The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s National Landmines Contamination Survey
The absence of accurate data on the scope and location of landmine contamination negatively affected more than a decade of mine action activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This article discusses the 2013…
The Case for a National Assessment on Landmine Contamination through NTS in Colombia
With a majority of Colombia’s municipalities reporting landmine or ordnance incidents since 1990, there is an urgent need to perform non-technical survey (NTS) in the country to determine the re- mining threat. Assuming…
Quality Management Systems in Mine Action Programs
The United Nations Mine Action Service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in the process of implementing a new quality management system (QMS) for mine action in DRC. The QMS was implemented in July 2013 and its…
Mine-action Activities in the Territory of Western Sahara
Since 2007, the United Nations Mine Action Service has been implementing mine-action activities in the Territory of Western Sahara. Although the parties to the conflict generally abide by a 1991 ceasefire, the expansive…
Mine-action Success Story: Nepal
After a decade of conflict in Nepal, the signing of the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement initiated mine clearance. By December 2009, all explosives in the Maoist cantonment sites had been eliminated. This article examines…
IEDs: A Major Threat for a Struggling Society
The use of improvised explosive devices by guerrillas, drug cartels and paramilitary groups has threatened Colombian society for the past 30 years. This article examines the types of IEDs found in Colombia, and the extent and…
UNMAS and Gender Mainstreaming in Mine Action
In order to further the development of proper protection from and response to landmines and explosive remnants of war in conflict and post-conflict countries, the United Nations Mine Action Service and the International Mine…
Information Management System for Mine Action in Sudan
The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) is a globally used and internationally accepted database and software system that allows mine action programmes to efficiently correlate and evaluate information. In…
From Demining to Mine Action: The Development of Mine Action and the Role of the United Nations
The aftermath of the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 marks the start of the United Nations’ involvement in mine action. In the early 1990s, programmes were started in Mozambique, Cambodia and Angola, and in 1996…
Ensuring Effective Coordination: UNMAS and Mine Action Coordination Centres in Africa
Effective coordination is an essential part of mine action efforts worldwide. The author discusses the United Nations Mine Action Service's (UNMAS) coordination strategies, focusing on examples from Mine Action Coordination…
The Elusive “Just Enough”: Re-inventing Explosive Hazard Clearance Management in Iraq
The Government of Iraq viewed rehabilitation of infrastructure contaminated with explosives during the conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as a prerequisite to socioeconomic recovery and political…
Clearance Operations on a massive IED belt in Tal Kaif, North of Mosul, Iraq
After eight months of operations conducted by UNMAS implementing partner, Global Clearance Solutions (GCS), in Tal Kaif, north of Mosul, over 250,000 square meters of contaminated land were cleared, and more than 1,200 items…