Country & Territory Reports - Landmine Action

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130 pacific islands 1409 Email from Major Mike Ammons, Chief Army Programs, (Office of Military Cooperation), US Embassy, Muscat, Oman, dated 22 September 2004. 1410 Email from Major Mike Ammons, Chief Army Programs, (Office of Military Cooperation), US Embassy, Muscat, Oman, dated 22 September 2004. 1411 Steve Soucek and Darrel Strother, Mine Action Information Center, “Humanitarian Demining in the Sultanate of Oman”, Journal of Mine Action, Issue 5.3: Landmines in the Middle East, December 2001, http://www.maic.jmu.edu/journal/5.3/focus/Soucek_Strother/Soucek_Strother.htm accessed 14 July 2004. 1412 Landmine Monitort 2003, Oman, August 2003, http://www.icbl.org/lm/2003/oman.html accessed 15 July 2004. 1413 Landmine Monitor 2000, Oman, August 2000, http://www.icbl.org/lm/2000/oman.html accessed 15 July 2004. PACIFIC ISLANDS: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii Background Kiribati (formerly known as Gilbert Islands) was taken by the Japanese in the 1939-45 War before the end of December 1941. 1414 Kiribati was left with considerable quantities of military wreckage and unexploded ordnance, especially on Tarawa which was taken by Allied invasion. Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule in 1971 by United Kingdom and full independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. 1415 The Marshall Islands were taken over by the Japanese during the 1939-45 War. In February 1944, the U.S. forces captured Kwajalein Atoll from the Japanese. This conflict left a considerable quantity of abandoned and unexploded ordnance. 1416 The U.S. held the Marshall Islands and identified some of its islands as suitable for testing of atomic bombs. From 1947 to 1962, Bikini, Majuro, Rongelap and Utirik atolls became the nuclear testing site of the United States. The islands finally gained full independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association after being under the US Government for four decades. The ties between the Marshall Islands and the U.S. continue and the Islands have been home to the US Army Base Kwajelein since 1964, serving as a target for inter-continental ballistic missiles fired from California. 1417 The Gilbert and Ellice Islands was annexed by Britain in 1916. During the 1939-45 War, parts of Tuvalu were occupied by the United States military. They built an airstrip in Funafuti in 1942. Japanese forces occupied the Gilbert Islands in 1942 but were driven out by the US in 1943. In 1974, residents of Ellice Islands voted by referendum to be separated from Gilbert Islands. The Ellice Islands became the independent nation of Tuvalu in 1978. 1418 The Northern Mariana Islands saw fierce fighting during the 1939-45 War. Saipan island, near Guam, was the scene of one of the key battles of the pacific war. US landings began on June 15, 1944 in an effort to dislodge an entrenched Japanese occupation. By the time the battle ended on July 9, 1944, approximately 30,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians had been killed. The U.S. suffered 16,525 casualties and 3,426 deaths. 1419 As well as seeing fighting during the 1939-45 War, certain areas in Hawaii were subsequently used as firing ranges by the US military resulting in massive ordnance contamination within identified areas. erw and motapm – global survey 2003–2004 Assessment of the problem Fighting between the Japanese and American forces during the 1939-45 War left ERW contamination in numerous areas of Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu but there is no substantial analysis of the extent of contamination. In the Northern Mariana Islands, ERW contamination has been identified as a particular problem for construction work and local ordnance disposal operators have suggested that even more ordnance is unearthed in excavation sites than is reported only to be returned to they excavation site “out of ignorance or complacency.” They note further: “On Kwajalein, the amount of UXO recovered from excavation sites went up 1,000 percent when those sites were monitored by UXO specialists.” 1420 Looking at the impact of ordnance in Saipan, part of the Northern Mariana Islands, Margaret Busé writes in the Journal of Mine Action that: “Northern Marianan emergency management officials believe there are still tons of UXO scattered across the small island today. Marpi, most of which is now forested, was the site of the last Japanese stronghold. It is so concentrated with UXO that efforts to clean up the site have been hampered by the cost of the enormous undertaking. [Finding] UXO while walking the shoreline is not uncommon. Road and construction projects are often delayed. The government occasionally hires a contractor to deal with the problem, but there is no organized ordnance disposal in current governmental plans. Officials feel the task would be too costly and may take many years. Adding to this dilemma is the bureaucratic red tape for undertaking such a job. The outlook for development in Saipan and the rest of the Northern Marians Islands is not optimistic, as these weapons stay indefinitely volatile.” 1421 As well as presenting a hazard to people and an impediment to infrastructure projects, sources have highlighted the environmental damage that ordnance disposal operations can cause to marine reefs. Underwater ERW contamination is extensive in many of these island areas and under-water ordnance disposal can result in the destruction of reefs if plans are not made to mitigate this. 1422 Kaho’olawe, one of the Hawaiian islands, was used as a gunnery and bombing range by the Army, Air Force, and Navy
