Mine ban policy overview

Policy

The Republic of Nepal has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. The November 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) committed the government and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal/Maoist[1] rebels to halt the use of landmines, and required the parties to assist each other to mark and clear mines and booby-traps.[2]

In February 2010, the Minister of Peace and Reconstruction initiated a ministerial-level committee to study the responsibilities of and opportunities for becoming a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.[3] The committee has representation from the ministries of home affairs, foreign affairs, defense, law, and justice, and the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL). The committee was receiving presentations from academic and civil society groups.

Nepal attended the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2010 in Geneva and informed States Parties that this “high-level task force” had been created to review accession to the treaty, and that it was expected to “submit a report in the near future.”[4]

A high-level delegation from Nepal attended as an observer the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Cartagena, Colombia in November–December 2009.[5] It made statements both during the high-level segment and during the session on universalization. The Minister for Peace and Reconstruction said that Nepal “has always supported the humanitarian spirit and objectives” of the Mine Ban Treaty and “is acting in line with many of its objectives. We will continue our efforts to participate and engage with the international community to demonstrate Nepal’s support to a Mine-Free World.”[6]

On 2 December 2009, Nepal abstained from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 64/56 calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. This was the third consecutive year that Nepal abstained on the annual resolution, after voting in favor of all previous pro-ban resolutions since 1996.[7]

 In February 2010, the NCBL arranged for a visit by four members of the Constituent Assembly to some affected districts. Afterwards, the NCBL published a report, prepared in cooperation with the four members, which recommended that Nepal accede to the Mine Ban Treaty and increase support for victims and risk education.[8] After an NCBL-sponsored delegation visited the National Human Rights Commission in March 2010, the president of the commission in May 2010 urged the government to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty in a statement made on national human rights day.[9]

Production

In December 2009, the Minister for Peace and Reconstruction told States Parties at the Second Review Conference that Nepal does not produce landmines.[10] Nepal repeated this in its remarks to States Parties during the June 2010 intersessional Standing Committee meetings.[11] On 21 June 2010, Nepal wrote to Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor that “Nepal does not produce any kind of antipersonnel landmines and the landmines that the Nepal Army is using have been produced abroad.”[12]

In light of these official, written declarations that Nepal does not produce antipersonnel mines, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor removed Nepal from its list of producers.

In 2003 and 2005, Nepali officials told Landmine Monitor that Nepal produced antipersonnel mines.[13] Since the 2006 cease-fire and CPA, army officials have said in interviews with Landmine Monitor and the ICBL that there has never been any production of antipersonnel mines.[14] In recent years, Landmine Monitor has noted that while it does not appear Nepal is currently producing antipersonnel mines, the Monitor will continue to list Nepal as a producer until Nepal makes an official, written statement that it does not produce antipersonnel mines. 

Use, transfer, and stockpiling

In December 2009, the Minister for Peace and Reconstruction told States Parties that Nepal has not planted landmines since the end of the insurgency in 2006.[15] He also said that Nepal does not “enable the transfer” of landmines. Nepal is not known to have ever exported mines.

Nepal wrote to Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor in June 2010 that it is now only using antipersonnel mines for training purposes. It stated, “Landmines needed for this purpose have been retained in minimum number,” noting that this is in line with Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.[16]

During the conflict, the Nepal Army used antipersonnel mines, as well as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) assembled in-country, around military installations, police posts, and infrastructure. The Nepal Army has stated that it started using mines in 2002, and estimates it deployed around 14,000 antipersonnel mines (including 11,000 PMD-6 mines and 3,000 POMZ-2 and NMM 14 mines). It also estimates that it used about 25,000 command-detonated IEDs.[17]  In June 2010, Nepal told Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor that it used landmines in 53 locations and IEDs in 275 locations during the conflict.[18]

In December 2008, General Rukmang Katwal, the army’s Chief of Staff, told an ICBL delegation that Nepal had never used landmines on its borders, and could not conceive of a situation which might necessitate such use. He acknowledged that the few thousand mines in Nepal’s stockpile could hardly afford any protection.[19]

