20 Years of United States' Commitment to Humanitarian Mine Action and Conventional Weapons Destruction

In October 1993 the United States formally established the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program (HDP), an interagency effort of the Department of State (DOS), Department of Defense (DOD), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide a full range of assistance to mine-affected countries. In the intervening 20 years, the United States has broadened its efforts related to protecting civilians into a robust Conventional Weapons Destruction (CWD) program that includes not only humanitarian mine action (HMA) but also activities to reduce illicit, excess and other at-risk small arms and light weapons (SA/LW), conventional munitions, and man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).

The United States' Commitment to Conventional Weapons Destruction

Landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) continue to cause casualties and hinder essential recovery efforts long after armed conflict ceases. Additionally, the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) has the potential to fuel new conflicts, and poorly maintained stockpiles of ammunition pose severe and imminent danger to nearby civilian communities.

In 2013, the United States marks 20 years of a collaborative multi-agency effort that has grown from a humanitarian demining program to encompass our comprehensive conventional weapons destruction (CWD) programs, providing assistance to help communities and nations around the world overcome threats not only from landmines and ERW but also at-risk weapons and ordnance.

Making the World Safer

In 1993, the United States established the Demining Assistance Program and the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Demining and Landmine Control, initiating a coordinated interagency aid effort to support international humanitarian mine action (HMA). Though the United States first provided HMA assistance in 1988, a coordinated and sustained U.S. Government effort began with this IWG. Over the past two decades, the U.S. approach to mine action has expanded to meet related needs in post-conflict environments, such as threats from ERW and at-risk SA/LW, including man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).

The United States remains the world’s largest donor supporting HMA. Additionally, the United States is a leader in global efforts to combat illicit trafficking of SA/LW. To enhance global security and weapons control, the United States provides physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) training and assessments, assists many countries to destroy excess weapons and ordnance, and supports international and regional efforts to mark and trace SA/LW. Since 1993, the United States has invested more than $2 billion in CWD programs in over 90 countries.

In cooperation with partners from around the globe, U.S. efforts have helped 15 countries become free from the humanitarian impact of landmines and contributed to a dramatic reduction in the world’s annual mine casualty rate. The United States has assisted states to secure their stockpiles and safely destroy weapons and ammunition that are no longer serviceable or required. These programs also support medical rehabilitation and vocational training for landmine and ERW survivors, community outreach and mine risk education, and research and development efforts in new clearance and CWD technologies.

A Collaborative Effort

Interagency collaboration has been essential to the success of U.S. CWD efforts. The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) work together and in partnership with private and nongovernmental organizations to implement programs that address a broad range of CWD threats.

PM/WRA provides financial assistance for survey, clearance, risk education, stockpile destruction, and stockpile security. USAID takes the lead on survivor assistance specifically working to improve the health, integration, and mobility of disabled civilian conflict survivors. The International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch of the CDC provides support to public health projects, mine risk education programs, and survivor assistance efforts. Several DOD entities contribute invaluable training and technical expertise on a range of CWD issues.

DOD’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) provides assessments and training on PSSM programs around the world. Supported by the Humanitarian Demining Training Center, DOD’s Combatant Commands train and equip host nation deminers, stockpile managers, and ammunition handlers. In addition, the DOD Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program focuses on technologies to improve the efficiency and safety of HMA programs.

Coordinating efforts among the agencies underlies our success. In one country, PM/WRA might support sustainment of national deminers that DOD trained and equipped, while USAID addresses the rehabilitation needs of survivors. In another DTRA might provide technical expertise for assessing a national stockpile, followed by funding from PM/WRA for PSSM or weapons destruction. This collaboration increases program effectiveness, sustainability, and impact.

In the hands of terrorists, criminals, or other non-state actors, the multifaceted threat MANPADS pose to passenger air travel, the commercial aviation industry, and military aircraft around the world demands even closer interagency coordination. In 2007 the United States established an Interagency MANPADS Task Force to increase the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to reduce the global threat of MANPADS. Chaired by DOS, the Task Force coordinates the related efforts of DOS, DOD, the Department of Homeland Security, and other relevant federal agencies and organizations.

