The Secretary of State for International Development signed the Convention
on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of
Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, on behalf of the UK, in
Ottawa on 3 December 1997. At the same time, she approved a new Humanitarian
Mine Action Strategy enhancing DFID assistance for reducing the social and
economic impact of landmines and other unexploded ordnance on developing
countries. Implementation of this Strategy also contributes to a
major component of DFID’s wider conflict reduction policy concerned with
reducing the means for waging war.
To pursue this Strategy, DFID plans to double annual bilateral expenditure
from just under £5 million in 1997/98 to £10 million in 2000/01 in
support of the following four objectives:
to promote the globalisation of the ban on anti-personnel landmines
(APLs), and to help developing countries to implement their obligations under
the Ottawa Convention;
to undertake effective programmes of humanitarian mine action in poor
countries, strengthening and expanding indigenous capacity where
possible;
to strengthen the international community’s capacity - and
particularly that of international organisations - to provide a more coherent,
timely and cost-effective response to the global challenge of landmines;
to encourage technological innovation to meet humanitarian mine action
needs, thus improving safety, effectiveness and
efficiency.
To promote the globalisation of the ban on
anti-personnel landmines (APLs), and to help developing countries to implement
their obligations under the Ottawa Convention;
Policy
The British Government seeks the widest possible permanent ban on APLs. This
is pursued in diplomatic fora such as the Conference on Disarmament and
the Review Conferences on the UN Weaponry Convention. In addition, we
recognise that the Ottawa Convention demands actions which require fairly
sophisticated technical capacity and have significant associated costs. The
Convention also asks signatory states to assist each other. Accordingly, DFID
is keen to help poor countries to ratify the Convention and implement its terms.
Progress
The UK Parliament ratified the Ottawa Convention on 31 July 1998, as
the 29th country to do so.
DFID is supporting civil society actions to evaluate the implementation
by
the international community of the Ottawa Convention.
Future plans
DFID is willing to assist poor countries to:
ratify the Convention and implement the APL ban through providing technical
assistance, for example, to develop national legislation or to create
appropriate national institutional capacity;
undertake immediate implementation of requirements under the Convention, such
as stockpile destruction.
We have contacted Governments in the affected countries to identify
outstanding areas of need to improve targeting of DFID assistance. To discourage
countries from staying outside the ban, support is also available for national
and international campaign groups working to widen and implement the APL ban.
To undertake effective programmes of humanitarian mine action in poor
countries, strengthening and expanding indigenous capacity where
possible;
Policy
DFID aims to meet urgent humanitarian needs by reducing deaths and injuries
and re-establishing productive livelihoods lost through mines pollution. It
further aims, where possible, to support the development of national and local
capacity to enable affected countries and communities to take on ownership of
programmes and become better equipped to tackle the problem themselves. These
general goals are pursued through individual country-level projects advancing
specific objectives that depend on available opportunities and prevailing
circumstances. Relevant factors include political will, the institutional
framework, the level of conflict and insecurity, the urgency of humanitarian
need, the social and economic case for investment in demining, and the
feasibility of proposed interventions.
DFID-supported demining programmes seek to develop and make optimal use of
local human and physical resources. Conversely, DFID does not support
government programmes in countries that are unwilling to sign up to the Ottawa
Convention and continue to use APLs; in these countries DFID support is limited
to humanitarian mine clearance in designated areas to reduce the immediate
threat of loss of life or injury, provided that the laying of new mines
(‘remining’) is not taking place locally at the same time.
Progress
DFID support for humanitarian mine action in poor countries has concentrated
on humanitarian mine clearance but has also included other aspects such
as mines awareness and capacity building. Over the past year, we have supported
programmes in a number of countries:
Afghanistan: £2 million has been provided to the United Nations
demining programme for nation-wide use. An additional £500,000 was provided
to HALO Trust to undertake demining in Kabul and the Shomali Valley using manual
and mechanical techniques. Good progress was made, but expatriates had to be
withdrawn in August 98 because of increased insecurity and Taliban-imposed
constraints on assistance operations; local staff continue programmes as best
they can. DFID will review the programme when the security situation permits.
Cambodia: £1.632 million has been provided through HALO Trust
and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) for demining and mine awareness in the
north-west to reduce the risk to rural communities and facilitate the
resettlement of returnees. Following a review in May 1998, the programme
will be gradually refocused.
Georgia: £100,000 has been provided to HALO Trust to start
clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and to develop national capacity in
Abkhazia. A review planned for early 1999 will consider extending the
project.
Iraq: £740,000 has been provided through MAG for ongoing
integrated demining/community awareness projects in both Kurdish sectors in
northern Iraq. A review is planned for March 1999 subject to the security
situation.
Laos: £530,000 has been provided to MAG and UXO Lao (which
manages the national clearance programme) to support unexploded ordnance
clearance linked to community-based rural development. The extension of
activities is subject to planned technical trials and assessment.
Mozambique:£362,500 has been provided for HALO
Trust‘s ongoing demining project in Zambezia province to make it safe
from landmines and UXO for economic and social activities. A review in
August 1998 recommended continued support until early 2001 (subject to
confirmation).
Reviews were also undertaken in countries where there has been previous UK
bilateral funding :
Angola: Funding under the bilateral programme ceased in 1996 as
other donors came forward to support projects. A review in June 1998
identified potential approaches but detailed considerations are on hold
following increased insecurity.
Bosnia: Projects were completed in 1997. Needs were reviewed in 1998
and the potential for joint funding with other major donors considered.
Negotiations are continuing. Some assistance with mechanical inputs to speed up
clearance has been given and other assistance is being considered.
