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

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

Signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
(Clearance completed in 2017)

Summary

At the end of 2016, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had a total of 0.85km² of suspected and confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) contaminated by antipersonnel mines. In 2016, 0.26km² was cleared, 0.15km² was reduced by technical survey, and 0.04km² canceled by non-technical survey, a decrease on the previous year.

The cluster munition-contaminated land remaining at the end of 2016 was cleared by May 2017. In 2016, a total of 37,903m² was released (35,032m² was cleared and 2,871 released through technical survey), and 2,629m² of land was confirmed to be contaminated by cluster munition remnants. In 2017, one area of unrecorded size was canceled, and 3,900m² was cleared.

The DRC also has UXO and significant quantities of AXO.

Recommendations for action

• The DRC should finalize a detailed workplan to fulfil its Article 5 obligations as soon as possible and create a new national mine action strategy.
• The DRC should finalize the revised national mine action standards as soon as possible.
• As soon as it is safe to do so, the 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.
• 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.

Mine Contamination

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] According to UNMAS, at the end of 2016, a total of 54 CHAs and suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) with a total size of 851,228m² remained.[2] At the end of 2015, a total of 71 CHAs and SHAs remained covering an estimated 1.3km²; the total comprised 13 confirmed mined areas covering less than 0.2km², and 58 SHAs covering just over 1.1km².[3]

At the end of 2016, six of the DRC’s 11 provinces that have been affected still contained confirmed or suspected mine contamination, as set out in the table below.[4]

Antipersonnel mine contamination by province (as of end 2016)[5]

In April 2014, the DRC reported that 130 SHAs affected by mines remained in eight provinces (then Equateur, Kasaï Occidental, Kasaï Oriental, Maniema, North Kivu, Katanga, Orientale, and South Kivu) covering an estimated 1.8km², on the basis of the results of a nine-month-long National Landmine Contamination Survey (NLCS) launched in March 2013.[6] The Aru and Dungu territories in former Orientale province, however, were not surveyed due to insecurity.[7]

As of December 2015, the DRC reported that 45 of the 130 SHAs had been cleared during the year, covering some 0.9km², putting three of the DRC’s then eight remaining contaminated provinces in a position to be declared cleared of mines, once quality management had been completed.[8] Clearance of 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.[9] UNMAS cautioned, however, that four SHAs were newly identified in 2016 and further hazards might be identified in the future, particularly in Aru or Dungu.[10]

As of September 2017, survey of Aru or Dungu had still not been possible due to security concerns, though according to UNMAS, survey could be completed by humanitarian demining organizations within a four-month period, once funding and access are secured.[11]

In 2017, UNMAS reported that antipersonnel mine contamination remaining in the DRC was limited and that only small numbers of antipersonnel mines were found on an annual basis by operators. Areas suspected to contain antipersonnel mines often proved to contain UXO, AXO, or small arms ammunition.[12]

Released land is used for agriculture and settlement development, in addition to opening up access to markets, water, and firewood.[13] Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) reported that, in April 2017, of all the land it had released and returned to local communities in 2016, 8% was found to be used for construction and 92% for other activities, such as agriculture and livestock grazing. Most areas were put back into productive use immediately after being handed over, it said.[14] Handicap International (HI) reported that land released to local inhabitants in Tshopo province in November was being cultivated four months later, having been blocked for years prior.[15]

Cluster Munition Contamination

At the end of 2016, only two areas of unknown size remained to be addressed in Bolomba, Equateur province, in the northwest of the country.[16] By April 2017, these remaining areas had been canceled and cleared.

