Background
The armed conflict between Iraq and Iran during the 1980s, the Gulf war in 1990, the conflict of early 2003 and other internal hostilities have left Iraq littered with millions of explosive remnants of war (ERW) and, in some parts of the country, a possible depleted-uranium (DU) contamination problem.
The countrywide threat to Iraqi lives and livelihoods varies from abandoned unexploded ordnance (UXO) to dangerous surface contamination. Mines afflict vast rural sections of Iraq. The largest contaminated areas stretch for hundreds of kilometres along the border with Iran. Large quantities of UXO also remain scattered throughout cities and towns. These threats originate from minefields laid during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, conflicts between rival ethnic and political parties, the military actions of 1990-1991 and the current conflict.

The Iraq Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) conducted from 2004 to 2006 mapped the distribution of contaminated areas in the 13 surveyed governorates. The community-based survey found 4,270 suspected hazardous areas and the contamination of more than 1,700 square kilometres affecting 2,117 communities.

In the south, the two most common socio-economic blockages were to irrigated land (87 percent) and fixed pasture (91 percent). In the far south, two threats are evident; old mines along the Iran-Iraq border, and new mines along the border with Saudi Arabia, which account for about 50 percent of mine victims. Other areas have a deadly mix of ERW originating from the most recent conflict, including rockets and cluster munitions.

The LIS identified 577 victims who had been injured in the two years leading up to the survey, in addition to thousands of older survivors. Overall, there are more than 2.7 million persons living in contaminated communities (E-Mine, Electronic Mine Information Network, Iraq).

Training of national staff
Since July 2003, Danish Demining Group (DDG) has been operating in the Basra region of southern Iraq conducting battlefield area clearance and explosive ordnance disposal operations.

As part of its global mine action projects DDG deployed 4 multi-skilled explosive ordnance disposal quick response teams from Afghanistan to clear explosive remnants of war in the highly contaminated areas in and around Basra. DDG immediately began training Iraqi national staff who replaced the Afghans in October 2003. Subsequent training of field operators was completed in 2005. As a result of this initiative, very quickly all the field operations of DDG were conducted by national operators supervised by national managers, field supervisors and team leaders with minimum international technical support.

Training and capacity building of national staff remains a key focus area of DDG Iraq. This is of critical importance to ensure that DDG can achieve the objective to establish a fully functional and independent Iraqi Mine Action NGO capable to operate in accordance with IMAS and NMAS.

Expanding Operations
In 2009 funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan allowed DDG to increase its Mine Action capacity even further, providing much needed clearance and Mine Risk Education. As of October 2011, with funding from the Department for Foreign Investment and Development (DFID), DDG has commenced a baseline assessment of the current socio-economic impact of ERW on communities in Basra Governorate in Southern Iraq. This will be expanded to include the remaining three governorates of Southern Iraq, namely Thi Qar, Maysan and Muthanna. In time DDG is looking to further expand the humanitarian mine action activities in southern Iraq by establishing clearance teams in the highly contaminated governorate of Maysan.

After the return process from neighbouring countries slowly has been picking up pace since 2009, there is an urgent demand for provision of safe access to land and agricultural fields as well as support for the national plans for rehabilitation of infrastructure and economic development.

Danish Demining Group is presently the only international humanitarian Mine Action organisation operating in southern Iraq and since 2003 it has built up and maintained an extensive and efficient operation.

Current Funding
As of January 2012, DDG Iraq is currently supported by four donors, namely UNDP, DFID, SIDA and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.