Contaminated by: landmines (medium contamination), cluster munition remnants (extent of contamination unclear), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Deadline: 1 April 2019

(Not on track to meet deadline)

Non-signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Landmines: At the end of 2016, the Republic of Sudan had a total of just under 19km² of areas suspected or confirmed to contain antipersonnel mines, of which 2.6km² were confirmed mined areas. This is a decrease from the end of 2015. In 2016, more than 6.4km² of mined and battle area was released, a significant increase from 2015. Of this, 4.87km² was released of antipersonnel mine contamination. Just over 1.5km² was canceled, 2.24km² was reduced, and 1.04km² of mined area was released through clearance, with the destruction of 105 antipersonnel mines.

Cluster munition remnants: As of the end of 2016, two areas remained that were suspected of containing cluster munition contamination, each an estimated 1km². Previously it was reported that there were nine open areas as of June 2011. In 2017, the Sudanese National Mine Action Center (NMAC) reported that seven were cleared in 2011–2013. However, no details were provided on the size of contaminated land, how much land was cleared, and how many submunitions were destroyed.

Recommendations for action

• Sudan should regularly update Mine Ban Treaty States Parties on access to, and progress in, clearing Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, as security conditions permit.
• Sudan should conduct survey to determine the extent of cluster munition contamination.
• Sudan should re-establish conditions that allow international mine action organizations to conduct land release in Sudan.
• Continued efforts should be made to ensure reporting and recording of mine action data according to International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) land-release terminology.
• Sudan should ensure that reporting disaggregates submunitions from other UXO.

Mine Contamination

As of January 2017, a total of nine of Sudan’s 18 states were contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), with Blue Nile, Kassala, and South Kordofan states the most heavily affected. In April 2017, Forobaranga, in West Darfur, became the first locality in the Darfur region to complete clearance of all remaining ERW.[1]

At the end of 2016, Sudan had 100 areas containing antipersonnel mines, covering a total of just over 19km². According to NMAC, of this total, 2.6km² is confirmed to contain antipersonnel mines, and antipersonnel mine contamination is suspected in a further 16.6km².[2] An additional 30 areas are suspected to contain antivehicle mines covering nearly 5km², as set out in the table below.[3]

The overall contamination is a decrease from the end of 2015, when NMAC reported that 112 hazardous areas with a total of just under 21km² remained, of which 2.8km² was confirmed and 18.1km² suspected to contain antipersonnel mines.[4] Thirty-nine areas were suspected to contain antivehicle mines, with a total size of nearly 6km².[5]

Sudan’s mine and ERW contamination results from decades-long conflict since
the country’s independence in 1956. Twenty years of civil war, during which mines and other explosive ordnance were used heavily by all parties to the conflicts, resulted
in widespread contamination that has since claimed thousands of victims.[6] In January 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ostensibly ended the civil war, ultimately leading to the independence of the south
in July 2011. However, since South Sudan’s independence, conflicts have again broken out in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states as well as in the Abyei region, leading to new contamination from UXO

Mine contamination (as at end 2016)[7]

Note: CHAs = confirmed hazardous areas; SHAs = suspected hazardous areas.

At the end of 2016, of Sudan’s mine- and ERW-affected states, five contained antipersonnel mines: South Kordofan, Kassala, Blue Nile, Red Sea, and Western Kordofan. Blue Nile and South Kordofan were believed to be the most heavily contaminated, as set out in the table below.[8] According to NMAC, however, as these two states have been inaccessible due to insecurity for more than four years, the information recorded in the database for these states may no longer be accurate, and survey will be carried out as soon as the security situation permits.[9] No mines have been reported in Darfur, where the main threat is from UXO.[10]

In May 2016, Gadaref state was declared free of mines and ERW.[11] In May 2017, Red Sea state was declared free of mines; the month before, Forobaranga, in West Darfur, became the first locality in the Darfur region to complete clearance of ERW.[12] As of April 2017, clearance of Kassala state was on track to be completed by the end of the year.[13]

Antipersonnel mine contamination by state (as of end 2016)[14]

The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database does not hold data on contamination in Abyei due to persistent conflict and restrictions on access.[15]

A Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) was conducted in 2007–2009 covering Blue Nile, Gadaref, Kassala, Red Sea, and South Kordofan states. Since then, “ad hoc” reports of additional mine-/ERW-contaminated areas have been registered as dangerous areas in the database, causing the LIS baseline of 221 hazards to expand significantly, including to encompass areas not originally surveyed.[16] As of April 2017, a total of 2,973 hazardous areas had been registered in the IMSMA database since 2002, of which UNMAS reported 2,771 had been released through various clearance methods, leaving a total of 202 hazardous areas with a size of just over 27.5km² to be addressed.[17]