A Nepal Army spokesperson said in 2007 that the army had a stockpile of about 3,000 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, including POMZ-2 and PMD antipersonnel mines. Nepal imported its mines from China, India, and the former Soviet Union, mostly in the 1980s.[20] 

Non-state armed groups

Although the former rebel Communist Party of Nepal/Maoist (CPN/M) became a part of the interim government in April 2007, its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) still exists.[21] There have been no reports of new use of antipersonnel mines, victim-activated IEDs, or booby-traps by the PLA since the May 2006 cease-fire. In the past, the PLA was expert at the manufacture and use of a variety of IEDs, including victim-activated, time-delayed, and command-detonated types.[22]

In July 2009, the Minister of Home Affairs acknowledged that there were more than 100 armed groups operating within the country.[23] There is no evidence that any of them have used or possess antipersonnel mines. Some use command-detonated IEDs.

Policy

The Republic of Nepal has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It participated in some of the meetings of the Oslo Process that led to the development, negotiation, and signing of the convention. It attended the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions in December 2007, as well as the Wellington conference in February 2008, where it subscribed to the Wellington Declaration supporting the negotiation of an international instrument banning cluster munitions. 

However, Nepal did not participate in the negotiations in Dublin in May 2008 and did not attend the Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference in Oslo in December 2008. It did not participate in any regional or international meetings on cluster munitions in 2009 or 2010 through July.

In December 2009,  the Minister of Peace and Reconstruction told representatives of the CMC and the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL) that Nepal does not have a problem with signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and that there are not any issues preventing the government from ratifying the convention. The Minister expressed an interest in organizing a South Asian regional meeting on cluster munitions in Nepal.[1]

On 17 June 2010, the NCBL organized a Seminar on Human Rights and Cluster Munitions, at which the Minister of Peace and Reconstruction said, “It is our moral responsibility to stand against any kind of inhumane weapon.” He pledged to take the issue forward for discussion in the government.[2]

The NCBL also mobilized members of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal, affiliated to different religions, to sign a collective memorandum expressing their commitment to campaign for a ban on cluster munitions.

Nepal is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty or the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

In June 2010, Nepal confirmed that it does not possess cluster munitions and has never used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[3]

Contamination and Impact

Mines

Nepal is affected by antipersonnel mines as a result of a decade of armed conflict ended by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006. The Nepal Army laid 53 antipersonnel minefields.[1] As of February 2010, the Nepal Army had cleared 23, leaving 30 minefields covering an estimated 2.5km² still to be tackled.[2]

Two mine casualties occurred in 2009, despite systematic marking and fencing of contaminated areas. Civilians have been using many of the cleared areas to collect brushwood, graze their animals, and even, in one case, visit a shrine that was formerly within a minefield.[3]

Explosive remnants of war

The decade of conflict has also resulted in a problem of explosive remnants of war (ERW), especially abandoned explosive ordnance, as well as of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Nepal Army and Armed Police Force placed explosive devices, including command-detonated IEDs, as defensive perimeters around military installations. As of March 2010, the army had cleared 130 out of its 273 command-detonated IED fields.[4]

A significant number of items of Maoist ordnance, especially “socket bombs” (improvised hand-grenades), remain in civilian homes. In 2009, around half of the total mine/ERW casualties occurred within homes as a result of these devices.[5] Community members are said to be reluctant to report this ordnance for fear of retribution.[6]

More recent violence involving autonomy-seeking groups in Nepal’s southern Terai region has been adding IED contamination, with new incidents being reported once or twice a week.[7] IEDs used in such incidents are newly-made, not those leftover from earlier conflict.[8]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The Steering Committee for Mine Action and its Mine Action Technical Committee serves as the National Mine Action Authority (NMAA). It created a mine action task force in October 2009 to make recommendations for future mine action and issued a draft national mine action plan. There is no national mine action center, although NAMACC operates as a sub-unit command within the army and in October 2009, the Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation set up a Mine Action Office to serve as a government focal point for mine action.[9] In addition, a Mine Action Joint Working Group (MAJWG), jointly chaired by the members of the UN Mine Action Team (UNMAT), continues to support operational coordination, especially of mine/ERW risk education  and victim assistance.[10]

