Supporting the Peace Process through Demining: Rapid Landmine Impact Survey in Senegal

Contributed by: Russel Gasser (UNMAS QAM), Archie Law (UNDP Mine Action Regional Advisor) and Pascal Simon (UNDP CTA Senegal)

The landmine problem in Senegal is largely the result of fighting in the Casamance region between the Senegalese army and the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC), particularly after 1997. Although the exact scope of the mine problem remains unknown, the military estimates that about 1 400 square kilometers of land are mined or suspected to be mined: 80 percent in the Ziguinchor region of Casamance and 20 percent in its Kolda region. Approximately 250 000 people are exposed to the danger of mines, representing 38 percent of the population of Casamance. According to Handicap International the mine problem in Senegal can be characterized as “few mines, but a big impact.” The mine problem seriously affects the economic development of the Casamance region, having a significant impact on agriculture, fishing, transport of goods and services, and tourism. It also has an impact on trade between Senegal and Guinea-Bissau .

In December 2004 the parties to the conflict in Casamance reached agreement on a peace process and the provisional accords specifically included a reference to the necessity for demining. Clearance of suspected mined areas in order to permit the return of refugees and IDPs and to give access to agricultural land, infrastructure etc, is widely considered to be an essential and urgently required component of a more permanent end to the conflict, and hence the economic development of the region which lags behind the rest of the country.

Scoping the Impact of Landmines

In order to have a clearer picture of the extent of the landmine problem, UNDP, along with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the French NGO Handicap International paired up to implement the rapid landmine impact survey. The survey aims to document the scope of the landmine contamination, the localization of this contamination as well as its socio-economic impact on affected communities. The information collected during the survey will be used to develop a strategy and an operational plan. Information related to socio-economic impact will be very useful for planning and prioritizing mine action operations, especially demining. The survey teams were comprised of men and women, and always included people with the three major local languages (as well as French), where possible ages were mixed as well. The survey includes a Steering Committee, which provides Senegalese ownership of the survey and provides guidance on general issues with the survey. The membership of the committee includes the National Commission for implementing the Ottawa Convention (known as the National Mine Action Commission), representatives of MFA? Ministries, the armed forces, civil society, the MFDC, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, and the donor community. As the steering committee provides an opportunity for members of both sides to discuss common approaches to mine action, it indirectly provided a particularly useful informal peace building mechanism.

The survey used a process where individual interviews were conducted in communities that involved a sample of community members whilst taking gender and other cross cutting issues into account.
After the individual interview, the community is then brought together for a group interview to synthesise the individual interviews. This approach has been useful as it is not generally culturally accepted to publicly disagree with a senior figure such as the head of a village. Given the prevalence of powerful families in a village, setting out individual views first and then using these statements to inform a group position is more useful and may be less conflictive. As the project is currently finalizing the information collection, survey teams have visited around 300 communities and have found that approximately 40% of those communities can be considered as affected by landmines contamination.

Next Steps

The survey in Casamance has encountered a number of challenges which include “white areas” which are not accessible and cannot be surveyed. These small areas – mostly on or close to the southern border with Guinea-Bissau, and also a few near to the northern border with Gambia – are either MFDC encampments or weapons dumps. These areas are very likely to have had mines planted around them in order to restrict the mobility of combatants leaving the bases. UNDP’s partners in the Casamance believe that if the peace process continues to make progress and mine clearance activities start and are seen to be beneficial to the local community, then the MFDC may be willing to open access to these White Areas thus making a major contribution to peace building efforts in the region. The survey will account for these areas and also make provision for incorporating the possible results of further future survey activity if and when these areas become accessible. The survey is expected to be completed in mid 2006 and should provide an ideal entry point for further mine action activities and broader CPR efforts from UNDP in Senegal.

For additional information, please contact Mr. Pascal Simon (pascal.simon@undp.org), UNDP Chief Technical Advisor, Senegal.

Country in the Spotlight: Rebuilding the Justice Sector in Afghanistan: Key Accomplishments and Next Steps

Contributed by: Siphosami Malunga, Programme Manager, UNDP Afghanistan Justice Programme

Since its launch in January 2003, UNDP Afghanistan’s Rebuilding the Justice Sector of Afghanistan (RJSA) project strived to address the multi-faceted needs of the justice sector. In conjunction with UNAMA and the Italian Government as lead donor, the RJSA project’s characteristics include its flexibility and elasticity to meet numerous ever-evolving short-term challenges during Afghanistan's early recovery period, while keeping its focus on long-term sustainable strategies. The main objective of RJSA (funded by Italy, the UK and Canada) was to rebuild and strengthen the Afghan justice sector in order for it to meet its commitment to the Afghan population and the international community. As a follow-up to the RJSA project, “Strengthening the Justice System of Afghanistan” (SJSA) recently commenced in January 2006, this is an opportune time to look back and reflect on the key accomplishments of the RJSA project over the past three years (2003-2005).

