In 2015, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka adopted a new national mine action strategy, which sets the target for completion of clearance by 2020. Resurvey significantly reduced estimates of the size of remaining antipersonnel mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination from nearly 78km² at the end of 2014 to nearly 44km² by 30 June 2016. The National Mine Action Center (NMAC) reported that 26.44km² was canceled by non-technical survey (NTS) and 6.3km² was reduced through technical survey. 3.52km² of mined areas was cleared and 6km² of contaminated land was released through battle area clearance (BAC).

Recommendations for action

• Continued efforts should be made to implement efficient land release methodology and to more accurately define the size of remaining contamination.
• The quality of the national mine action database should be improved to enable effective planning and accurate reporting on land release.
• Greater resources should be allocated to NMAC to enable it to increase its capacity and effectiveness, and to ensure sufficient resources for mine action activities.
• Sri Lanka should implement its resource mobilization plan and seek increased funding to ensure mine action activities can meet the 2020 clearance target.

Contamination

Sri Lanka is extensively contaminated by mines and ERW. Most contamination is in the north, the focus of three decades of armed conflict between the government and the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE), which ended in May 2009. The estimate of total contamination reduced from nearly 78km² at the end of 2014 to 43.6km² as of 30 June 2016. NMAC’s estimates of contamination across the 10 affected districts across three provinces are set out in the table below.[1]

Mine/ERW contamination as at 30 June 2016[2]

However, actual contamination was thought to be less than 35km², considerably lower than the 43.6km² contained in the national database, in part due to survey results from Northern province that had not yet been submitted to NMAC.[3] 

Most remaining contamination is located in Sri Lanka’s five northern districts. Both sides made extensive use of mines, including belts of P4 MK1 blast antipersonnel mines laid by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and long defensive lines with a mixture of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid by the LTTE, defending approaches to the northern town of Kilinochchi.[4] Indian peacekeeping forces also used landmines during their presence from July 1987 to January 1990.[5] 

The SLA used both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, with all use said to have been recorded. Minefield records were handed over to the national mine action program and entered into the national database after the conflict, which greatly facilitated clearance.[6] Operators have encountered a wide range of LTTE devices, including antipersonnel mines with anti-tilt and anti-lift mechanisms, most of which it constructed itself, and often containing a larger explosive charge than the P4 MK1 mines (up to 140g compared to 30g). Tripwire-activated Claymore-type mines and, to a lesser extent, antivehicle mines, were also used by the LTTE, along with a number of forms of IED to act as fragmentation mines, bar mines, electrical and magnetically initiated explosive devices, and mines connected to detonating cord to mortar and artillery shells.[7] 

Sri Lanka remains contaminated with a wide range of ERW, including unexploded air-dropped bombs, artillery shells and missiles, mortar bombs, handheld antitank projectiles, and rifle and hand grenades. Large caches of abandoned explosive ordnance also exist, particularly in the north.[8] During the first 10 months of 2015, a monthly average of 168 items of ERW was reported by civilians and communities.[9]

A total of eight mine/ERW victims were recorded in five incidents in 2015 by November, down from 16 victims in a total of 11 incidents in 2014.[10] (See the Casualties and Victim Assistance country profile for further details.)

Since early 2009, resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has been the focus of survey and clearance activities, including in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu, and Vavuniya districts in the north, and Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara districts in the east.[11] In 2015, NMAC confirmed that clearance continued to focus on high-priority areas for resettlement, agricultural land, irrigation tank areas, and other infrastructure and development initiatives, as well as of heavily mined areas such as around Kilinochchi and the Muhamalai Forward Defense Line.[12] In addition, in 2015, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) was given access to eastern districts of the Northern province for the first time since 2009, which the government had previously denied access to over “security concerns.” Following granting permission for survey teams to begin work in these districts, clearance teams were deployed in 2016, which significantly increased the reach of humanitarian mine action in the country.[13] 

Program Management 

The Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement, and Hindu Religious Affairs became the lead agency for mine action in 2015 as chair of the interministerial National Steering Committee for Mine Action (NSCMA), which sets policy and is mandated to “manage linkages within the government, mine action community and donors.”[14] Its policies and decisions are implemented by NMAC, set up in 2010[15] to liaise with government ministries and development partners to determine mine action priorities; prepare a strategic plan; and set annual workplans to put it into effect. NMAC is also responsible for accrediting mine action operators, setting national standards, and acting as the secretariat of the NSCMA.[16]