Mines and ERW continue to pose a daily threat to the lives of civilians in Sudan in 2017 and have a significant detrimental impact on the socio-economic development of local communities, constraining humanitarian access and the delivery of aid, and posing a particular risk for internally displaced persons and refugees.[18] In the Abyei area, the UN has repeatedly expressed concern over the threat of mines and ERW and their impact, including the obstruction of the safe return of the displaced and prevention of safe migration.[19]

While no mines have been found in Darfur, ERW continue to pose a serious threat to civilians, to peacekeepers from the UN Assistance Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), and to the delivery of humanitarian aid. ERW in Darfur includes unexploded air-delivered bombs, rockets, artillery and mortar shells, and grenades.[20]

Since South Sudan’s independence, new conflicts in Abyei and in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states have resulted in increased UXO contamination in Sudan.[21]

Cluster Munition Contamination

The exact extent of contamination from cluster munition remnants in Sudan is not known. There have been reports of new use of cluster munitions as recently as 2015, as well as in 2012.[22] According to NMAC, as of May 2017, only two areas were suspected to contain cluster munition contamination in Sudan, one in South Kordofan and another in West Kordofan state, each with an estimated size of 1km².[23] In April 2017, the African Union/UNAMID reported the presence of two AO-1Sch submunitions in North Darfur; Al Mengara village in Al Liet locality. The government of Sudan undertook to deploy its military to conduct their disposal. The villagers reported that the bombs were dropped in 2008, had been identified by UNAMID at that time, and that the military had stated that they would dispose of the items.[24]

Previously, the most recent estimate of contamination dated back to June 2011, when the United Nations Mine Action Office (UNMAO) reported nine areas suspected to be contaminated with unexploded submunitions. UNMAO asserted that 81 areas had been released (see table below).[25]

Cluster munition-contaminated areas as at June 2011[26]

In May–June 2017, NMAC, which assumed full national ownership for implementing mine action activities upon UNMAO’s closure in June 2011, reported that of the nine open areas reported by UNMAO in 2011, seven were cleared in 2011–2013.[27] UNMAO and NMAC have not, however, reported on the size of any of the areas, nor has NMAC reported how much land was cleared of cluster munition remnants from 2011 to 2016, or how many submunitions were destroyed in the process. According to NMAC, no new cluster munition contamination was recorded in 2016.[28]

In the 1990s, Sudanese government forces are believed to have sporadically air-dropped cluster munitions in its civil war with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Government forces were reported as having used several types of cluster munitions, including Spanish-manufactured HESPIN 21; United States (US)-manufactured M42 and Mk118 (Rockeye), and a Brazilian copy; Chinese Type-81 dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM); Chilean-made PM-1; and Soviet-manufactured PTAB-1.5 and AO-1SCh submunitions.[29]

In 2012 and 2015, use of cluster munitions was recorded in five separate attacks on villages in South Kordofan state. Each attack involved air-dropped RBK-500 cluster munitions containing AO-2.5RT submunitions.[30] In 2013–2015, the UN published reports of evidence of previous use of cluster munitions in Darfur, the stockpiling of RBK-500 cluster munitions and AO-2.5RT submunitions by the Sudanese air force, and fluctuating stock levels indicative of use for operations or for training.[31] (See Sudan’s cluster munition ban profile for more details.)

Program Management

The Sudanese National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) and the Sudanese National Mine Action Center (NMAC) manage Sudan’s mine action program, with responsibility for coordinating all mine clearance, including accreditation and certification of demining agencies. In January 2015, UNMAS, which had opened an emergency program in Sudan in 2002, reassumed the UN lead in mine action efforts in Sudan and its role in providing assistance and technical support to NMAC, after a handover to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for one year in 2014.[32]

In 2016, the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) continued to monitor the activities of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Abyei, which it has done since the 2011 outbreak of heavy conflict in the area.[33] As UNISFA does not have a mandate to conduct mine clearance, UNMAS continued its UN Security Council-mandated role in Abyei, which includes the identification and clearance of mines in the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone around Abyei and facilitating access by assessing and clearing priority areas and routes.[34]

In Darfur, under the umbrella of UNAMID, UNMAS works under the name of the Ordnance Disposal Office (ODO) in direct support of UNAMID priorities.[35] In 2017, Dynasafe MineTech Limited (DML), a commercial company, was awarded a new UN contract for fiscal year 2017–2018 to conduct ERW rapid-response clearance and to provide mentoring support to national Multi-Task Teams (MTTs) in Darfur.[36] In 2012–2015, commercial operator The Development Initiative (TDI) was contracted by UNAMID to assess, survey, identify, mark, and clear contamination in all five Darfur states.[37] Mine action in Darfur is funded through assessed peacekeeping funds for UNAMID.[38]

