“This contribution testifies not only to the concrete commitment of France alongside Iraqis but also to a desire for effective collaboration with all our partners to develop concrete projects for the reconstruction of Iraq,” Bruno Aubert, French ambassador to Iraq, said in a statement.
UNMAS says it will use the money to expand its survey and clearance operations in Anbar, Ninewa, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Diyala Governorates.
Working alongside the Iraqi government’s Directorate of Mine Action (DMA), UNMAS says it will also dedicate more resources to risk education for people living in and returning to liberated areas contaminated by explosives.
The UN agency also plans to dedicate more resources to training and advisory support, so the Iraqi government can better manage, regulate and coordinate its response to explosives clearance.
“This first contribution from the Government of France will make a significant difference. It will not only support UNMAS efforts to address the threat posed by explosive hazards, but also contribute to the safe and dignified return of displaced communities” said Pehr Lodhammar, UNMAS Senior Programme Manager, in a statement.
There are roughly 1.9 million people classified as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq, many of them living in camps in the Kurdistan Region. According to research for UNMAS, 21 percent of them do not wish to return to their homes because of explosive contamination.
Three years of ISIS control and massive military operations to liberate cities in Iraq left key infrastructure in ruins, creating one of the biggest reconstruction, stabilization and humanitarian challenges in the world.
As people continue to return to their homes in Fallujah, Ramadi, Tel Afar, Mosul and Hawija, the threat of explosives still remains significant.
One of the largest demining challenges UNMAS faces is clearing in the country’s second-largest city of Mosul, the last stronghold of ISIS which was declared liberated in July 2017.
The presence of mines remains a daily risk in the Kurdistan Region as well. The remnants of an estimated 5-6 million mines and unexploded ordinance from conflicts spanning back nearly 40 years remain scattered across the region.
Without foreign funding and organizations such as UNMAS, civilians would be required to demine the areas of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region themselves, without any special equipment which is needed. They have already been doing this for years.
Many areas in the Kurdistan Region and near its borders were mined during the Iran-Iraq War and through Saddam Hussein’s Baathist reign. They are still yet to be cleared.
About 14,000 people have become victims of landmines in the Kurdistan Region, resulting in about 6,000 deaths, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Southern areas of Iraq have also been affected by the 1991 Gulf War, the Iran-Iraq War, and the past 15 years of conflict following the US-led coalition invasion.
Anti-ISIS coalition partner nations, including those from the UK, have included improvised explosive device (IED) training in their training programs with Iraqi forces and NATO provided counter-IED kits to Iraq.