Previously, at the start of 2016, the DRC had two remaining areas with a total size of 3,840m² confirmed to contain cluster munition remnants, and two other areas of unknown size, in Equateur province.[17] The DRC identified the areas, all of which are believed to contain BL755 submunitions, in a national survey conducted in 2013.[18]

According to Mines Advisory Group (MAG), cluster munition contamination in the DRC previously impeded agriculture and freedom of movement. MAG reported that its clearance of cluster munition remnants and other UXO in areas of former Equateur and Katanga provinces had increased access to firewood, enabled use of once restricted land and new agricultural areas, and facilitated access to remote villages.[19] In addition to the cluster munition remnants it had previously cleared around airports, hospitals, and agricultural areas, and beside or on roads, in 2016, MAG reported clearing cluster munitions from farmland and areas frequently foraged for wood or food.[20]

Other explosive remnants of war and landmines

The DRC is affected by other ERW and a small number of landmines as a result of years of conflict involving neighboring states, militias, and rebel groups. Successive conflicts have also left the DRC with significant quantities of AXO.[21]

In 2016, ongoing conflict continued to cause new ERW contamination, and munitions remained a constant and significant risk to civilians, as well as placing wide-ranging restrictions on socioeconomic development and recovery.[22] Thousands of mine and ERW casualties have been recorded in the DRC (see the casualty profile for further details).

Program Management

CCLAM was established in 2012 with capacity-building support from the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) and UNMAS.[23] UNMAS has reported that the transfer of responsibility to CCLAM for coordinating mine action activities was completed in early 2016.[24]

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.[25] 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.[26]

In March 2013, Security Council Resolution 2098 called for demining activities to be transferred to the UN Country Team and the Congolese authorities.[27] As a consequence, UNMAS operated 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.[28] In accordance with Resolution 2147 of March 2014, demining is no longer included in MONUSCO’s mandate.[29] In 2017, UNMAS reported it was assisting MONUSCO operations and mitigating the threat from ERW through explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operations and risk education.[30]

Strategic planning

The DRC’s national mine action strategic plan for 2012–2016 set the goal of clearing all areas contaminated with antipersonnel mines or submunitions by the end of 2016.[31] This goal was not achieved.

In June 2017, following the expiration of the DRC’s 2012–2016 national strategy, which was developed with the support of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the GICHD reported that, together with UNMAS, it would work closely with CCLAM to develop the DRC’s next national mine action strategy.[32] The first strategy development workshop was organized in Kinshasa in September 2017, bringing all relevant national and international stakeholders together to analyze the context, agree on the mine action program’s overall vision and mission, and define strategic goals and objectives. Fulfilment of the DRC’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 obligations will be a main focus of the next national strategy, it said.[33]

In granting the DRC’s second Article 5 deadline extension request, Mine Ban Treaty States Parties called on the DRC to present a detailed workplan by 30 April 2015 on the implementation of its remaining clearance obligations throughout its extension period. It did not, however, do so, and as of September 2017 had still to submit a workplan.

Standards

In September 2017, UNMAS reported that the DRC’s outdated National Technical Standards and Guidelines (NTSGs) had been revised and national mine action standards had been developed, which, following review by CCLAM, were expected to be published by the end of the year.[34]

Operators

Five international operators carried out mine survey and clearance operations in the DRC in 2016: DanChurchAid (DCA), HI, MAG, Mechem, and NPA, along with a national demining organization, AFRILAM.[35]

In 2016, UNMAS contracted two multi-task teams (MTTs) for clearance operations in Kasai Central, Kasai Oriental, Lomami, and Maniema provinces. The teams primarily carried out EOD tasks, destruction of AXO, and battle area clearance (BAC). UNMAS also contracted three MTTs directly in support of MONUSCO operations in the provinces of Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika; the teams mainly provided explosive hazard management support for the mission’s activities.[36]

In 2016, MAG employed 24 demining personnel for survey and clearance activities.[37]

NPA began operating with one MTT, one mine clearance team (MCT), and four technical survey teams, with a total of 52 personnel. In April, the teams were reconfigured into non-technical and technical survey teams, but with the focus on technical survey. As of November 2016, two MTTs were deployed to assist the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC).[38]

