Additional info

Definition of mine action. About mine action.

Mine action is a broad spectrum of efforts aimed at both preventing and addressing problems caused by mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war. This term is more precisely defined by various participants in the process. Among these is the United Nations, which included the term in its policy paper issued in 1998, although it had already been used in the foundational national mine action capability studies published a year earlier. The term originates in Cambodia, in the early 1990s, when the Canadian Army engineers proposed the establishment of a body to manage and coordinate mine-related activities in the country, called the "Cambodia Mine Action Centre", in order to enhance the dynamic nature of this enterprise.

What are land mines? About mine action.

There are many types of mines, including anti-personnel mines, anti-vehicle mines, booby traps and other devices. There are various ways to use these types of mines. Some anti-personnel mines use a combination of an explosive and an attached victim activation system to detonate the mine when the victim steps on it. Some anti-vehicle models contain shrapnel that can cause serious damage to the legs, arms and feet. Some are buried in the ground, while others are pegged or attached to objects on the ground. Mines can be actuated by a variety of mechanisms, including push-pull, stretch, electrical or magnetic action.

What are cluster munitions? About mine action.

A cluster munition is a type of conventional munition designed to disperse multiple submunitions (called "small munitions" in some cases) over a large area. Their general definition describes both the container itself (also referred to as the spreader or "primary munition") and the submunitions in which they are contained. In a broader definition, submunitions can contain explosives, smoke, tear gas, small pieces of material, pyrotechnics, leaflets or other items. The number of submunitions varies, ranging from two to several hundred pieces, in addition, the size of individual submunitions can vary greatly. They can be scattered or dropped from an aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles, or from an artillery target.

What are explosive remnants of war (ERW) About mine action.

ERW stands for Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Abandoned Explosive Ordnance (AXO). "Ammunition" is a general term describing weapons and ammunition for military use (not to be confused with the consonant English word "ordinance" (decree), which means a law or regulation). Unexploded ordnance or UXO means ammunition (bombs, rockets, artillery shells, mortar shells , grenades, etc.), which was fired but did not detonate as intended. Failure rates can range from as low as 1 or 2 percent to as high as 30 to 40 percent, depending on a variety of factors such as the quality of the original build, age of the weapon, storage conditions, method of use, and environmental conditions.