| <UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME | UNITED NATIONS MINE ACTION SERVICE (UNMAS)> |
Following the adoption of the Mine Ban Treaty in October 1997, Mine Action and Effective Coordination: the UN Policy was submitted by the Secretary General to, and welcomed by, the 53rd session of the UN General Assembly in 1998.
The policy defines humanitarian mine action as having five components: mine awareness; advocacy; survey, mapping and clearance; ‘victim assistance’; and stockpile destruction and divides the responsibility for these activities across 11 UN agencies and departments, outlining co-ordination mechanisms for UN and other organisations such as the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, (ICBL) ICRC, and NGOs.
UNICEF has been given responsibilities in relation to three of these five components:
‘UNICEF, working in collaboration with the UN Mine Action Service, is the UN focal point for mine awareness education [now known as mine risk reduction education]. In this capacity, it will provide appropriate guidance for all mine awareness programmes, liaising closely with concerned partners such as OCHA, WFP, UNHCR, WHO, and UNDP. In addition, UNICEF, in collaboration with WHO, ICRC, and other partners ... will ensure comprehensive rehabilitation of landmines survivors, including psychosocial counselling, physical rehabilitation (including the provision of prosthetics and orthotics), and education for those with disability. Finally, UNICEF will continue to be an active advocate for the promotion of a total ban on anti-personnel landmines and the ratification of the Ottawa Convention’ (Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The UN Policy, 1998).
UNICEF has been a strong advocate for a mine ban treaty since the early 1990’s, and has been increasingly involved in mine risk education since that time. In 2000, in response to its new mandate from the UN General Assembly, the UNICEF Executive Board mine action in the UNICEF Core Corporate Commitments (CCC’s) in Emergencies, which aim to reinforce UNICEF’s commitment to partnership in emergency action, and to strengthen the special protection of victims of armed conflict, disasters, and all forms of violence.
In 2001, UNICEF helped to develop the interagency UN Mine Action Strategy 2001-2005, and began to develop its own Mine Action Strategy in order to ensure that its responsibilities and commitments under both the UN policy and UN strategy, its own mandate, and its Core Corporate Commitments in Emergencies, are met. The Strategy is based on the following statement of intent, and set of principles:
In collaboration with its partners, UNICEF will work to ensure that children, their families and communities are protected from the physical, social, economic and psychological impact of mines and other explosive remnants of war.
Although responsible for mine risk reduction education for all at-risk groups, UNICEF has tended to be particularly active in school-based and other child focused components of mine risk reduction education, as these are its more traditional areas of work. Yet while MRE often links in well to other country programme components in health and education, UNICEF regional, area and country offices often request additional technical expertise or support, as do many UN and national mine action centres. To meet these needs, UNICEF Office of Emergency Operations has established an MRE Field Support capacity within headquarters. This, where necessary is supplemented by the deployment of ‘flying team’ consultants with substantial experience in mine action in a variety of country contexts. These consultants can be deployed for short periods on short notice for country programme capacity building and emergency response. Since April 2001 this capacity has been deployed to 10 countries, including Lebanon, Occupied Palestine Territories (OPT) in April 2002, Sudan and Sri Lanka in May 2002 and Chad, Afghanistan and Angola in June 2002.
UNICEF is an active member of the Interagency Co-ordination Group on Mine Action (IACG-MA), and of the Steering Committee on Mine Action (SCMA). UNICEF continues to participate in all UN interagency Assessment Missions to mine-affected countries, and has recently participated in missions in Mauritania and Sudan. UNICEF has provided technical expertise and assistance towards the preparation and development of additional mine risk education programmes based on the above assessments and seeks to integrate all mine-related issues within its regular programming work.
In 2002, UNICEF established the Mine Risk Reduction Education Working Group (MRE/WG), co-convened by UNICEF and ICBL, and later linked up to the umbrella of the Steering Committee of Mine Action (SCMA). The MREWG comprises non-profit organisations engaged in MRE, and aims to bring together MRE practitioners to coordinate activities, share lessons learnt, and identify and find ways to meet field support needs. Working Group members oversee and participate in global projects such as the integration of MRE into the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) and the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), and steer the development of MRRE training.
THE MREWG meets approximately three times per year, usually in conjunction with intersessional and annual meetings of States parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. In addition to providing a forum where practitioners can learn from each other, the MREWG tries to offer more formal training and educational opportunities, as requested by members. The next MREWG meeting, for instance, will include a workshop on behavior modification strategies, presented by educational psychologists using examples from HIV-AIDS and road safety campaigns.
In 1999, UNICEF published the International Guidelines for Landmine and UXO Awareness Education. In 2000, during the Intersessional Meeting of the Standing Committee of Experts (SCE) on Victim Assistance, Socioeconomic Reintegration and Mine Awareness Member States called upon UNICEF to take the lead in developing Guidelines for the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of Mine Awareness Programmes, and also International Standards for Mine and UXO Awareness/Risk Reduction Education Programmes. The Standards, which will replace the existing Guidelines and incorporate monitoring and evaluation, will be included in IMAS version 2, to be completed by end 2002.
In 2001, in a workshop on mine awareness media and messages hosted by Rädda Barnen in Yemen, UNICEF undertook to develop a series of simple, user-friendly ‘how to’ manuals for mine risk reduction education. These will form a Mine Risk Reduction Education Implementation Manual to IMAS, and will be completed in 2003.