Results

In summary, over the last 20 years, the U.S. CWD program has operated in more than 90 countries and accomplished the following:

• Donated over $2 billion to CWD efforts, mostly for HMA
• Disposed of over 33,000 MANPADS since 2003
• Destroyed over 1.6 million SA/LW and over 90,000 tons of ordnance in 38 countries
• Provided emergency assistance to support the removal or mitigation of conventional weapons, landmines, and other ERW in more than 18 countries
• Provided assistive devices and other rehabilitation services to over 250,000 people in 35 countries

U.S. CWD programs restore peace, transform lives and communities, and enhance national security. Reflecting on past accomplishments and lessons learned while also looking ahead, the United States remains committed to ensuring that all may be able “to walk the Earth in safety.”

FY2012 Grantees

Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC), established in 1989, was the first humanitarian mine clearance organization in Afghanistan to be endorsed by the United Nations. From 1998 to 2004 ATC destroyed 3,437 anti-vehicle mines, 143,392 anti-personnel mines, and 1,611,676 items of unexploded ordnance. ATC continues to reduce civilian casualties and enable land release through detection, clearance, and mine risk education activities. For more information: http://www.atcafghanistan.org

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) was created in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States in response to the need for World War II survivor assistance in Europe. Since then, CRS has assisted more than 100 million people in more than 100 countries across five continents to carry out its mission to assist poor disadvantaged communities by promoting the sacredness of human life and the right to human dignity. For more information: http://crs.org

The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR), established as the Mine Action Information Center in 1996, is a Center of Excellence at James Madison University, helping communities around the world affected by conflict and trauma through innovative and reliable research, training, information exchange, and direct services. CISR is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia (U.S.). For more information: http://cisr.jmu.edu

Cleared Ground Demining (CGD), headquartered in London, U.K., is an independent not-for-profit nongovernmental organization that works around the globe to reduce the threats posed to local communities by landmines and unexploded ordnance. For more information: http://www.clearedground.org

Clear Path International (CPI), headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is devoted to bringing hope, help, and opportunity to landmine survivors and others disabled by war. CPI identifies, collaborates, and helps build sustainable local partners that empower conflict survivors to overcome physical, psychological, social, and economic challenges, promote equality and accessibility, and provide innovative, integrated, and sustainable programs to support conflict survivors. For more information: http://www.cpi.org

CONTRAMINAS (Peruvian Mine Action Center), created in December 2002, serves as a national coordinator of mine action planning and policy. Thus far, demining in Peru has focused on two areas: the northern border with Ecuador and the areas around electrical towers in the Lima, Junin, Huancavelica, and Ica regions of Peru. The Peruvian army completed mine clearance of the Zarumilla Canal and La Palma, as well as near Aguas Verdes along the northern border. After a year of working in and around electrical towers, Peru’s national police force (Policía Nacional del Perú) along with Shipyard Marine Industrial Services were able to clear 17,651 mines by May 2003.

DanChurchAid (DCA) is an independent ecumenical humanitarian organization based in Copenhagen, Denmark, that strives to provide humanitarian assistance and advocate for oppressed, neglected, and marginalized groups in poor countries, strengthening their possibilities for a life with dignity. DCA’s humanitarian mine action programs combine mine risk education, mine clearance, and strong community development activities. For more information: http://www.dca.dk

Danish Demining Group (DDG) is a nongovernmental organization based in Copenhagen, Denmark, operating under the auspices of the Danish Refugee Council. It assists individuals and populations hampered by landmines and other explosive remnants of war. In doing so, DDG also strives to procure supplies from local communities and to train a local staff in order to create national ownership opportunities as soon as possible. For more information: http://www.danishdemininggroup.dk

