The
contribution of this paper does not necessarily imply the association of the
ICRC with views or statements made in other chapters of Landmine Monitor.
1. INTRODUCTION
Efforts to rid the world of anti-personnel (AP)
mines have begun to bear fruit. In countries where the Ottawa treaty's
comprehensive programme of non-use of anti-personnel mines, clearance and mine
awareness is being implemented, the annual number of victims has fallen
dramatically. This confirms that the treaty's prescriptions are correct and
effective.
Notwithstanding these achievements, AP mines remain a menace and continue to
bring suffering to civilian populations in many parts of the world. It is
imperative to ensure universal adherence to and compliance with the treaty's
provisions. States parties must meet their obligations fully by undertaking mine
clearance, destroying their stockpiles within the deadlines set, and providing
aid to landmine survivors. They must also adopt legislation to provide for the
punishment of those who flout the treaty's provisions.
Throughout 2001, the ICRC maintained its pivotal role in promoting universal
adherence to and full implementation of the Ottawa treaty. The ICRC also
sustained its efforts to extend assistance, including curative care and physical
rehabilitation, to thousands of war-wounded includingmine victims. In
view of the AP mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) which remain scattered in
present and former battlefields around the world, the ICRC increased its mine
awareness programs in order to inform the thousands of civilians living in such
areas of the dangers they are exposed to.
2. HUMANITARIAN DIPLOMACY: PROMOTING UNIVERSALIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION
Since the adoption of the Ottawa treaty, the ICRC
has worked continuously to ensure that the treaty has an impact on the ground.
To this end, the ICRC, through its delegations in countries across the world,
was actively involved in promoting adherence to the Ottawa treaty and working
with governments to ensure its full implementation. It provided technical
assistance and advice to several countries on the drafting and adoption of
national legislation to implement the Ottawa treaty.
The ICRC also organized or participated in national and regional meetings to
inform States of the treaty's provisions and the requirements of implementation.
In 2001, the ICRC and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
jointly organized a regional meeting on conventional weapons, mines, and
international humanitarian law in Abuja, Nigeria, for ECOWAS member States. The
ICRC also hosted a Regional Seminar on International Humanitarian Law in Port of
Spain for representatives from 12 of the 14 Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
States. This seminar included presentations and discussions on the ratification
and implementation of the Ottawa treaty.
In May 2002, the ICRC, under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, held a regional seminar on
ratification and implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) in
Pretoria. The seminar was attended by representatives from 12 of the 14 SADC
(Southern Africa Development Community) States. Among the workshops organized
during this seminar, one was dedicated to implementing legislation for the
Ottawa Treaty on the basis of the South African experience and example.
In addition to ICRC-organized events, representatives of the institution
participated in the following meetings on AP mines:
a regional conference on landmines in Warsaw in June 2001, organized by the
governments of Poland and Canada;
a seminar on AP mines and small arms organized by the African Centre for
Human Security in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire;
a regional conference in Tunis in January 2002 on landmines organized by the
governments of Canada and Tunisia;
a regional seminar on landmines in Bangkok in May 2002 for ASEAN member
states, organized by the Royal Thai government in cooperation with Australia,
Canada and Japan;
bi-annual meetings of the Standing Committees on victim assistance, mine
clearance, stockpile destruction and the general status and operation of the
Ottawa treaty held in Geneva;
the annual meeting of States Parties held in Managua,
Nicaragua.
In order to promote a general understanding of the
landmine problem, the ICRC provided documentation, videos and, in many cases,
its Ottawa treaty exhibition (in English and Arabic) to be used as information
tools. The ICRC also widely distributed its information kit to assist States in
developing national implementing legislation to give effect to the
treaty.[1]
The ICRC also prepared an information paper on the interpretation of Article
2 of the Ottawa treaty which defines what is an "anti-personnel mine". The ICRC
remains concerned by certain anti-vehicle mines with sensitive fuses or
sensitive anti-handling devices which can function as AP mines and be detonated
by the presence, proximity or contact of a person. As called for by the
President's Action Program adopted at the Third Meeting of States Parties in
Managua, and in order to facilitate discussions on this issue, the ICRC
encouraged States to consider and adopt best practices as regards the design and
use of anti-handling and fusing mechanisms for anti-vehicle mines. These best
practices were identified in the report of a technical expert meeting hosted by
the ICRC in Geneva in March
2001.[2]
In all its efforts, the ICRC also encouraged adherence to amended Protocol II
of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Even with the
entry into force and widespread adherence to the Ottawa treaty, amended Protocol
II remains an important instrument as it regulates anti-vehicle mines, booby
traps and other devices not covered by the Ottawa treaty but which nonetheless
maim or cause loss of life.
