Landmines will continue to destroy human rights and stand in the way of development decades after the end of a given conflict, writes Ghada Abd El-Kader Anti-personnel mines were first used on a wide scale in World War II. Since then they have been used in many conflicts, including in the Vietnam War, the Korean War and the first Gulf War. Precursors of mines are said to have been first used in the American Civil War in the 1800s. Anti-personnel landmines are still being laid today. These and landmines from previous conflicts continue to claim victims in every corner of the globe. The situation has improved in recent years, but a global mine crisis remains and there is still a lot to be done before we live in a mine-free world. It is estimated that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 new casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance each year. That means there are some 1,500 new casualties each month, more than 40 new casualties a day, at least two new casualties per hour. Every region in the world is affected; in more than 80 countries landmines and/or unexploded ordnance (UXO) are a problem. Iraq is a severely mine-affected country as a result of the current conflict and as legacy of the first Gulf War, the Iran-Iraq War, decades of internal conflict and World War II. Currently there are statistics on 317 minefields, 1,102 clustre munitions strike sites, and 707 other UXO locations. There are between eight and 12 million landmines throughout the country. Mines kill and maim hundreds of civilians every year in Iraq. The most affected areas are the northern part of the country, including Iraqi Kurdistan, and the border with Iran in the central and southern regions. In October 2004, the National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) adopted a national mine action strategy which envisions an Iraqi society "free from fear and impact" of landmines and UXO by 2020. According to NMAA, in 2004 more than 61 square kilometres of land were cleared, including 56 square kilometres through battle area clearance; 13,321 anti-personnel mines, 8,806 anti-vehicle mines and 1,170,478 UXO were destroyed. NMAA has stated that mine action funding of $355 million is needed for the period 2004 to 2008. International donations to mine clearance in Iraq totalled about $58.7 million in 2004. The Iraqi government is reportedly investing $20 million in mine action. US forces did not use anti-personnel mines during the invasion of Iraq and have not used them during the occupation and ongoing conflict. The US is party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons, which regulates the types of anti-personnel mines that can be used and defines the circumstances of their use until either their clearance or abandonment. The extent to which US forces may utilise existing mined areas for its military benefit is not known. In March 2005, a media report noted US plans to deploy a remote-controlled munitions activation system called "Matrix" to Iraq. It allows a soldier with a laptop computer based several kilometres away to detonate Claymore mines remotely via radio signal. Claymore mines normally propel lethal fragments from 40 to 60 metres across a 60-degree arc. A total of 25 Matrix systems were reportedly to be sent to Iraq for use by units of the Army's Stryker Brigade by May 2005. Matrix relies on an M18A1 Claymore mine as its munitions, along with a man-in- the-loop detonating mechanism and unknown types of sensors to detect targets. In late February 2005, Human Rights Watch raised questions about the potential harm these mines could pose to civilians. The difficult security situation is by far the most significant challenge to the implementation of the mine action programme in Iraq. Security must be addressed in all facets of mine action operations. Extreme precautions must be taken when travelling to and from de-mining sites, as well as during the actual operations. The problem also impacts the movement of people, dogs, equipment and explosives. These security imperatives add significant costs to mine action operations. Colombia is the only country in the Americas region where mines continue to be planted regularly. The Colombian government ceased mine use in 1999. Non-state actors, however, including the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), ELN (Ejército de Liberación Popular) and AUC (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia) continue to use mines. A UN report released February 2003 contains a serious allegation of use of anti-personnel landmines by the Colombian Army. At least 422 of 1,097 municipalities in 30 out of 32 departments are mine-affected. The government of Colombia reported that mines injured 638 people in 2002. According to the Colombian government, 38 per cent of mine victims from 1990-2003 are children. Geneva Call and the Colombian Campaign Against Landmines have been working together in Colombia for the past two years in the context of a "Memorandum of Understanding for Engaging Colombian Non-State Actors" in banning anti- personnel landmines. Supported by the European Union and the Swiss government, the joint programme has aimed to raise awareness about the landmine problem in Colombia through civil society participation, Colombian government collaboration and direct dialogue with non-state actors in the hope of gaining their commitment to a total ban on anti-personnel mines. The government of Colombia is a state party to the Mine Ban Treaty. The number of mine-affected municipalities and departments has steadily risen since Landmine Monitor began reporting, from at least 125 affected municipalities in 21 departments in 1999, to 615 in 31 departments as of 1 July 2005. Fifty-five per cent of the country's 