Home About Services Partners Fellows Blogs Resources Take Action

A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Resources > Global Issues > Covering the UN > Banning Landmines > On The Record - L...

On The Record - Landmines

OTR ICBL Vol. 4
On The Record: International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Volume 4 – December 20, 1998
Part 1 of 2

Special Issue on Landmines

• From the Editorial Desk
• Highlights
  • Good News
  • Bad News
  • Victims
  • Money for Mine Clearance
  • Monitoring
  • Events
  
  
• 1. Background
• 2. The Treaty
• 3. Achievements over the Past Year
• 4. Non-State Actors
• 5. Controversy over Statistics
• 6. The Continuing Problem
• 7. Victims
• 8. Money for Mine Clearance
• 9. Monitoring
• 10. Events
• Contacts

From the Editorial Desk

Over the week of December 1-5, activists from the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) met in Ottowa, Canada, to observe the first anniversary of the Ottawa treaty banning landmines and develop an international system to monitor the treaty.

The year since the Ottawa signing has been one of great achievement, but also reverses. On the positive side, 133 governments have signed the treaty and 57 have ratified. Even skeptics, like Russia and the United States, are coming around. The treaty will come into force on March 1, 1999. But much work still needs to be done to enforce the treaty, to help provide the right kind of assistance to mine victims, and to destroy the mines in the ground. There is even some evidence of slippage by signatories, notably Angola.

With this in mind, the ICBL has established an international network of civil society monitors. Called the Landmine Monitor, this will check on adherence to the Ottawa treaty and press those governments that have yet to join. It will also look at how money is being spent and the appropriateness of assistance to victims. Contact points and email addresses can be found at the end of this issue.

The Landmine Monitor is a far cry from conventional verification. But the international campaign against landmines would not have succeeded by respecting convention – a point that was recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee when it awarded the ICBL the 1997 Nobel peace prize. The ICBL is a unique network of over 1,200 groups around the world. It is this "bottom up" approach – the contact with communities – that pushed governments into agreeing to a ban. It will require the same engagement from communities and ordinary people to hold them to the commitment.

The Advocacy Project was asked to help promote the Ottawa meeting. This special issue of our E-letter On the Record summarizes some of the key issues to emerge at Ottawa. It is not an ICBL publication, and does not represent ICBL policy. Nonetheless, we strongly urge subscribers to endorse the call for a ban, and check out the ICBL.

Highlights

The Good News

Treaty Adherence
The Ottawa treaty has been signed by 133 governments, and ratified by 57. It will enter into force on May 1, 1999 – more quickly than any major treaty in history.

Stockpiles destroyed
Between 10 and 11 million stockpiled landmines have been destroyed since the signature of the Ottawa mine ban treaty. 

Non-signatories coming around
The United States, Russia, Israel, India, the Ukraine and China are among the major governments which have yet to sign the treaty. But even they are coming around. The United States has pledged to sign by the year 2006; Russia has stopped production of blast mines; Israel has suspended production and exports; India has pledged support for the treaty eventually; the Ukraine has agreed to destroy its entire stockpile, with assistance from Canada; and China has announced a pledge to the UN trust fund for mine victims. 

Non-state support
The Taliban of Afghanistan, and the provisional authorities of Somaliland have formally announced support for the treaty. The Taliban has declared mines "Anti-Islamic."

Casualties decrease in Cambodia
105 persons were reported injured or killed a month in Cambodia in 1997, down from 220 in 1996. 

Mine clearance gathers pace in Afghanistan
150 hectares of highly contaminated land has been cleared in 6 years.

The Bad News

Slippage by treaty signatories
Since June, 60 people were reported killed or maimed by mines in the Angolan province of Moxico alone. Angola is a signatory of the mine ban treaty and Angolan forces were seen laying mines around Moxico's provincial capital, Luena. UNITA rebels are also using mines on major roads. 

Palestine
Mines have been reported in territory handed over to the Palestinians by Israel.

