The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) provided UNMAS with a funding of around $ 400,000 for the protection of civilians through the delivery of awareness sessions to at-risk population on the dangers posed by mines, Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and by the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the territories of Djugu in Ituri and Lubero in North Kivu in the DRC for a period of 9 months.
(Kinshasa) 65,000 people living in the targeted territories and affected by ongoing armed conflict will benefit from this project through outreach activities including direct education sessions and broadcast of radio messages on the risks posed by mines, ERW and SALW. This project will also integrate the gender dimension by promoting full participation of women as advocacy agents, community liaisons and beneficiaries. Community relays will receive training on liaison, notification of alerts and suspicion of contamination, marking of areas suspected of being contaminated with explosive hazards and education on emergency risk management.
Survivors of mine, ERW and SALW accidents will also be invited to testify during outreach sessions or other events related to mine action. Risk education will be carried out by local NGOs in the field, supported by appropriate means of communication (radio spots) and will help popularizing free Green line which has been created to report any incident or presence of explosive hazards.
In addition, information collected on hazardous areas during risk education sessions will inform non-technical surveys and other mine action activities. UNMAS in the DRC will also produce various materials and awareness tools that will support the implementation of field activities.
This project is part of the United Nations Mine Action strategy 2019-2023, in the Strategic Plan of the mine action in the Democratic Republic of Congo 2017-2019, adopted in 2017 by the National Mine Action Authority, as well as in the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan.
Mine action is not just about mine removal but also about all the efforts to put people out of harm's way so that they can regain their autonomy, foster conditions suitable to humanitarian action, create opportunities for stability and sustainable development and to promote the voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes.
CERF is the UN's global emergency response fund to rapidly provide funding to humanitarian actors and bring a better balance to emergency assistance.