Landmines

There are two main types of land mines: 

anti-tank mines (AT) and anti-personnel mines (AP). 

An Anti Tank (AT) mine in sand, about 350 mm in diameter

Anti-tank mines are designed to be triggered by heavy vehicles such as tanks. They are large (usually bigger than a person’s shoe) and heavy (weighing more than 5 kilos). These mines contain enough explosives to destroy the vehicle that runs over them and as a result also frequently kill people in or near the vehicle. Anti-tank mines are laid where enemy vehicles are expected to travel: on roads, bridges and tracks.They are typically activated by force (>100 kg), magnetic influence, or remote control.

A "Claymore" type anti-personnel mine (MRUD Yugoslavia) about 350 mm across. This mine explodes throwing steel balls outwards  and is designed to inflict casualties over a wide radius.

Anti-personnel mines are triggered much more easily and are designed to wound people. They have less explosives and are much smaller and lighter than anti-tank mines—they could be as small as a packet of cigarettes, weighing as little as 50 grams. Anti-personnel mines come in all shapes and colours and are made from a variety of materials.

The PROM-1 bounding fragmentation mine common in Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina. This is a large metal mine, approximately 200 mm high, triggered by foot pressure on the spikes or by tripwire or both. They are easy to miss visually. The vegetation around the mine has to be cut by hand before the ground can be checked by a metal detector. This is an extremely dangerous mine which has killed de-miners 200 metres away. It can also inflict significant damage to demining machinery.

Although AP mines may kill a person, they are primarily designed to cause severe injury—a wounded person must be assisted and this takes more of the enemy’s time and resources. Anti-personnel mines can be laid anywhere and can be set off in a number of ways—stepping on them, pulling on a wire or simply shaking them. Anti-personnel mines may also explode when an object placed over them is removed.

Cross section of PMN-1 mine common in Afghanistan and southern Africa. This mine is an old Russian design, dating from the 1950's, but is one of the most dangerous anti-personnel blast mines as it is very sensitive and the entire top cap is sensitive. The force required to set it off is least at the edge, and can be as little as 1 kg under some conditions.

actual components from a PMN mine with explosive removed

Different types of AP mines according to the types of injuries they inflict:

• Blast mines: usually hand-laid on or under the ground or scattered from the air. The explosive force of the mine causes foot, leg, and groin injuries and secondary infections usually result in amputation.
• Fragmentation mines: usually laid on or under the ground and often activated by tripwire or other means. When detonated the explosion projects hundreds of fragments at ballistic speed of up to 50 meters resulting in fragmentation wounds.

Every 30 minutes, of every day, someone finds a landmine or unexploded weapon by accident and either loses their life, or suffers horrific injuries.  Over 90% are innocent civilians. One third are children.  On average it takes 12 hours for the casualty to receive any treatment.

May 18, 2004. Staff Sgt. Kevin Jessen checks the underside of two anti-tank mines found in a village outside Ad Dujayl, Iraq. Jessen is assigned to the 748th Explosive Ordnance Detachment, deployed from Fort Jackson, S.C., in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 748th EOD is supporting the 1st Infantry Division." Credit: Pfc. Elizabeth Erste U.S. Army

The roads and paths, forests and pastures of an estimated 84 countries around the world have been made treacherous by landmines. Landmines affect some of the most impoverished people in the world. Each year, 26,000 people are killed or mutilated by landmines of which 8,000 are children. Roughly 3 people every hour, 71 per day are injured or killed by landmines. There are currently estimated to be somewhere between 60-100 million landmines in the ground worldwide, this remains a rough estimate since few accurate records were kept when mines were deployed.

Antipersonnel mines were first used on a wide scale in World War II. Since then they have been used in many conflicts, including in the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the first Gulf War. Precursors of the weapon are said to have first been used in the American Civil War in the 1800s. 

UNICEF Graphic

 Landmines inhibit tourism and other potential investments and development opportunities in some of the world's poorest countries. Landmines destroy livestock and prevent the cultivation of arable land. Rebuilding war torn communities and economies are extremely difficult in these conditions. In many communities, recovery, reconciliation and long-term development are all but impossible due to landmines.

