United States
Support for Mine Action
In 2020, the United States (US) contributed more than US$200million to 23 countries and one other area.[1] This represents a 14% increase from the $177 million provided in 2019.
US support to mine action was distributed among the following regions: East and South Asia and the Pacific ($74.5 million, 42%, five recipient countries), the Middle East and North Africa ($48.9 million, 28%, five recipient countries), the Americas ($24 million, 14%, one recipient country), Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia ($14.5 million, 8%, six recipient countries), and Sub-Saharan Africa ($11.1 million, 6%, four recipient countries). A further $4.4 million (2%) designated as global was not earmarked for any state, area or region.
Contributions by recipient: 2020
|
Recipient |
Sector |
Amount (US$) |
|
Iraq |
Clearance and risk education |
40,650,000 |
|
Lao PDR |
Clearance, risk education, and victim assistance |
39,500,000 |
|
Colombia |
Clearance, risk education, and victim assistance |
24,000,000 |
|
Afghanistan |
Clearance, risk education, and victim assistance |
20,000,000 |
|
Vietnam |
Clearance and risk education |
17,500,000 |
|
Ukraine |
Capacity-building, clearance, and risk education |
8,500,000 |
|
Cambodia |
Clearance and risk education |
7,000,000 |
|
Angola |
Clearance |
7,000,000 |
|
Sri Lanka |
Clearance and risk education |
5,500,000 |
|
Lebanon |
Clearance |
5,000,000 |
|
Kosovo |
Clearance |
5,000,000 |
|
Yemen |
Capacity-building, clearance, risk education, and victim assistance |
4,000,000 |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Clearance and risk education |
3,000,000 |
|
Dem. Rep. of Congo |
Clearance, risk education, and victim assistance |
3,000,000 |
|
Zimbabwe |
Clearance and risk education |
2,500,000 |
|
Nepal |
Victim assistance |
2,000,000 |
|
South Sudan |
Clearance and risk education |
2,000,000 |
|
Tajikistan |
Clearance |
1,500,000 |
|
Albania |
Capacity-building |
1,000,000 |
|
Libya |
Capacity-building, clearance, and risk education |
1,000,000 |
|
Myanmar |
Victim assistance |
1,000,000 |
|
Serbia |
Clearance |
1,000,000 |
|
Georgia |
Victim assistance |
502,000 |
|
Jordan |
Victim assistance |
400,000 |
|
Total |
202,552,000 |
Mine action assistance approach
The US allocates the majority of its mine action funding through the State Department’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA), within the framework of its conventional weapons destruction efforts. Additional funding is allocated through the Patrick Leahy War Victims Fund within the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The US is not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions nor the Mine Ban Treaty, but it has been the largest financial support to mine action since the 1990s.
At the UN Security Council Open Debate on Mine Action in April 2021, the US noted that its mine action assistance aimed at protecting civilians and creating a safe environment for people to live in; further adding it was following a “three-pronged approach” focusing on clearance, risk education programmes, and rehabilitation.”[2]
COVID-19 and mine action support
No USAID funding was diverted to address COVID-19, with the exception that a few programs were working with the Department of Health to support the development of accessible communications, while remaining within the scope of the initial activity of the contributions.[3]
The US also reported that in some instances mine action funds were used to assist COVID-19 related activities, such as the simultaneous provision of explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) and pandemic prevention messaging, or the delivery of medical supplies to hospitals through unused demining vehicles.[4] In May 2020, a US representative said that “where host governments are requesting the use of HMA [humanitarian mine action]-funded assets, and it can be done in a reasonable and minimally disruptive manner, we will consider it.”[5]
Five-year support to mine action
From 2016–2020, the cumulative US contribution for mine action totaled more than $1 billion. This represents 62% more than the $651.8 million provided in the previous five-year period from 2011–2015.
It is the twelfth consecutive year that annual US support has totaled more than $100 million.
Summary of contributions: 2016–2020[6]
|
Year |
Amount (US$) |
% change from previous year |
|
2020 |
202,552,000 |
+14 |
|
2019 |
177,359,314 |
-12 |
|
2018 |
201,682,000 |
-37 |
|
2017 |
320,579,224 |
+103 |
|
2016 |
152,375,000 |
-5 |
|
Total |
1,054,547,538 |
N/A |
Note: N/A=not applicable.
[1] US Department of State Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA), “To Walk the Earth in Safety 2021,” 5 April 2021.
[2] Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Representative to the UN, UN Security Council Open Debate on Mine Action, New York, 8 April 2021.
[3] Email from Kirsten Lentz, Senior Technical Advisor, Rehabilitation, Technical Support Contract, USAID, Empowerment & Inclusion Division, 16 June 2020.
[4] US Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA), “To Walk the Earth in Safety (2021),” 5 April 2021.
[5] Wolfgang Bindseil and Ian Mansfield, “Mine Action in the Time of COVID-19: A Donor’s Perspective,” The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction,Vol. 24, Issue 2, December 2020.
[6] See previous Monitor reports.