The Mine Ban Treaty, negotiated in 1997 through an unprecedented coalition of governments and non-governmental organizations, has been signed by 130 nations since last December. It is formally named the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and On Their Destruction (See Text). The first forty ratifying states include nations that led the treaty negotiations such as Canada, Norway and South Africa, as well as nations that have been severely impacted by land mine use, such as Bosnia, Croatia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Also ratifying are several former mine producers and exporters such as France, Germany and the U.K.
All states signing the treaty are bound to destroy their stockpiled anti-personnel mines within four years, and those already in the ground within ten years, after the treaty's entry into force. The rapidity of that date thus increases the pace with which governments will be expected to alleviate the land mine threat. In addition to comprehensively banning anti-personnel mines, the treaty requires signatories to perform mine clearance and urges mine victim assistance programmes.
"It is fitting that this treaty will enter into force faster than any other major treaty in history," said Jody Williams, leading campaigner for the treaty and Ambassador of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). "This accomplishment underscores the urgency of dealing with the global landmine crisis and the strength of the new international standard against this insidious weapon."
The ICBL has expressed grave concern about reports of the continued laying of mines in a number of countries that have signed but not ratified the treaty, such as Angola, Cambodia, Senegal and Sudan. Mines continue to be used in several non-signatory states such as in Kosovo, the former Yugoslavia. In addition, land mine opponents emphasize the lack of adequate resources allocated for humanitarian mine action programmes.
The initial forty governments to
ratify the Mine Ban Treaty are:
Andorra, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Djibouti, Equatorial
Guinea, Fiji, France, Germany, Grenada, Holy See, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica,
Macedonia, Mauritius, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Niue, Norway, Peru,
Samoa, San Marino, South Africa, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan,
United Kingdom, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
The 130 signatories include all of the Western Hemisphere except the U.S. and Cuba, all NATO states except the U.S. and Turkey, all of the European Union except Finland, 42 African countries, and 17 in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan. Several important countries absented themselves from the unconventional negotiations and have not signed the treaty. The United States attended the final negotiating conference in Oslo, but after its proposed changes in the treaty's substance were rejected by the conference, President Clinton said the U.S. would not sign the treaty for at least eight years. Other non-signatories include Russia, China, India, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan and North and South Korea.
At its NGO Forum, held in Oslo, Norway, from 7-10 September 1997, the International Campaign elaborated the following PLAN OF ACTION:
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a united coalition committed to the goal of the total elimination of antipersonnel landmines. The ICBL opened the conference with a demonstration at the Rhein Main Air Base to demand that the United States remove its antipersonnel landmines that are stockpiled in Germany, other NATO states and Japan.
The ICBL agreed upon its priorities for 1998 in its three main areas of work. With regard to a ban, a top priority is the achievement in 1998 of the forty ratifications of the Ottawa Treaty necessary for it to become binding international law. It will work to universalize the treaty, with, among other initiatives, a regional conference in Hungary in March and a conference in Russia in May. It will explore a role for its members in monitoring the treaty.
The ICBL agreed that a priority for 1998 is to strengthen the advocacy work of the other two key pillars of the campaign--victim assistance and humanitarian mine clearance. In order to provide for comprehensive programs of assistance to mine survivors, the newly formed working group called for a commitment of three billion dollars over ten years. The six key points elaborated by the new demining working group are designed as guidelines for the ICBL in briefing governments and the public as to the priorities of the campaign with regard to humanitarian mine clearance.
The ICBL discussed all aspects of its currrent structure and reached a number of decisions. The ten existing members of the steering committee, now renamed the coordination committee, were reconfirmed, and six new members were asked to join: Association to Aid Refugees, Japan; Colombian Campaign Against Landmines; Inter-African Union of Human Rights; Landmine Survivors Network; Lutheran World Federation; and, Norwegian People's Aid. Working groups on each of the three main areas of work were established (ban, humanitarian demining, victim assistance) as well as a fourth working group on Legal and Moral Responsibility, in order to demonstrate the importance of this area of work in the campaign. The working group on nonstate actors will continue to develop its plan to involve these nonstate groups in the ban.
