Mines in South Sudan
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More than 21 years of civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the Animist and Christian south has created a considerable problem with landmines and UXO in central and southern Sudan. Since the civil war broke out some 4 million people have been displaced and some 1, 5 million people have been killed by manmade or natural disasters. A Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the North and the South was signed in January 2005.
Country in Northern Africa, bordered by Egypt, the Red Sea, Eritrea ,Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Chad and Libya.
Area: 2.505.810 sq km
Population: 38,100,000
Demographic: Indigenous tribal groups 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, others 3%
Sudan is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CMC)
The mine threat is found in a number of regions in Sudan. The highest contamination (excluding border areas with Egypt in the North) is found in South Sudan. The Land Impact Survey (LIS) confirms that the states of Eastern and Central Equatoria (bordering Kenya and Uganda) have been found to have the highest level of contamination, it is worth noting that the border regions to Ethiopia have for a variety of reasons not yet been surveyed, and it is reasonable to expect that the region may be contaminated by mines and UXO. The UXO threat is in fact just as significant as the mine threat.
NPA Mine Action History in the Country
Since 1986, NPA has been the international organization most consistently working in Southern Sudan. NPA has mainly worked within four areas: food security, health care, development of local communities, and various training programs for the local population. Peace negotiations between the SPLA and the government of Sudan started to bear fruits in the summer of 2002, with the signing of the Machakos protocol in July 2002. There has been a de facto cease-fire in the South since the end of 2002. Given the favorable circumstances with sustainable peace in sight, NPA decided to establish a mine action program in South Sudan in March 2004. Initial priorities were to train national staff, and to start opening up transportation routes for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The initial focus of work in Sudan was the survey and clearance of roads that had become inaccessible because of the perceived or real mine threat. The bulk of this work is now complete so the emphasis is switching towards the release of land for agriculture, return and resettlement programs, and infrastructure projects, as well as surveying and clearing un-assessed areas, and opening up secondary and tertiary routes.
Capacity
NPA has established a mine action program in Yei in the province of Western Equatoria. International staff have recruited and trained approximately 200 local Sudanese staff for different positions in the program. The programs now consists of 1 TIA team, 2 Survey Teams, 6 manual demining teams, 2 BAC Teams and 2 EOD Teams. In addition NPA Sudan has 1 MineWolf flail/tiller machine, 1 Mini MineWolf machine, 1 MineWolf Bagger machine and 4 MPV (Mine Protective Vehicles). From 2010 two Technical Advisors have conducted the capacity building of the Southern Sudan Demining Authority, and this will further expand in 2011.
Donors
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US Department of State, the German Federal Foreign Office, The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sports.