1,119 municipalities are mine- affected. In June 2005, Colombia reported that there were 34 minefields requiring clearance. Following a participatory strategic planning process involving most mine action actors in the country, the government approved the National Strategic Plan for 2004-2009 on 10 August 2004. The national plan has four overall goals: institutional strengthening at the different territorial levels; integrated care for the population; compliance with the Mine Ban Treaty; the design of a national communication strategy. The strategic planning process was implemented in three phases: first, a number of meetings were held with NGOs, members of departmental governments, the UN and other international organisations, and members of the technical committee of the National Interministerial Commission on Antipersonnel Mine Action. Agreement was reached on a several of principles, including the need to integrate mine action into development plans adapted to the needs of various regions. In the second phase, a framework for the national strategic plan was outlined. In the third phase, a series of meetings were held with national and international mine action actors in Colombia. As of March 2005, Columbia's armed forces had 254 explosives and demolition groups operating throughout the country. In southern Sudan and Somalia, mines have paralysed agricultural production, trapping thousands of people in impoverished and drought-stricken conditions. In south Mozambique, major roads, railroads, power lines and agricultural lands, as well as public gardens, clinics and schools, were heavily mined in order to terrorise local communities, impairing refugee repatriation and badly affecting economic reconstruction. In Zimbabwe, one million acres of land were so heavily mined during the war that they are now totally deserted. In Ethiopia, a large number of mines are located in desert pastures. In Libya, according to a UN study, about 27 per cent of total arable land of the country is petered with minefields dating back to World War II. Ahmed Ghanem, assistant to the resident representative of the United Nations Developing Programme (UNDP), said the UN seeks to create an environment in which people can live safely and in which economic and social well-being can be enhanced free of the threat of landmines. The five pillars of mine action are: mine clearance, mine-risk education, survivor assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy of the Ottawa Convention, or Mine Ban Treaty. The UNDP is the lead UN agency for addressing the long-term socio-economic impact of landmine contamination in affected states and regions. The UNDP currently provides technical support to 27 countries -- including Uganda, Eritrea, Chad, Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Ethiopia, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Syria -- focussing on the development of national and local capacities through integrated, sustainable mine-action programmes. The UNDP also manages several global partnership projects, including its successful management training programme, mine action exchange programme, and socio-economic impact workshops. Adnan El-Aboudy, regional director of the Landmines Survivors Network (LSN), charges that "little attention or help is being given to those suffering the traumatic injuries that landmines inflict on people, from victim to survivor to active citizen." Founded by two landmine survivors in 1997, LSN is the first international organisation created by and for survivors. "Our focus on health, economic opportunity and human rights is tailored to the special needs of each survivor. We have helped thousands of families affected by landmines, war and civil strife, provided more than 60,000 home and hospital peer visits, and helped launch hundreds of survivor-owned businesses," El-Aboudy explained. Mine action regional advisor for the Middle East for the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Sdrjan Jovanovich, confirmed that, "the ICRC is firmly committed to [injury] prevention (humanitarian diplomacy, protection and mine awareness) and to helping mine victims (medical care and physical rehabilitation)." The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is an international non- profit non-governmental organisation and founding member of the UK Working Group on Landmines. It seeks to recognise and implement the most effective methods to assist populations of countries and communities affected by conflict, in particular through the clearance of landmines, weapons and explosive remnants from past and existing conflicts. MAG currently has mine action operations in 10 areas: northern Iraq, Iran, Somaliland, Angola, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, southern Sudan, Lebanon and Azerbaijan. MAG has also carried out mine action services in Afghanistan, Namibia, Uganda, Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda, Zambia and DR Congo. Both the causes and the effects of the landmine crisis need to be addressed: efforts need to include halting mine laying, production and stockpiling, clearing mined areas and helping landmine survivors. For countries with mine problems, action is needed at two levels: changes at a policy level (a ban on landmines and membership of the Mine Ban Treaty); and practical programmes (to remove mines from the ground, as well as stockpiles, and provide comprehensive assistance to mine survivors). Without a ban, mine clearance programmes will remove mines in one area while they are being laid in another. Even countries without a mine problem have an important role to play. They have a moral obligation to join the Mine Ban Treaty and promote it and, where possible, provide assistance to mine-affected states.
