Notes: ERW = explosive remnants of war.

Contamination

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is contaminated by mines and ERW. Contamination is primarily the result of the 1948 partition of Palestine, the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, the 1970 civil war, and the 1975 confrontation with Syria. Military training ranges and cross-border smuggling have added to the ERW problem.

Jordan declared that it had fulfilled its Article 5 clearance obligations on 24 April 2012, having determined that no areas under its jurisdiction or control remained in which antipersonnel mines were known or suspected.[1]

However, in formally declaring completion of its Article
5 obligations at the Twelfth Meeting of States Partiesin December 2012, Jordan noted that: “While all mined areas that Jordan had made every effort to identify
were cleared by 24 April 2012, Jordan, as a responsible State Party, has proceeded with verification efforts in
two parts of the country, with these verification efforts having resulted in the discovery of additional mined areas.”[2] This pertains first to the need for verification in the Jordan Valley, as earlier clearance by the Jordanian Armed Forces’ Royal Engineering Corps (REC) did not comply with national and international standards and was not subject to quality control;[3] and second to verification that is needed along Jordan’s northern border with Syria, due to a considerable discrepancy (estimated to be more than 10,000 mines[4]) between the recorded number of emplaced mines and the number actually cleared. Most of the difference in the figures is thought to be due to the migration of mines outside identified areas due to flooding and terrain fluctuations, detonations,[5] and unrecorded clearance operations by the army or by smugglers.[6]

As of the end of 2017, the total area in need of verification for missing mines was just under 4.25km², across a total of 56 areas. This comprised 1.4km² across 36 areas in the Jordan Valley and 2.8km² across 18 areas in the norther borders.[7] In September 2018, the NCDR reported that the sampling and verification project in the Jordan Valley had been completed in June 2018. Furthermore, the Jordanian military had reportedly “checked” the areas in the northern borders for military use and further quality control (QC) by the NCDR may not be required in this region. Once security conditions on the Syrian border allow, the NCDR plans to check the work of the Jordanian military and determine if any further action is required. The NCDR’s operations in the north remained suspended as of October 2018, due to the ongoing Syrian crisis.[8]

Program Management

TheNCDR’s board of directors includes representatives of the Jordanian armed forces, the government, NGOs, landmine survivors, and the media.[9] The NCDR is responsible for coordinating, accrediting, regulating, and quality-assuring all mine action organizations, as well as for fundraising.[10] It is also responsible for ensuring mine action is integrated into the country’s wider development strategies.[11]

Strategic planning

The NCDR’s current 2015–2020 National Plan aimed to verify, sample, and release the remaining 5.4km² in the Jordan Valley within 36 months (by the end of 2017), by deploying six manual clearance teams and one mechanical demining team at a projected cost of US$2 million.[12] In April 2017, the NCDR reported that it was not on target to complete verification of the Jordan Valley by the end of the year, and that it would update its work plan in 2018.[13] As mentioned above, verification was reported to have been completed in June 2018. In addition, the Jordanian military had reportedly “checked” the areas in the northern borders for military use and the NCDR planned to check this work once security conditions allowed.[14]

The plan also aimed to eliminate all ERW contamination by 2017.[15] As of September 2018, ERW clearance had not yet started, due to a lack of funding.[16] The NCDR prioritizes areas in need of development for verification.[17]

In addition, Jordan’s national plan reports that the NCDR will transition from a national institution focusing largely on its own mine clearance, to one that will concentrate on assisting other conflict-affected countries to overcome the challenges of mine action and ERW removal.[18]

Operators

The verification and demining operations in Jordan are conducted by the NCDR and REC. Since October 2015, Jordan has deployed four operational teams, totaling 35 deminers.[19] From January 2018, capacity was reduced to three operational teams.[20] According to the NCDR, a shortage of funds prevents it from deploying mechanical assets and mine detection dogs (MDDs) in its Jordan Valley operations.[21]

Land Release

Survey and clearance in 2017

In 2017, Jordan verified and released just under 1.44km² of land, across 38 areas in the Jordan Valley, during which 75 antipersonnel mines (72 M14 mines and 3 M35 mines) and two antivehicle mines were destroyed.[22] This represents a slight increase on the 1.36km² verified and released in 2016.[23]

Article 5 Compliance

Jordan still has outstanding Article 5 survey and clearance obligations.

Jordan declared completion of its Article 5 obligations on 24 April 2012, just ahead of its 1 May 2012 convention deadline, in accordance with the three-year extension request granted by States Parties in 2008. It submitted its formal declaration of completion to the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties in December 2012.[24] On announcing completion, however, Prince Mired acknowledged that “a residual risk could remain in areas where landmines have been emplaced,”[25] and noted that verification efforts had resulted in the discovery of additional mined areas.[26]

With verification of the Jordan Valley completed, as of October 2018, the NCDR needs to confirm whether any quality control of earlier clearance is needed on the northern borders, once security conditions allow, in order to determine whether Jordan has fulfilled its obligations under Article 5.

In the last five years Jordan has verified and released just over 5km² of mined area (see table below).

Mine clearance in 2013–2017

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the primary mine action research in 2018 and shared all its country-level landmine reports (from “Clearing the Mines 2018”) and country-level cluster munition reports (from “Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2018”) with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.