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The Government of Lebanon, conscious of the damage and suffering caused by landmine and explosive remnants of war, shall take full responsibility for the humanitarian, socio-economic and environmental impact caused by these devices and shall rid Lebanon from the impact associated with these devices in an expeditious and efficient manner in line with international standards and mine action best practices.
Establishment of the Lebanon Mine Action Center:
The “National Demining Office” (NDO) was established in 1998 by the Lebanese Council of Ministers and in 2007 the name became “Lebanon Mine Action Center” (LMAC).
The Lebanon Mine Action Centre (LMAC) shall execute and coordinate the Lebanese National Mine Action Program (LNMAP) on behalf of Lebanon Mine Action Authority (LMAA). LMAC is the coordinating body for all humanitarian mine action activities in Lebanon. The LMAC coordinates the work of all organizations that aid humanitarian mine action activities in Lebanon.
The Lebanon Mine Action Centre shall be under the command of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Lebanon Mine Action Policy regulates organisational structure for mine clearance, survey and removal of explosive remnants of war in Lebanon as well as mine risk education and the coordination of assistance to victims of mine/explosive remnants of war (hereinafter: mine action). It determines the bodies authorised for the conduct of demining, rights and obligations of persons carrying out demining, as well as monitoring over the implementation of this policy.
Lebanon aspires to become a state party to the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices (Protocol II), known forthwith as the (CCW) Amended Protocol II, and aspires also to become a state party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, known forthwith as the Ottawa Convention.
The LMAC shall perform the following activities:
1. The LMAC will manage mine action activities in Lebanon and will help ensure the provision of administrative and logistical support to facilitate the work of all mine action organisations working in Lebanon in accordance with the National Mine Action End-state Strategies and standards.
2. The LMAC shall task, coordinate and authorize all humanitarian demining related activities including landmine and ERW survey, mapping, marking, clearance and land recovery.
3. Preparation of Mine Risk Education priorities upon which MRE will proceed in order to limit the risk of injuries through the dissemination of effective prevention measures.
4. The LMAC will be responsible for the national mine action information management system.
5. The LMAC will be responsible for the accreditation of all mine action organizations in accordance with National Standards before any mine action activity is authorized.
6. Quality control and quality assurance of all mine action activities.
7. The LMAC shall present semi-annual reports including implementation status, performance level in comparison to set priorities and indicators to the Ministry of Defence.
8. The LMAC shall prepare and update national accreditation and certification standards. Once these accreditation and certification standards are published, all concerned are obliged to adhere to them.
9. The LMAC will establish regional mine action centres as necessary.
10. The LMAC is free to ask support, information and collaboration from government agencies, international and national organisations and non-governmental organisations involved with mine action in accordance with Lebanese Armed Forces regulations. |