2007 Landmine Monitoring report

Landmine Monitor has published its 2007 report, which contains some interesting facts and figures about landmine use around the world.

You can read the full Landmine Monitor report by following this link:
www.icbl.org/lm/2007

Cambodia remains one of the worst landmine-affected countries in the world, with around 43,000 landmine survivors in need of support so they can participate in society. The Cambodia report can be found here:
http://www.icbl.org/lm/2007/cambodia.html. The Cambodia Trust is mentioned in the section: Survivor Assistance Strategic Framework.

Some key facts:

Cambodia is one of the countries most severely contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), including conventional and cluster bombs, artillery shells and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO), as a result of nearly three decades of war.

Clearance by Cambodia’s three (landmine clearance) NGOs continued to increase in 2006, albeit at a slower rate than in 2005, and land release increased greatly, spurred by official encouragement. CMAC, HALO and MAG cleared 35.4 square kilometers of land, 15 percent more than the previous year, but they released a total of 303 square kilometers, more than triple the amount in 2005. RCAF reported it demined 70 percent more than in 2005.

In 2006 there were 450 new mine/ERW casualties in Cambodia (61 people killed and 389 injured) in 272 incidents. This decrease of nearly 50 percent from 2005 (875 casualties) prompted a survey to identify the reasons, as the casualty rate had been relatively constant (averaging 846 per year) since 2000. The survey, conducted from October to December 2006, found that the reduction was mainly due to favorable seasonal conditions improving agricultural production and, more generally, greater economic opportunities through farming and construction, such that the economic reasons for risk-taking behavior had reduced; the survey noted that poverty is “a defining factor in increasing the vulnerability of people to mine/UXO risk.” It also noted that increased community involvement in mine action planning and prioritization had addressed the socioeconomic impact of mine/ERW contamination more efficiently than before. Nearly 90 percent of survey respondents said that scrap metal trade in ERW in their villages had ceased. However, the proportion of ERW casualties remained constant between 2001 and 2006.

The cost of managing (Cambodia’s rehabilitation) centers is around $4.6 million per year and the current level of donor funding “would need to continue if present service levels are to be maintained.” However, the evaluation believed that donor funding is likely to decrease. In 2006 the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation contributed $100,000 to running the centers. The evaluation noted, “the rehabilitation sector is not a [government] priority and its funding will continue for a long time to massively depend on external assistance.”