The Demining Agency for Afghanistan (DAFA) is an Afghan humanitarian mine clearance organization formed in June 1990. DAFA’s mission is to clear all hazardous and mine-contaminated areas in Afghanistan by committing resources to humanitarian demining, demining for road reconstruction, local government rehabilitation plans, and the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration campaign. For more information: sattar_dafa@yahoo.ca or dafafinance@yahoo.com

The Golden West Humanitarian Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit charitable organization. It conducts surveys and assessments, and develops mine risk education materials and landmine and unexploded ordnance disposal technologies. For more information: http://www.goldenwesthf.org

The HALO Trust, an American and British nonprofit charity, specializes in the removal of landmines and unexploded ordnance from post-conflict zones. Since pioneering the concept of humanitarian landmine clearance in Afghanistan in 1998, it has destroyed more than 1.4 million landmines and 206,000 cluster munitions in 14 countries. For more information: http://www.halousa.org/

Handicap International (HI) is an independent and impartial international aid organization working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict, and disaster. HI currently implements mine action programs in 17 countries— working to clear landmines and other unexploded ordnance from civilian areas, providing risk education programs aimed at civilians living or traveling through affected regions, and providing assistance to those who have been injured. For more information: http://www.handicap-international.us

The Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) is a unique nonprofit organization that serves people in the developing world through the implementation of large-scale humanitarian projects and through its work with the United Nations. Since 2007, HDI has implemented about $20 million in development projects in Angola, Armenia, Burma, Eritrea, Laos, Lebanon, Mozambique, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. These projects are sponsored by individuals, foundations, and governments. For more information: http://www.thehdi.org

The International Center (IC), founded in 1977, is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that was created to foster mutual aid between the United States and the developing world. In 2009 the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) began working under the IC in the areas of mental health, education, and landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance. VVAF has been addressing the harsh consequences of war, especially the war in Vietnam, since 1978. For more information: http://www.theintlcenter.org

Information Management and Mine Action Programs (iMMAP) is a not-for-profit nongovernmental organization that coordinates, supports, and implements humanitarian information-management activities and landmine and unexploded ordnance surveys during and after complex emergencies and in developing countries around the world. iMMAP aims to alleviate the suffering of victims of natural disasters and armed conflict by providing decision-support services to humanitarian agencies through the management of reliable, timely, and appropriate strategic and geographic information. For more information: http://www.immap.org

The Iraq Mine/UXO Clearance Organization (IMCO) is an Iraqi demining nongovernmental organization established in 2003. IMCO is fully trained and equipped to international humanitarian mine action standards to perform manual and mine-detection-dog-supported demining operations, battle area clearance, reconnaissance of suspected hazardous areas, unexploded ordnance and landmine survey, and technical site survey missions. For more information: zahimmutar@yahoo.com

ITF Enhancing Human Security was created in March 1998 by the government of Slovenia with the goal of supporting humanitarian mine action in Southeast Europe through management, services, and fundraising. Recently, ITF has broadened its focus to a wider range of post-conflict challenges including security sector reform, disarmament, and small arms/light weapons control. For more information: http://www.itf-fund.si

The Landmine Relief Fund was founded in 2004 to support the work of an all-Cambodian demining nongovernmental organization, Cambodian Self Help Demining (CSHD). CSHD was founded by a former child soldier named Aki Ra, who has spent nearly 20 years clearing explosive remnants of war wherever he finds them. He works with other ex-child soldiers, primarily in “low priority” villages throughout Cambodia. For more information: http://www.landmine-relief-fund.com

MAG (Mines Advisory Group), working in association with its U.S. partner MAG America, is a humanitarian organization working in conflict-affected countries to clear landmines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO), remove/destroy small arms/light weapons, provide mine risk education, and offer capacity-building support. Since it began operations in Afghanistan in 1989 clearing landmines and UXO, MAG has worked on a variety of conflict-recovery projects in 35 countries around the world, clearing more than 26,500,000 square meters (10 square miles) of land and destroying over 1.5 million weapons and landmines. For more information: http://www.maginternational.org