for more than 50 years. 1423 A diverse mixture of munitions make up the contamination on Kaho’olawe, including aerial bombs, rockets, naval gunnery shells, torpedoes and small arms. Based on an assessment of the scale of contamination and challenges facing clearance of ordnance from Kaho’olawe the Director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight suggests “that the cleanup of other Naval island target areas may be even more challenging. Finding and removing UXO, clearing scrap, and restoring the environment will be costly and difficult at Vieques, No Man’s Island, Adak, and other Pacific Islands.” 1424 Efforts to address these problems According to Landmine Monitor 2000, much of the unexploded ordnance left on Tarawa (Kiribati) was removed during development of a new port. 1425 There are reports of mortar rounds found by children being brought to the Betio police station in Tarawa 1426 . However, no systematic clearance or awareness programmes have been conducted in Kiribati. 1427 No injuries or deaths linked to the problem have been reported in Tuvalu. 1428 According to an article by Margaret Busé, in the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. military EOD teams deal with over 225 emergency UXO calls on Guam per year. 1429 However, commercial operators have criticised the reliance on responsive teams suggesting that this leaves “children and construction workers,” amongst others, to bear the burden of risk. 1430 Lack of effective reporting is also identified as a problem with construction workers simply moving ordnance onto abandoned land nearby. According to a pacific islands 131 paper in the Journal of Mine Action, “this method may remove the danger from a specific area but it adds to the UXO problems in the remaining land. Government regulations and professional standards must be altered to consider the long-term affects of mine action.” 1431 The clearance of the Kaho’olawe’s 28,000 acre former US Navy target range is generally considered one of the largest unexploded ordnance (UXO) cleanup projects ever with an anticipated ten-year budget of $400 million. 1432 Legislation Kiribati acceded to the Ottawa Convention on 7 September 2000. Kiribati has not acceded to the amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons. 1433 Marshall Islands signed the Ottawa Convention on 4 December 1997 but has not yet ratified. 1434 Marshall Islands voted in support of First Committee vote on UN Resolution 57/74 calling for the universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. 1435 Marshall Islands are a State Party to the CCW but they have not signed Amended Protocol II. 1436 Tuvalu did not sign and has not yet acceded to the Ottawa Convention. 1437 Officials of Tuvalu promised to look into the ratification but it is not considered a priority. 1438 Tuvalu is not a party to the CCW. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth of the United States of America (USA). The islands of Hawaii are a state of the USA. The USA is not a party to the Ottawa Anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty. The USA is a party to Amended Protocol II of the CCW. 1414 Earl Ziemke, “World War II,” cjnewsline.com/War/WorldWarII/WorldWarII.htm 1415 Kiribati – Country Information – Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/kiribati/kiribati_brief.html, accessed 5 May 2004. 1416 “Marshall Islands 1946-1996”, http://www.antenna.nl/wise/454/4498.html. 1417 “Marshall Islands”, The World Factbook, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/rm.html, accessed May 2004. 1418 Robert C. Kiste, Tuvalu: History, in http://encarta.msn.com 1419 “WWII Ordnance Still Haunts Europe and the Asia Pacific Rim” by Margaret Busé online at http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/4.2/Features/ww2/ww2.htm 1420 “WWII Ordnance Still Haunts Europe and the Asia Pacific Rim” by Margaret Busé online at http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/4.2/Features/ww2/ww2.htm 1421 “WWII Ordnance Still Haunts Europe and the Asia Pacific Rim,” by Margaret Busé online at http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/4.2/Features/ww2/ww2.htm 1422 Environment Hawai`i, Volume 9 Number 2 (August 1998), Bombs Old and New Devastate Reefs In the Northern Mariana Archipelago, online at http://www.environment-hawaii.org/898cov.htm 1423 Parsons Corporation, “Project Summary: Kaho`olawe Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Process,” online at http://www.parsons.com/govt/uxo/pdfs/p-oeh-kaho.pdf 1424 Report on the website of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight online at http://www.cpeo.org/lists/military/1999/msg00290.html 1425 Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp.495-496. 1426 Photos by John Brown in August 2003. 1427 John Borrie, Explosive remnants of war: a global survey, Landmine Action, London, June 2003, p.35. 1428 Landmine Monitor 2002, p.760. 1429 “WWII Ordnance Still Haunts Europe and the Asia Pacific Rim” by Margaret Busé online at http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/4.2/Features/ww2/ww2.htm 1430 “Bombs Away: A Proactive Approach” by Lisa M. Vanada, MAIC online at http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/5.1/Focus/Lisa_Vanada_BA/vanada.html 1431 “Bombs Away: A Proactive Approach” by Lisa M. Vanada, MAIC online at http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/5.1/Focus/Lisa_Vanada_BA/vanada.html 1432 Report on the website of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight online at http://www.cpeo.org/lists/military/1999/msg00290.html 1433 “Impact of Landmines on Children in the East and Pacific Region”. UNICEF, September 2003. 1434 “Canada’s guide to the Global Ban on Landmines”, www.mines.gc.ca/country_profiles-en.asp 1435 Landmine Monitor 2003, p.528. 1436 “Impact of Landmines on Children in the East and Pacific Region”, UNICEF, September 2003. 1437 “Canada’s guide to the Global Ban on Landmines”, www.mines.gc.ca/country_profiles-en.asp 1438 Landmine Monitor 2002, p.760. erw and motapm – global survey 2003–2004
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Explosive remnants of war and mines
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Contents List of common acronyms Fo
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Foreword The last decade has seen s
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have been subject to significant ex
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Controlling the impact of ERW - ‘
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■ Men may consistently be underta
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around 95 per cent of IEDs in Iraq
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■ In Kenya in 2003, possible MOTA
