Foto: Tim Grant

1. The cause and the causer

Mines were ordered and financed by governments´ mandates.

The mines were constructed, produced, (financed), and laid by arms manufacturers (Landmine.de) under the mandate of governments of several countries (defence departments).





2. The impact and the affected

Consequently the biggest threat was triggered of for uninvolved people and animals.

These mines in the former war operational zones are often overgrown by grass and bushes and consequently became invisible death traps.

They mutilate and kill women, men, and children insidiously and even eradicate whole animal species.

They prevent refugees from returning to their homelands.

Consequently they destroy social sructures.

They prevent reconstruction as they are placed at the most important supply spots.





3. General conditions of mined terrain

70% of all anti-people mines (more than 344 different kinds) and anti-tank mines are anti-magnetic objects with a low or none metal portion.

Almost any soil is penetrated by metal pieces especially in war operational zones by iron or steel splinters.

Mine fields of a size of up to 1000 ha (1 km x 10 km) and a mine concentration of only a few up to several hundreds per ha are typical.





4. The elimination and state-of-the-art

While for the production of mines and their laying systems billions of dollars were provided the causers forgot to take care of the recovery and cleaning-up. Even long time after the fighting mines kill uninvolved people and animals.

For the removal of these death traps, which are overgrown by gras and bushes by now, of all things hand-demining with metal detectors, search needles, and toy shovels are the only currently propagated method by the responsible UN military experts.

Everyone knows that this method is absolutely inappropriate and unsafe as:

It is perilous for the personel.

It is unsafe. - Accidents happen habitually on "cleared" fields.

It is far too expensive.




Everyone knows that this method simply fails as the number of laid mines grows constantly despite of hand-deming.

The number of newly laid mines is 10 times as high as the number of cleared mines by hand-demining.

Despite of these facts hand-demining is the only dictated "safe method" by UNMAS.

According to Annex II of these instructions a safety standard of 99,6% is required and is defined as follows:

By a number of 1115 laid and cleared mines 5 mines with an intact detonator are valued as "acceptable tolerance" of hand-demining and are not counted as clearing mistakes.

The UN-authors therefore know that this method is unreliable and inappropriate.

All affected countries still use these UNMAS "Standing Operating Procedures" (SOP) for their own territories as a basis for their own guidelines.

As a consequence new victims among the clearing personnel and after the clearing among the users of the "cleared" fields are mourned on a regular basis.