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ABOUT LANDMINE MONITOR
Landmine Monitor is an unprecedented initiative by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) to monitor implementation of and compliance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and more generally to assess the efforts of the international community to resolve the landmines crisis. It is the first time that non-governmental organizations are coming together in a coordinated, systematic and sustained way to monitor a humanitarian law or disarmament treaty, and to regularly document progress and problems.
The main elements of the Landmine Monitor system are a global reporting network, a central database, and an annual report. Landmine Monitor Report 2000: Toward a Mine-Free World is the second such annual report. The first annual report was released in May 1999 at the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo, Mozambique. To prepare this report, Landmine Monitor had 115 researchers from 95 countries gathering information. The report is largely based on in-country research, collected by in-country researchers. Landmine Monitor has utilized the ICBL campaigning network, but has also drawn in other elements of civil society to help monitor and report, including journalists, academics and research institutions.
It should be understood that Landmine Monitor is not a technical verification system or a formal inspection regime. It is an effort by civil society to hold governments accountable to the obligations that they have taken on with regard to antipersonnel mines; this is done through extensive collection, analysis and distribution of information that is publicly available. Though in some cases it does entail investigative missions, Landmine Monitor is not designed to send researchers into harm's way and does not include hot war-zone reporting.
Landmine Monitor is meant to complement the States Parties reporting required under Article 7 of the Mine Ban Treaty. It was created in the spirit of Article 7 and reflects the shared view that transparency and cooperation are essential elements to the successful elimination of antipersonnel mines. But it is also a recognition that there is a need for independent reporting and evaluation.
Landmine Monitor and its annual report aim to promote and facilitate discussion on mine-related issues, and to seek clarifications, in order to help reach the goal of a mine-free world. Landmine Monitor works in good faith to provide factual information about issues it is monitoring, in order to benefit the international community as a whole. It seeks to be critical but constructive in its analysis.
Landmine Monitor Report 2000 contains information on every country of the world with respect to landmine ban policy, use, production, transfer, stockpiling, mine clearance, mine awareness, and survivor assistance. Thus, the Monitor does not only report on States Parties and their treaty obligations, it also looks at signatory states and non-signatories as well. All countries-as well as information on key players in mine action and victim assistance in the mine-affected countries-are included in this report in the belief it will provide an important means to gauge global effectiveness on mine action and banning the weapon.
As was the case in our first year, Landmine Monitor acknowledges that this ambitious report has its shortcomings. It is to be viewed as a work in progress, a system that will be continuously updated, corrected and improved. We welcome comments, clarifications, and corrections from governments and others, in the spirit of dialogue and in the search for accurate and reliable information on a difficult subject.
In June 1998, the ICBL formally agreed to create Landmine Monitor as an ICBL initiative. A Core Group was established to develop and coordinate the Landmine Monitor system. The Core Group consists of Human Rights Watch, Handicap International, Kenya Coalition Against Landmines, Mines Action Canada, and Norwegian People's Aid. Overall responsibility for, and decision-making on, the Landmine Monitor system rests with the Core Group.
Research grants for Landmine Monitor 2000 were awarded in September 1999. The global research network met in Brussels, Belgium 31 January-2 February 2000 to discuss initial findings, exchange information, assess what research and data gathering had already taken place, identify gaps, and ensure common research methods and reporting mechanisms for the Monitor. In mid-March draft research reports were submitted to the Landmine Monitor Core Group for review and comment. On 15-17 May the members of the research network met again in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands to present their final reports and discuss their main findings through a peer review process. Throughout May, June and July the Core Group regional and thematic coordinators verified sources and edited country reports, with a team at Human Rights Watch taking responsibility for final fact-checking, editing and assembly of the entire report. Landmine Monitor Report 2000 also includes appendices with reports from major actors in the mine ban movement, such as key governments, UN agencies and the ICRC. This report was printed during August and presented to the Second Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva, Switzerland in September 2000.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
An unprecedented compilation of this magnitude requires contribution from a broad network of individuals, campaigns and organizations, coordination by a dedicated team and financial support from a number of donors.
