LM Report 2002

JORDAN

Key developments since May 2001: Jordan destroyed another 10,000 stockpiled antipersonnel mines in April 2002. Since the national demining program began in 1993, 116 minefields containing 84,157 mines and covering 8 million square meters of land have been cleared.

MINE BAN POLICY

Jordan signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 11 August 1998, ratified on 13 November 1998 and the treaty entered into force on 1 May 1999. Jordan’s Law of Explosive Materials (1953) serves as the legal mechanism to enforce the treaty. In an interview with Landmine Monitor, Prince Ra’d Bin Zeid expressed pride in Jordan’s attention to the landmine issue.^[1]

Jordan participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Nicaragua in September 2001. It cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in November 2001, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. It attended the meetings of the intersessional Standing Committees in January and May 2002.

On 5 June 2002, Jordan submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report.^[2] While it submitted transparency measures reports in 1999 and 2000, Jordan did not provide an annual report in 2001.

Jordan is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. Jordan attended the annual meeting of State Parties to Amended Protocol II and the second CCW review conference, both held in Geneva in December 2001. Jordan has not submitted a national annual report as required by Article 13 of Amended Protocol II.

Jordan has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines and has not used mines since 1973.^[3]

STOCKPILE DESTRUCTION

Destruction of Jordan’s 93,342 stockpiled antipersonnel mines began in September 1999.^[4] A total of 46,552 mines were destroyed in six different destruction events from September 1999 to April 2002.^[5] In April 2002, 10,000 mines were destroyed in the first destruction event since December 2000.^[6] In May 2002, a representative of the Jordanian Armed Forces, the body responsible for implementation of the stockpile destruction plan, stated that the destruction would be completed by 1 May 2003, which is the country’s four-year deadline for stockpile destruction. Plans call for destruction of 30,000 mines in June, September, and December 2002, with the remaining 15,790 mines destroyed in February and April 2003.^[7]

Jordan will retain 1,000 antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty, but has not reported on the intended purposes and use of these mines in its transparency reports.

LANDMINE PROBLEM

According to the Armed Forces Command, Jordan’s mine problem once totaled over 306,000 mines laid in 497 minefields along the northern and western borders, contaminating 6,000 hectares (60 million square meters) of land. As of October 2001, 381 minefields remained to be cleared from 4,229 hectares (42.29 million square meters) containing an estimated 222,303 mines.^[8] Landmine Monitor was subsequently told in July 2002 that 373 minefields remained, containing 208,718 mines.^[9] These figures are different than those cited in Jordan’s transparency measures reports and previous Landmine Monitor reports, apparently reflecting new and better information about mined areas.

MINE ACTION COORDINATION AND FUNDING

In March 2000, King Abdullah commissioned by royal decree a civilian-led demining organization, including a National Demining and Rehabilitation Committee (NDRC). But, it did not meet until another decree was issued in April 2002 appointing General Yousef Malkawi as the new president. The NDRC is responsible for integrating all aspects of demining, including mine risk education, information management, mine clearance, and survivor assistance.

The Royal Engineers Corps (RCE) of the Army is the sole demining operator in Jordan. Other institutions, however, operate in various aspects of mine action including the Hashemite Society for Soldiers with Special Needs, Landmine Survivors Network, the ICRC, and the Al Hussein Foundation for the Habilitation and Rehabilitation of the Disabled. All have taken part in mine action activities in Jordan including mine risk education, data collection, and survivor assistance.

The Royal Engineers Corps estimates the total cost of mine clearance in Jordan could be US$90 million dollars.^[10] Jordan has received over US$9 million in mine action assistance from 1998-2001 from donor countries including Canada, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This assistance has included heavy and light equipment, safety gear, and training.^[11]

In 2001, Jordan received about US$1.57 million in mine action assistance from three donors. The United States provided US$997,000 for demining equipment, spare parts, and contract services.^[12] Canada provided US$103,331 to the engineering corps for demining and ambulance services and US$25,832 for survivor assistance to the Landmine Survivors Network. Norway provided US$442,222 for mechanical mine clearance machines.^[13]

MINE CLEARANCE

Since the national demining program began in 1993, until October 2001, a total of 116 minefields containing 84,157 mines and covering 800 hectares (8 million square meters) of land had been cleared.^[14] An update provided by the RCE in July 2002 indicated 124 minefields and 95,740 mines had been cleared.^[15] The areas cleared are in the Jordan Valley, Gulf of Aqaba, and Dead Sea regions.