Guinea Bissau
Stockpiled mines help to trigger a civil war in Guinea Bissau. 

Albanian chaos
Albanian military mines its own arms depots, loses deminers. 

Drug barons reported to be mining poppy fields in Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. 

Kosovo
UN mine assessment team refused permission to visit Kosovo by the Serbian authorities; four deaths from mines reported in Kosovo since August. 

Peacekeepers
During the week of November 30-December 5, six Russian CIS peacekeepers were wounded by mines in Abkhazia, Georgia; 70 CIS peacekeepers have been killed and 121 wounded in the last five years. 

Chechnya
3,000 amputees isolated, denied international aid because of kidnapping fears. 

Hurricane Mitch
Reports of Nicaraguans and Hondurans being injured by mines dislodged by floods. 

Victims

Victims explore lawsuits against companies: 300,000 victims require long-term assistance and reintegration. The Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) explores possible lawsuits against companies that manufactured mines.

Money for Mine Clearance

Despite pledges, funding is not reaching the deminers. The Mines Advisory Group has pulled out of Bosnia, and was close to suspending demining in northwest Cambodia, Laos, and Northern Iraq – all for a lack of funds. The European Union has cut funds for demining.

Monitoring

Landmine monitoring takes shape. Having triggered a network of 1,200 groups to adopt the mine ban treaty, the ICBL engages civil society to make it work.

Events

An ICBL delegation met for 30 minutes with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on Thursday, December 3. Events to celebrate the anniversary took place in 10 countries.


1. Background

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate, met the week of December 1-5 in Ottawa, Canada, with two main objectives:

Observe the first anniversary of the mine ban treaty

The treaty is formally known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and their Destruction. The process started in Ottawa in October 1996. The treaty was negotiated in Oslo in September 1997, and signed in Ottawa in December 1997.

Develop a grass-roots network of civil society groups to monitor the treaty

This unique initiative is known as the Landmine Monitor. 65 researchers from over 20 different countries met in Ottawa during the week of November 30 to December 4, to develop the methodology.

2. The Treaty

Content

As its name suggests, the treaty bans the use, production, transfer, and export of antipersonnel landmines. Unlike the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), this treaty does not distinguish between "dumb" mines (which remain the ground for years before being triggered) and "smart" mines, which self-destruct after a period of time. The treaty allows for no exceptions or reservations. There will be a review conference five years after it enters into force.

Adherence – the fastest entry into force of any major treaty in history.

The treaty has been signed by 133 governments, and ratified by 57. The latest to ratify were St. Kitts and Nevis and Lesotho. New Zealand, Australia, Italy, and Spain are poised to ratify, with legislation passed by at least one house in each case. The treaty needed 40 ratifications to enter into force, and become legally binding international law. The 40th state to ratify was Burkina Faso in September. The treaty itself will enter into force on March 1, 1999. The first meeting of states parties will take place May 3-7, 1999, in Mozambique.

Limitations

Despite its comprehensive nature, the treaty contains some limitations. These underline the critical importance of monitoring and verification.

Definitions

The treaty does not cover anti-handling devices that may be attached to anti-tank mines. Governments reached a diplomatic understanding in Oslo that the treaty would consider as anti personnel mines those devices that explode when they are unintentionally disturbed (as opposed to deliberately removed). But this distinction could be hard to prove, and there is a clear risk of forces using anti-tank mines against people. The treaty does not cover submunitions, such as cluster bombs. It covers claymores that are detonated by trip-wire, but not remote control.
   
The treaty does not explicitly apply to non-state actors, like rebel groups and regimes that are not recognized by the international community.

Assistance to mine victims

The treaty urges parties to provide assistance to victims, but this is not a legally binding commitment. Parties refused to undertake what they felt could be an open-ended financial commitment. They also felt that it could be difficult to distinguish between victims of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs).

Training

The treaty allows states parties to retain landmines for purposes of training. There is a clear risk that these could find their way into active use.

