Key
developments since May 2001: There continue to be allegations of use of
antipersonnel mines by Burundian troops both inside Burundi and in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Landmine Monitor has not been able to corroborate
such allegations, or to determine if rebel or government forces are responsible
for ongoing mine use. The government strongly denies any use of mines, and has
again invited an observer mission to establish facts. Burundi declared a
stockpile of 1,200 antipersonnel mines.
MINE BAN POLICY
Burundi signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997, but has not yet ratified it. The government participated as an observer in
the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Managua,
Nicaragua, in September 2001, as well as intersessional Standing Committee
meetings in January and May 2002.
At the January 2002 intersessional Standing Committee meeting, the Burundi
delegate noted that “the only urgency that delayed the adoption of the
instruments of ratification of the Ottawa Convention” had been the need to
put in place the transitional government structures provided for in the Arusha
Peace Agreement.[1] He assured
the States Parties that Burundi “will be among the ten new countries which
will ratify the Convention by next
September.”[2] The
delegation also stated that the government of Burundi is “against the use
of landmines,” and called on the “international community to
intervene in stopping the use of landmines by Non-State
Actors.”[3]
In an interview with Landmine Monitor at the intersessional Standing
Committee meeting in January 2002, the Burundi delegation further confirmed that
as normalcy was slowly returning to the country, and institutions taking root,
ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty was underway and that “Burundi will be
very active in universalizing the
Convention.”[4]
In February 2002, a military official said, “Today the National Army
has given its full support to the ratification of the Ottawa Convention.
Technically, there is no reason why Burundi should not ratify the Ottawa
Convention. There is no longer any part of the territory of Burundi that is not
accessible due to the presence of rebels. Even Tenga that used to be their
stronghold is now fully controlled by the National
Army.”[5] In April 2002,
the same official reported, “The texts of ratification will soon be
presented by the Minister of Defense and discussed so that a decision can be
made before September in regard with the ratification of the
treaty.”[6] At the May
2002 Standing Committee meetings, the Burundi delegate said the date of
ratification “is hard to predict,” but was hoped for “at least
by September or the end of the
year.”[7]
Minister of Foreign Affairs Therence Sinunguruza told Landmine Monitor on 25
July 2002 that he was making every effort to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty as soon
as possible. He indicated that ratification would be put on the agenda of the
cabinet in September.[8]
Burundi cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
56/24M in November 2001, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty.
It is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), nor did it
participate in the third annual meeting of States Parties to Amended Protocol II
of the CCW, or the Second CCW Review Conference, in December 2001.
PRODUCTION, TRANSFER, AND STOCKPILING
Burundi is not known to have produced or exported
antipersonnel landmines.[9] In a
letter of August 2001, Burundi for the first time stated that it has a stockpile
of 1,200 antipersonnel
mines.[10] While the letter did
not indicate whether the stockpile was for training or for other purposes,
Landmine Monitor Report 2001 had quoted Colonel Juvenal Bujeje as saying
Burundi’s “limited stock” was for training
purposes.[11] During the
Standing Committee meeting in January 2002, an official of the Geneva
International Center for Humanitarian Demining characterized Burundi as being
among the countries whose stockpile is non-existent or
reduced.[12]
USE
Landmine Monitor Report 2001 stated that it
seemed certain that in the past antipersonnel mines had been used in Burundi by
both government and rebel
forces.[13] Government
officials have repeatedly denied any use of landmines by government forces. At
the Third Meeting of States Parties, head of delegation Ambassador Nahayo
Adolphe said, “The delegation of Burundi reminds the Third Meeting of
States Parties to the Ottawa Convention that the allegations of use of
antipersonnel mines by the National Army are false. In its concern for
transparency, Burundi renews its call for an international observation
commission on antipersonnel mines to come establish reality in the
field."[14] During the January
2002 Standing Committee meetings, the Burundi delegation again fiercely rebutted
the allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by government forces, stating,
“There is absolutely no need to lay antipersonnel mines as ours is an
agricultural country.”[15]
In response to a letter from Landmine Monitor regarding allegations of use in
this reporting period, Burundi responded that “the Government of the
Republic of Burundi has always denied using landmines for military purposes for
the only reason the Government of the Republic of Burundi cannot hinder the main
population activity that is agriculture. Concerning the DRC, the Government of
the Republic of Burundi has no interest in using those landmines because its
main activities in this area are securing the commercial fleets on the lake
Tanganyika and has no major military activities that would require the use of
antipersonnel
mines.”[16]
Despite the repeated strong denials, Landmine Monitor continues to receive
troubling accounts of ongoing use of antipersonnel mines inside Burundi by both
rebel and government forces, and ongoing use in the Democratic Republic of Congo
by the Burundi Army. Landmine Monitor has been unable to corroborate
independently these allegations.