HI commenced a two-year project in partnership with AFRILAM in 2016. AFRILAM deployed three teams of 14 deminers, while HI provided staff for quality management oversight and information management assistance.[39]

DCA had one team in 2016 which conducted mine clearance in Tshopo Province (Babola and Chamanka areas, in Kisangani territory, and in Banakanuke 2 area, in Ubundu territory).[40]

Under contract from UNMAS, from mid-2015 to mid-2016, MECHEM deployed five MCTs in the east of the country, until funding for its contract ceased in March 2016.[41]

MAG and NPA were the only operators to conduct cluster munition survey and clearance in the DRC in 2016. MAG deployed a total of 11 demining personnel to address cluster munition contamination, and NPA two technical survey teams of six deminers.[42]

Quality management

UNMAS controlled external quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) prior to handing over responsibility for quality management to CCLAM.[43] According to UNMAS, only limited QA was carried out by CCLAM in 2016 due to a lack of funding for travel or the deployment of personnel. UNMAS stated it undertook regular QA of UN-contracted operators, but reported that the geographical size of the country and lack of adequate and affordable transportation and infrastructure often restricted the provision of timely quality management. No sampling was undertaken in 2016.[44]

Information management

CCLAM assumed responsibility from UNMAS for information management in January 2016. Concerns persisted over the quality of information management: gaps in the database, a lack of maintenance, a lack of capacity to extract and share information from the database, and the absence of coordination meetings with operators, were all evident during the year. NPA, which hosted information management training courses together with the GICHD for CCLAM in 2016, reported that while the center had competent technical staff, its limited administrative and financial resources continued to adversely affect its ability to maintain the database and that, as a consequence, a system of parallel reporting to CCLAM and UNMAS had developed.[45] CCLAM did not provide information in response to requests for data in 2017.

In September 2017, UNMAS reported it was working on a data reconciliation project together with the GICHD to try and ensure that the database is up-to-date and accurate in order to facilitate compliance with the DRC’s Article 5 obligations by the end of 2019.[46]

Land Release (mines)

A total of less than 0.44km² of mined area was released in 2016, of which 0.38km² was by clearance and technical survey, and a further 0.04km² canceled by non-technical survey. This is a decrease from the total mined area in DRC released in 2015 of just over 0.74km² of mined area, including 0.43km² by clearance and technical survey, and a further 0.31km² by non-technical survey.[47]

Survey in 2016 (mines)

In 2016, operators canceled a total of 37,682m² by non-technical survey and additionally reduced nearly 148,941m² of antipersonnel mined area through technical survey, while confirming just over 234,771m² as mined.[48] This compares to results in 2015 when 0.31km² of mined area was canceled by non-technical survey, 0.12km² of mined area was reduced, and 0.17km² was confirmed as mined.[49]

Mine survey in 2016[50]

Note: TS = technical survery

Clearance in 2016 (mines)

A total of just over 257,119m² was released by clearance in 2016, with the destruction of 35 antipersonnel mines and 101 items of UXO.[51] This is a decrease from the total mined area cleared in 2015 of just over 314,000m².[52]

In addition, in 2016, NPA stated that two fuzeless antipersonnel mines and one antivehicle mine were found and destroyed in spot tasks.[53] MAG reported destroying one antivehicle mine in a spot task and HI reported destroying one antipersonnel mine and eight items of UXO outside its demining tasks.[54]

Mine clearance in 2016[55]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

Land Release (cluster munition remnants)

The total cluster munition-contaminated area released in 2016 was just under 0.038m², resulting in the release of all known cluster munition-contaminated areas.[56]

Survey in 2016 (cluster munition remnants)

In 2016, NPA confirmed an area with a total size of 2,629m² as contaminated with cluster munition remnants and released an area with the size of 2,871m² through technical survey.[57]