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However, in June 2004, it was repor
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albania 17 34 “Afghan drivers com
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problem. After the Kosovo crisis in
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Angola Background The 30 years of w
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The impact of ERW seems significant
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affected by ordnance and munitions
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Belarus Background Belarus is affec
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Bosnia and Herzegovina Background T
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Herzegovina is a State Party to the
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undertaken with a local partner, th
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to prevent children from finding th
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Chad Background Chad’s ERW proble
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Chechnya Background Chechnya is an
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Chile Background Chile used AP and
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China Background Chinese territory
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352 “Japanese chemical weapon inj
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other IEDs have been found througho
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Official statistics on the ERW/mine
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in another accident involving a boo
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Background The Czech Republic has E
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Ecuador Background The long-standin
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536 “Intervención de la Delegaci
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■ In January 2004, 300 metal tube
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numerous 122mm artillery projectile
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Estonia Background The ERW found in
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agencies have warned that ERW and m
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On 1 April 2004, the JSEOD operatio
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Thessalonica line from 1915 to 1918
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2003. 737 Munitions whose storage t
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Background Greece was invaded and o
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Background Guatemala’s ERW proble
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Guinea Background Conflicts with ar
Page 81 and 82: 843 “PAAMI 2001-2004,” April 20
Page 83 and 84: Hungary Background Hungary is conta
Page 85 and 86: areas and would need another six mo
Page 87 and 88: From 1989 to 1999, a total of 1,082
Page 89 and 90: used them extensively as part of un
Page 91 and 92: ordnance threat. The following exam
Page 93 and 94: 960 NMAA MRE Strategy 2004, p. 8. 9
Page 95 and 96: Jordan Background MOTAPM were first
Page 97 and 98: 1013 Jordan Article 5 Summary, pres
Page 99 and 100: 1016 Dominic Wabala, “Police Offi
Page 101 and 102: month in October 2001. During this
Page 103 and 104: Kyrgyzstan Background The presence
Page 105 and 106: While it was reported that widespre
Page 107 and 108: averaging more than 200 per year. I
Page 109 and 110: The NSP further divides contaminate
Page 111 and 112: Lebanon Background Lebanon’s prob
Page 113 and 114: Background Internal conflicts in Li
Page 115 and 116: and Egypt. Photographs from clearan
Page 117 and 118: There have been political disputes
Page 119 and 120: Morocco Background After the depart
Page 121 and 122: Myanmar/Burma Background Myanmar ha
Page 123 and 124: Namibia hosts a large number of ref
Page 125 and 126: In 2004, UNICEF began monitoring mi
Page 127 and 128: ■ Widely dispersed ERW throughout
Page 129 and 130: Niger Background Niger’s landmine
Page 131: Oman Background MOTAPM and anti-per
Page 135 and 136: LOC in Kashmir region many of the l
Page 137 and 138: Although ERW and MOTAPM contaminati
Page 139 and 140: Panama Background Panama’s ERW pr
Page 141 and 142: 1519 UN Mine Action Website: Portfo
Page 143 and 144: philippines 141 1552 “Explosion k
Page 145 and 146: Poland Background Poland experience
Page 147 and 148: demining as part of Russia’s inte
Page 149 and 150: wanda 147 1610 http://proekt.ogi.ru
Page 151 and 152: 1648 According to data from a diffe
Page 153 and 154: Serbia and Montenegro Ministry of D
Page 155 and 156: operations. 1698 According to its A
Page 157 and 158: the border with Ethiopia. There are
Page 159 and 160: cent), playing (9 per cent), and ta
Page 161 and 162: due to incidents of AP mines, ERW a
Page 163 and 164: Sudan Background The civil war betw
Page 165 and 166: eporting period, in the past local
Page 167 and 168: Syria Background 1838 A result of t
Page 169 and 170: tajikistan 167 1850 Landmine Monito
Page 171 and 172: Thailand Background Thailand’s MO
Page 173 and 174: Timor Leste Background Timor experi
Page 175 and 176: Turkey Background Turkey has in the
Page 177 and 178: district, some areas of Teso region
Page 179 and 180: ukraine 177 1962 Interview with Dav
Page 181 and 182: Mine Action Information Centre (UMA
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Vietnam Background More than 30 yea
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No MOTAPM casualties can be confirm
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The increase in the scrap metal and
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vietnam 187 2081 Project RENEW and
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Yemen Background Yemen has witnesse
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zimbabwe 191 2129 Minister Kassim A
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1st floor 89 Albert Embankment Lond
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Country & Territory Reports - Landmine Action

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