The Commander of the Engineering Corps, General Muhammad Najeeb Mahaftha, said it is working in its full capacity using new technologies, and more creative approaches, taking into consideration the set priorities, including the demining of inhabited areas, cultivated areas, tourist and historical areas. The Royal Engineers Corps deploys five field companies (each of which contains four demining teams) and nine mechanical clearance machines (Aardvark).^[16]

In June 2002, the UK-based NGO the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) completed a 3-month training course on the maintenance and deployment of the Minecat 230 mini-flail to the Engineering Corps Demining Group.^[17] The Norwegian Demining Consortium AS (NoDeCo) contracted MAG for this task.

Since 1997, 41 engineers have been injured while engaged in mine clearance; there have been no fatalities.^[18]

The U.S. Department of State has reported that “Level Two Surveys of minefields along the Syrian border” are underway.^[19] Jordan’s Demining Plan for 2001-2002 calls for continued demining in the western border (with Israel), with the goal of clearing 40 minefields containing 18,500 mines.^[20]

MINE RISK EDUCATION

The Royal Engineers Corps continues to provide mine risk education programs in schools, remote villages, and in cities near by affected areas such as Irbid and Ramtha in the north, Shouneh in the Jordan Valley, and in Karaq, Tafileh, and Aqaba in the south. The Royal Engineers Corps assigns officers and deminers to carry out the programs, who use inert mines, posters, slides, and videotapes to illustrate the risks caused by mines and preventative measures.

On 3 March 2002, the Center for Refugee Studies at Yarmouk University in Irbid held a mine awareness lecture followed by a landmine exhibition in cooperation with the Royal Engineers Corps, ICRC and LSN. In May 2002, Jordan University held a second landmine awareness week, which included a mine risk education training workshop, a landmine exhibition, and a sports event.

LANDMINE CASUALTIES

In 2001, three mine/UXO incidents were reported in which four people were killed and four injured; two incidents were caused by landmines. All the casualties were male civilians. The incidents occurred in the South governorate in Aqaba, the Mafraq governorate, and north of Irbid governorate. In 2002, up to mid-June, another four landmine incidents and one UXO incident were recorded: three people were killed and five injured. All the casualties were male, and the injured included a deminer, a military officer, and an Iraqi civilian.^[21]

In October 2001, a military official reported there have been 505 landmine casualties in Jordan since the end of the 1967 war, including 311 military personnel and 194 civilians, of which 106 were killed (58 military and 48 civilians).^[22] However, a U.S. Department of State publication cites the Jordanian Armed Forces Medical Services as reporting 636 mine casualties, including 370 civilians. The report states that in 2000, nine military personnel and three civilians were injured by mines.^[23]

In 2001, nationals were also injured by landmines outside of Jordanian territory. On 18 August, eight Jordanian peacekeepers were injured after their vehicle hit a mine in the Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea.^[24]

SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE[25]

Landmine survivors are entitled to medical care and rehabilitation under the standard health care system in Jordan.^[26] However, there is limited local outreach for physiotherapy and rehabilitation services for mine survivors. Smaller physiotherapy centers do exist at several of the regional hospitals, including the Princess Basma Hospital and Ramtha Hospital in the north, at the Mafrak Hospital in the east, and at Salt Hospital in midwest. Other hospitals report irregular access to physiotherapists.

In practice, more complex cases of mine injuries are transferred to the national institutions in Amman for prosthetics and rehabilitation services. The main institutions are the public al-Bashir Hospital and the King Hussein Medical Center, under the Royal Medical Services. Al-Bashir’s rehabilitation unit and prosthetic center is the primary provider of such services to civilians in the country. There are 11 rehabilitation specialists working at the center, including physiotherapists and occupational therapists, however, the center does not offer facilities for social workers or psychologists. As a referral hospital for all of Jordan, with a very high number of patients, al-Bashir operates on the margins of its capacity. There is a waiting list to receive treatment, and its facilities and equipment are run-down.