Jody Williams, co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with the ICBL, relinquished her role as the coordinator. Stating that it values and honors the important position that Jody Williams holds in the eyes of the world as a symbol of our work to overcome landmines, the ICBL asked her to accept a new position as ICBL International Ambassador and to participate in the Coordinating Committee. She accepted. Rae McGrath, who delivered the Nobel Lecture for the ICBL, and Tun Channereth, who accepted the Peace Prize for the ICBL, also accepted roles as International Ambassadors.
It was decided to form a new coordinating team to succeed Jody Williams. Liz Bernstein, based in Mozambique, agreed to become the first member of the team. Handicap International will provide financial and human resources to assist the coordinating team.
The General Meeting agreed that to best utilize the Nobel Peace Prize
funds it would establish an account in trust for the ICBL. The intention
of the Campaign is to draw on the interest of the account to advance the
campaigning goals of a ban and increased resources for humanitarian demining
and victim assistance. We will use the trust to attract additional support
for the ICBL to ensure its continued work until it has achieved the goal
of the total elimination of antipersonnel landmines. The Campaign will
launch an appeal to donors to build on the Nobel funds.
During this week-long conference and in the preceding week, some two dozen new governments have committed to the December treaty signing. Recent announcements have been made by key European nations such as France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, and Hungary -- several of which were major mine producers and exporters in the past -- as well as nations such as Angola and Bosnia where mines have been used most extensively.
"Clearly a new international norm is emerging," said Ms. Williams. "Antipersonnel mines are illegal weapons and those who continue to use them should be treated as pariahs." Among the nations that have refused to embrace the December deadline are those who rhetorically support a ban "as soon as possible," such as the United States, Australia, and India, and those who oppose a ban in the foreseeable future, such as Russia, China, and Pakistan.
The Brussels Conference was attended by more than 150 governments, and 138 non-governmental representatives from forty countries, including landmine survivors, mine clearance experts, and care providers.
While the ICBL is greatly encouraged by the rapidly increasing number
of governments stating their support for the December treaty, there is
also concern that there will be increasing pressures to weaken the draft
treaty that has been prepared by Austria and endorsed by the Brussels conference.
"Our main objective is to have a true ban treaty, without exceptions, reservations
or loopholes," said Ms. Williams. "We do not think that concessions undermining
the integrity of the treaty should be made for any government."
Katharine Crittenberger, U.S. representative to the CD, welcomed the move, saying she hoped the conference would soon be able to establish an ad hoc committee on anti-personnel land mines. The U.S. has favored negotiations in the CD, which may require years to reach fruition, to the fast-track "Ottawa Process" negotiations under the leadership of Canada, which aim to complete a land mines ban treaty by the end of 1997. "Many politically and militarily important nations are not full participants in the Ottawa Process, and a number of them have announced that they will not be bound by any draft treaty negotiated without their full and active participation," Crittenberger said.
The decision to appoint a land mines coordinator signals agreement by
southern states that the issue be tackled on its own and no longer tied
to deadlocked nuclear topics. Many non- nuclear nations have insisted that
the CD form an ad hoc committee to discuss nuclear disarmament, but these
proposals have been blocked by the nuclear powers, led by the United States.
The U.S. insists that bilateral negotiations with Russia are the only appropriate
forum for nuclear disarmament at the present time. These disagreements
have prevented the 61-member Conference from entering substantive negotiations
since the completion of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996.
"We are particularly concerned that US delegates, through bilateral consultations, are pressing for an explicit exception for new use of all mines in Korea and the continued use of smart mines indefinitely anywhere in the world," said Stephen Goose, Human Rights Watch and Chair, Steering Committee of the US Campaign. "The use of landmines in Korea is not uniquely justified under international law, thus the US Campaign rejects any exception for Korea or any other geographical area in the ban treaty."
An exception for Korea would permit the United States to keep its stockpile of 10 million smartmines. The US Campaign believes that a Korea exception is but a fig leaf to cover the real intent of US policy which is to continue to be able to use its smart mines indefinitely. Obviously, it is of serious concern that if the U.S. were granted its exception, this would open the treaty to a flood of exceptions from other countries with their own "unique" concerns.