A workshop in Kathmandu on 23–24 February 2010 developed a draft strategic mine action plan, which was due to be reviewed by the mine action task force prior to its adoption.[11] Clearance of all mined areas is expected to be completed during 2011.[12]

Recent program evaluations

A Cranfield University evaluation of UN support to the mine action program in 2009 found the Nepal Army “is clearing its antipersonnel minefields effectively, efficiently and safely” and had made “considerable progress” strengthening the middle management of its mine action component. It observed, however, that there was an absence of effective national accountability and governance as the NMAA was not functioning and the Steering Committee for Mine Action and Mine Action Technical Committee had not met. The report recommended that UNMAT should be funded until the end of 2011. It also urged UNMAT to provide external quality assurance and post-clearance quality control to the Nepal Army for clearance of command-detonated explosive devices.[13]

A UN interagency mine action assessment conducted in late 2007 was still awaiting comment by the government as of February 2010, but has been superseded by subsequent developments.[14]

Land Release

Clearance productivity increased significantly in 2009, with 15 minefields cleared during the year, compared to four in 2008. UNMAT planned to conduct training for the army in technical survey capacity for land release during the 2010 monsoon season to further improve productivity.[15]

Five-year summary of land release

Mine clearance in 2009

As of the end of 2009, mine clearance capacity consisted of three 25-person teams, of whom some 60 were deminers.[16] The Nepal Army hoped to add a fourth team in 2010.[17]

Mine clearance in 2009[18]

In addition, destruction of 18,308 items of explosive ordnance handed in by the former Maoist combatants was completed on 24 December 2009.[19]

Community liaison

There is no dedicated community liaison capacity in Nepal, although army engineer personnel are trained in risk education and are said to liaise with the community when engaging in land release.[20]

Quality management

Quality assurance of mine clearance operations is conducted by both the army and UNMAT, with exploratory lanes used as a form of post-clearance quality control.[21]

Safety of demining personnel

There were no demining injuries in 2009.[22]

Other Risk Reduction Measures

There is a highly active risk education (RE) program in Nepal, involving UNMAT, the Nepal Red Cross Society, the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL), the Informal Service Sector Center (INSEC), and other national NGOs in delivering RE to at-risk communities across the country. In 2009, as well as providing support to NGOs engaged in delivering RE, UNICEF, in coordination with members of the MAJWG, drafted national standards on RE. UNICEF continued to support the INSEC’s surveillance system of victim-activated explosions. The surveillance system is said to have been helpful for prioritizing RE, victim assistance, advocacy, and demining activities.[23]

NCBL’s RE work is composed of providing education for youth and schoolchildren, integration of RE with victim assistance in 14 districts from mid-2009 and through 2010, as well as awareness activities through the release of an album of songs.[24]

Casualties

Casualties in 2009

The Nepali NGO Informal Service Sector Center (INSEC) recorded 70 civilian mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in 2009. The majority of casualties (38 or 54%) were children (30 boys and eight girls). Of the 32 adult casualties, 18 were men and 14 were women.[1] This represented a slight decrease from the 73 new mine/ERW casualties in 2008,[2] and follows the trend in recent years of a “steady and continuous reduction in the number of incidents and casualties in Nepal.”[3] No deminer casualties were reported for 2009.[4] One deminer was injured in 2008.[5]

The total number of casualties in Nepal remained unknown. Landmine Monitor identified 826 casualties from victim-activated devices (221 killed and 605 injured) between 2003 and 2009.[6] From 1999 to 2002, the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL) reported 1,326 casualties (522 killed and 804 injured).[7] However, due to lack of secondary sources for cross-checking casualties, the figures provided by the NCBL were thought to be only about 50% of the total.[8]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Nepal is unknown, but at least 605.

