LM Report 2002

EGYPT

Key developments since May 2001: In May 2001, the Prime Minister announced that Egypt was launching a national program for the development of the northwest coast, including demining. The national committee on landmines has not met since May 2001. The United States conducted training of Egyptian deminers between May and August 2001. Eleven new mine or UXO casualties were reported in 2001.

MINE BAN POLICY

Egypt has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In October 2001, Egypt told the UN General Assembly First Committee, “Egypt’s position will remain unchanged despite our appreciation for the humanitarian objectives of the Convention. This is due to the severe shortcomings of the Convention, the fact that it does not take Egypt’s concerns into account and its failure to deal with all the aspects of the problem.”^[1] In particular, Egypt has said that the Mine Ban Treaty fails to require those who laid mines in Egypt in the past to be responsible for clearing them. Egypt also insists that it needs antipersonnel mines to defend its borders.^[2]

A representative of Egypt also claimed that the UN mine action strategy for the period 2001-2005 was a retreat from the policy adopted in 1998. In a statement made during the debate on the annual resolution supporting mine action, the Egyptian representative stated that the strategy had not taken into consideration Egypt's case, as one of the most affected states when it came to landmines and was not in conformity with its own purpose and basic role.^[3]

Egypt did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001, but a member of Egypt’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva attended the intersessional meetings in January and May 2002. In November 2001, Egypt again abstained in voting on the annual UN General Assembly resolution promoting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it has consistently done on past resolutions.

Egypt signed the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 1982, but has since not taken any steps to ratify the Convention or any of its protocols. Egypt attended the third annual conference of State Parties to CCW’s Amended Protocol II, as well as the Second CCW Review Conference, in December 2001 as an observer. It is a member of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) and continues to view the CD is the most suitable forum, in the words of an Egyptian representative, “for a more thorough study of the landmines issue in the international negotiating forum that was directly related to the problem...in order to rectify the shortcomings of the Ottawa Convention.”^[4]

PRODUCTION, STOCKPILING, TRANSFER

In February 2000, Egypt’s Minister of Military Production told an UNMAS assessment mission that antipersonnel mine exports ceased in 1984 and production stopped in 1988. On several occasions Egyptian officials announced the same position, but no official or unofficial written statement in that regard was done. Thus, even though there is no publicly available evidence that Egypt has produced or exported antipersonnel mines in recent years, the Egyptian position on antipersonnel mine production and trade have not been issued in writing as formal policy statements and there has been no official decree by the government to implement them. For that reason, Landmine Monitor continues to list Egypt as a producer of antipersonnel mines. Egypt is likely to have a large stockpile of antipersonnel mines, but the government will not provide any details, saying such information is classified on national security grounds.

LANDMINE PROBLEM

The Egyptian government cites a figure of 23 million landmines emplaced in the country. Official Egyptian sources estimate that 16.7 million landmines affect 2,480 million square meters in the western desert area (from Alexandria to the Libyan border and 30 kilometers deep from the Mediterranean sea beaches) and 5.1 million landmines affect 200 million square meters in eastern areas (Sinai peninsula and Red Sea coast). Other Egyptian officials have stated that only 20-25 percent of these “landmines” are really landmines, the remainder being other types of unexploded ordnance (UXO).^[5] No surveys of the mine and UXO problem took place in Egypt in 2001. Very few mined areas are marked or mapped.^[6]

On 3 January 2000, three Egyptian citizens filed a case in an administrative court against the President of Egypt, the Prime Minister, the President of the Parliament and ministers of exterior, justice, defense and military production, and finance. They requested that the court reverse a government decision not to file a claim with the International Court of Justice against those countries who laid mines in Egyptian territories. A set of questions on the matter was discussed in the foreign affairs and national security committees of parliament (Magles El Shaab) and in the consultation congress (Magles El Shoura) in March, May, July, and October 2001.^[7]

The citizens want the government to sue Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and Israel for the costs of future mine clearance and victim compensation, as well as for the money spent by Egypt for mine clearance in the past. On 13 March 2001, an administrative court issued a decision on this case (number 3333/54) and claimed not to have jurisdiction (citing article 11 of law number 47/1972) to compel the Egyptian government to file the claim. The three citizens filed an appeal in April 2001 before the supreme administrative court to overturn the lower court’s decision.^[8]

PLANNING AND COORDINATION

A decree from the Prime Minister in 2000 established the National Committee to Supervise Mine Clearance and this group serves as the coordinating body for mine action in Egypt. The committee last met in May 2001.^[9]