Transfer

The treaty forbids the transfer, export, and stockpiling of mines, but the United States is arguing that while the treaty bans "transfer" (meaning export) it does not ban "transit." This would allow the United States to move planes and ships with mines on board through treaty countries. Several NATO countries that have ratified the treaty are apparently storing American mines under NATO agreement. Norway has signed an agreement with the United States that American mines will be removed – but not for four years. Japan and Germany have not even protested. They argue that American bases are American soil.

Enforcement – the Rationale for the ICBL Landmine Monitor.

The treaty contains weak verification procedures. States parties must submit a report within six months of ratifying. Alleged violations can be reported by a state party to the UN secretary general, who could request a fact-finding mission. But the country concerned must accept. In other words, there is no automatic inspection. These weak provisions underscore the importance of an independent verification process.

3. Achievements over the Past Year

Major progress has been made towards stigmatizing landmines

The treaty suffers from the fact that several major governments still refuse to renounce the use of landmines completely. But even they are coming around:

The United States opposed the treaty in Ottawa, but President Clinton reversed this position in May and announced that the US will sign the treaty by the year 2003, everywhere except for Korea, if alternatives can be found. The US has destroyed 3 million "dumb" mines.
 
Russia has said that it will sign the treaty at some time in the future, and has stopped production of blast mines.
   
India has expressed support for the treaty at the UN General Assembly.

Israel has stopped producing anti personnel mines, and reaffirmed its export moratorium.

The Ukraine has agreed to destroy its entire stockpile, with assistance from Canada.

Between 10 and 11 million stockpiled landmines have been destroyed since the signature of the Ottawa mine ban treaty.

Engaging civil society in the cause of humanitarianism – a unique approach

The International Movement to Ban Landmines and the Mine Ban Treaty have had an impact far beyond landmines. This is because of the ICBL's unique membership. The campaign is a grass-roots advocacy movement, comprising over 1200 groups world-wide. As Canada's Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy told the ICBL on Tuesday December 1, the campaign has succeeded because it focused first and foremost on the needs of individuals affected by war instead of trying to convince and co-opt governments. The Minister expressed the hope that this commitment could be brought to bear on behalf of children in war, and against the use of light arms – two humanitarian campaigns that are gathering momentum. "You are the whistleblowers," he said. "You are on the front line."

At the same time, the decentralization that has made the ICBL so effective will be put to the test now that the treaty is in place. Pushing for a ban on mines was a unifying goal. The hope and expectation is that the campaign can be sustained and given new vigor by the need to monitor.

4. Non-state actors – the Taliban declare mines "Anti-Islamic"

The treaty does not cover rebel groups or de facto regimes that are not recognized as national governments by the United Nations. This is a serious problem, because reports are multiplying of mines being used by insurgents. Several non-state actors are moving to support the treaty anyway. Recently, the Taliban in Afghanistan has announced support for the treaty and declared the use of landmines as "anti-Islamic." It is hoped that this could influence other Muslim governments in the Middle East. The provisional authorities of Somaliland have also notified the treaty secretariat of its support.

5. Controversy over statistics – concentrate on the land affected and the lives damaged, rather than numbers

Several recent reports have suggested that the number of mines has been exaggerated. When the mine crisis first began to attract publicity, the United Nations estimated that 100 million mines were in the ground, and that they would take hundreds of years to clear. It is true that these estimates are being revised downwards. But this is only to be expected as more information becomes available, and mine clearance picks up pace.

In a sense, though, this obsession with statistics seriously distorts understanding of the mine problem. One small area can be full of mines, but do little damage because of its isolation. On the other hand, it can take one landmine – or the fear of a mine – to block off valuable land and paralyze an entire community. One mine accident can destroy the livelihood of an extended family. In other words, it is essential to think in terms of impact, rather than figures – and target interventions where they can do the most benefit.

Casualties – 105 casualties a month in Cambodia in 1997, down from 220.