Key accomplishments of RJSA:
• Development of a National Justice Strategy: In order to address a critical challenge for Afghanistan which is a need for comprehensive strategic planning in the justice sector through improved cooperation and communication between key national justice institutions (Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court and the Attorney General’s Office), RJSA provided essential support to the government in the development of a Ten-Year National Justice Strategic Framework, entitled “Justice for All”. The government and justice institutions conducted consultations with stakeholders on the proposed strategic framework, including the National Justice Consultative Conference in August 2005. RJSA supported the revision of the framework which was endorsed by the Afghan Cabinet as government policy. The government and national justice institutions will continue to require support and assistance in elaborating a detailed implementation strategy for the justice sector (according to Justice for All) and developing an implementation plan with costings and a monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
• Supported the Judicial Reform Commission: Since its formation, the RJSA project has provided essential support to the Judicial Reform Commission enabling it to establish its secretariat, recruit key staff, develop its work programme and transition its work to the permanent justice institutions. Among its accomplishments, the Commission commenced the process of reforming laws and the legal system and drafted and presented over 18 draft laws to the Legislation Department of the Ministry of Justice. The project also engaged the local media to raise public awareness of the judicial system and processes.
• Facilitated Law Reform: During the Bonn period, the Judicial Reform Commission lead the promulgation of key legislation relating to the administration of justice, including the Interim Criminal Procedure Code, the Juvenile Justice Code, Organisation of the Courts Law, and the Penitentiary Law. Other drafts such as the draft law on the Organisation of the Attorney General’s Office are well underway.
• Public Administration/Institutional Reform of Justice Institutions: During the transition period, the justice institutions underwent reforms by signing up for the government programme for Public Administrative Reform known as the PRR (Priority Reform and Restructuring Process) in 2003. Since then, with support from the RJSA project, the Ministry of Justice has successfully undertaken the first stage which required that the institution provide a new overall structure with streamlined departments and a staffing plan. The second stage has started through implementation of merit-based recruitment of all Ministry staff under the new structure.
• Developed the Capacity of Justice Sector Professionals: The Judicial Reform Commission’s Law Graduates Training Program produced two sets of graduates since its commencement in 2003. A total of 275 graduates from the Faculties of Law and Sharia were trained and have been absorbed into the justice sector in various capacities including as judges, prosecutors and officers in the Ministry of Justice.
• Supported Legal Education Reform: The Faculty of Law at the University of Kabul, as a pilot institution, has begun the process of revising its 30 year-old and outdated law curricula. A draft has been produced and has been endorsed by the University Senate.
• Ensured improved communication and coordination: RJSA has supported the Italian Donor Lead to ensure the revival of the Justice Consultative Group Mechanism which presents an excellent opportunity to ensure coordination within the justice sector and amongst national justice institutions.
• Construction and rehabilitation of Justice Sector Physical Infrastructure: RJSA has provide support for the construction and rehabilitation of justice buildings in 6 provinces , including the Ministry of Justice Headquarters, the Counter-Narcotics Department Building at the Attorney General Headquarters, and a one-stop judicial shop housing all justice institutions in Heart Province.

Looking Ahead: The Strengthening the Justice System of Afghanistan Project

Building on the accomplishments of the RJSA project, UNDP jointly developed with the government an expanded follow-on project entitled “Strengthening the Justice System of Afghanistan” (SJSA), which began in January 2006. RJSA’s main priority has been re-establishing rule of law and reforming the justice sector. SJSA, which has a more long-term focus, has identified the following priorities and challenges:
• Support to the Government of Afghanistan and National Justice Institutions for the development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of detailed National Justice Strategy (Justice for All ) as well providing support for the implementation of the Rule of Law and Justice Sectors of the Interim Afghan National Development Strategy (IANDS) and in addressing the Justice Priorities and Benchmarks set out in the IANDS;
• Support for the establishment of a Supreme Court and a judicial system that complies with the new Constitution, national legal codes, and international standards;
• Support for public administrative reform and financial management reform in the permanent justice institutions to ensure delivery of better justice services;
• Support for the enactment and implementation of key laws for the administration of justice including the Criminal and Civil codes, the Penal Management law, the Juvenile Justice Code;
• Establishment of sustainable national judicial/legal training capacity in order to strengthen the capacity of judicial or legal actors delivering justice services throughout the country.

Further, the project is complemented by the “Access to Justice at the District Level” (AJDL) project which aim to improve access to justice at the district level through:
• Assess district justice in light of national justice strategies;
• Refurbish district judicial centres;
• Train justice officials together with their communities in both the state and traditional legal systems; and
• Deliver public awareness training.

Given the post-conflict context of Afghanistan, the SJSA project has been designed with considerable elasticity. The results framework in the project document, while comprehensive, also allows a fair degree of flexibility for adjustment as circumstances change. The project recognises the need to ensure the transition from a post-conflict recovery focus to a long-term development oriented plan. In this regard the work of RJSA on“Justice for All”. provides an important foundation for long-term rule of law developmental planning and implementation which will be undertaken the SJSA project.

Relevant Documents: