Landmines in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is among the countries most severely affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The U.S. State Department estimates landmine/unexploded ordnance-related casualties at over 2,400 during the year 2000 and that nearly 948 square kilometers of land had been landmine/UXO-contaminated.

United States Assistance
Between 1993 and 2001, the United States provided nearly $28,000,000 to support a variety of mine action initiatives coordinated by the UN’s Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (MAPA). U.S. assistance, along with that of other donors, helped reduce the casualty rate by 50% between 1998 and 2001 and reduce the area of contamination to 724 square kilometers.

The UN's Mine Action Program for Afghanistan coordinated the activities of a number of local and international non-governmental organizations employing approximately 4,800 mine clearance personnel.

Fiscal Year 2002 U.S. Assistance to Mine Action in Afghanistan
The Department of State has provided $7.03 million to support a number of mine action activities. The Fiscal Year 2002 support package included:

• $3.2 million to HALO USA, a non-governmental mine clearance organization that employs over 1,200 Afghan mine clearance specialists. They have begun training, equipping, and employing over 800 additional mine clearance personnel.
• $3.1 million to RONCO Consulting Corporation to train local mine clearance personnel on the removal of landmines unfamiliar to them.
• RONCO also provided mine detectors, ambulances, radios, personal protection gear, and general-purpose vehicles.
• Approximately $700 thousand of the package funded mine risk education initiatives currently under way in Afghanistan

Accomplishments
By the end of 2001, Afghan deminers had cleared over 224 square kilometers of land and 321 square kilometers of former battlefield areas, while destroying approximately 210,000 landmines and 985,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance

As a result of these efforts, more than 1.5 million Afghans had been able to return to their homes. The cleared land has enabled employment opportunities to over 9,200 farmers and industrial workers, increased agricultural outputs (valued at $14.2 million), and livestock production (valued at $43.4 million).

In the first quarter of 2002, 23,825,611 square meters of mine and unexploded ordnance-contaminated areas were cleared. Another 32,091,000 square meters have been returned to productive use.

UN's Mine Action Program for Afghanistan reports that 751 anti-tank, 16,196 anti-personnel, and 251,169 unexploded ordnance devices have been cleared.

Fiscal Year 2002 Assistance by Other U.S. Agencies

• The Department of Defense developed and produced 200 sets of mine boards, or mock-ups of common landmines, for use in mine risk education programs conducted by indigenous NGOs in Afghanistan.
• The Department of Defense also has transferred $4,264,395.000 to the Department of State to obtain State Department contract support for mine clearance around key airstrips in Afghanistan.
• The Centers for Disease Control has provided $800,000 to fund a post-conflict contamination assessment.

For more information about demining programs, please see the Office of Mine Action Initiatives (renamed to the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement).