النص مستخرج آلياً من صورة الوثيقة أو من ملف قديم، وقد يحتوي أخطاء في بعض الكلمات أو ترتيب الأسطر. الملف الأصلي هو المرجع.
safety of the local civilian population. In discharging this duty, the authorities in the UK's Area of Operations (AO) are prioritising and addressing immediate threats to the safety of the civilian population, from whatever source. The basis of this prioritisation is the scale of risk posed by particular threats.
Clearance of UXO - policy
2. The priority, therefore, is to make safe abandoned munitions, UXO, in particular unexploded cluster munitions, and mines, regardless of origin, in areas where they are a danger to the civilian population. UK Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) assets cannot undertake extensive humanitarian demining, as their primary role is force protection. Nevertheless, EOD teams are available if there is an immediate threat to life, and have already been tasked to some incidents. Aside from this, the policy has therefore been concentrated upon collecting, recording and sharing information on UXO with international organisations, demining non-government organisations (NGOs) and commercial demining companies. Funding is being provided through DFID for humanitarian mine action (HMA) in Iraq: £4 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), around £860,000 to the UK NGO, the Mines Advisory Group, and £280,000 to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The practices on information collection, recording and provision have been developed beyond measures taken after previous conflicts. This is in line with negotiations on a new protocol on Explosive Remnants of War, which may lead to a new legal instrument, including measures on provision of information and warnings and risk education to civilians. Our policy towards the new protocol has previously been agreed by MOD and FCO Ministers.
Clearance of UXO - practical efforts underway
3. In theatre, the UK has in the region of 200 personnel involved in the clearance of UXO, approximately 1% of the total in-theatre force. In addition, a significant number of Royal Engineer assets are involved in Op NUTSHELL, the marking and fencing of bomblet strike and mined 1 DECLASSIFIED
5. The UK Joint Force EOD Cell (JFEODC) holds weekly meetings in the Basra Civil Military Operations Centre (CMOC) with UNICEF, UNMAS (United Nations Office for Project Services - UNOPS), and commercial demining organisations. This provides a regular forum for the sharing of information, the co-ordination of clearance work, and the solution of various related issues, such as the movement of explosives. These meetings have been the relevant extremely well received by international NGOs and commercial demining organisations.
6. The UK has also made a significant effort to educate the local population of the dangers of mines and UXO. The Theatre Mine Risk Education (MRE) plan has been developed with the support of UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A poster and leaflet campaign has been carried out, head teachers in Basra have been briefed, and military teams are delivering Mine/UXO awareness training to primary and secondary schools on a daily basis, using material approved by the ICRC.
Threat posed by DU
7. DU strike sites do not pose the same immediate threat to health or safety as UXO. Most DU particulate remains highly localised to the points of impact where DU munitions have struck hard targets: only in these small areas would DU levels be significant enough to necessitate precautions to prevent or reduce possible intakes. Increasing amounts of independent research by eminent scientists within groups such as the Royal Society DU Working Group and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) support this view. With regard to civilians, the Royal Society reports on "The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium Munitions" state that "For those returning to live in areas where DU munitions were deployed, including peace-keepers, the inhalation intakes from resuspended DU are considered to be unlikely to cause any substantial increase in lung cancer or any other cancers".
8. DU munitions pose no significant health risk if they are intact: ie, if they are unfired or undamaged, or if they are buried in the ground in any 2 DECLASSIFIED
11. Whilst MOD has no long-term legal responsibility to clean up DU from Iraq, it will do so on an opportunity basis, ie, obvious surface-lying DU fragments will be removed from the battlefield as they are discovered.
12. The MOD will not be undertaking any recovery of DU buried in the ground, except where required in small quantities for scientific purposes to support the MOD corporate DU research programme.
Clearance of DU - practical efforts underway
13. MOD is providing details of UK DU firing locations to UNEP via DFID and DEFRA in support of UNEP's post-conflict environmental assessment, and directly to recognised NGOs in response to ad hoc enquiries.
14. Surface-lying DU ammunition is being cleared from the battlefield, along with dangerous remnants of war, under Op ALADDIN.
15. Tanks suspected of having been struck by. DU are being clearly marked up pending examination by an MOD-led scientific team for research purposes. Following risk assessment on a case by case basis, clean- up and disposal may be carried out or the vehicles may be collected together and fenced off. Decontamination may be carried out where appropriate. (MOD scientists are currently in Iraq conducting a preliminary assessment).
16. Iraqi locals have been warned through Information Operation messages that they should not go near or touch any debris they find on the battlefield.
17. MOD is able to provide advice by its civilian specialists on carrying out risk assessments on DU within urban areas. This would be subject to provision of protection and logistic support by troops within theatre.
MOD is also able to assist in the provision of advice on long-term monitoring of DU in the environment, including water.
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19. MOD has no information relating to locations of DU firings which took place during the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict.
MOD, 2 July 2003
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