Contamination and Impact

The Republic of Lebanon is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a legacy of 15 years of civil conflict that ended in 1990 and also as a result of two Israeli invasions and occupations (1978, 1982) of south Lebanon that ended in May 2000 when Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanese territory. The July–August 2006 hostilities by Israel also resulted in heavy new contamination from cluster munition remnants in southern Lebanon.[1] Remaining landmine and cluster munition contamination is said to affect 565 towns and more than 900,000 people, or approximately one in five of the population.[2]

Mines

Mine contamination dates from prior to 1975 and affects both the north and south of the country. The Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) identified 2,598 locations covering 191km² in the following affected areas: Batroun, Chouf, Jbeil, and Jezzine, north of the Litani River, in the Bekaa valley, and across Mount Lebanon. Non-technical survey (NTS) results have since reduced the number of areas needing clearance to 1,400 mined areas covering 15.66km²,including908 areas along the 118km-long Blue Line (the line of withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces) bordering Israel.[3]

Landmine contamination as of May 2013

Cluster munition remnants

Cluster munition contamination originates primarily from the conflict with Israel in July–August 2006, although some contamination remains from conflict in the 1980s.[4] As of May 2013, 13.4km² were suspected to be contaminated by cluster munition remnants across 166 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs).[5]

Cluster Munition contamination as of May 2013

Impact and Priorities

Cluster munition remnants affect water supplies and power lines and impede the excavation of rubble, farming, and reconstruction efforts, especially housing.[6] LMAC, however, estimated that overall economic activity in south Lebanon in 2011 had improved since 2006 when it was estimated to have suffered more than US$100 million in economic losses.[7] Post-clearance surveys by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), and the Lebanon Demining Organization (LDO) show 97% of cleared land became to be in use within three months after clearance, and often almost immediately before the official handover, with housing and agriculture constituting the primary use of the land.[8]

Lebanon has three levels of priority. The first is to address infrastructure to ensure that displaced people from the 2006 conflict could return home, the second is to release agricultural land and housing, and the third priority is to release land used for activities other than agriculture. The first priority goals were met in 2009. Since then clearing agricultural and housing areas have been the priorities.[9]

Other explosive remnants of war

Isolated ERW, which can be found across the country, is the responsibility of the LAF to clear. LMAC has identified 343 locations covering approximately 15km² containing only unexploded ordnance (UXO) and ERW.[10] Lebanon plans to clear all remaining UXO by the end of 2016.[11]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The mine action program in Lebanon is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense. In 1998, the Council of Ministers established the Lebanese Mine Action Authority (LMAA. The Lebanon Mine Action Centre (LMAC), which is part of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), manages and implements mine action policy set by LMAA.[12] Since 2009, a regional base in Nabatiye oversees operations in the south of Lebanon.[13]LMAC also manages risk education and victim assistance while chairing the two respective national steering committees.[14]

From 2001 through 2010, UNDP provided its support through a Chief Technical Advisor. At the request of LMAC, the position was not renewed in 2011.[15] UNDP continues to support LMAC at the policy level, funds 11 LMAC staff—eight at the Regional Mine Action Center (RMAC) base in Nabatiye, three at LMAC—and promotes the development of national NGOs.[16]

In 2012 the government of Lebanon contributed $8.9 million per year for salaries of 90 LAF personnel, equipment, risk education, and running costs for the LMAC and RMAC.[17]

Clearance capacity

In 2012, two national NGOs and four international NGOs comprised the survey, landmine and cluster munition clearance capacity in Lebanon consisting of 28 battle area clearance (BAC) teams, six mine clearance teams, and one mechanical team at the end of 2012.[18] The number of teams in 2013 may change based on the availability of funding. Additionally, the LAF have two engineering companies for manual mine clearance teams, two mechanical teams, and seven mine detection dog teams to complement the NGO operators. Lebanon’s rapid response capacity is from the LAF mine clearance teams.[19]

