SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUTS

- Visual search & clearance of 287,255 square metres of land through hand, electronic, and visual techniques.

- Removal and destruction of 231 hazardous remnants of conflict [1] - 219 sub-munitions and 12 items of unexploded ordnance.

[1: MAG uses the term remnants of conflict to describe all items recovered and destroyed as part of its humanitarian disarmament activities, which include Anti-Personal and Anti-Vehicle mines, Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), abandoned and unexploded ordnance (UXO) and SALW. This term has been developed to reflect more accurately the broad range of clearance activities undertaken by MAG.]

BATTLE AREA CLEARANCE AND EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL

The continued focus of clearance for this month has moved towards clearance of agricultural and pastoral areas for the recovery of livelihoods. MAG worked in the following areas and achieved the following outputs from 1st March to 31st March 2008:

- Area 6: 20 BAC teams, one mechanical team, and one reconnaissance team continue to operate. They worked in 15 villages: Yohmor, Zawtar West, Arnoun, Aadchit, Kafar Sir, Jibchit, Mazraar Doumiet, Qaaqaiat Al Jisr, Sejoud, Kafer Roumane, Qosaybeh, Al Nabatieh Al Tahta, Arab Salem, Habbouche, and Houmin El Fawka. These teams have used visual and electronic methods of clearance, clearing an area of 287,255 square metres. 231 remnants of conflict were found and destroyed.

- All teams are contributing to the social and economic recovery and development of South Lebanon through the safe, efficient, and effective clearance of remnants of conflict.

COMMUNITY LIAISON (CL)

All Contact Officers have continued to undertake community liaison activities at the pre-clearance, clearance, and post-clearance stages. There were 282 activities during the month, including 24 data collection activities [2], 35 liaison activities, 16 UXO tasking reports, and 152 other activities that support clearance work by providing control point locations and storage areas, securing land owner's approval for using their house/fields for clearance activities, liaison with local authorities, and emphasising public safety messages to communities undergoing clearance.

[2: Data collection includes population, socio-economic data, village services and beneficiary details. If the teams discover a minefield/dangerous area then information is collected specific to the dangerous area/minefield in addition to the general information form.]

EMERGENCY UXO CLEARANCE IN NAHR EL-BARED REFUGEE CAMP, TRIPOLI

MAG still has international technical staff and 4 Mine Action Teams available to undertake UXO clearance and/or provide technical support to UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies.

DONORS

MAG's work in Lebanon is funded and supported by:

- Adopt A Minefield

- DFID

- European Commission

- German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs

- Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA)

- US Department of State, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement

- United Nations Office for Project Services

MORE INFORMATION

For more information on MAG's work in Lebanon, or any of its programmes across the world, please visit www.maginternational.org.