In addition, the ICRC organized a regional expert meeting on Explosive
Remnants of War and the 2001 Review Conference of the United Nations Convention
on Certain Conventional Weapons. This meeting was hosted by the Hungarian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest and brought together government experts
from 23 States from central and eastern Europe as well as representatives from
international and non-governmental organisations. The ICRC also actively
participated in the second Review Conference of the CCW, held in Geneva in
December 2001, and its preparatory meetings. The ICRC proposals for a new CCW
protocol to deal with the problem of explosive remnants of war, other than AP
mines, aroused widespread interest and States Parties have established a group
of government experts to examine the problem in 2002. A future protocol dealing
with this issue would greatly reduce the human casualties and socio-economic
consequences of anti-vehicle mines, cluster-bomb sub-munitions and other
UXO.
3. MINE AWARENESS PROGRAMMES
The ICRC continued its efforts to prevent mine
accidents through its mine/UXO awareness programs. In 2001, working directly or
through National Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, it conducted mine awareness
programs in Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia and Azerbaijan (region of Nagorny
Karabakh), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia, Georgia, Iraq, Lebanon, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Nicaragua, the Russian Federation (Chechnya), and Tajikistan.
In 2002, new mine awareness programs were started namely in Colombia,
Namibia, and Peru.
A short summary of the programs in Afghanistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Nicaragua, and
the Russian Federation/Chechnya is provided below.
AFGHANISTAN
Mines and UXO remain scattered in former and
current front-line regions, taking a toll on unsuspecting civilians. Ongoing
armed confrontations and the movement of civilian populations along or across
former front lines significantly increase civilians’ risk of injury by
mines/UXOs. Children are especially endangered, accounting for over half of all
mine/UXO injuries in Afghanistan.
In 2001, the ICRC supported Afghan Red Crescent mine awareness activities.
New information on contaminated sites was shared immediately with rapid action
teams so that they could mark the sites and alert nearby populations. The ICRC
provided the UN Mine Action program with over 80% of the data it compiled on new
injuries. Findings from the ICRC’s analysis of the data, which were shared
with other mine-action organizations, helped to improve target planning and
adapt strategies for mine-clearance operations and mine-awareness programs.
International air strikes left behind new areas of UXO contamination, often
near populated areas. When front lines disappeared, heavily mined areas again
became accessible to civilians, who faced a high risk of injury as they
attempted to resume their normal activities. While data collection activities
were slowed by disruptions starting in September, they were reactivated in
November. At the end of the year, expatriates worked to adapt the Afghan Red
Crescent mine-awareness programs to new threats, particularly unexploded cluster
bomblets.
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN (NAGORNY KARABAKH REGION)
Anti-personnel mines and UXO still posed a threat
to the lives and limbs of civilians, particularly children, in front-line areas.
The ICRC thus maintained its mine-awareness program, concentrating on activities
carried out in schools or by children for other children, and on community-based
work. Since April 2000, the ICRC has had at least one experienced
mine/UXO-awareness expatriate supporting mine/UXO-awareness activities.
The community program consisted in producing luminescent "white boards" with
a warning message for mine-affected areas. By the end of 2001, the ICRC, working
together with the civil-defence agency, had set up 80 such boards across Nagorny
Karabakh.
BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA
Landmines and UXO scattered throughout Bosnia and
Herzegovina threatened the lives of its inhabitants. This caused major social
and economic disruption, which in turn hampered reconciliation and
reconstruction. It was recognized that an integrated approach combining mine
awareness and other mine-action and humanitarian programs was needed to deal
with the problem. Children were the subject of much concern because their
natural curiosity puts them at great risk in mine-infested areas.
