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U.S. Government Interagency Humanitarian Demining Strategic Plan The Interagency Working Group on Humanitarian Demining, April 12, 2000

Chapter 3. The Interagency Working Group on Humanitarian Demining

On September 13, 1993, the National Security Council requested that the Department of State establish an Interagency Working Group on Land Mines and Demining. The implementation of this directive resulted in the establishment of core concepts for the USG humanitarian demining program. The announcement of the Demining 2010 Initiative in October 1997 created a separate responsibility, generating increased international coordination and contributions for humanitarian demining, complementary to the mandate of this IWG.

Interagency Working Group Members

IWG members include:

• National Security Council.
• Department of State (Chair).
• Department of Defense (Vice-Chair).
• United States Agency for International Development.
• Central Intelligence Agency (Intelligence Community).

Interagency Working Group Objectives

The IWG develops and coordinates U.S. humanitarian demining policy and programs. The IWG itself has no permanent staff or separate funding, and meets quarterly or more often if required. The IWG has a subgroup which meets, at a minimum, two weeks prior to the IWG. The sub IWG addresses policy, plans, researches and development initiatives, with the goal of providing a recommendation to be formally approved at the IWG. It also is a focal point for coordination between IWG meetings.

Interagency Roles and Responsibilities

The principal departments and agencies represented at the IWG have their own legislative and funding authorities. This plan identifies their different roles, responsibilities, and interests, and provides a framework for developing a cohesive, coordinated humanitarian demining program.

National Security Council (NSC) Role

• Oversees development and implementation of humanitarian demining policy.
• Ensures that the interagency process meets the President's policy objectives.
• Provides policy guidance to the interagency working group in assessing priorities and eligibility for humanitarian demining assistance.

Department of State Roles

Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (DOS/PM)

• Acts as lead agency in coordinating U.S. humanitarian demining activities worldwide.
• Chairs the IWG on humanitarian demining and the IWG policy subgroup.
• Initiates the process of determining eligibility for U.S. humanitarian demining programs and participates with other organizations throughout the determination process.
• Coordinates with the U.S. embassy in a potential recipient country to generate formal requests for demining assistance from that country's government. Coordinates demining-related matters with the embassy throughout the demining effort.
• Coordinates among and between participating agencies to maximize use of resources and to avoid duplication.
• Provides reports and assessments to Congress and appropriate entities of the Executive Branch on the global landmine situation.
• Approves Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) funding to support initiatives in mine-affected nations and cross-cutting initiatives related to humanitarian demining.

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (DOS/PRM)

• Supports all aspects (including financial) of humanitarian demining conducted in connection with refugee repatriation and reintegration programs of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other relevant international organizations.
• Coordinates, through IWG participation, with other USG agencies on the prioritization of demining and mine awareness activities.

Special Representative of the President/Office of Global Humanitarian Demining (GHD) Responsibilities

• Coordinates efforts to increase private sector funding.
• Establishes and promotes mechanisms for international coordination of demining activities.
• Initiates and leads diplomatic efforts to promote Demining 2010 Initiative with other governments, international organizations and NGOs.
• Fosters public/private partnerships to support the above objectives.
• Consults with the Department of Defense to ensure that research and development for humanitarian demining supports the goals of the Demining 2010 Initiative.
• Coordinates with DoD on U.S. participation in international demining research and development efforts.
• Provides and coordinates representation at gatherings focusing on mine detection and clearance technology.

Embassy Responsibilities

• Provides overall policy support to the program, occasionally reporting on the program's progress and its effect upon U.S. interests in the host nation as well as on the overall bilateral relationship.
• With respect to program management, Embassy also submits periodic progress reports, including specific information requested, as required.
• If the Embassy has requested an allotment of NADR funds for local purchases, the Embassy also provides financial and accounting reports for those funds as required.

