Anti-personnel Mines Research Articles

Smíšené instrumenty a zákaz použití některých druhů zbraní za ozbrojených konfliktů

Mixed instruments combine the elements of disarmament law and humanitarian law. The concept of disarmament embraces a partial or complete reduction and elimination of weapons and armed forces. Disarmament defined in the broad sense includes a range of measures which do not lead to the act of giving up weapons in itself, but facilitate their reduction or modification, restrict proliferation of weapons, their tests, etc. In principle, disarmament is based on political aspects. On the other band the aim of humanitarian law in the broad sense is the protection of victims of armed conflicts, prohibition of specific methods and means of warfare, etc. There are several international treaties which include disarmament and humanitarian aspects – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, The Anti-Personnel Mines Convention of 1997, The Convention on Cluster Munitions of 2008. Some elements of both areas of international law are included in The Biological Weapons Convention of 1972 (disarmament convention) and The Certain Conventional Weapons Convention of 1980 (humanitarian law convention). As for the prohibition of weapons, the most efficient way would be to impose an unconditional ban. For example, only a complete ban on anti-personnel mines would substantially prevent their indiscriminate effects and profound destructive impacts on civilian population.

Civilian safety in the context of mine warfare in Ukraine

This article reveals the threats to the safety of civilians associated with the extensive mining of Ukrainian territory, which is a side effect of the fierce fighting taking place in that country since the invasion by Russian Federation troops and the Wagner Group mercenary formations working with them. Both belligerents employ substantial numbers of mines and barriers, including anti-tank, anti-personnel and anti-amphibian mines in combat operations. Improvised explosive devices are frequently used to harass the opposing side. Further, the intense fighting carried out with tank, artillery, rocket and various aerial munitions leaves behind vast quantities of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other explosive and dangerous items. This article presents the various types of weapons used in the course of hostilities on Ukrainian territory, which not only contribute to the UXO contamination of the area but, above all, pose a lethal threat to the civilian population. The scale of these dangers is enormous, and each new day of fighting only multiplies them. While the civilian security services take numerous measures to rapidly demine Ukraine, civilian casualties caused by UXO and other explosive and dangerous items occur virtually every day. The final section outlines the challenges that Ukraine will face in the coming years in terms of ensuring the safety of civilians, as well as recommendations for international assistance to Ukraine in implementing the process of clearing the country’s territory of explosive and dangerous items.

Analysis of organizational and legal aspects of mine action regulation in Ukraine

During the repulse of armed aggression, the issue of demining territories contaminated with explosive objects arose acutely before Ukraine. In accordance with international standards, demining territories includes such components as: studying the risks associated with explosive objects; destruction of explosive ammunition and substances; propaganda measures to prohibit the use of anti-personnel mines; demining and disposal of explosive objects; assistance to persons injured as a result of explosive devices. The conducted research studied modern domestic legislation that regulates mine action, analyzed foreign and international law, as well as the procedure for certification and testing of technical means of demining in Ukraine. Problematic issues in the practical application of normative acts on the regulation of demining in Ukraine have been identified. In the course of researching this topic, the authors came to the conclusion that the problem of demining is of a global nature. Ukraine ranks first in the area of mine-contaminated territories. It should be taken into account that a large part of the territories cannot be cleared, given the active hostilities. According to experts, it will take several decades for maximum guaranteed demining. An example of long-term demining can be explosive objects that did not explode during the Second World War and are still in significant quantities in the lands of Ukraine. Taking into account the fact that the activity of cleaning the territories of Ukraine from explosive substances and objects requires significant efforts of state and local self-government bodies, public organizations, social institutes and interstate and international organizations. From foreign partners and international organizations, Ukraine strives to receive a lot of help, the components of which are the provision of demining equipment, the involvement of foreign specialists, the financing of appropriate equipment and measures for medical and social rehabilitation. In order to implement effective state control over mine action in Ukraine, it is necessary to establish clearly defined standards and regulations that ensure the most effective management in this area.

