Country & Territory Reports - Landmine Action

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160 sri lanka coordination in the country. Nationally, a National Steering Committee for Mine Action has been established in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, based in Colombo. It is chaired by the Secretary to the Ministry of Relief Rehabilitation and Reconciliation and has representatives from stakeholder ministries, government agents, donors, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization, mine action operators and UNDP and UNICEF. Operational coordination and tasking is provided by Regional and District Mine Action Offices in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Batticaloa. Risk education programmes have been implemented nationally through a range of local organizations. MAG and UNICEF have worked in an ongoing partnership with the local NGO White Pigeon to implement risk education in LTTE-controlled areas. erw and motapm – global survey 2003–2004 Legislation Sri Lanka has not signed the Ottawa Convention. There have been ongoing efforts by NGOs and donors to foster support from the Government and the LTTE for the Convention or a parallel Deed of Commitment, but this remains deadlocked. In September 2004, Sri Lanka ratified the CCW and its Amended Protocol II, Protocol III and Protocol IV. 1771 Telephone interview with Norwegian Peoples Aid Senior Technical Adviser, Richard Schimdt, 30 September 2004. 1772 Report from Media Conference arranged by the Landmine Ban Advocacy Forum, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 14 July 2004: http://www.humanitariansrilanka.org/Pages/Mine_Action_Resource_Centre.htm. Last accessed 30 September 2004. 1773 Landmine Action and The Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines, “ERW in Sri Lanka”, May 2003, p. 10. 1774 Landmine Monitor 2001: http://www.icbl.org/lm/2001/sri_lanka/, last accessed 9 October 2004. 1775 Telephone interview with Norwegian Peoples Aid, Senior Technical Adviser, Richard Schmidt, 30 September 2004. 1776 Durable Solution Progress No: 15 – The Bulletin of the United Nations Inter-Agency IDP working group, 29 April 2004: http://www.unhcr.lk.publications.htm, last accessed 30 September 2004 1777 Email from Claire Sanford, Programme Officer, Mines Advisory Group, Sri Lanka, 20 August 2004. 1778 From MAG’s website, http://www.mag.org.uk/magtest/srilanka/Pullaveli.htm 1779 According to the IMSMA database the first record of a mine victim was in 1985. Comprehensive records were not kept prior to this and, even since the introduction of international support to mine action in Sri Lanka in 2002, such data-gathering mechanisms have been subject to ongoing development. 1780 All raw materials in this report are from the UNDP-led IMSMA database in Sri Lanka. 1781 Telephone interview with Richard Schmidt, Senior Technical Adviser, Norwegian Peoples Aid, 30 September 2004. Information also provided from the IMSMA database, Sri Lanka. Accident ID number LK-720. 1782 Main organizations: Sarvodaya, the Refugee Settlement Organisation (TRRO),White Pigeon (WP), Mines Advisory Group, Community Trust Fund (CTF), Save The Children Sri Lanka, National Institute for Education (NIE). Report from Media Conference arranged by the Landmine Ban Advocacy Forum, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 14 July 2004: http://www.humanitarian-srilanka.org/Pages/Mine_Action_Resource_Centre.htm. Last accessed 30 September 2004. 1783 Article “ Landmines in Sri Lanka have devastating consequences”, in Report from Media Conference arranged by the Landmine Ban Advocacy Forum, Colombo,Sri Lanka, 14 July 2004: http://www.humanitarian-srilanka.org/Pages/Mine_Action_Resource_Centre.htm. Last accessed 30 September 2004. 1784 Landmine Action and The Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines, “ERW in Sri Lanka”, May 2003, p. 11. 1785 According to IMSMA data. The rest of the incidents do not report what the victim was doing when the incident happened. 1786 Landmine Action and The Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines, “ERW in Sri Lanka”, May 2003, p. 12. 1787 Email from Claire Sanford, Programme Officer, Mines Advisory Group, Sri Lanka, 20 August 2004. 1788 MAG survey in LTTE-controlled areas, January 2004-June 2004. 1789 Landmine Action and The Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines, “ERW in Sri Lanka”, May 2003, p. 13. 1790 Email from Judy Grayson quoted in Richard Moyes, (2004) Tampering: deliberate handling of live ordnance in Cambodia, HI-B, MAG, NPA, p.77 1791 UNDP figures quoted in Landmine Monitor 2004.
