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Landmines, unexploded ordnance and weapons caches pose a serious threat to returning refugees and internally displaced people, making roads impassable and land unusable for resettlement and cultivation. |
See these pages for information on MAG's work in South Sudan:
The problem
The two decades of civil war between the north and south, ended by a peace deal in 2005, have resulted in the displacement of more than two million people, internally as well as to neighbouring countries.
A central element of the human catastrophe is the explosive legacy of conflict: landmines and other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) such as unexploded ordnance (UXO) and caches of munitions.
Mines and ERW pose a serious threat to returning refugees and Internally Displaced People, making roads impassable and land unusable for resettlement and cultivation.
A Landmine Impact Survey conducted in 2007 assessed the social and economic impact on communities in Blue Nile State and Kassala, identifying 68 remaining Suspected Hazardous Areas impacting 12 communities to a high or medium degree.
Between February and May 2011, MAG teams also discovered 132 new Dangerous Areas in Kassala State alone. This highlights the large amounts of contamination still being discovered and the growing need for Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) in Kassala and the Eastern States.
ERW contamination impacts not only on provision of mainstream services to vulnerable conflict-affected populations, including health and education services, but also longer-term initiatives including rural and economic development; ERW can negatively impact on sustainable development planning and implementation for decades after a conflict has ceased.
These problems are compounded by the limited capacity of local NGOs and organisations to coordinate and respond effectively to the integrated issues associated with HMA.
Records also show accidents from ERW have increased in recent
years owing to increased population movement and resettlement. In the Eastern States of Sudan, for example, there were 25 mine/ERW-related
injuries and eight deaths in 2010 alone.
Your donation to MAG helps us to move into current and former conflict zones to clear the remnants of conflict, enabling recovery and assisting the development of affected populations.
How MAG is helping
MAG began operations in the north of Sudan in 2006, partnering with JASMAR, a Sudanese NGO.
Between January 2010 and May 2011, MAG North Sudan made significant progress in reducing the impact of landmines and ERW, clearing 1,011,020m² of land, removing 3,194 landmines and items of UXO, and releasing 3,091,841m² back to communities who are expected to use this land for predominantly agricultural purposes.
MAG also delivered Mine Risk Education (MRE) to 15,498 people in north Sudan during this period.
Alongside this, we develop the organisational and operational capacity of JASMAR. The ultimate goal is to hand over primary responsibility for the work to this national organisation. We are also training staff of the National Demining Unit in mechanical and manual clearance methodologies; MAG is the first NGO to work with the NDU in Sudan.
MAG also provides complementary MRE sessions aimed at staff of NGOs and UN agencies in north Sudan. These information sharing sessions allow us to inform the wider humanitarian and development community about risk management in the country relating to mines and UXO, and share information about specific contaminated areas in which organisations may be working in, or plan to work in.
We have taken this a step further by partnering with humanitarian agencies in the Eastern States, opening safe access to their target communities and allowing for the delivery of vital nutrition, water and sanitation, healthcare and education projects.
See this page for information on MAG's latest work in Sudan:
See these pages for information on MAG's latest work in South Sudan:
Beneficiaries
Landmines, and unexploded ordnance that has often been left in towns, villages and other populated areas, put local populations at risk – notably children, who are drawn to the interesting shapes and shiny exterior of many dangerous items.
Cleared land can not only be used by communities, but also enables development agencies and local government to access areas to provide basic services to local populations.
Operational overview
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Khartoum Support Office: 11 Sudanese staff, four international staff. • Multi-Task Teams can conduct a varying combination of technical survey, battle area clearance, manual clearance and Explosive Ordnance Disposal. • Community Liaison Teams are deployed alongside clearance teams, to collect Dangerous Area reports and provide Mine Risk Education. They are also planning to develop MAG’s Impact Assessment Toolkit for North Sudan during 2011, enabling MAG to more accurately measure the link between HMA and development activities. |
Find out more
- AlertNet country profile: Sudan
- BBC country profile: Sudan
- Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor Report: Sudan
- JASMAR website
- National Mine Action Center website
- Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment Project website
Our thanks to the donors to MAG's North Sudan programme: CHF; Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; ECHO; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; UK Department for International Development (DFID) / UKaid; USAID.
June 2011
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