Restriction and Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines in International Law

The topic of "Restricting and Prohibiting Anti-Personnel Mines in International Law" is precise and branched out in detail, and therefore many international conferences and protocols were held until the signing of the Ottawa Treaty in (1997), which strictly prohibits the use of such weapons. Since then, campaigns have been active to support the implementation of the Convention, and two-thirds of the world's states have signed it, but major powers such as the United States of America, Russia and China have not ratified it. Here, several problems arise, including: How can these states be obligated to respect this Convention, especially with the 1994 Geneva Conventions free of any provision or article pertaining to mine victims, and the commitment of the world's armed groups to respect the Ottawa Treaty, are among the main dilemmas that must be resolved expeditiously.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SEARCH AND DETECTION OF EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE IN THE CONDITIONS OF HIGH CONTAMINATION OF THE AREA WITH METAL FRAGMENTS

Currently, the enemy is using new mining tactics, when other sources of danger are additionally installed during mining, in particular with anti-personnel mines (APMs). This leads to accidents among sappers during operational demining. Therefore, there is an urgent problem of determining the procedure for searching for UXOs when the area is highly contaminated with metal fragments. An analysis of specialized literature has shown that the problem of searching, detecting and identifying UXOs both on land and in the water is the subject of close attention by both military specialists and researchers. Considerable attention has been paid to the testing and evaluation of metal detectors. However, the issue of searching for UXOs in highly contaminated areas with metal fragments, especially in areas of combat operations, has not been covered. The purpose of this article is to determine the procedure for organizing and conducting search and detection operations for UXOs in a highly contaminated area with nearby mines and metal fragments. At the same time, the risk of an emergency should be minimized. In this study, taking into account the fact of an increase in the number of accidents among deminers, it is proposed to adhere to the following recommendations when searching for and detecting UXOs in a highly contaminated area with metal fragments every working day before the start of the search for UXO, calibrate the metal detector to ensure confidence in the ability of the metal detector to distinguish between signals from the source of the hazard and nearby targets. Record the calibration of each metal detector in the calibration log; it is recommended to carry out work on the search for UXO using a metal detector within a 1-meter wide clearance strip using a base rail; it is recommended to mark the source of the hazardous signal along the edge of the search element of the metal detector, rather than determine the center of the signal; when searching for UXOs with high contamination of the area with metal fragments, it is recommended not to use probes, but to excavate the soil around the marked UXO using a shovel (scraper).

Detection of anti-personnel mines of the “leg breakers” type by analyzing thermographic images captured from a drone at different heights

A method for the detection of plastic anti-personnel mines called “ leg breakers ” is presented from images of the ground acquired remotely by a drone at heights between 1 and 5 m. The proposal achieved an accuracy of 92.13 % and a sensitivity of 82.4 % when evaluating the performance on 260 test images, a number higher than that used in previous works, and with mines buried in real terrain with the presence of vegetation. The above on images acquired on different dates with different environmental conditions and soil moisture. In addition, it was found that the method was adapted to three different thermographic cameras, being necessary only to adjust the gamma parameter associated with the thermal contrast enhancement technique used. It was corroborated that mines are easier to detect to the extent that they are buried more superficially, and when the flight height of the drone is between 1 and 2 m. Finally, it is highlighted that the proposal has the potential to be executed in processing systems onboard the drone, thanks to its algorithmic simplicity.

An analytical model of a pulse signal reflected from a small-sized object located in the covering layer

Formulation of the problem. Existing methods and devices implementing them do not provide the required probability of correct detection and a low level of false alarms when detecting and recognizing anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in the ground. Based on this, there is currently an objective need to solve the urgent scientific task of improving the scientific and methodological apparatus for detecting and recognizing small-sized objects located in the covering layer. Purpose. Improving the scientific and methodological apparatus for detecting and recognizing subsurface targets by refining the analytical model of a pulse signal reflected from a small-sized object located in the covering layer. Results. A refined analytical model of a pulse signal reflected from a small-sized object located in the covering layer is proposed. The results of mathematical modeling and assessment of the adequacy of the obtained model are presented. Practical significance. The results obtained can be used in the synthesis of algorithms for the search, detection and recognition of small objects located in the covering layer.

