Cambodia

Last Updated: 02 November 2011

Mine Ban Policy

Commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty

Mine Ban Treaty status

State Party

National implementation measures 

Law to Prohibit the Use of Anti-personnel Mines, 28 May 1999

Transparency reporting

2010

Key developments

Cambodia will host the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties in November–December 2011; Cambodia undertook regional treaty universalization efforts

Policy

The Kingdom of Cambodia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 28 July 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 January 2000. Domestic implementation legislation—the Law to Prohibit the Use of Anti-personnel Mines—took effect on 28 May 1999.[1] In 2011, Cambodia submitted its 12th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report, covering calendar year 2010.[2] 

Cambodia participated in the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in November–December 2010. Cambodia delivered statements during the sessions on General Exchange of Views, Enhancing International Cooperation and Assistance, Clearing Mined Areas, Assisting the Victims, and Evaluation of the Implementation Support Unit. States Parties agreed with the proposal that His Excellency Prak Sokhonn, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Vice-Chair of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), be designated President of the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties (11MSP), and, that the meeting take place in Phnom Penh from 28 November–2 December 2011.

Cambodia also participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2011, where it made statements on most topics. It said that the Cambodian Prime Minister had, in May 2011, called upon all Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations to join the convention, or at a minimum engage in the work of the 11MSP at a high level. Cambodia also stated that it would be visiting Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam.[3] 

A joint Cambodian-ICRC-UNDP workshop on universalization was held in Phnom Penh in September 2011. Representatives from states not party China, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Vietnam participated in the meeting.  Minister Prak also visited Singapore on 4 October 2011.

Cambodia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It has not submitted an annual report under Article 13 of the protocol since December 2009 and is not party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

Production, transfer, stockpile destruction, retention

The government has reported that it does not have any antipersonnel mine production facilities, and that it has not exported antipersonnel mines.[4]

The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) destroyed its declared stockpile of 71,991 antipersonnel mines between 1994 and 1998, and in February 1999, the RCAF Deputy Commander in Chief formally stated that the RCAF no longer had stockpiles of antipersonnel mines.[5]In 2000, Cambodia reported an additional stockpile of 2,035 antipersonnel mines held by the national police, which were subsequently destroyed.[6] Cambodia previously reported that while there have been no antipersonnel mine stockpiles in the country since 2001, “police and military units are still finding and collecting weapons, ammunitions and mines from various sources, locations and caches.”[7] Informal (“village”) demining and the scrap metal trade also accounted for some of the newly discovered stocks of mines. Cambodia stated in its Article 7 report submitted in 2011 that no further stockpiles have been discovered in the past two years.[8]

Discovered mines are supposed to be reported to the CMAA, and handed over to the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) for destruction.[9] A Cambodian official has previously stated that newly discovered stocks are destroyed immediately.[10]

Previous Article 7 reports document a total of 133,478 stockpiled antipersonnel mines that were found and destroyed from 2000 to 2008, including 13,665 in 2008 (9,698 by CMAC, 2,713 by HALO Trust, and 1,254 by Mines Advisory Group (MAG)). Cambodia stated that these mines were “reported by local communities.”[11] Cambodia disclosed in its Article 7 report for calendar year 2010 that separate totals for mines recovered and handed over to CMAC for destruction and mines destroyed in minefields by clearance operators were not available.[12]

As in previous years, in its Article 7 report covering 2010, Cambodia declared that it does not retain any antipersonnel mines for training or development purposes.[13] However, Cambodia has each year reported transfer of mines removed from mined areas to the CMAC training center and other operators for training purposes.[14] In June 2011, the Deputy Secretary General of the CMAA told the Monitor that all mines held by Cambodia are fuzeless, and that Cambodia retains no live mines for training.[15] In 2010, Cambodia reported the transfer for training purposes of 778 antipersonnel mines “from various sources and Demining Units/CMAC that were found in the Mined Areas,” but did not state that the mines had been neutralized.[16]  

Use

Previous allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by Cambodian forces on the Cambodian-Thai border, made by Thailand in 2008 and 2009, have not been resolved.[17] In May 2011, in response to a request by the Monitor for an update regarding the Fact Finding Mission Report into the allegations which Cambodia informed the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in November 2008 that it would make public, a government official stated:

Cambodia has been waiting for the responses from Thailand to five core questions, without which the result of the investigation conducted by the Fact Finding Commission of Cambodia cannot be substantiated and evidently concluded. Thailand has not responded to…neither answered nor substantiated the allegation it first made. The allegation made by Thailand regarding Cambodia’s use of new landmines can be summarized as baseless at best.[18]

 



[1] The law bans the production, use, possession, transfer, trade, sale, import, and export of antipersonnel mines. It provides for criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment for offenses committed by civilians or members of the police and the armed forces. It also provides for the destruction of mine stockpiles.

[2] The report is undated, but was submitted to the UN in early 2011. Previous reports were submitted in May 2010 (for calendar year 2009) April 2009 (for calendar year 2008), in 2008 (for calendar year 2007), on 27 April 2007, 11 May 2006, 22 April 2005, 30 April 2004, 15 April 2003, 19 April 2002, 30 June 2001, and 26 June 2000.

[3] Statement of Cambodia, Stating Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 20 June 2011. Notes by the ICBL.

[4] See Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports, Forms D and E. In the 1970s, Cambodia manufactured one type of antipersonnel mine, the KN-10 Claymore-type mine, and various armed groups made improvised mines in the past.

[6]  Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form B, 26 June 2000.

[7]  Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2009), Form F.

[8] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2010), Form G3.

[9] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2010), Form F.

[11] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2008), Form G1. Mines destroyed in previous years included: 8,739 in 2000; 7,357 in 2001; 13,509 in 2002; 9,207 in 2003; 15,446 in 2004; 16,878 in 2005; 23,409 in 2006; and 20,268 in 2007.

[12] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2010), Form G3.

[13] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2009), Form D1a.

[14] Cambodia reported in 2009 that 701 mines were transferred for development and training. See Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2009), Form D2. Cambodia has reported a total of 4,670 mines transferred for training purposes from 1998–2009. All of the mines that are transferred each year are apparently consumed (destroyed) during training activities.

[15] Interview with Sophakmonkol Prum, Deputy Secretary General, CMAA, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.

[16] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2010), Form D2. A total of 497 mines were transferred by CMAC, and 281 mines were transferred by HALO “from Siem Reap HQ and Kdeb Thamar training facilities; some have been sent to the Golden West (Kampong Chnang) and some used as test pieces for certain detector types; also significant numbers were destroyed during various EOD courses.” This makes 778, not 845 as was written in the report.

[17] In October 2008, two Thai soldiers stepped on antipersonnel mines while on patrol in disputed territory between Thailand and Cambodia, near the World Heritage Site of Preah Vihear. Thai authorities maintained that the area was previously clear of mines and that the mines had been newly placed by Cambodian forces. Cambodia denied the charges and stated that the Thai soldiers had entered Cambodian territory in an area known to contain antipersonnel mines and were injured by mines laid during previous armed conflicts. In April 2009, another Thai soldier was reportedly wounded by an antipersonnel mine at the same location during further armed conflict between the two countries.  In September 2009, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army, Gen. Anupong Paochinda, stated that Cambodian troops were laying fresh mines along the disputed areas and close to routes where Thai soldiers make regular patrols. See Landmine Monitor Report 2009, pp. 243–244, 719–720; and also ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Cambodia: Mine Ban Policy,” 6 August 2010, www.the-monitor.org.

[18] Email from Vanndy Hem, Assistant to the Prime Minister, Deputy Head of Secretariat, 11MSP Organizing Committee, 24 June 2011. A copy of the letter from the Royal Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs of 21 November 2008 and a follow up letter of 16 March 2009 was attached to the email.


Last Updated: 29 August 2011

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

The Kingdom of Cambodia has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In June 2011, Cambodia informed the convention’s first intersessional meetings that joining the convention is “just a matter of time” and said its lack of accession was, “not an issue of our commitment” to the convention and its merits. Cambodia stated, “Recently, there have been discussions at the highest level of the government and some common understanding in favor of the [convention] was reached. The issue is now in the hands of our top leadership. We hope that an announcement regarding our position vis-à-vis the [convention] can be made” before the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which Cambodia is hosting in Phnom Penh in November 2011.[1]

Cambodia was an early, prominent, and influential supporter of the Oslo Process that produced the convention. It hosted the first regional forum on cluster munitions in Southeast Asia in Phnom Penh in March 2007. Cambodia advocated strongly for the most comprehensive and immediate ban possible and joined in the consensus adoption of the convention at the conclusion of the Dublin negotiations in May 2008. Yet, despite Cambodia’s extensive and positive leadership role in the creation of the convention, it attended the Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference in Oslo on 3 December as an observer only and did not sign, stating that it needed more time to study the security implications of joining.[2]

Throughout 2009 and 2010, Cambodia continued to cite several reasons, mostly security-related, for its delay in joining the convention.[3] In November 2010, Cambodia stated that it was “still assessing the impact of signing [the convention] on national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and would “need time to assess” and “prepare itself” so signing “will be a matter of time.”[4] In August 2010, the Secretary-General of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority expressed  concern about Cambodia’s ability to meet the convention’s 10-year clearance obligation and noted, “If we sign, it means we bind our hands. We’re studying how much it will cost to remove old cluster munitions and to protect our nation against border violations.”[5]