Previously, in 2015, MAG confirmed two SHAs as containing cluster munition contamination with a total size of 75,845m² in Katanga (Tanganyika) and Equateur provinces, along with canceling 65 SHAs through non-technical survey.[58]

Clearance in 2016 (cluster munition remnants)

For a three-month period in 2016, MAG continued its clearance of cluster munition-contamination tasks, which began in 2011, prior to suspending operations March 2016 due to the expiry of funding.[59] During the year, it cleared one area in Equateur province with a total size of 32,403m² and destroyed 15 submunitions, along with two other items of UXO.[60] This compared to 2015, when MAG cleared a total of 75,845m² of cluster munition-contaminated area, and destroyed a total of 65 submunitions.[61]

NPA, which was conducting mine survey and clearance operations in Equateur province, was requested by CCLAM to clear a cluster munition-contaminated area with a size of 5,500m² in Bolomba. During 17 October–18 November 2016, NPA cleared a total of 2,629m² and released 2,871m² through technical survey, and destroyed 31 submunitions, including 3 M61 and 28 BL 61, and seven items of UXO.[62]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2016[63]

Also, in February 2016, NPA found one BL755 submunition in Katelwa village and two other BL755 submunitions in Sambi village, in Kabalo, Tanganyika (former Katanga) province, in an area not previously reported as an SHA. The area did not, however, appear to contain a footprint of a cluster munition strike, and the individual submunitions were cleared as spot tasks.[64]

Completion of cluster munition land release in 2017

Cluster munition clearance was completed in 2017. One SHA with an unrecorded size was canceled by NPA in April 2017, and NPA completed clearance of the other area, with a size of 3,900m², on 12 May 2017.[65] It did not expect that more cluster munition remnants would be found in the DRC after its completion of the task in Equateur province, which was the only region where there were reports that cluster munitions had been used.[66]

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. It is on track to meet this deadline. As of mid-2017, according to UNMAS, the DRC should complete clearance by 2019. This is in advance of its deadline but later than the end-2016 deadline set out in its national mine action strategy.[67]

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.”[68]

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.[69] The DRC 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.[70]

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 area could be released through technical survey, indicating that some 1.3km² would need to be cleared.[71] The extension request estimated that on average 0.21km² would be cleared each year.[72]

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.[73] It also foresaw expenditure of US$20 million, of which some $19.4 million would go to demining the 130 mined areas, while the remainder will be spent on survey and clearance in Aru and Dungu.[74] It announced that the government of the DRC had committed to contribute FC579,831,000 (about $600,000) a year to mine action activities, starting in January 2015.[75] Operators reported, however, that in 2016 no funding was provided by the government for mine action operations, and only very limited support was given to CCLAM.[76] According to UNMAS, in 2017 the government of the DRC did not have a budget allocation for mine action operations.[77]

Over five years in 2012–2016, demining organizations cleared a total of nearly 1.3km² of mined area (see table below).

Mine clearance in 2012–2016

As of September 2017, the DRC had not submitted a detailed workplan on the implementation of its extension request targets nor any annual Article 7 transparency reports since 2014.

The DRC has reported that challenges for implementing its current extension request-planned milestones, include funding and logistics, security, geography, and climate, including dense vegetation and heavy rainy seasons.[78] 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.[79]

Operators MAG, HI, and NPA were initially optimistic that DRC would meet its national goal of completing clearance by the end of 2016, but became increasingly less so as the year went on, though they remained confident that the DRC would be able to meet its 2021 Article 5 deadline 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 areas.[80]

In 2017, MAG and NPA raised concern over declining funding for mine action in the DRC.[81] UNMAS expected mine action capacity to decrease over the course of the year due to difficulties in obtaining funding, donor concerns over the current political impasse in the country, and higher-impact humanitarian crises such as cholera and yellow fever outbreaks, flooding, and increasing displacement of populations.[82]

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the mine action research in 2017, including on survey and clearance, and shared all its resulting landmine and cluster munition reports with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.