Statistical and Predictive Analysis of Data on Events, Victims and Humanitarian Demining of Antipersonnel Mines (APM) in Colombia

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo analizar los datos registrados sobre los eventos, casos de víctimas y desminado humanitario de minas antipersonal (MAP), artefactos explosivos improvisados (AEI) con características de minas antipersonal y municiones sin explotar (MUSE) en Colombia. Tiene un enfoque cuantitativo que se basó en el diseño longitudinal evolutivo. Por su parte, respecto a la minería de los datos se empleó la metodología Knowledge Discovery in Databases(KDD). La fuente principal de esta información fue el Departamento Administrativo de la Presidencia de la República (DAPRE), que da cuenta de 12.390 víctimas de minas antipersonales, en su mayoría hombres mayores de edad, siendo el 81% afectados por heridas y 19% fallecidos. Según esta información se puede decir que las operaciones de desminado humanitario se concentran en departamentos como Antioquia, Meta y Santander; y se estima que Colombia tiene un territorio contaminado por minas antipersonal (MAP) de alrededor de 46.024.965 m2; mientras se han despejado cerca de 13.631.728 m2. Al comparar los esfuerzos han llegado a 29.62% de área despejada en actividades u operaciones. Las consecuencias de los artefactos incluyen heridas y muertes, pero el impacto abarca dimensiones físicas, psicológicas, sociales y económicas en las comunidades afectadas. El desplazamiento forzado de la población, debido a la presencia de minas antipersonales, también se destaca como una consecuencia significativa.

Deep learning-based classification of anti-personnel mines and sub-gram metal content in mineralized soil (DL-MMD)

De-mining operations are of critical importance for humanitarian efforts and safety in conflict-affected regions. In this paper, we address the challenge of enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of mine detection systems. We present an innovative Deep Learning architecture tailored for pulse induction-based Metallic Mine Detectors (MMD), so called DL-MMD. Our methodology leverages deep neural networks to distinguish amongst nine distinct materials with an exceptional validation accuracy of 93.5%. This high level of precision enables us not only to differentiate between anti-personnel mines, without metal plates but also to detect minuscule 0.2-g vertical paper pins in both mineralized soil and non-mineralized environments. Moreover, through comparative analysis, we demonstrate a substantial 3% and 7% improvement (approx.) in accuracy performance compared to the traditional K-Nearest Neighbors and Support Vector Machine classifiers, respectively. The fusion of deep neural networks with the pulse induction-based MMD not only presents a cost-effective solution but also significantly expedites decision-making processes in de-mining operations, ultimately contributing to improved safety and effectiveness in these critical endeavors.

The Existence of Antipersonnel Land Mines in Aceh And Impact for Indonesia

Purpose: This study aims to revitalize the memory of many parties regarding the existence of anti-personnel landmines in Aceh which still leaves homework to be completed even though peace is already 19 years old. These deadly objects are still found and threaten people's lives to this day. Indonesia has ratified the 1997 International Antipersonnel Landmine Convention through Law Number 20 of 2006. In fact, Indonesia is bound to implement all the provisions of the convention. Theoretical framework: This study combines a number of general legal principles in international humanitarian law, with reference to the 1997 International Anti-personnel Landmine Convention. Methods: The study method is adopted by combining normative and empirical legal studies, where data collection is carried out in literature and the field, with emphasis on the application of norms in conventions and their implementation in the field as far as can be observed. Results and Conclusions: The results of the study show that the Government of the Republic of Indonesia does not appear to be doing its best to resolve the problems caused by the presence of anti-personnel landmines in Aceh. Research implications: This research is urgently needed as an alternative pattern for resolving the antipersonnel land mine problem that Aceh is experiencing as part of the Republic of Indonesia. Originality/value: The hope is that through this research, the experiences of a number of ASEAN countries will become best practices for the national antipersonnel landmine clearance campaign in Indonesia. ASEAN's involvement is intended to help sustain peace in Aceh in accordance with the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on August 15 2005 and Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2006 concerning the Government of Aceh.

