Key
developments since May 2001: Eritrea acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 27
August 2001, and it entered into force on 1 February 2002. Two NGOs carried out
surveys in 2001, and initial preparations for a Landmine Impact Survey began in
March 2002. Mine clearance and mine risk education activities increased
greatly. The UNMEE MACC reported that from November 2000 through December 2001,
over 10 million square meters of land and 989 kilometers of roads were cleared,
destroying more than 1,865 mines. More than 400 Eritreans were trained as
deminers in 2001. There were 154 new landmine/UXO casualties reported in
Eritrea in 2001, nearly half in May-July as refugees and IDPs began returning
home.
MINE BAN POLICY
Eritrea acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 27 August
2001, and it entered into force for the country on 1 February 2002. A Ministry
of Foreign Affairs official told Landmine Monitor, “Eritrea is eager to be
a partner with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in full
implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty.”[1] The Program
Manager of the Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) of the United Nations
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) told Landmine Monitor that he believes
Eritrea is committed to implementing the Mine Ban Treaty, although it will
likely need various technical or other forms of assistance to fully implement
many of the treaty’s
elements.[2] A senior United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) technical advisor will assist the Eritrean
government in implementing the treaty, in addition to his other mine action
responsibilities; he arrived in Asmara in January 2002.
Landmine Monitor is not aware of Eritrea’s adoption yet of any national
implementation measures, as required by Article 9 of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Eritrea’s initial Article 7 transparency report was due by 31 July 2002,
its deadline for destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines is 1 February
2006, and its deadline for clearance of emplaced mines is 1 February 2012.
Eritrea was scheduled to attend the Third Meeting of States Parties in
Managua, Nicaragua, in September 2001, but the two-person delegation could not
transit en-route through the United States due to the 11 September 2001 attacks
in the U.S.[3] Eritrea did
participate in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January and May
2002 in Geneva.
In November 2001, Eritrea cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General
Assembly Resolution 56/24M in support of the Mine Ban Treaty. Eritrea is not a
party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and did not 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.
USE, PRODUCTION, TRANSFER, AND STOCKPILING
There have been no reports of new use of
antipersonnel landmines by Eritrean forces since the end of the border conflict
in June 2000.[4]
Eritrea states that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines,
while acknowledging that Eritrean troops have made booby-traps and other
improvised explosive devices.[5]
Eritrea claims that it has never imported antipersonnel mines, but that it
obtained all of its landmines from Ethiopian forces during the war for
independence.[6]
At the intersessional Standing Committee meeting in January 2002, the
Eritrean delegation confirmed the figure of 450,000 stockpiled antipersonnel
mines as reported in Landmine Monitor 2001, adding that 40,000 mines had
been destroyed by the Eritrean Defense Force “immediately” upon the
end of the liberation war.[7]
The MACC told Landmine Monitor that these figures - the number of mines in
Eritrea’s possession and what it claims to have destroyed - are general
estimates that are difficult to confirm as of April
2002.[8]
LANDMINE PROBLEM
The legacy of the Second World War, the thirty
years of independence struggle from 1961 to 1991 and the 1998-2000 border
conflict with Ethiopia have left Eritrea with a severe landmine problem. The
border conflict left heavy areas of contamination in the southern portion of the
country. Of the landmines and UXO from the Thirty Year Struggle, ten of the 11
major battle sites believed to contain mines are in the northern and
northwestern provinces; the eleventh is in the southeast
province.[9] The Eritrean
government told Landmine Monitor that a significant percentage of all mines had
been cleared after the war of independence ended in 1991 but, due mostly to
technical shortcomings, as many as 150,000 mines may have remained in areas
previously thought to be
cleared.[10]
In May 2001, records of 313 mined areas throughout the Temporary Security
Zone (TSZ), and just south of the TSZ (in Ethiopian-controlled territory), were
provided to UNMEE MACC in Asmara. The mined areas are concentrated in the
Shilalo/Shambuqo area in the west; around Senefe, Tsorena, and Zalanmbesa in the
center; and north of Buray in the TSZ in the
east.[11] The Eritrean
government carefully recorded minefields for later
removal.[12]
Based on these records, UNMEE MACC estimates about 240,000 mines were laid by
Eritrea during the border
conflict.[13] It believes that
Ethiopian forces removed the majority of these mines during the periods they
occupied the region, as very few mines are currently being discovered during the
demining operations in Eritrean
minefields.[14]
Ethiopia has steadfastly denied any use of mines by its forces during the
border conflict.[15] But in
April 2002, Ethiopia provided UNMEE MACC detailed maps of mines its forces laid
in Eritrea during the
conflict.[16] These records
include information on mines remaining in the ground after Ethiopian forces
conducted substantial clearance operations prior to withdrawing from territories
it held.[17] MACC estimates
Ethiopia laid approximately 150,000 to 200,000 mines in Eritrea during this
period.[18]
Reportedly, as a result of the use of cluster bombs by the Ethiopian air
force in May 2000 at the Korokon refugee camp in western Eritrea, unexploded
bomblets remain from the attack. The administrator of the camp, which contained
about 7,000 families at the time of the attack, reported seeing about ten
“cluster bomb cases” at the time of the
attack.[19] Child cattle
herders at the camp walked through heavily-affected areas at the camp, and were
“taking the copper charges from the bomblets and using them as cow
bells.”[20] Aid and mine
clearance agencies found 20 bomblets in an impromptu play area made by the
children at the camp.[21] The
Adi Bare Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp also reported unexploded
cluster munitions to a British NGO working in the
area.[22]
In total, as many as two million landmines and other UXO may have been laid
in Eritrea over the past 50 years, including mines left since WWII, as well as
in both wars with Ethiopia.[23]
The Mine Action Support Group carried out a field trip to Eritrea and Ethiopia
in May 2002 to assess the impact of mine action from a donor country
perspective.[24] It was in
Eritrea from 19-23 May, and reported the following: “The complexity of
the landmine and UXO contamination of the Second World War, the conflict for
independence (1961-1991) and the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia
(1998-2000), confronts the MAP and EMAP [Eritrean Mine Action Program] with
daily challenges. Currently there are 592 dangerous areas and 209 mined areas,
totaling 660 km2, after a technical survey possibly to be reduced to 330 km2.
