Remnants of conflict such as landmines, explosive ordnance, malfunctioning and abandoned weapons deny access to key community assets such as land, water, and infrastructure, and restrict the modus operandi of government and relief and development agencies. These remains hamper or even deny a possible transition from poverty for those people and communities affected. Humanitarian mine action interventions, as done by MAG, are designed as a 'livelihood approach' and a necessary prerequisite to be able to reach local results to the overall objective of eradicating poverty.

There is a depressing tale, told too many times by victims throughout the world. Kokulan, a 12 year old boy from Sri Lanka, was playing with friends when something caught his eye. As children do, he picked it up. Unknowingly in his hands he held a P-4 landmine. Seconds later he had lost a hand, his sister her eye and his friend is now blind.

With his story Kokulan represents dozens of children who are injured or even killed by the remnants of conflict every day. Once conflict has ended or moved on, it is not only children who continue to suffer; often entire communities are forced into hardship, taking life-threatening risks every day: inaccessible land; contaminated wells; inability to build schools or clinics; mined tracks and road verges; long detours to get to markets.

Targeted clearance Following the conflict and its devastating effects on their livelihoods, countless civilians are confronted with the constraint landmines and other remnants of conflict pose on their development and possible transition from poverty. Their resources have become scarce or unavailable due to displacement; forced migration; destruction of infrastructure and inaccessibility of surrounding land due to contamination by explosive devices; not to mention the added impact of mine and unexploded ordnance injuries on health systems and resources.

The clearance of unexploded remnants of conflict (i.e. landmines, unexploded ordnance, cluster munitions, small arms and light weapons) is often summarised under the term 'humanitarian mine action'. It is a relatively unknown aspect of the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to which all Commonwealth nations have committed themselves. The clearance of explosive devices might not be a millennium goal or an indicator in itself; however the impact that targeted clearance can have affects almost all of the development objectives set by the international community. This linkage between targeted humanitarian mine action and development is key to success. Throughout the years MAG has conducted countless of these targeted demining activities in support of school and hospital rehabilitation and accessibility to land, water, villages and other community resources. The work has a direct stimulating effect allowing other agencies and NGOs to carry out their own development and support projects in support of national, regional and local authorities.pport of national, regional and local authorities.

The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and the improvement in education, healthcare and clean water by 2015 is only possible when community assets are freed from the risks and threats that surround them; hence the vital importance of interventions to clear unexploded remnants of conflict at any or multiple points on the relief-to-development continuum.

Beyond the Ottawa Treaty Ten years ago the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which MAG helped to found, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. A few months later, in December 1997, the Mine Ban Treaty was signed in Ottawa, Canada. As the world reaches the 10th anniversary of the treaty it is with mixed feelings. To date, 155 states have signed up to the treaty, which is laudable; forty have not, including six Commonwealth nations, failing the intent declared by the presidency of the Commonwealth when the treaty came into existence: to make the Commonwealth a mine-free zone.

Whereas the Ottawa Treaty constitutes a ban on certain anti-personnel landmines it does not cover the wider range of remnants of conflict. However, the treaty is significant because it shows that decisions can be made and results can be achieved without being dependent on the political and diplomatic balances of power. Smaller countries, across the South and the North, took the lead and bypassed the resistance or reluctance of some of the major global powers. The treaty recognised the recognition of the devastating impact landmines can have on the lives and livelihoods of its victims but it did not - or could not - go far enough. On the one hand the Ottawa Treaty itself focused on certain kinds of landmines only, on the other hand, the humanitarian impact of conflict was not to be measured by landmines alone, but by the breadth and scope of the threat to communities that remained after the conflict came to an end. As a result 'humanitarian mine action' has expanded ever since into a broader approach than simply the technical removal of a landmine, and targets all remnants of conflict. ly the technical removal of a landmine, and targets all remnants of conflict.

Over the past 10 years, recognition has grown of the importance of removing all unexploded remnants of conflict. This generic term 'remnants of conflict' is therefore legally less clearly defined and the rules and regulations of specific treaties only address some aspects of the problems facing communities. For its part, MAG considers the impact of remnants of conflict on the livelihoods of individuals and communities at the heart of the overall objective. What started for MAG seventeen years ago as the clearance of the specific threat of landmines has, over the years, developed into an all-encompassing comprehensive approach to the impact of conflict which is perhaps best described in the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development (2006), which states that "armed violence destroys lives and livelihoods, breeds insecurity, fear and terror, and has a profoundly negative impact on human development. Whether in situations of conflict or crime, it imposes enormous costs on states, communities and individuals." duals."