Landmine Monitor strongly encourages States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty to
accept the invitations of the Burundi government, extended at both the Second
and Third Meetings of States Parties, to send an “observer mission”
or an “international observation commission” to try to establish the
facts regarding use of antipersonnel mines in Burundi or by Burundian
forces.
Allegations of Use in Burundi
It appears certain that landmines continue to be
used in Burundi, but it is difficult to determine who is planting the mines.
Médecins sans Frontières Belgium and Médecins sans
Frontières France receive sporadic cases of civilians wounded by mines in
the area around the capital, Bujumbura Rural, on average about one a week.
According to the survivors, mines have been laid in forested areas in Tenga and
Rukoko, which are areas where rebels have
operated.[17] It is not clear
if the mines were laid recently or in past years, and it is not clear whether
government or rebel forces have been responsible.
In February and March 2002, residents of an Internally Displaced Persons
(IDP) camp near Tenga reported that people were forced to clear brush in the
area and they exploded mines set off by
tripwire.[18] A 33-year-old man
told Human Rights Watch that in early 2002 in Tenga two IDPs were injured by a
tripwire mine they exploded while cutting brush; he said the IDPs know to look
for wires or string that are across the path, because they will explode a
mine.[19] A 30-year-old woman
living in Kivoga site said that the paths outside the site are mined by the
military. She believes it is a way of protecting the site from rebels, but also
of keeping the people in. She said IDPs have planted crops outside the camp in
the fields, and they must ask permission to go to the fields because there are
mines and if they don’t ask, they risk being killed by mines. She said on
5 March 2002, a man forced to cut brush in Tenga was killed by a mine, and three
others wounded.[20]
A senior UN official also referred to Army use of mines in an interview with
Landmine Monitor.[21] He said
that there is no systematic recording of mined areas and observed, that most of
the time, neither the National Army nor the rebels had the time to follow
standard procedures, but were responding to emergencies to defend occupied
territories or to block passages, and failed to mark the mined areas.
Burundi officials contend that the presence of antipersonnel mines on Burundi
soil could be “the work of rebels crossing into Burundi from neighboring
countries.”[22]In
its statement during the January 2002 Standing Committee meeting, Burundi sought
the support of the international community to “push the rebels of FFD and
FNL to negotiate a ceasefire and to adhere to the Peace agreement signed in
Arusha.”[23] Ambassador
Nahayo Adolphe specifically asked for an intensified campaign addressed to
producers and exporters of antipersonnel mines to “stop any transfer to
non-state actors that do not feel concerned by international
conventions.”[24]
In a July 2002 letter to Landmine Monitor, Burundi stated that “rebels
are using landmines to impede Government forces military convoys mainly on roads
permitting them easy mobility but unfortunately they are affecting mostly
civilian vehicles.” The letter listed five incidents from 10-15 July 2002
in which civilian trucks exploded antivehicle
mines.[25]
Allegations of Use in DRC
The Burundi military continues to carry out
operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Local human rights
organizations and others in the DRC have reported the laying of mines by
Burundian soldiers around their military campsin Mboko, Swima, Ake, and
Kaboke in Fizi Territory. These are located along Lake Tanganyika between Uvira
and Baraka, directly across the lake from Burundi. One Congolese group
reported, “The Burundian military used antipersonnel mines on the main
road and on secondary roads in Mboko, Ake, and Kabondozi villages (Tanganyika
collective, Fizi Territory). These mines caused victims, most of them children
and women.”[26] The
organization took testimony on five incidents between 7 November 2001 and 5
January 2002 in which antipersonnel mines allegedly laid by the Burundi military
caused nine civilian casualties, including three dead and six
injured.[27] Another
organization noted, “Several credible groups have reported Burundian
military mining these
areas.”[28]
Landmine Monitor was not able to independently corroborate these allegations.