Referring to the current humanitarian mine clearance capacity of 6.5 km2, one
can easily illustrate the enormous task ahead. The area cleared to date in
Eritrea is 17
km2.”[25]
MINE ACTION COORDINATION
The Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) is an
integral part of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). UNMEE MACC
began coordinating operations in the Temporary Security Zone mission area in
November 2000. In 2001, it began to assist in the development of the national
Eritrean Mine Action Program
(EMAP).[26] The EMAP is
responsible for coordination, tasking, quality assurance, and the National
Training Centre (NTC). Operations are the responsibility of mine action NGOs. A
national NGO, the Eritrean Demining Agency (EDA) has 180 deminers in three
demining teams with another four EDA demining teams being sponsored and managed
by international NGOs.[27]
The United Nations Development Program began implementing a capacity-building
program to assist EMAP and the EDA develop management and support capacities to
carry out their work.[28] The
program has regularly scheduled coordination meetings with all concerned mine
action organizations to facilitate operations. A working group for technical
mine clearance issues also meets to discuss issues related to the mine threat
and technical response found in the operating
theater.[29]
MINE ACTION FUNDING
For 2001, the United Nations Mine Action Investment
Database lists $7,607,475 in mine action contributions to Eritrea from nine
donors;[30] in addition, the
United Kingdom contributed
$783,577.[31] The UN database
includes (all in US$): Canada, $1,072,063; Denmark, $2,199,000; European
Commission, $1,551,228; Finland, $99,000; Germany, $727,851; Netherlands,
$500,000; Norway, $333,333; Switzerland, $75,000; United States, $1,050,000.
Denmark has reported to Landmine Monitor funding in 2001 for the Danish
Demining Group totaling $2.075 million for demining in Eritrea, and $3 million
to DanChurchAid for their mine action capacity building in
Eritrea.[32] In addition, upon
Eritrea’s accession to the Mine Ban Treaty in August 2001, the Netherlands
pledged $500,000 to the program for assistance in implementing the treaty, which
was dedicated to the Eritrean Demining Agency (EDA) for the purchase of new
demining equipment.[33] The
Netherlands is also the principal funder of the HALO Trust mine action program
in Eritrea.
The European Community pledged €1.4 million (US$1.26 million) for the
UNDP mine action capacity building program (specifically for the Landmine Impact
Survey in 2002). Canada donated Can$750,000 for the remaining portion of the
LIS. The U.S. Department of State has pledged $1.23 million in humanitarian
demining assistance for Eritrea for
2002.[34]
The UNMEE MACC is partly funded by UNMAS through the UN Voluntary Trust Fund
(VTF). Last year's budget was listed as approximately $1
million[35] and funding for 2002
was expected to remain at a similar
level.[36]
The Halo Trust (HALO) core programme in Eritrea is funded by the
Netherlands.[37] Switzerland
funds a mine detection dog team and Ireland funds a “Chubby” route
antivehicle threat reduction
system.[38] Norway is funding a
technical survey team and a “Meerkat” route reconnaissance vehicle
fitted with a forward mounted antivehicle mine detector. HALO expects that the
program to further expand in late 2002 when a project, funded by the European
Community, starts to develop a HALO/Eritrean Demining Agency (EDA) manual
team.[39]
SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT
The Eritrean government provided detailed minefield
records to UNMEE MACC on 20 March 2001 for mines used during the 1998-2000
border war.[40] In April 2002,
Ethiopia provided to UNMEE MACC details of minefields that they laid in Eritrea
during the 1998-2000 conflict, including minefield locations and numbers and
types of mines remaining in each minefield after their clearance operations,
prior to their withdrawal.[41]
In early 2001 the government of Eritrea requested that the UNMAS facilitate a
Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) for
Eritrea.[42] The Survey Action
Center (SAC) and UNMAS conducted an advance survey mission in June 2001. The
outcome was the decision to conduct the survey with the government as the
implementing agency in the field; the first time an international NGO was not
the implementing agency. A follow-on mission by UNMAS in September 2001
produced a final project proposal, budget and preliminary operations plan. In
January 2002, a UNDP senior technical advisor for the Capacity Building program
arrived in Asmara. In March and April 2002, three additional UNDP technical
advisors, including the Senior Technical Advisor for the survey, arrived to
begin preparations for the
LIS.[43]
The LIS will include the entire Eritrean territory, inside and outside the
TSZ, and is intended to help facilitate the EMAP in developing a long-term
national mine action strategy. Work officially began in May 2002. The survey
will be implemented by the Eritrea Mine Action Programme with the technical
assistance of UNDP/Asmara, the Survey Action Center, and Cranfield University
Mine Action.[44] Once the
survey commences in full, it should take approximately 12 months to
complete.[45] The UN reported
in early July that the start of the LIS was being delayed due to a lack of
trained staff.[46]
As part of a process that HALO describes as “building closer links with
the EMAP,” HALO provided two LIS survey teams to undertake a rapid
assessment survey both inside and outside the TSZ in
2001.[47] This survey, plus the
minefield data provided, revealed a total of 403 known mined areas and 506
"dangerous areas" containing unexploded ordnance or mines, as of January 2002.
