Jordan Times
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
New entity to help clear
Jordan of landmines
Kingdom to quadruple current mine-clearing capacity making it 8 million square
metres per year to meet 2009 target
Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — With around 200,000 landmines left to clear by the Ottawa Treaty 2009
deadline, Jordan is moving into high gear with the help of a new demining force.
The country acknowledged recently that it needed additional support to meet the
target and is recruiting both civilians and retired military personnel.
Board Chairman of the National Centre for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR) HRH
Prince Mired said the new civilian-based demining capacity currently being
formed was crucial for progress.
“The Jordanian Royal Corps of Engineers (JRCE) has done an outstanding job so
far in clearing country's landmines, but we will need additional support to meet
the 2009 deadline,” said Prince Mired.
The Prince told The Jordan Times the Kingdom had to quadruple its current mine
clearing capacity from two million square metres to eight million square metres
per year to meet that target.
The bulk of support is needed in the Jordan Valley and the northern border with
Syria, where an additional 5.5 million square metres of land must be cleared
each year to be returned for productive use in 2009.
Prince Mired said the new mine-clearing entity, expected to be ready in around
six months, will include retired Jordanian de-miners.
A feasibility study initially determined the need for around 350 deminers.
Authorities said the large number of qualified but unemployed deminers will make
filling those positions easy.
According to the Prince, the deminers will undergo refresher courses to ensure
their skills are in line with the country's new national mine action standards.
The government and the Jordan Armed Forces have already indicated their
willingness to provide the start-up capital for the project, which along with
training, demining equipment, vehicles, supplies and travel over the coming
three years, is estimated at $30 million.
Like many other mine-affected countries, Jordan continues to suffer the
disastrous impact of these weapons long after the dust of wars has settled.
Jordan's landmines, located on the country's northern border with Syria, in the
Jordan Valley and Wadi Araba desert in the south, were planted over three
phases: The 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars and the 1970 conflict between the
armed forces and Palestinian groups.
An estimated 305,000 mines were planted in Jordanian lands over the past three
decades, one third of them planted by the Israeli forces.
The JRCE however has successfully cleared more than 101,559 landmines since
starting out on its demining track in 1993.
The JRCE has worked hard over the past decade to make sure mine-affected areas
in the country are cleared and returned to local communities for safe use.
Such progress has been achieved despite the immense financial strains and harsh
environmental conditions affecting the work and safety of demining missions.
The government, however, has continued to garner international donor support and
experience to ensure that these complex and costly demining operations are
rendered as safe as possible with the most advanced techniques and equipment in
place.
The JRCE currently operates six mechanical flails and 20 demining teams
consisting of 260 deminers for mine clearance in the Jordan Valley, Wadi Araba
and Aqaba.
While the rate of mine-related accidents has dropped with the adoption of
advanced technologies over recent years, potential risks cannot be avoided.
This is particularly true for deminers working on their hands and knees in the
blistering Jordan Valley heat, whose task is all the more physically and
psychologically daunting.
According to official figures, 58 deminers were killed and 269 injured by
landmines between 1967-2004.
Landmine accidents also claimed the lives of some 53 civilians and injured 149
others during that same period.
The civilian toll, however, is believed to be higher as not all mine-related
civilian accidents have been reported over the years.
Development needs
Down in the Jordan Valley, where local community livelihoods are strained,
clearing mine-riddled land for productive use is crucial for development.
The need to free up land in other parts of the Kingdom is also just as important
to open a safe door for investors.
Mine clearance in Aqaba, for example, has allowed for the development of mega
projects such as the American University currently under way, and will make way
for construction of the Red-Dead Sea pipeline project in Wadi Araba.
The Kingdom is also adopting a Total Quality Management (TQM) approach to its
demining operations to ensure mission activities prior, during and following
action are thorough.
The $300,000 project, as well as the new demining capacity under way, was
highlighted as a key priority in the country's new National Mine Action Strategy
(NMAP) launched in June.
The strategy, devised by expert entities in the field, presented a clear and
measurable approach on how Jordan plans to address its landmine problem over the
coming four years.
This includes the humanitarian and technical aspects of landmines, such as
mine-victim assistance, public awareness, information management and
institutional capacity building.
The strategy is also considered an important tool for garnering greater donor
support for the Kingdom's costly demining mission.
To date, donor countries such as Canada, Japan, Norway, the United States, the
United Kingdom and Germany have provided $12 million in technical and financial
assistance for Jordan's demining operations.
This, along with the $50 million provided by the government since 1993, however
continues to fall short of the needed amount.
“Jordan's landmine problem is considered miniscule compared to other countries
such as Cambodia, Afghanistan and Iraq, this is why we have to work hard to show
the progress we are making,” said Prince Mired.
“The NMAP will hopefully help us sustain the needed support by showing donor
communities the clear course we have charted to achieve that mission,” he added.
The way forward
In the meantime, Jordan is being earmarked for special support under a programme
designed to help smaller mine-affected countries. Like Jordan, it is meant to
support countries approaching completion of their demining mission.
The UNDP Completion Initiative is important because international funds are
being shifted to countries with high-profile problems, particularly those that
have recently emerged from crises and conflict and suffer graver humanitarian
threats.
Prince Mired said Jordan is one of 11 countries slated for UN support once it
reaches its 10,000 landmine balance.
Once completed, Jordan plans to share its experience with other mine-affected
countries, he added.
“We'd like to see Jordan rise from the Ottawa Treaty as a success story one day
and help other countries achieve similar goals we had set for ourselves,” said
Prince Mired.
“The new demining entity currently being established can contribute to that
vision by serving as a centre for excellence after its mission is completed in
2009,” he added.