In July 2002, Minister of Foreign Affairs Therence Sinunguruza categorically
denied any use of antipersonnel mines by Burundian troops in the
DRC.[29]
It is important to note that the DRC ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 2 May
2002, and it will enter into force for the DRC on 1 November 2002. As a State
Party, the DRC will have an obligation to prevent, suppress and punish use of
antipersonnel mines by any entity on territory under the jurisdiction or control
of the DRC government.
LANDMINE PROBLEM AND MINE ACTION
Although there is undoubtedly mine contamination
in Burundi, there is no accurate data on the extent or nature of that
contamination. No survey or assessment has been conducted in Burundi, nor is any
mine clearance activity taking place. Most of the suspected contaminated areas
in Burundi are inaccessible for security reasons, so independent verification is
problematic.[30] It is
generally believed that landmine contamination is mainly centered in three areas
in Burundi: in Bujumbura Rural, along the border between Burundi and Tanzania,
and in Cibitoke province.[31]
To date, the government has not initiated any demining or mine awareness
programs. However, after the fighting in Kinama (February 2001), unexploded
ordnance (UXO) contamination was identified and an ad hoc mine action response
was organized.[32] It was
coordinated through the government and the national gendarmerie administration
and supported by UNICEF. It apparently was efficient, as there have been no
reported injuries or deaths after the return of the population to the area.
UNICEF is the only entity in Burundi carrying out mine risk education. To
date, 100 persons have been trained in mine risk education, and five educational
posters have been developed.[33]
UNICEF has estimated the cost of a one-year program of mine risk education
activities, which would involve the government, the National Army and
Gendarmerie, and civilians, to be
US$210,600.[34] In a UNICEF
press release of 31 May 2002, the agency noted it had not been successful in
raising funds for the effort. The press release also stated,
“Highlighting the current intensity of fighting in Burundi, UNICEF insists
that it is urgent to fund this sector that would enable the implementation of
advocacy, mine risk education, victim assistance or mine data
collection.”[35]
LANDMINE CASUALTIES
There is an absence of accurate mine victim and
incident data.[36] There are
reports of mine injuries from hospitals, although not on a wide scale. Mine
injuries are classified together with bullet wounds, vehicle accidents, and
other traumatic injuries.
The UN Security Unit recorded ten mine incidents for 2001. These incidents
occurred between January and November and were mainly reported from Bujumbura
Rural, Cibitoke, and Makamba
provinces.[37] On 29 January
2001, in Mutimbuzi commune, Bujumbura Rural province, one civilian was killed
and another seriously injured by an antipersonnel mine allegedly planted by the
army.[38] On 9 March 2001, a
landmine explosion killed a child in Kabezi
commune.[39] On 23 June 2001,
in Mutimbuzi commune, a landmine explosion killed one civilian and seriously
injured two others.[40] As
noted above, Médecins sans Frontières receives sporadic cases of
civilians wounded by mines in the area around the capital, Bujumbura Rural,
reportedly on average about one a week.
It is likely that the number of reported incidents does not accurately
reflect the actual number of mine casualties. According to the Director of the
UN Security Unit, the list of incidents/casualties could more comprehensive if
NGOs that operate in the countryside were willing to cooperate and participate
in reporting incidents.[41]
When asked to cooperate, many respond that their primary purpose is not to deal
with the landmine issue alone. For instance, Handicap International Belgium
programs include assistance to mines victims, but they do not have records that
account for mines victims
only.[42] Another fact that
hampers accurate recording of mine incidents is that many of the mine victims
seek medical care in the refugee camps in Tanzania, as incidents often occur
along the border.
