Key
developments since May 2001: A general survey was carried out in 11
districts and found 50 million square meters of land to be affected by mines and
unexploded ordnance; 84 minefields were identified and marked. With UNDP
assistance, an Azeri National Strategic Plan for mine action was adopted in
October 2001.
MINE BAN POLICY
The Republic of Azerbaijan has not acceded to the
Mine Ban Treaty. Although it voted in favor of the 1996 pro-ban UN General
Assembly Resolution, it has abstained on all subsequent resolutions in support
of the Mine Ban Treaty, most recently on UNGA Resolution 56/24M on 29 November
2001.
The government’s policy position has not changed in recent years.
“The Republic of Azerbaijan supports the idea of a comprehensive
international legal document on the ban of use, storage and transfer of
antipersonnel landmines...[but] Azerbaijan at present stage cannot become the
party to the Convention, since it is deprived of the opportunity to fulfill the
obligations stemming from it...[because of the] continuing occupation of 20% of
Azerbaijan’s territories by the armed forces of Armenia and the remaining
threat of resumption of
hostilities.”[1]
In an October 2001 letter to the Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines
(AzCBL), the Azeri Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vilayat Guliyev, said that
despite the government’s support of the goals of the Mine Ban Treaty
(Ottawa Convention), “There can not be any talk of Azerbaijan’s
signing this Convention until the territories occupied by Armenia are liberated.
For this reason the non-joining of Azerbaijan to this Convention must be
explained by its incapability to fulfill the obligations put forward in the
Convention.”[2]
Azerbaijan did not participate in the Third Meeting of States Parties in
September 2001, nor in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January
2002. Azerbaijan did attend the May 2002 intersessional meetings, with
representation from its Geneva Mission.
Azerbaijan is not a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons
(CCW). It did not attend the Third Annual Meeting of States Parties to Amended
Protocol II to the CCW, or the Second CCW Review Conference, both of which were
held in Geneva in December 2001. Azerbaijan continues to state, as it has in
the past, that it considers the Conference on Disarmament as an appropriate
forum for the discussion of antipersonnel mine
issues.[3]
PRODUCTION, TRANSFER, STOCKPILING, AND USE
Azerbaijan has stated that it does not produce
landmines and does not permit the transfer of mines through its
territory.[4] When the Soviet
army withdrew from Azerbaijan in 1992, it left landmines and other weapons
behind. This is believed to be the source of Azerbaijan’s mine
stockpiles, although the number of mines they possess is not known.
Landmines were used by all sides throughout the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict,[5] and sporadically
after the signing of the armistice in May
1994.[6] Landmine Monitor has
not received any specific allegations of new use of antipersonnel mines during
this reporting period (since May 2001). However, in December 2001, Azerbaijan
implied ongoing use by both sides: “[W]hile the enemy broadly uses
landmines in Azerbaijan’s territory, Azerbaijan is obliged to take
appropriate measures as a deterrent
factor.”[7]
LANDMINE PROBLEM AND SURVEY
The conflict with Armenia resulted in around 20
percent of Azerbaijan’s territory being occupied by Armenia; more than one
million Azerbaijan citizens became refugees or internally displaced persons
(IDPs).[8] As reported in
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, the United Nations Mine Action Service
(UNMAS) believes that up to 45 of Azerbaijan’s 65 regions may be
mine-affected.[9]
In 2001, the International Eurasia Press Fund conducted a limited level one
(general) survey on the territory of 11 districts where combat operations had
occurred and which are close to the front line. The survey, which was funded by
Norway, the United States, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),
was completed in September
2001.[10] It found that some 50
million square meters of territory are affected by
mines.[11] According to the
Fund, 84 minefields were discovered and marked and the local populations were
informed of the danger.[12]
The most heavily mine-affected areas are farmland and cropland, but mines are
also found in the irrigation systems, river basins, and near high voltage power
lines, wells with drinking water and approaches to
them.[13]
A full-scale Landmine Impact Survey is scheduled to begin in September
2002.[14] The survey is being
conducted through the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), and
its local partner, the International Eurasia Press Fund. Financial support has
been provided by the European Union through UNDP and the United Nations Office
for Project Services
(UNOPS).[15]
MINE ACTION FUNDING
Mine action funding for Azerbaijan for 2001
totaled about US$5.5 million, with contributions from the United States,
European Commission, UNDP, Switzerland, and the government of Azerbaijan.