Department of Defense Roles

Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Assistance, Office of Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (OASD (SO/LIC) PK-HA)

• Acts as DoD's lead humanitarian demining agency by exercising overall responsibility, corporate level policy, planning and oversight for DoD humanitarian demining programs conducted pursuant to Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 401.
• Provides the Vice Chair of the IWG and co-chairs the sub IWG.
• Develops and implements DoD humanitarian demining activities based on applicable presidential policy guidance coordinated through the IWG.
• Coordinates and authorizes funding for DoD humanitarian demining operations and related activities.
  • In coordination with DSCA (Defense Security Cooperation Agency), allocates DoD funds for the DoD element of the USG humanitarian demining program.
  • Assists host countries in the establishment of humanitarian demining organizations.
  • Coordinates US Special Operations Forces (SOF) humanitarian demining training with Fort Leonard Wood Humanitarian Demining Training Center.

Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)

• Coordinates and monitors execution of DoD humanitarian demining training operations and related program activities. In coordination with SOLIC, plans, programs, budgets for, and allocates budget authority from the Overseas, Humanitarian, Disaster and Civic Aid (OHDACA) appropriation to support the DoD humanitarian demining program.
• Assists the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (OJCS), United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), geographical CINC (Commander-in-Chief), host countries and other organizations in planning for, establishing, and executing mine action programs.
• Coordinates with the DoS on security assistance policy, budget planning, and execution issues for demining activities.
• Manages host countries' Foreign Military Financing FMF and specified NADR accounts.
• Sells defense articles and services, through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, to host countries for support of mine action programs.

Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Policy and Support, Office of Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (OASD (SO/LIC) SOP&S)

• In coordination with OASD (SOLIC) PK/HA, acts as DoD's lead agent for humanitarian demining research and development activities to include:
  • Examining equipment/technologies for detecting mined as well as mine-free terrain.
  • Development of individual tools to improve the safety and efficiency of manual demining.
• Provides quarterly notification to the IWG, or its subgroup, of planned equipment testing in mine-affected countries which are part of, or are potential participants, in the USG HD program. This notification will allow the IWG to review the proposed testing to ensure that it is consistent with U.S. foreign policy and HD objectives. Testing of equipment in non mine-affected countries also requires IWG notification.

Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (OJCS)

• Through the Joint Staff Operations Directorate (J33 Special Operations Division), coordinates HD operations and force allocation with regional and supporting CINCs, while providing guidance and operational control authority for DoD HD operations.
• The Joint Staff, J33 Special Operations Division-Counterproliferation Division is the Office of Primary Responsibility.
• Provides HD mission tasking to geographic combatant commanders.
• Provides guidance and direction on the conduct of military support to HD operations through the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instructions (CJCSI).
• Ensures that plans developed by the regional CINCs include, at a minimum, the number of training deployments anticipated to the country, time-phasing of the operation's critical elements, subsequent training missions or assessments required, and other factors (including projected resource requirements) that will be necessary to plan for and execute the proposed mission.

Geographic Combatant Commander

• Plans, manages and conducts HD training operations within the CINC AOR.
• Recommends and prioritizes theatre HD program recommendations through the Joint Staff to OASD (SO/LIC), DSCA and the IWG.
• Executes DoD-funded HD programs in host countries
• Coordinates U.S. participation in specified multilateral humanitarian demining operations (e.g., those sponsored by the Organization of American States (OAS).
• Conducts assessment for HD programs and mine action technologies.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

• Independently, but in coordination with other organizations, plans, designs, funds, and implements limited demining as part of new or ongoing USAID activities consistent with achievement of agency, bureau, and mission strategic objectives. Augments and supports humanitarian demining operations:
• Provides emergency assistance to reduce suffering and save lives.
• Promotes return of refugees and the internally displaced to their homelands (or elsewhere).
• The Leahy War Victims Fund helps to achieve sustainable development in those countries significantly affected by landmines, and provides medical assistance, e.g. prostheses, for landmine survivors.

Intelligence Community (Central Intelligence Agency)

• Serves as the senior representative for the Intelligence Community to the IWG.
• Identifies foreign activity counter-productive to humanitarian demining efforts.
• Provides regional security assessments upon requests.
• Monitors foreign mine and countermine technology advances.
• Provides information on landmines and landmine issues in nations in conflict or those emerging from conflict.

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