The second main institution for rehabilitation and prosthetic care in Jordan is the military King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC), with the attached Farah Rehabilitation Center. The hospital is primarily for Jordanians with military insurance.

The Al-Hussein Society for the Habilitation/Rehabilitation of the Physically Challenged, affiliated with the Jordan University, provides practical training for orthotic/prosthetic technicians.^[27] The Society also offers medical and physical rehabilitation, psycho-social support and vocational training for all persons with disabilities, with particular emphasis on children. It also operates a mobile clinic in its community-based rehabilitation/outreach program.^[28]

The Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) program engages community-based outreach workers, who are also amputees, to work with individual survivors to assess their needs, offer psychological and social support, and educate families about the effects of limb loss. In 2001, LSN conducted home and hospital visits to 392 people, and helped more than 320 people access services that provide mobility devices, health services, or exemptions from school fees or uniform expenses. If no such services exist, LSN intervenes to ensure the needs of survivors are met, and in 2001 provided direct assistance to 156 survivors, including the provision of 16 prostheses, 3 wheelchairs and 34 crutches, and adapting home environments. It provided vocational training and support to small business and existing projects to approximately nine survivors, and held a training workshop on small business skills in July 2001. Mine survivors account for about 50% of people benefiting from these services. LSN works alongside local associations to increase awareness about disability rights. LSN also maintains a Rehabilitation Services Directory with information on 122 service providers in Jordan.^[29]

DISABILITY POLICY AND PRACTICE

The 1993 law for the “Welfare of Disabled Persons” remains unchanged.^[30]

[1] Interview with His Royal Highness Prince Ra’d, Amman, 28 March 2002.
[2] As Landmine Monitor went to print, the United Nations listed the report as “Pending Input” and in Arabic.
[3] Interview with Brigadier General Naser Majali, Commander of the Royal Corps of Engineers, Amman, Jordan, 25 January 2000.
[4] For a list of the types of mines stockpiled, see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 896.
[5] On 5 September 1999, 4,555 unidentified mines were destroyed. Then 8,000 M14 mines were destroyed on each of the following dates: 6 December 1999, 4 October 2000, 9 December 2000, and 18 December 2000. At that point, the program was stopped “due to financial and technical reasons.” Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001.
[6] Intervention by Colonel Akram Al Majali, Intersessional Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 30 May 2002. Notes from Landmine Monitor/Human Rights Watch.
[7] Ibid. The destruction planned for June apparently took place on 20 July 2002. Landmine Monitor interview with Gen. Fayez Al Duwari, Director of Royal Corps of Engineers, Amman, 23 July 2002.
[8] Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001.
[9] Interview with Gen. Fayez Al Duwari, Director of RCE, Amman, 23 July 2002.
[10] Intervention by Colonel Akram Al Majali, Intersessional Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 29 May 2002; interview with Lt. Col. Abu Sitteh, Director, Jordanian Demining Project, Amman, 14 July 2002.
[11] Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001; UN Mine Action Service, Mine Action Investment database.
[12] 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. 41.
[13] UNMAS, Mine Action Investment database, at http://webapps.dfait-maeci.gc.ca.
[14] Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001.
[15] Interview with Gen. Fayez Al Duwari, Director of RCE, Amman, 23 July 2002.
[16] Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001.
[17] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Tim Carstairs, Director of Communications, Mines Advisory Group, 19 July 2002.
[18] Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001.
[19] 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. 41.
[20] Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001.
[21] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Landmine Survivors Network (Jordan), 10 July 2002.
[22] Presentation by Major Yasin Al Majali, NATO Partnership for Peace Workshop, Athens, 19 October 2001.
[23] 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. 41.
[24] "Report of the Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea,” New York, 5 September 2001.
[25] Information in this section comes from various reports on Jordan’s health structure from the WHO, UNDP, and FAFO, and Jordanian web sites, as well as Landmine Monitor field visits January-March 2002.
[26] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 854.
[27] Meeting Society Director, Amman, 15 January 2002.
[28] For more details see website at http://www.alhusseinrehab.org.jo.
[29] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Landmine Survivors Network (Jordan), 19 February 2002; and Adnan Al-Aboudi, Director, Landmine Survivors Network, Amman, response to Landmine Monitor Survivor Assistance Questionnaire, 11 March 2002.
[30] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 900.

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