Strategic planning

In April 2017, Sudan revised its multi-year National Mine Action Plan for 2016–2019 in order to meet its obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty. As noted above, Gadaref state was declared mine and ERW free in May 2016, while clearance of Red Sea state was completed in May 2017.[39] According to the plan, if funding is secured and when security permits, work will start in South Kordofan and the remainder of Blue Nile, with the aim of completing mine clearance in Blue Nile by December 2017 and in South Kordofan by April 2019.[40] However, the plan notes that meeting these targets “is becoming extremely challenging given the short time remaining,” and without sufficient international funding and improvements in access, Sudan will need to request another Article 5 extension.[41]

Operators

Commercial operator DML contracted to clear ERW in Darfur and to provide support for national MTTs, deployed two seven-person rapid-response teams and a mentoring capacity of six persons, with a total staff of 29 personnel.[42]

National demining operators are JASMAR for Human Security, National Units for Mine Action and Development (NUMAD), and the Friends of Peace and Development Organization (FPDO). In 2016, a total of nine MTTs, five manual clearance teams (MCTs), two mine detection dog (MDD) teams, four Mine Action Teams, and one integrated MineWolf team were deployed for mine action operations.[43] This was a significant increase from 2015 capacity of six MCTs and one MDD team.[44]

In 2016, no international NGO was demining in Sudan. Since 2015, NMAC has made several calls for international NGO operators to undertake demining in Sudan.[45] Previously, two international demining NGOs with programs in Sudan closed down operations owing to government restrictions that impeded their operations.[46] DanChurchAid (DCA) ended its operations in 2012.[47] In June 2012, the Sudanese government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) ordered Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and six other NGOs that provided humanitarian aid to leave Gadaref, Kassala, and Red Sea states in eastern Sudan.[48] Following months of negotiations with HAC and donors, MAG ended its operations in Sudan, leaving in early 2013.[49]

Standards

In May 2015, NMAC stated that a review of National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) was ongoing and that a new version would be published on its website after their approval.[50] In June 2017, NMAC reported that the process of reviewing the NMAS was in its final stages.[51] According to NMAC, draft standards are shared with all partners and mine action operators during their accreditation process, but do not contain a specific chapter on cluster munitions.[52]

Information management

In March 2017, NMAC’s national IMSMA database was upgraded to the latest version, with the assistance of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).[53] As of June 2017, NMAC reported that database clean-up was ongoing.[54] Previously, the IMSMA geographic information system (GIS) function had been subject to US import restrictions.[55] The embargo issue was finally resolved in 2016 with the support of the US Embassy in Khartoum and the GICHD.[56] The database does not contain information on the disputed Abyei area.[57]

Land Release (mines and UXO)

According to NMAC, overall land release in Sudan significantly increased in 2016 compared to 2015, with more than 6.4km² of mined and battle area released during the year, compared to 1.67km² in 2015. The greater output was due to more teams being deployed during the year and a large increase in funding.[58]

The total of 6.4km² released in 2016 included clearance of just over 1km² of mined area and close to 1.5km² of battle area clearance (BAC), compared to 0.4km² of mined area containing antipersonnel mines cleared in 2015, and nearly 1.2km² of BAC. A total of more than 3.8km² was released by survey, including over 1.5km² canceled by non-technical survey and more than 2.3km² reduced by technical survey in 2016. No land was released by survey in 2015.[59]

Survey in 2016 (mines and UXO)

Six areas with a size of just over 1.5km² were canceled by non-technical survey and a further 2.3km² reduced by technical survey in 2016, along with confirmation of 10 areas as mined with a size of more than 0.28km².[60] While no land was released in Sudan by survey in 2015, NMAC reported that the national demining units confirmed that 12 SHAs with a total size of 0.21km² were contaminated with antipersonnel mines.[61]

Antipersonnel mine survey in 2016[62]

Clearance in 2016 (mines and UXO)

According to NMAC, 1,044,104m² of mined area was released by clearance in 2016, almost all by NUMAD. A total of 776,780m² was cleared manually, 89,690m² by mechanical demining assets, and a further 177,634m² by MDDs, with the destruction of 105 antipersonnel mines, 24 antivehicle mines, and 8,851 items of UXO.[63] This more than doubled clearance output in 2015, when just over 423,000m² was released by clearance.[64]

Mine clearance in 2016[65]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

Land Release (cluster munition remnants)

NMAC reported that no cluster munition-specific survey or clearance took place in 2016.[66] NMAC does not distinguish between different types of ERW in its reporting on clearance and is unable to confirm how much land was cleared of cluster munition remnants since it was established in 2011, nor how many submunitions were destroyed. In May–June 2017, however, NMAC reported that seven areas containing cluster munition contamination had been cleared in 2011–2013.[67]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the five-year extension granted by States Parties in 2013), Sudan is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 April 2019. It is not on track to meet this extended deadline.