Landmine Facts

• It costs $3 - $30 to purchase an Anti-personnel Landmine
• To remove a single mine could cost as much as $1000
• The cost of removing all the active mines worldwide is estimated at US$33 billion
• Landmines fall largely into two categories: Anti-Personnel (AP) mines and Anti-Tank (AT) mines
• Antipersonnel mines cannot be aimed: they do not distinguish between the footfall of a soldier or a child.
• They lie dormant until a person or animal triggers their detonating mechanism.
• Once laid a mine can remain active for over 50 years
• Then, landmines kill or injure civilians, soldiers, peacekeepers and aid workers alike.
• Landmine blast causes injuries like blindness, burns, destroyed limbs and shrapnel wounds.
• Sometimes the victim dies from the blast, due to loss of blood or because they don’t get to medical care in time.
• Those who survive and receive medical treatment often require amputations, long hospital stays and extensive rehabilitation.
• It is estimated that there are between 15,000 and 24,000 new casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance each year. That means there are some 1,500 new casualties each month, more than 40 new casualties a day, at least two new casualties per hour.
• Most of the casualties are civilians and most live in countries that are now at peace.
• Landmines deprive people in some of the poorest countries of land and infrastructure.
• mines also kill livestock and wild animals and wreak environmental havoc.
• Every region in the world is mine-affected.
• More than 80 countries are affected to some degree by landmines and/or unexploded ordnance.
• Some of the most contaminated places are Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chechnya, Colombia, Iraq, Nepal and Sri Lanka .

The world is too little aware of the waste of life, limb and land which anti-personnel landmines are causing among some of the poorest people on earth. -Diana, Princess of Wales

 Princess Diana was an ardent and effective crusader against landmines.  She gave numerous speeches and made many appeals to governments in support of a global ban on landmines. 

List of the 84 countries and 8 territories affected by landmines

An Interview with Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie detonating a landmine in Cambodia. 

© UNHCR/M. Noelle-Little

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie discusses her time in Cambodia and the effects of landmines there as well as the impact the trip had on her personality. She is willing to share her experiences with the world to help raise awareness for mine action.^*
By Jenny Lange, MAIC

Jenny Lange (JL): What first made you aware of the landmine situation around the world?

Ms. Angelina Jolie (AJ): When I went to Cambodia for work, I was suddenly in a country where I saw it was a very big problem. We were restricted to where we could move or walk because of landmines.
JL: What about Cambodia pulled your attention away from the movie and towards Cambodia and its people?

AJ: I think it's a lot of things like knowing the history of the place, [and] having not been taught at school. I felt I should have been taught about the landmine problem. It made me suddenly realise certain things about the world and how much I had to learn, like the history of the people. They are so warm and great and spirited; they are such survivors. I think they are such amazing people.

JL: Did you approach UNHCR, or did they approach you after your visit to Cambodia?

AJ: I approached UNHCR because I believe in what the United Nations is attempting to do,… and I support the United Nations. I read about the different chapters and UNHCR was the most [appealing] because I believe refugees are the most vulnerable people in the world. They are affected by everything, including landmines. They are vulnerable to everything.

JL: Through your position at UNHCR, what exactly are you hoping to accomplish?

AJ: Awareness [of] the plight of these people. I think they should be commended for what they have survived, not looked down upon. I think people are often uncomfortable and don't like the idea. They seem to shy away because of what it means to them. I think these are really amazing people that are not really understood. Also, I personally just wanted to meet these people around the world and know them, because they are my heroes, and I think they are wonderful people.

JL: I recently read that you were able to personally detonate a landmine. Is this true?

AJ: I went with HALO, which is a great organisation. We were there in Cambodia. We were… in one field they were demining [where] they had found three different mines. At the end of each day they explode them, and they let me explode one. It was a great feeling because you know something like that, if HALO hadn't been there and if you weren't detonating it, that it might otherwise be hurting someone, and you are getting rid of something that could be otherwise dangerous or deadly. So it is a great feeling.

JL: Are you able to describe personally the effect that landmines had on victims in Cambodia, physically, psychologically and economically?