Cambodia’s position toward joining the convention began to show signs of change after Thailand fired cluster munitions into Cambodian territory in February 2011. On 9 February 2011, the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), a government entity, claimed that Thai military forces had used cluster munitions during fighting on its border with Cambodia near Preah Vihear temple. CMAC said it had identified “evidence of heavy artilleries such as 105MM, 130MM and 155MM used by Thai military, and CMAC experts have verified and confirmed that these artilleries contained Cluster Munitions including M35, M42 and M46 types.”[6] On 9 February, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said that the clash at the border amounted to “a real war” in which Thailand had used cluster munitions.[7]

In February and April 2011, CMC members conducted missions to areas contaminated by the cluster munition use in Cambodia including in Svay Chrum Village, Sen Chey Village, and around the Preah Vihear temple hill. They witnessed unexploded M42/M46 and M85 type (dual purpose improved conventional munition [DPICM]) submunitions as well as fragmentation damage caused by cluster munitions.[8] The Cambodia program of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) was shown an unexploded NR269 projectile by the CMAC office in Sraaem.[9]  The cluster munition attacks killed two men and injured seven more including two who lost their arms.[10]

On 6 April 2011, the CMC issued a press statement announcing that, based on the on-site investigations, it had established that cluster munitions were used by Thailand on Cambodian territory during the February 2011 border conflict. The CMC urged Thailand to provide detailed information on the cluster munition strikes and said that both Cambodia and Thailand should take steps to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[11]

Despite not joining, Cambodia has continued to engage in the work of the convention. It attended the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010 as an observer and made statements regarding its position on accession. Cambodia also participated in the convention’s first intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011, where it also made a statement on its position on accession.

Cambodia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Cambodia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war (ERW) or actively engaged in the CCW deliberations on cluster munitions in recent years.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Cambodia is not believed to have used, produced, or exported cluster munitions. In June 2011, Cambodia stated that, “Despite being confronted and threatened by forces, so far we have refrained from employing cluster munitions in our response.”[12]

The size and precise content of Cambodia’s stockpile of cluster munitions is not known. In December 2008, a Ministry of Defense official said that Cambodia has “some missile launchers that use cluster munitions that weigh more than 20 kg” and said there were also stockpiles of cluster munitions weighing 250kg left over from the 1980s which Cambodia intends to destroy.[13] Weapons with submunitions that weigh more than 20kg each are not defined as cluster munitions by the Convention on Cluster Munitions and are not prohibited.[14]

In July 2009, it was reported that the armed forces was still engaged in a study of its cluster munition stockpile.[15] In December 2009, a review of Cambodia’s cluster munition stockpile was completed with technical assistance provided by the German Society for Technical Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, GTZ).

Cluster munition remnants

The United States dropped at least 26 million explosive submunitions on Cambodia during the Vietnam War, mostly in eastern and northeastern parts of the country bordering Lao PDR and Vietnam. The bombing is estimated to have left between 1.9 million and 5.8 million cluster munition remnants, including unexploded BLU-24, BLU-26, BLU-36, BLU-42, BLU-43, BLU-49, and BLU-61 submunitions.[16]

In February 2011, cross-border shelling by Thailand of Cambodia’s northern province, Preah Vihear, resulted in additional submunition contamination (see Thailand report). An assessment by the CMAC and NPA conducted immediately after the cluster munition use identified 12 strike sites and contamination by unexploded M42, M46, and M85 submunitions over an area of approximately 1.5km2, impacting four villages and affecting between 5,000 and 10,000 people.[17] NPA said evidence in the area suggested about one in five of the submunitions failed to detonate.[18]

A clearer understanding of the extent of contamination by cluster munition remnants is expected from the second and third phases of a Baseline Survey, which will cover eastern and northeastern districts. The Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS) recorded 17 submunition casualties in 2010, including four fatalities.[19] Mines Advisory Group (MAG) reported in 2009 that in northeastern Stung Treng province unexploded submunitions constitute up to 80% of the ERW encountered by its clearance team.[20]

Clearance of cluster munition contaminated areas

Demining operators did not report any area clearance tasks targeting cluster munition remnants in 2010. MAG, working with two explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, reported destroying 2,050 unexploded submunitions in the course of EOD operations in 2010, including 1,453 submunitions destroyed in just three months of operations in Stung Treng province and 597 in eastern Kompong Cham province. However, funding cuts resulted in MAG standing down these two teams in May 2011.[21]

CMAC, the biggest NGO clearance operator, focused increasing attention on battle area clearance in the eastern provinces and reported that it responded to 12,410 calls for EOD interventions in 2010 and destroyed 143,924 ERW, but did not identify the number of unexploded submunitions included in this total.[22]   

After Thailand’s use of cluster munitions in February 2011, CMAC and NPA reported clearing 298,365m2 in the vicinity of two villages in May 2011, destroying a total of six unexploded M46 and M42 submunitions.[23]

Cluster munition casualties

The total number of cluster munition casualties in Cambodia not known. Prior to 2006, data collection did not differentiate submunitions from other ERW incidents. From 1998 to 2010, a total of 172 cluster munition remnant casualties were reported in Cambodia, including 17 in 2010.[24] Yet due to the lack of available data this does not reflect the actual total number of cluster munition casualties.

 



[1] Statement of Cambodia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meeting, Session on Universalization, Geneva, 27 June 2011, www.clusterconvention.org.

[2] For detail on Cambodia’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 193–195.

[3] See ICBL, Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2010), p. 201.

[4] Statement of Cambodia, First Meeting of States Parties, Convention on Cluster Munitions, Vientiane, 10 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.

[5] Leng Sochea, Secretary-General, Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority. See Irwin Loy and Phak Seangly, “Govt holds out on cluster ban,” Phnom Penh Post, 2 August 2010.

[6] CMAC Press release, ”CMAC Mine Risk Education (MRE) teams to raise awareness of mines, ERW and Cluster Munitions for the communities in Preah Vihear,” 10 February 2011, www.cmac.gov.kh.

[7] “Cambodia, Thailand at ‘war’: PM,” Phnom Penh Post, 9 February 2011.

[8] The missions were conducted by Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs (on 9 February and 12 February 2011) and NPA (1–2 April 2011).

[9] NPA, “Impact Assessment Report: Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia,” Undated, but circulated 3 April 2011, p. 2.

[10] CMC Press release, “CMC condemns Thai use of cluster munitions in Cambodia,” 5 April 2011, www.stopclustermunitions.org.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Statement by Cambodia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meeting, Session on Universalization, Geneva, 27 June 2011, www.clusterconvention.org.

[13] The official is Chau Phirun, Ministry of Defense. Lea Radick and Neou Vannarin, “No Rush to Sign Cluster Munition Ban: Gov’t,” Cambodia Daily, 5 December 2008.

[14] Article 2.2 states: “‘Cluster munition’ means a conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those explosive submunitions.”

[15] Sam Rith and Sebastian Strangio, “Officials announce further delay on cluster bomb ban,” Phnom Penh Post, 9 July 2009.

[16] South East Asia Air Sortie Database, cited in Dave McCracken, “National Explosive Remnants of War Study, Cambodia,” NPA in collaboration with CMAA, Phnom Penh, March 2006, p. 15; Human Rights Watch, “Cluster Munitions in the Asia-Pacific Region,” April 2008; and Handicap International (HI), Fatal Footprint: The Global Human Impact of Cluster Munitions (HI: Brussels, November 2006), p. 11.

[17] Aina Ostreng, “Norwegian People’s Aid clears cluster bombs after clash in Cambodia,” NPA, 19 May 2011, www.folkehjelp.no.

[18] Thomas Miller, “Banks tied to cluster bombs named,” Phnom Penh Post, 26 May 2011, www.phnompenhpost.com.

[19] Casualty data provided by email by Chhiv Lim, Manager, CMVIS, 25 March 2011.

[20] Interview with Jamie Franklin, Country Programme Manager, and Nick Guest, Technical Operations Manager, MAG, Phnom Penh, 28 April 2010.

[21] Emails from Lauren Cobham, Programme Officer, MAG, 12 April and 1 August 2011.

[22] CMAC, “Operational Summary Progress Report, 1992 − December 2010,” received by email, 8 February 2011.

[23] Aina Ostreng,  “Norwegian People’s Aid clears cluster bombs after clash in Cambodia,” NPA, 19 May 2011.

[24] For the period 1998 to early 2007, 127 cluster munition remnant casualties were identified; 11 in 2007; seven in 2008; 10 in 2009; and 17 in 2010. See HI, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (HI: Brussels, May 2007), pp. 23, 26; and CMVIS data provided by Cheng Lo, Data Management Officer, CMVIS, Phnom Penh, 17 June 2008 and 19 June 2009.


