Clearing Afghanistan’s Landmines And Protecting Communities

For decades, landmines and unexploded ordnance have remained among the most persistent dangers facing people in Afghanistan. Fighting may move away from a district, a road may reopen and families may return home, yet hidden explosive devices can continue to shape daily life long after the front line has disappeared. A child walking to school, a farmer tending an irrigation channel or a shepherd searching for livestock may encounter a threat that was laid years earlier.

Afghanistan’s mine action effort brings together Afghan authorities, United Nations agencies, international organisations and local civil society groups. Their work extends beyond removing explosive devices. It includes surveying contaminated land, marking dangerous areas, educating communities, assisting survivors and helping households regain safe access to farms, schools, clinics and markets.

For an Australian audience, the issue can be understood through familiar ideas of public safety, regional access and long-term recovery. Remote Afghan villages may be many hours from a major centre, much as isolated communities in Western Australia, Queensland or the Northern Territory can face difficult travel and limited emergency services. The difference is that Afghanistan’s rural roads and open ground may conceal wartime contamination on a scale rarely experienced in Australia.

The UN70 “Strong UN. Strong Afghanistan.” campaign presented Afghan people and their contributions through photographs, messages and personal stories. Its archived material provides useful context for understanding the UN’s partnership-based approach: international support is most effective when it strengthens Afghan expertise and gives communities a central role in rebuilding their own future.

How Conflict Leaves A Hidden Legacy

Mines are designed to injure or kill when disturbed, while unexploded ordnance includes bombs, rockets, grenades, mortars and artillery shells that failed to detonate. Abandoned ammunition and improvised explosive devices create further risks. These hazards can be scattered across cultivated land, mountain passes, village outskirts, riverbanks and the edges of former military positions.

The contamination is rarely visible from a distance. Weather, erosion and shifting soil can expose devices that were previously buried, while flooding can move fragments and unexploded items into new locations. Some devices are triggered by pressure; others may respond to tripwires, vibration or attempts to handle them. A harmless-looking metal object can therefore become fatal within seconds.

Afghanistan’s conflict has involved changing front lines, irregular armed groups and extensive use of improvised devices. This makes clearance more complicated than removing clearly mapped minefields. Survey teams must combine historical records, satellite imagery, interviews and technical investigation to determine where threats may remain. Local knowledge is especially valuable because residents often remember blocked paths, abandoned positions and previous accidents.

The human cost extends beyond immediate casualties. A contaminated pasture can reduce household income, while an unsafe road can prevent produce from reaching a market. Families may avoid schools, clinics or water points because the route feels dangerous. In this way, explosive remnants of war restrict development even when no incident is reported.

The United Nations Mine Action System

The UN Mine Action Service, commonly known as UNMAS, supports coordination, technical standards, risk education and operational programmes in countries affected by explosive hazards. In Afghanistan, its work sits within a wider UN presence that includes humanitarian assistance, protection, development support and engagement with Afghan institutions and communities.

Clearance is only one part of mine action. Teams first collect information and assess suspected hazardous areas. Specialists then identify the boundaries of contamination, mark the site and select an appropriate method. Depending on the terrain and threat, operations may involve manual deminers, mine detection dogs, mechanical equipment or carefully controlled explosive disposal.

Quality assurance is essential. A site is not considered safe simply because a team has searched it once. Procedures include documentation, supervision, equipment checks and post-clearance review. Accurate records allow land to be released for productive use and help prevent future teams from repeating work or overlooking a danger.

The UN also helps connect emergency work with longer-term recovery. A cleared field can support farming, a safe route can restore access to a trading centre, and a decontaminated school site can allow children to return. These outcomes matter in Kabul as well as in remote provinces, although the scale, terrain and security environment differ sharply between urban and rural areas.

Working In Active Conflict Zones

Demining in a conflict zone is a careful balance between urgency and security. Humanitarian teams need access to contaminated areas, yet travel may expose staff to fighting, checkpoints, criminal threats and improvised devices. A planned clearance task can be delayed by renewed violence or by uncertainty about who controls the surrounding territory.

Local deminers are indispensable in this environment. They understand languages, customs, seasonal routes and community leadership structures. Their knowledge can reveal hazards that do not appear in official maps. They also help explain why people should avoid marked areas and report suspicious objects rather than moving them.

Risk education must be adapted to how people actually live. Messages may be delivered through schools, radio, community meetings, religious leaders, health workers and illustrated materials for people with limited literacy. Children are taught to recognise warning signs, stop, move away and tell a trusted adult. Adults may receive guidance about farming, collecting firewood, herding animals and handling scrap metal.