"While Korea may or may not be a unique geopolitical situation, the US has not and cannot make the case that Korea is unique with regard to the use of landmines, particularly when it bases its argument on a flawed computer war-gaming model," said Mary Wareham, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and Coordinator of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines. Among other serious flaws, the model assumes the removal of all antitank as well as antipersonnel mines when contemplating the defense of South Korea.
The US stance is in stark contrast to the announcements by France, the
UK and Italy that they are supporting the Ottawa Process. The US now stands
with Greece and Turkey as the only NATO countries not on board the Ottawa
Process. "US officials have indicated that a fundamental review of US landmine
policy is underway," according to Ms. Wareham. "We remain hopeful that
they will be prepared to sign a ban treaty this December but we would prefer
that the US stay outside of the process rather than to contribute to the
creation of a treaty full of loopholes, exceptions and reservations. Such
a treaty is not a true ban treaty."
Even though Australia came to this conference as a full participant, signaling its willingness to participate in the Ottawa Process, in a speech yesterday they insisted that an effective ban can be better negotiated through the United Nations Conference on Disarmament - this despite the fact that the CD has been deadlocked over the issue of landmines all year. A ban through the CD is likely to take years, even decades while the humanitarian toll from landmines already in the ground grows by 26,000 casualties per year.
Australian ban supporters at the conference who work daily with landmine
victims in Cambodia, Afghanistan and Bosnia were disappointed by their
government's stance. "Today we are ashamed of being Australians. Our government's
position demonstrates a lack of commitment by Australia to obtain a complete
ban on antipersonnel landmines as soon as possible" said Denise Coghlan,
an Australian working with Cambodian mine victims. "Australia still retains
the right to use landmines in certain conditions - this is not a true renunciation
of use and it is inconsistent with the positions of other important countries
such as France," said Australian John Rodsted, working with Landmine Survivors
Network. France announced yesterday that it fully supports the Ottawa Process
and will sign the Brussels declaration and treaty in December and will
remove its use exception when the ban treaty is signed or in 1999, whichever
comes first. Italy reconfirmed its commitment last week to support the
December ban treaty and to renounce operational use of antipersonnel landmines.
During the opening plenary the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
delivered a clear, unequivocal message that the Campaign "wants a simple,
comprehensive ban treaty. No exceptions, no reservations, no loopholes."
Only 37 nations declared themselves as observers although it is unclear
how many of the 115 full participants, in particular Australia, will sign
the Brussels Declaration indicating their support for the Austrian draft
of the Ban Treaty and their intention to sign the treaty in December. The
Brussels Declaration will be open to signature up until the opening of
the Oslo Diplomatic Negotiating Conference on 1 September.
As a result of Human Rights Watch's year-long research and correspondence with mine component manufacturers, seventeen companies have already agreed to renounce any future involvement. Motorola was the first and best known. Others include Hughes Aircraft, Olin Ordnance, Kemet, Microsemi, AVX and Dyno Nobel. Seventeen companies refused to commit to no future production activities, and thirteen did not respond in writing to Human Rights Watch.
Although President Clinton has said that the U.S. will lead a global effort to ban antipersonnel mines, the U.S. has yet to ban or even formally suspend their production. Human Rights Watch reveals that the U.S. made more than four million antipersonnel mines from 1985 through 1996, and that the current U.S. stockpile totals fifteen million antipersonnel mines.
"The U.S. cannot lead from the back of the pack," said Stephen Goose, program director of the Human Rights Watch Arms Project. "The U.S. should join its close allies, such as Canada, France, Germany and Italy, which have already banned production of antipersonnel mines." Some of the other nations that have already banned or suspended production include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, and Switzerland.
"U.S. companies should acknowledge the humanitarian crisis created by antipersonnel mines and make the moral decision to get out of the business now," said Andrew Cooper, Arms Project researchers and author of the report. "The international community is moving rapidly toward a complete ban on this weapon, and U.S. companies should contribute to the solution, not to the problem," said Mr. Cooper. More than fifty governments have committed to the signing of a comprehensive treaty banning antipersonnel mines in Ottawa in December 1997. To date, the U.S. government has indicated that it will not be prepared to sign the treaty.