This report contains country reports written by 115 Landmine Monitor researchers from 95 countries of the world selected by the Landmine Monitor Core Group. They are cited separately in the List of Contributors. Landmine Monitor is grateful to everyone who contributed research to this report, especially those individuals, campaigns and organizations who contributed reports at their own cost. We wish to thank the scores of individuals, campaigns, non-governmental and international organizations, mine action practitioners, and governments, who provided valuable and timely information to our researchers.
We are grateful to the Coordination Team and Working Groups of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines for providing the sections on ICBL activities and for their essential assistance in the release and distribution of the annual Landmine Monitor reports. We thank the invited governments, United Nations agencies, regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and non-governmental organizations for submitting reports on their activities which are included in the appendices to this report. We are deeply appreciative to the researchers who provided thematic reports, of which the summaries are included in the Appendices. The entities contributing to the appendices of this report do not necessarily endorse the rest of the Landmine Monitor Report 2000 and they are in no way responsible for other material contained in this report. Likewise, Landmine Monitor does not necessarily endorse, nor does it take responsibility for the accuracy of, material included in the appendices.
Responsibility for the coordination of Landmine Monitor's reporting network lies with the five Core Group organizations and additional organizations and individuals.
· Human Rights Watch (Stephen Goose, Mark Hiznay, Alex Vines and Mary Wareham) is the main contact point for Landmine Monitor, thematic coordinator on ban policy and regional research coordinator for the Middle East/North Africa, Pacific, Lusophone Africa, and Central Asia.
· Handicap International (Anne Capelle, Pauline Crick, Luciano Loicano-Clouet, Bertrand Cagne and Emmanuelle Amar) is the thematic coordinator on victim assistance and regional research coordinator for Asia and Francophone Africa.
· Kenya Coalition Against Landmines (Mereso Agina and Cornelius Nyamboki) is regional research coordinator for Africa.
· Mines Action Canada (Rita Armstrong, Charlie Avendaño, Kathleen Gotts, Paul Hannon and Celina Tuttle) is responsible for Landmine Monitor's Database and regional research coordinator for the Americas. The tables contained in this report were prepared by Mines Action Canada.
· Norwegian People's Aid (Ellen Heggestad, Per Nergaard, Janecke Wille, and Christian Ruge) is thematic coordinator for mine action.
· Stuart Maslen provided the thematic overview on mine awareness.
· The Institute for Practical Research and Training (Ahmed H. Esa) provided research coordination for the Horn of Africa.
· From April 2000 onwards, the U.K. Working Group on Landmines (Ian Doucet) provided research coordination for Europe.
Initial edits on Landmine Monitor Report 2000 were completed by the regional research coordinators in May-July 2000 and final editing was done by the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch in June-July 2000. The HRW editing team consisted of Stephen Goose (chief editor), Mary Wareham, Alex Vines, Mark Hiznay, and Jody Williams (ICBL Ambassador and member of the Advisory Committee of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch). Editorial assistance and review was provided by various members of the Human Rights Watch staff. Mary Wareham served as the overall coordinator for the production of the report. Jasmine Juteau and Hannah Novak of the Arms Division proofread, formatted, and provided production assistance, with the aid of Haizam Amirah-Fernandez, Karen Binger, Nicola Brandt, Christian Phillips, and Patrick Minges. Human Rights Watch was responsible for the printing of Landmine Monitor Report 2000. Web publication was done by Hannah Novak and Patrick Minges in cooperation with the ICBL webmaster Kjell Knudsen.