Last Updated: 06 October 2011

Mine Action

Contamination and Impact

Cambodia is affected by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) left by 30 years of conflict that ended in the 1990s. The precise extent of contamination is not known. Cambodia’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension request, submitted in 2009, estimated the total area containing antipersonnel mines and still requiring clearance at 648.8km2.[1] Results of part of a Baseline Survey (BLS) started in mid-2009 suggest the extent of contamination may be even greater.[2]

Mines

Cambodia’s antipersonnel mine problem is concentrated in, but not limited to, 21 northwestern districts along the border with Thailand, which accounted for more than 90% of casualties in the three years to 2009. Contamination includes the 1,046km-long K5 mine belt installed by the Vietnamese-backed government in the mid-1980s to block insurgent infiltration, which ranks among the densest contamination in the world with, reportedly, up to 2,400 mines per linear kilometer.[3]

Cambodia’s 2009 Article 5 deadline extension request estimated that mined areas covered almost 650km2. Results from the first 23 districts covered by the BLS in 2010 identified mined area polygons covering 672.9km2, including 326.7km2 of land densely contaminated with antipersonnel and/or antivehicle mines and 346.2km2 of land classified as “containing scattered or nuisance AP mines [antipersonnel mines].” A further 42km2 were identified as “residual threat,” containing ERW but not mines.[4]

High-casualty antivehicle mine incidents in 2010 also highlighted the threat of these devices, which killed nearly three times as many people as did antipersonnel mines in 2010.[5] That danger has increased as population pressures fuel demand for land and increasingly heavy farm vehicles are used along old roads, some of them abandoned in the years of conflict.[6]

Casualties by device[7]

Device

2010

2009

 

Killed

Injured

Killed

Injured

 

Antipersonnel mines

10

53

7

67

 

Antivehicle mines

29

49

13

23

 

ERW

32

113

24

99

 

Totals

71

215

44

189

 

Cluster munition remnants

The United States (US) dropped at least 26 million explosive submunitions on Cambodia during the Vietnam War, mostly in eastern and northeastern areas bordering the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Vietnam. The bombing is estimated to have left between 1.9 million and 5.8 million cluster munition remnants, including unexploded BLU-24, BLU-26, BLU-36, BLU-42, BLU-43, BLU-49, and BLU-61 submunitions.[8]

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) reported in 2009 that in northeastern Stung Treng province unexploded submunitions constitute up to 80% of the ERW encountered by its clearance team.[9] In 2010, working with two EOD teams, MAG reported destroying 2,050 submunitions in the course of roving EOD operations, of which 1,453 were destroyed in just three months of operations in northern Stung Treng province and 597 in eastern Kompong Cham province. However, cuts in funding resulted in MAG standing down these two teams in May 2011.[10]

A clearer understanding of the extent of contamination by cluster munition remnants is expected from the second and third phases of the BLS, which will cover eastern and northeastern districts. Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) is supporting the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) in conducting an ERW survey focusing particularly on determining the extent of cluster munition remnants contamination.[11] The Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS) recorded 17 submunition casualties in 2010, including four fatalities.[12]

Cross-border shelling in April 2011 by Thailand of Cambodia’s northern province, Preah Vihear, resulted in additional submunition contamination. An assessment by CMAC and NPA immediately after the shelling identified 12 strike sites and contamination by unexploded M42, M46, and M85 submunitions over an area of approximately 1.5km2, impacting four villages and affecting between 5,000 and 10,000 people.[13] NPA said evidence in the area suggested about one in five of the submunitions had failed to detonate.[14]

Other explosive remnants of war

The US also dropped more than a million tons (one billion kilograms) of general purpose bombs during the Vietnam War, mostly in eastern Cambodia. In other parts of the country, operators encounter mainly land-fired ordnance, including artillery shells, rockets, and mortars. A 2006 study of ERW in Cambodia found that more than 80% of the ordnance being cleared was ground artillery and munitions, and less than 20% was air ordnance.[15] ERW now account for just over half the casualties caused by all types of explosive ordnance in Cambodia.[16]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

Body

Situation on 1 January 2011

National Mine Action Authority

CMAA

Mine action center

CMAA

International demining operators

HALO Trust, MAG

National demining operators

CMAC, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF)

International RE operators

Handicap International-Belgium (HI-Belgium), MAG, Spirit of Soccer

National RE operators

National Police, Ministry of Education, World Vision Cambodia, Cambodian Red Cross, CMAC

The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), set up in September 2000, regulates and coordinates mine action, responsibilities previously assigned to the CMAC.[17] The CMAA’s responsibilities include regulation and accreditation of all operators, preparing strategic plans, managing data, quality control, and coordinating mine/ERW risk education (RE), and victim assistance.[18] Prime Minister Hun Sen is the CMAA President, and a senior government minister, Secretary of State of the Council of Ministers, Prak Sokhonn, who is CMAA vice-president, leads the dialogue with donors as the chair of a Mine Action Technical Working Group.[19]

The CMAA’s management is overseen by its Secretary-General, Chum Bun Rong, who was appointed in December 2008.[20] A subdecree (No. 92), issued in August 2009, specifies that CMAA has five departments: regulation and monitoring, socio-economic planning and database management, mine victim assistance, public relations, and general administration.[21]

A National Mine Action Strategy 2010−2019 (NMAS), drawn up by the CMAA in consultation with UNDP and stakeholders, received government approval in November 2010. The strategy sets four main goals:[22]

·         reduce mine/ERW casualties and other negative impacts, by allocating demining assets to the most impacted communities and promoting RE;

·         contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction, by supporting local, subnational, and national development priorities, supporting access to care for survivors and securing the land rights of intended beneficiaries of clearance;

·         promote international and regional disarmament and stability, by supporting the Mine Ban Treaty, and adhering to the Convention on Conventional Weapons Protocol V on explosive remnants of war; and

·         ensure sustainable national capacities to adequately address the residual mine/ERW contamination; by reviewing the institutional framework to address the residual problem, plug gaps, and maintaining sustainable capacity.

The NMAS describes itself as a “living document” and provides for a mid-term evaluation in 2013 in order to align NMAS with the 2014–2019 National Strategic Development Plan. In the meantime, it requires the CMAA to prepare annual workplans in consultation with development partners to fulfill the NMAS objectives.[23]

The CMAA reviewed planning and prioritization procedures in 2010 and 2011 in an attempt to ensure greater coherence and coordination of mine clearance. Under guidelines laid down by a subdecree issued in November 2004, and operational guidelines issued by CMAA in February 2007, responsibility for setting and prioritizing tasks lies with eight provincial Mine Action Planning Units (MAPUs). They work with local authorities to identify community priorities, and with operators to prepare annual task lists which are reviewed and approved by Provincial Mine Action Councils. In provinces without MAPUs, mine action is coordinated with provincial authorities. In practice, however, MAPU’s have approved many clearance tasks that were decided by operators consulting bilaterally with donors.

New guidelines and criteria for planning and prioritization drafted by the CMAA and due to be launched in August 2011 seek to integrate clearance more closely with broader commune development plans and to ensure clearance assets are concentrated on hazardous area polygons identified by the BLS. The guidelines also include a provision for the CMAA to give guidance and direction to the relevant MAPU on the criteria that define clearance priorities.[24]

CMAA with support from UNDP also drew up “Partnership Principles” to guide relations and improve coordination with donor governments that emphasize the centrality of the NMAS and the CMAA in mine action. The principles represent “a common understanding” between the government and development partners designed “to make mine action a driver of growth and poverty reduction within the context of the (2009−2013 National Strategic Development Plan).” The principles state “no mine action programme, project, annual workplan or new initiative should be implemented without prior agreement from the CMAA.” The government, recognizing the impact of mine action on development, “will commit annually a heightened level of support from its own budget resources.” Seven donors that signed the principles, dated 4 April 2011, were Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the UN.[25]

The CMAA introduced a new Cambodian Mine Action Standard (Chapter 15, CMAS) on land release in 2010 laying down guidelines for non-technical survey (referred to as BLS) and technical survey. This Standard, approved by the government in January 2011, supersedes Cambodia’s 2006 policy on area reduction and reiterated the need to “target the available resources onto the areas with the greatest need through clearly defining the actual contamination status.” The draft includes a statement for the first time in Cambodia accepting that “no liability shall rest with an accredited operator for land that is released” provided they have complied fully with the new CMAS and the land released had been subject to CMAA quality assurance (QA).[26]

UNDP has supported the CMAA through a “Clearing for Results” program that expired at the end of March 2010. It was replaced from 1 January 2011 by a second project still funded and advised by UNDP but under national management. Project priorities included strengthening CMAA management and technical capacity, conducting the BLS, and promoting cost-effective approaches to land release through competitive bidding for clearance contracts.[27] As part of that program, CMAA awarded four contracts for projects in 2011 worth a total of $2.8 million:

·         CMAC won two contracts for clearance and technical survey in Banteay Meanchey and Battambang provinces. The initial plan was for two contracts worth US$1 million each covering 4km2 and 4.5km2 respectively. Not all funding had been mobilized by the time the selection process was complete so CMAC was required to clear a total of 4.7km2 in both provinces from 1 May to 31 September 2011. Having mobilized additional funding by August 2011, CMAA was considering extending the contracts until January 2012 to ensure completion of the work, subject to performance.

·         The RCAF’s National Center for Peace Keeping Forces, Mine and ERW Clearance (NPMEC), received a US$380,000 contract to clear 1.2km2 of Pailin between July 2011 and April 2012, its first involvement in CMAA-coordinated mine action.

