Afghanistan
Afghanistan is heavily contaminated with anti-personnel mines and also has a problem with cluster munition remnants.
| Performance Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Understanding of contamination (20% of overall score) | 8 |
| National ownership and programme management (10% of overall score) | 4 |
| Gender (10% of overall score) | 3 |
| Information management and reporting (10% of overall score) | 4 |
| Planning and tasking (10% of overall score) | 3 |
| Land release system (20% of overall score) | 6 |
| Land release outputs and Article 4 compliance (20% of overall score) | 7 |
| Performance score | 5.6 |
Key Developments
Mine action in Afghanistan continued to experience upheavals which persisted into 2023 as the Directorate of Mine Action Coordination (DMAC) sought to maintain its role managing and coordinating the sector in the face of sanctions and a loss of funding that forced it to stand down all but a handful of staff. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) provided interim coordination, initially through the UN Humanitarian Mine Action Coordination for Afghanistan (UNHMACCA). This shut down in April 2022 over disagreements with DMAC on its role. A Liaison Office supported by UNMAS opened in June but closed again in November after exhausting available funding. It received new funding and resumed work in January 2023 but closed in April 2023 after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) required it to collocate with DMAC, an arrangement that was not permitted under international sanctions against the IEA.
DMAC obtained government funding to employ some information management staff and took back management of the national mine action database in February 2023 and submitted a Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) Article 7 report at the end of May 2023. UNMAS decided in November 2022 that the Voluntary Trust Fund (VTF) would no longer support funding for operations which has principally benefitted national implementing partners (IPs) and would only fund coordination. As a result of declining international funding, Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) IPs have stood down hundreds of deminers in 2023.
Recommendation for Action
- In order to avert a collapse in clearance of cluster munition remnants (CMR) and other explosive hazards, the Afghan government and DMAC should work constructively with UNMAS on creating a mechanism for it to deliver support to the national mine action programme, within the limits imposed by international donors.
- The IEA and DMAC should ensure participation of women in mine action.
- UNMAS should restore VTF funding for operations at least pending agreement among donors on alternative means of supporting mine action.
- Afghanistan should accelerate survey of areas that were previously inaccessible due to insecurity to establish a definitive baseline estimate of remaining CMR contamination.
- DMAC should update its programme of work for fulfilling its CCM Article 4 obligations and completing clearance of remaining contamination.
- DMAC should ensure its Article 7 reports contain comprehensive data on the outstanding level of contamination, disaggregated by province.
Download the full 2023 report for Afghanistan
Click here to download the full "Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2023" report for Afghanistan.