However, there are many more dangerous areas yet to be discovered and
recorded.[48] The information
was stored in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database
at the UNMEE MACC. HALO is also training two technical survey teams to by used
by the EMAP.[49]
In June 2001, Danish Demining Group (DDG) also commenced general surveys, and
as of January 2002, had completed 146 surveys in the Debub region and 30 surveys
in Gash Barka. All but 37 of the survey reports, which were held back because
of limited sources of information in some villages or limited experience of the
surveyors, were forwarded to UNMEE
MACC.[50]
MINE CLEARANCE
Mine clearance activities expanded significantly in
2001 and 2002. The various agencies conducting mine clearance in the country
include the Danish Demining Group, DanChurchAid (DCA), RONCO, the HALO Trust,
EDA and UNMEE demining units.
Since November 2000, more than 1,865 mines have been destroyed, over 10
million square meters of land have been cleared, and 989 kilometers of roads
have been cleared.[51] In
addition, more than 18,900 UXO have been
destroyed.[52] The UN reported
that from 1 December 2001 to 28 February 2002, 2,133,369 square meters of
minefields and battlefield areas were cleared in the TSZ. Demining units also
cleared 163.6 kilometers of road and 675,718 square meters of operational
sites.[53]
By the end of 2001, some 400 Eritreans were trained as deminers at the
national training center, using Dutch military instructors under the direction
of the UNMEE MACC training
officer.[54] The deminers were
trained in basic demining, leadership, communications, and mapping. They have
all been deployed in the field, working for various mine action
NGOs.[55]
The Eritrea Demining Agency reported that in 2001 it cleared of 2,448 UXO in
the Gash Barka region, including cluster bomblets, mortars, RPGs, bullets, F-1
hand grenades, fuses, and other UXO listed as
unknown.[56]
In 2001, HALO’s project employed 470 national staff and four resident
expatriates, operating ten clearance, four EOD, four mechanical, two survey, two
marking and one mine detection dog (MDD)
teams.[57] According to UNMEE
MACC’s Program Manager, HALO is the largest NGO working on mine action in
Eritrea.[58]
In 2001, HALO cleared and destroyed 1,641 antipersonnel mines, fifty
antivehicle mines, and 1,209 items of UXO. HALO’s manual mine clearance
teams cleared 240,391 square meters of mine-affected land. HALO’s
mechanical teams cleared 29,836 square meters of land and area reduced 862,753
square meters, while its EOD battle area clearance teams cleared 4,783,207
square meters, and the mine detection dog (MDD) team cleared 50,473 square
meters. The MDD team is deployed directly onto known mined areas to speed up
the process of site area
reduction.[59]
In the first half of 2002 (until end June 2002), HALO cleared and destroyed
510 antipersonnel mines, 69 antivehicle mines, 248 items of UXO. The manual
teams cleared 330,113 square meters, the mechanical teams cleared 6,485 square
meters and reduced 1,704,717 square meters, the EOD teams cleared 1,765,400
square meters and the MDD team cleared 50,473 square meters.
DanChurchAid’s program in Eritrea started in June 2001. As of June
2002, a total of 210,794 square meters of land had been cleared in manual
operations; a total of 50,566 square meters of land had been mechanically
cleared; and, a total of 9,527,525 square meters had been cleared through the
“Danger Area Eliminated” process by EOD
teams.[60] The DCA program has
trained two manual demining teams, and its mine risk education teams started
work in December 2001.[61]
DDG has four quick response teams and four demining sections. It had a
Mechanical Mine Clearance Team run in collaboration with DCA until an accident
with one of the flails in September 2001. In 2001, DDG also had an EDD capacity
with dogs temporarily transferred from its Somaliland program. In 2001, DDG
used mechanical flails to clear approximately 280,000 square meters in Gash
Barka, creating a safe corridor through a large minefield system near the road
leading from Shelalo. EDA and DCA are clearing other parts of this same
minefield system. Repatriation into the six villages in the area has been
delayed until final
clearance.[62]
DDG also used mechanical flails to clear approximately 68,000 square meters
of land in Debub in 2001, between Senefe and the village of Tisha. By March
2002, it had cleared 9,935 mines and UXO; of these, about 200 were
mines.[63] Of the approximately
348,000 square meters DDG cleared in Gash Barka and Debub via mechanical
flailing during 2001, about 95,500 square meters were verified fully cleared by
March 2002.[64]
RONCO Consulting Corporation, located in Washington, DC, provided training,
equipment and oversight to the Eritrean government under a contract through the
U.S. Department of State. As of February 2002, over 120 EDA deminers under
RONCO supervision were trained, equipped, and began clearing areas of the
Temporary Security Zone. In partnership with the Marshall Legacy Foundation, 12
mine detection dogs and handlers trained by the Global Training Academy were
also provided.[65]
The deminers in the peacekeeping force continued to support operational
requirements and in doing so cleared a considerable amount of land and roads.
