Commissaire Alain Guillaume Bunyoni (centre) with General Nimenya, National Civil Protection Coordinator (right) and Mr.Gustavo Gonzalez, UNDP Country Director (left).
The National Mine Action Center Bujumbura, Burundi called DAHMI, Direction de l’Action Humanitaire contre les Mines et Engins non explosés (Humanitarian Department for Mine Action and EOD) has been officially inaugurated on 11 February 2008; following the signature of the official decree by General Evariste Ndayishimiye, Minister of Interior and Public Security last October with continued support from UNDP and the GICHD.
After 44 months of hard clearance work in Burundi, 91% of the contaminated areas have been cleared from mines and ERWs. In total, there are 238 suspected areas according to the community impact assessment. The remaining part should be cleared by mid 2008 and allow the declaration of Burundi as free of the impact of mines 6 years prior to the deadline.
Regarding stockpile destruction, Burundi’s deadline is on 1 April 2008, and there are currently strong efforts being made by DAHMI and the Public Security authorities to reach the goal on time, considering the small number of stockpiled mines.
A GICHD delegation visited DAHMI in July 2007 to explore opportunities for future cooperation and to see the results of past cooperation. The GICHD has supported the Burundi Mine Action Program from the very beginning, installing the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) and choosing the Burundi Mine Action Program as a Pilot Center for IMSMA implementation. The partnership was positive for both sides, as it allowed the GICHD to test and improve the system and the DAHMI staff, including National Authorities and UN advisers, to move forward, and gain experience and get training in Information Management and Map Design.
As a next step, the enthusiastic DAHMI team will provide support to the Burundi population census planned in August. Together with UNDP and the GICHD, it will also deliberate on how to best use their skills and tools in the future. IMSMA for instance could serve national strategic development programs and operations planning, including disaster and prevention surveillance.