A new study by Handicap International, UNICEF, the Cambodian Red Cross and Mines Action Cambodia finds that 1,369 persons were injured or killed by mines in 1997, as opposed to 2,766 the previous year. The survey covered 90% of the area affected by mines and shows that the combination of demining and mine awareness is finally having an effect. But 110 casualties a month is still unacceptable.

Mine Clearance – 150 hectares of highly contaminated land was cleared in Afghanistan in 8 years, at a cost of 300 injured deminers.

Mine clearance has been underway in Afghanistan for several years, and is considered a model by the United Nations. The program engages 4,500 Afghan deminers and has cleared one third of the 450 hectares of highly contaminated land that was identified in the early 1990s. One hundred and fifty thousand landmines have been removed and destroyed. There have been almost no accidents on the cleared land. The rate of accidents has also fallen from over 20 a day in 1993 to between 5 and 8. But a heavy price has been paid: 300 deminers have been injured, 35 of them fatally.

6. The Continuing Problem

In spite of the progress made over the last year, the crisis of landmines continues and evolves. Some of the examples that emerged in Ottawa:

Signatories of the Ottawa Treaty

Albania signed the treaty in September. It is not a classical example of mine contamination, but shows how political disturbance can quickly unleash a crisis of mines. Following the unrest in 1997, several army depots were looted and an estimated one million landmines were stolen. Fifteen looted depots exploded, and twenty hectares of land around depots are contaminated. The army's response has been to place almost a quarter of a million defensive mines around depots, to protect its own armaments. But the prime minister recently confessed this had added to the problem: 14 deminers have been killed trying to remove the mines. Civilians are also affected: 22 civilians died last year when an underground depot exploded. Unlike traditional areas of concern like Cambodia and Afghanistan, Albania has not received much attention: there is almost no mine detection equipment in the country, or money to pay for demining.

In Angola, an ICBL researcher recently witnessed mines being laid by Angolan government forces around the provincial capital of Luena, Moxico province, in eastern Angola. He also heard that mines had been laid on the roof of a police station. On Wednesday, December 2, a group of four non-governmental organizations working in Angola issued an open letter confirming the escalating use of mines by both sides in Moxico. No accidents were reported between January to March; between April and June there were eight casualties; between July and September there were 14. During October and November 14 more persons were killed, and 31 wounded by mines.

In Brazil, Bolivia, and Colombia there are widespread reports that mines have been laid around coca fields, but it is not clear whether these have been laid by narco-traffickers or farmers.

Mines laid by Afar rebels in northern Djibouti have caused several casualties among government forces in recent days. There is no evidence that the government – a treaty signatory – has retaliated with mines.

In Guinea Bissau landmine stockpiles helped to trigger a deadly military feud in this West Africa country, after senior military officers sold mines to the rebels in neighboring Senegal. The mines had accumulated from stockpiles left by the Portuguese. Senegal protested, causing a major rift in the Guinea Bissau army that resulted in fighting.

Concerning Senegal, a new report from Handicap International estimates that over 500 persons were killed or injured from mines between August 1997 and August 1998 in the region of Casamance, which is the scene of a major rebel uprising. This is extraordinarily high for a population of 250,000.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OTR ICBL Vol. 4 (Part 2)
On the Record: International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Volume 4 – December 20, 1998
Part 2 of 2 

Other

Palestine Authority
There are unconfirmed reports that parts of the territory handed over to the Palestinians by Israel are mined.

Chechnya
There are only two NGOs active in Chechnya, and one was present in Ottawa. According to the Center for Peace-Making in Grozny, 26,520 hectares in Chechnya are contaminated by mines. The Russian army has admitted to laying 2 million mines during the war. Three thousand Chechnyans are thought to have lost limbs, one hundred since the end of the fighting. There is virtually no possibility of rehabilitation, because of Chechnya's isolation. Foreign aid workers are keeping clear of Chechnya because of the fear of kidnapping or murder.

Abkhazia
Six Russian peacekeepers were wounded in mine accidents on Monday, November 30. According to one researcher present in Ottawa, 70 CIS Peacekeepers have been killed by mines, and 121 wounded since the CIS force moved in to separate Georgian forces and the Abkhazian forces in April 1994.