We are grateful to the hosts of the two international meetings necessary to bring together the Landmine Monitor's reporting network and facilitate production of this second annual report:
· Handicap International and the Government of Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for co-hosting the February 2000 meeting in Brussels, Belgium;
· NOVIB and The Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs for co-hosting the May 2000 meeting in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
Finally, we wish to thank the donors to the Landmine Monitor initiative and its second annual report. This work was carried out with the aid of grants from:
· Government of Australia
· Government of Austria
· Government of Belgium
· Government of Canada
· Government of Denmark
· Government of France
· Government of Germany
· Government of Japan
· Government of The Netherlands
· Government of Norway
· Government of Switzerland
· Government of United Kingdom
· Open Society Institute Landmines Project
· Merck Fund (USA)
We also thank the donors who have contributed to the individual members of the Landmine Monitor Core Group and other participating organizations.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO COUNTRY REPORTS:
ABKHAZIA: Vladimir Kakalia, Alkhas Tkhagushev and Maxim Gvindzhija, Abkhazian Committee of the ICBL (Abkhazia)
AFGHANISTAN: Azam Haidery, Haji Attiqullah, Farid Ambar Ahmadzai, and Abdul Samey, Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines (Afghanistan)
ALBANIA: Anila Alibali (Albania)
ANGOLA: Alex Vines, Human Rights Watch (U.K.)
ARGENTINA: Miriam Liliana Lewin (Argentina)
ARMENIA: Jemma Hasratyan, Narine Mkhitarian, Gayane Armaganova, Narine Davtian, and Armenian Campaign to Ban Landmines (Armenia)
AUSTRALIA: Peter Stewart and Heather Elliott (Australia)
AUSTRIA: Judith Majlath - Austrian Aid for Mine Victims, and Sue Masterman (Austria)
AZERBAIJAN: Leila Yunus, Khafiz Safikhanov and Arif Yunus, Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines (Azerbaijan)
BANGLADESH: Rafique Al Islam, Non-Violence International SE Asia (Bangladesh)
BELARUS: Natalia Yakavets, Tatiana Zagoumennova, and Yury Zagoumenov, SCAF (Support Center for Associations and Foundations) and Belarus Campaign to Ban Landmines (Belarus)
BELGIUM and LUXEMBOURG: Anne Capelle, Handicap International (Belgium)
BENIN: Cosme Mekpo, Centre International pour la Recherche de la Paix - CIRP (Bénin)
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Sue Eitel (USA)
BOTSWANA: Christina U. Sintala, Southern African Human Rights NGO Network (Botswana)
BRAZIL: Adonai Rocha (Brazil)
BURKINA FASO, MALI, and NIGER: Abdouramane Boly (Burkina Faso)
BURMA (MYANMAR) and TIBET: Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan and Katherine Kramer, Nonviolence International South East Asia (Thailand)
CAMBODIA: Denise Coghlan and Ny Nhar, Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines (Cambodia)
CAMEROON: Valere Ebosso and Jonas Mfouatie, International Club for Peace (Cameroon)
CANADA: Celina Tuttle, Kathleen Gotts, Mary Foster, Charlie Avendaño, and Paul Hannon, Mines Action Canada, (Canada)
CARIBBEAN (The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Rep, Grenada, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago), GUYANA, and SURINAME: Kathleen Gotts (Canada)
CHAD: Andrew Manley (U.K.)
CHECHNYA: Maia Chovkhalov, Human Rights Investigation Bureau/Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development, and Zarema Mazaeva, Refugees Against Landmines (Chechnya)
CHILE: Elir Rojas Calderón and José Miguel Larenas Mahn, Cecilia Isabel Alzamora Vejares (Chile)
CHINA and TAIWAN: Yukie Osa, Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (Japan)
COLOMBIA and VENEZUELA: Diana Roa Castro and Andrés Valderrama Pineda, Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas (Colombia)
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: Mosala Mufungizi and Isaac Mapatano (Congo, D.R.)