·         HALO received a $400,000 contract to provide seven survey teams for the second phase of the BLS.[28]

Land Release

Humanitarian mine action operators struggled to maintain the pace of clearance in an increasingly challenging financial environment in 2010. Despite these conditions, CMAA data shows the three humanitarian demining agencies and the RCAF released a total of 103.5km2 in 2010, almost double the amount reportedly released in 2009.

The total included 68.52km2 attributed to CMAC alone.[29] However, CMAC results showed its total included substantial amounts of land canceled by non-technical survey or released by technical survey (23.3km2).[30] The RCAF reported it cleared almost double the amount of land it cleared the previous year, but its operations were not subject to QA and it provided no details of the tasks it has undertaken.[31]

Five-year summary of clearance[32]

Year

Mined and battle area cleared (km2)*

2010

52.7 (67.23)

2009

44.73 (59.24)

2008

37.86 (63.26)

2007

36.34 (55.30)

2006

35.40 (51.90)

Total

 207.03 (296.93)

*Results for humanitarian mine clearance operators. Figures in brackets include results reported by RCAF.

Survey in 2010

The BLS program provides for survey by CMAC, HALO, and MAG of 21 districts of northwestern Cambodia under Phase 1 completed by the end of 2010, 40 districts of central, southeastern, and northern districts under Phase 2 due to be completed by the end of 2011, and 61 districts of eastern and northern Cambodia under Phase 3, due for completion by the end of 2012.[33]

Survey of the first 23 districts completed in 2010 identified 714.8km2 contaminated by mines and ERW, of which 47.1km2 was classified as A1 (densely contaminated by antipersonnel mines), 249.8km2 was A2 (dense mixture of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines), 29.75km2 was A3 (land containing antivehicle mines only) and 346.2km2 was A4 (land containing scattered or nuisance antipersonnel mines). The remaining 42km2 was classified as land containing ERW only, or with no verifiable mine threat.[34]

These figures could rise further. In a presentation to the Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2011, the CMAA noted that “some restricted areas or villages” remained “outside the BLS data” but gave no further details.[35] A CMAA meeting in January 2010 agreed that as a result of tensions with Thailand areas along the border would be surveyed at a later date. HALO noted that it had previously identified an additional 34.8km2 of contamination in four districts of Oddar Meanchey, most of which was the K5 border mine belt.[36]

Operators conducted the BLS according to common standing operating procedures (SOPs) agreed in 2009 but operators produced widely varying results, an issue that was under review by the CMAA in mid-2011.[37] CMAC, which surveyed 13 of 21 districts in the first phase of the BLS, identified 288.5km2, while HALO, which surveyed six districts, identified 408.4km2 of contamination. MAG, which surveyed two districts, identified 17.6km2.[38]

In addition to the BLS, CMAC, with technical support from NPA, is deploying six survey teams for an ERW survey particularly aimed at identifying the extent of cluster munition remnants contamination in Cambodia, focusing initially on eastern provinces along the border with Vietnam.[39] 

Mine and battle area clearance in 2010

Under the NMAS, Cambodia aimed to release 35km2 a year through full manual clearance, and more if funding increased.[40] In 2010, manual clearance by humanitarian demining operators fell 11% from 33.67km2 in 2009 to 29.7km2 in 2010. RCAF reported that it cleared 27.9km2, but its results cannot be verified, leaving it uncertain whether Cambodia achieved its NMAS target.[41]

CMAC, the biggest operator in Cambodia, cleared 22.2km² of mined area in 2010, down from 24.3km² the previous year. CMAC reduced its permanent staff by 210 to around 1,800 in 2010 as funding constraints forced it to reduce the number of demining teams and mine detection dog teams.[42] However, CMAC took delivery of US$15.8 million worth of equipment from Japan in 2010, including 115 vehicles, 500 detectors, and eight demining machines, and expects mechanical assets will help to improve demining productivity. At the same time, CMAC increased the number of battle area clearance (BAC) teams and its clearance of battle area more than doubled from 9.4km in 2009 to 21.3km² in 2010.[43]

CMAC also concluded an agreement with NPA under which it receives support for the database and for CMAC’s survey management group overseeing its implementation of the BLS. Under a new partnership agreement signed in February 2011, NPA is also providing support in developing standards and SOPs for survey, particularly in relation to ERW and cluster munition remnants.[44]

HALO, with 1,200 staff, experienced a 7% drop in the area cleared in 2010, partly due to a drop in its number of active deminers, but it also recorded a slight increase in the number of mines it destroyed. These, however, remain far behind the number destroyed in 2008 (37,757) because of restrictions imposed by the military on its access to the K5 mine belt, mainly as a result of border tensions with Thailand. HALO expressed concern that this restriction had remained in place in 2010 when, it said, nearly half all accidents in 2009 and 2010 had occurred in the K5. Noting the upswing in antivehicle mine casualties in 2010, HALO intended in 2011 to tackle a larger number of antivehicle mine-contaminated areas. In the first three months of 2011 it reported clearing 3km2 of such areas.[45]

MAG had to cope with a nearly 50% reduction in capacity as a result of funding shortfalls. It ended 2010 with 290 operational and support staff, and saw a proportionate 43% drop in the amount of land it cleared in 2010. In addition to area clearance, MAG explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams also conducted 1,691 roving tasks, destroying another 10,414 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO).[46]

The CMAA accredited four RCAF platoons in 2011, bringing to five the number of its platoons now accredited for mine action. The CMAA said three of these platoons would deploy for clearance operations in Pailin under the contract it awarded as part of Clearance for Results Phase 2.[47]

 Mine and battle area clearance in 2010[48]

Demining operators

Clearance (km2)

No. of antipersonnel mines destroyed

No. of antivehicle mines destroyed

No. of UXO destroyed

CMAC*

43.50

18,473

402

134,665

HALO

5.84

17,674

326

5,288

MAG

1.65

3,568

96

11,013

Humanitarian demining

50.99

39,715

824

150,966

RCAF

27.86

605

7

5,680

Totals

78.85

40,320

831

156,646

* CMAC reported mined area clearance of 22.2km2, BAC of 21.3km2, and cancelation/release by non-technical and technical survey of 23.3km2, totaling 66.8km2.

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the 10-year extension granted in 2009), Cambodia is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 January 2020.

The extent of clearance that will be needed to fulfill Cambodia’s Article 5 obligations will not be known before completion of the BLS scheduled by the end of 2012. Results from survey of the first 23 of the 122 districts due to be covered by the BLS identified 714.8km2 of mine/ERW contamination. The amount of land in these districts identified as contaminated with either antipersonnel mines or a mixture of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines amounted to 643.1km2. This did not include some areas of reported contamination on the border with Thailand that were not surveyed for security reasons. With the results of the BLS in 99 districts still to come, the Cambodia’s extension request estimate of antipersonnel mine contamination (648.8km2) is therefore expected to rise.[49]

In the meantime, humanitarian demining operators in Cambodia were forced to reduce capacity because of funding shortfalls, and clearance rates have suffered as a result. In 2010, the first year of implementing its extension request, Cambodia continued to report increased land release but this included increasing amounts of BAC. Mined area clearance by humanitarian deminers (29.69km2) was significantly below the Article 5 deadline extension request target for the year of 39.4km2. Cambodia could be said to have achieved the target only if the unverified clearance results reported by RCAF (27.86km2) are included.[50]

At the Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Cambodia warned that “without an increase in the current level of funding Cambodia is unlikely to mobilize resources required for 2010 and even less likely to obtain the 38% increase that has been foreseen to complete Article 5 obligations.”[51]

Clearance of cluster munition contaminated areas in 2010

Demining operators did not report any area clearance tasks targeting cluster munition remnants in 2010. MAG, working with two EOD teams, reported destroying 2,050 submunitions in the course of roving EOD operations in the northeast in 2010.[52] CMAC is also paying more attention to BAC in eastern provinces and reported it responded to 12,410 calls for EOD interventions in 2010 and destroyed 143,924 ERW, but did not disaggregate the number of cluster munition remnants.

After cross-border shelling by Thailand in April 2011, CMAC and NPA reported clearing 298,365m2 in the vicinity of two villages in May, destroying a total of six unexploded M46 and M42 submunitions.[53] By the end of June 2011, NPA reported a total of 920,101m² had been cleared and 21 unexploded submunitions destroyed.[54]

Quality management

The CMAA is responsible for quality management, operating six QA teams: two teams are based in Battambang, two in Bantheay Meanchey, one in Siem Reap, and one in Kampong Cham. The CMAA added two more QA teams to monitor the BLS and was considering adding two more teams to focus on quality control of land release.[55]

Safety of demining personnel

HALO reported two demining accidents in 2010, the more serious of which required the amputation of a deminer’s finger. The deminer subsequently returned to work.[56]

Other Risk Reduction Measures

Cambodia’s NMAS identifies RE as “an important component” in achieving its goal of reducing casualties and the social impact of mines.[57] RE is conducted by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, CMAC and clearance operators, and the National Police, as well as by the Cambodian Red Cross and NGOs, including HI-Belgium and Spirit of Soccer. At the provincial level, the Provincial Mine Action Committee prioritizes and coordinates messages.[58]

CMAC pursued RE in 2010 working with 121 CMAC staff and 992 members of local volunteer networks engaged through its Community-based Mine Risk Reduction (CBMRR) and Community-based UXO Risk Reduction (CBURR) programs. It also worked with 140 scrap metal dealers contacted on a program for UXO Risk Reduction for Scrap Metal Dealers. Six mine RE teams worked on CBMRR in seven most affected provinces of north western and western Cambodia while CBURR teams operated in 13 provinces of central and eastern Cambodia. The program for scrap metal dealers focused on Kandal and Kompong Speu provinces.[59]

MAG deployed six community liaison teams that delivered targeted RE to high-risk groups in addition to working closely with communities and development partners, who helped to identify high-risk behaviors and community needs.[60] HALO operated one RE team that delivered 305 presentations in 2010 in support of the BLS.[61]

 



[1] Article 5 deadline Extension Request (Revision), 24 August 2009, p. 41.