AJ: I think it's difficult to describe because these people are victims of such horror, and yet they are so strong, that they don't seem like victims. So, I think, you don't want to shout that they are victims. We should make a point that they don't have to go through this, because they are such survivors. But certainly it affects them in so many ways. There's an organisation - CVD, Cambodia Vision and Development - that works with vulnerable people; most of them are landmine victims. If you can imagine the area and the land in Cambodia, I mean there are hardly any roads in big parts of the country. The roads they have, in the rainy season, become just mud. So, if you're somebody that has just one leg, or blind with no arms and you have children and you're trying to work, and earn some money, and take care of your home, it's hard enough to be a parent and do all of that normally. It seems impossible and probably would be impossible without the help of a lot of these organisations. Organisations like CVD put a lot of these people together so they can work in a group. They are amazing. Then you go to some places where it's so hard for them to access limbs, depending on where they are in the country. And the young children, if they survive and they have lost a limb, their bodies are still growing so they have to go back quite often. They don't have cars or local hospitals. It's a big trek to go in and find somebody who will volunteer to refit you and shave the bone down. They are going to have that their whole life because they are growing. It's a really horrible thing.

JL: While you were in Cambodia, or Pakistan or Africa, did you ever personally feel in danger because of landmines or any other issues?

AJ: Well, landmines specifically would be Cambodia. Yeah, I went off into certain areas where you were just told that nothing had exploded in this area therefore it's not considered a high-risk area, but you along with everybody else stay on a very clear path that has already been walked. You don't stray from it. You know in the middle of the night when I had to go use the bathroom in the bushes and was not really sure where the path was. It's crazy the thought that you really don't know, and for people to live like that all the time. There were times when we would go wandering off in Cambodia and had to be extremely careful where we were going and to know the area. For anybody that works in any kind of demining or any kind of humanitarian aid work, there is danger and it's always a high-risk area.

JL: I am sure you met many influential people and heard many amazing stories. Are there any of these experiences that you would like to share?

AJ: There are so many. Really it's just person after person in every different country that has a life that I can't even imagine and has gone through horror that I can't even imagine. And yet, in every country, every family was more generous than I have met in other countries with their time or whatever they had. Trying to find food or tea or something and give you a smile, and [they] are so grateful for what they had left - an unbroken spirit. And that was remarkable for me that that was not specific to one place or one person. That continues to be the majority of these people out there. For whatever reason, I don't know why, but they've learnt something in their suffering and struggle that we have lost touch with.

JL: What do you feel being an Ambassador for UNHCR has done for the organisations?

AJ: I hope it has brought more awareness. That's all I can hope for. I know what it's done for me, but I hope it has brought more awareness. I feel it has because people tend to ask me questions, and I have received a lot of letters from young people talking about the things they are doing to make a difference. And that's been a very nice thing because I didn't get letters like that before. The most important thing, or the thing I think I accomplished most was going to these places and sitting down with the families for about an hour, and I think… what matters most of all is that you go out of your way to sit down with people and listen to their stories and talk with them and show them somebody cares and is listening.

JL: Do you have any plans for further involvement with other humanitarian programs, or more specifically landmine organisations?

AJ: Yes, with landmines, well the film I just finished deals with a lot of things but it also deals with landmines, which has been great, a very interesting thing to have the whole crew listening about, the effects of landmines. But yes, I certainly will. We were just in Namibia, and I am more aware of that area. That area is… changing and I don't know if we will understand more about the landmine situation there. And in Afghanistan, I'm sure with UNHCR moving back in there will be a lot they will be dealing with, and they will be dealing with working hand in hand with deminers. And in Cambodia, I have… funded some schools and I plan to move to Cambodia, and have a house there and a place to live. So all of that has to be demined. The schools have already been demined. The land will have to be demined. There's also organisations too, like the Campaign to Ban Landmines. I've met with Jody Williams, and spent some time with her, we've had an evening at the house to raise awareness. There's a lot to do. Hopefully it will stop all the manufacturing and everybody will sign off, because that's what has to happen before anything.

JL: Do you have any future plans with UNHCR?

AJ: I will be in Washington for Refugee Week, and then it looks like I'm off to South America.

Credit: The United Nations, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Handicap International,University of Western Australia