Our Actions in Burundi

Context

Since 2005, the FSD has been working in Burundi. In May 2006, the FSD completed its assignment to conduct a general community survey in 17 provinces of Burundi. This task took the FSD teams a total of 10.5 months. Consequently, 97% of the administrative collines have been thoroughly surveyed, with 3% of the collines not covered by the survey for security reasons. 185 zones have been identified as "hazardous", potentially contaminated by mines and/or UXO.

Since June 2006, the second phase of activities has consisted of continued General Community Survey (GCS), technical survey, and clearance operations in Ruyigi and Rutana Provinces.

Mines and Unexploded Ordnance

The problem of Burundi’s landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) stems from more than a decade of war. Landmines and ERW continue to impede safe movement of people, including internally displaced people (IDP) and returning refugees, while preventing the use of land and agriculture activities, especially along the borders with Tanzania and DRC.

Our programme

A General Community Survey (GCS) to assess the impact of landmines as a contribution to peace and development.

Given the lack of knowledge of the true nature and impact of the mine/ERW problem in Burundi, UNMACC (United Nation Mine Action Coordination Centre) decided to commission a "general community survey" in 2005. The FSD initiated the survey in April 2005, deploying three international staff members to support of six survey teams. The survey was completed in May 2006 except in areas (rural Bujumbura province and near the Kibira National Park) to which safe access had not been secured. During field operations from July 2005 until early May 2006, 26,576 communities, representing more than 97 percent of all communities in the country, were visited and assessed. As a result, the scope of the problem of landmines and UXO in Burundi can now be much better assessed, and appropriate actions can be planned and implemented. Twenty spot EOD tasks were completed during the survey, reportedly allowing the use of 35 percent of agricultural land along the Tanzanian border. By the end of the survey, the FSD teams had travelled 183,000 km throughout the country in ten vehicles.

National Rapid Response Teams (NRRT), clearing mines and ERW in two affected provinces: Ruyigi and Rutana.

In light of the extent of the contamination issue and the mine/ERW problem in Ruyigi and Rutana, the plan of operations has required four mobile and independent rapid response teams to conduct a variety of field operations in addition to one support team to cover administrative/financial/logistical operations in Bujumbura. The exact location for each team has been determined in collaboration and coordination with UNMACC in order to best suit the clearance requirements within the provinces of Ruyigi and Rutana or as per special requirement. Each Rapid Response Team is fully equipped, mobile and consists of trained national staff.

Community Liaison Teams (CLT): interface between communities and clearance teams.

In order to ensure ties between the affected population and the clearance teams (NRRC project) in the assigned provinces, namely Ruyigi and Rutana, two community liaison teams have been deployed. Their primary task has been to establish initial contact with local communities and to promote local discussion with regard to the mine/ERW threat and how the FSD will help. The resulting dialogue has highlighted areas where clearance work has needed to be undertaken, areas where behaviour has needed to be changed, and ideas on how the life of the community can be restructured. The second objective has been to review all "non-confirmed" suspected hazardous areas at the colline level in Ruyigi and Rutana as per the UNMACC’s request.

With a concentrated effort by all parties, including donors, who are involved in mine action in Burundi, the country could very well be one of the first African nations to be declared mine-free.

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