[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report for calendar year 2010, Form C.

[3] HALO, “Mine clearance in Cambodia–2009,” January 2009, p. 8.

[4] Baseline Survey data provided by Prum Sophamonkol, Deputy Secretary General, CMAA, Phnom Penh, 25 April 2011.

[5] Three incidents accounted for many of the antivehicle mine casualties. Five people were killed and nine injured by an antivehicle mine explosion in Pailin province in May 2010. Fourteen people from five families were killed by an antivehicle mine explosion in Battambang province in November 2010 when returning from farm work on a tractor/trailer. A month later, another antivehicle mine blast in Battambang killed two people and injured six.

[6] HALO, “Prospectus for Cambodia, 2011 and beyond,” Brochure, undated but 2010.

[7] Compiled by the Monitor from data provided by email by Chhiv Lim, Manager, CMVIS, 25 March 2011.

[8] South East Asia Air Sortie Database, cited in Dave McCracken, “National Explosive Remnants of War Study, Cambodia,” NPA in collaboration with CMAA, Phnom Penh, March 2006, p. 15; Human Rights Watch, “Cluster Munitions in the Asia-Pacific Region,” April 2008, www.hrw.org; and HI, Fatal Footprint: The Global Human Impact of Cluster Munitions (HI: Brussels, November 2006), p. 11.

[9] Interview with Jamie Franklin, Country Programme Manager, and Nick Guest, Technical Operations Manager, MAG, Phnom Penh, 28 April 2010.

[10] Emails from Lauren Cobham, Programme Officer, MAG, 12 April and 1 August 2011.

[11] NPA, “NPA Mine Action Cambodia - Quarterly Report - April May, June,” received by email from Phen Vandy, Project Manager, ERW/Cluster Munitions Survey, NPA, 15 August 2011.

[12] Casualty data provided by email by Chhiv Lim, CMVIS, 25 March 2011.

[13] Aina Ostreng, “Norwegian People’s Aid clears cluster bombs after clash in Cambodia,” NPA, 19 May 2011, www.folkehjelp.no.

[14] Thomas Miller, “Banks tied to cluster bombs named,” Phnom Penh Post, 26 May 2011, accessed at www.phnompenhpost.com.

[15] Interview with Dave McCracken, Consultant, NPA, Phnom Penh, 21 March 2006.

[16] 2010 casualty data received by email from Chhiv Lim, CMVIS, 25 March 2011.

[17] CMAC is the leading national demining operator, but does not exercise the wider responsibilities associated with the term “center.” Set up in 1992, CMAC was assigned the role of coordinator in the mid-1990s. It surrendered this function in a restructuring of mine action in 2000 that separated the roles of regulator and implementing agency and led to the creation of the CMAA.

[18] Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), “A Study of the Development of National Mine Action Legislation,” November 2004, pp. 64–66.

[19] Email from Pascal Rapillard, Policy and External Relations, GICHD, 4 September 2009.

[20] Sam Rith, “Demining head loses two posts in reshuffle,” Phnom Penh Post, 30 December 2008, khmernz.blogspot.com.

[21] Elayne Gallagher, “Cambodian Mine Action Authority, Capacity Assessment–2009, Draft Final Report,” 16 December 2009, p. 10.

[22] CMAA, “National Mine Action Strategy 2010–2019 (Draft),” undated but 2010, p. 4.

[23] CMAA, “National Mine Action Strategy 2010–2019,” undated but 2010, p. 8.

[24] Interview with Melissa Sabatier, Mine Action Project Adviser, UNDP, Phnom Penh, 25 April 2011, and telephone interview, 3 August 2011.

[25] Government of Cambodia, “Partnership Principles for the Implementation of the National Mine Action Strategy 2010−2019 as a Single Related Framework for Mine Action Related Assistance,” Phnom Penh, 4 April 2011.

[26] CMAA, “Cambodian Mine Action Standards, Chapter 15, Land Release (Draft),”undated but 2010, pp. 1–2; and emails from Lou Luff, Technical Advisor, UNDP, 16 August 2010; and from Melissa Sabatier, UNDP, 3 August 2011.

[27] Interview with Melissa Sabatier, UNDP, Phnom Penh, 25 April 2011.

[28] Interview with Prum Sophamonkol, CMAA, 30 April 2011; and email from Melissa Sabatier, UNDP, 3 August 2011.

[29] CMAA, “Demining Progress Report 1992 − December 2010,” received by email from Eang Kamrang, Database Unit Manager, CMAA, 26 April 2011.

[30] CMAC, “Operational Summary Progress Report, 1992 − December 2010,” received by email 8 February 2011.

[31] Interview with Col. Ker Savoeun, Director of Peacekeeping, NPMEC, Phnom Penh, 30 April 2010.

[32] Compiled by the Monitor from CMAA, “Demining Progress Report 1992 − December 2010,” received by email from Eang Kamrang, CMAA, 26 April 2011 and CMAC, “Operational Summary Progress Report, 1992 − December 2010,” received by email 8 February 2011. The 2010 mined and battle area figure represents the total amount of land reported released by the CMAA less CMAC’s report of land released by survey.

[33]  Article 5 deadline Extension Request (Revision), 24 August 2009, p. 52.

[34] Data provided by Prum Sophamonkol, CMAA, Phnom Penh, 25 April 2011.

[35] CMAA, “Implementing Plans in Article 5 Extension Requests,” Presentation to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Technologies, Geneva, 23 June 2011.

[36] Emails from Cameron Imber, Programme Manager, HALO, 8 August 2011; and from Matthew Hovell, Cambodia Desk Officer, HALO, 18 August 2011.

[37] Interview with Prum Sophamonkol, CMAA, Geneva, 23 June 2011.

[38] Data provided by Prum Sophamonkol, CMAA, Phnom Penh, 25 April 2011.

[39] NPA, “NPA Mine Action Cambodia - Quarterly Report - April May, June,” received by email from Phen Vandy, NPA, 15 August 2011.

[40] UNDP, “Project Document – Clearing for Results” (Phase 2), undated but 2010, p. 11. In its presentation to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance in Geneva in June 2011 the CMAA identified annual clearance targets of 38.7km2 in 2010, 39.4 km2 in 2011, and 40.2km2 in 2012.

[41] CMAA, “Demining Progress Report 1992 − December 2010,” received by email from Eang Kamrang, CMAA, 26 April 2011.

[42] CMAC, “Interim Report, Annual Report 2010,” undated but 2011, pp.14, 23, and 27; and “Annual Report 2009,” undated but 2010, p. 10.

[43] Interview with Heng Rattana, Director-General, CMAC, Phnom Penh, 26 April 2011; CMAC, “Operational Summary Progress Report, 1992 − December 2010,” received by email, 8 February 2011.

[44] Interview with Jan-Eric Stoa, Program Manager, NPA, Siem Reap, 27 April 2011.

[45] Response to Monitor questionnaire by email from Cameron Imber, HALO, 30 March 2011.

[46] Response to Monitor questionnaire by email from Lauren Cobham, MAG, Phnom Penh, 6 April 2011.

[47] CMAA, “Implementing Plans in Article 5 Extension Requests,” presentation to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Technologies, Geneva, 23 June 2011.

[48] CMAA, “Demining Progress Report 1992 − December 2010,” received by email from Eang Kamrang, CMAA, 26 April 2011; CMAC, “Operational Summary Progress Report,” undated but 2011.

[49] Interview with Heng Rattana, CMAC, Phnom Penh, 26 April 2011.

[50] CMAA, “Demining Progress Report 1992 − December 2010,” received by email from Eang Kamrang, CMAA, 26 April 2011.

[51] Statement of Cambodia, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 30 November 2010.

[52] Response to Monitor questionnaire by email from Lauren Cobham, MAG, 12 April 2011.

[53] Aina Ostreng, “Norwegian People’s Aid clears cluster bombs after clash in Cambodia,” NPA, 19 May 2011, www.folkehjelp.no.

[54] NPA, “NPA Mine Action Cambodia - Quarterly Report - April May, June,” received by email from Phen Vandy, NPA, 15 August 2011.

[55] Email from Prum Sophamonkol, CMAA, 18 August 2011.

[56] Response to Monitor questionnaire by email from Cameron Imber, HALO, 30 March 2011.

[57] CMAA, “National Mine Action Strategy 2010–2019 (Draft),” undated but 2010, p. 6.

[58] CMAA, “Yearly Activity Report 01 January 2009 to 31 December 2009, National Mine/UXO Risk Education and Risk Reduction,” Phnom Penh, undated but 2010, pp. 22, 24–26, 43–44.

