Mines, Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)
Mines, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and other unexploded hazards pose a serious and ongoing threat to civilians around the world, killing thousands every year and causing indiscriminate harm to others. Three in four child casualties in the world’s deadliest conflicts are caused by explosive hazards. They can remain undetonated in the ground for decades after hostilities have ceased, wreaking damage and hindering people from accessing their homes, limiting their movements, preventing the land from being utilised, and instilling fear in communities.
Mines
With over 100 million mines continuing to threaten the lives of people in over 78 countries, mine action still has a long road ahead. Anti-Personnel (AP) mines are designed to explode from the presence, proximity, or contact of a person. Anti-Vehicle (AV) or Anti-Tank (AT) mines are munitions designed to explode from the presence, proximity, or contact of a vehicle.
Explosive Remnants of War (ERW)
ERW refer to ordnance left behind after a conflict. These unstable explosive items pose dangers similar to landmines. Clearing these explosive threats is the essential first step in rebuilding lives after conflict. They can be further subcategorised. Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) includes ammunition for guns, grenades & mortar rounds, cluster munitions & submunition, missiles, bombs & fuses. Abandoned Explosive Ordnance (AXO) includes arms caches & weapon depots, as well as stockpiles and storage areas.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)
The use of IEDs as a primary weapon of insurgency has increased alarmingly in recent decades. They are the most lethal explosive weapons available. Non-state armed groups across many conflicts use IEDs with the intention to wreak massive havoc, claiming thousands of victims every year and seriously damaging critical infrastructure. These indiscriminate weapons inflict grievous physical injuries, cause lasting psychological damage and spread terror and disruption across communities. Their impact on the security and stability of affected states is profound, hindering the political, social and economic development of a country, and obstructing life-saving humanitarian aid.
One way to categorise IEDs is to define them by the mode by which they are initiated.
Timed IED: here the device is initiated by some form of timing mechanism (e.g. a fuse or a mechanical timer) so that the perpetrators can remove themselves from the scene.
Command-initiated IED: this is when the IED is initiated at the moment the perpetrator decides, by command wire, radio control or as a suicide switch.
Victim-operated IED: this is when the IED is set by the perpetrator so that an unknowing act by the victim causes the device to function, so the perpetrator does not need to be present. Typically these devices are triggered by trip wires or pressure pads.
The removal of IEDs is referred to as IEDD, which is a subset of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD).