Demining Afghanistan

In 2010, the United Nations declared a decade of action for road safety, focusing on reducing the numbers of deaths and injuries on the road. This echoes IRU’s own mandate to shape a sustainable, and safer, road transport industry.

Prompted by this UN resolution, IRU approached the United Nations Mine Action Service[IH1] , UNMAS, and proposed a first-of-its-kind partnership. Together, they began working with local NGOs to open up the important trade routes in Afghanistan through a demining and clearance project.

What did we want to accomplish?

IRU set some very specific, but challenging, targets. The project was to clear 33 hazards (such as mine fields and battle areas) in a 15 square kilometre area.

The impact of this kind of work is huge. Simply clearing this small area would benefit the daily lives of 21 communities. That’s over 3,000 families. Once the land is made safe, it can go back to its original use - being used for growing food.

A safer road system means so much for the economy of a country like Afghanistan. As it’s a landlocked country, it is reliant on trucks to supply basics such as food. Improving the roads will not only help reduce the cost of products being bought into the country but also strengthen trade between neighbouring countries.

This is not a task that can be achieved overnight. The act of demining has to be done by trained professionals. On average, it takes a 10-person team one month to clear just 10,000 square metres of minefield (an area just over the size of a football pitch)

What did we do (and how)?

The project was run in three stages:

Stage one: setting the ground work

Before a demining project can take place, there are a number of things that need to happen. Local tribes and authorities need to be bought into the process early. By getting the community on side, it helps reduce any potential security threats to those working on the project.

Demining is not a simple task, and has many risks – personnel need to be recruited and trained to a high standard. The project tried to recruit workers from the local community to give a sense of ownership to the task. These local teams were helped by more experienced managers from the NGOs.

It takes a minimum of 45 days for a team to be trained and prepared to start demining work. In it, the de-miners are taught about how to spot different types of bombs and unexploded battle debris (such as shells), how to dispose of them properly.

Finally, a huge project such as this needs provisions. IRU commissioned a truck to travel from Europe to Afghanistan, bringing the materials and equipment needed to the team.

Stage two: putting everything into action

Once the preparation stage is over, it’s time for the demining teams to go out into the field. For the length of the project, the workers are based in tented camps near the areas they’re working on. This makes it safer and quicker for them to travel to and from their worksites.

Stage three: clearing up

After an area has been cleared, it takes about five days for all the equipment and camps to be dismantled and stored. All the paperwork is completed and the team moves on – leaving an area that is safe once more for those that live there.

Who did we work with?

Two local NGOs were chosen deliver the project with the help of the United Nations Mine Action Service.

The Halo Trust: A non-political, non-religious, non-governmental organisation that specialises in clearing areas of mines and other war debris. It is the world’s largest (and oldest) landmine clearance organisation and works across Asia, Africa, and Southern and Eastern Europe.

Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC): ATC was the first Afghan-based demining NGO. They were established in 1989 by an ex-Afghan Army officer, Kefayatullah Eblagh, and now employ over 1,300 people.