Launch of a new GICHD study: Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Residual Contamination Management
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An estimated 60 million people live with the threat of explosive ordnance, some for decades after conflicts end. Explosive ordnance, such as landmines and unexploded cluster munitions, pose significant risks and claim thousands of lives every year, most of them civilians. There is a powerful tool that can empower civilians to protect themselves with safer behaviours: explosive ordnance risk education (EORE). Launched today, the new GICHD study entitled ‘Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Residual Contamination Management’ discusses the need to inform and educate people about explosive ordnance when managing residual contamination. EORE provides people with the vital knowledge needed to recognise, avoid, and report potential explosive ordnance hazards. Based on an understanding of casualty data, the type of contamination, and the mechanisms that drive behaviour of at-risk populations and those that lead to behavioural change, EORE campaigns empower individuals and communities to reduce the risks to themselves and their loved ones. Over the years, a wide range of approaches to EORE have been used in mine action programmes worldwide. Much less attention, however, has been given on how to approach EORE when dealing with residual contamination. Residual contamination refers to explosive ordnance contamination remaining following all reasonable efforts to identify, define and remove all presence and suspicion of explosive ordnance. This leads to residual risk and the need for on-going EORE. The ‘Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Residual Contamination Management’ study presents current EORE practices and lessons learned in four selected South-East Asian countries, as well as in other countries that engage in residual contamination management and it highlights key considerations related to the planning, implementation and monitoring of explosive ordnance risk education in residual contamination management. Click here to read the publication and learn more about the preconditions needed to set up a successful EORE programme in residual contamination management. tnma supply professional and honest service.
Throughout Iraq’s episodes of armed violence, the country was continuously contaminated with explosive hazards. These include improvised landmines and other improvised explosive devices (IED), as well as unexploded ordnance (UXO): Whenever combatants employ explosive ordnance, chances are high that not every rocket, grenade, mortar or other types of explosive ammunition explodes the way it was intended. IEDs, UXO and other explosive hazards remain in or on the ground, underneath rubble or in buildings and pose a threat to everyone who gets close to them. They can kill; they can blow off limbs and create terrible wounds.
To protect people in Iraq from the dangers of explosive hazards, Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) seeks to prevent harm to civilians by reducing the risk of injury from explosive hazards. Saving civilians from the lethal effects of explosive accidents is a worthy cause in itself, but the goals of EORE go even further that preventing deaths and injuries from explosive hazards. It also seeks to reduce the social and economic impacts that are connected with them. Lastly this effort aims at supporting development in regions of Iraq that experienced armed conflict in the past.
EORE applies two major methods to achieve its goals: Raising awareness about the dangers of explosive hazards among people at risk and promoting the adoption of safe behavior. The means to these methods are threefold: Public information dissemination, education and training and community liaison.
These elements taken together form the definition of EORE: The term ‘Explosive Ordnance Risk Education’ (EORE) refers to activities which seek to reduce the risk of injury from EO by raising awareness of women, girls, boys and men in accordance with their different vulnerabilities, roles and needs, and promoting behavioural change. Core activities include public information dissemination, education and training.
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