MAG Iraq programme - December report

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Reporting period: 1 – 31 December 2010 Summary: • MAG teams released 586,199 m2 of land through a combination of electronic, hand mechanical, Mine Detection Dog clearance and area reduction; • MAG teams removed and destroyed 1,001 hazardous items; • Conventional Weapons Disposal response teams completed 203 tasks to safely remove and destroy 4,629 conventional weapons; • MAG and national partner NGO's Community Liaison teams conducted 278 Mine Risk Education (MRE) sessions, targeting 3,728 beneficiaries and five Small Arms and Light Weapons Risk Education (SALWRE) session targeting 52 individuals. MAG Iraq handed over nine cleared minefields to local communities in Kirkuk governorate. The handover ceremonies took place in Laylan sub-district with GDMA representatives, members of local communities, representatives from the local authorities, mayors of Qarahanjir, Layla and Perde sub-districts in attendance of, as well as MAG Iraq representatives. MAG Iraq Mine Action Teams (MATs) completed clearance operations in six prioritised clearance tasks in Ninewa (Mosul) and Kirkuk governorates, directly benefiting more than 1,700 individuals and supporting village rehabilitation, agricultural and socio-economic development in the region. In Kherava village of Ninewa (Mosul) governorate, MAG MATs cleared one cluster munition contaminated area, releasing land to be used by local farmers and shepherds for farming and grazing. In Qarahanjir sub-district ofKirkuk governorate, MAG MATs cleared two minefields releasing land to be used by local communities for farming wheat and barley. MAG MATs deployed to demarcate one newly identified minefields in Sulimaniyah governorate. In total, 55,590 m2 of suspected hazardous land was demarcated to IMAS1. Coordination meetings were held with both regional Mine Action authorities, the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) and the General Directorate of Mine Affairs (GDMA). Activities, plans and priorities were the main points of the meetings agenda. Meetings were held to discuss the upcoming Christmas and New Year  close down, the annual refresher training in January 2011 and the resuming of operations in mid-January 2011. The programme closed down and suspended all operations for two weeks during the Christmas and New Year holidays. All operations will be resumed after the annual refresher training in January 2011. Seventeen MATs, deploying from the programme's three operations bases in Sulimaniyah, Chamchamal and Dohuk, continued clearance operations in different clearance tasks that, when completed, will support agricultural development, IDP resettlement and conflict recovery. Eleven Community Liaison (CL) teams continued to deploy on daily basis to deliver MRE and SALWRE, conduct training of trainers for community leaders and teachers, primary school follow-up visits, leaflet distribution, and identifying and reporting unguarded stockpiles of conventional weapons. Teams visited 116 different villages in Kirkuk, Sulimaniyah, Diyala, Dohuk and Ninewa (Mosul) governorates. CL teams continued to liaise with land owners and local authorities to secure their approval for clearance activities. CL staff in Sulimaniyah and Dohuk delivered SALW RE to 26 shepherds and students to minimise the risk of SALW on their lives. CL staff from local partner NGOs, Al Ghad and Work for Peace, delivered 58 MRE sessions to 659 individuals from 14 different villages of Kirkuk and Diyala governorates. Teams were deployed to gather information and collect data in three dangerous areas in Diyala governorate. Teams continued conducting Community Assessment Survey in two villages in Kirkuk governorate. MAG's Conventional Weapons Destruction (CWD) teams deployed to 39 different villages, completing 73 emergency tasks to safely remove and destroy 6,955 conventional weapons. Highlights included the removal and safe destruction of six stockpiles of 3,857 hazardous items in three villages of the Chwarta area of Sulimaniyah, and the safe removal and destruction of six conventional weapons stockpiles of 2,201 hazardous items in the Qarahanjir subdistrict of Kirkuk. These items were posing significant threat to the local communities. MAG's two mechanical teams and two manual support teams worked in five prioritised minefields in Sulimaniyah and Kirkuk governorates to support MATs in achieving operational efficiency. Mine detection dogs and manual support teams continued their activities in two prioritised minefields in Kirkuk governorate, undertaking clearance operations in low and medium risk areas of the minefields, supporting MATs in achieving operations' efficiency and quality. The programme's Training, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit started preparing for the upcoming annual refresher training. The annual training will be conducted for all MAG Iraq teams in January 2011 after the Christmas and New Year's close down. Note: 1 International Mine Action Standards For more information on MAG's programme in Iraq go to www.maginternational.org/iraq. MAG thanks the following current donors to the Iraq programme: Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; German Government; The US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate; Act for Peace; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Netherlands; Stichting Vluchteling; Government of Belgium; Marshall Legacy Institute; SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency); Irish Aid.