About mines and small arms The removal of landmines, unexploded ordnance and other dangerous items is a life-saving activity in itself. MAG strives to integrate its operations into a wider development and human security context, to be able to achieve results that support post-conflict recovery, reduce the availability of weapons and minimise the leakage of weapons into unauthorised hands and across borders. Wherever 'humanitarian mine action' in its broadest form is integrated into a country's development programme, the humanitarian, social and economic impact of clearance can be maximised, and represents additional value. Innovation is not only feasible in technical deliverables and achievements but also in developing, adapting and applying new ideas, approaches and systems to field operations. This ensures the reduction of threats to fragile peace in the countries concerned and beyond their sometimes porous borders.

The global availability of small arms and light weapons (SALW) is increasingly recognised by all stakeholders as a real hindrance to peace and security and to relief and development activities. Unlike anti-personnel mines, banned under the Ottawa Treaty, control of the production, transfer, possession and use of small arms and light weapons is much more complex. MAG became involved when providing support to several demobilisation programmes in southern Africa and South-east Asia. Demobilised soldiers were handing in their weapons in areas where MAG was already executing mine and unexploded ordnance clearance activities. Throughout the past years MAG has become increasingly involved in this area and has set up large SALW removal and destruction programmes in countries such as Iraq and the D R Congo. Numerous Commonwealth nations have designated the small arms and light weapons issue as an international priority since they pose a threat to peace and reconstruction. They can be far more difficult to quantify, control and destroy than, for example, a minefield that, once marked, represents a static and clearly defined threat that can be further reduced through education and community liaison programmes until actual clearance takes place. As with the removal and destruction of most items of explosive ordnance, MAG considers the objective of small arms and light weapons destruction as reducing the risk that the tools of one completed conflict are being used to fight another one.ntrol and destroy than, for example, a minefield that, once marked, represents a static and clearly defined threat that can be further reduced through education and community liaison programmes until actual clearance takes place. As with the removal and destruction of most items of explosive ordnance, MAG considers the objective of small arms and light weapons destruction as reducing the risk that the tools of one completed conflict are being used to fight another one.

Security and its humanitarian impact For some time the SALW approach has run in parallel to the mine action sector. As of late governments, UN and NGOs have been looking for more effective and efficient ways of dealing with the overall risks and threats to communities. There are several areas where common approaches to mine action and SALW are valuable. The synergy is especially poignant in the operational area of clearing the threat (i.e. storage and destruction) and educating communities on the nature of the threat through risk education and community liaison programmes. The clearance of both threats and subsequent impact on poverty alleviation is remarkably similar despite the difference in interaction, risk taking and technical analysis of the nature of the problem. The overriding factor is that the presence of landmines or other explosive remnants of conflict including small arms and light weapons, cause death and injury and deny communities key economic, social and cultural assets all of which impact on the livelihoods of those affected.

The strategic approach in the long term must be to enable countries to rebuild their infrastructure and develop their social and economic potential to support countries in their achievement of the MDGs. Therefore any strategic approach should concentrate on activities where the humanitarian impact will be the greatest. Six key areas can be defined (see Box 2) that will facilitate and enable local communities in reclaiming land and infrastructure, livelihood and security in order to eradicate poverty.

Conclusion Causes of conflict are complex and often contested. The legacy of conflicts can last for generations. Once the conflict, whatever its cause, has resulted in landmines and ordnance contamination it becomes the utmost priority to remove or alleviate the constraints presented by these remnants of conflict as instrumental in allowing affected communities to recover their livelihoods. The presence of landmines, unexploded ordnance, abandoned caches of small arms and light weapons exacerbate an already critical situation by denying communities' access to assets, often in situations where these assets are already scarce and threatened. When this is done immediately after the initial shock, i.e. in an emergency phase like Lebanon in 2006, where MAG was operational the day after the cease-fire came into effect, then any outcome will be immediate, for example in reducing the death toll. But in the case where intervention takes place following an older conflict the clearance can play an effective role in the longer term, by opening up previously contaminated land and restricted assets. 'Humanitarian mine action' interventions may not be designed specifically to sustain livelihoods, but as a 'livelihood approach' it is a necessary prerequisite to be able to reach local results to the overall objective of eradicating poverty., by opening up previously contaminated land and restricted assets. 'Humanitarian mine action' interventions may not be designed specifically to sustain livelihoods, but as a 'livelihood approach' it is a necessary prerequisite to be able to reach local results to the overall objective of eradicating poverty.

About the author Lou McGrath has been Executive Director of MAG since 1996 having been involved in the organisation since its foundation in 1989. Serving in the British Army throughout the 1970s, he then spent time travelling in Africa and Asia before taking up a career in the agriculture industry. Mr McGrath has played a key role in the landmine treaty process. He has been an active participant in the international 'mine action' community, committed to ensuring it works alongside development objectives. He has overseen the the successful growth of MAG and its innovative approach to mine and ordnance clearance. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list 2007 for services to landmine clearance.