In addition force demining assets assisted humanitarian mine action NGO and
other agencies by conducting six support activities for humanitarian demining
requested through or by UNMEE MACC. Support was provided to UNICEF, HALO, EDA,
and DCA with mechanical clearance/reduction
equipment.[66]
In an expansion of typical UNMEE activities, a Slovak company will be
involved in demining support to the Ethiopia-Eritrea boundary commission
demarcation process (resolving the final border dispute from the 1998-2000
border war with Ethiopia) that was scheduled to begin in April 2002. This
represents a ‘major increase in the UNMEE MACC mandate,” according
to the program manager.[67]
Although UNMEE peacekeeping mandate in its present form is expected to end by
the end of 2002, its demining mandate in Eritrea will not be affected by any
UNMEE withdrawal from Eritrea. The MACC will remain in Eritrea in order to
assist in demining support for the UN border commission ruling, for capacity
building, and for Mine Ban Treaty
assistance.[68] In mid-April
2002, the UN said it expected demining for border demarcation to be completed by
April 2003 “at the
latest.”[69]
UNMEE MACC is planning to acquire advanced technology that will identify
deeply buried mines using advanced ground-penetration
radar.[70]
To assist the EMAP to maintain the IMAS in Eritrea the UNMEE MACC established
a Quality Assurance department within the
MACC.[71] This cell consists of
a chief, two international field monitors, two national monitors as well as a
one-man administrative support unit. The QA dept has been fully functioning for
a year and now fields fully qualified national capacity. The QA dept conducts a
variety of External Quality Inspections on the agencies to monitor progress with
each agency being visited every two weeks on average. The QA dept also supplies
technical advice to the UNMEE engineering force and will be part of the boundary
demarcation mine clearance program. There are plans to develop the role the QA
plays in the monitoring of the UNMEE force, which will be unique in that both
military and humanitarian components will be inspected by the same
agency.[72]
MINE RISK EDUCATION
A UNICEF Mine Risk Education (MRE) coordinator
arrived in February 2001 to work on developing a two-year MRE strategy for
Eritrea to transition from emergency response to long-term community-based
programming.[73] An EMAP Chief
of Mine Risk Education was appointed in June 2001 to integrate mine risk
education with other mine action activities and other humanitarian
sectors.[74] EMAP and UNICEF
established an inter-agency MRE Working Group to develop a comprehensive,
integrated mine risk education program for Eritrea.
Key components for a long-term MRE strategy were identified, including:
establishing a training programme and qualifying instructors at the Eritrean
National Training Center (NTC); creating a certification process to accredit MRE
trainers; conducting MRE presentations and distributing MRE materials to
returning refugees in reception centers; and organizing MRE activities in IDP
camps and host communities.[75]
The Eritrean MRE program will be implemented from September 2001 to December
2003.[76] The total MACC/UNICEF
MRE program budget for 2002 is
US$840,000.[77]
MACC identified and trained two Eritreans to be master MRE instructors
assigned to EMAP’s National Training Center. MACC also employed a
consultant to develop a series of workbooks and training packages in MRE, and to
train and develop the master trainers in MRE at all levels and for all aspects
of MRE in Eritrea. The training materials were completed in July 2002. Mine
risk education field teams have been trained to use the IMSMA database and
prepare weekly reports on MRE activities and mine/UXO accidents and incidents,
which are integrated with the IMSMA database.