[59] CMAC, “Interim Annual Report 2010,” undated but 2011, pp. 25−27.

[60] Response to Monitor questionnaire by email from Lauren Cobham, MAG, 12 April 2011.

[61] Response to Monitor questionnaire by email from Cameron Imber, HALO, 30 March 2011.


Last Updated: 12 October 2011

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2010

63,815

Casualties in 2010

286 (2009: 244)

2010 casualties by outcome

71 killed; 215 injured (2009: 47 killed; 197 injured)

2010 casualties by device type

63 antipersonnel mines; 78 antivehicle mines; 17 unexploded  submunitions; 118 ERW; 10 unknown devices

In 2010, the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS) recorded 286 mine, explosive remnants of war (ERW), and cluster munition remnants casualties. Of the total casualties, some 90% (260) were civilians. About 30% of the civilian casualties were children (80): 61 were boys and 19 girls. Of the total adult civilian casualties, 146 were men and 34 women. Two deminers were injured in demining accidents and another 24 casualties were security personnel, including four Thai nationals who were all killed.[1]

The 286 casualties in 2010 represented an increase from the 244 mine/ERW casualties recorded in 2009 and is the highest number of annual casualties since 2007. However, the number of mine/ERW incidents was the same as in 2009 (150). The increase in casualties can be attributed to antivehicle mine incidents, which caused multiple casualties in each incident. The number of antivehicle mine casualties more than doubled from the 36 recorded in 2009. The 2010 annual total remained much lower than the number of casualties recorded prior to 2005 when a continuing decrease became the trend.[2]

As of the end of 2010, CMVIS reported at least 63,815 mine/ERW casualties in Cambodia: 19,576 killed and 44,239 injured since 1979.[3]

For the period 1998 to the end of 2010, 157 cluster munition remnant casualties were reported in Cambodia.[4]

Victim Assistance

The number of known mine/ERW survivors in Cambodia was reported to be 13,227.[5] However, given that over 40,000 people have been injured by mines/ERW, the actual number is likely much higher.

Assessing victim assistance needs

No systematic needs assessment for mine/ERW survivors was reported in 2010. Identifying mine survivors was a challenge to service providers because the information required to locate them was not easily accessible.[6] Disability statistics were not reliable and needed to be improved for better service provision.[7] CMVIS provided ongoing systematic data collection of mine/ERW casualties, including numbers of survivors. Some casualties were also referred by CMVIS data gatherers directly to victim assistance service providers.[8] Identifying the family members of those killed by mines/ERW was another challenge, as efforts to locate them were insufficient.[9]

Victim assistance coordination[10]

Government coordinating body/focal point

MoSVY and the DAC, as delegated by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA)

Coordinating mechanism

NDCC

Plan

National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities, including Landmine/ERW Survivors 2009–2011 (National Plan of Action)

The new National Disability Coordination Committee (NDCC) was chaired by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) and the Disability Action Council (DAC) which is also under the MoSVY and included service providers of victim assistance as well as other key actors. The NDCC was assigned to monitor, follow up, and report on implementation of the National Plan of Action. The NDCC replaced the Steering Committee for Landmine Victim Assistance in August 2009, but began meeting for the first time in March 2010.[11] The initial meeting informed other NDCC members about the mandate of the Committee, began to identify six technical sub-committees of the NDCC, and promoted implementation of the National Plan of Action and the 2009 disability law.[12] The NDCC conducted two meetings in 2010 (the other in August) in order to strengthen and promote its role.[13]

There was a need to strengthen the DAC secretariat so that it could facilitate the NDCC and ensure the functioning of its six sub-committees.[14] By June 2011, Cambodia reported that the NDCC and its sub-committees had agreed on actions to implement the 2009–2011 National Plan of Action.[15]  A three-year strategy (2011–2013) for the implementation of the national disability law and the National Plan of Action was developed.[16] In some cases, the full period for compliance to the disability law extends to 2015.[17]

While the National Plan of Action relates to all persons with disabilities, according to the 2010-2019 National Mine Action Strategy, adopted in November 2010, mine action stakeholders should continue to play a critical role in enhancing services tailored to the specific needs of survivors through data collection, advocacy, and resource mobilization, while giving support to the MoSVY and the broader disability assistance community.[18]

The MoSVY and DAC, in collaboration with partner NGOs, organized a national workshop in June 2010 to disseminate the disability law and National Plan of Action in Phnom Penh.[19]

A national workshop for disseminating the national CBR Guidelines was held by the MoSVY, DAC and development partners in August 2010.[20]

The MoSVY had the core responsibility for coordinating rehabilitation services and training in vocational skills for persons with disabilities. Several other ministries were involved in disability issues, including the Ministry of Health (MoH), which promoted physiotherapy services; the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, with a Special Education Office responsible for promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities; the Ministries of Public Works and Transport; and National Defense.[21] Cambodia reported that the lack of a comprehensive strategic management agenda for the MoSVY to give it direction and specific objectives “made the proper coordination and accountability of government services very difficult, as well as complicating effective monitoring and evaluation of the vast majority of services that are [provided] by partner organizations.”[22]

Cambodia provided updates on progress in the coordination of victim assistance in 2010 at the Tenth Meeting of States Parties of the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2010 and the meeting of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in June 2011. Cambodia gave updates on physical rehabilitation and medical services provided by NGOs in 2010 through Form J of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.[23]

Survivor inclusion

Representative organizations of survivors and persons with disabilities were included in coordination and planning activities through the NDCC. Organizations working for persons with disabilities were also consulted in the development of the strategy for the implementation of the national disability law and the National Plan of Action. However, ongoing consultation with persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, in all areas of coordination and planning remained a challenge. There was a recognized a need for greater involvement of all stakeholders, especially persons with disabilities, to achieve real positive change.[24] Four persons with disabilities are members of the DAC, including the Deputy Chairman.[25]

Survivors were included in implementation of many services provided by NGOs.[26]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2010[27]

Organization

Type

Activities

Changes in 2010

MoSVY

Government

Rehabilitation services; gradual assumption of responsibilities for funding and management of the rehabilitation sector

Ongoing

CMAA/CMVIS

Government

Services other than data collection included providing emergency food aid, house repair, funeral costs, and referrals, as well as disability awareness-raising

In early 2010, the Cambodian Red Cross fully handed over the CMVIS to the CMAA; activities were ongoing

 

Arrupe Outreach Center Battambang

 

National NGO

Wheelchair classes for children, economic inclusion through loans and grants, youth peer support, awareness raising (dance)

 

Ongoing

Association for Aid and Relief Vocational Training for the Disabled

National NGO

Vocational training

Finished operating at the end of March 2011, and center for vocational training closed

 

Association for Aid and Relief Wheelchair for Development

National NGO

Distribution of wheelchairs

Ongoing

Buddhism for Development

 

National NGO

Assisting commune leaders to integrate people with disabilities into existing programs, including loans and conflict negotiation in Pailin and Battambang

Ongoing

Cambodian Development Mission for Disability (CDMD)

National NGO

Comprehensive community-based rehabilitation (CBR); referrals, loans, specific services to address visual impairments

Ongoing

Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development/Clear Path International

National NGO/International NGO

Economic inclusion through micro-finance, rice banking, processing, competitive pricing and distribution, community development, and infrastructure support

Increased the number of direct and indirect beneficiaries affected by ERW

Cambodian War Amputees Rehabilitation Society (CWARS)

National NGO

Economic inclusion, training for persons with disabilities

Handed over a vocational training center which subsequently closed down

Capacity Building of People with Disabilities in Community Organizations (CABDICO)

National NGO

Referrals, awareness, and educational support

Drastically reduced capacity in Banteay Meanchey

Cambodian Disabled People’s Organization (CDPO)

National DPO

National coordination, mainstreaming disability into development, advocacy, and workshops for various relevant ministries

Ongoing

National Center for Disabled Persons

National NGO

Referral, education, awareness, and self-help groups

Ongoing

Australian Red Cross (ARC)

(International) National society

Support to partners including the Cambodian Red Cross

Landmine Survivors Assistance Fund, which provided small grants, expanded its focus and became the Cambodia Initiative for Disability Inclusion (CIDI)

ADD Cambodia

International NGO

Capacity-building of national disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs); CBR

Reduced direct-support to CBR from 8 to 5 districts

Cambodia Trust

International NGO

Physical rehabilitation, prosthetic devices, training, and economic inclusion

Increased services; during the year 73% of prosthetics beneficiaries were mines survivors

Disability Development Services Pursat

National NGO

Self-help groups, economic inclusion, referral, and CBR

New cow/buffaloes and rice banks introduced for the sustainability of the self-help groups; expanded to three additional villages

Jesuit Service Cambodia

National NGO

Economic inclusion, rehabilitation, peer support, awareness, and material support (housing and well grants) and referral, wheelchair production; hearing aids and ear service, psychosocial support visits to rural survivors, advocacy with cluster munition and mine/ERW survivors

Ongoing services; increased individual support to survivors; survivors employed by the organization reached 64

Opération Enfants du Cambodge (OEC)

National NGO

Home-based physical rehabilitation, education, and economic inclusion and emergency support to new mine survivors

Economic inclusion project completed by years’ end; 75% of beneficiaries increased income

