Based on desk review and qualitative interviews with land release operators, local and international humanitarian actors, government representatives, community leaders, survivors and members of their families and communities, this report identifies and describes the negative impact of Explosive Ordnance (EO) contamination on affected communities in the Ninewa governorate, Iraq. EO continues to pose a threat to people’s lives, their safety, and their access to land and other resources and services in contaminated areas in Ninewa. It also hampers the efforts of humanitarian and development actors. Moreover, certain groups, such as women and persons with disabilities are likely to be more vulnerable to the reverberating effects of EO contamination.
The report focused on Iraq’s heavily populated governorate of Ninewa, home to the cities of Mosul, Sinjar, and Tel Afar. Demining bombed-out cities costs six times as much as it does to clear a rural setting.
This year’s Intersessional Meetings are particularly important given efforts to build upon the established baseline for the implementation of the Oslo Action Plan (OAP).
The sessions included:
Preliminary Observations of the Convention's Committees
Thematic Session – Mandate of the President
Thematic Session - Victim Assistance: Establishing or Strengthening a Centralised Database
Thematic Session: Integrating Gender and the Diverse Needs of Affected Communities in Operational Planning and Prioritization
Informal Presentation of Requests for Extensions to be considered by the Nineteenth Meeting of the States Partie
Thematic Session: Completion and Sustainable National Capacities
Thematic Session: Mobilising Resources Towards a Mine-Free World