COSTA RICA: Virginia Murillo Hererra (Costa Rica)
COTE D'IVOIRE: Guy Bertrand Nimpa, Kossiva Erika Reinhardt and Thomas Kabonama Kignelman (Côte d'Ivoire) and Jonas Mfouatie, International Club for Peace (Cameroon)
CROATIA: Dalibor Prevendar and Albert Kapovi?, (Croatia). SLAVONIA region: Ivana Mijatovi? and Ivan Milas. (Croatia)
CUBA: Noël Stott, South African Campaign to Ban Landmines operating as Mines Action Southern Africa (South Africa)
CYPRUS: Geraldine Kelly (Ireland)
CZECH REPUBLIC and SLOVAKIA: Pernilla Springfeldt, Svenska Freds - SPAS (Sweden)
DENMARK: Jette Lis Hansen (Denmark) and Christian H. Ruge, Norwegian People's Aid (Norway)
DJIBOUTI: Ahmed H. Esa, The Institute for Practical Research and Training (Somaliland) and Dahir Osman Asdvim (Djibouti)
ECUADOR: Diana Roa Castro and Andrés Valderrama Pineda, Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas (Colombia). Adrian Bonilla, Salomon Cuesta, and Desider Gomez of Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales - FLACSO (Ecuador), Eduardo Mariño García (Colombia), Diana Bewley, Amazonia (UK)
EGYPT: Ayman Sorour, Landmines Struggle Center (Egypt) and Oliver Sprague, U.K. Working Group on Landmines (U.K.)
EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, and HONDURAS: Carmen Rosa De León-Escribano and María Eugenia De León Cordón, Instituto de Enseñanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible - IEPADES (Guatemala)
ESTONIA, LATVIA, and LITHUANIA: Igors Tipans (Latvia)
FINLAND: Laura Lodenius and Eeva Suhonen (Finland)
FRANCE: Sylvie Brigot, Handicap International, and Belkacem Elomari, Observatoire des Transferts d'Armaments (France)
GABON: Mathieu Ngongo Koni (Gabon) and Jonas Mfouatie, International Club for Peace (Cameroon)
GERMANY: Markus Haake, German Initiative to Ban Landmines (Germany)
GEORGIA: Maia Buchukuri, ICBL Georgian Committee (Georgia)
GHANA, GAMBIA, NIGERIA, and SIERRA LEONE: Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng (U.K.)
GOLAN HEIGHTS: Sha'wan Jabarin and Mohammed Abdrabboh, Al Haq (Palestine)
HUNGARY: Tamás Csapody and Jeno Demeczky (Hungary)
INDIA: Balkrishna Kurvey (India)
INDONESIA: Agus Edi Santoso, Bambang Subono, Yohanes da Arus Macenus, Desyana, La PASIP and Indonesia Campaign to Ban Landmines - INACBL (Indonesia)
IRAN: Hameed R. Johunlu, High Center of Research and Information (Iran)
IRELAND: Tony D'Costa, Pax Christi International, Irish Section (Ireland)
ISRAEL: Aharon Etengoff and Gerald Steinberg, Program on Conflict Resolution, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan (Israel)
ITALY: Anna Maria Casini, Nicoletta Dentico, Denise Rausa, Giuseppe Schiavello, and Giancarlo Tenaglia (Italy)
JAPAN: Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines (Japan)
JORDAN: Kamel Saadi (Jordan)
KENYA: Lare Okungu (Kenya)
KOREA, D.P.R.: John H. Kim (Korea, R.O.)
KOREA, R.O.: Jai-Kook Cho (Korea, R.O.) and John H. Kim (Korea, R.O.)
KOSOVO: Henry Thompson (U.K.) and Frank Smyth (U.S.A.), and Ben Lark (U.K)
KUWAIT: Abdullah Y. Al Ghunaim, Said A. Mahfouz, and Raafat F. Misak, Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait (Kuwait)
LAOS: Jim Monan (U.K.)
