Clearing the Paths to Peace: Humanitarian Demining in Peace Operations

摘要

This monograph discusses the necessity for conducting humanitarian deminingduring the initial stages of a peace operation in a region contaminated with landmines. The removal of landmines will be an essential task as part of a peace operation in order to return a region to peace and stability. This monograph explores how landmines affect all aspects life within a region and demonstrates that for a peace operation to be successful removal of mines must be planned for early. The monograph first examines the nature of the mine threat in regions that have emerged from conflict, and how the landmine has affected the economic life, repatriation of refugees, protection of humanitarian aid, and protection of peace forces. Next, the doctrine of peace operations was examined in light of this landmine threat. From this an essential task early in peace operations was determined to be demining. Next, landmine removal policy and doctrine, for the U.S. military, and U.S. Army specifically, was examined. A possible demining doctrine for U.S. Forces was proposed as a result of this examination. The role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Private Volunteer Organizations (PVOs) involved in demining was explored. Finally, a case study was examined from Somalia. The criteria that was used to examine the case was that developed in the previous sections. Somalia demonstrated that peace operations, conducted in a region contaminated with landmines, will have to remove landmines as an essential task to ensure the success in the early stages.