Kosovo
The Serbian government started laying mines along the border between Kosovo, Macedonia, and Albania this summer, in an attempt to prevent aid reaching the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) rebels in Kosovo and deter refugees from fleeing Kosovo. In addition, Serbian police are reported to be laying mines inside Kosovo itself. Four persons are reported dead since August. The Serbian government recently refused to provide visas to an assessment mission from the United Nations.

Hurricane Mitch

Hurricane Mitch has displaced thousands of landmines in Central America, and thrown promising mine-clearance programs into total confusion. There are recent reports of three Nicaraguans wounded by mines, and also reports of deaths in Honduras. This represents a grievous reverse in the battle against landmines: the Organization of American States (OAS) had launched several promising demining operations in the region.

7. Victims

300,000 victims require long-term assistance and reintegration; survivors network explores possible lawsuits against companies that manufactured mines.

The mine ban treaty urges governments to provide assistance to mine victims, but does not require it, and there is some concern that the needs of victims are being largely ignored or misunderstood. Three hundred thousand people worldwide are thought to have survived mine accidents. Their needs are formidable, and it will take years for them to be reintegrated into their community and heal them from their wounds. Providing a prosthesis is not enough. Studies have found that many amputees do not use their prosthesis, often because there is no possibility of adapting it to their stump (which changes over time).

The Landmine Survivors Network (LSN), based in Washington, DC, has authored a bill of rights for survivors, which has been endorsed by Queen Noor of Jordan – an enthusiastic patron of the LSN. The LSN has also engaged a prominent Washington law firm to explore the legal possibilities. Some would like to follow the example of the anti-smoking lobby and file a lawsuit against companies which manufactured mines.

8. Money for Mine Clearance

Despite pledges, much of the funding is not arriving. One prominent demining group has stopped demining in Bosnia, and almost suspended demining in Cambodia, Northern Iraq, and Laos.

Many governments have committed themselves to funding mine clearance, and the results are starting to show: 10 donor governments have initiated 98 new mine action projects in 25 countries in the last year. The Canadian government pledged $100 million on the signing of the treaty, and recently announced an additional $2.3 million to be spent in Ukraine, Croatia, and several other countries. The United States has announced "Initiative 2010," and called for one billion dollars a year to be raised for demining.

But demining groups argue that too much of the money is going to research on technology, institutions, and even defense institutions – in other words, the bureaucracy of demining. At the same time, many demining groups are finding it increasingly difficult to find money. There are several reasons for this.

First, says Mines Advisory Group (MAG), the European Union has cut its demining budget by half this year (from 40 million ECUs to 20 million ECUs).

Second, many donors provide funds for periods of as little as six months. This makes it hard to plan for the long term, because at least three years is needed for sustained demining to start producing results. MAG was three days away from laying off 120 Cambodian deminers when a six-month grant from Britain ran out. It almost suspended demining in Laos and Northern Iraq.

Third, donors are increasingly turning away from humanitarian demining to commercial demining. There is an important difference: humanitarian demining aims to create a local capacity for demining. Commercial demining focuses on getting the mines out by any means.

Finally, many donors are putting money into national mine action programs, which then decide how the money is spent. This may or may not go to demining.


9. Monitoring

This paper is, to all intents, an extended argument for the importance of monitoring the Ottawa mine ban treaty in a new and innovative manner. As noted above, the treaty has weak verification provisions. It is crucial to check that states parties are adhering to their commitment, and also try to put pressure on those governments that remain skeptical. This will call for an intimate knowledge of stockpiles, arsenals, and even battlefields. But as this paper shows, the monitoring will also have to cover a much broader range of issues: how funds are being directed; how victims are being assisted; how nationals laws are being developed; what training is taking place.