Clearance operations are coordinated, tasked, and quality managed by a Regional Mine Action Office (RMAO) in Kilinochchi, working in consultation with District Steering Committees for Mine Action. The committees are chaired by government agents heading district authorities.[17] 

Under its new national mine action strategy for 2016–2020 (see below), the government of Sri Lanka intends to convene steering committee meetings for mine action up to twice per year at national level and at three regional levels, one for the east (Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara) and two for the north (Jaffna, Kilinochchi, and Mullaitivu, and Vavuniya, Mannar, Polonnaruwa, and Anuradhapura, respectively).[18]

While NMAC’s activities were severely curtailed in early 2015 due to a suspension in funding while it awaited reassignment to a new government ministry following the January elections, it appears that issues were resolved during the year and there is renewed political commitment to mine action in Sri Lanka. The previous government had set a deadline of the end of 2014 for the withdrawal of international operators from the country, but agreed to extend the deadline until the end of 2016. In September 2016, NMAC reported that it fully expected international operators to continue operations until the completion of clearance in 2020 under the new 2016–2020 mine action strategy.[19]

Strategic planning

In 2015, a new national mine action strategy was drafted with support from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), and in consultation with operators and the SLA. The strategy, which includes a completion plan for clearance by 2020 and is accompanied by a resource mobilization plan, was formally endorsed by the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs on 25 May 2016.[20]

The strategy contains the following strategic objectives:

• The scope of the mine/ERW problem is identified, confirmed, and addressed using appropriate methodologies and resources.
• Mine/ERW safe behavior among women, girls, boys, and men is promoted.
• The needs of mine/ERW victims are determined and met and victims are integrated into society.
• Sri Lanka accedes to the Mine Ban Treaty and complies with relevant obligations.
• Long-term residual contamination is effectively managed by appropriate and sustainable national capacities.
• The Sri Lanka mine action sector can access quality information for its strategic and operational decision-making.[21] 

An external mid-term review of the strategy will be requested by NMAC in mid-2018 to evaluate progress and ensure its continued relevance.[22]

Standards

NMAC reported that Sri Lanka’s National Mine Action Standards continued to be in effect in 2015, and are in line with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[23] Operators reported no changes to the national mine action standards since 2010.[24]

Quality management

NMAC stated that quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) and post-clearance inspection activities were conducted in accordance with Sri Lanka’s National Mine Action Standards regularly in 2015. In September 2016, however, NMAC expressed concern about reductions in QA/QC staff capacity and identified a need for assistance in training new recruits.[25]

Information management

In August 2015, an updated version of the software for the national Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database was installed. As of October 2015, NMAC reported that all data had been entered into the updated system and 95% had been validated by ground verification.[26] 

Operators 

In 2015, demining was conducted by the SLA; one national NGO, Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH); and the two international NGOs, HALO Trust and MAG. A national organization, SHARP, became operational from January 2016 after securing funding and inheriting equipment and staff from international NGO Danish Demining Group, which closed operations in Sri Lanka in 2014.[27] 

In 2015, HALO reduced staffing and capacity, due to a cut in funding following the previous government’s announcement that all international demining organizations would have to leave the country by the end of 2016. Its demining personnel went down from 931 at the start of 2015 to 264 by the end of December and its mechanical assets reduced from a maximum of 10 in 2014 to five at the end of 2015.[28]

MAG more than doubled its capacity during 2015, initially deploying five manual clearance teams and six mechanical teams, which increased to a total of 12 manual clearance teams and seven mechanical teams by December.[29]

NMAC reported that the SLA employed a total of 555 persons in demining operations, of whom 515 were deminers, along with 11 mechanical flails. DASH, and its subcontractor, SHARP, employed 274 deminers, and a total of 355 staff during the year along with one mechanical asset.[30] 

Land Release 

With the support of MAG and DASH, NMAC made resurvey of all mined and unexploded ordinance (UXO)-contaminated areas a priority for land release operations in Sri Lanka in 2015.[31] Non-technical survey (NTS) activities commenced in mid-2015, which were due to be completed by the end of November 2016, by which time NMAC anticipated that a total of up to 35km² would have been canceled.[32]