LEBANON: Habbouba Aoun, Landmines Resource Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Balamand (Lebanon)
LESOTHO: Noël Stott, South African Campaign to Ban Landmines operating as Mines Action Southern Africa (South Africa) and Tokoloho Khutsoane, Lesotho Red Cross Society (Lesotho)
LIBYA: Oliver Sprague, UK Working Group on Landmines (United Kingdom)
MALAWI: Undule D.K. Mwakasungura and Grant Sichali (Malawi)
MAURITIUS: Sheila B. Keetharuth (Mauritius)
MEXICO and BELIZE: Claudio Torres Nachón and Georgina Echániz Pellicer, DASSUR (Mexico)
MONGOLIA: Carole Simard and Tungalag Johnstone (Mongolia)
MOROCCO: Belkacem Elomari, Observatoire Des Transferts D'Armements (France)
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: Ashot Melyan and Ashot Adamyan, Nagorno-Karabakh Committee of ICBL (Nagorno-Karabakh)
NAMIBIA: Phil ya Nangoloh and Zen Asser Mnakapa (Namibia)
NEPAL: Purna Shova Chitrakar, Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (Nepal)
THE NETHERLANDS: Mario Weima, NOVIB (The Netherlands)
NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, and the PACIFIC (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu): Neil Mander and John Head, New Zealand Campaign Against Landmines (New Zealand)
NICARAGUA: Oliver Bodán and Alejandro Bendaña, Centro de Estudios Internacionales (Nicaragua)
NORWAY and ICELAND: Christian H. Ruge and Ellen Heggestad, Norwegian People's Aid (Norway)
PAKISTAN: Faiz Muhammad Fayyaz and Raza Shah Khan, Pakistan Campaign to Ban Landmines (Pakistan)
PALESTINE: Ayed Abuqtaish and Nasser Alaisa, Defense for Children International/Palestine Section (Palestine)
PANAMA: Gisele McCray Brito and Servicio Paz y Justicia (Panama)
PERU: Diana Roa Castro and Andrés Valderrama Pineda, Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas (Colombia). Susana Villaran and Glatzer Tuesta of Instituto de Defensa Legal - IDL (Perú) and Eduardo Mariño García (Colombia), Diana Roa Castro and Andrés Valderrama Pineda (Campana Colombiana Contra Minas).
THE PHILIPPINES, MALAYSIA, and BRUNEI: Soliman M. Santos Jr., Alfredo Lubang and Miriam Coronel Ferrer (The Philippines)
POLAND: Piotr M. Hajac (Poland)
PORTUGAL: Tiago Douwens Prats, Handicap International (Belgium)
ROMANIA: Constantin Stefan Lacatus and Eugen Cioruga, People of Sibiu for Peace/Sibienii Pacifisti (Romania)
RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, and UZBEKISTAN: Roman Dolgov, Aleksander Yemelyanenkov, Oksana Khabib, Irena Rumyantseva and Olga Andriyanova, IPPNW-Russia (Russian Federation)
RWANDA: Cecile Mukarubuga (Rwanda)
SENEGAL and GUINEA-BISSAU: Dieudonné Pandare and Assine Bertrand, RADDHO (Senegal)
SLOVENIA: Marijana Franeti? and Albert Kapovi? (Croatia)
SOMALILAND and SOMAILIA: Ahmed H. Esa, The Institute for Practical Research and Training (Somaliland)
SOUTH AFRICA: Richard Sherman and Noël Stott, South African Campaign to Ban Landmines operating as Mines Action Southern Africa (South Africa)
SOUTH ASIA (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka): Mallika Joseph and Suba Chandran, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (India)
SPAIN and ANDORRA: Raül Romeva (Spain)
SUDAN: Hagir M. Kheir Mussa and El Waleed Mohamed El Bashir, Sudan Campaign to Ban Landmines (Sudan). David Nailo N. Mayo, Hakim D. Nyangamoi, Ajeo Lokuta Koricha, Chukudum Landmines Project (Sudan)
SWAZILAND: Noël Stott, South African Campaign to Ban Landmines operating as Mines Action Southern Africa (South Africa) and Thandiwe S. Dlamini and July Ginindza Baphalali, Swaziland Red Cross Society (Swaziland)
SWEDEN: Christian Gustavsson, Svenska Freds - SPAS (Sweden)
SWITZERLAND and LIECHTENSTEIN: Elizabeth Reusse-Decrey, Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines (Switzerland)
SYRIA: Ghassan Sharour (Syria)
TANZANIA: Alfred Futeh, Hubert Lubyama, Tanzania Campaign to Ban Landmines (Tanzania)
THAILAND: Nittaya Krisananont and Emilie Ketudat, Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines (Thailand)
TOGO: Y. Désiré Assogbavi, Centre International pour la Recherche de la Paix - CIRP (Togo)
UGANDA: Edison A. Mworozi, IPPNW, and D. K. Sekimpi, UNACOH, Uganda Campaign to Ban Landmines (Uganda)
UKRAINE and MOLDOVA: Yuri Donskoy, Ukrainian Peacekeepers Veterans Association (Ukraine)
UNITED KINGDOM: Richard Lloyd, U.K. Working Group on Landmines (U.K.)