The public information aspect of the emergency MRE program expanded
throughout the country in 2001 and 2002. In April 2001, UNMEE radio started to
broadcast mine awareness messages in several local languages and produced
special 30-minute MRE features available on cassette, which are distributed to
UN Military Observers to play to civilian populations in the TSZ. In November
2001, the Eritrean government began broadcasting various weekly and bi-weekly
mine risk education programs in the nine main languages of the country, and the
UNMEE MACC/UNICEF MRE coordinator planned a pilot roadside billboard program for
mid-2002.[78]
In early 2001, Danish Church Aid gave an MRE training course to 44 Eritrean
employees of humanitarian agencies and mine clearance organizations including
EDA, HALO Trust, World Food Program, MSF Holland, Save the Children UK,
International Medical Corps, INTERSOS, Oxfam, and Sewit Children’s
Theatre. In addition to a multiplying effect as these agencies began to include
MRE in their other programmed non-MRE activities in the communities, mine/UXO
reports from the field have been generated. DCA’s five MRE teams have
also reached approximately 50,000 people through various
activities.[79]
In October 2001, the British organization Mines Awareness Trust (MAT) began a
community-based MRE program in the high-risk Barentu and Adi Keyh regions of
Gash-Barka, funded by UNMAS and the United Kingdom. Local staff was recruited,
and through January 2002, some 122 community leaders and 16 school teachers were
trained to give MRE presentations in more than 30 villages in
Gash-Barka.[80] The MAT program
also works with children who do not attend school because they work as herders,
which often takes them into the most dangerous areas. Three members of MAT's
staff are from the Landmine Survivors Network
(LSN).[81]
In late 2001, the UNMEE MACC/UNICEF coordinator also began implementing a
comprehensive MRE program for schoolteachers in the high-risk Gash Barka and
Debub regions. Some 268 teachers, mostly in elementary and junior-level
schools, received training that incorporated MRE instruction into the school
programs. This was the first training course conducted by the newly trained
master trainers from the National Training
Center.[82] Almost all teachers
in all highly affected areas in Eritrea have received MRE
training.[83]
Throughout 2001, UNMEE provided mine risk education handouts, leaflets,
posters, and stickers in several languages, which were widely distributed to
people living in the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas. It is estimated
that by the end of 2001, MRE activities reached over 57,221 Eritrean civilians,
including more than 25,000 school children and 6,000 internally displaced
persons.[84]
In March 2002, UNMEE MACC began an MRE monitoring and follow-up system to
help permanently ensure consistency and quality assurance at all levels and
among the different agencies involved in
MRE.[85] The UNICEF Mine Risk
Education Coordinator, under the direction of UNMEE MACC, began implementing new
levels of integration between MRE and overall mine action. As of March 2002
plans were underway for MACC area clearance verification to include an MRE
element as part of the UNMEE MACC Quality Assurance (QA)
process.[86]
ICRC hired in March 2002 a mine risk education advisor to work with the Red
Cross Society of Eritrea, as part of a capacity building program to establish
long-term national MRE
programs.[87]
LANDMINE CASUALTIES
In 2001, 154 new landmine/UXO casualties were
reported in Eritrea. Fifty-three people were killed and 101
injured.[88] Data on casualties
is collated by UNMEE who receive formal reports of incidents only from within
the TSZ.[89] UNMEE MACC
believes many incidents outside the TSZ are not
reported.[90] A report to the
UN Security Council in June 2001 stated that incidents were “currently
being reported at the rate of about one per day within the Temporary Security
Zone. The real figure, taking into account unreported accidents, may be
significantly higher.”[91]
Of the total casualties, antipersonnel mines accounted for 30 percent, UXO 39
percent, antivehicle mines nine percent, and the device was unknown for 22
percent of casualties.[92]
The large-scale return of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons was
underway by April 2001.[93]
Despite demining and mine risk education efforts, there was a sudden rise in
reported landmine incidents that corresponded with the start of the repatriation
efforts. Two casualties were reported in March, 11 in April, 17 in May, 33 in
June, 25 in July, and three in
August.[94] Reported incidents
decreased throughout the rest of 2001 after July. However, with tens of
thousands of refugees and IDPs still waiting to return to their homes in
mine-affected areas, the risk of landmine incidents remains
high.[95]
In 2001, most of the landmine incidents were reported in the Gash-Barka and
Debub regions.[96] The UNMEE
MACC attributes many of the incidents to deeply buried mines that “worked
their way up to the surface due to climatic and geographical
conditions.”[97] Many
herders use mined areas for grazing, and some mined areas are used as pathways
that connect villages or lead to water holes. It is “a fact of life that
civilians are forced to use mined areas to carry out their daily
activities.”[98] Reports
to UNMEE MACC indicate one-third of the known activity conducted by the victims
at the time of the incident involved tending
animals.[99]
In March 2001, a Canadian peacekeeper was injured after his vehicle set off a
landmine.[100] On 18 August,
eight Jordanian peacekeepers were injured after their vehicle hit a mine in the
western sector.[101] On 29
September, an operator was injured, and a mechanical flail demining machine
partially destroyed, by an antivehicle mine during a Danish Demining Group (DDG)
demining operation.[102] On 4
October, one Ethiopian soldier was killed and six injured when their vehicle hit
a mine in Sector West.[103]
UNMEE MACC told Landmine Monitor that, at present, UXO represent a greater
threat to the civilian population than antipersonnel
mines.[104]
Casualties continue to be reported in 2002. On 22 January, four teenage boys
were killed and three others were seriously injured by a mine near
Senafe.[105] In February, two
Eritrean deminers working for the Eritrean Demining Agency, including the
section commander, were killed by a TM 57 antivehicle mine in the Shelalo region
of the TSZ during a manual clearance
operation.[106] On 22 March,
an Eritrean driver for HALO Trust died after his vehicle ran over an antivehicle
mine on the Maikokah-Tokmbia road near
Barentu.[107]
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
There are few medical and rehabilitation facilities
in Eritrea and the capacity for emergency and post-operative care is
limited.[108] The Ministry of
Health and the Department of Labor and Human Welfare oversee assistance programs
for all persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors. The Ministry
of Health covers the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, if the mine survivor
demonstrates economic hardship. Survivors must obtain a "poverty letter" from
their local administrative district to qualify for free
services.[109]
According to the ICRC, the three Eritrean prosthetic/orthotic workshops are
unable to meet the demand in the
country.[110] The ICRC provides
orthopedic assistance in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Human
Development, which includes an ICRC Orthopedic specialist based in Keren, who
helps in securing access to prosthetics. The ICRC also sponsors a physiotherapy
program for Eritrean health professionals, which includes general war-trauma
management programs. As of January 2002, over 20 physiotherapists graduated
from the program and are now practicing in all zones across the country; another
18 Eritreans were enrolled in the 18-month program as of March
2002.[111] In January 2002, the
ICRC sponsored a disabilities workshop, with the University of Asmara. More
than 4,500 medical professionals, UN and NGO representatives, and government
officials attended. The program included segments about mine victims, access to
prosthetics, and national disability legislation. The ICRC, in partnership with
the Ministry of Health, also sponsored a war surgery seminar in March 2002, for
over 130 Eritrean trauma practitioners. Landmine victims were a major focus of
the seminar.[112] In November
2001, the ICRC and Eritrean authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding on
the establishment of a physical rehabilitation program for the disabled in the
country.[113]
In 2001, the Landmine Survivors Network continued to provide outreach and
ongoing peer support services to mine survivors, which includes home and
hospital visits. The program links survivors with services including
wheelchairs, crutches, and psychological and rehabilitative support. LSN also
translated a pamphlet, “Surviving Limb Loss,” into local languages.
