Geneva Call and DCA Mine Action promote increased mine action in Burma/Myanmar

A decade on from the agreement of an international treaty banning landmines, Burma/Myanmar remains one of the most heavily landmine-contaminated countries on earth. More than 10% of the countryʼs townships are contaminated by landmines, and thousands of civilians have been injured or killed, with only limited mine action taking place, and a fraction of the international funding that poured in to assist countries that were similarly impacted, such as Cambodia.

Alarmingly, Geneva Call and DCA Mine Action have found that a significant proportion of the children affected in landmine accidents in conflict areas are child soldiers*.

In part due to the Burma/Myanmar governmentʼs reluctance to allow mine action to take place (assistance to the handicapped is permitted whatever the cause), as well as the continued use of mines by government forces and armed non-State actors (NSAs) and government forces alike, the problem for the civilian victims of these insidious and cruel weapons is worsening, and the urgent need for marking, clearance, mine risk education and prosthetic care has never been greater.

The lives and livelihoods of civilians are several impacted, and yet little is known about the full extent of the problem, its impact and how best to take action in the limited humanitarian space available today.

Geneva Call, in partnership with DCA Mine Action, commissioned the study in 2010 using direct interviews with stakeholders, including NSAs, international and local non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations. This new report, produced with technical assistance from DCA Mine Action, outlines the scale and scope of the problem, details the potential for involvement of local and international actors; considers options for enhanced protection of civilians from the impact of landmines and improvised devices; and makes recommendations for the possible course of humanitarian mine action to better address the situation in Burma/Myanmar.

To download a pdf of the report www.genevacall.org

For further information about Geneva Callʼs work, or to find out how you can help, please contact Tim Carstairs at tcarstairs@genevacall.org or +41 22 879 10 50
For information about DCA Mine Action activities, see www.dcamineaction.org