Trust determines whether these messages work. Communities may be under pressure to use unsafe land because they need food, water or income. A warning sign alone cannot solve that problem. Effective programmes pair information with realistic alternatives, clear reporting channels and a credible commitment to investigate suspected hazards.

Clearing Land And Restoring Livelihoods

The practical value of demining is easiest to see when land is returned to community use. In agricultural districts, clearance can allow families to plant crops, repair irrigation systems and move livestock safely. In towns and cities, it can support road construction, housing, electrical networks and public facilities.

The economic effects also extend beyond the cleared plot. Farmers can transport goods without taking long detours, traders can reopen routes and children can travel to school more safely. Local labour is often employed in survey, clearance, logistics and community liaison roles, creating skills that remain useful after a particular project ends.

Australia’s experience with large distances and dispersed communities offers a limited but useful point of comparison. A blocked road near Perth or a delayed freight route through the Northern Territory can affect an entire supply chain; in Afghanistan, an explosive hazard may isolate a village from essential services altogether. Australian infrastructure firms and ethical procurement teams should recognise that land release is a safety intervention as well as a development activity.

Before entering a worksite, organisations everywhere rely on clear procedures, site controls and competent advice. Even a municipal safety resource such as public works guidance reflects the broader principle that infrastructure decisions should be grounded in documented hazards and public protection. In Afghanistan, that principle must be applied under far more dangerous conditions, with specialist mine-action standards guiding every step.

Community Safety And Survivor Support

People affected by mines need more than clearance. Survivors may require emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, prosthetic devices, psychological support and help returning to education or employment. Families can lose an income earner and face years of additional costs, particularly when health services are distant or unaffordable.

Victim assistance therefore links mine action with disability inclusion and social protection. A survivor in a rural province may need transport to a rehabilitation centre, accessible information and support to restart a livelihood. Women, children and people with disabilities can face extra barriers to reporting incidents or reaching services, so programmes must be designed with those realities in mind.

The following practices help reduce immediate risk:

• Never touch, kick or move a suspicious object.
• Mark or remember the location from a safe distance.
• Warn others without approaching the hazard.
• Report it through a trusted local authority or mine-action team.

Public communication also needs cultural sensitivity. Afghanistan’s communities have different languages, traditions and experiences of authority. In Australia, public safety campaigns often use local councils, schools, emergency services and community radio; Afghan programmes similarly work through trusted local networks, while adapting messages to insecurity, displacement and limited connectivity.

Remembering victims matters as much as counting cleared land. Australian observances such as Anzac Day show how public memory can honour service and sacrifice. In Afghanistan, survivor stories and community testimony can help ensure that mine action remains connected to real people rather than being treated only as a technical exercise.

Measuring Progress And Sustaining Action

Mine clearance can take years because contaminated areas must be investigated carefully and released only when evidence supports a safe decision. Progress is measured through land surveyed, land cleared, devices destroyed, people reached with risk education and survivors assisted. These figures are important, but they do not capture every social benefit.

Reliable data helps governments, donors and humanitarian organisations decide where limited resources will have the greatest effect. It can also identify districts where contamination prevents the return of displaced families or blocks essential infrastructure. Maps and records must be updated as new information appears, particularly when conflict damages landmarks or changes access routes.

Long-term funding remains a central requirement. Demining programmes need trained personnel, protective equipment, vehicles, medical evacuation arrangements and secure storage for explosives. A short project cycle may clear one area while leaving neighbouring communities exposed. Sustained support is especially important when international attention shifts to another crisis.

Useful measures of a responsible programme include:

• Afghan leadership in planning and delivery.
• Verified clearance and transparent records.
• Accessible assistance for survivors.
• Community participation in reporting and prioritisation.

For Australian readers, the local connection is found in the principles of responsible investment and regional partnership. Companies in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth may encounter supply-chain, engineering or humanitarian projects linked to fragile settings. Due diligence should examine safety standards, worker protection, community consent and the long-term value of the work, rather than treating mine action as a narrow contracting opportunity.

The UN’s Afghan partnerships demonstrate why international engagement must combine technical capability with respect for local knowledge. Clearance teams can remove a device, but communities are the ones who know which path children use, which pasture matters after winter and which water point is essential during drought. Their priorities should shape the order and method of operations.

A strong mine-action programme leaves behind more than empty ground. It leaves safer movement, restored livelihoods, stronger local institutions and better knowledge about the risks that remain. Readers can explore the archived UN Afghanistan campaign materials, follow reputable humanitarian reporting and support organisations that provide evidence-based mine clearance, risk education and survivor assistance. Continued public attention helps keep Afghanistan’s contaminated communities visible until the work is genuinely finished.