Malawi
signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified on 13 August 1998.
It entered into force for Malawi on 1 March 1999. Malawi has as yet not enacted
domestic legislation, though it said it was in the process last year. The delay
is reportedly due to capacity problems in the Ministry of
Justice.[1]
Malawi did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban
Treaty in Managua, Nicaragua, in September 2001, nor the intersessional Standing
Committee meetings held in Geneva in January and May 2002, reportedly due to
logistical problems.[2]
Malawi has not submitted its initial transparency report as required by Mine
Ban Treaty Article 7. An official in the Foreign Ministry reports that the
Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs both lack capacity and have a shortage
of staff, which is hampering Malawi’s ability to submit its report. The
official noted that the government rates the Mine Ban Treaty highly and that it
occupies a high priority both at domestic and foreign policy levels, but that
current constraints besetting the government create a negative picture, which is
regretted.[3]
Malawi does not produce or stockpile antipersonnel mines and has discouraged
other countries from manufacturing, transferring, using or stockpiling
landmines. In 2001, Landmine Monitor reported that the Malawi Army has only
inert dummy mines in stock, which are used for training purposes as allowed
under Article 3 of the
treaty.[4]
LANDMINE PROBLEM AND MINE ACTION
It has been estimated that 1,000 kilometers of
Malawi territory bordering Mozambique is infested with
landmines.[5] However, no
survey has been conducted to evaluate the impact of landmines on civilians or
the communities living along the suspected border areas. Suspected mines areas
have not yet been marked or
mapped.[6]
The Army plans to conduct a technical survey in areas suspected to have mines
in 2002.[7] Funding is being
sought for a full Landmine Impact Survey, which would, in turn, determine the
priorities for demining.[8]Malawi does not have a budget for mine
action.[9] Proposals are
currently being formulated by the Ministry of Defense to solicit funds from
donors for survey, demining operations, and mine risk
education.[10]
Although the Malawi Army engineers have the capacity to clear mines, there
are currently no clearance activities taking place. There are also no demining
institutions or humanitarian demining NGOs working in Malawi.
The Malawi Army has emphasized the need for continuous mine risk education
(MRE). A military officer said, “It is prerequisite for all Malawians
since most of them living along the suspected areas are ignorant of the lethal
weapon.”[11] The Center
for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) has been conducting MRE through its
already existing outreach civic education program. The Army's mine awareness
program focuses on its officers
only.[12]
LANDMINE CASUALTIES AND SURVIVORS ASSISTANCE
In 2001, there have been no reports of people
killed or injured by antipersonnel mines. In 2000, two people were killed and
three others injured when a landmine exploded in the Muloza
River.[13] There are no
specific programs in Malawi for landmine survivors and the hospitals have
limited capacity to deal with
casualties.[14] Assistance to
survivors is mainly through the provision of first aid, medical treatment, and
artificial limbs where possible. There are a number of both governmental and
non-governmental organizations providing services to persons with disabilities,
such as, the Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA). Services provided
include physical rehabilitation and socio-economic
reintegration.[15] The
government is in the process of formulating a national disability
policy.[16] The Minister of
State Responsible for Persons with Disabilities is a cabinet-level position and
is currently held by a disabled
person.[17]
[1] Correspondence with Ernest Makawa,
Treaties Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lilongwe, Malawi, 12 April
2002. [2]
Ibid. [3]
Ibid. [4] Interview with Col. Macloyd
Chidzalo, former Army Spokesperson, Lilongwe, Malawi, 12 December
2000. [5] Press Briefing by Kaire
Mbuende, Former SADC Executive Secretary, Blantyre, Malawi, September
1998. [6] Center for Human Rights and
Rehabilitation, “Report on Landmine Survey,” 1998. According to an
email from CHRR on 17 July 2002, this survey was an information collecting
exercise by CHRR to try to establish the extent of the problem of landmines in
the country and the impact on the lives of people in the affected areas by
collecting information in the border areas and interviewing a limited number of
experts. [7] Correspondence with Colonel
A.S.H. Kwaligana, Office of the Secretary for Defense, Lilongwe, Malawi, 22
March 2002. [8] Interviews with Major
Chisunkha, Army Military Engineer, Army Headquarters, Lilongwe, 25 January and 6
February 2002. [9] Correspondence with
Colonel A.S.H. Kwaligana, Office of the Secretary for Defense, Lilongwe, Malawi,
22 March 2002. [10] Interview with Major
Chisunkha, Army Military Engineer, Lilongwe, 6 February
2002. [11] Correspondence with Colonel
A.S.H. Kwaligana, Office of the Secretary for Defense, Lilongwe, Malawi, 22
March 2002. [12] Interview with Major
Chisunkha, Army Military Engineer, Army Headquarters, 6 February
2002. [13] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p. 93; for earlier reported casualties see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
40-41. [14] Interview with a Ministry of
Health official, Lilongwe, 12 December
2001. [15] Correspondence with W.A.
Kachingwe, for the Secretary Responsible for Persons with Disabilities, Office
of the Minister of State Responsible for Persons with Disabilities, Blantyre, 29
January 2002; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
94. [16] Correspondence with W.A.
Kachingwe, for the Secretary Responsible for Persons with Disabilities, Office
of the Minister of State Responsible for Persons with Disabilities, Blantyre, 29
January 2002. [17] US Department of
State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2001: Malawi,”
March 2002.
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