Human Rights Watch calls on the Clinton Administration to declare an immediate ban on production of all types of antipersonnel mines, to release detailed information about its current stockpile of mines, to develop a plan for the destruction of all antipersonnel mines, and to support the Canadian-led diplomatic initiative later this year. Human Rights Watch calls on U.S. companies to take immediate steps to dissociate themselves from future mine production and to develop industry-wide codes of conduct to stop the supply of components for antipersonnel mines. Human Rights Watch encourages citizens to send statements of protest to those companies refusing to renounce future production activities, and to take other actions such as divestment and shareholder resolutions of protest.
Copies of "Exposing the Source: U.S. Companies and the Production of Antipersonnel Mines" are available from the Publications Department, Human Rights Watch, 485 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017, for $6 domestic and $7.50 international. Visa/Master Card accepted.
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The Ottawa process is the result of the widespread recognition of the failure of the review conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Landmines Protocol to adequately address the humanitarian crisis of global landmine contamination. A growing partnership of non-governmental organizations making up the ICBL, pro-ban governments and other agencies and organizations began to solidify during the review conference sessions. During the final session, Canada announced its intention of convening a meeting of "like- minded" -- those supporting a ban -- to strategize as to the best way to achieve that goal.
The Ottawa Conference yielded three concrete results: a final declaration agreed to by the 50 governments recognizing the urgent need for a ban on AP mines; the conference Chairman's Agenda for Action, an outline of actions for reaching a ban rapidly; and the bold announcement by Canada's Foreign Minister Axworthy that Canada that Canada is prepared to hold a treaty- signing conference for a total ban in December 1997. The conference was also notable for the unprecedently high level of cooperation with and involvement by NGOs in both the planning and execution of the conference.
The momentum has not stopped with the conference. The process begun in Ottawa will continue through the next year until December 1997, when pro-ban states will return to Ottawa, at the invitation of the Canadian government, to sign a treaty that will ban anti-personnel landmines. Between October 1996 and December 1997, the ICBL will work in close partnership with Canada and other pro-ban states to continue to build the political will that will ensure a successful treaty signing.
As was announced in Ottawa, Brussels will hold a follow-on conference in June 1997. But other states have also announced their support for the process by their willingness to convene other meetings to consider treaty language -- both before and after the Brussels conference.
The ICBL has begun planning for the next critical year. The Campaign will hold a week- long series of meetings in Brussels in December 1996 to prepare for the government meeting of June and other ICBL actions throughout 1997. In February, the ICBL will hold its 4th international landmine conference in Maputo, Mozambique to build momentum for the treaty in that most mine-contaminated continent. Campaign workshops are also being contemplated for Finland, Russia, India, Pakistan, Asia and Latin America.
The Canadian invitation to return to Ottawa in December of 1997 to sign
a treaty banning antipersonnel landmines has given the world a timeframe
to eliminate this indiscriminate weapon. We will all work together over
this next critical year to ensure the successful completion of that goal.
And we will work after the signing to ensure universal adherence to that
treaty.
"If we can clear an average minefield here in two months and if I had 50 platoons of men, we could make a dent in the problem in seven years," remarked Lieut. Col Steven Ransley in June 1995, as he concluded his term as Chief of the United Nations Accelerated De-mining Programme (ADP) in Mozambique. Colonel Ransley's remark reveals an essential truth about de- mining operations: mine clearance operations can only succeed where mine- affected countries have the capacity to sustain and support them over the long term. Mozambique and other mine-infested countries will ultimately have to rely on their own national capacity to recruit, train and manage de- mining operations if they are to rid the landscape of land-mines and unexploded ordnance left over from years of war and civil conflict.
Tore Skedsmo, who heads the Mine Clearance and Policy Unit of the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), says that a country's people "must deal with land-mines for a generation or more and the international community can't stay that long." Cost-effectiveness is also an issue: the cost of a foreign de-miner can be thirty times that of a local worker. "This means," Skedsmo adds, "that for every expatriate on the payroll, we could have a platoon of local de-miners."