In 2001, field workers identified and assisted 181 persons with disabilities,
including 83 mine survivors, all from the central (Asmara)
region.[114] In addition, LSN
organized seven social events for landmine survivors and other
amputees.[115] LSN added an
additional field outreach worker in 2001, bringing the total of its outreach
staff to four - all of whom are landmine
survivors.[116]
In regions outside of Asmara, including the heavily mined Gash-Barka region,
landmine survivors rarely receive support beyond emergency medical care after
the mine incident. Follow-up care in physical therapy, psychological support or
prosthetic care is rare outside of Asmara. LSN began an assessment in mid 2001
to determine the greatest needs in these
areas.[117] As part of this
assessment, a regional survey of ten hospitals in the border areas that contain
some of the most heavily affected areas in Eritrea was carried out between July
and November 2001. Some of the initial findings include:
Keren, Barentu and Adi-Kieh hospitals reported admitting from three to 10
land mine incident casualties per month.
Surgical operations are available for amputation cases in Keren, Adi-Kieh,
Dekemhare, Mendefera, and Akudet hospitals.
Teseney hospital provides surgery for amputation cases but lacks wheelchairs
and crutches, and reports that most landmine survivors it treats are unable to
get any prosthetic services.
Senafe hospital remains under a tent since the building was destroyed during
the 1998-2000 border conflict with Ethiopia.
Community Based Rehabilitation programs for general disabilities, sponsored
by the Ministry for Labor and Human Welfare, are available in Barentu, Teseney,
Adi-Kieh, Teseney and Mendefera hospitals but these do not include specific
hospital intervention for landmine survivors.
The May Habar Hospital, in the Southern Zone, operates under the Disabled
Ex-Fighters Association and provides services to about 500 disabled veterans,
including landmine survivors. The hospital serves as a residence/care facility
for many disabled veterans.[118]
The UNDP Capacity Building project includes the provision of a
Victims Support Technical Advisor, including a vehicle and office equipment, to
work in the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare to support the further
development and strengthening of the national capacity to provide assistance to
victims.[119]
DISABILITY POLICY AND PRACTICE
The long-awaited revised national disability policy
has yet to be passed, although a draft has been prepared and is under
discussion.[120] The UNDP
national capacity building initiative will include working with the government
in reviewing the draft law and will assist in its
implementation.[121] The ICRC
is providing technical assistance in formulating and implementing the
law.[122] The aim of the new
disability law is to bring Eritrea more in line with internationally accepted
disability law standards while keeping in sight what is economically possible.
[1] Interview with Petros Fessehasiom,
Director General for Euro-America and International Organizations, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Asmara, 28 March
2002. [2] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [3] Interview with Director,
Eritrea Mine Action Program, Asmara, 19 January
2002. [4] See previous Landmine Monitor
Reports for details of Eritrea’s admitted use of antipersonnel mines in
its war for independence and in the border war with Ethiopia from May 1998 to
June 2000. [5] Interview with Habtom
Ghebremichael, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Russom Semere, Associate
Commissioner-Demining, at the Bamako Seminar on Landmines, Bamako, Mali, 16
February 2001. [6] Interview with Lt.
Col. Associate Commissioner- Demining, The State of Eritrea Commission for
Coordination with the UN Peacekeeping Mission, Asmara, 26 February 2001; also,
Eritrean Ministry of Defense, “Answers to a Questionnaire Submitted by
Landmine Monitor,” 16 May 2000. In its reply to the questionnaire,
Eritrea states that it used mines in the past “during the armed struggle
against the Ethiopian army. All the mines used were captured from the enemy.