According to NMAC, a total of close to 9.8km² was released through clearance and technical survey in 2015, compared with 5.8km² in 2014.[33] A further 26.4km² was canceled by NTS in May–December 2015.[34]

NMAC has reported that cumulatively, a total of 131km² was reduced or cleared between 2002 and September 2015.[35] 

Survey in 2015 

NMAC’s official data showed that a total of almost 26.4km² was canceled by NTS and a further 6.3km² reduced through technical survey during 2015.[36] However, there are discrepancies between NMAC data and MAG and HALO data.[37] These figures compared to release of 0.5km² through survey reported by HALO in 2014, and 2.68km² through NTS and technical survey reported by MAG for the same year.[38] 

Antipersonnel mine survey in 2015[39]

Note: SHA = suspected hazardous area.

Clearance in 2015

According to NMAC, more than 3.52km² of mined area was cleared in 2015, and a further 6km² of contaminated area was released through battle area clearance (BAC), with the combined destruction of 27,845 antipersonnel mines, 74 antivehicle mines, and 4,588 items of UXO.[40] However, there are discrepancies between NMAC data and MAG and HALO data.[41]

In 2014, officials reported a total of 3.7km² cleared, 2km² released through BAC, and the destruction of 32,223 antipersonnel mines, 97 antivehicle mines, and 27,825 items of UXO.[42] 

Mine clearance in 2015[43]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle. 

HALO reported a decrease in its clearance output in 2015, which it said directly corresponded to the reduction in staffing and capacity.[44]

MAG reported an increase in clearance in 2015, noting that improved land release methodology resulted in a surge in the number of mines it cleared.[45] MAG began implementing a combination of technical survey and clearance in 2015, whereas in 2014, it was only releasing land through clearance. It reported that in 2015, of its total output of land cleared or reduced, 59% was reduced by technical survey and 41% through clearance.[46]

Deminer safety 

In 2015, one HALO Trust deminer sustained minor injuries to a hand and burns to the neck in a demining incident.[47] 

Progress towards completion

Sri Lanka’s new national mine action strategy for 2016–2020 contains a specific strategic objective of accession to the Mine Ban Treaty and compliance with its obligations.[48] In December 2015, at the Mine Ban Treaty Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties, Sri Lanka made a statement publicly announcing its commitment to accede to the convention for the first time. It stated that following the election of the new government in January 2015, “there is a paradigm shift in the policy of the government,” which was “considering seriously” to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty “as a matter of priority,” possibly within the course of 2016.[49]

In the last five years, Sri Lanka has reported clearing nearly 46km² of mined area, though clearance dropped significantly in 2013 following a steady decline in capacity following closure of the operations of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) in 2013, and two Indian demining NGOs, Horizon and Sarvatra, in 2012 (see table below). 

Mine clearance in 2011–2015

According to Sri Lanka’s new national mine action strategy, 6.5km² is expected to be reduced or cleared annually, with resources remaining at the same level as in 2015. As noted above, NMAC is expected to request an external mid-term review of the strategy in 2018 to evaluate progress and to adapt the strategy if necessary.[50] 

In early 2016, a resource mobilization action plan to accompany the new strategy was developed by the government of Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the GICHD, specifying, among other things, activities, tasks, responsibilities and time-lines.[51]

The government created a national budget line for mine action in 2015.[52] NMAC reported that during the year, funding for its operational costs and the SLA’s demining unit had been provided by the government.[53] NMAC expected an increase in funding in 2016–2017.[54] However, NMAC estimated that to address the remaining contamination, about double the 2015 budget would be needed annually to complete clearance by 2020. It was noted, however, that this estimate could change, depending on the resurvey results.[55]

In September 2016, NMAC reaffirmed that Sri Lanka can complete its goal of clearance of all antipersonnel mine contamination by the end of 2020 if international and government commitment and funding significantly increase.[56] 

Operators noted the importance of developing plans for expected reductions in capacity in line with progress towards completion of clearance by 2020, including job skills trainings and redundancy packages for demining staff.[57] At the same time, Sri Lanka’s new strategy highlights the need for a sustainable national capacity to manage residual mine and ERW contamination afterwards, supported by the national budget.[58] In September 2016, NMAC and operators reported that while considerable resources had been spent to equip the SLA’s demining unit—a potential source of residual capacity—it lacked the means to maintain or fully deploy all of its assets, and further resources were needed to ensure machines were in working order.[59] 

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.