Costa Rica signed the
Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, and ratified on 17 March 1999, becoming the
sixty-eighth nation to do so. As an active participant in the Ottawa Process,
Costa Rica attended all preparatory meetings, endorsed the Brussels Declaration
and was a full participant in the Oslo negotiations. It voted in favor of the
key 1996 and 1998 UN General Assembly resolutions on landmines but was absent
for the 1997 UNGA resolution vote.
As a member of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Costa Rican
government supported resolution AG/RES. 1568 (XXVIII-0/98) adopted in June 1998,
calling for renewed efforts in supporting mine-clearing operations in Central
America and reiterating the commitment for Central America to become an
antipersonnel mine free zone by the year
2000.[1]
In San Jose, Costa Rica on 28-29 November 1996, the foreign ministers of
Central America, including Costa Rican Foreign Minister Fernando Naranjo
Villalobos, and the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)
“reaffirmed their decision to make the necessary efforts, with the
assistance of national, regional and international institutions, to make Central
America and the Caribbean, a zone free of antipersonnel mines by the year 2000.
(They) also supported the Ottawa Process, including the immediate launch of
negotiations and the signing in Canada in December 1997 of a legally binding
international agreement to ban this type of
weapon.”[2]
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use
Costa Rica is not believed to have ever produced,
imported, stockpiled or used antipersonnel landmines, though the government has
not made a definitive statement. Costa Rica does not have a standing military,
but the Ministry of Security performs the functions of ground security, law
enforcement, counter-narcotics and national
security.[3] According to the
OAS, landmines are not used in Costa
Rica.[4]
Landmine Problem
Although Costa Rica was largely unaffected by the
Central American military conflicts of the 1980s, landmines were placed along
the northern border by forces involved in the Nicaraguan
conflict.[5] Colonel Jose Fabio
Pizarro, head of the Costa Rican Ministry of Security’s mine clearing
program stated, “There are an estimated 5,000 mines planted along our
border with Nicaragua.”[6]
Official estimates of the number of buried landmines in Costa Rica range from
one to two thousand to a maximum of five
thousand.[7]
All of the landmines are believed to be within one kilometer or less of the
Nicaraguan border. The affected area stretches approximately from the
Pan-American Highway in the west to the point where the Rio San Juan begins to
flow along the border in the east. The total amount of land affected is limited
to some 20 to 25 areas dispersed intermittently along the border. These areas
range from about 100 by 200 square meters to 200 by 500 square
meters.[8] Most of the mines
found to date have been located just north of the village of Los
Chiles.[9]
Current demining efforts are expected to clear all remaining mines by the end
of the year 2000.
Mine Action Funding
The OAS and the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB)
are responsible for demining operations in Costa Rica. Assistance in the form of
technical support for demining and funding have come from OAS member states
including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Peru, the United States,
Venezuela and Uruguay and OAS observer nations including Germany, Great Britain,
Spain, France, Holland, Japan, Sweden and
Switzerland.[10]
According to the IADB, the estimated cost of completing the demining
operations in Costa Rica is U.S.$900,000 to $1.2 million over a 12 to 18 month
period. Additional costs for providing a helicopter for medical evacuation of
deminers are estimated at
$700,000.[11]
Mine Clearance
In 1992, Costa Rica submitted a request to the OAS
for assistance in demining its northern border areas. The OAS Unit for the
Promotion of Democracy has primary responsibility for the program with the IADB
providing technical support and planning assistance. Currently 35 Costa Rican
Security Forces members are assigned to the demining unit along with three IADB
supervisors. Four mine detection dogs are also available for demining
operations.
Clearance operations have been suspended since March 1998, pending the
acquisition of a medical evacuation
helicopter.[12] According to
Colonel Carl Case of the IABD, “funding is now in place to lease a UH-1H
(helicopter) from a U.S. commercial contractor for a six-month period, followed
by a buy-out using primarily Costa Rican
Funds.”[13] Colonel
Pizarro of the Costa Rican Ministry of Security stated, “We believe that
once we resolve this problem, mine clearance could take us a year and a
half.”[14]
According to the OAS, as of 21 August 1998, 57 mines have been destroyed, 703
metallic objects detected and 41,034 square meters of land
cleared.[15] The U.S. Department
of State estimates that a total of 300 to 1,200 mines have already been
cleared.[16] The most common
landmine found is the Czech PP-MI-SR bounding mine used primarily by the
Sandinista forces in the
1980s.[17]
Mine Awareness
As part of a mine awareness program, DC Comics
along with officers of a U.S. Southern Command Mine Awareness Team and UNICEF
produced a special edition comic book in Spanish to teach children about the
dangers of landmines.[18]
Approximately 560,000 comic books were to be distributed mainly to Miskito
Indians along the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and Costa
Rica.[19]
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
Data concerning landmine victims is mainly
anecdotal. No casualties have been reported from the OAS demining activities.
