Together for mine action;
a multilateral success story

The History of Landmines

The use of landmines can be traced back to the American Civil War (1861-1865). Later, during World War I mines were deployed to defend against tanks.

Because of the size of anti-tank mines, enemy soldiers could easily enter minefields and remove the mine for their own use. Therefore, anti –personnel (AP) mines were sown throughout anti-tank minefields to deter enemy troops from entering, and to channel enemy forces into possible ambush situations.

At first they were used as a defensive weapon to protect the more valuable anti-tank mine, but their proliferation for offensive purposes which started  during WWII advanced during the wars in Indochina (1955-1990) and the Afghan-Soviet war (1979-1989).

More recently, technological advancements  such as the use of air scattered munitions, enable rapid contamination of land with AP mines.

First UN Humanitarian Demining mission in Afghanistan 1988

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Assistance Programmes relating to Afghanistan (UNOCA) was established in 1988, with a mandate to address all humanitarian issues in the country, including landmine contamination. First, the mission introduced a training programme for volunteers among  Afghan refugees, so that they could learn how to clear their own villages of landmines, once they returned home.

This was expanded to include ex-mujahideen fighters who were also trained in locating and destroying landmines. The programme was accompanied by a mine awareness programme in order to help civilians recognise and avoid the risks posed by AP mines. ​

A year later, in 1989, the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA) was formed and run by Mr. Ian Mansfield, as a large-scale institutional structure to coordinate all mine action operations in the country. ​

Cambodia 1992

The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was the first large peacekeeping operation undertaken by the UN. Established in 1992-1993 following Security Council Resolution 745, UNTAC supervised and implemented the necessary procedures to support stability and peace in the country. Key activities included disarmament and mine clearance. ​

Three organizations working in Cambodia were the first to realise the extent and humanitarian impact of the landmine crisis ( the Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation, Handicap International HI, and the Mines Advisory Group MAG). ​

Furthermore, testimonies and detailed accounts on the landmine crisis appeared in medical journals thanks to  the doctors and the surgeons of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Doctors expert in emergency operations and prosthetic medicine saw the number of amputees growing at an alarming rate and were compelled to take action. ​

Engagement of UN Leadership 1992

Boutros Boutros-Ghali was the first Secretary-General of the United Nations to address explicitly the humanitarian crisis of landmines. In his Agenda for Peace , submitted to the General Assembly in 1992 he stated:

“Increasingly it is evident that peace building after civil or international strife must address the serious problem of landmines, many tens of millions of which remain scattered in present or former combat zones.”  An Agenda for Peace, A/47/ 277 (1992).

In 1994, he wrote an article in Foreign Affairs  demonstrating that should the effects of landmines be widely known , it " would undoubtedly shock the conscience of mankind- the same public reaction that led to the banning of chemical and biological weapons", highlighting the need for an international agreement on a total ban on the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines. ​

Building the Momentum for the AP Mine Ban Convention, 1996-1997

The image of Princess Diana walking through a minefield in Angola in January 1997 , wearing a suit of protective clothing alongside her subsequent campaigning on the issue and her visit to minefields in Bosnia just a few weeks before her death, helped to create the momentum that led to  the adoption of the  Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in December the same year. (Martin Barber, Blinded by Humanity, p. 148)​

On top of that, the advent of the internet and the proliferation of advocacy meetings encouraged and motivated more NGO's and Member States to mobilise for an international instrument to ban AP (anti-personnel) mines.

The Ottawa Process is a term that encompasses all the series of negotiations that started in 1996 and   finally led to the adoption of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The process was primarily initiated by the Canadian Foreign Minister Mr. Lloyd Axworthy and took place in Ottawa, Vienna, Brussels and Bonn .​

Learn more here: https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cpusptam/cpusptam.html​

Technological Advancements in Clearance Methods and Equipment

During the first demining operations of the UN for military purposes, mine-detecting dogs were used in order to locate hidden mines and prevent accidents.

Gradually and following technological advancements in the manufacture of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), there has been an evolution in the tools and methods employed to carry out mine clearance. ​

In the 1990s metal detectors were widely used for demining in mine fields around the world. Increasingly, however, plastic mines were manufactured that had few magnetic components.Additionally, explosive devices of a more improvised and dangerous nature developed. With the initiative of Patrick Blagden, the first director in charge of demining at the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), one of the solutions developed was "Mine Eye"- a tool which uses electromagnetic radar to visualise the shape and the depth of mines buried underground.

More technological innovations addressing the needs of mine action (both for surveying, locating, destroying and detonating purposes) include remote control devices, minewolf demining machines​ and robots driven to disarm.

More recently in 2019 in Iraq, with support from UNMAS instructors, a training on drones took place. Several mock explosive hazards were hidden in an open field, and using the drones, the trainees were required to locate and photograph them, in addition to photographing surrounding scenery. This drone technology allows deminers and surveyors to study explosive ordnance thoroughly before any attempt to remove it, thus saving lives in the process.