Does the Council need a mine action mechanism?
A well-designed African Union mechanism could advance the removal of deadly devices threatening human security.
At its 1 146thmeeting on 3 April 2023, the Peace and Security Council (PSC) called for a continental mechanism to coordinate and support member states’ mine-action efforts. The request came as member states continue their struggle against landmines, explosive remnants of war (ERW) and, most recently, improvised explosive devices (IEDs). According to the Landmines and Cluster Munition Monitor, as of 2021, 17 African states were contaminated by antipersonnel and antivehicle landmines and ERW, combined in some areas with IEDs.
These devices have had dire impacts on the livelihoods of these states. Vast arable lands are currently contaminated, putting thousands of people on the brink of food insecurity. As farming is prevented, avenues for developing viable economic activities diminish. Access to schools has been restricted and many communities have relocated to areas where they must rebuild their lives from scratch, severely decreasing their income.
Member states have responded by acceding to international frameworks such as the 1997 Ottawa Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention, the 2003 Protocol on ERW, the 2008 Cluster Munition Convention and the 2019 Oslo Action Plan. And they have undertaken non-technical surveys and physical clearance and supported state party review conferences that have produced declarations. These include the 2014 Declaration of State Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on their Destruction (Maputo Declaration). Continentally, the African Common Position on Landmines adopted in 2004 and the AU Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) Policy have been adopted and platforms such as the African Mine Action Partnership established.
17 African states are contaminated by antipersonnel and antivehicle landmines and ERW
Despite these and the fact that contaminated lands often span several countries, with grave consequences for human security, the PSC has yet to effectively play its coordination role. The role is envisaged in its guiding frameworks, the PSC Protocol and PCRD Policy, and through practice that has always encouraged managing peace and security challenges through dedicated continental platforms.
Without AU-structured and -driven coordination, affected member states have championed country-level responses with partners. This approach has not ensured the AU’s effective monitoring of international conventions and norms implementation. It has deprived affected states of AU support and critical experience sharing from peers in some cases. And it has left concerned states struggling with their limited operational and financial means, often with the sole support of mine-action operators, which delays clearance.
Mine action in Africa
In 2022, 4 710 landmine casualties were recorded in 49 global countries, with 85% affecting civilians, mainly children (1 171). Although regional breakdowns are unavailable, the monitor indicates that 19 African countries have recorded between one and 100 casualties. The most affected – Mali, Nigeria and Angola – have been placed on a scale of 101 to 1 000 victims each. Nigeria registered 431 victims, Mali 132 and Angola 107 in 2022. Moreover, in most African countries cited, IEDs have been significantly harmful even though exact figures are elusive due to under-reporting of explosives-related incidents, which generally occur in remote zones.
As of September 2024, 93% (51 of 55) of AU member states had signed and/or ratified the Ottawa Convention. They subsequently committed to meeting the objectives of its five-year action plans, the most current being the 2019 Oslo Action Plan. State parties to the convention, including African countries, based on the action plan above, are obligated to design national responses that accommodate affected people's diverse needs and experiences.
Without AU-structured and -driven coordination, affected member states have championed country-level responses
The plan’s main objective is to clear landmines and release contaminated lands by 2025. Implementation has allowed AU states to couple the fulfilment of their global obligations with continental ones. While their international obligations stem from the Ottawa Convention, their continental mine-clearance duties result from Article 25(iv) of the AU PCRD Policy calling for ‘support to mine-action programmes (…)’.
In that vein, state parties, including the 51 AU member states, were required to establish mine-action centres in line with Article 9 of the Ottawa Convention to implement global and continental norms. Without a continental database of such centres, it is difficult to confirm whether the requirement has been fulfilled. However, Nigeria recently established its National Mine Action Centre with participation from 13 ministries, including defence and interior. Senegal formed Le Centre National d'Actions Antimines du Sénégal in the early-2000s after it ratified the Ottawa Convention. Ethiopia, Chad and Burkina Faso, too, have established national structures to domesticate international norms and coordinate and oversee mine action nationally.
Continentally, the AU has supported its member states. It has established consultation platforms – albeit infrequent – that have, to some extent, facilitated interactions among states and international entities specialising in mine action. It developed a three-year plan (2014 to 2016) to implement the Maputo Declaration, by enhancing coordination, strengthening support to member states and facilitating intra-African (south-south) cooperation. The plan sought to help states and parties to the Ottawa Convention meet their international obligations. The AU is on the verge of finalising a counter-IED strategy. Through the PSC, it has also given serious attention to mine action in Africa by repeatedly tabling and discussing it.
Coordination and oversight
The confluence of national and continental efforts has produced significant gains in establishing structures and frameworks, clearing landmines and releasing land. According to the 2023 monitor annual report, during 2021 and 2022, more than 31 000 000m² of land were cleared and 65 308 antipersonnel landmines destroyed across the continent.
A point of contention is whether the mine-action mechanism should be autonomous or a PSC subcommittee
Despite this progress, the AU’s leadership is paramount in tracking member state achievements and challenges, enhancing experience sharing and fostering south-south cooperation. The PSC viewed creating a continental mechanism as a crucial step in resolving issues. According to AU sources, such a platform would further formalise talks on Africa’s mine action and be an effective coordination structure among states. It would also ease engagements with continental partners and enhance experience sharing. The sources state that the move will enhance oversight of member state mine action and track progress consistently, which could allow for more effective readjustment and lesson learning.
However, its form and role in the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and vis-à-vis the PSC have yet to be clarified. Discussions with AU experts raised the issue of whether the platform should be autonomous under Article 5 (2) of the AU Constitutive Act or purely a PSC subcommittee dedicated to coordinating continental mine action. Some maintain that an autonomous mechanism that strongly collaborates with the PSC and other APSA components will give mine action the attention it deserves. Others advocate a structure that reports to the PSC, the primary organ for Africa’s peace and security. The debate continues, but the usefulness of such an initiative is undeniable.
Establishing a mechanism
The AU should consider three key elements when designing the mechanism. The first is the number of affected states. As mentioned above and indicated by the map below, only 17 AU member states are officially affected by landmines, ERW and IEDs, representing 30% of the 55.
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Global antipersonnel landmine contamination as of 2021
 Source: The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor 2022 |
Even though most African states have acceded to the Ottawa Convention and have stockpile-destruction and cease-to-buy obligations, for example, the level of in-house emergency determines the attention a state affords a challenge. While shaping the mechanism, the AU should form a steering committee of the most affected states supported by an advisory board of countries that have completed clearance and/or have made significant progress to foster experience sharing.
The second element is the need to ensure the mechanism's effective placement in the APSA ecosystem and clarify its PSC interaction/reporting modalities. Creating an autonomous being is likely to overlap prerogatives and cause struggles between it and the PSC, which might counter the enhancement of coordination in Africa’s mine action. Despite the focus it should receive, mine action forms part of the PSC-driven broader peace and security domain.
The third aspect is mainstreaming technologies such as thermal remote sensing, mapping with high-resolution cameras, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Expertise could be mobilised internally in mine-action centres with know-how, including Chad and Algeria, and externally through seasoned landmine clearance operators in developing guidelines to strengthen and harmonise national frameworks through technology.
