Contaminated by: landmines (light contamination), cluster munition remnants (light contamination), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned explosive ordnance (heavy contamination).

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Deadline: 1 January 2021
(On track to meet deadline) 

Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions 

At the end of 2015, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had a total of 1.3km² of suspected and confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) contaminated by antipersonnel mines, and a total of 3,840m² of land contaminated by cluster munition remnants. It also has UXO and significant quantities of abandoned ordnance.

Recommendations for action 

• The DRC should finalize a detailed workplan to fulfil its Article 5 obligations as soon as possible and create a national mine action strategy for 2017–2020.
• As soon as it is safe to do so, DRC should conduct survey in Aru and Dungu territories.
• The DRC should significantly improve the quality of the national mine action database to ensure that it is accurate, up to date, owned by national authorities, and able to produce accurate reports.
• Greater efforts should be made to ensure reporting and recording of mine action data according to International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) land-release terminology.
• A focus should be placed on capacity-building of the national authorities and local mine action actors to be able to deal with any residual contamination following the exit of international operators.

The DRC is affected by antipersonnel and antivehicle mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), a result of decades of conflict involving neighboring states, militias, and rebel groups since gaining its independence in 1960.[1]

Mine Contamination

According to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), at the end of 2015, a total of 71 confirmed and suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) with a total size estimated at 1.3km² remained to be addressed, including 13 confirmed mined areas with a size of just under 0.2km², and a further 58 SHAs covering just over 1.1km².[2] Five of the DRC’s former 11 provinces still contained confirmed or suspected mine contamination, as set out in the table below.[3]

Antipersonnel mine contamination by province as at end 2015[4]

In April 2014, on the basis of the results of a nine-month-long National Landmine Contamination Survey (NLCS) launched in March 2013, the DRC reported that 130 SHAs affected by mines remained in eight provinces (then Equateur, Kasaï Occidental, Kasaï Oriental, Maniema, North Kivu, Katanga, Province Orientale, and South Kivu) covering an estimated 1.8km².[5] The Aru and Dungu territories in former Orientale Province, however, were not surveyed due to insecurity.[6]

In December 2015, the DRC stated that of those 130 SHAs, 45 had been cleared during the year, putting three of the DRC’s then eight remaining contaminated provinces in a position to be declared cleared of mines, following quality management procedures.[7] Clearance of former South Kivu province was completed following a Congolese Mine Action Center (Centre Congolais de Lutte Antimines, CCLAM) survey in early October 2015 that canceled the last remaining SHA.[8] UNMAS cautioned, however, that 12 SHAs were newly identified in 2015 and further hazards might be identified in the future, especially while conflict continued across the country.[9]

Released land is used for agriculture and settlement development, in addition to opening up access to markets, water, and firewood.[10] In 2015, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) declared an important 33km-long trade road between Kabwela and Kakuyu villages in former-Katanga province mine free, allowing for local populations to resume transport of agricultural produce and other goods to the Kabelo market, boosting socio-economic opportunities in the area.[11]

Cluster munition contamination

At the end of 2015, the DRC had four remaining areas with a total size of 3,840m² confirmed to contain cluster munition remnants. Contamination is in Equateur province in the northeast of the country.[12] The DRC identified the areas, all of which are believed to contain BL755 submunitions, in a national survey conducted in 2013.[13]

According to MAG, cluster munition contamination has impeded agriculture and limited freedom of movement. Clearance of cluster munition remnants and other UXO in areas of former Equateur and Katanga provinces in 2015 increased access to firewood, enabled use of previously restricted land and new agricultural areas, and facilitated access to remote villages. MAG also completed clearance of a cluster munition strike very near to the only hospital in Moba, in former Katanga province (renamed Tanganyika province as at July 2015).[14]

Other explosive remnants of war contamination

Successive conflicts have left the DRC with UXO as well as significant quantities of abandoned explosive ordnance.[15]

Program Management

CCLAM was established in 2012 with capacity-building support from the UN Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMACC) and UNMAS.[16] UNMAS has reported that the transfer of responsibility to CCLAM for coordinating mine action activities was completed in early 2016.[17] UNMAS is continuing to provide limited capacity building support to CCLAM.[18]

