SMART IED THREAT MITIGATION TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP (SMiTMiTR)
SMART IED THREAT MITIGATION TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP (SMiTMiTR) – A DYNAMIC INFORMATION EXCHANGE PLATFORM ON MITIGATING THE THREATS OF IEDs FOR THE UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS By Ying Wing Wong, intern with the Communications team, United Nations Mine Action Service
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VERVIEW
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are the weapon of choice for non-state armed groups today, causing more than 14,000 1 IED deaths in 2019. They threaten civilian populations and the United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, and humanitarian actors. The increase 2 in both the number and variety of IED incidents makes it necessary for stakeholders to take a proactive approach to mitigate the threat posed by these devices to be ahead in the IED Arms Race. As the sophistication of the design and deployment of IEDs evolves, addressing this threat is a multifaceted challenge that requires vigilant adaptation of traditional tools and processes as well as the acquiring and developing knowledge of the continuously changing nature of new methods and assets. In his 2018 Agenda for Disarmament, “Securing our common future”, the Secretary-General recognized the need for greater coherence within the United Nations system in its approach to addressing the threats posed by IEDs and committed that:
“United Nations entities, under the leadership of the United Nations Mine Action Service, in cooperation with the Office for Disarmament Affairs and other relevant United Nations entities, will promote a strengthened and coherent United Nations inter-agency coordination on improvised explosive devices to ensure a whole-of-system approach.” In support of a UN whole-of-system approach to information-sharing and identification of effective IED threat responses, United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) developed the SMART IED Threat Mitigation Technology Roadmap (SMiTMiTR) as one of the tools for IED threat mitigation. It is a dynamic information exchange platform that compiles and shares the latest generic information on global IED threats and on the technology available to mitigate them. This innovative interactive platform categorizes IED threats and identifies technologies that can help to create standards in quest of smart solutions and
1 Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2020, from http://www.explosiveviolencedata.com/filters 2 General Assembly resolution 74/80 (2019), Assistance in mine action, A/RES/74/80 (26 Dec 2019), available from undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/RES/74/80.
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