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Conventional Weapons:

Weapons that are not weapons of mass destruction (e.g. nuclear, chemical and biological):

• Mines: arm designed to be placed under, on or near the ground or other surface area and to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or a vehicle.
• Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) refers to explosive munitions left behind after a conflict has ended, and includes both Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Abandoned Explosive Ordnance (AXO).
• Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) refers to bombs, rockets, grenades, mortars and other types of explosive weapons which have failed to explode when fired or on impact, and lie on the ground in a dangerous, sensitive state, able to explode at any moment.
• Abandoned Explosive Ordnance (AXO) refers to unused munitions left behind when a conflict ends, which are no longer under the control of the combatants who left them there.

Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW):

• Small Arms: any man-portable lethal weapon designed for individual use that expels or launches, is designed to expel or launch, or may be readily converted to expel or launch a shot, bullet or projectile by the action of an explosive.
• Light Weapons: any man-portable lethal weapon designed for use by two or three persons serving as a crew (although some may be carried and used by a single person) that expels or launches, is designed to expel and launch, or may be readily converted to expel or launch a shot, bullet or projectile by the action of an explosive.

Ammunitions:

• Ammunitions (munitions) refers to complete devices charged with explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, initiating composition, or nuclear, biological or chemical material for use in military operations, including demolitions.
• Cluster munition refers to a conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive sub-munitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those explosive submunitions.

Improvised Explosive Device (IED):

A device placed or fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic or incendiary chemicals and designed to destroy, incapacitate, harass or distract. It may incorporate military stores, but is normally devised from non-military components. Within the umbrella term ‘IED’ there lies a wide variety of devices, of different sizes, purposes, construction, sophistication, complexity, life-span and emplacement (again much as with ERW). IEDs can be classified into five main categories based on their means of initiation:

• Time initiated: A method of a time delay is set, when that time has passed, the device functions.
• Command initiated: Require a physical link (i.e. command wire and power source) or non-physical link (remotely initiated, i.e. mobile phone) to be initiated.
• Victim operated: Initiated by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or animal.
• Projected IED: A direct (i.e. improvised rocket) or indirect explosive device (i.e. improvised mortar) that can be initiated by victim, command or time.
• Suicide IED: An explosive device that is hidden on or near the person and is initiated by that person in an attempt to kill themselves and others.

For HI for instance, victim operated IEDs and anti-personnel landmines definitions are quite similar as they fall under the current Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.

Mine Action (IMAS 04.10)

Mine action is not just about demining. It is also about people and societies, and how they are affected by landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination. The objective of mine action is to reduce the risk from landmines and ERW to a level where people can live safely; in which economic, social and health development can occur free from the constraints imposed by landmine and ERW contamination, and in which the victims’ different needs can be addressed.
Mine action comprises five complementary groups of activities (the 5 pillars of Humanitarian Mine Action):

• Mine Risk Education: activities which seek to reduce the risk of injury from mines/ERW/IEDs by raising awareness of men, women, and children in accordance with their different vulnerabilities, roles and needs, and by promoting behavioral change through public information dissemination, education and training, and community liaison.
• Humanitarian demining: activities which lead to the removal of mine and ERW hazards, including technical survey, mapping, clearance, marking, post-clearance documentation, community mine action liaison and the handover of cleared land. Demining may be carried out by different types of organizations, such as NGOs, commercial companies, national mine action teams or military units. Demining may be emergency-based or developmental.
  Note: in IMAS standards and guidelines, mine and ERW clearance is considered to be just one part of the demining process, and demining is considered to be one component of mine action.
  
• Victim Assistance² : refers to all aid, relief, comfort and support provided to victims (including survivors) with the purpose of reducing the immediate and long-term medical and psychological implications of their trauma.
• Stockpile destruction: the physical destructive procedure towards a continual reduction of the stockpile of explosive ordnance.
• Advocacy: in the context of mine action, the term refers to public support, recommendation or positive publicity with the aim of removing, or at least reducing, the risk from, and the impact of, mines and ERW.

Pre and Post Impact Assessment (PIA) KAP-oriented:

PIA aims at measuring the impact of Armed Violence Reduction intervention on the affected community and more specifically on the evolution of their Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP oriented assessment) related to armed violence. It consists of a baseline/pre-assessment and one or more endline/post-assessments. PIA uses a nonrandomised sampling method, which targets indirect beneficiaries of armed violence reduction (AVR) activities and should be representative in terms of target groups, age and gender.

Contamination Impact Survey (CIS):

Quickly assesses the extent of potential contamination from mines/ERW/IEDs after conflicts. The survey maps, and when possible marks, potential dangerous areas and also gathers data from the community such as socioeconomic blockages resulting from actual or perceived contamination.

Non-Technical Survey (NTS) (IMAS 04.10):

Refers to the collection and analysis of data, without the use of technical interventions, about the presence, type, distribution and surrounding environment of mine/ERW contamination, in order to define better where mine/ERW contamination is present, and where it is not, and to support land release prioritisation and decision-making processes through the provision of evidence.

Technical Survey (TS) (IMAS 04.10):

Refers to the collection and analysis of data, using appropriate technical interventions, about the presence, type, distribution and surrounding environment of mine/ERW contamination, in order to define better where mine/ERW contamination is present, and where it is not, and to support land release prioritisation and decision making processes through the provision of evidence.

Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) surveys (ISACS 01.20):

Collection and analysis of comprehensive quantitative and qualitative information on small arms and light weapons within a specific geographical area (e.g. region, country or community) with a view to determining the need for and nature of safe, effective and efficient interventions by appropriate stakeholders.
They seek to determine:

• The nature and extent of the spread and impact or small arms and light weapons;
• Public and stakeholder perceptions regarding small arms and light weapons, armed violence and related issues;
• The capacity to respond to the challenges posed by small arms and light weapons.
• SALW surveys are sometimes referred to as “baseline assessments”, “mappings” or “national assessments”.

SALW control:

Activities which aim to reduce the social, economic and environmental impact of uncontrolled SALW proliferation, availability, accessibility, use and misuse on individual, community and national safety and security.