A Landmine Monitor field survey on the Burundi-Tanzania border in January
2002 identified 11 Burundi landmine survivors who were being treated in border
hospitals inside Tanzania.[43]
One landmine survivor interviewed had stepped on a landmine near the border with
Tanzania on 7 September
2001.[44] Another survivor said
that on 16 September 2001, while fleeing to Tanzania from Rutana, he was injured
by a landmine and a male companion died on the
spot.[45]
According to the Ministry of Defense, up to 1998, 80 people were killed and
187 seriously injured in mine-related incidents. Other sources claim that,
between 1993 and 2000, there were 791 deaths in mine-related
incidents.[46]
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
Burundi’s health care system has
deteriorated since 1993, and the availability of basic medicines and health
supplies is limited. In 2001, the ICRC provided medicines and other medical
supplies to the Prince Regent Charles Hospital in Bujumbura, the military
hospital in Kamenge, and the provincial hospitals of Gitega, Kirundo, Muyinga,
Ngozi and Ruyigi. The supplies enabled the hospitals to treat almost 3,000
surgical cases, which included 69 mine/UXO casualties. In 2001, Médecins
sans Frontières provided basic medical and surgical care to civilians in
the Bujumbura, Bujumbura Rural, Cankuzo, Karuzi, Kayanza, and Makamba
provinces.[47] The Jesuit
Refugee Service also operated health posts in Buterere, Kinama, and
Kiyange.[48]
The National Army began a program to assist military victims of the war in
December 2000, which has now completed the first cycle of training war victims.
The program entails the provision of medical rehabilitation and vocational
training, in fields such as computer skills, electrical, masonry, and carpentry.
When the training if completed, the graduates are returned to military barracks
to carry out activities relevant to their
training.[49] It is planned to
continue the program, which assists only the military.
Handicap International Belgium (HIB) has a program to assist war victims,
including mine victims, and other persons with
disabilities.[50] In 2001, HIB
supported three orthopedic workshops in Bujumbura, Gitega, and Muyinga providing
physiotherapy, prosthetics, crutches, and tricycles. Ongoing training was given
to 24 prosthetic technicians and 27 physiotherapists. HIB's program also
included disability awareness raising activities and support for socio-economic
reintegration.[51]
In May 2002, a newly established South African Company, Africa Medical
Assistance (ASA) entered into an agreement with the Institute for National
Social Security (INSS) in Burundi for the supply of prostheses. The first phase
of the project is the supply of prostheses for approximately 100 patients. The
provision of prostheses is linked to a physical rehabilitation training program
and support for local
authorities.[52]
[1] Statement by Ambassador Nahayo Adolphe,
Burundi Permanent Representative to the Mission in Geneva, Intersessional
Standing Committee Meetings, Geneva, 31 January
2002. [2]
Ibid. [3]
Ibid. [4] Interview with Col. Nicodeme
Nduhirubusa and Col. Juvenal Bujeje, Intersessional Standing Committee
Meetings, Geneva, 31 January 2002. [5]
Interview with Col. Juvenal Bujeje, officer in charge of landmine issues,
Ministry of Defense, Bujumbura, 10 February
2002. [6] Interview with Col. Juvenal
Bujeje, Ministry of Defense, Bujumbura, 7 April
2002. [7] Interview with Col. Juvenal
Bujeje, Ministry of Defense, Bujumbura, 29 May
2002. [8] Meeting with HE Therence
Sinunguruza, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujumbura, 25 July
2002. [9] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p.198. [10] Letter addressed to the
UNDDA Office and other International Organizations in Geneva from the Permanent
Mission of Burundi to the UN in Geneva, 7 August 2001.