As this meeting in Ottawa made clear, such a task will call for a very different model of monitoring than that normally associated with disarmament treaties. There are, at present, two different extremes: at one extreme, the highly intrusive spot-checks that are allowed under the Chemical Weapons Convention; at the other extreme, the complete absence of inspection provided for by humanitarian law.The ICBL is drawing on the network of civil society affiliates which helped to push through the treaty, to create an international network of monitors. The recent meeting in Ottawa brought together 65 researchers from 20 countries to develop the methodology and the "how to." The results of their first year of monitoring will be published in time for the first meeting of states parties in Mozambique next May. The Landmine Monitor is supported with funds from the governments of Canada, Ireland, Norway, and the Open Society Institute. The budget for the first year is $1.1 million. Almost $900,000 has been pledged.

Monitoring will not be easy. One ICBL researcher was threatened with death during a recent visit to Angola, and there could be risks in investigating such places as Kosovo and central Africa. On the other hand, many ICBL members will be helped by the contacts they have developed with the authorities. For example, Besnik Alibali, in Albania, trained many of the Albanian government deminers and experts. The Afghan campaign to ban landmines has also dealt with the Taliban. Over the last year, the ICBL has drawn widely on the expertise of human rights monitors, and specialists like the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The campaign can count on the fact that many governments and rebel authorities will not want to be seen using mines, or refusing to cooperate with a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

10. Events

ICBL meets with Canadian Prime Minister

The December 3 anniversary was celebrated in at least 10 countries around the world, ranging from the United States to Sri Lanka. Nobel co-laureate Jody Williams, and the five core organizations that coordinate the ICBL , met with the Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in Ottawa. The core organizations are: Handicap International, Norwegian People's Aid, Human Rights Watch, the Kenyan Campaign, and Mines Action Canada.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Landmine Monitor Needs You!

The Landmine Monitor needs researchers for the following countries. Contact the Monitor with your proposals, and please pass the word around as widely as possible. Funding is available to carry out the research, which must be conducted in January-February 1999. Please contact Mary Wareham at Human Rights Watch (see below):

Africa
Benin; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central Africa Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo Brazaville; Cote D'ivoire; DR Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Guinea; Madagascar; Mauritius; Sao Tome e Principe; Seychelles; Togo

The Americas
Belize; Caribbean Countries; Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Panama; Suriname; Venezuela

Asia-Pacific
Singapore; Sri Lanka

Europe/Central Asia
Austria; Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Macedonia; Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Slovenia; Armenia; Kazakhstan; Kyrgzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan

Middle East
Bahrain; Iraq; Israel/Palestine; Jordan; Kuwait; Oman; Saudi Arabia; Syria; UAE; Qatar

Contacts for the Landmine Monitor Core Group:

To find out more about the landmine monitoring, or to get involved, contact one of the following:

Mary Wareham at Human Rights Watch (core group). 1522 K Street, NW, #910, Washington, DC 20005, USA; 202/371-6592.

Anne Capelle, Handicap International. Rue de Spastraat 67, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium; 322-286-50-59.

Mereso Agina, Kenyan Coalition Against Landmines. PO Box 57217, Nairobi, Kenya; 254-2-222-095.

Celina Tuttle or Paul Hannan, Mines Action Canada. 145 Spruce Street, Ottawa, Ont., KIR 6P1, Canada; 613/234-6755.

Christian Ruge, Norwegian People's Aid. PO Box 8844, Youngstorget, NO-0028, Oslo, Norway; 47-2203-77-00.

For Assistance to Survivors Contact:

Jerry White, Brady Lee, or Ken Rutherford at the Landmine Survivors Network: 700 13st Street, NW, Suite 950, Washington, DC 20005.

To Reach the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Contact:

Elizabeth Bernstein, co-coordinator, International Campaign to Ban Landmines. PO Box 2189, Maputo, Mozambique; 258-1-49-39-81/2; Fax: 258 1-49-39-80.

Susan B Walker, 4400 Upton Ave., So., #401, Minneapolis, MN 55410-1929, USA; 612/925-9418; fax: 612/928-1945.

Back