Survivor needs

No comprehensive needs assessments were reported for 2009. Handicap International (HI) used INSEC’s casualty surveillance system to assess the needs of survivors, provide assistance, and monitor follow-up.[9] Information provided by INSEC was also used by the UN Mine Action Team (UNMAT) in Nepal to assist strategic and operational planning, including victim assistance.[10] The NCBL continued to collect information on casualties and survivor needs, but faced difficulties in sharing data due to privacy concerns. There remained a lack of centralized information on how many services were provided to survivors overall.[11]

Victim assistance coordination[12]

Throughout 2009, victim assistance continued to be coordinated in the meetings of the Mine Action Joint Working Group (MAJWG), an informal working committee that meets every four to six weeks, coordinates mine action activities including victim assistance, and includes UN agencies, NGOs, and the ICRC. The MAJWG is chaired by UNMAT (UNICEF and the UN Mine Action Service). Five meetings were held in 2009.[13] Under the leadership of the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR), a five-year National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework was developed in August 2009 by the government and key national and international stakeholders.[14] Implementation was still in the early stages by mid-2010.[15] An evaluation in June 2009 reported that victim assistance coordination had “begun to take root,” but that both coordination and activities appeared to be weak and it recommended that a specific Technical Working Group on Victim Assistance be formed.[16] In 2009 victim assistance stakeholders resolved to launch a Victim Assistance Working Group by November. However, the group was still being created in 2010.[17]

In November 2009, the first meeting of the National Coordination Working Group on the Rights and Benefits of Persons with Disabilities was held. The meeting addressed issues including ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and incorporating disability rights into the constitutional process drafting. Rehabilitation of victims of conflict and persons with disabilities was also a main agenda item.[18]

The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare was responsible for the rehabilitation sector, but it was reported in 2009 that overall there had been “virtually no government involvement” in the sector. However, in February 2009, the Nepalese military organized the first national workshop on rehabilitation, including national and international organizations and UNMAT.[19] 

No inclusion of survivors in planning, coordination, or the implementation of victim assistance activities was reported.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2009[20]

In 2009, access to prosthetics services in Nepal increased. However, overall few significant improvements in the quality of services were reported. It was reported that areas of victim assistance other than physical rehabilitation received “little or no attention.”[21]

No significant improvement in accessibility of emergency medical care was reported. Although construction of a trauma center at Bir Hospital in Kathmandu was completed in 2008,[22] it was not operational by the end of 2009.[23] Nine hospitals providing care to weapon-wounded people received ICRC supplies in 2009, a decrease from 19 hospitals in 2008.[24] Covering the expenses of emergency medical care was a challenge for survivors and their families in 2009.[25]

In addition to prosthetics services starting at the Yerahity Rehabilitation Center in 2009, the Nepal Army and the ICRC signed an agreement to ensure that all Nepalese people irrespective of class or political affiliation had equal access to physical rehabilitation at the center.[26] Although the availability of prosthetics and rehabilitation services increased, access to those services more generally was prevented for other reasons. An escalation of general strikes blocked transportation and restricted access to centers. Limited public transport and high fares continued to restrict access to rehabilitation in 2009.[27]

Psychological assistance was almost non-existent.[28] No increases in the availability of services were reported. The NCBL continued to provide some informal counseling together with other activities and supported an informal survivor peer support network, but lacked funds to expand the program or adequately engage survivors.[29]

In 2009, UNICEF, HI, and the MoPR, developed a handbook on victim assistance including information on obtaining assistance, a directory, and mapping of available services. [30]

The Nepali government significantly increased (by some 66%) the level of financial compensation available to survivors in 2009, which was considered a significant improvement.[31]

Nepalese law mandates access to employment, education, transportation, and other state services for persons with disabilities, but there are no laws prohibiting discrimination. In 2009, discrimination against persons with disabilities continued to be reported in healthcare, employment, education, and provision of other state services.[32]

Nepal ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol on 7 May 2010.[33]

In 2009 the European Commission (EC), the United Kingdom, and Australia contributed US$834,789 to mine clearance and risk education in Nepal.[1] This represents a decrease of 21% or approximately $200,000 from 2008. Despite a decrease in funding from 2008, 15 minefields were cleared in 2009 compared to four in 2008.[2]

The EC contribution went to UNICEF in November 2009 to support its risk education program through September 2010.[3] 

The government of Nepal did not report any contributions to its mine action program.

International government contributions: 2009[4]

Summary of contributions: 2005–2009[5]