According to the demining protocols, paramedics are on continuous standby
on-site during all operations, and surgical trauma care is provided at a Costa
Rican government-supported hospital in the capital, San
Jose.[20] The United States
Department of State reported seven casualties in Costa Rica in the 1998
Hidden Killers report, though no specific details were
available.[21] Colonel Case
reported that several accidents had occurred when local inhabitants crossed the
border to fish or gather food. He stated, “The presence of mines, if not
always a deterrent, certainly discourages the free movement of people in these
areas, in Costa Rica and the other countries (of Central
America).”[22]
Exact figures concerning economic loss resulting from landmines are not
available, although the fields where the mines are planted are fertile and are
not cultivated because their owners are afraid to work
them.[23] According to Colonel
Case of the IADB, “Most of the areas where mines have been found so far
are definitely useful for agriculture. In fact, some of the mines were
discovered by farmers who were injured while preparing their land for
cultivation. The terrain in these and most affected areas along the border is
relatively flat and close to large areas already under
cultivation."[24]
In May 1996, the Costa Rican Congress enacted the “Equal Opportunities
Law for People with Disabilities.” This law is based on the Standard
Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities of Disabled People, the
Inter-American Convention of Human Rights, and the United Nations
Children’s Convention. Its provisions prohibit discrimination, provide
for health care services, and mandate access to buildings for persons with
disabilities.[25] Unfortunately,
the effective implementation and monitoring of the law has been difficult to
achieve and many buildings remain inaccessible to persons with disabilities.
Nonetheless, a number of public and private institutions have made individual
efforts to improve access.
[1]Organization of America
States, ”Support for the Mine-Clearing Program in Central America,”
http://oas.org/en/prog/juridico/english/ga%2Dres98/eres1568.htm., 19 December
1998.
[2]Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, Canada, “AP Mine Ban: Progress Report”
http://www/dfait-maeci/gc.ca/english/foreignp/disarm/mines/report1f.htm, 22
February 1999.
[3]CIA Factbook, Costa Rica,
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/cs.htm, 3 December 1998.
[4]LM Researcher Email
Correspondence with Col. Carl Case, OAS/IADB, 12 January 1999.
[5]International Demining
Organization, 24 September 1998, Article No. 98-09-02,
http://www.jid.org/MARMINCA%20CofC.html.
[6]Sequeira M, Disarmament
Central America, “170,000 mines still to be cleared”, Inter Press
Service, 4 February 1999.
[7]The 1-2,000 figure comes
from Hidden Killers 1998: The Global Landmine Crisis, US Dept State,
http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/rpt_9809_demine_nxa.htm while the higher
figure came from "Costa Rica to defuse 5,000 land mines", Xinhua News Agency, 19
October 1996.
[8]LM Researcher Email
Correspondence with Col. Carl Case, OAS/IADB, 12 January 1999.
[9]LM Researcher Email
Correspondence with Col. Carl Case, OAS/IADB, January 12, 1999. United Nations
Demining Database, Country Report: Costa Rica,
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/country/costaric.htm., 3 December 1998.
[10]Information Paper
OAS/IADB Demining Program Update, Col C. Case/7568, 14 September 1998. Ministry
Announces more Aid to OAS for Land Mine Removal,Tokyo Kyodo News Service in
English 0705 GMT 11 December 1998. Sweden Provides $1.5 Million for CENAM Mine
Clearing, Daily Washington File,
http://www.usis.it/wireless/wf961115/96111519.htm. Green, E, Anti-Landmine
Effort Showing Progress in Central America, Public Diplomacy Query (PDQ),
http://pdq2.usia.gov/scripts/cqcge.exe, 3 December 1998.
[11]Personal Correspondence:
Col. Carl Case OAS/IADB, email: 12 January 1999.
[12]Information Paper,
OAS/IADB Demining Program Update, Col. C. Case/7568, 14 September 1998.
International Demining Organization, September 24, 1998 Article No. 98-09-02,
http://www.jid.org/MARMINCA%20CofC.html.
[13]LM Researcher Email
Correspondence with Col. Carl Case, OAS/IADB, 16 February 1999.
[14]Sequeira M, Disarmament
Central America: “170,000 mines still to be cleared”, Inter Press
Service, 4 February 1999.
[15]Information Paper,
OAS/IADB Demining Program Update, Col. C. Case/7568, 14 September 1998.
[16]Hidden Killers 1998: The
Global Landmine Crisis, US Dept of State.
http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/rpt_9809_demine_nxa.html, 10 December
1998.
[17]Hidden Killers 1994: The
Global Landmine Crisis, US Dept State,
http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/rpt_9401_demine_ch3.html.
[18]Aita J, Superman, Wonder
Woman Teach Youngsters about Landmines, Public Diplomacy Query (PDQ),
http://pdq2.usia.gov/scripts/cqcgi.exe, 3 December 1998.
[20]LM Researcher Email
Correspondence with Col. Carl Case, OAS/IADB, 12 January 1999.
[21]Hidden Killers 1998: The
Global Landmine Crisis, US Dept of State.
http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/rpt_9809_demine_nxa.html, 10 December
1998.
[22]LM Researcher Email
Correspondence with Col. Carl Case, OAS/IADB, 16 February 1999.
[24]LM Researcher Email
Correspondence with Col. Carl Case, OAS/IADB, 16 February 1999.
[25]Montero F, Legislation on
Disability: The Costa Rican Experience,
http://www.independentliving.org/LibArt/HumanRightsConf/hr12.html, 25 February
1999.
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