Background

The true extent of the problems related to landmines and Explosives Remnants of War (ERW) remains unknown in Sudan. A country-wide survey has been initiated to measure both the scope and impact of the problem. It is believed that Africa’s longest civil war has left up to 19 of the 226 states affected by landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), which threatens the daily-lives of civilians, impedes the country’s economic recovery and development, and delays the safe return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their hometowns.

The Landmine Impact Survey(LIS), completed in 12 of the 19 affected states, estimates that approximately 1.3 million people are affected in 202 communities. The survey also revealed that the mine/ERW contamination hampers the expected return and settlement of more than 500,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees.

Mine action operations in Sudan commenced in September 2002 following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, between the Government of the Sudan (GoS), the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/ Army (SPLM/A), and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), on behalf of the UN agencies. The memorandum called for the establishment of the Emergency Mine Action Project in Sudan.

On October 23rd 2003, the Republic of Sudan officially ratified the Mine Ban Treaty that was signed in December 1997. Based on the provisions of the Treaty, a presidential decree was issued on December 2005, establishing the National Mine Action Authority that was officially launched in March 2006. In June 2006, the Southern Sudan Demining Commission (SSDC) was established by a Southern Sudan presidential decree. Both these institutions were established with the technical assistance from UNDP.

Within the unified structure of the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO), UNDP plays the leading role in national mine action programme development and capacity building, through its project Support to Mine Action and Capacity Building in Sudan, which was launched in early 2004.

UNDP’s work in this area is supported by the governments of the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and Canada. UNDP activities are undertaken in close coordination with national authorities, United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Objectives
The objective of this project is to provide comprehensive management, technical, material and financial support to the National Mine Action Authorities in the Sudan (north and south), in order for them to es tablish a sustainable legal and institutional framework to deal effectively with the humanitarian and developmental problems related to the contamination of landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (un-exploded ordnance and explosive ordnance), and to provide support to landmine/UXO survivors/victims.


Snapshots of the project's major achievements
As of April 2008, more than 34 million m2 have been cleared by demining teams. Route assessment and clearance has opened more than 20,000 km of road across Sudan. Of the 3,292 dangerous areas, 1,640 have been cleared while 1,672 are awaiting clearance. A total of 5,329 anti-personnel mines and 2,441 anti-tank mines have been located and destroyed. In addition, more than one million unexploded ordnance (UXO) and small arms ammunition have been safely disposed off. About 1.8 million of the civilian population at risk have received mine risk education.

In compliance with Article 4 of the Ottawa Convention, the GoNU destroyed the first batch of 4,488 stockpiled anti-personnel mines on 30th April 2007. UNDP mobilized $ 60,000 from Canada to help Sudan destroy 6078 anti-personnel mines that took place in Juba on 31 March 2008. With the destruction of a total of 10,566 anti-personnel mines, Sudan has now fulfilled its obligation under Article 4 of the Mine Ban Convention.

• UNDP supported project assisted in the establishment of both the National Mine Action Authority (NMAA), and the Southern Sudan Demining Commission (SSDC) by providing technical advice, and sharing UNDP’s global experience in this field.
• Provided technical advice and shared global experience in support of the development, and endorsement of the “National Mine Action Policy Framework”, and “National Mine Action Strategic Framework for 2006-2011’.
• Lobbied for inclusion of mine action activities into the budgeting process of the Government of National Unity (GoNU) and Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), and for it to be linked to the recovery and development plans and processes. As a result, since Jan 2007 GONU provided more than US$ 5.5 million to mine action while GOSS contributed US$ 2.5 Million.
• Provided technical advice for the development of organization structures for the head offices of the National Mine Action Centre (NAMC-Khartoum) and SSDC-Juba, and assisted in the recruitment process of 80 national staff.
• Trained 45 national staff of NMAC and SSDC in mine action middle-management in Amman, Jordan, and 8 senior national staff members of NMAC and SSDC.
• Provided office space, and $US 1.3 Million worth of office and operational equipment (including vehicles, computers, and furniture) for the establishment of the head offices of the NAMC-Khartoum and SSDC-Juba.
• Provided technical advice and resource mobilization support to the field deployment of about 110 national deminers, seconded by Joint Integrated Units (JIUs). Since January 2007, these national demining teams completed clearance/verification of three high priority tasks including the clearance of Babanusa-Wau 446 Km railway line, 234 Km high priority roads in Eastern Sudan (Kassala state) and the recently cleared 140 Km road between Malakal and Ayod.The national teams found and destroyed 149 anti vehicle mines, 37 anti personnel mines, and more than 25,000 pieces of explosive devices/ammunitions.
• Organized and sponsored two mine action exchange missions to Jordan and Bosnia-Herzegovina with the participation of the State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and the State Minister of Interior.
• Organized and sponsored the participation of GoNU and GoSS ministerial-level delegations in 12 key mine action meetings/fora in Geneva and other countries, in support of the implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty,
• Provided equipment and materials (furniture, computers, vehicles, and supplies) to NMAC and SSDC who established sub-offices in six key locations including Yei, Malakal, Kassala, Kadugly, Damazine, and Wau; and trained their staff
• Worked with NMAC on drafting the national mine action law which has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice for review.
• With the financial support from the US Department of State, UNDP, handed over to the national authorities 8 land cruisers; 2 trucks, 4 laptop computers; 4 laser jet printers; 4 small generators; 20 VHF radios. This equipment enabled the Joint Integrated De-mining Units to deploy de-miners to clear 176 km of high priority road linking Tokar to Garora in the Red Sea State.
• UNDP initiated a negotiation process with Chinese development partners in order to secure the training of Sudanese nationals in mine action by China. The success of these negotiations led to the training of 20 de-miners (10 from GoNU and 10 from GoSS) in China. The six week basic de-mining training course took place between 3 April and 20 May in Nanjing, capital of the eastern Jiangsu Province. The Chinese government has also expressed its intention to equip these de-miners with demining kits, mine detector, and personal protective equipment.
• In support of national mine action capacity development, UNDP, in addition to its own funds, has mobilized since January 2004, approximately US$ 4,575,000.00 from the US Department of State, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan and Sweden.
• In support of the mine action centre, UNDP along with the Government of National Unity conducted research and prepared Article 7 report to help Sudan fulfill its reporting obligations under Mine Ban Treaty.