State must clear minefields in ‘forgotten crises’ and not divert the funds to Ukraine, notes report

The Coalition must continue to fund demining operations in “forgotten” conflicts instead of diverting resources to Ukraine, according to an internal Department of Foreign Affairs report.

The unpublished evaluation of the Republic’s humanitarian demining programme argues its niche is helping to remove explosive ordnance from parts of the world that rarely make the headlines and that this should continue.

It says “high-profile global conflicts”, including in Ukraine and Syria, already have huge levels of funding for demining to the extent that one organisation working in Ukraine has considered refusing further donations. Irish Aid can do little in these “crowded donor spaces”, the report states.

Through its international development programme Irish Aid, the Government funds demining operations in five countries, mostly through a partnership with the Halo Trust, an international landmine clearance organisation. Since 2006, the Republic has contributed €55 million for landmine removal in 17 countries.

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The report, which examines the effectiveness of Irish funding since 2018, found the State’s contribution has been extremely beneficial in reducing civilian casualties from unexploded ordnance and making land safe for farming, development and transport.

In most cases, demining operations have met or exceeded targets. Between 2018 and 2020, 4.01 million square metres of land were cleared of mines using Irish funding, beating Irish Aid’s target by 18 per cent. This benefited 64,000 people, 148 per cent more than targeted.

The report, which was submitted to the department in December 2022, said Russia has been laying down newly developed landmines in occupied parts of Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion last year.

Ukraine has been identified by the Republic as a “new potential priority”, the report notes. But it states that demining in the country is difficult and well funded by other donors.

“In this crowded donor space, [Irish Aid] offers little value, whereas it is difficult to raise funding for landmine action in other parts of the world”.

The report “strongly” urged the Government to focus on “forgotten” minefields “rather than divert scarce resources to Ukraine”.

Likewise, Syria, which has been devasted by a long-running civil war, is also well funded by others and Ireland would add little value, it said.

“There is no appetite among stakeholders to redirect current funding to ‘hot spots’ such as Ukraine or Syria; these are crowded donor spaces,” the report’s authors conclude.

Irish Defence Forces personnel are training Ukrainian forces in demining and ordnance disposal but this is done on a EU-co-ordinated military-to-military basis rather than through a humanitarian programme.

The report states the value of the State’s humanitarian demining programme lies in its commitment to steady, long-term funding of lower-profile operations and that this should continue.

Countries such as Zimbabwe are nearly mine-free, meaning international funding is becoming harder to come by. The Republic should continue to fill this gap and help these countries complete the “last mile/last mine”, it states.

Though the report was broadly positive about the State’s contributions, it noted some view Irish Aid as overly focused on targets instead of the “big picture”. It also recommended that Irish officials increase their knowledge of how demining operations work.

In response to queries, the department said it has considered the report’s findings and has entered into a new three-year programme that will continue to focus on “forgotten crises”.

Although the report recommended not diverting funding to Syria, “further consultations” with the Halo Trust revealed a need for resources in northwest Syria, said a spokeswoman. It has, therefore, been included in the new programme, she added.