Training indigenous de-miners is vital for both political and practical reasons. If former rivals in armed conflicts, particularly civil wars, are to work together towards peace, rehabilitation and development, common ground is needed. Mine clearance is an essential first step towards expanding this common ground--both figuratively and literally.
An added benefit to creating an indigenous de-mining capability is that it provides steady employment in what are among the world's poorest countries. Employing demobilized soldiers from former opposing forces in places like Angola and Mozambique is "an important step" in national reconciliation, Skedsmo says. "To see former combatants working together helps the public at large and lifts morale....The de-miners are extremely popular people to be visiting your village," he adds, what side they fought on "is not even asked."
The total number of land-mines already deployed in at least 64 countries and territories is estimated at 110 million. Between 2 million and 5 million more mines are laid each year. Mine clearance is slow and labour- intensive. If clearance continues at current rates (about 100,000 mines a year), the total number of land-mines world wide will actually grow to 135,000,000 by the end of the century. The cost of clearing the land-mines already in place has been estimated at a minimum of $33 billion, while the estimated cost of rehabilitation and prostheses for the world's 250,000 land-mine related amputees is $750 million.
Two international meetings will take place under United Nations auspices this year to pursue efforts along these lines. A review conference of the States Parties to the "Convention on Certain Inhumane Conventional Weapons" will take place in Vienna in September. In July, in Geneva, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali will convene an International Meeting on Mine Clearance aimed at immediately increasing support for de-mining and related programmes in mine-affected countries.
Pressure is growing for governments to act on the question of land-mine proliferation. In resolutions adopted at its 48th and 49th sessions the General Assembly called for a moratorium on the export, transfer or sale of antipersonnel land-mines and related devices. Earlier this year, Secretary- General Boutros-Boutros Ghali wrote of the land-mine crisis that "The answer lies in the total ban on all forms of land-mines and the components to make them". The Vienna review conference will consider tightening the only existing provisions in international humanitarian law that directly address the use of land-mines. The International Committee of the Red Cross and non- governmental organizations (NGOs)--especially the 280 groups involved in the International Campaign to Ban Land-mines--have been urging governments to take effective action to ban the weapons.
Although the country is still infested with up to 10,000,000 mines and the Khmer Rouge is still deploying mines in areas under its control, nearly 16.5 million sqm [19.8 million sq. yds.] of the country have been de-mined. Approximately 40,000 mines have been uncovered, along with 320,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance. A further 25 million sqm [30 million sq. yds.] of mined land has been identified and marked in an effort to reduce casualties.
Cambodia is also on its way towards achieving a critically important goal: an independent, national de-mining capability. The United Nations, donor nations and NGOs realized early on that Cambodia should be made self- sufficient in mine clearing and training de-miners as quickly as possible. Shortly after the deployment of UNAMIC in 1991, the Secretary-General recommended to the Security Council that the mission's mandate be expanded to include mine clearance training and de-mining. The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) continued this work after its deployment in 1992. UNTAC's Mine Clearance Training Unit conducted mine surveys, launched mine awareness programmes, cleared mines, and recruited and trained Cambodian de-miners.
Cambodia's Supreme National Council established the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) in June 1992 in order to ensure that a national capacity would be developed to sustain all aspects of mine-related activities after the departure of United Nations peace-keepers, and for decades to come. Today CMAC employs 1,556 mine clearance personnel throughout the country, divided into De-mining Platoons, Mine Marking Teams, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Teams and Mobile Mine Awareness Teams. With the exception of 28 international military staff people and a few NGO experts, the CMAC staff is entirely Cambodian.
The proportion of amputees in Cambodia's population continues to be one of the world's highest (one in 236, as opposed to about 1 in 22,000 in the United States) but with the creation of a national capacity, it is less likely that Cambodia will have to be de-mined "an arm and a leg at a time", as one medical expert commented in 1992.