The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) is a nonprofit organization founded to help restore hope, alleviate suffering, and nurture stability in war-torn countries. Major projects include the Mine Detection Dog Partnership Program, the Children Against Mines Program (CHAMPS), CHAMPS International, and survivors’ assistance programs. For more information: http://www.marshall-legacy.org

The Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA), an Afghanistan-based nongovernmental organization, was founded in 1990. MCPA specializes in humanitarian mine action including general, impact, and post-clearance surveys, technical and battle area surveys, mine detection dogs, manual and mechanical mine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, mine risk education, and mine clearance training. In addition, MCPA focuses on the development and maintenance of information-management systems for mine action. For more information: hajiattiqullah@hotmail.com

The Mine Detection Center (MDC) was established in 1989 with the goal to make Afghanistan mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) impact-free so individuals and communities can have a safe environment conducive to national development. MDC helped establish mine detection dog capacities in Yemen and Tajikistan from 1994 to 2006, cleared 225 million square meters (87 square miles) as of December 2011, and has safely destroyed 340,608 mines and ERW. For more information: mdcafghan@hotmail.com or mdcafghan@yahoo.com

The NATO Support Agency (NSPA) is NATO’s integrated logistics and services provider agency. NSPA is a fully customer-funded agency, operating on a “no profit - no loss” basis. It brings together NATO’s logistics and procurement support activities into a single organization, providing integrated multinational support solutions for its stakeholders. At the Lisbon Summit in November 2010, NATO heads of state and government agreed to reform the 14 existing NATO agencies, concurring to streamline them into three major programmatic themes: procurement, support, and communications and information. As part of the reform process, NSPA was established on July 1, 2012 as a result of the merger of the former in-service support agencies: the NATO Maintenance Supply Agency, the NATO Airlift Management Agency, and the Central Europe Pipeline Management Agency. For more information: http://www.nspa.nato.int

The National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR) is Jordan’s national authority on all landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) related projects. Founded in 2000, NCDR conducts ERW removal, mine risk education, survivor and victim assistance, and international relations to create safe, strong, and prosperous communities for the people of Jordan. For more information: http://www.ncdr.org.jo

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), founded in 1939 on the principles of solidarity, dignity, peace, and freedom, is one of Norway’s biggest nongovernmental organizations. NPA works in the field of mine action in 18 mine- and unexploded-ordnance-affected countries, performing clearance operations, engaging in political advocacy, and developing and implementing treaties against landmines and cluster munitions. For more information: http://www.npaid.org

The Organization of American States (OAS) was established in 1948 with the goal of encouraging sustainable peace, justice, solidarity, collaboration, integrity, and independence among the nations of the Americas. OAS achieves this goal through activities revolving around democracy, human rights, security, and development. For more information: http://www.oas.org

The Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR) was established in 1990 to teach Afghan refugees and internally displaced Afghans about the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordnance left behind by the Soviet and Afghan Communist Armies, and by Afghan insurgents. In 1993 OMAR started a demining program, hiring and training more than 1,500 deminers in manual and mechanical demining, battle area clearance, and explosive ordnance disposal, as well as teaching them to work with mine detection dogs. Having cleared more than 1.8 million square meters (445 acres) of mine contaminated area and about 3.5 million square meters (1.4 square miles) of battle area formerly contaminated by unexploded ordnance, OMAR has destroyed 2,237 anti-personnel mines, 9 anti-tank mines, and 47,894 items of unexploded ordnance. OMAR has also developed demining emergency response teams. For more information: http://www.omar.org.af

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world’s largest regional security organization with 57 member states from Europe, Central Asia, and North America. It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict rehabilitation, and puts the political will of its participating states into practice through its unique network of field missions. OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic, environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counterterrorism, and economic and environmental activities. For more information: http://www.osce.org

PeaceTrees Vietnam was founded in 1995 as a grassroots effort to bring peace, friendship, and renewal to the people of Quang Tri, one of the most war-torn provinces of Vietnam. PeaceTrees’ vision of establishing a safe and healthy future for the children of Quang Tri includes landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance, landmine awareness programs, citizen diplomacy, community service, tree planting programs, survivor/victim assistance, economic support, scholarships to landmine survivors and their families, social development projects, and community restoration and relocation projects. For more information: http://www.peacetreesvietnam.org

Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, established in 1979, is a Massachusetts-based, nonprofit human-services organization that supports a number of community-based rehabilitative initiatives in Central America and Africa. Its work benefits a wide range of persons with mobility disabilities, including those who have experienced limb loss as a result of landmines. For more information: http://www.poluscenter.org.