At the end of 2012, funding from the United States (US) Department of State to LDO ended and LDO ceased operations.[20] In March 2013, FSD closed its operations due to a lack of funding.[21]

2011–2020 strategic plan[22]

In September 2011, LMAC adopted a strategic plan for 2011–2020. The national strategy, developed in partnership with NGOs and the ministries of education, health and social affairs, aims to contribute to Lebanon’s development objectives and to guide LMAC in implementing the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The strategic plan includes five major aims over the 10-year period:

1.      The enabling of affected communities to better manage risk from landmines;

2.      Guaranteed rights for victims;

3.      Mine action contribution to the socio-economic development of Lebanon;

4.      Compliance with the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the promotion of the universalization of the Convention; and

5.      Establishment of sustainable residual capacity.

The plan calls for the complete clearance of cluster munition remnants by 2016 and the clearance of landmines (except for the Blue Line area) by 2020. Both targets are dependent on specific clearance capacity and both fell short in 2012.[23] The area bordering Israel is under the control of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and no humanitarian clearance occurs there, so the clearance of mined areas along the Blue Line is dependent on political developments that will allow the LAF to move forward and conduct technical surveys and clearance operations.[24]

UNIFIL

UNIFIL was established in 1978[25] to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon (which eventually occurred in 2000) and to assist the government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.[26]

The primary task of UNIFIL mine clearance teams was to clear paths through minefields in order to place 470 markers on the 118km-long Blue Line. In October 2011, UNIFIL discontinued humanitarian demining on the Blue Line and only clears mines to facilitate the placement of markers.[27] The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Lebanon and UNIFIL outlining responsibilities for humanitarian demining expired in December 2010; as of May 2013, a new MOU had not been signed.[28] Since October 2011, the UNIFIL has no longer been conducting humanitarian demining.[29]

In 2012, UNIFIL’s capacity consisted of 15 demining teams and five explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams from Belgium, Cambodia, China, France, Italy, and Spain, although the three demining teams from France and one EOD team left UNIFIL in March 2012, and Spain’s two demining teams and one EOD team left in July 2012.[30]

The UN Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMACC), a project of UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), was established in 2000 to coordinate mine clearance operations with LMAC. In October 2011, it was renamed the UN Mine Action Support Team (UNMAST) and reduced its personnel significantly. It trains the UNIFIL demining units and monitors and validates that UNIFIL mine clearance on the Blue Line complies with International Mine Action Standards.[31] It also provides resource mobilization assistance to the LMAC where required. In 2012, UNMAS facilitated a US$1 million contribution from Saudi Arabia through the International Trust Fund (ITF) Enhancing Human Security (formerly known as ITF for Demining and Mine Victim Assistance) for DCA and NPA clearing mines and cluster munitions.[32] UNMAST operating funds are from the assessed peacekeeping budget for UNIFIL.[33]

Regional initiatives[34]

LMAC has become a regional leader in database management and training. In September 2012, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and LMAC co-hosted a 5-day regional workshop in Cedars, Lebanon to build capacity on the reporting capabilities with Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), a standard software used in mine action. Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Libya and Mauritania attended the workshop.

Also in 2012, LMAC participated in the Arabic Outreach Conference in Dubai along with Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine and Sudan; where it was decided that there was a need to translate support and training documents for IMSMA into Arabic and that LMAC had developed a level of technical expertise with IMSMA. As follow-up, LMAC was  planning to host another regional conference on information management in December 2013. In February 2013, representatives from the Libya Mine Action Center visited LMAC for a series of workshops on lessons learned in mine action in Lebanon over 25 years.[35]

Land Release

Priorities for land release focus on infrastructure, housing, and agriculture.[36] In 2012, 0.99km² of mined areas and 2.98km² of land containing cluster munition remnants were cleared, compared to 0.08km² of mined areas and 2.5km² of land containing cluster munition remnants in 2011.