Prior to the transfer of coordination authority to CCLAM, UNMACC, established in 2002 by UNMAS, coordinated mine action operations through offices in the capital, Kinshasa, and in Goma, Kalemie, Kananga, Kisangani, and Mbandaka.[19] UNMACC was part of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) peacekeeping mission. UN Security Council Resolution 1925 mandated UNMACC to strengthen national mine action capacities and support reconstruction through road and infrastructure clearance.[20] In March 2013, Security Council Resolution 2098 called for demining activities to be transferred to the UN Country Team and the Congolese authorities.[21] As a consequence, UNMAS operates two separate projects after splitting its activities between, on the one hand, support for the government of the DRC and its in-country team, and, on the other, its activities in support of MONUSCO.[22] In accordance with Resolution 2147 of March 2014, demining is no longer included in MONUSCO’s mandate.[23]

Strategic planning

The DRC’s national mine action strategic plan for 2012–2016 set the goal of completing clearance of all areas contaminated with antipersonnel mines or unexploded submunitions by the end of 2016.[24]

In granting the DRC’s second Article 5 deadline extension request, States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty called on the DRC to present a detailed workplan by 30 April 2015 on implementation of its remaining clearance obligations throughout its extension period. In June 2015, the DRC informed States Parties that due to funding difficulties it had failed to submit a workplan or finalize its projections. It pledged to provide more information at the next meeting of States Parties in December 2015.[25] It did not, however, do so, and as of August 2016 had still to submit a workplan. In September 2016, UNMAS stated that CCLAM intended to develop an updated plan by the end of the year.[26]

UNMAS has asserted that the DRC was on track to meet its national mine action strategic plan goal of completing clearance of cluster munition contamination by the end of 2016.[27] In May 2016, however, MAG expressed doubts, noting that remaining cluster munition-contaminated areas were very remote, with limited access and difficult terrain.[28]

MAG stated that its priorities in 2016 would be to locate and confirm all remaining SHAs where cluster munition remnants are suspected within North Ubangi and South Ubangi provinces (formerly Equateur province).[29]

Standards 

As of October 2016, National Technical Standards and Guidelines for mine action had been drafted, but were still to be finalized.[30] The draft version does not contain cluster munition-specific provisions.[31]

Operators 

Five international operators are accredited for mine action in the DRC: DanChurchAid (DCA), Handicap International (HI), MAG, commercial company Mechem, and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), along with a national demining organization, AFRILAM.[32]

UNMAS reported that a total of 80 deminers were deployed for manual demining in 2015, of which 35 worked for MECHEM; 29 for NPA; seven for MAG; and nine for DCA.[33]

UNMAS contracted MECHEM to deploy three multi-task teams (MTTs) for clearance operations in South Kivu, Maniema, and Oriental provinces.[34] In 2015, MAG deployed between two and four 10-strong technical teams, depending on funding, and two community liaison teams.[35] In early 2015, NPA commenced operations in Katanga province in eastern DRC with one MTT, one mine clearance team (MCT), and two technical survey teams. From 1 July 2015, two technical survey teams were added to its operational capacity in Katanga province.[36] HI did not carry out clearance in 2015 but developed a five-year partnership with AFRILAM, which conducted explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) spot tasks in 2015.[37]

MAG was the only operator to conduct cluster munition remnants survey and clearance activities in the DRC in 2015. The government of the DRC, through CCLAM, which operates under the Ministry of Interior, has been seconding members of the armed forces to MAG for survey and clearance of cluster munition remnants since 2011.[38]

UNMAS has multi-task teams which conduct UXO spot tasks and battle area clearance (BAC). They also conduct destruction of abandoned and obsolete ammunition for both MONUSCO and government security services, and small arms and light weapons for MONUSCO Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR). They have the capability to conduct mine clearance in emergency situations.[39]

Deminer safety 

Three employees of a private company, Mecham, contracted by a demining unit of MONUSCO were kidnapped in North Kivu province in April 2015.[40] The deminers were released after one week and returned to work.[41]

Quality management 

UNMAS stated that quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) visits, both internal and external, were carried out once or twice every six months in 2015. Visits were made to Batiaboli, in Tshopo province (formerly Oriental province); Mukwanyama, in Maniema province; and Ndolo, in South-Kivu province.[42] Previously, in mid-2015, UNMAS stated that very few QA activities were being carried out in the field “due to both logistics and funding constraints.”[43]

