IED Clearance Good Practice Guide

1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) compliant guidance for mine action (MA) organisations planning and conducting improvised explosive device (IED) search operations. It describes good practice related to search principles, staff safety, threat assessment, operational planning, search techniques and procedures, staff training, reporting and information management. This guidance can be applied to rural, peri-urban or urban environments that are contaminated with IEDs and other explosive ordnance (EO). There is a deliberate focus on urban areas and buildings in order to assist the MA sector with this specific challenge.

In this guide the term ‘search’ refers to:

An activity used to confirm or discount the presence of EO to specified parameters through the application of appropriate methods and procedures. 1

This chapter describes search as one activity which is part of a broader process that is applied to achieve “all reasonable effort”. Search can be conducted in any type of space (e.g. open areas, roads, buildings, etc.) in order to provide the required level of confidence that it is safe from IEDs. This chapter has been developed based on the norms that are in practice during MA operations in IED- contaminated environments and where traditional demining methods and procedures have been adapted to account for this specific threat. Although it focuses on abandoned or failed IEDs in a post-conflict context, much of it can be applied to the finding of other types of EO using manual search techniques and procedures. 1.1. SCOPE This chapter focuses on finding IEDs through the application of manual search techniques and procedures. It explains common challenges and problems faced during IED search activities and outlines potential options for these to be mitigated and overcome. It is intended to be applicable to a variety of contexts. This is achieved through a principles-based approach to assist National Mine Action Authorities (NMAAs) developing National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) and conducting monitoring of operations in the field. It will also assist MA operators developing global and programme-specific standard operating procedures (SOPs) and staff training that are pertinent to their operations. Mine action organisations are increasingly working in areas that are only recently post conflict with little to no community return. They may also be tasked directly to a specific building or area, especially if it is critical in providing support to the local population and enabling sustainable rehabilitation / reoccupation. These challenges, combined with potentially concealed IEDs, mean that it is often safer and more efficient to deploy a technical team that will carry out the initial survey and may move straight to technical survey or clearance if feasible. The processes and documents are focused on this way of operating, as non-technical survey (NTS), technical survey (TS) and clearance are already well established as separate defined phases in current guidance, but the contents of this guide can be easily adapted to support any IED clearance operations.

This chapter does not provide detailed guidance on the use of mechanical demining machines or animal detection systems (ADS) in IED threat environments.

1 This is not an IMAS 04.10 referenced term but developed to provide consistency in the use of the term ‘search’ in this guide and its use in other IMAS.

Introduction