies are not only through their
indiscriminate killing and maiming but also what they mean for the long-term
peacebuilding and development goals that those societies struggle to achieve.
Landmines
and other ERW come with a very real human cost and are a global problem.
According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, almost every region
in the world is mine-affected and more than 80 countries are affected to some
degree by ERW. Most countries that report casualties are not currently involved
in armed conflict: according to the 2015 Landmine Monitor Report, 37 of 54
countries that suffered new mine casualties in 2014 are State Parties to the
Mine Ban Treaty.
On top of
that, the vast majority of victims are civilians, not soldiers – only 20 per
cent of reported casualties in 2014 were identified as military personnel.
Dealing
with the problem also presents significant financial challenges, particularly
to developing countries. Although the cost of laying mines could be as little
as US$3 per mine, the cost of their removal is often more than US$1,000 per
mine.
One
country grappling with such a stark reality is Cambodia where, despite the end
of the war there in 1991, landmines continue to inflict a heavy toll on
society. The legacy of three decades of war in Cambodia, a country of just over
11 million people, is an estimated 10 million landmines.
The
number of all known landmine-related casualties in the country between 1979 and
2013 was over 64,000. In 2013, nearly 90 per cent of such casualties were
civilians. These landmine casualties mean that Cambodia has the highest ratio per
capita of amputees in the world.
However,
thanks to the efforts of humanitarian landmine clearance agencies in the
country, 50 per cent of Cambodia’s minefields have now been cleared. This is
hugely important for the economy, as more than 80 per cent of the country’s
population live in rural areas where agriculture is the main source of income.
According
to the HALO Trust (a mine clearance charity), the current landmine threat is
mainly in the 21 north-west border districts of the country, where it continues
to be an impediment to development as it prevents populations from accessing
agricultural land, water sources, roads and other services.
Landmine
clearance is often a major and urgent challenge for conflict-affected
societies, such as Cambodia, in order to enable their socio-economic and
physical reconstruction and sustain the peacebuilding process.
Until the
late 1990s, the main components of the response to this challenge – mine
clearance, mine awareness, victim assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy
– largely occurred in isolation from each other. This changed in 1997 when
three leading mine action NGOs; MAG –
Mines Advisory Group, Norwegian People’s Aid, and Handicap International
launched the concept of Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA).
This
approach ensured better coordination among existing mine action activities
while also expanding to encompass a wide range of post-conflict recovery
initiatives. Since then, HMA activities have continued to widen in scope,
keeping pace with the contemporary context within which they operate.
By
integrating its activities within the longer term plans of development
agencies, HMA has delivered a sustained impact and increase in operational
capacity in recent years. In turn, this sustainability has enhanced coherence
across developmental platforms and improved assistance to affected communities
by harnessing the potential of cross-sectoral support.
It is in
this context that the clearance of ERW such as anti-personnel landmines could
play a significant role in making post-conflict reconstruction more relevant
and effective. From the clearance of ERW from agricultural land to the
employment of former combatants as deminers, there are some obvious areas of
interaction between those processes.
In
Cambodia, HMA has championed innovative approaches to landmine clearance such
as the HeroRATs program which was implemented by APOPO and the Cambodian Mine
Action Centre, involving the training of rats and their handlers.
Each mine
detection rat is expected to search up to 200 square metres in 20 minutes,
something that could take a technician with a metal detector up to four days to
complete. The HeroRATs program was successfully used in the clearance of
landmines in Angola and Mozambique, and the hope is that it will speed up the
landmine clearance process in Cambodia.
However,
HMA in Cambodia should consider a wide range of issues beyond the clearance of
landmines, such as long-term assistance to victims. Survivors need access to
free healthcare programmes, require specific attention to their employment and
educational opportunities and assistance with social inclusion challenges.
For
example, disability in Khmer society has traditionally been seen as a result of
a disabled person’s bad karma sentencing them to a life of misery. This can
mean victims of landmines not only lose their limbs but also their dignity in
society, and are likely to face considerable societal challenges.
It is
imperative, then, that Cambodia is supported further in this protracted
challenge through a comprehensive HMA approach by the international community,
both in the clearance of landmines and in responding to the socio-economic and
cultural ramifications of this deadly legacy.
Alpaslan
Ozerdem
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