NGO operators MAG, NPA, and HI expressed significant concern over the limitations of external CCLAM/UNMAS QA/QC visits, which were transferred to the sole responsibility of CCLAM at the start of 2016.[44] All operators confirmed that internal QA/QC processes were in place and activities carried out regularly in 2015.[45]

UNMAS and MAG reported that no external QA/QC activities were carried out on any cluster munition remnants tasks in 2015, due to an inability to travel to remote areas.[46] MAG stated, however, that in 2015 an internal QA/QC process was carried out twice a week.[47]

Information management 

CCLAM assumed responsibility from UNMAS for information management in January 2016. Subsequently, data from the national mine action database in response to research queries showed limited signs of improvement, but continued to vary significantly from operators’ records, and in some cases was partial or even unusable.[48]

In 2015, NPA provided training for CCLAM information management operators and support to the centre to set up an Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database and computerize data formerly in possession of demining operators and UNMAS. As of October 2016, data entry into the CCLAM database had not yet been completed.[49] Previously, according to a review of the 2013 NLCS, information on the threat from mines and UXO was often reported sporadically and inaccurately to UNMAS, by operators that frequently confused the type of explosive threat or submitted redundant reports, subsequently adding “thousands of duplicates and unreliable records” to the UNMAS-managed database.[50]

NPA has asserted that significant improvements in information management capacity were achieved in 2015. It was continuing to provide support for CCLAM’s information management staff, but stated further funding, training, and mentoring was necessary to continue to build adequate capacity.[51] While HI also noted positive developments (e.g. information management training), it expressed concern about the turnover of trained information management staff, the lack of management, and even an adequate internet connection within CCLAM, as well as the failure of recent attempts to obtain useable information from the database.[52] MAG stated that as the national database was “still in its infancy” and now under national ownership, it was not yet possible to assess a change in quality.[53]

Land Release (Mines)

Just over 0.74km² of mined area was released in 2015, including 0.43km² by clearance and technical survey (TS), and a further 0.31km² by non-technical survey (NTS).[54] This is an increase from the total mined area in the DRC released in 2014 of 0.59km², of which 0.23km² was by clearance and 0.36km² by survey.[55]

Survey in 2015 (mines) 

In 2015, operators canceled a total of almost 0.31km² by NTS and reduced an additional 0.12km² of antipersonnel mined area through TS, while confirming 0.17km² as mined.[56] This compares to results in 2014 of cancelation of 0.03km² of mined area through NTS, reduction of 0.33km² of confirmed mined area, and confirmation of 0.06km² as mined.[57]

Antipersonnel mine survey in 2015[58]

Clearance in 2015 (mines)

A total of 0.31km² was released by clearance in 2015, with the destruction of 31 antipersonnel mines, one antivehicle mine, and 756 items of UXO.[61] Total mined area cleared in 2014 was 0.23km², with the destruction of 43 antipersonnel mines, 10 antivehicle mines, and more than 7,300 items of UXO.[62] 

NPA released 19 SHAs in the DRC in 2015, leaving only one SHA to be completed in former Katanga province in 2016. Of the 19 completed SHAs, 14 were released through TS and clearance, and the remainder through NTS. NPA also reported completing a total of 26 spot tasks in former Katanga province in 2015.[63] It noted the success of its increased use of small technical survey teams in 2015, with very few of the SHAs found to contain antipersonnel or antivehicle mines.[64]

NPA stated that all four antipersonnel mines its teams encountered in 2015 were found individually and destroyed as spot tasks.[65] Likewise, MAG reported that all four antipersonnel mines it destroyed in 2015 were singularly-laid nuisance mines.[66]

Antipersonnel mine clearance in 2015[67]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants)

The total amount of cluster munition-contaminated area released in 2015 was 0.075km², compared to 0.065km² in 2014.[70]

Survey in 2015 (Cluster munition remnants) 

MAG reported cancelling 65 SHAs through non-technical survey in 2015 and confirming as hazardous two SHAs with a total size of 75,845m² in former Katanga (Tanganyika) and Equateur provinces (see table below).[71]

Cluster munition remnants survey in 2015[72]

Clearance in 2015 (cluster munition remnants) 

MAG cleared a total of 75,845m² of cluster munition-contaminated area in 2015, the majority of which—68,073m²—was in Equateur province, with a further 7,772m² in Katanga/Tanganyika province, and destroyed a total of 65 submunitions (see table below).[73] In 2014, MAG cleared 65,510m² of cluster munition-contaminated area, destroying 38 submunitions.[74]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2015[75]

Note: AP = antipersonnel.

