Abandoned explosive ordnance – Explosive ordnance that has not been used during an armed conflict, that has been left behind or dumped by a party to an armed conflict, and which is no longer under its control. Abandoned explosive ordnance is included under the broader category of explosive remnants of war.

Accession – Accession is the way for a state to become a party to an international treaty through a single instrument that constitutes both signature and ratification.

Adherence – The act of becoming a party to a treaty. This can be through signature and ratification, or through accession.

Antihandling device – According to the Mine Ban Treaty, an antihandling device “means a device intended to protect a mine and which is part of, linked to, attached to or placed under the mine and which activates when an attempt is made to tamper with or otherwise intentionally disturb the mine.”

Antipersonnel mine – According to the Mine Ban Treaty, an antipersonnel mine “means a mine designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons.”

Antivehicle mine – According to the Mine Ban Treaty, an antivehicle mine is a mine designed “to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a vehicle as opposed to a person.”

Area cancellation – Area cancellation describes the process by which a suspected hazardous area is released based solely on the gathering of information that indicates that the area is not, in fact, contaminated. It does not involve the application of any mine clearance tools.

Area reduction – Area reduction describes the process by which one or more mine clearance tools (e.g. mine detection dogs, manual deminers or mechanical demining equipment) are used to gather information that locates the perimeter of a suspect hazardous area. Those areas falling outside this perimeter, or the entire area if deemed not to be mined, can be released.

Battle area clearance – The systematic and controlled clearance of dangerous areas where the explosive hazards are known not to include landmines.

Casualty – The person injured or killed in a landmine, ERW or IED incident, either through direct contact with the device or by being in its proximity.

Cluster munition – According to the Convention on Cluster Munitions a cluster munition is “A conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those submunitions.” Cluster munitions consist of containers and submunitions. Launched from the ground or air, the containers open and disperse submunitions (bomblets) over a wide area. Bomblets are typically designed to pierce armor, kill personnel, or both.

Community-based rehabilitation – Programs in affected communities (often rural areas) that are designed to supplement facility-based programs in urban centers. These programs improve service delivery, equal opportunities, and protect human rights for a larger group of people with disabilities who have limited access to service, due to uneven service distribution, high treatment cost, and limited human resource capacity.

Community liaison – According to IMAS, “liaison with mine/ERW affected communities to exchange information on the presence and impact of mines and UXO, to create a reporting link with the mine action programme and develop risk reduction strategies. Community mine action liaison aims to ensure community needs and priorities are central to the planning, implementation and monitoring of mine action operations.”

Demining – The set of activities that lead to the removal of mine and ERW hazards, including survey, mapping, clearance, marking, and the handover of cleared land.

Explosive remnants of war – Under Protocol V to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, explosive remnants of war are defined as unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance. Mines are explicitly excluded from the definition.

Explosive ordnance disposal – The detection, identification, evaluation, render safe, recovery, and disposal of explosive ordnance.

Failed cluster munition – A cluster munition that has been fired, dropped, launched, projected or otherwise delivered and which should have dispersed or released its explosive submunitions but failed to do so.

Improvised explosive device – A device placed or produced in an improvised manner incorporating explosives or noxious chemicals. An improvised explosive device (IED) may be victim-activated or command-detonated. Victim-activated IEDs are banned under the Mine Ban Treaty, but command-detonated IEDs are not.

IMAS – International mine action standards issued by the UN to improve safety and efficiency in mine action by providing guidance, establishing principles and, in some cases, defining international requirements and specifications.

IMSMA – The UN’s preferred information system for the management of critical data in UN-supported field programs. IMSMA provides users with support for data collection, data storage, reporting, information analysis, and project management activities.

Landmine Impact Survey – A national or regional assessment of the socioeconomic impact on communities caused by the actual or perceived presence of mines and ERW, in order to assist the planning and prioritization of mine action programs and projects.

Land release – The set of activities and methodologies intended to release previously suspect hazardous areas with the minimum possible risk.