URUGUAY, BOLIVIA and PARAGUAY: Josefa Suárez (Uruguay)
USA: Mark A. Hiznay and Stephen D. Goose, Human Rights Watch (U.S.A.)
VIETNAM: Andrew Wells-Dang with the support of Oxfam Hong Kong (Vietnam)
WESTERN SAHARA: Boibat Ches Abdelhay, Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines (Western Sahara)
YEMEN: Christina Nelke, Rädda Barnen/Save the Children Sweden (Lebanon)
YUGOSLAVIA, F. R.: Marijana Obradovic and Stipan Sikavica (Yugoslavia F.R.)
ZAMBIA: Muleya Mwananyanda (Zambia) and Alex Vines (U.K.)
ZIMBABWE: Martin Rupiya, Centre for Defence Studies, University of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
In addition, the following people provided research and writing:
· Algeria and Tunisia: Tiago Douwens Prats and Anne Capelle, Handicap International (Belgium)
· Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates: Mark A. Hiznay, Human Rights Watch (USA)
· Bulgaria, Greece, Holy See, Macedonia, Malta, Poland, San Marino, and Turkey: Jasmine Juteau, Human Rights Watch (USA)
· Burundi: Kenya Coalition Against Landmines (Kenya)
· Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), D. R. Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, São Tomé and Principe, and the Seychelles: Alex Vines, Human Rights Watch (U.K.)
· Ethiopia: Ahmed H. Esa, The Institute for Practical Research and Training (Somaliland)
· Mozambique and Zimbabwe: Henry Thompson (U.K.)
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AAR Association for Aid and Relief, Japan
AFD Agence Française pour le Développement
AFP Agence France Presse
AHD Antihandling Device
AP or APM Antipersonnel Mine
ARF ASEAN Regional Forum
ASEAN Association of South-East Asian Nations
AT or ATM Antitank Mine
CARICOM Carribean Community and Common Market
CBR Community Based Rehabilitation
CCW 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons
CD Conference on Disarmament
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
ECHO European Community Humanitarian Office
ECOMOG ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EMAC Entity Mine Action Center
EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal
EU European Union
FMSP First Meeting of States Parties
GIS Geographic Information System
GTZ German Development and Cooperation Agency
HI Handicap International
HRW Human Rights Watch
IADB Inter-American Defense Board
ICBL International Campaign to Ban Landmines
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
ICVA International Council of Voluntary Agencies
IDRC International Development Research Council
IED Improvised Explosive Devices
IFOR Implementation Force
INAROEE Angolan National Institute for the Removal of Explosive Obstacles
IPPNW International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
IRC International Rescue Committee
IRIN Integrated Regional Information Network (UN)
JRS Jesuit Refugee Service
LM Landmine Monitor
LSN Landmine Survivors Network
MAC Mine Action Center
MAG Mines Advisory Group
MARMINCA Mission of Assistance for the Removal of Mines
MASG Mine Action Support Group
MAT Mine Action Team
MBT Mine Ban Treaty
MERCUSOL Declaration of the Southern Commercial Market
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
NAM Non-Aligned Movement
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NPA Norwegian People's Aid
OAS Organization of American States
OAU Organization of African Unity
OECS Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
P. II Landmines Protocol II of the CCW
QA Quality Assurance
SADC Southern African Development Community
SCF Save the Children Federation
SCS Special Clearance Services
UN United Nations
UNAVEM United Nations Angola Verification Mission
UNDHA UN Dept. of Humanitarian Affairs
UNDP United Nations Development Program
UNGA United Nations General Assembly
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
UNMAC United Nations Mine Action Center
UNMAS United Nations Mine Action Service
USAID U.S. Agency for International Development
UXO Unexploded Ordnance