A lack of security has prevented mine clearance operations from being based in the Afghanistan itself. The MCP is part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA). The de-mining programme is managed, with a staff of five international experts, from Islamabad, Pakistan. MCP Programme Manager Ian Mansfield says it may be possible to move the office into Afghanistan by the end of 1995. Three regional MCP offices are in operation: at Kabul and Quetta in Afghanistan and at Peshawar in Pakistan. A total of 3,000 Afghan de-miners are engaged in mine clearance through the MCP, in 48 teams deployed nationwide, along with ten canine mine detection teams.
Significant progress has been made in de-mining selected areas of the country. In 1993, the United Nations identified 466 sqkm [180 sq. mi.] infested with approximately ten million mines. Of this area, MCP manager Mansfield says, 118 sqkm [45.5 sq. mi.] were designated "high priority" areas (such as roads, abandoned villages, farmland and land around wells) where land-mines "were stopping people from returning to normal lives". Other mined areas, such as old Soviet observation posts and opium fields, are low priority. By the end of 1994, almost half the "high priority" area had been cleared. One of the major successes of the de-mining program is in western Afghanistan, around the city of Herat. A 15 km (8 mile) wide belt of mines surrounded the city when de-mining started in 1993. Herat today "is basically clear of mines," Mansfield says, thanks to eight teams working in the region. When he first visited the region in May 1992, Mansfield adds, there was one civilian mine casualty a day. That number has been reduced to two or three per month.
Afghanistan's de-mining progress has recently been overshadowed by a new crisis in the capital. When fighting in and around Kabul ended in March 1995, the United Nations identified 142 new mined areas covering 14 sqkm [5.4 sq. mi.] around the capital. As displaced families returned home, the number of land- mine casualties rose sharply to 1,500 in April alone. Dealing with this situation has become "the new priority," Mansfield says. "We have had to divert quite a few teams into Kabul, the civilian casualty rate was so high that we couldn't ignore it... This will occupy our attention for a year or two." The front lines changed frequently during the fighting and all faction used a mix of mines, making it impossible to determine who is responsible for the newly-mined areas. Mansfield says UNOCHA is urging the new government to clear the mines its forces laid but, he adds, the defeated factions "are not capable of clearing their own mines."
In the absence of a functioning government in Afghanistan when the de- mining began, in 1989, the UN worked directly with NGOs. The result is the most elaborate non-governmental de-mining operation in the world, in which the United Nations finances the work of eight NGOs (6 Afghan, one Iranian, one British). Coordination by the United Nations has helped establish a clear division of labour. For example, the Afghan Red Crescent Society works in mine awareness and medical training in the area around Kabul, the Afghan Technical Consultants clear mines in the priority areas in the eastern, northern and central regions and Britain's Halo Trust clears mines in Parwan and Baghlan provinces in the North.
"One of the things we are proudest of," MCP's Mansfield says, "is that the programme is implemented through Afghan NGOs." Mansfield adds that the programme "could very easily be handed over to the government" whenever it is ready to assume the responsibility.]
Despite the generally favourable political climate and the available organizational support, however, the United Nations de-mining programme in Mozambique was slow to get under way. After long delays, in May 1994 the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) assumed responsibility for a part of the programme. An Accelerated De-mining Programme (ADP) was begun and steps were taken towards creating an indigenous national de-mining capacity in the country At the same time, de-mining contractors, working under the direction of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), began clearing more than 2,000 km or priority roads, particularly routes used by returning refugees and relief supply transport.
Lieut. Col. Paul King, who became Chief Technical Advisor to the ADP in June 1995, says the program is moving "fast and furious", with 450 de-miners divided into ten platoons and deployed throughout the country. By mid-May 1995 the ADP had cleared nearly 284,000 sqm [341,000 sq. yds.], which yielded more than 3,600 mines and the 1,780 pieces of unexploded ordnance. In addition to the ADP operation, private contractors and NGOs also have de-mining teams and training centres in various part of the country. For all of Mozambique, a total of nearly 6,000 mines have been cleared, over an area of 2,046,000 sqm [2,455,000 sq. yds.].
The ADP's first objective, to train and equip a cadre of 450 Mozambican de-miners, has been achieved. Work continues towards the second goal: to create a management structure for de-mining operated entirely by Mozambicans. The ADP headquarters staff of 50, composed mostly of Mozambicans, is responsible for mine surveys, medical and logistical needs, finance and administration.