Spirit of Soccer uses soccer/football skills clinics to educate children about the dangers posed by landmines and explosive remnants of war in post-conflict regions of the world. Since 1996, more than 167,000 children in Bosnia, Cambodia, Iraq, Kosovo, Laos, and Moldova have received mine risk education through soccer-based activities. For more information: http://www.spiritofsoccer.net

Fondation Suisse de Déminage (Swiss Foundation for Mine Action or FSD), an international nongovernmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, has implemented mine clearance projects in 18 countries since its inception in 1997. FSD’s focus is on locating and destroying landmines and unexploded ordnance on the ground and under water, but it also engages in projects related to the reduction of physical and chemical pollution and the collection and destruction of many types of arms and ammunition. For more information: http://www.fsd.ch

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works to help children overcome the obstacles created by violence, poverty, disease, and discrimination. This includes children in mine-affected countries globally. UNICEF supports the development and implementation of mine risk education and survivor assistance projects and advocacy for an end to the use of landmines, cluster munitions, and other indiscriminate weapons. For more information: http://www.unicef.org

The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) integrates mine action into worldwide U.N. peacekeeping operations in line with a November 2003 Presidential Statement of the Security Council. The Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations chairs the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action, which brings together representatives from all U.N. mine-action entities. U.N. Mine Action Service provides direct support and assistance to U.N. peacekeeping missions. For more information: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is located in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions and is the focal point for mine action in the U.N. system. It is responsible for ensuring an effective, proactive, and coordinated U.N. response to landmines and explosive remnants of war. For more information: http://www.unmas.org

The Vietnam Assistance Project (VAP) is a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization that works to eradicate poverty and improve access to health care, education, and activities that support victims. For more information, email rfrank@frankandco.com

World Education, Inc. was founded in 1951 to meet the needs of the educationally disadvantaged and provides training and technical assistance in non-formal education across a wide array of sectors. Registered as a private voluntary organization, World Education has worked in more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as in the United States. For more information: http://www.worlded.org

List of Common Acronyms
 

Conventional Weapons Destruction Funding

Since 1993, the United States has donated over $2 billion for conventional weapons destruction (CWD) in more than 90 countries. The U.S. remains the world’s top donor for humanitarian mine action (HMA) programs, including landmine clearance, survivor assistance services, and mine risk education. Many of our ongoing programs combine humanitarian demining, small arms/light weapons (SA/LW) destruction, and efforts to improve the safety and security of conventional munitions stockpiles. The following chart provides a consolidated view of the United States’ funding for CWD globally. For a more detailed view of this funding chart, including additional details such as funding for HMA and SA/LW projects, please refer to the website of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA): //2009-2017.state.gov/t/pm/rls/rpt/walkearth/index.htm.

U.S. Conventional Weapons Destruction Program Funding History (Fiscal Years 1993-2012)

 

U.S. Conventional Weapons Destruction Program Funding History (Totals by Source)
 

1 FY08 amount includes $110,000 SEED funds apportioned as NADR
2 All CENTCOM demining-centric activities for FY10 were conducted with Theater Security Cooperation funding pending new guidance from the Central Command Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy, not OHDACA funding
3 DoD funds include OHDACA, RDT&E, HAP/EP, and IRRF.
4 Serbia and Montenegro split into two countries in 2007.
5 South Sudan and Sudan split into two countries in 2011.
6 In the past NADR-CWD included ITF, HD and SA/LW.
7 DOS - Other includes a variety of DOS funding sources.