[11] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p.198. Colonel Bujeje said the stockpile was “less than 15,000”
antipersonnel mines. [12] Presentation
by Fabrice Delaître, GICHD, to intersessional Standing Committee meeting
on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 31 January
2002. [13] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
pp.199-202. The 1999, 2000, and 2001 Landmine Monitor Reports have reported
allegations of use of antipersonnel mines on the border with Tanzania, in
various areas of combat with rebels, near refugee/IDP camps, around the
Bujumbura airport, at isolated military posts, and around economic
infrastructure, as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
[14] Statement by Ambassador Nahayo
Adolphe, Burundi Permanent Representative to the Mission in Geneva,
“Declaration de la delegation du Burundi a la troisieme assemblee des
estats-parties a la convention d’Ottawa Managua,” Third Meeting of
States Parties, Managua, Nicaragua, 18-21 September
2001. [15] Interview, Col. Nicome
Nduhirubusa and Col. Juvenal Bujeje, Geneva, 30 January
2002. [16] Letter to Landmine Monitor
Coordinator from Col. Nicodeme Nduhirubusa, Adviser to the Cabinet of the
Minister of Foreign Relations and Cooperation, Bujumbura, 26 July
2002. [17] Email from Médecins
sans Frontières-Belgium. 23 July 2002; email to Landmine Monitor from
Human Rights Watch staff in Burundi, 10 June
2002. [18] Email to Landmine Monitor
from Human Rights Watch staff in Burundi, 10 June
2002. [19] Ibid., testimony taken in
Bujumbura on 18 March 2002. [20]
Ibid. [21] Confidential interview with
UN official, Bujumbura, February
2002. [22] Interview, Col. Nicome
Nduhirubusa and Col. Juvenal Bujeje, Geneva, 30 January
2002. [23] Statement by Ambassador
Nahayo Adolphe, Burundi Permanent Representative to the Mission in Geneva,
Intersessional Standing Committee Meetings, Geneva, 31 January
2002. [24]
Ibid. [25] Letter from Col. Nicodeme
Nduhirubusa, Adviser to the Cabinet of Minister of Foreign Relations and
Cooperation, 26 July 2002. [26] Report
of Congolese human rights organization from the first quarter of 2002. The
organization has requested
anonymity. [27]
Ibid. [28] Email to Landmine Monitor
from Human Rights Watch staff in Burundi, 10 June
2002. [29] Landmine Monitor Meeting with
HE Therence Sinunguruza, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 25 July
2002. [30] Report produced by Ben Lark,
UNICEF consultant, May 2001.
(untitled). [31]
Ibid. [32]
Ibid. [33] Interview with Liliane
Bigayimpunzi, UNICEF Protection Officer, Burundi, 17 January
2002. [34] Report produced by Ben Lark,
UNICEF consultant, May 2001. [35]
“Penurie de fonds pour les programmes de l’UNICEF (Burundi),”
IRIN, Nairobi, Kenya, 31 May 2002. [36]
Report produced by Ben Lark, UNICEF consultant, May
2001. [37] UN Security Unit, monthly
data collection of mines incidents for 2001. The data does not give details on
the number of casualties or whether killed or
injured. [38] U.S. State Department,
Human Rights Report 2001, country report on Burundi.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8280.htm. [39]
Ibid. [40]
Ibid. [41] Interview with Jean Luc
Khister, Director, UN Security Unit, Bujumbura, 4 February 2002. Some NGOs are
said to be reluctant to cooperate out of concern for the security of the victims
and themselves. [42] Interview with
Muriel Gevaerts, former Burundi Program Coorindator, Handicap International
Belgium, Bujumbura, 4 February
2002. [43] Landmine Monitor/Tanzania,
field survey in Tanzania, January
2002. [44] Ibid. and visit to Heri
Mission Hospital, Tanzania border, January
2002. [45] Landmine Monitor/Tanzania,
field survey in Tanzania, January
2002. [46] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 203. [47] “Burundi:
Fever, hunger and war,” MSF Activity Report 2000-2001.
http://www.msf.org. [48] Jesuit Refugee
Service Annual Report 2001. [49]
Interview with one of the trained disabled soldiers, November 2001. See also
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
204. [50] Interview with Muriel
Gevaerts, former Burundi Program Coordinator, Handicap International
Belgium, Bujumbura, 8 February
2002. [51] Handicap International
Belgium Activity Report 2001. [52]
Landmine Monitor (South Africa) interview with Christo Schutte, Africa Medical
Assistance, 2 July 2002.
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