Future plans
DFID support will continue to be available for programmes in poor countries
which will result in the following benefits:
reduced civilian vulnerability through raising community awareness;
reduced civilian casualties through the mapping and demarcation of mine
fields and mines clearance;
safer access to social facilities such as health centres and schools; for
enabling the provision of humanitarian assistance; and for enabling displaced
populations to return home or re-settle in safe areas;
re-established or expanded productivity, for example through clearing
transport and communication routes and agricultural land, especially where poor
farmers and traders will benefit;
increased indigenous humanitarian mine action capacity, for example, through
encouraging governments to accept ownership of national demining programmes,
building institutional capacity for policy, planning and programme management,
and training de-miners and associated administrative staff;
better and more widely applied standards of safety and performance
compatible with UN guidelines (the current specification for cleared land is
99.6% clearance);
the promotion of public-private sector partnerships to enhance investment in
mines clearance;
support, where appropriate in the absence of a recognised national
government, for the UN as the co-ordinator of national demining actions.
As well as developing the effectivness of existing programmes, we
are considering opportunities for contributing to humanitarian mine action in
countries where we have not so far been active, provided conditions permit and
the likely benefits make such an extension worthwhile. Currently prospects are
being explored in seven new countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and
Central America but there are significant security and institutional constraints
in many of them.
To strengthen the international community’s capacity - and
particularly that of international organisations - to provide a more coherent,
timely and cost-effective response to the global challenge of landmines;
Policy
The UK supports the UN’s lead role in co-ordinating humanitarian mine
action policy and seeks to strengthen its capacity to function more effectively
in this area. We encourage the development of common frameworks and standards to
address mines issues, and urge all contributors to work towards a shared common
approach in order to optimise the impact and efficiency of available resources.
We also seek to influence international policy so that it is focused on
appropriate programmes which will benefit poor mines-affected countries.
Progress
DFID has funded a study for UNMAS to provide strategic advice and assist it
to function as the global focus for international demining activities. A useful
start has been made and UNMAS has undertaken country surveys which seek to
provide a more authoritative baseline for mine-polluted countries, consequent
hazards in land use, and prioritisation of clearance tasks to be undertaken.
During the UK’s Presidency of the European Union in the first half of
1998, we sought to co-ordinate the position of member states; worked on more
targeted discussions on EU mine action within the EU Working Group on
Disarmament and Security (CODUN); and urged greater transparency and
accountability of EC activities and the implementation of the EU Joint Mine
Action Programme.
Future Plans
We shall continue to work with multilateral agencies, other donors and
affected countries to promote the effective sharing and use of available
resources for humanitarian mine action, to establish and promulgate standards
for applicable technology, and to provide support for countries which wish to
accede to the Ottawa Convention.
To encourage technological innovation to meet humanitarian mine action
needs, thus improving safety, effectiveness and efficiency.
Policy
DFID aims to support initiatives which adapt existing technologies -
including of military origin - to the specific needs of civilian mine clearance,
so that the latter becomes safer, speedier, and more affordable from the
perspective of developing countries.
We support the internationally agreed intention to create a “toolbox of
techniques” so as to allow the most appropriate methods and machinery to
be selected for each situation.
Progress
Through UNMAS we have contributed to the establishment of standards and
measures which will help improve the quality and performance of mine
clearance.
DFID has funded trials of prototype equipment, with the potential to increase
efficiency and safety of demining, relevant to project requirements.
Future Plans
We shall build on our present support for technological development by
investing in the three stages of the development of a “toolbox of
techniques”. In doing so, we shall continue to work internationally - in
the UN and elsewhere - to encourage common standards for safety and efficiency
of clearance. The three stages are:
identifying problems amenable to technological solutions and hence the gaps
in existing techniques and technology;
appraising potentially valuable concepts and early designs, and funding their
development to full prototype standard;
testing prototypes in simulated field conditions and, if successful, in real
minefields.
THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) initially led UK government policy
on humanitarian demining, particularly during the Ottawa negotiations. With the
Convention coming into effect on l March, the FCO’s primary role now is to
ensure that the UK meets its commitments under the Convention. This will
include compiling the UK response to the Article 7 reporting requirement on its
implementation of the Convention’s provisions.
The FCO co-ordinates the activities of other government departments, so that
the UK presents a coherent humanitarian demining policy when dealing with the
international mine action community. The FCO chairs the Government’s
Inter-Departmental Working Group on Humanitarian Demining, which facilitates
effective consultation and co-ordination between the three government
departments responsible for humanitarian demining.
The FCO has also contributed £450,000 to UNMAS, of which £200,000
is to be used to develop a database of mine information from field activities.
The remainder is for UNMAS’ public awareness programme, including
equipment for conferences, a minefield simulator for exhibitions, production of
a CD ROM and printing costs for “Landmines”.
THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has destroyed all operational stocks of land
service anti-personnel mines and will have destroyed all other anti-personnel
mines by the end of l999, some three years sooner than obliged to. MOD has
assisted, through NATO, the destruction of stockpiles of anti-personnel mines in
Albania and is investigating where other assistance could be provided.
The UK MOD possesses skills and equipment which are applicable to
Humanitarian Mine Action. Both before and after the Ottawa Convention the MOD
has contributed assistance to demining programmes, such as Cambodia and
Afghanistan attachments to the United Nations and national Mine Action Centres.
Within the UK, the MOD Mine Information and Training Centre offers a focal point
for information and training and has provided mine awareness training to over
5000 military and civilian personnel. The MOD has also been able to donate
surplus military equipment to NGOs which has, in certain circumstances, speeded
up their demining by a factor of four. Furthermore, where applicable,
information of interest to humanitarian mine clearance organisations is made
available from military research into technology to locate and destroy
mines.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
DFID has set up arrangements for dialogue with agencies concerned with
humanitarian actions.
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