Mine-awareness instructors maintained contacts with municipal authorities and
various organizations involved in the return process and working with internally
displaced persons to discuss activities aimed at preventing mine incidents. Data
gathering on mine incidents remained an integral part of the effort to develop
appropriate mine-awareness program strategies.
ICRC activities during 2001 included: a publicity campaign involving the
production of 90 giant billboards with a mine-awareness caption; the supply of
materials(mine-awareness posters, leaflets, badges and banners, as well
as T-shirts, caps, etc.) in support of community-based activities; ad hoc
assistance to 28 people to help them regain their self-sufficiency;
prostheses for five amputees and 1,400 pairs of socks for stump protection for
the most needy amputees, as part of Japanese Red Cross aid to mine victims;
assisting the local Red Cross in Tuzla canton to organize activities alerting
the population to the mine risk; and special television and radio programs to
caution the population returning to mine-contaminated areas.
Activities designed to inform children about the danger of mines and UXO
included the publication of a quarterly mine-awareness magazine written by
schoolchildren and their teachers. Other such efforts included presentations,
drawing competitions in Gorazde and Tuzla cantons, and the production of a
television spot based on a theater performance of a mine-awareness version of
“Little Red Riding Hood”, video tapes of the performance, and comic
books with a mine-awareness message. Audio tapes with songs from a play were
delivered to 23 schools for children with special needs throughout
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
Mine-awareness activities were intensified in May
and June 2001. The ICRC organized three mine-awareness workshops for 50
primary-school teachers, one workshop for nine Yugoslav Red Cross instructors
from municipalities along the border with Kosovo to enable them to carry out
mine-awareness activities in their respective areas, and one workshop for 45
community volunteers. The ICRC carried out 68 mine-awareness theatre
performances for 9,870 children in various villages and engaged two theatre
groups (one Serb, one Albanian) to perform a play based on "Little Red Riding
Hood", adapted to convey a mine-awareness message.
As the lead agency for data-gathering on mine/UXO incidents in Kosovo, the
ICRC collected and analysed information on 30 such incidents to help adapt the
mine-awareness programme to the reality in the field. Data were also collected
from health facilities and through direct contacts with communities, and
regularly passed on to the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre. Save
the Children Fund started implementing the mine-awareness school curriculum in
2001. For this reason, the ICRC phased out its school activities, but provided
materials in support of the curriculum.
Efforts to alert the population to the mine threat included a community-based
"safer village" programme working with trained volunteers, and the use of daily
broadcasts, videos, posters, and leaflets to advocate safe behaviour. Some 7,600
children and 1,425 adults attended 74 mine-awareness performances. Additionally,
3,000 children and 1,350 adults received mine-awareness information. ICRC teams
continued to support agencies involved in mine clearance.
LEBANON
Thousands of mines were laid during decades of
conflict in Lebanon, where, together with an indeterminate amount of UXOs, they
continue to pose a grave threat to people’s lives and security. Concerned
about this threat, the ICRC, Lebanese NGOs and the local authorities launched
projects in 1998 to address the problem. Although clearance operations had
started, it was expected that the country would remain affected by mines and UXO
for years to come.
The Lebanese Army's National Demining Office (NDO) coordinated the
mine/UXO-awareness and clearance activities of organizations and agencies
operating in the field. In 2001, the ICRC and the Lebanese Red Cross attended
regular meetings of the National Steering Committee on Mine Awareness, headed by
the NDO, along with other international and national organizations and agencies
involved in mine/UXO awareness, in order to exchange information and discuss the
progress of their respective activities in Lebanon. A mine-awareness programme,
under the coordination of the NDO, was officially launched at the beginning of
April with the support of the ICRC and the National Society. Throughout 2001,
the ICRC took part in or gave presentations at several high-level meetings such
as a workshop on demining organized by Lebanon and the UN, a regional conference
on landmines organized by Landmine Monitor, and a regional workshop organized by
the UN Mine Action Service and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian
Demining.
The ICRC continues to support the Lebanese Red Cross to pave the way for a
community-based integrated programme, which will combine awareness activities
with the demarcation of mined areas, clearance of mines and humanitarian
activities in general. As part of the national mine/UXO-awareness programme, 12
National Society instructors gave 216 mine-awareness presentations and
distributed information in schools in the south, conducted four sessions for the
local community, organized a two-day workshop, with ICRC support, for students
from the Public Health Faculty of the Lebanese University, and introduced
mine/UXO awareness into the programme of three summer camps organized in
southern Lebanon for 390 children.