The US reports that in its fiscal year 2001, its total contributions to
Azerbaijan mine action were $3.4 million. The State Department provided $1.1
million ($600,000 to extend the UNDP Mine Detection Dog program, $250,000 for
demining equipment, and $250,000 to help establish a Mine Detection Dog
capability within ANAMA). The Defense Department allocated an additional $2.3
million.
The European Commission reported funding of $1,460,226 for Azerbaijan in
2001, and Switzerland reported
$60,000.[16] The Swiss
contribution was in-kind donation of a mine awareness adviser ($50,000) and mine
clearance equipment
($10,000).[17]
ANAMA indicates that it received $1.7 million in 2001, including $1,132,000
from the United States, $473,641 from UNDP, and $108,719 from the government of
Azerbaijan.[18]
On 2 July 2002, wineries in the state of New York in the United States held
an event to raise funds to clear mines and restore once-flourishing vineyards in
the Fizuli region of Azerbaijan. The fundraising event, held at the UN
headquarters, was organized by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation,
representing over 160 vineyards across New York State, and the nonprofit Humpty
Dumpty Institute.[19]
COORDINATION AND PLANNING
The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action was
created on 18 July 1998 to serve as the national mine action agency responsible
for coordinating all aspects of mine action within Azerbaijan. This includes
coordination, planning, priority-setting based on the needs of affected
communities, enforcement of international standards, quality management,
resource mobilization, and
operations.[20]
ANAMA’s priorities are to clear areas with life-threatening dangers;
support resettlement of IDPs through clearance of houses and infrastructure
required to support communities; clear reconstruction sites as requested by aid
and development agencies; and help provide for food security through the
clearance of agricultural and grazing
lands.[21]
In 2001, UNDP substantially increased its support to ANAMA. This included
training local ANAMA staff in the use of the Information Management System for
Mine Action (IMSMA) and translating IMSMA into Russian. UNDP is also assisting
ANAMA in improving its level one (general) survey
capacity.[22]
An Azeri National Strategic Plan was adopted in October 2001 and aims to
create a basic mine action capacity for dealing with the problem in accessible
areas. The goal is for ANAMA to manage most mine action projects and
operational activities by January 2003, with minimal outside technical support.
According to UNDP, ANAMA will receive further management and technical training
in 2002. Two senior ANAMA staff members have completed the UNDP’s
Management Training Course at Cranfield University in the United
Kingdom.[23] To increase mine
action capacity in 2002-2003, UNDP plans to increase the operational capacity by
38 deminers, six surveyors, and 10 EOD
staff.[24]
MINE CLEARANCE
In 2000, two national NGOs, Relief Azerbaijan and
the International Eurasia Press Fund, were trained in mine survey and clearance.