Anti-personnel mine injuries: pulmonary complications may ensue along unanticipated timelines

BackgroundAnti-personnel mine injuries (APMI) confined to the lower limbs (type I) are common, however, their remote effects on the lungs are exceptional. The present study was done to analyze the pulmonary complications following type I mine blast injuries. MethodsAPMI managed between Jan 2020 and Oct 2023 at a military facility in Jammu & Kashmir were audited, focusing upon the pulmonary complications. ResultsTwenty-four males, aged 21–42 yrs, had sustained type I injuries due to accidentally stepping over the mines, during the study period. Six of them (25%) developed pulmonary complications of post-blast lung injury (PBLI) in a delayed timeline, hitherto unseen ie after 36–72 h of injury. Two patients (8%) developed concurrent pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), unexpectedly early, necessitating therapeutic anticoagulation in the immediate postoperative period. ConclusionsPBLI and PTE may follow type I mine blast injuries in an unanticipated timeline. Continued suspicion for timely detection of blast lung and early thromboprophylaxis to prevent PTE is suggested.

Addressing the Proliferation of Anti-Personnel Mines

Anti-personnel mines, first used in World War II, continue to be a persistent threat to life up to today. With technological advances, landmines have been easily deployed and difficult to detect, and an estimated 25,000 km2 is currently considered contaminated with landmines. Widespread in Egypt, Afghanistan and Iraq, these landmines have resulted in great humanitarian and economic devastation and continue to do so presently. For example, Egypt witnessed 19 casualties per day due to landmines in 2020. Further, given their low cost and ease of use, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) are currently liberally using landmines. Globally, the estimated cost to clear landmines is around $50-$100 billion, with the countries most affected unable to afford these costs. In this study, we discuss the history of use, efforts to curb, and current deployment of landmines. The economic factors connected with anti-personnel mine use are discussed, including the cost associated with procuring and clearing landmines. The multifaceted ways that landmines impact economic growth are detailed, including the cost of emergency and long-term medical care, loss of infrastructure and farmland, and barriers to accessing education, health care, and employment. The study particularly focuses on Afghanistan, Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq, Myanmar and Russia. The role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in assisting victims, building awareness, and supporting governments is discussed. Events from 1939 to the current day are examined, as are the relevant UN treaties and events from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, 1997, to the present United Nations Mine Action Strategy (2019-2023). The treaties are discussed in the context of their effectiveness and impact, particularly on NSAGs. Several proposed solutions are presented and examined for their potential feasibility and effectiveness, including awareness building, technological approaches and international coordination. There is an urgent need to bring landmines to our conversation in order to address their continuing threat, and this study aims to do the same.

PECULIARITIES OF THE OPERATION OF ATTACHMENTS WITH CHAINS INTENDED FOR DEMINING. APPROACHES TO THEIR TESTING

The article is dedicated to the review of certain aspects related to humanitarian demining and the testing of equipment used for this purpose In particular, the publication describes the following: the characteristics of the operation of attachments equipped with a shaft with chains and intended for demining; the results of the impact of attachments on explosive objects; approaches to improve the efficiency of the preparation and testing of attachments with a shaft with chains.
 The operation of attachment chains is considered in the conditions of simultaneous action of various forces.
 These include inertia, centrifugal force, centripetal force, gravity and soil (sand, gravel) resistance.
 The article contains a classification of the types of attachment chain weight impact on mine detonators, as well as the results of the impact of these types of impact. This indicates possible reasons for the lack of mine detonation in direct contact with the chains or when exposed to the soil column.
 The article also provides practical advice on selecting, positioning and installing anti-tank and anti-personnel mines at the test site. These tips are aimed at testing humanitarian demining machines or individual attachments under more realistic conditions.
 The approaches described in this article are based on the study of the physical processes involved in the interaction (counteraction) of various forces, the provision of information materials in the field of humanitarian demining, and the experience of the testing activities of the State Scientific Research Institute of Armament and Military Equipment Testing and Certification.
 Implementation of the proposed approaches will allow better verification of the ability of attachments to clear mines during humanitarian demining operations.