Cambodian Red Cross

National society

Micro-finance loans and material aid

Unknown

Handicap International-Belgium (HI-B)

International NGO

CBR, support to partner organizations, and capacity-building for DPOs

Handed over responsibility for physical rehabilitation centers but maintained financial support

Handicap International-France/Federation (HI-F)

International NGO

Support to national NGOs for economic inclusion; physical rehabilitation, disability mainstreaming activities

Ongoing

New Humanity

International NGO

CBR

Increased coverage in two districts

Veterans International (VI)

 

International NGO

Physical rehabilitation, prosthetics, self-help, and economic inclusion

Ongoing

World Vision Cambodia

International NGO

Self-help groups

Unknown

ICRC

International organization

Physical rehabilitation, outreach, referrals; components for all prosthetic centers

Continued slight increase in prostheses produced for mine survivors; continued much needed outreach services

Most people with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, are highly vulnerable. Many lack education and literacy and have no work or land to live from. Overall they received little or no support. Vulnerable groups do not have full access to social services, health, and healthcare. Often there was a complete lack of accessibility, service provision, and information. In 2010 Cambodia reported that rehabilitation services were being strengthened and expanded and that there was progress in providing vocational training and social inclusion activities for persons with disabilities.[28] While the focus of government coordination was on disability plans and legislation and strengthening existing national structures, most victim assistance services were maintained by NGOs acting regionally and assisting survivors identified in local communities. Programs administered by NGOs brought about substantial improvements in the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in 2010.[29]

Transportation to reach medical facilities remained inadequate. Emergency transportation or ambulance services were not widely available and in some areas of the country it took a day or more to access appropriate emergency care services. This was compounded by a lack of serviceable roads, especially in remote areas and during the rainy season, which further reduced the chances of survival.[30] In mid-2011, Cambodia reported that health services provided to new mine/ERW survivors improved in some mine/ERW affected communities.[31] Emergency services were free; however, ongoing medical care was not, and there was an urgent need for the provision of free hospital care for vulnerable people with disabilities.[32]

As in previous years, there were 11 physical rehabilitation centers and orthopedic workshops covering 24 provinces. However, there was a sharp decrease in the number of prostheses produced for mine/ERW survivors reported by Cambodia in 2010, compared to the high level provided in 2009: 2,584 prostheses, down 38% from 4,151 in 2009 (3,612 in 2008). Repairs to prostheses for survivors also decreased significantly: to 2,497, about 70% less than the 8,198 produced in 2009 (3,011 in 2008).[33] 

During 2010, information about progress in transferring rehabilitation management capability and responsibility to national ownership under the MoSVY by 2011 was not presented in government statements and reports.[34] In 2010, the MoSVY reported that financial difficulties had been compounded by the global financial crisis and the MoSVY appealed to the representative NGOs to continue their support to the sector.[35] A memorandum of understanding between the MoSVY and physical rehabilitation providers had been signed in June 2008 whereby the MoSVY was to become responsible for 11 provincial rehabilitation centers over three years. It was hoped that NGOs would continue to provide financial and technical support. Organizations could also continue to operate centers under MoSVY coordination.[36]

In 2010, the ICRC continued cooperation with the MoSVY for the two centers it supports and the national prosthetic-orthotic component factory. Since 2004, the ICRC had been reducing its role in managing those projects to focus on strengthening the MoSVY capacity while transferring responsibilities to the ministry. The MoSVY continued to gradually take over increased financial and managerial responsibilities for running the two centers and the component factory, developing new tools for coordinating and leading the rehabilitation sector with ICRC support.[37]

As stipulated in the memorandum of understanding (2008–2010), HI-B agreed with the MoSVY to hand over physical rehabilitation centers in Siem Reap and Takeo on the first of January 2011. The management of the two centers was placed under the supervision of the provincial Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation. From the beginning of 2011, the scope of services at the centers no longer included outreach activities. All other activities were ongoing and a high level of quality was maintained. In 2011, HI-B planned to continue covering a significant part of the centers’ budgets. However, the support was not planned for 2012, when both operational and financial management would be under the MoSVY.[38]

VI reported signing a memorandum of understanding with the MoSVY in January 2011 that would lead to handover of its rehabilitation centers over three years.[39] This was a step-by-step process of integration, for sustainability. Funding for the centers was secured but the possibility that the government would relocate the VI’s Kien Khleang center to Phnom Penh Thmey raised a serious question about accessibility for existing beneficiaries from the area.[40]

The Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics became completely Cambodian-run in 2010, with no more expatriate technicians. National staff had been educated to degree level in Australia. In 2010, the Cambodia Trust moved from rented premises into a new custom-designed building in Phnom Penh.[41]  

Cambodia lacked a national integrated system for psychological or psychiatric assistance, and most available services were provided by a limited number of NGOs.[42] The number of self-help groups, most supported by NGOs, continued to increase overall in 2010.[43]

There were no reports of significant change in availability of economic inclusion services in 2010, with most programs continued from the previous year.  However, another CWARS vocational training center closed, in Banteay Meanchey, soon after CWARS ended its management. The provincial Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation took over operations briefly before it closed down.[44] This followed the closure of Kampong Thom and Pursat centers in 2009–2010. OEC continued an economic inclusion project, supported by HI-F, until the end of 2010. Under this project, the income of 75% of the beneficiaries increased (almost fourfold on average) and 87% reported improved quality of life.[45]

The 2009 Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities prohibits discrimination, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of persons with disabilities. The government continued efforts to implement the law. By year's end, the Council of Ministers had approved three of four sub-decrees to support the law and was reviewing a fourth.[46] It was reported that some 14 sub-decrees were needed for effective implementation of the law.[47] These sub-decrees involve participation and approval from the MoSVY, MoH, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training.[48]

Throughout 2010, people with disabilities continued to lack equal access to education, training, and employment and were not fully included in their communities.[49] The law did not adequately address comprehensive employment and economic inclusion needs for people with disabilities, but did specify a quota system.[50] Secondary legislation for implementing the quota system for employing people with disabilities was adopted in 2010.[51] However, additional legislation was needed to make the quota system operable, including decrees on types and categories of disability and on types of employment for persons with disabilities to be covered by the system.[52]

The 2009 law requires that buildings and government services be accessible to persons with disabilities.[53] However, inaccessibility to public buildings, transport, facilities, and referral systems prevented persons with disabilities from actively participating in social and economic activities in Cambodia.[54] Cambodia reported that there is often a complete lack of accessibility in service provision and information.[55]

Since 2007, Australia had provided significant assistance for victim assistance in Cambodia through its Landmine Survivors Assistance Program, managed by ARC. In 2010, the program was reoriented be more inclusive of activities for all persons with disabilities and became the Cambodian Initiative for Disability Inclusion under Australia’s Development for All Strategy.[56]

Cambodia signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 1 October 2007, but had not yet ratified it as of 1 August 2011.

 



[1] CMVIS casualty data provided by email from Chhiv Lim, CMVIS Manager, CMAA, 25 March 2011.

[2] See past editions of the Monitor, www.the-monitor.org.

[3] See ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2009: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2009), www.the-monitor.org; and casualty data provided by email from Nguon Monoketya, CMAA, 15 June 2010; and by email from Chhiv Lim, 25 March 2011. However various reporting sources have differed. It was reported in the Landmine Monitor Report 2008, that, as of 31 December 2007, the CMVIS database contained records on 66,070 mine/ERW casualties in Cambodia: 19,402 killed and 46,668 injured. ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2008: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2008), www.the-monitor.org. See also, Kingdom of Cambodia, “National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities, including Landmine/ERW Survivors 2009–2011,” Phnom Penh, February 2009, p. 9, which reports 63,217 casualties between 1979 and August 2008.

[4] For the period 1998 to early 2007, 127 cluster munition remnant casualties were identified; 11 in 2007; seven in 2008; and 10 in 2009. Prior to 2006, cluster munitions remnants incidents were not differentiated from other ERW incidents in data. See HI, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (HI: Brussels, May 2007), pp. 23, 26; and CMVIS data provided by Cheng Lo, Data Management Officer, CMVIS, Phnom Penh, 17 June 2008 and 19 June 2009.

[5] MoH and MoSVY, “Cambodia Country Report,” 8th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies, Tokyo, 30 August – 2 September 2010, p. 20, www.mhlw.go.jp.

[6] Wanda Munoz Jaime, “Victim Assistance and Inclusive Livelihoods,” Journal of Mine and ERW Action, Issue 15.1, 2011, maic.jmu.edu.

[7] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[8] Analysis of CMVIS Monthly Reports for calendar year 2010.

[9] Wanda Munoz Jaime, “Victim Assistance and Inclusive Livelihoods,” Journal of Mine and ERW Action, Issue 15.1, 2011, maic.jmu.edu.

[10] Statement of Cambodia, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva 1 December 2010; and Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[11] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[12] DAC, “The First Meeting of the National Disability Coordination Committee (NDCC),” Issue 3: April-June 2010, www.dac.org.kh.

[13] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Ngy San, National Disability Advisor, MoSVY, 4 March 2011; and CMAA, “Victim Assistance for Article 7 Report: 1 January to 31 December 2010,” (Summary Report), Phnom Penh, 2011.

[14] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Ngy San, MoSVY, 4 March 2011.

[15] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011.

