Background
Chad’s post-independence history has been marked by instability and violence, stemming mostly from tension between the mainly Arab-Muslim north and the predominantly Christian and animist south.
Mine contamination within Chad’s territorial borders is a result of more than 30 years of internal conflict and was worsened by the Libyan invasion of the Aouzou strip in the North between 1984 and 1987. Approximately 90% of known mined areas are located in the Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region in northern Chad.
Landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) affect the livelihoods and safety of over 170,000 internally displaced persons, over 325,000 refugees from Sudan and the Central African Republic and over 2,000,000 locals, by restricting access to critical resources such as water and grazing areas.
Programme Details
The Mine Action Unit (MAU) was established in 2008 within the UN mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) area of operations.
MAU is based at MINURCAT’s headquarters compound in Abeché, Chad. The unit operates in the east of the country where the security level is rated as phase four out of five. In a phase four environment, programmes are suspended and personnel not directly concerned with emergency or humanitarian relief operations or security matters are relocated. The unit’s operator in the field is Mine Tech International, a commercial international demining company.
All clearance, road verification operations and quality assurance activities within the mission’s area of operations are performed by MAU. Currently four teams are deployed in the field: one Rapid Response Team based in Abeché and three road verification and clearance teams based in Iriba, Farchana and Goz Beida.
MAU is implementing a mine action work plan, liaising with other stakeholders in Chad and coordinating all mine action within the mission’s area of operations.
In this regard, MAU works in coordination with the Chadian National Demining Center based in N’djamena, the Regional Demining Center in Abeche and in close collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other United Nations agencies and programmes involved in mine action in Chad. The unit provides technical advice and support to the Chadian National Authority to develop its institutional capacity.
Results
Large swathes of land have been cleared and released back to host communities, main arterial routes have been verified for the presence of mines or ERW, thousands of items of ERW and Small Arms Ammunition have been destroyed and hundreds of communities visited in order to gather information on potential contamination.
These activities have helped host communities, refugees, internally displaced persons, UN agencies and the humanitarian actors in Eastern Chad to live and work in a safer environment.
In 2009 alone, over 2.5 million square metres were cleared and 1,673 km of roads were made safe.
The Future
The programme is looking at implementing an emergency response mine risk education project for Eastern Chad, within the UN mission’s area of operations. The project targets local people, as well as internally displaced persons and refugees.
Three quarters of the victims in 2009 were children under 15 years old. Since they are often unaware of the potential risk, the Mine Action Unit is currently exploring new ways of funding in order to implement a child-focused mine risk education project.
Linked to this initiative will be the maintenance of the ERW Hotline, where communities are informed, via local radio broadcasts and flyers, of the danger associated with handling ERW and the methods of reporting such items to the unit.
The unit also plans to establish a comprehensive strategy and work plan for victim assistance. The strategy will evaluate the needs of mine/ERW survivors and the services currently available to them. It will also look at the implementation of socio-economic, participatory and community-based projects for mine victims and other people with disabilities.