Developing Technology for Humanitarian Landmine Clearing Operations (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
March 26, 1997 |
| Report Number |
97-399 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
John D. Moteff, Science Policy Research Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
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The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that every year approximately 24,000
men, women, and children are killed or injured by anti-personnel landmines. The State Department
estimates that between 85 million and 108 million anti-personnel landmines remain in place in 70
countries. The United Nation's estimates that 2 million new mines are laid each year. Even if no
new mines are laid, it could take hundreds of years and billions of dollars to clear all affected areas,
given current technology and level of effort.
Current technology relies primarily on hand-held metal detectors, probes, and trowels. Clearing
proceeds one square meter at a time. It can take all day for a 30-man platoon of trained mine-clearers
to clear 1500 square meters (about a third of the size of a football field). Mechanical methods
(plows, flails, rollers) have been used militarily for a long time in military operations and have good
potential to improve the cost-effectiveness of humanitarian mine-clearing operations. But,
mechanical methods are limited by terrain, vegetation and the intended use of the land (some
mechanical methods can strip topsoil or destroy dikes or irrigation canals) and need to be made more
affordable and transportable. New sensors and sensor suites can improve the cost-effectiveness of
metal detectors by helping to distinguish the small amount of metal found in mines and the large
amount of harmless metal debris often found in minefields. But, the new sensors, too, are limited
by vegetation, soil conditions, etc. Development is needed on hardware and software that can
combine data from different sensors (data fusion) and recognize objects (target recognition).
This report identifies a few national programs that have been set up to help develop and test
new mine clearing technologies. Most of these programs are off-shoots of military programs. The
list is not comprehensive. There are many private efforts being made by individuals and firms
around the world who are moved either by humanitarian concerns or by potential profits or both to
develop new technologies. Some of these efforts are frustrated by the lack of funds for development
and testing. The amount of public funds available is relatively modest. In FY1997, Congress
appropriated $14.7 million to test promising new technologies. In addition, the Office of the
Secretary of Defense began supporting a five-year, $3 million/year program to do more fundamental
research on new sensors.
While the world seeks to develop new mine clearing technologies, there is an international
debate about whether to ban the use of anti-personnel landmines altogether. The initial forum for
this debate, the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons, voted to phase out
anti-personnel landmines that do not self-destruct or deactivate within 30 days. Many humanitarian
organizations and some countries continue to seek a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. The
United States supports the idea of a total ban but reserves the right to use self-destructing mines until
a total ban can be negotiated. The United States also reserves the right to keep its
non-self-destructing mines in place along the North and South Korean border.