Мodel of diffraction of electromagnetic waves on explosive objects

A model of electromagnetic wave diffraction on an explosive object without metal structural substances is proposed. The properties of the materials of the most common anti-personnel mines were analyzed and it was established that their shell is dielectric, and explosive substances are divided into two groups depending on their dipole moment. In particular, the explosive substances such as hexogen, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, and mercury fulminate with zero dipole moment and according to their electromagnetic properties, they belong to ideal dielectrics. The explosives trinitrotoluene, tetryl, lead trinitroresorcinate, and lead azide should be considered as low-loss dielectrics. An electrodynamic model was built to calculate the reflection coefficients and the passage of electromagnetic plane waves of the microwave range through the multilayer structure of an explosive object. To determine the equivalent wave resistance of the multilayer structure of an explosive object, the use of the theory of long lines is proposed. It is established that for microwave radiation, the layers of the case of explosive objects made of dielectric substances can be neglected due to their small thickness. The modeling results show that most anti-personnel mines have a low reflection coefficient, which makes them difficult to detect, but at the same time increases the amount of energy that can pass deep into the body of the explosive substance. It has been shown that explosive objects with dipole explosive substances are capable of absorbing electromagnetic radiation energy. The obtained results allow us to qualitatively assess the susceptibility of explosive substances to their remote detonation by irradiation with powerful pulses of electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range.

Asean Synergy Makes a Mine-Free World in Indonesia

The Convention for the Comprehensive Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, was created with the aim of realizing a "Mine Free World". Indonesia ratified the 1997 Ottawa Convention into Law “Undang- Undang” Number 20 of 2006. As a State Party, Indonesia is bound to comply with all provisions of the convention. Most important is the commitment to protect every citizen of his country from falling victim to anti-personnel mines. During the armed conflict in Aceh, mines were used by both parties, namely the Indonesian Security Forces and the Free Aceh Movement. The indication is the number of victims who were dominated by civilians after the conflict ended. For this reason, the parties are deemed not to comply with and carry out their responsibilities as intended by the conventions and principles of international humanitarian law. The two sides seemed not doing their best to resolve the problems caused by the presence of anti-personnel mines. Therefore, the experience of ASEAN countries that have succeeded in burying their past due to involvement in armed conflict, is very much needed in mediating the problems experienced in Aceh, Indonesia. Experiences like Vietnam and Cambodia are indispensable in initiating an anti-personnel mine clearance agenda whose findings are still ongoing. Then the Philippines as a party to this convention, which has the characteristics of a non-international armed conflict like Indonesia, also needs its contribution in this regard. ASEAN involvement is intended to work together to encourage the two parties to continue the peace agenda in Aceh according to the Helsinki MoU on August 15, 2005 and Law “Undang-Undang” Number 11 of 2006 on Aceh Governance.

Computational assessment of leg response to extreme loadings using a detailed finite element model.

This study focuses on evaluating the response of the Total Human Model for Safety™ lower extremity finite element model under blast loading. Biofidelity of the lower extremity model was evaluated against experiments with impact loading equivalent to underbody blast. The model response was found to match well with the experimental data for the average impactor speeds of 7 and 9.3 m/s resulting in an overall correlation and analysis rating of 0.86 and 0.82, respectively. The model response was then used to investigate response for antipersonnel mine explosion where the numerical setup consists of a charge mass of 40 g trinitrotoluene placed at a depth of 50 mm below the heel. The explosion was modeled using Multi Material-Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian method. The model was subjected to the graded input in terms of variation in standoff distance and mass of explosive to investigate the sensitivity of the model. The model found sensitive to the threat definition and predicted an increase of 110% in peak fluid-structure interaction force with 20% reduction in its time to peak and 29% increase in peak calcaneus axial force with a reduction of 33% in its time to peak when explosive mass varied from 40 g to 100 g. The location of the explosive below the foot was discovered to have significant effect on the injury pattern in near-field explosion. A comparative study suggested that the model predicted similar response and damage pattern compared to experimental data.