[16]  “6 Month Report of Performance of the Disability Adviser: 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2010,” by email from Ngy San, MoSVY, 4 March 2011.

[17] US Department of State, “2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cambodia,” Washington, DC, 8 April 2011.

[18] Kingdom of Cambodia, “National Mine Action Strategy 2010–2019,” 11 November 2010, p. 12.

[19] DAC, “Disability and Development E-newsletter,” Issue 3, April-June 2010, p. 1, www.dac.org.kh.

[20] CMAA, “Victim Assistance for Article 7 Report: 1 January to 31 December 2010,” (Summary Report), Phnom Penh 2011, provided by Ny Nhar, Deputy Director of Victim Assistance Department, CMAA, in Tirana, 1 June 2011.

[21] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, June 2011, pp. 41–42; and US Department of State, “2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cambodia,” Washington, DC, 8 April 2011.

[22] MoH and MoSVY, “Cambodia Country Report,” 8th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies, Tokyo, 30 August–2 September 2010, p. 18, www.mhlw.go.jp.

[23] Statement of Cambodia, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva 1 December 2010; Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011; and Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2010), Form J.

[24]  “6 Month Report of Performance of the Disability Adviser: 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2010,” by email from Ngy San, MoSVY, 4 March 2011.

[25] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Ngy San, MoSVY, 4 March 2011.

[26] Email from Denise Coghlan, Jesuit Service Cambodia, 17 May 2011.

[27] Email from David Curtis, CIDI Coordinator, ARC, 16 May 2011; email from Michael Scott, Cambodia Country Director, Cambodia Trust, 11 May 2011; ICRC “Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, May 2011, p. 276, ICRC centers provided 1,554 prostheses for mine/ERW survivors in 2010 compared to 1,495 in 2009; CMAA, “Victim Assistance for Article 7 Report: 1 January to 31 December 2010,” (Summary Report), Phnom Penh 2011; email from Karen Matthee, Director of Communications, CPI, 31 December 2010; email from Tomoko Sonoda, AAR Japan (Tokyo), 9 August 2011; emails from Jeroen Stol, Country Director, HI-B, 26 May 2011 and 9 August 2011; and field mission notes and interview with Klieng Vann and Tun Channareth, Jesuit Services; Chin Phally Arrupe, Outreach Center; staff at Buddhism for Development Cambodia; and Chivv Lim, CMVIS, CMAA by email from Denise Coghlan, Jesuit Service Cambodia, 10 May and 17 May 2011.

[28] MoH and MoSVY, “Cambodia Country Report,” 8th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies, Tokyo, 30 August–2 September 2010, pp. 2–3 and 18, www.mhlw.go.jp.

[29] US Department of State, “2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cambodia,” Washington, DC, 8 April 2011.

[30] MoH and MoSVY, “Cambodia Country Report,” 8th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies, Tokyo, 30 August–2 September 2010, p. 15, www.mhlw.go.jp.

[31] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[32] Presentation by Song Kosal, ICBL Ambassador, Parallel Program for Victim Assistance Experts, Geneva, 21–22 June 2011.

[33] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2010), Form J; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2009), Form J.

[34] Statement of Cambodia, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva 1 December 2010; Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2010), Form J.

[35] Interview with Thong Vinal, DAC, in Geneva, 23 June 2010.

[36] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 3 June 2008.

[37] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, June 2011, pp. 41–42; and [37] ICRC, “Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, May 2011, pp. 278-279.

[38] Email from Jeroen Stol, HI-B, 26 May 2011.

[39] “VIC and MOSVY Sign Memorandum of Understanding,” www.ic-vic.org.

[40] Jean Carrere, “Changing lives, one prosthesis at a time,” 29 July 2011, www.phnompenhpost.com.

[41] Email from Michael Scott, Cambodia Trust, 11 May 2011.

[42] MoH and MoSVY, “Cambodia Country Report,” 8th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies, Tokyo, 30 August–2 September 2010, p. 17,  www.mhlw.go.jp.

[43] CMAA, “Victim Assistance for Article 7 Report: 1 January to 31 December 2010,” (Summary Report), Phnom Penh 2011, provided by Ny Nhar, CMAA, in Tirana, 1 June 2011.

[44] Email from Denise Coghlan, Jesuit Service Cambodia, 17 May 2011.

[45] Wanda Munoz Jaime, “Victim Assistance and Inclusive Livelihoods,” Journal of Mine and ERW Action, Issue 15.1, 2011, maic.jmu.edu.

[46] US Department of State, “2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cambodia,” Washington, DC, 8 April 2011.

[47] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, June 2011, pp. 41–42.

[48] “6 Month Report of Performance of the Disability Adviser: 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2010,” by email from Ngy San, MoSVY, 4 March 2011.

[49] MoH and MoSVY, “Cambodia Country Report,” 8th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies, Tokyo, 30 August–2 September 2010, p. 17, www.mhlw.go.jp.

[50] Interview with Thong Vinal, DAC, in Geneva, 23 June 2010.

[51] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, June 2011, pp. 41–42.

[52] “6 Month Report of Performance of the Disability Adviser: 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2010,” by email from Ngy San, MoSVY, 4 March 2011.

[53] US Department of State, “2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cambodia,” Washington, DC, 8 April 2011.

[54] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[55] MoH and MoSVY, “Cambodia Country Report,” 8th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies, Tokyo, 30 August–2 September 2010, p. 18, www.mhlw.go.jp.

[56] Email from Megan McCoy, Regional Specialist, Disability Inclusive Development (Asia), 16 May 2011.


Last Updated: 07 September 2011

Support for Mine Action

In 2010, international contributions from 11 donors towards mine action in Cambodia totaled US$24,310,742,[1] which represents a decrease of 27% compared to 2009. The United States (US) provided the largest contribution ($5,542,000), with two additional countries (Australia and Japan) providing over $4 million each.

Of the total international contribution, 81% went towards clearance activities, 18% went towards victim assistance (VA), and less than 0.5% went to both advocacy and risk education (RE) activities.

Cambodia reported a contribution of $3,500,000 to its mine action program in 2010, the same amount as in 2009.[2]

International government contributions: 2010[3]

Donor

Sector

Amount

(national currency)

Amount

($)

US

Clearance; VA; RE

$5,542,000

5,542,000

Australia

VA; clearance; advocacy

A$4,648,847

4,276,939

Japan

Clearance

¥371,673,539

4,234,148

Canada

Clearance; advocacy

C$2,350,000

2,281,997

UK

Clearance

£1,440,062

2,225,183

Finland

Clearance; VA

€1,405,500

1,863,834

Germany

Clearance

€1,066,600

1,414,418

Norway

Clearance; VA

NOK5,400,000

893,285

Belgium

VA

€500,000

663,050

Ireland

Clearance

 €500,000

663,050

France

VA

€190,663

252,838

Total

 

 

24,310,742

From 2006 to 2009, international donors contributed approximately $30 million for mine action in Cambodia each year.

In November 2011, Cambodia released a new national strategy in which it stated that it requires a total of $455 million for the period up until 2020, an increase of $155 million from its projection a year earlier.[4] The national strategy specifies how much of the $455 million is required each year; for 2010 $23.48 million was required and at $24.31 million,[5] international contributions met the target. The national strategy projects that $25.04 million is required for activities in 2011.

Summary of contributions: 2006–2010[6]

Year

National contribution

($)

International contribution

($)

Total contributions

($)

2010

3,500,000

24,310,742

27,810,742

2009

3,500,000

33,275,769

36,775,769

2008

2,500,000

28,072,304

30,572,304

2007

1,550,000

30,797,541

32,347,541

2006

1,550,000

29,583,032

31,133,032

Total

12,600,000

146,039,388

158,639,388

 



[1] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by: Christine Pahlman, Mine Action Coordinator, AusAID, 11 July 2011; by Lt.-Col. Klaus Koppetsch, Desk Officer Mine Action, German Federal Foreign Office, 18 April 2011; by Alma Ni Choigligh, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Section, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland, 31 March 2011; by Ingunn Vatne, Senior Advisor, Department for Human Rights, Democracy and Humanitarian Assistance, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 April 2011; by Hannah Binci, Security and Justice Team, Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department, DfID, 10 August 2011. Belgium Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2011; Belgium Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 27 January 2011; Canada Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2011; letter from Markku Virri, Arms Control Unit, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland, 10 March 2011; France Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 1 August 2011; CNEMA, “Annual Report 2010;” US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety 2011,” Washington, DC, July 2011.

[2] Interview with Melissa Sabatier, Mine Action Program Manager, UNDP, in Geneva, 22 June 2011.

[3] Average exchange rate for 2010: A$1=US$0.92; US$1=¥87.78; US$1=C$1.0298; £1=US$1.5452; €1=US$1.3261; US$1=NOK6.0451. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2011.

[4] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 22 June 2010; see ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Cambodia: Support for Mine Action,” www.the-monitor.org, 6 October 2010; and Government of Cambodia, “National Mine Action Strategy 2010-2019,” p.16, www.gichd.org.

[5] Government of Cambodia, “National Mine Action Strategy 2010-2019,” Annex B, www.gichd.org.

[6] See previous editions of Landmine Monitor; and ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Cambodia: Support for Mine Action,” www.the-monitor.org, 6 October 2010.