ANAMA Expands Demining Operations Towards an Azerbaijan Free From the Impact of Mines

Azerbaijan, located south of the Caucasus on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, is a country rich with oil resources. As of 2005, Azerbaijan has a population of 8.1 million people living in 65 regions of the country and the autonomous exclave of Nakhchivan to the west. One-fifth of Azerbaijan territory is currently occupied by Armenia

Development of Mine Action Legislation

There are about 72 mine action programs (MAPs) around the world, most of them working in collaboration with the United Nations—United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), etc.—depending on the political, social and/or economic situation of the country. A majority of the MAPs work in collaboration with UNDP. It is important for all MAPs to have a legal framework because it makes their jobs much easier through division of the residual responsibilities among different governmental bodies (ministries, committees, etc.). Numerous examples exist of MAPs facing competition with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Defense (MOD), Ministry of Construction as well as the Ministry of social protection and Labor (which is responsible for Social Protection policy—including mine victims)

Priority Setting for Mine Action

Due to a lack of resources to enable all mine-affected communities to be cleared, countries must prioritize mine action activities. The following article addresses prioritization and suggests a new model to help improve the process

Explosive Remnants of War and the Reality of Azerbaijan

This article explains the danger of explosive remnants of war when located within communities and the precautions that need to be taken in order to get rid of this problem. It also describes how the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action is trying to address the problem of abandoned ammunition storage in one of the most highly contaminated areas among existing abandoned ammunition storages in the world

Mine-action Challenges and Responses in Georgia

Following an international conflict in 2008, Georgia faces a greater threat from landmines and explosive remnants of war than that posed by previous violence. In response to this threat, Georgia, with assistance provided by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA) and the Government of Canada, created national bodies to coordinate and implement landmine and ERW clearance. This article documents Georgia’s past ERW, landmine and cluster-munitions contamination, as well as efforts to remove these threats