Five-year summary of landmine and cluster munition clearance[37]

Survey

In 2011, the LAF completed the National Non-Technical Survey project that began in 2005 and as a result released 1,007 SHAs covering 139km².[38] SHAs were canceled if the land was in use and had been cleared prior to the Landmine Impact Survey. Before releasing the land, leaders of the municipalities and the landowner were interviewed. As part of the survey, landowners were shown photographs of landmines and ERW and then asked whether they had seen such objects on their land. At the end of the interview, they were asked to sign an affidavit stating the land they own does not contain mines and ERW.[39]

After the completion of the NTS project at the end of 2011, LMAC tasked the LDO survey teams to conduct post-clearance surveys on land cleared of submunitions using a short questionnaire designed by RMAC. In February 2012, LDO added a third survey team to pilot a post clearance survey questionnaire developed by NPA.[40] At the end of 2012, the US Department of State terminated funding to LDO.[41]

Mine clearance in 2012

In 2012, the LAF and eight demining teams from DCA, HI, MAG, and POD cleared 59 mined areas covering 993,649m² (0.99km²). The LAF Rapid Response teams cleared 488,066m².

Clearance of landmines in 2012[42]

Clearance of cluster munition contaminated areas in 2012

All clearance of cluster munition remnants is both subsurface and surface.[43] In 2012, LMAC reported that five NGO operators cleared 50 confirmed hazardous areas covering 2.83km², approximately 300,000m² (0.3km²) more than in 2011, while destroying 4,362 unexploded submunitions as well as 1,259 UXO. According to LMAC the actual area cleared was more than 2.83km². In the immediate aftermath of the hostilities with Israel in 2006, the emergency response required a very rapid clearance rate because people were returning home.[44] Since 2009, as a result of a focus on subsurface clearance which is a slower process than surface clearance (and often is conducted in areas that had already undergone surface clearance), there has been a drop in both clearance rates and the number of cluster munitions found.[45] Nevertheless, as reported above, Lebanon has 13.42km² remaining as of May 2013, down from approximately 55km² in 2006.[46] The pace of clearance for the next few years is unclear because subsurface clearance will include re-clearing areas that were only surfaced-cleared in 2006–2008 and many of the remaining contaminated areas are in remote locations and in difficult terrain such as steep hills.[47]

Clearance of cluster munition remnants in 2008–2012

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lebanon is required to complete clearance of all areas affected by cluster munition remnants under its jurisdiction or control by 1 May 2021.

Lebanon plans to clear all cluster munitions by 2016, more than four years before its Article 4 deadline. A key element ensuring the targets of the strategic plan are met is maintaining 30 BAC teams in 2012–2016. If not, the 2016 target may be missed.[48] During a Cluster Munition Monitor field mission to Lebanon in May 2012, all stakeholders believed the 2016 target date was reasonable if funding and the number of teams stabilized or increased and if the contamination estimates prove accurate. In 2012, the NGOs deployed only 28 teams. At the end of 2012, LMAC revised its annual BAC team needs to 34 BAC teams starting in 2013.[49] However, Brigadier General Imad Odiemi, the director of LMAC, told the Monitor in April 2013 that Lebanon would not be able to clear all cluster munition sites by 2016 due to anticipated funding shortfalls in the coming years as a result of the increasing competition for funds in the expanding peace and security sectors.[50]

Quality management

LMAC re-accredits all operators each January and LMAC reports that it conducts quality assurance (QA) on all clearance by checking each ongoing task during weekly unannounced visits. It does so using its three QA teams based at the RMAC to cover the south, and two teams in LMAC to cover demining in the north and Mount Lebanon. In 2012, LMAC issued 1,498 operational accreditations on 13 functions, including organizational structure, impact surveys, clearance, and post-clearance QA.[51] AusAid, in its review of the Lebanon mine action program, found LMAC’s monitoring and QA system to be “excellent.”[52] UNMAST conducts QA of clearance by UNIFIL teams on the Blue Line.[53]

Safety of demining personnel

On 23 October 2012, a 27-year-old field supervisor of NPA was killed while preparing a demolition of cluster munitions recently found during clearance operations.[54]