Almost all types of mines were Soviet and US origin like PMN, POMZ-2, MON-100,
MON-200, M16, M14 and M3,
etc.” [7] Interviews with Russom
Semere, Director, Eritrea Mine Action Program, Geneva, 30 January 2002 and 26
March 2002. [8] Email from Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, 14 April
2002. [9] U.S. Department of State,
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,”
November 2001, p. 5. [10] Interview with
Russom Semere, Director, Eritrea Mine Action Program, Asmara, 17 January
2002. [11] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [12]
Ibid. [13]
Ibid. [14] Email from Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, 29 April
2002. [15] Letter from Seyoum Mesfin,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, to
Landmine Monitor, 23 July 2001; see also Ethiopia country report in Landmine
Monitor Report 2002. [16] Email from
Phil Lewis, Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, 23 April
2002. [17]
Ibid. [18]
Ibid. [19] Landmine Action,
“Explosive Remnants of War,” March 2002, pp.
50-51. [20] Ibid., pp.
50-52. [21] Richard Norton-Taylor,
“UK Bomblets Surround Refugee Camp,” The Guardian, 26 March
2002. [22] Email from Andrew Moore,
Program Director, Mines Awareness Trust, Asmara, 18 April
2002. [23] Interview with Russom Semere,
Director, Eritrea Mine Action Program, Asmara, 19 January
2002. [24] The Mine Action Support Group
(MASG) is a group of 22 donor countries and the EU. The May 2002 field trip to
Eritrea and Ethiopia was the first of its kind for
MASG. [25] Mine Action Support Group,
“June Newsletter,” New York, 14 June
2002. [26] UNMEE, “Mine Action in
the Mission Area,” 7 December 2001, p.
1. [27] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW)
from Phil Lewis, UNMEE MACC, 1 August
2002. [28] Interview with Rita
Mazzocchi, National Program Officer, UNDP, Asmara, 27 March
2002. [29] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HRW) from Phil Lewis, UNMEE MACC, 1 August
2002. [30] UNMAS website
(http://webapps.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/mai/), visited 2 July
2002. [31] Hansard, 29 March 2001, col.
723W, and 21 March 2002, col. 471W; Department for International Development,
Humanitarian mine action, second progress report (London: DFID, September 2000).
[32] Email from Dorte Brun, Political
Officer, Embassy of Denmark, Asmara, 25 February 2002; Danish Demining Group,
“Progress Report, Eritrea, April – December
2001.” [33] Interview with Rita
Mazzocchi, National Program Officer, UNDP, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [34] US Department of State, Fact
Sheet, “The U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program and NADR Funding,” 5
April 2002. [35] Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 251. [36] Interview with Phil
Lewis, Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [37] The programme began December
2000 and the entire programme became fully operation in August 2001. Fax from
Tim Porter, HALO, 29 July 2002. [38] The
Swiss-funded project became operational in June 2001 and the Chubby system on 1
July 2002. Fax to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Tim Porter, Africa Desk Officer,
the Halo Trust, 29 July 2002. [39] Fax
from Tim Porter, HALO, 29 July
2002. [40] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p 252. [41] Email from Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, 23 April
2002. [42] A Level One Survey, as
carried out by HALO Trust and DDG in Eritrea, gives an overview of the danger
area while a Landmine Impact Survey focuses on the impact of mines on
communities rather than the minefield
itself. [43] Interview with Rita
Mazzocchi, UNDP, Asmara, 27 March 2002.
[44] Survey Action Center Website
(www.sac-na.org), 27 June 2002. [45]
Email from SAC, 24 July 2002; interview with Rita Mazzocchi, UNDP, Asmara, 27
March 2002. [46] “Landmine Survey
Hampered by Lack of Staff,” IRIN (news service), Nairobi, 12 July
2002. [47] These were funded by the
Dutch government (US$4 million), as well as ECHO and the U.S. Interview with
Phil Lewis, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January, 2002; interview with Rita Mazzocchi,
UNDP, Asmara, 18 January 2002; fax from Tim Porter, HALO, 29 July
2002. [48] UNMEE, “Mine Action in
the Mission Area,” 7 December 2001,
p.1. [49] Fax from Tim Porter, HALO, 29
July 2002. [50] Danish Demining Group,
“Progress Report, Eritrea, April – December
2001.” [51] UNMEE, “Mine
Action in the Mission Area,” 7 December 2001,
p.1. [52] UNMEE MACC, “Progress
Update on Agency’s Mine & UXO Clearance Activity,” 31 December
2001. The UN reported that just from 1 June to 31 August 2001, a total of
2,697,136 square meters was cleared in TSZ and 436,000 square meters of
minefields were marked. During the same period MACC cleared 151 kilometers of
road and 130,020 square meters of operational sites. UN Security Council,
“Report of the Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea,”
S/2002/245, New York, 8 March 2002, pp.
4-5. [53] UN Security Council,
“Report of the Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea,”
S/2002/245, New York, 8 March 2002, pp.
4-5. [54] Email from Phil Lewis, Program
Manager, UNMEE MACC, 8 February
2002. [55] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [56] EDA/DCA Annual Report, Zone
Gash Barka, 31 December 2001. [57] This
section on HALO is drawn from Fax to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Tim Porter,
Africa Desk Officer, the Halo Trust, 29 July
2002. [58] Email from Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, 1 August
2002. [59] HALO is not using the dogs on
large area reduction tasks where there is no direct evidence of mines.