Since then, mine action achievements include the training of 38 national
deminers, six national mine surveyors and five national instructors; 65
mine-affected communities with a total area of about 50 million square meters of
mine- and UXO-affected areas have been identified. The primary
beneficiaries have been 350,000 inhabitants of the affected communities,
including IDPs and residents who remained in their area of
origin.[25]
In 2001, a total of 896,143 square meters of land was cleared; 56 million
square meters underwent general survey and 486,629 square meters underwent
technical survey.[26] More than
1,165 items of unexploded ordnance, 45 antipersonnel mines and 22 antitank mines
have been destroyed.[27]
Areas targeted for mine clearance have been: the high voltage power lines in
the Fizuli district, water channels, houses, and two schools of the Goranboy
district. As a result of clearance operations in the Fizuli district, some
26,000 people have returned to the
area.[28]
The UK-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in April 2000 began training and
supervising deminers and surveyors for Relief Azerbaijan. In mid-March 2001,
Relief teams began clearance that allowed repairs to the national power line
that runs 30 kilometers through the Fizuli district to the town of
Horadiz.[29] MAG’s
contract was completed at the end of November 2001, but it continued to support
Relief up to 13 December 2001 at its own
cost.[30]
Since the May 1994 armistice, Azerbaijan claims to have cleared 41,000 mines,
including 19,000 antipersonnel mines and 22,000 antivehicle
mines.[31]
MINE RISK EDUCATION
Implementation of UNICEF's “Mine Awareness
Education Project” continued during the reporting period in Azerbaijan,
targeting the following 12 districts: Agdam, Agjebedy, Agstafa, Beylagan,
Dashkesen, Fizuli, Goranboy, Kazakh, Kedabek, Khanlar, Ter-Ter, and Tovuz. The
program was also carried out in the eight districts with concentrated
settlements of IDPs: Jabrayil, Khojavand, Lachin, Khojali, Kelbadjar, Zangilan,
Gubadli, and Shusha. As a part of this project, the US government supplied
funding for mine awareness activities in the border communities of Azerbaijan
most affected by mines and
UXO.[32]
Program activities included production and dissemination of mine awareness
materials, including three posters (26,382 in total), two leaflets (172,411 in
total), a school notebook (99,415 in total), and a training manual. A mine
awareness theater production for children was shown in 18 IDP/refugee
settlements. A “train-the-trainers” course on mine risk education
was given to 15 people, 800 teachers were trained in the use of the Mine
Awareness Manual, and 500 health workers were trained in mine awareness.
Finally, a needs assessment for mine survivors was carried out, resulting in the
development of a proposal for a mine survivor support project (see
below).[33] The UNICEF project
is scheduled to continue through December 2003.
LANDMINE CASUALTIES
There are no comprehensive official statistics on
mine casualties in Azerbaijan. The AzCBL reports that there were at least 25
new mine and UXO casualties in 2001; two people were killed and 23 were
injured.[34] In 2000, ten mine
incidents were reported; four people were killed and six
injured.[35] According to the
survey undertaken by ANAMA and the International Eurasia Press Foundation
(IEPF), in the two years before the end of the survey (September 2001), 12
people were killed and 43 injured by landmines and
UXO.[36]
The total number of mine casualties in Azerbaijan is unclear. Official state
bodies and ministries do not give information to the public on mine casualties,
or the number of people killed or injured during the war with Armenia. However,
ANAMA reported a total of 1,222 mine/UXO casualties following the general survey
of 11 districts carried out by the
IEPF.[37] The majority of
casualties were aged between 15 and
29.[38] The majority of mine
casualties are believed to be civilians. According to a UNICEF press release in
May 2001, approximately 65 percent of mine casualties are
civilians.[39]Azerbaijan’s response to an Organization of Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) questionnaire supports this
assertion.[40]
Mine incidents are also reported in the press. On 13 July 2001, a
seven-year-old and 12-year-old were injured by a mine explosion in the Juhari
Kurdmahmudu village of Fizuli district, and one child later died at the
hospital.[41] In November 2001,
a shepherd was injured by a mine while herding sheep in Gishlag village in the
Agdam district.[42]
There have also been press reports of mine incidents involving military
personnel in 2001. On 5 January 2001, a private was killed by a mine. In July
2001, two officers and a private were injured clearing mines in an area near a
former Soviet military base. On 6 November 2001, two soldiers were injured and
one was killed by a
mine.[43]
On 3 July 2001, a deminer with Relief Azerbaijan lost two fingers of his
right hand as a result of a mine
incident.[44]
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
Medical and surgical facilities in Azerbaijan are
believed to be adequate to treat mine casualties. Medical expenses for mine
survivors and other persons with disabilities are covered by the Ministry of
Health.[45]
In 2001, there were two orthopedic centers in Baku: one supported by the
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MOLASP) and the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the government-run Prosthetic and Orthopedic
Rehabilitation Center. In 2001, the MOLASP/ICRC Darnagul Prosthetic-Orthotic
Center assisted over 632 patients, providing 292 prostheses, 545 orthoses, and
more than 137 crutches, walking sticks, and wheelchairs; of fitted-amputees
about 46 were mine survivors. In addition to receiving free treatment,
transportation and meals for patients coming from the districts were provided.