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and On Their Destruction ("Mine Ban Treaty")1 was opened for signature on 3 December 1997. It entered into force on 1 March 1999.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) has often been called the "engine" that has driven the antipersonnel mine ban movement that resulted in the Mine Ban Treaty, and the ICBL received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its contribution. But the ICBL has insisted that, as significant an accomplishment as the treaty is, the only real measure of success will be the concrete impact that it has on the global mine problem - in terms of fewer mine victims, more land demined, reduced use of the weapon, diminished production and export, increased destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines, a growing number of governments joining and fully implementing the treaty, and greater adherence by non-state actors (armed rebel groups) to the norm against any possession or use of the weapon.
This Landmine Monitor Report 2000 is intended to help measure that impact.2 Some two and one-half years after the Mine Ban Treaty opened for signature, and just over one year since it entered into force, it is apparent that the treaty, and the ban movement more generally, are already making a significant difference. While antipersonnel mines continue to be laid and to take far too many victims, great strides have been made in nearly all aspects of eradicating the weapon. The pace is not as fast as the ICBL would like, and major problems remain, but progress is striking all the same. The world is embracing the new, emerging international norm against the antipersonnel mine.
It appears that use of antipersonnel mines is on the wane globally, production has dropped dramatically, trade has halted almost completely, stockpiles are being rapidly destroyed, funding for mine action programs is on the rise, while the number of mine casualties in some of the most affected states has fallen greatly. And very importantly, even non-States Parties and non-signatories to the Mine Ban Treaty are taking some important steps toward eliminating antipersonnel mines and joining the ban treaty.
It should also be emphasized that there is no credible, verifiable evidence of any State Party violating the core prohibitions in the Mine Ban Treaty, those banning use, production, and trade. Among the notable developments since Landmine Monitor Report 1999 is the establishment of the Intersessional Standing Committee of Experts work program to promote full and effective implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
On the other hand, among the most deplorable developments since Landmine Monitor Report 1999 are: (1) extensive use of antipersonnel mines in the conflicts in Chechnya and Kosovo, especially by Russian and Yugoslav forces, and (2) continued use of antipersonnel mines by treaty signatory Angola, and likely use of antipersonnel mines by treaty signatories Burundi and Sudan. In this reporting period, there was use of antipersonnel mines in three additional conflicts: Chechnya/Dagestan; Kashmir; and the Philippines.
Concerns remain that insufficient resources are devoted to mine action programs, including mine clearance, mine awareness, and victim assistance activities. At a time when there is a danger of the international community turning its attention elsewhere, to deal with the next "hot" issue, there is instead a need for a re-doubling of efforts to get mines out of the ground more rapidly and to better address the needs of mine victims and mine-affected communities.
1 The ICBL generally uses the short title, Mine Ban Treaty, although other short titles are common as well, including Ottawa Convention and Ottawa Treaty.
2 The reporting period for the first Landmine Monitor annual report was December 1997 to February 1999. The reporting period for this second annual report is March 1999 to May 2000. Editors have where possible added important information that arrived in June and July 2000.