NICARAGUA
The Nicaraguan Red Cross, with the support of the
ICRC and UNICEF, continued a child-to-child mine/UXO-awareness programme in
2001, which targeted children of school age. Thirty-three young people were
trained under this programme to lead dissemination sessions in schools in the
North Atlantic Region, where the army's mine-clearance activities were taking
place.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION/CHECHNYA
Landmines and UXO remained a constant threat to
the population in Chechnya and displaced people upon their return home. The
ICRC’s mine-awareness program focused on children as the group most at
risk.
Activities were conducted namely for Chechen children in IDP camps in
Ingushetia. After an assessment in September 2001, the program was extended to
two regions of Daghestan. The program methods included a puppet show and a
“child-to-child” approach aimed at teaching youngsters ways of
avoiding accidents and passing life-saving information on to their peers. A
similar approach was developed for teenagers. In addition, the ICRC continued to
collect data on mine and UXO casualties from the hospitals it assisted so as to
make this information widely available. It also initiated contact with the media
with a view to conducting a public education campaign. Throughout 2001, some
51,000 children took part in the ICRC's mine-awareness program. Some 890
teachers and parents took part in workshops and presentations or were otherwise
involved in the program.
4. MINE VICTIM ASSISTANCE
Providing aid and assistance to victims of war is
one of the primary activities of the ICRC. The ICRC often provides medical and
surgical care during and immediately following armed conflicts. In 2001, the
ICRC continued to provide assistance (first aid, transport, curative care, and
physical rehabilitation) for war-wounded, including mine/UXO victims, as well as
training of civilian and military surgeons.
The ICRC supported 23 first-aid posts in 11 countries. These posts
treated some 10,000 war-wounded.
The ICRC also provided regular medical assistance to 134 hospitals
treating war-wounded people in 22 countries, in particular the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the northern and
southern Caucasus, Angola, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and Sudan. This enabled 18,189 war-wounded, including some 1,500 injured
by mines/UXOs, to be treated during the year. A further 150 hospitals received
assistance on an ad hoc basis. In Afghanistan, the ICRC assisted 19 hospital and
16 first-aid posts. Once the air strikes began in October, the support was
extended to cover 25 hospitals. The programme of support to 40 hospitals in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia covered 60% of inpatients and 80% of outpatients
country wide.
ICRC surgical teams worked, and provided training, in 12 countries,
including eight infested with landmines: Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan (Kenya), and Uganda. These
teams performed operations on 10,500 patients and gave outpatient care to
69,850 others.
The construction and fitting of prostheses remain an important part of the
assistance ICRC provides directly to mine victims. After four consecutive years
of growth, the year 2001 showed a stabilization in the total number of
physically disabled people assisted, mainly with prostheses (16,501) and
orthoses (11,523). The proportion of mine victims among the amputees fitted
remained the same at 59%. Most projects saw a slight decrease in assisted
patients, with a proportional increase of patients fitted with a replacement
prosthesis. Some projects, notably Myanmar and Ethiopia, assisted significantly
more patients in 2001.
Three additional projects were initiated in Sudan (Juba), Afghanistan
(Faizabad) and Iraq (Baghdad). This increased the total number of assisted
prosthetic/orthotic centres to 40 in 14 different countries.
The ICRC continues to assist physical rehabilitation projects formerly
operated by it, but which have now been handed over to local organizations,
government ministries, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies or
non-governmental organizations. Resources for this assistance comes from the
ICRC-administered Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD). During 2001, 48 projects
in 25 countries received assistance from the fund. These projects assisted all
those in need of their services, including mine victims.
ICRC prosthetic/orthotic programmes: production statistics for 2001
[1] ICRC information kit on the development
of national legislation to implement the Convention on the Prohibition of
Anti-personnel mines. As at 31 December 2001, over 30 States had adopted
national legislative measures to impose penal sanctions and respect for its
provisions. [2] Report on the Technical
Expert Meeting on anti-vehicle mines with sensitive fuses or sensitive
anti-handling devices, ICRC, (Geneva, 13-14 March 2001).
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