In July 2001, seven Azeri Orthopedic Technologists (Category II) graduated after
completing an advanced training course recognized by the International Society
for Prosthetics and Orthotists
(IPSO).[46]
The government-run Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center assisted
around 7,000 people in 2001, free-of-charge, providing physical rehabilitation,
prostheses, orthoses, and other assistive devices. Azerbaijan does not produce
wheelchairs, so they must be imported. The number of mine survivors assisted at
the Center is not available as they are registered more generally in the
category of war-disabled.[47]
On 31 December 2001, the Darnagul Prosthetic-Orthotic Center ceased its
activities. However, all the machines, equipment, and stock were handed over to
MOLASP. ICRC-trained staff were also transferred to other facilities. In 2002,
physical rehabilitation services will be decentralized with a new ICRC-supported
rehabilitation center opening in Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city,
and the upgrading of an existing workshop in
Nakhichevan.[48]
Thirty-five NGOs are working with persons with disabilities in Azerbaijan.
However, there are no programs focusing on mine survivors. AzCBL has plans to
implement a special program to assist mine
survivors.[49] UNICEF continues
to seek funding of US$350,000 for a two-year survivor assistance program in
Azerbaijan. The program would assist existing psychological rehabilitation
centers, provide vocational training to mine and other war-wounded persons, and
assist in the domestic production of wheelchairs and prosthetic devices. UNICEF
already works with a network of 15 specialists providing psychological
rehabilitation to mine and other war-wounded people in
Azerbaijan.[50]
DISABILITY POLICY AND PRACTICE
In April 1997, the Parliament of Azerbaijan
adopted the Law of Prevention of Disability, Rehabilitation of Persons with
Disability and their Social Protection. This Law applies to all persons with
disabilities in Azerbaijan, including mine
survivors.[51]
Following the Presidential Decree of 26 December 2001, some of the
entitlements (free public utilities such as gas, electricity, water, and
sewerage, free telephone installation and use, free use of transportation within
the city and beyond, and the right to free medicine) were due to be replaced by
a monthly payment of 90,000 Manats (approximately
US$18).[52] Those disabled
during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, some of whom are mine survivors, have been
particularly badly affected as a result.
Prior to the issuance of the decree, there were hunger strikes by some of the
disabled, a number of public attempted suicides, and violent clashes with the
police, mostly involving members of the Karabakh War Invalids’
Society.[53]
[1] Response to Questionnaire on
Anti-Personnel Landmines, Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the OSCE,
FSC.DEL/513/01, Vienna, 13 December
2001. [2] Letter of Vilayat Guliyev,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, to the Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban
Landmines, Baku, 29 October 2001. [3]
Response to OSCE Questionnaire on Anti-Personnel Landmines, 13 December
2001. [4] Letter of Minister of Foreign
Affairs to AzCBL, Baku, 29 October
2001. [5] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
pp.762-765; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
800. [6]
Ibid. [7] Response to OSCE Questionnaire
on Anti-Personnel Landmines, 13 December
2001. [8] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
pp.762-765; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
800. [9] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
p. 856; UNMAS, “Portfolio of Mine-related Projects,” April 2001, p.