Sudan Background The civil war between northern and southern Sudan that erupted after independence in 1956 and the subsequent targeting of ethnic minorities in the south, Nuba Mountains and currently in the Darfur region have left a legacy of armed conflict throughout the country. ERW and mines severely impact 20 of the country’s 26 states. AV mines on roads pose a particularly acute danger and restrict the delivery of humanitarian relief as well as the movement of international monitors and civilians. 1792 Assessment of the problem From June 2003 to July 2004 the UN reported destruction of 809 items of ERW and 165 AV mines. 1793 The majority (432) of the ERW were projectiles such as mortars and artillery shells. 1794 The Sudan Landmine Information & Response Initiative (SLIRI) has gathered accident data in many affected areas: this shows that 49 per cent of accidents were caused by AV mines and 13 per cent by unexploded ordnance. Over the course of the internal conflict, the Government of Sudan and opposition groups used MOTAPM along defensive positions, around garrison towns and along roads and scattered others as they retreated from positions. 1795 This has led to serious contamination from AV mines on access routes to many towns and villages. A 2002 Nuba Mountains emergency field assessment by a team from SLIRI noted “the major threat to non-combatants to date has been the use of anti-vehicle mines to deter movement on roads and tracks.” They reported that all of the AVMs observed were pressure activated and had commonly been laid “both on the carriageway and on the verges and possible diversions from the main track.” They go on to state that booby-trapping and other adaptation of AVM is reported to have been common practice and falls into four main categories: ■ Boosting: linking AVM to other weaponry, commonly shells, rockets or block TNT, in order to increase the blast effect of the mine on detonation. Two AVM may also be laid in tandem to achieve this effect. ■ Improving: adaptations are employed to widen the critical pressure area of the mine, commonly by placing a plank of wood over the pressure plate. In some cases an APM may be placed above the pressure plate so that detonation of both mines only requires the minimal force needed to initiate the APM. ■ Anti-detection: the mine is laid deeply to make detection more difficult and the pressure plate is ‘extended’ by a vertical wooden pole. It was also reported that AVMs had been covered with sheets of leather or rubber to avoid detection, although this would not be a viable strategy against modern detection equipment. ■ Anti-lift: this tactic to combat clearance of AVM may be achieved through an integral device or by improvised methods. Although some of the AVM observed by SLIRI were designed to be equipped with integral anti-lift there were no reports that these had been used in the Nuba Mountains. Reports of improvised anti-lift devices were common however; the technique most often reported was the use of an armed hand-grenade emplaced below the mine. 1796 This initial SLIRI assessment went on to identify an initial 45 routes in the Nuba Mountains area alone that were “high-risk, suspect or reportedly mined.” As well as AVMs on routes, this assessment also notes that water-sources were all also mined. In an incident from May 2001 a commercial Landrover carrying twelve children on the cargo deck was being driven to the village water point when it hit a mine. Nine of the children died instantly and the remaining three died either during or shortly after a 20 hour trip by tractor to hospital. 1797 Fighting in the Nuba Mountains, southern Sudan and recently in Darfur has caused significant ERW contamination. Cluster munition use in southern Sudan has left particularly dangerous unexploded submunitions which have had both immediate and indirect effects on civilians in this region. 1798 In December 2004, UNICEF described the ERW problem in Sudan as follows: “Many towns in southern Sudan suffer from the after-effects of major battles and aerial bombardments. Untold numbers of live bombs, grenades, and shells lie below the surface of fields near homes, putting children and their families at risk for dismemberment or death.” 1799 In one indication of the extent of the problem, during the period June 2003 – July 2004 the UN reported destruction of 809 items of ERW and 165 AV mines. 1800 The majority (432) of the ERW were projectiles such as mortars and artillery shells. 1801 UNMAS has assessed the following areas as most at risk from ERW and mines: Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Bahr Al-Ghazal, Jonglei, Upper Nile, the Nuba Mountains, Lakes, and Southern Kordofan. Sudan’s borders with Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and Uganda are also ERW/mine affected. 1802 In addition there is an ERW threat as a result of the conflict in Darfur. Impact Explosive remnants of war, anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines have affected all areas in which conflict has taken place. 1805 In the Sudan Mine Action Policy framework, signed in July 2004, the Government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) jointly agreed that they were “deeply concerned and alarmed over the tragic consequencs of war, in particular the presence of landmines [and] ERW.” UNMAS estimates that one ERW/mine accident occurs every erw and motapm – global survey 2003–2004 sudan 161
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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
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843 “PAAMI 2001-2004,” April 20
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Hungary Background Hungary is conta
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areas and would need another six mo
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From 1989 to 1999, a total of 1,082
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used them extensively as part of un
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ordnance threat. The following exam
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960 NMAA MRE Strategy 2004, p. 8. 9
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Jordan Background MOTAPM were first
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1013 Jordan Article 5 Summary, pres
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1016 Dominic Wabala, “Police Offi
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month in October 2001. During this
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Kyrgyzstan Background The presence
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While it was reported that widespre
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averaging more than 200 per year. I
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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 and 132: Oman Background MOTAPM and anti-per
Page 133 and 134: for more than 50 years. 1423 A dive
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: due to incidents of AP mines, ERW a
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
Page 183 and 184: Vietnam Background More than 30 yea
Page 185 and 186: No MOTAPM casualties can be confirm
Page 187 and 188: The increase in the scrap metal and
Page 189 and 190: vietnam 187 2081 Project RENEW and
Page 191 and 192: Yemen Background Yemen has witnesse
Page 193 and 194: zimbabwe 191 2129 Minister Kassim A
Page 196: 1st floor 89 Albert Embankment Lond
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Country & Territory Reports - Landmine Action

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