Multicopters for Geophysical Research

The current paper presents three multicopters developed at the Space Research and Technology Institute – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. These unmanned aircraft designs are aimed at geophysical research and are particularly usable for detection of objects on ground surface and underground. The detection is realized by taking advantage of certain objects' properties. Metals and other conductors are identified by their electrical conductivity. Ferromagnetic objects are discovered by observing their magnetic permeability. Voids and other objects are localized utilizing the difference of the dielectric permittivity that is encountered on the boundary of the object and surrounding ground or rock.
 Some of the potential targets discoverable with the described geophysical drones are military land mines (including anti-personnel and anti-tank mines), ammunition depots, reservoirs, pipelines, underground galleries, voids, bunkers, tunnels, etc.
 All three developments are subject to patent protection.

Humanitarian Demining Serial-Tracked Robot: Design and Dynamic Modeling

The paper proposes an original mechanical structure of a serial-tracked robot, subject of national invention patent number RO132301, B1/2021, destinated for humanitarian demining operations: anti-personnel mine detection by using a detection device mounted on the bottom’s tracked platform, demining and clearing the land of exploded mines using a TRTTR robot structure. The dynamic model of the robot structure is determined and numerically validated. A novel approach based on the Lagrange formalism and mechanical design equations has been used in the calculus and selection of robot driving motors. The obtained results for robot translation modules are presented and analyzed.

Issues of international legal regulation of the use of landmine weapons in domestic and foreign literature

The subject of the study is the generalization and analysis of domestic and foreign literature on international humanitarian law, which examines the international legal regulation of the use of landmine weapons, established restrictions and prohibitions on their use, in order to prepare motivated proposals on the possibility of improving the legal mechanism for solving the mine problem in modern conditions. In general, there are a considerable number of publications on the subject under consideration, the subject of which are various aspects of the mine problem. At the same time, the characteristic of the international legal regulation of the use of landmine weapons is often reduced to stating the provisions of Protocol II to the Convention on "Conventional" Weapons and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention). Mainly, there is an opposition of these documents in favor of the Ottawa Convention. With regard to the latter, there are also studies, mostly foreign, very complimentary describing the process of preparation and adoption of the Ottawa Convention, the participation of foreign non-governmental organizations in it. The author's position on this and other issues is stated in the study. For the purposes of generalization and analysis of the works of domestic and foreign authors, formal-legal, formal-logical, comparative-legal research methods are used. The novelty of the study is due to its subject. Proposals on the availability of potential, the possibility of further development of international legal regulation of the turnover of landmine weapons are based on the generalization and analysis of the studies presented in the work on two main areas of solving the mine problem - humanitarian demining and the actual regulatory regulation of the turnover of landmine weapons. In the first case, we are talking mainly about using the achievements of scientific and technological progress, the latest developments. The development of the existing regulatory framework for regulating the turnover of mine weapons is associated with a prerequisite for ensuring the complementary nature of the two main treaties – the use of basic definitions in them that have identical content. At the same time, the fact is emphasized that overcoming the crisis of international humanitarian law in general, the implementation, in particular, of relevant initiatives to solve the mine problem, are conditioned by the presence of a real, equivalent alternative to the collective West.

Utilizing UAV-based hyperspectral imaging to detect surficial explosive ordnance

Across postconflict regions of the world, explosive ordnance (EO), which includes remnant antipersonnel land mines, antivehicle/tank mines, unexploded cluster munitions, improvised explosive devices, and explosive remnants of war (ERW) such as unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance, remains a critical humanitarian concern. Clearance and land release efforts anchored on manual geophysical detection and mechanical probing methods remain painstakingly slow, expensive, and dangerous to operators. As a result, postconflict regions impacted by EO contamination significantly lag in social and economic development. Developing, calibrating, and field testing more efficient detection methods for surficial EO is a crucial task. Unpiloted aerial systems featuring advanced remote sensing capabilities are a key technology that may allow the tide to turn in the EO crisis. Specifically, recent advances in hardware design have allowed for effective deployment of small, light, and less power consuming hyperspectral imaging (HSI) systems from small unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs). Our proof-of-concept study employs UAV-based HSI to deliver a safer, faster, and more cost-efficient method of surface land mine and ERW detection compared to current ground-based detection methods. Our results indicate that analysis of HSI data sets can produce spectral profiles and derivative data products to distinguish multiple ERW and mine types in a variety of host environments.