§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the(a) quantity, (b) spread and (c) location of (i) mines, (ii) unexploded cluster bomb submunitions and (iii) unexploded conventional munitions in Iraq; what efforts are (A) planned and (B) underway to locate, defuse and remove these munitions; and if he will make a statement. [133319]
§ Mr. IngramThe provision of a safe, secure and risk free environment for the Iraqi people is a key aspect of restoration activity for all members of the International Coalition in Iraq. The United Kingdom takes seriously its obligations as a member of that coalition to deal with unexploded ordnance. Unexploded ordnance in Iraq includes munitions from the Iran-Iraq war, mines laid by Iraqi forces, stores of ammunition and other ordnance left by Iraqi military and paramilitary forces as well as ordnance fired or dropped by both sides during recent hostilities.
Since the end of major combat operations UK and other Coalition forces have been engaged in clearing sites containing unexploded ordnance. In the UK's area of responsibility an average of about 45 new sites have been discovered each week. Whenever a site is discovered UK forces mark the site and inform those in the vicinity. The munitions are then recovered or destroyed as soon as resources permit. To date around 1,600 sites have been cleared, containing about 619,000 munitions. We do not record individual types of munitions cleared.
We are not in a position to comment on progress made in other areas of Iraq by our coalition partners.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the(a) quantity, (b) spread and (c) location of (i) mines, (ii) unexploded cluster bomb submunitions and (iii) unexploded conventional munitions in Afghanistan; what efforts are (A) planned and (B) underway to locate, defuse and remove these munitions; what countries are participating in these efforts; and if he will make a statement. [133320]
§ Mr. IngramResponsibility for the assessment and clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Afghanistan rests with that nation's ruling authorities. The majority of the assessment and the clearance of UXO is conducted by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and commercial demining companies, in many cases working under the auspices of the United Nations. At the end of 2002, independent assessment showed that some 263 square kilometres of land had been cleared of UXO.
The Ministry of Defence carries out assessments of the quantity, spread and location of mines and UXO to ensure the force protection of our Service personnel or to counter any immediate threat to civilian life in Afghanistan. Military Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capability is currently provided by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Croatia as part of the International Stabilisation and Assistance Force (ISAF).