UNICEF is also planning to develop an accredited MRE programme managers course, under the auspices of the MREWG, and next year will pilot two Field Epidemiology for Mine Action Courses (FEMACs), in co-operation with the International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch of the Centres for Disease Control (CDC).
UNICEF is undertaking, supporting or planning mine action programmes, mostly mine awareness education and advocacy, in 25 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Kosovo), Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Russian Federation (North Caucasus), Panama, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria (Golan Heights) and Vietnam.
Within its mandate, UNICEF responsibility for mine risk reduction education is discharged in different ways in different country contexts. Increasingly, this is as part of integrated UN mine action programmes. In Eritrea, for example, UNICEF sits in the UNMEE Mine Action Coordination Centre, whereas in Ethiopia, UNICEF works alongside UNDP to support the Ethiopian Mine Action Authority. In Afghanistan, UNICEF has recently recruited a mine action curriculum development expert to assist the local NGO META to develop a training package for mine risk education volunteers, a monitoring and evaluation specialist to assist in developing a system to support and monitor volunteer trainers, and a national officer for the UN Mine Action Centre (MACA). Other examples are Sudan, where the UNICEF MRE officer works together with the UNMAS Chief Technical Advisor based in Khartoum, and Lebanon.
UNICEF’s main role in Mine Risk Reduction Education at field level is to identify needs and to ensure – usually through working with implementing partners - that they are met in a timely and appropriate fashion. UNICEF also seeks to ensure that mine risk reduction activities are coordinated, are effectively integrated into broader mine action programmes, reflect the needs and priorities of affected communities, and are in support of broader humanitarian, relief, and development goals.
For these reasons, UNICEF works with UN agencies and other stakeholders to develop joint country mine action plans, although in emergencies, where there is no UN plan in place, UNICEF uses the advantages of its widespread country presence, strong regional and country structures, and national partnerships, to respond quickly and flexibly to the urgent needs of communities in high-risk areas. Jenin (Occupied Palestine Territories), and Sri Lanka are two recent examples. This natural progression of programmatic responses emanated from the fact that thousands of children were being injured and killed by landmines each year, and is also part of UNICEF’s efforts to mainstreaming emergency response into its regular programming.
A study of UNICEF’s MRE interventions to date, aimed at analysing and learning from UNICEF’s experiences since it first became involved in mine action, and MRE in particular, is underway. The study is being carried out by a consultant who is conducting assessments via field visits to main and regional capitals in selected countries. The consultant is collecting primary and secondary-documentation, and most importantly, is interviewing relevant UNICEF staff and other stakeholders major programmes. The result will be a report titled UNICEF Landmines Lessons Learnt , which will be completed by the end of 2002.
As the premier advocate on behalf of children and women, UNICEF continues to play an active role in supporting a total ban on anti-personnel mines, including promotion of the universal ratification and implementation of the Anti-Personnel(AP) Mine Ban Convention through the extended outreach of its headquarters, regional and field office staff, and in close collaboration with UN agencies and partners such as the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
With the assistance of ICBL, GICHD, and ICRC, UNICEF has developed a Landmines Advocacy Kit to ensure that UNICEF country and regional offices throughout the world have the necessary resources and tools to work for universal ratification and implementation of the MBT.
UNICEF is developing a Landmines Public Information Kit to serve as a landmines advocacy tool for the general public. The Kit will provide information and fact sheets on landmines issues generally and from a UNICEF perspective, and will serve to inform the public of UNICEF’s work on landmines issues.
UNICEF also advocates for the needs and welfare of those affected/potentially affected by landmines and other explosive remnants of war in a wide range of humanitarian and development forums, publications and media releases. In 1996 UNICEF published A Child Rights Guide to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, and in 2002, A Child Rights Guide to the Mine Ban Treaty. The latter aims to assist everyone engaged in either mine action or child protection to gain a better understanding of a) how mines impact on children, b) the legal mechanisms through which these impacts can be mitigated, and c) how the Mine Ban Treaty can be of assistance in addressing the impact of mines on children.
During the United Nations Special Session on Children (SSOC), which took place in May 2002, there were several events themed around the Children and Conflict sub-agenda at the Conference. The Landmines/Small Arms team at UNICEF, in partnership with ICBL, International Alert, The Quaker United Nations Office, Biting the Bullet, UNMAS, and the Centre for International Rehabilitation, organised a landmines/small arms workshop entitled: Taking Charge! Youth Action Planning on Landmines and Small Arms. The goal of this workshop was to increase awareness of landmines and small arms issues with SSOC youth participants, and provide an opportunity for them to identify ways in which to engage in these issues in their communities, begin planning future actions, and to take creative actions together as a group.
Landmine victim assistance is part of UNICEF’s work in the broader areas of disability and child protection. The work in victim assistance is focussed on strengthening partnerships with the aim of providing effective support to children and others injured by landmines and ensuring access to services. UNICEF has been involved in the preliminary discussions for the development of a UN Victim Assistance Policy and is involved in the study, commissioned by UNMAS and undertaken by GICHD, on the nature and scope of victim assistance as part of mine action. UNICEF has also taken part in discussions on the care and protection of child landmine survivors in a range of forums, including the Inter-agency Working Group consisting of WHO, ILO, UNESCO and UNICEF, and has also participated in disseminating to UNICEF regional and country offices the WHO technical guidelines on responding to child victims. A database of consultants with experience in community-based rehabilitation and other relevant skills has been developed.