NPA destroyed one BL755 submunition as part of an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) spot task in Tanganyika province in September 2015, and a further two similar devices in the same province in February 2016.[76] According to UNMAS, Mechem also destroyed two submunitions during EOD spot tasks in 2015.[77]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the six-year extension request granted by States Parties in June 2014), the DRC is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 January 2021. As of mid-2016, the DRC appeared on course to meet its deadline by 2018, albeit after the end-2016 deadline set out in its national mine action strategy.[78]

The purpose of its current (second) Article 5 deadline extension is to “(a) conduct technical surveys and clear the 130 identified mined areas; and (b) conduct non-technical and technical surveys as well as clear and/or release areas in the territories of Aru and Dungu in the Orientale province.”[79]

The DRC’s first Article 5 deadline request in 2011 largely blamed poor survey by demining operators for the failure to meet its deadline, though poor management and insufficient national ownership of the program were also major factors.[80] Initially intending to submit a request for an extension of its initial November 2012 deadline by four years, the DRC instead requested a 26-month interim extension primarily to carry out the national survey to provide it with the information needed to submit another definitive extension request in 2014.[81]

In April 2014, the DRC submitted a second request to extend its Article 5 deadline starting in January 2015. The extension indicated that at least 30% of the total mined areas could be released through technical survey, indicating that some 1.3km² would need to be cleared.[82] The extension request estimated that on average 0.21km² would be cleared each year.[83]

The extension request included annual projections of progress to be made during the extension period, though without providing a detailed workplan with a monthly breakdown of activities for each operator in each area in order to achieve these.[84] It also foresees expenditure of US$20 million, of which some $19.4 million will go to demining the 130 mined areas, while the remainder will be spent on survey and clearance in Aru and Dungu.[85] It announced that the DRC government had committed to contribute FC579,831,000 (about $600,000) a year to mine action activities, starting in January 2015.[86] Operators reported, however, that in 2015 only very limited support was provided by the government, including funding to cover the running costs of the CCLAM and operational collaboration with the army for logistical support.[87]

Over five years in 2011–2015, demining organizations cleared a total of nearly 1.37km² of mined area (see table below). 

Mine clearance in 2011–2015 (m²)[88]

As of mid-September 2016, the DRC had not submitted a detailed workplan on the implementation of its extension request targets nor its recent annual Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency reports, due in April 2015 and 2016. 

The DRC has reported that challenges for implementing its current extension request plan milestones include funding and logistics, security, geography, and climate, including dense vegetation and heavy rainy seasons.[89] In June 2015, the DRC reported to States Parties that after six months of implementation of its second extension request, it had concerns over declining international funding and the consequences for its ability to achieve its extension targets.[90]

In May 2016, UNMAS claimed that the DRC was both on track to meet its national mine action strategic plan goal of completing clearance of mine and ERW contamination by the end of 2016, as well as to meet its Article 5 deadline by 2021.[91] As of October 2016, UNMAS stated that a total of 57 SHAs remained in the database.[92] It has noted, though, that the ongoing security situation in the east of the DRC remained a serious concern and could delay the DRC’s achievement of its clearance targets.[93]

In contrast, operators MAG, HI, and NPA that were optimistic in 2015 that DRC would meet its goal of completing clearance by the end of 2016, became increasingly less positive as 2016 progressed, though they remained confident that the DRC was well placed to meet its 2021 Article 5 deadline for the clearance of antipersonnel mine contamination on time, if not earlier. They attributed the DRC’s inability to finish by the end of 2016 to a lack of access and the remote, difficult terrain of remaining areas, and additional concerns over sustained funding, upcoming elections, and deteriorating security in certain field locations.[94]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.