[60] Email from Sam Christense,
DanChurchAid, Denmark, 3 July 2002. [61]
DCA-ACT/EDA Mine Action Program Eritrea, Progress Report, December 2001-April
2002. [62] Danish Demining Group,
“Progress Report, Eritrea, April – December
2001.” [63] Interview with Erik
Willadsen, Program Manager, Danish Demining Group, Asmara, 27 March
2002. [64] Ibid.; Danish Demining Group,
“Progress Report, Eritrea, April-December 2001,”
p.16. [65] Telephone interview with
Richard Stickels, Department of State, Office of Humanitarian Demining Program,
14 February 2002. [66] Email to
Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Phil Lewis, UNMEE MACC, 1 August
2002. [67] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [68] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 28 March
2002. [69] UN IRIN report quoting Phil
Lewis, Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, 29 April
2002. [70] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January 2002.
[71] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW)
from Phil Lewis, UNMEE MACC, 1 August
2002. [72]
Ibid. [73] Interview with Hannoch
Barlevi, Chief of Mine Risk Education, UNICEF, Asmara, 19 January
2002. [74] UNMACC/UNICEF, “Mine
Risk Education Strategy for Eritrea,” 27 September 2001, p.
3. [75] Ibid., pp. 6-9; interview with
Hannoch Barlevi, UNICEF, Asmara, 19 January
2002. [76] UNMACC/UNICEF, “Mine
Risk Education Strategy for Eritrea,” 27 September 2001, p.
5. [77] Email from Hanoch Barlevi,
UNMACC/UNICEF Chief of Mine Risk Education, 21 February
2002. [78] Mine Risk Education/Technical
Working Group Meeting, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 23 March
2002. [79] Email from Sam Christense,
DanChurchAid, Denmark, 3 July 2002. [80]
Mines Awareness Trust, “Monthly Report from 7 December 2001 to 7 January
2002,” pp. 5-7. [81] Interview
with Andrew Moore, Program Manager, Mines Awareness Trust, Asmara, 19 January
2002. [82] Email from Chamutal Eitam,
MRE Instructor and NTC Training Coordinator, UNMACC, 4 April
2002. [83] Interview with Chamutal
Eitam, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 27 March
2002. [84] UNMEE, “Mine Action in
the Mission Area,” 7 December 2002,
p.1. [85] Interview with Chamutal Eitam,
UNMACC, Asmara, 27 March 2002; MRE TWG Meeting, UNMACC, Asmara, 23 March
2002. [86] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 28 March
2002. [87] Interview with Paul
Conneally, Communication Delegate, ICRC, Asmara, 27 March 2002.
[88] UNMEE MACC IMSMA Database,
“Casualty Report, December 2000 to December 2001.”
[89] Interview with Phil Lewis, Program
Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [90]
Ibid. [91] “Progress report of the
Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea,” 19 June
2001. [92] UNMEE MACC IMSMA Database,
“Casualty Report, December 2000 to December 2001.”
[93] Danish Demining Group,
“Progress Report, Eritrea, April-December
2001.” [94] UNMEE MACC IMSMA
Database, “Casualty Report, December 2000 to December
2001.” [95] Interview with Rita
Mazzocchi, UNDP, Asmara, 18 January 2002; email from Jeffrey Shannon, Director,
Eritrea Development Foundation, 10 January 2002; Danish Demining Group,
“Progress Report, Eritrea, April-December 2001,” p.
8. [96] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [97]
Ibid. [98]
Ibid. [99] MACC IMSMA Database,
“Casualty Report,” December 2000 to December
2001. [100] Steven Edwards,
“Landmine blasts hit Canadians, forces ordered off road after second
explosion,” National Post, 15 March
2001. [101] “Report of the
Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea,” New York, 5 September
2001. [102] Interview with Erik
Willadsen, Program Manager, Danish Demining Group, Asmara, 27 March
2002. [103] “Report of the
Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea,” 13 December
2001. [104] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [105] UNMEE Press Briefing,
Asmara, 24 January 2002; email from Phil Lewis, Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, 8
February 2002. [106] Interview with
Russom Semere, Director, Eritrean Mine Action Program, Asmara, 26 March
2002. [107] Interview with Phil Lewis,
Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 28 March
2002. [108] Landmine Monitor Report
2000, pp. 208-209. [109] Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 254. [110] ICRC,
“Eritrea - Overview of ICRC actions - 31 May
2002.” [111] Interview with Paul
Conneally, Communications Delegate, ICRC, Asmara, 27 March
2002. [112]
Ibid. [113] ICRC Special Report, Mine
Action 2001, ICRC, Geneva, July 2002, p.
18. [114] Interview with Tedla
Gebrehiwot, Program Director, Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) Eritrea, Asmara,
response to Landmine Monitor Survivor Assistance Questionnaire, 15 March 2002.
[115] Email from Tedla Gebrehiwot,
Program Director, LSN Eritrea, Asmara, 22 March 2002.
[116] Interview with Tedla Gebrehiwot,
Program Director, LSN Eritrea, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [117]
Ibid. [118] LSN Eritrea, “Hospital
Research Survey Report,” January 2002, pp.
2-5. [119] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HRW) from Phil Lewis, UNMEE MACC, 1 August
2002. [120] Interview with Tedla
Gebrehiwot, Program Director, LSN Eritrea, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [121] Interview with Rita
Mazzocchi, National Program Officer, UNDP, Asmara, 18 January
2002. [122] Interview with Paul
Conneally, Communications Delegate, ICRC, Asmara, 27 March 2002.
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