There is no national humanitarian mine action plan in Egypt and all mine clearance organizations must register to seek recognition from the Army in order to operate. In March and April 2002, a two-person team from the U.S.-based RONCO Consulting Corporation visited Egypt to help draw up a national mine action plan. The U.S. Agency for International Development funded this mission that visited many officials in various ministries and NGOs to discuss the mine action situation in Egypt.^[10]

In May 2001, the national committee organized a conference, “The Development Perspective for the Northwest Coast of Egypt and the Negative Effect of Landmines.” The Prime Minister announced that Egypt was launching a national program for the development of the northwest coast, including demining using remote sensor technology, in cooperation with the international community. He declared that the first stage of the program would start with a limited region close to the coast. He said that “this problem...is basically a national problem and solving it must come first from Egypt.”^[11] The Prime Minister also pointed out that friendly countries have provided Egypt with historical maps for the landmine sites. However, he added that the Egyptian government still needs more maps, and technical assistance with remote and subsurface sensing.^[12]

MINE ACTION FUNDING

The United States provided Egypt with $10,000 in fiscal year 2000 and $749,000 in fiscal year 2001 to fund a training program conducted by U.S. military forces and to acquire demining equipment. The training occurred between 17 May and 15 August 2001 and focused on mine detection and disposal, mine awareness, and survey and information management. Training also included a leadership and operations seminar for commanders. In 1999 and 2000, at the request of Egyptian authorities, the U.S. Department of Defense evaluated two mechanical demining systems in the former battlefields near El Alamain.^[13] The United States government has allocated $980,000 to fund a technical secretariat for the national committee, but Egyptian authorities have yet to request the funds.^[14]

There were no other international contributions for mine action in Egypt in 2001. The UNDP trust fund for Egypt has received no contributions since its establishment in 2001.^[15] There is no national budget for mine action activities in Egypt. One possible reason Egypt suffers from a lack of mine action resources is a single focus on mine clearance instead of a set of comprehensive actions including survey/assessment, mine awareness, and victim assistance.

MINE CLEARANCE AND R&D

Except for a limited number of mine clearance projects for commercial purposes such as tourism and oil exploration, no other mine or UXO clearance projects started or finished in 2001 or 2002. No statistics on the areas cleared or numbers of mines and UXO removed were made available to Landmine Monitor from these private companies engaged in mine clearance.

There have been several initiatives in Egypt regarding research and development of mine detection and mine clearance technology. Among them are: use of ultrasound waves from a jet engine to create pressure to detonate mines;^[16] use of atomic rays or gamma rays to detect mines;^[17] and use of ground penetrating radar operating at 400 megahertz to detect mines.^[18]

MINE RISK EDUCATION

No mine awareness or mine risk reduction education programs are underway in Egypt. The Egyptian media continues to publish news about mines. A movie named “Hell under Ground” was shown in Egyptian cinemas in 2001 that told the story of a group of people who go to mined areas and experience the suffering of people living there.

Civilians routinely use mined areas in their daily life, especially in the western desert where Bedouins, who do not know which areas are mined, use land for cultivation, grazing, and housing. In eastern areas, people use mined areas without knowing whether the land is mined when they go to work on things such as new cultivation and infrastructure projects.^[19]

LANDMINE CASUALTIES

In 2001, 11 new casualties were reported in nine mine or UXO incidents; three people were killed and eight injured. In 2000, there were 12 new mine or UXO casualties reported.^[20]

All the new casualties in 2001 were civilians. Two casualties suffered injuries requiring an amputation in separate incidents in September and November in the eastern area (Red Sea). Six persons were reported injured in the western desert area, four required an amputation, from six incidents in January, March, June, August (two incidents), and November. The three fatalities occurred in October 2001 in El Monofia Governorate (60 kilometers from Cairo, far away from the two mine-affected areas) when three men were killed while checking a strange shell (artillery projectile) that was brought back from the Western desert.

Only two of the survivors received emergency financial help from the Office of Social Affairs (part of the Ministry of Social Affairs) in Sidi Barani, Matrouh Governorate. This financial help amounted to 200 Egyptian Pounds (approximately US$45). According to a survey conducted by the Landmines Struggle Center, none of the casualties received mine awareness or saw warning signs or fences in the incident areas. They received medical care according to the available health services in the mined areas.^[21]

Many mine incidents are likely to go unreported, especially amongst the nomadic Bedouin tribes in the Western desert.

SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE

The rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration facilities and services available to landmine survivors and disabled persons throughout Egypt have not changed in 2001.^[22] There are no vocational training or employment programs in the mine-affected areas. The manufacture of orthopedic appliances is still solely a commercial activity, except at military centers. Civilians must pay for artificial limbs.

Health services differ for civilian and military casualties. Civilians have no access to military hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, or veterans associations. The Ministry of Health, through emergency departments located in every hospital, handles emergency medical care for civilians in Egypt. These emergency services differ from the capital to the suburbs and in particular in the mined areas. In Cairo there is modern equipment and trained staff while in the mined areas it is difficult to find modern equipment or trained staff. There are no NGOs or international organizations with special programs for landmine survivors in Egypt.

At the conference on the problem of landmine on the northern coast in May 2001, the UNDP representative stated, “The Ministry of Health and the Egyptian Red Crescent are capable of offering assistance to land mine victims,” however, he also called on the World Health Organization and other UN agencies to help mine survivors in Egypt.^[23]

DISABILITY POLICY AND PRACTICE

No new laws or decrees regarding landmine survivors were passed in 2001. There are no pending disability laws or decrees that have been proposed or discussed by the administration during the same year. No additional funds were available in 2001 to help implement law 39/1975, which is intended to ensure the right of integration and free rehabilitation for persons with disabilities.

Pensions received by landmine survivors differ for military personnel and civilians. The military has two systems: first, if the victim was working in a demining team and was injured or killed because of their work, the survivor or their family (according to the conditions) will receive compensation that could reach $25,000 and a pension depending on length of service; second, if the victim is not working in demining and was injured or killed, they will receive all medical care, including care abroad if necessary, for free and a pension. A civilian might receive compensation of $80 and no pension.

[1] Statement by Ambassador Ahmed Aboulgheit, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations, New York, 10 October 2001, p. 4 (unofficial translation distributed by Egyptian mission).
[2] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 919, and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 999.
[3] Statement by Mahmoud Mubarak, to the UN General Assembly debate on assistance in mine action, 22 November 2001.
[4] Ibid.
[5] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 921-922.
[6] Based on a survey made by Landmines Struggle Center (LSC), an NGO based in Cairo, December 2001.
[7] Al Ahram (Cairo daily newspaper), 5 February 2001, 31 July 2001, and 23 October 2001.
[8] Interview with one of the citizens, Giza, 2 April 2002.
[9] Telephone interviews with the National Committee to Supervise Mine Clearance, 22 January 2002 and 27 March 2002.
[10] Interview with Pete Owen and John Johnson, demining program managers, RONCO Consulting Corporation, Cairo, 28 March 2002.
[11] Al Ahram, 6 May 2001; Al Akhbar (Cairo daily newspaper), 6 May 2001. The media later reported that the Foreign Minister indicated the project will cost $250 million, and will begin in 2003. Al Ahram, 5 July 2002; Arabicnews.com, 5 July 2002.
[12] Statement of Prime Minister Dr. Atef Eibed, as quoted in Al Ahram, 6 May 2001.
[13] U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, “To Walk the Earth in Safety: The United States Commitment to Humanitarian Demining,” November 2001, p. 40.
[14] Interview with Charles W. Dunne, First Secretary (Political Military Affairs), U.S. Embassy Cairo, 27 January 2002.
[15] Interview with Judy Grayson, UNDP Mine Action Specialist, Tunis, 17 January 2002; press release by Dr. Abdalah Merzban, First Secretary of Ministry of State for Planning, quoted in El Wafd (daily newspaper), 23 October 2001.
[16] Al Akhbar , 16 May 2000.
[17] Al Ahram, 14 November 2000.
[18] Al Ahram, 31 October 2001. In the case of the radar, the National Institute for Geophysics Research, working in cooperation with the Army, claims an 80% success rate in detecting both metal and plastic mines.
[19] Based on an on-going survey process by the Landmines Struggle Center (LSC), an NGO based in Cairo.
[20] For information on reported casualties prior to 2000, see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 926.
[21] All data in this section and the next are based on surveys by the Landmines Struggle Center (Cairo) in the two main mined areas in Egypt and other governorates next to those areas. This NGO receives news about mine or UXO incidents from media, hospitals, and other local sources. Staff then visits the accident area, interviews the victim or the victim’s family, visits the hospital treating the victim, interviews witnesses, and notes other indicators such as warning signs, education, rehabilitation, and social care.
[22] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 1003-1004.
[23] Amin Sharqawi, UNDP Assistant Representative, cited in “UN report calls for helping landmine victims in Egypt,” Arabic News.com, 7 July 2001.

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