A Message from the Director

This article is brought to you by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) from issue 28.1 of The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction available on the JMU Scholarly Commons and Issuu.com.

This issue of The Journal is different than the norm in that we feature more in-depth studies and articles on a variety of important issues currently affecting our mine action community:

• Markus Schindler (FSD) presents a thoughtful reflection on the concept of localization in mine action, highlighting its unique challenges and proposing solutions to enhance local capacity while ensuring long-term sustainability of local actors.

• Hannah Wild (University of Washington), Loren Persei, Elke Hottentot, Sebastian Kasack (MAG), Firoz Alizada (APMBC Implementation Support Unit), Adam L. Kushner (Surgeons Overseas), and Barclay T. Stewart (Global Injury Control Section) discuss the Mine Action Trauma Care Collaborative’s initiative to foster collaboration between the mine action sector and health responders, capitalizing the sector’s field presence in conflict and post-conflict environments to enhance trauma care provided to those injured by explosive weapons.

• Simon Conway (HALO) highlights how The HALO Trust is addressing the legacy of unexploded ordnance and abandoned unexploded ordnance in Solomon Islands.

• Nick Vovk (DRC) discusses lessons learned from the application of explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) in Ukraine from February 2022–September 2023, gathered from the DRC Lessons Learned workshop on emergency EORE, highlighting coordination and monitoring, digital materials, EORE for displaced persons, and the integration of EORE within a broader humanitarian response.

• A study from Maysa Hajjaj, (GICHD), Lauren Burrows, Teia Rogers (JRNY Consulting), Natalia Lozano, Sarah Kamal, and Samban Seng looks at current data management methodologies, highlighting how a contextually nuanced approach informed by gender, diversity, inclusion, and protection perspectives is needed in the mine action sector.

• Clément Meynier’s (MAG) study of SALW proliferation in Coastal West Africa discusses the need to apply an armed violence reduction lens in addressing SALW activities while incorporating SALW control within holistic development and peacebuilding frameworks.

• Roly Evans, Tracey Temple, and Lt Col (Retd) Liz Nelson (Cranfield University) analyze the “detection problem,” asserting that despite the vital importance of mine detection and clearance, humanitarian and military actors struggle to reliably detect and discriminate victim operated explosive devices, anti-vehicle mines, improvised explosive devices, and booby traps.

We hope these insightful articles inspire reflection and discussion amongst our readership. And in looking toward the months ahead, we look forward to meeting with our colleagues at the upcoming mine action conferences in Croatia, Geneva, and Azerbaijan.