Landmines And Unexploded Ordnance: A Resource Book

Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance A Resource Book Rae McGrath Pluto P Press LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIA First published 2000 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA Copyright © Rae McGrath 2000 The right of Rae McGrath to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7453 1264 0 hbk Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data McGrath, Rae. Landmines : a resource book/Rae McGrath. p. cm. ISBN 0–7453–1264–0 (hbk.) 1. Land mines—Safety measures. 2. Land mines—Economic aspects. 3. Land mines—Social aspects. 4. Ammunition. 5. Bombs. I. Title. UG490.M34 2000 327.1'743—dc21 99–052952 Disclaimer: Some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Chase Production Services, Chadlington OX7 3LN Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton Printed in the EU by T.J. International, Padstow Dedication To the late Abdul Baseer, Sayed Aqa, Din Mohammed, John Hicks and Omar who started this journey with me to Chris Howes and Houn Hourth, humanitarian deminers, who were murdered by the Khmer Rouge to all the field engineers who go to work in minefields and to Debbie. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Abbreviations Preface Key agencies and their roles Governments of mine-affected countries The United Nations Non-governmental organisations Commercial demining companies The donors The media 1 2 xi xiii xv xviii xxi xxi xxii xxiii xxiii xxiii xxiv An Introduction to Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance The development of landmines Landmines – the problem recognised Characteristics of modern landmines Mode of operation Type of activation mechanism Deployment method Unexploded ordnance – garbage of war Landmines by another name – submunitions What is a minefield? 1 1 14 17 18 18 19 19 21 25 Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance – Post-conflict Impact Direct impact The human body Vulnerability Landmines and community confidence The cultural cost Indirect impact Medical and health services Transport and trade The impact on development 29 29 29 39 42 47 62 63 64 65 viii 3 Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance The Survey Process Mine and UXO eradication – a task for the military? Financial considerations Risk considerations Cost Suitability to role The moral perspective Eradicating landmines and UXO – responding logically Surveys Mapping Marking Minefield reduction Community mine awareness Central record keeping Landmine and UXO eradication The basics – chickens and eggs Recognition Where to begin? The survey process Establishing the facts – sequence The Survey Task Force How to conduct a Level One impact assessment The questionnaire Training the survey team Aims, target selection and assessment methodology The assessment report The Level One assessment report as a tool The limitations of Level One assessment How to implement a Level Two survey Building a picture – sources of information Establishing priorities Practical survey techniques Comparative values of Level One assessments and Level Two surveys and political influences on the process Eradicating Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance Physical eradication of landmines and UXO – the process Manual clearance Electronic search Guide or bas