Humanitarian Mine Action in Support of MAPA Operational Work Plan, Zabul, Afghanistan

The United Nations Mine Action Service programme in Afghanistan (UNMAS Afghanistan) supports the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) and DMAC to protect the civilian population from the threat of explosive ordnance and contributes to peacemaking and the protection of civilians in hard-to-reach areas through political and humanitarian dialogue. 

UNMAS Afghanistan supports the Directorate of Mine Action Coordination (DMAC) to coordinate the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA).

More than three decades of armed conflict in Afghanistan have left widespread anti-personnel (AP) anti-vehicle (AV) mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination across the country. The Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) has been working to clear this contamination since 1989. The MAPA currently focuses on implementing the ten-year 2013-2023 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) Extension Request Work Plan, which will see all recorded contamination cleared by 2023, subject to the continued availability of funding.

As of February 2020, there are 1,485 communities located in 253 districts that are affected by the threat of landmines and ERW. The DMAC has identified a number of prioritized hazards for clearance, as captured in  the APMBC Work Plan for the Afghan year 1399 (2020-2021).The ongoing conflict further contaminates communities in Afghanistan with ERW and anti-personnel mines of an improvised nature (APM/IN). Currently, the civilian casualty rate from mines, ERW and APM/IN is critically high. 

UNMAS Afghanistan) supports the efforts of the DMAC to mitigate the threat that these devices pose to the lives and livelihoods of Afghan civilians. 2020 presents an opportunity for mine action to further build its reputation as a positive and successful confidence building measure between parties to the conflict and communities that have conflicting ideologies. By bringing civilians together across political and conflict ideologies to make progress on humanitarian and positive communal pursuits, the potential for peace and other collaborative measures is realised.

This grant will support mine action activities in Zabul province, Afghanistan. With release of the land identified in Annex A, two communities will be fully released  and it is anticipated that no further civilian casualties due to legacy landmines will occur in this area.Furthermore, through the formation of diverse demining teams, it is anticipated that mine action can be used as a peacebuilding tool.