Mine action center – A body charged with coordinating day-to-day mine action operations, normally under the supervision of a national mine action authority. Some MACs also implement mine action activities.

Mine/ERW risk education – Activities which seek to reduce the risk of injury from mines and ERW by awareness-raising and promoting behavioral change, including public information dissemination, education and training and community mine action liaison.

National mine action authority – A governmental body, normally interministerial in nature, responsible for managing and regulating a national mine action program.

Non-state armed groups – For Landmine Monitor purposes, non-state armed groups include organizations carrying out armed rebellion or insurrection, as well as a broader range of non-state entities, such as criminal gangs and state-supported proxy forces.

Risk reduction – Those actions which lessen the probability and/or severity of physical injury to people, property, or the environment due to mines/ERW. Risk reduction can be achieved by physical measures such as clearance, fencing or marking, or through behavioral changes brought about by mine/ERW risk education.

Submunition – Any munition that, to perform its task, separates from a parent munition (cluster munition).

Survey – A study of the assessment of the location and impact of mines and ERW at the local or national level. General survey focuses on the location of mined and battle areas and the type of contamination they contain. A landmine impact survey also assesses the impact of explosive contamination on nearby communities (see separate definition for landmine impact survey). Technical survey aims to confirm and identify the outer perimeters of the hazardous area using one or more demining tools and to gather other necessary information for clearance.

Unexploded cluster munitions – Submunitions that have failed to explode as intended, becoming unexploded ordnance.

Unexploded ordnance – Unexploded ordnance (UXO) refers to munitions that were designed to explode but for some reason failed to detonate; unexploded submunitions are known as “blinds” or “duds.”

Victim – The individual directly hit by a mine/ERW explosion, his or her family and community.

Victim assistance – Victim assistance includes, but is not limited to, casualty data collection, emergency and continuing medical care, physical rehabilitation, psychological support and social reintegration, economic reintegration, and laws and public policies to ensure the full and equal integration and participation of survivors, their families and communities in society.

 

Abbreviations and Acronyms

AHD antihandling device

AOAV Action On Armed Violence

AP or APM antipersonnel mine

ARF ASEAN Regional Forum

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

AusAID Australian Agency for International Development

AV or AVM antivehicle mine

AXO abandoned explosive ordnance

BAC battle area clearance

CBU cluster bomb unit

CBR community-based rehabilitation

CCW 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons

CD Conference on Disarmament

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency

CIS Commonwealth of Independent States

CMC Cluster Munition Coalition

DCA DanChurchAid

DDG Danish Demining Group

DfID UK Department for International Development

DPO disabled people’s organization

EC European Commission

ECHO European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

EOD explosive ordnance disposal

ERW explosive remnants of war

EU European Union

FY Fiscal year

GICHD Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining

HI Handicap International

HRW Human Rights Watch

ICBL International Campaign to Ban Landmines

ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross

IDP internally displaced person

IED improvised explosive device

IMAS International Mine Action Standards

IMSMA Information Management System for Mine Action

IRIN Integrated Regional Information Network (UN)

ISU Implementation Support Unit

ITF International Trust Fund (Slovenia)

LIS Landmine Impact Survey

MAC Mine Action Center or Mines Action Canada

MAG Mines Advisory Group

MASG Mine Action Support Group

MAT mine action team or Mines Awareness Trust

MDD mine detection dog

NAM Non-Aligned Movement

NAMSA NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NGO non-governmental organization

NPA Norwegian People’s Aid

NSAG non-state armed group

OAS Organization of American States

OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

PfP Partnership for Peace (NATO)

QA quality assurance

QC quality control

RE mine/ERW risk education

SAC Survey Action Center

SADC Southern African Development Community

SHA suspected hazardous area

SMART specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, goals and time-bound goals

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNGA United Nations General Assembly

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNMAS United Nations Mine Action Service

UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services

USAID US Agency for International Development

UXO unexploded ordnance

VA victim assistance

WHO World Health Organization