In June 2017, NMAC reported that Sudan would not meet its extended Article 5 deadline of 2019, due to limited funding received in 2013–2015, and that Sudan would likely submit a request for a third extension.[68] Despite this, NMAC was positive about the significant improvements to the national mine action program during 2016, including an increase in staff capacity and stability.[69] NMAC also reported that a number of international NGOs had expressed an interest in working in Sudan, which it said would further strengthen mine action capacity and deliver a standardized quality of survey and clearance.[70] At the same time, it emphasized the challenges facing the program, such as securing funding and the continuing inaccessibility of certain areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.[71]

Sudan’s ability to meet its Article 5 extension request milestones remains heavily dependent upon improved security in the heavily affected states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.[72] As noted above, according to Sudan’s Article 5 extension workplan, if funding is secured, and when security permits, work will start in South Kordofan and the remainder of Blue Nile, with the aim of completing mine clearance by April 2019.[73]

According to the workplan, Sudan intended to release 0.2km² through survey and clearance in Blue Nile state in 2017, followed by 2.6km² in 2018, and the remaining 5,560m² by 1 April 2019. In South and West Kordofan states, Sudan projects to release a total area of just over 1km² in 2017, a further 19.9km² in 2018, and an additional 1.8km² to 1 April 2019.[74] However, the updated plan for 2017–2019 notes that meeting these targets “is becoming extremely challenging given the short time remaining,” and without sufficient international funding and improvements in access, Sudan will need to request another Article 5 extension.[75] Additionally, in September 2017, NMAC stated that the figures in its workplan were based on its operational plan for 2014–2019, which were no longer realistic. New projections would depend on funding and the security situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, and will be revised and included in a forthcoming extension request.[76]

In April 2017, NMAC reported that limited access was available to “a few locations” contaminated with mines and ERW in Blue Nile state, and that with “expected peace in the region,” reiterated that the remaining contamination could be addressed in 2017–2018 to declare the state free of mines by April 2019. Once the security situation permits, survey teams would be deployed to conduct a new survey in Blue Nile, which is anticipated to register new hazardous areas, it said. NMAC reported, however, that the remaining contamination in South Kordofan state will require the most effort, time, and funding.[77]

In June 2017, in addition to insecurity and limited funding, Sudan cited weather conditions during the rainy season, road conditions, the state of vehicles and equipment, information gathering, deeply buried mines, environmental concerns over the impact of mine action operations, and information management as the program’s key challenges.[78] Among other significant factors that continue to impede Sudan’s progress is a lack of clearance capacity formerly provided by international demining operators. The table below summarizes progress in land release over the past five years.

Release of mined area in 2012–2016 (km²)

On 24 May 2017, Red Sea state was declared mine-free.[79] According to UNMAS, Kassala state was also on track to complete clearance in 2017. Ongoing peace talks and the possibility of a six-month extension to the ceasefire in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states could also allow clearance in previously inaccessible areas, it said.[80] On 24April 2017, Forobaranga, in West Darfur, became the first locality in the Darfur region to be declared free of ERW, after nine years of clearance, and sometimes re-clearance, of the area. A pilot survey aimed at addressing any potential residual ERW was also launched.[81]

According to UNMAS, as of April 2017, 104km² or 79% of Sudan’s total 131.7km² of recorded areas with mines or ERW had been released.[82] As of December 2016, a total of 10,130 antipersonnel mines, 3,178 antivehicle mines, and 71,187 items of UXO were destroyed in the process.[83]

In April 2017, NMAC projected that US$71 million would be required for Sudan to complete its Article 5 obligations by its 2019 deadline.[84] In addition to funding for mine action operations and capacity-building, Sudan specifically requested assistance with updating its detectors, additional vehicles, and maintenance for clearance machines, along with explosive ordinance disposal trainings for deminers, and trainings in operations, quality assurance, and non-technical survey.[85]

During 2016 and the first half of 2017, Sudan hosted a number of donor coordination events on mine action in-country, as well as internationally, most notably on the margins of the intersessional meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty in June 2017. It convened a meeting together with the Mine Ban Treaty’s Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance as part of the committee’s “individualized approach” initiative, which aims to create a platform to promote frank, informal, and detailed discussions on the needs and challenges for implementing Sudan’s Article 5 obligations with the donor community, partners for South-South and regional cooperation, mine action operators, and other relevant stakeholders.

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.