A ministerial-level National Mine Clearance Commission (NMCC) was recently set up in Mozambique under the chairmanship of the Foreign Minister. The NMCC will eventually take over setting long-term national de- mining policies, strategies and priorities. It has not yet been decided when Mozambique will take full responsibility for managing the mine-clearance programme, and it is clear that the country will continue to need expatriate advice for a considerable period of time. "But," ADP Technical Adviser King cautions, "what is needed is a long-term national de-mining capacity which will be self-sustaining for 15 to 20 years. Without a structure, it will fall over."
Some mines were cleared in Angola during the brief period of peace between May 1991 and September 1992. Although some 80,000 mines were destroyed, land-mine accidents have been reported in areas previously thought to be cleared. Mining was intensified when hostilities between UNITA and Government forces resumed in 1992, leading to the complete collapse of the already crippled infrastructure.
Today, the fragile peace is holding. The United Nations Central Mine Action Office (CMAO) in Angola has been operating since March 1994 as part of the Unit for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance in Angola (UCAH), DHA's presence in the country. International workers are conducting mine awareness programmes and beginning a comprehensive mine survey.
In September 1994, UN agencies and Angolan NGOs began a mine awareness campaign, utilizing national media, training sessions and the distribution of posters, tote bags and clothing with awareness messages. UNICEF is engaged in mine-awareness activities inside Angola, while the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working in the refugee camps in Zaire and Zambia. Two NGOs--CARE International and the Mines Advisory Group--are working with Angolans both inside and outside the country. Norwegian Peoples Aid is planning to work with the one million internally displaced persons inside Angola. James D. Megill, the Programme Manager of CMAO, says that the success of the mine awareness programme is "the immediate goal...We are seeing an instant payback in the form of alleviation of casualties."
A comprehensive mine survey requires the end of hostilities and free access to all parts of the country, elements missing until this year. The 1994 Lusaka Accords, the basis for the current cease-fire and negotiations, provide for the free passage of mine clearance personnel throughout the country. "There was awful trouble getting [the survey] off the ground," CMAO manager Megill says. Concerns on the part of both the Government and UNITA-- which feared that information on minefields could compromise their own security--accounted in part for the delay, but lack of money also proved to be an obstacle. Norway pledged three-quarters of the $2 million needed, but it was not until April 1995 that the shortfall was covered by a contribution from the Netherlands. The survey began in June. "There has been broad participation [from the public and humanitarian organizations] in terms of locating mines but we have not cobbled together the total picture," Megill says.
The other two components of the Angolan mission--the training of de-miners and the clearing of mines--will begin later this year. In cooperation with the newly-expanded United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III), the CMAO will establish a school to train and equip 1,080 Angolan de-miners. Once trained, these de-miners will be deployed to high threat/high priority areas. The Angolan Government has set up a Mine Action Institute which will eventually replace the United Nations and other foreign assistance.
June 1995
The Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) was designated in 1994 as focal Policy Unit which works closely with the De-mining Unit of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations.
In November 1994, the Secretary-General established the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance, in order to provide resources for rapid and expanded United Nations action in response requests for assistance in mine clearance. As of the beginning of June 1995, the Voluntary Trust Fund had received contributions or pledges of some $2.3 million.
Work also began in 1994 on a de-mining Standby Capacity in order to make better use of in-kind contributions of States and organizations, and the Central Land Mine Data Base was set up to assemble information on mine- affected countries, United Nations minanizations, and types of land-mines.
In 1995, comprehensive mine action programmes in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia
and Mozambique are expected $65-70 million. Over the course of the coming year,
the United Nations is preparing to provide mine-clearance assistance to Chad,
Georgia, Rwanda and the States of the former Yugoslavia. Other requtions organizations
involved in mine clearance and related activities are UNICEF, the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization
(WHO). In January 1994, the programme to clear some 20Guatemala, UNHCR began
a risk- reduction and training programme in mine-affected areas. UNICEF and
the NGO Mine Advisory Group have undertaken limited mine clearance and mine
awareness education programmes in northern Iraq.
NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security
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