53. [10] Letter from the International
Eurasian Press Fund to AzCBL, Baku, 11 January
2001. [11] ANAMA, “Overview,
Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) Annual Work Plan,”
August 2001, accessed at www.mineaction.org on 15 June
2002. [12] Letter from the International
Eurasian Press Fund to AzCBL, Baku, 11 January
2001. [13] Zerkalo (newspaper), 26 May
2001. [14] Email from Survey Action
Center, 24 July 2002. [15] See the
report of the Survey Action Center in the appendices to this edition of Landmine
Monitor. [16] Funding reported to United
Nations Mine Action Investment
database. [17] See country report on
Switzerland. [18] “Azerbaijan
National Agency for Mine Action, Work Plan 2001-2002, of August 2001,” at:
www.mineaction.org. [19]
“Mine-Clearing Plan to Revive Vineyards,” Reuters, 14 June
2002. [20] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
p. 766. [21] UN Mine Action Website,
Country Program: Azerbaijan, at:
http://www.mineaction.org/. [22] Country
Programs — Azerbaijan, at
www.undp.org/erd/mineaction/countries/azerbaijan.htm. [23]
Ibid. [24] UNDP, “Support for
Further Development of a National Mine Action Capacity for Azerbaijan,”
January-December 2002,
http://www.mineaction.org. [25]
Ibid. [26] Email from Sayed Aqa, UN
Chief Technical Adviser, ANAMA, 23 July
2002. [27] UNDP, “Support for
Further Development of a National Mine Action Capacity for
Azerbaijan,”. [28] AzCBL
Coordinator Hafiz Safikhanov interview with Mejnun Namazaliyev, Deputy
Administrator of Fizuli District Government, Horadiz settlement, Fizuli
district, 21 December 2001. [29] Mines
Advisory Group, “Projects: Azerbaijan,”
www.mag.org.uk. [30] Azerbaijan National
Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) Monthly Progress Report –
12/2001,www.mineaction.org/misc/searchresultdisplay.cfm?doc_ID=562. [31]
525 gazet (daily newspaper), 29 June 2001; Response to OSCE Questionnaire on
Anti-Personnel Landmines, 13 December
2001. [32] “Mine Awareness
Education in Azerbaijan,” www.mineaction.org/countries/_projects.cfm; 525
gazet, interview of Farhad Ibayev, ANAMA Press Officer, 26 October
2001. [33]
Ibid. [34] Information on 16 casualties
(2 killed and 14 injured) was collected during the IEPF survey which ended in
September 2001. Four incidents resulting in 9 injuries were reported by UNICEF
mine awareness teams in October and
November. [35] Information bulletin of
AzCBL, N 7-12, 2000. [36] See
www.anama.baku.az:8101/pages/_1-1%20anama.dwt (accessed 21 July
2002). [37] ANAMA’s summary
bulletin for 2001. [38] See
www.anama.baku.az:8101/pages/_1-3-Scope.htm (accessed 21 July
2002). [39] Joint press conference of
the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and UNICEF Baku, 17 May
2001. [40] Response to OSCE
Questionnaire on Anti-Personnel Landmines, 13 December 2001.
[41] Zerkalo, 18 July 2001; Echo, 18
July 2001. [42] Sharg, 24 November
2001. [43] Express, 9 January 2001;
Comsomolskaya Pravda – Baku, 18 July 2001; Echo, 7 July
2001. [44] Zerkalo, 18 July 2001; Echo,
18 July 2001. [45] Interviews with
Shahnaz Hashimova, Deputy Chair, Department of Prevention of the Ministry of
Health, and Col. Ramiz Melikov, Chair, Press Services of the Ministry of
Defense, 17 December 2001. [46]
Interview with Shalala Ahmedova, ICRC Baku, 17 January 2002; ICRC Physical
Rehabilitation Programmes Annual Report 2001, accessed at www.icrc.org; and ICRC
Baku Information bulletin, January-November
2001. [47] Interview with Shamsaddin
Hudaverdiyev, Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center, Baku, 17 January
2002. [48] ICRC Special Report, Mine
Action 2001, ICRC, Geneva, July 2002, p. 31; ICRC Monthly Bulletin, Azerbaijan
– December 2001, January 2002, accessed at
www.icrc.org. [49] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 859. [50]
“Assistance for Mine Victims in Azerbaijan,” ICBL Portfolio of
Landmine Victim Assistance Programs, accessed at
www.landminevap.org. [51] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 860. [52] Halg
(daily national newspaper), 27 December
2001. [53] See accounts in newspapers,
Sharg, 525, Azadlig, and Yeni Musavat, 20 February 2001.
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