Uganda

Last Updated: 30 October 2011

Mine Ban Policy

Commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty

Mine Ban Treaty status

State Party

National implementation measures

Legislation reported under development since 2004

Transparency reporting

Uganda has not submitted its Article 7 report due on 30 April 2011

Policy

The Republic of Uganda signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 25 February 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 August 1999.

National implementation legislation has reportedly been under development since 2004, but still had not been enacted as of August 2011.[1]

Uganda had not yet submitted its annual Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report, which was due by 30 April 2011. Uganda has provided eight previous reports.[2]

In 2011, Uganda has elected to serve as co-chair of the Mine Ban Treaty’s Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration.

Uganda is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its original Protocol II on landmines, but not Amended Protocol II or Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

 Production, transfer, use, stockpiling, and retention

Uganda produced antipersonnel mines until 1995 when the state-run facility was decommissioned. It has stated that it has never exported antipersonnel mines.[3] Uganda completed the destruction of its stockpile of 6,383 antipersonnel mines in July 2003.[4]  Uganda last reported the discovery or seizure of additional antipersonnel mines in 2007.[5]

In every Article 7 report since 2004, Uganda has reported retaining 1,764 Type 72 antipersonnel mines for training purposes.[6] Uganda has never reported in any detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines, a measure agreed by States Parties at the review conferences held in 2004 and 2009.

In 2000 and 2001, there were serious and credible allegations indicating the strong possibility of Ugandan forces used antipersonnel mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly in the June 2000 battle for Kisangani. The government denied any use, but pledged to investigate; the results were never made known.[7] The government consistently accused Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels of using antipersonnel mines in Uganda until 2004, and regularly reported the seizure or recovery of stockpiled antipersonnel mines from the LRA until 2005.

 



[1] The draft law is titled “1997 Mine Ban Implementation Bill 2002.” In May 2002, Uganda reported the act was before parliament. In May 2004, officials told the Monitor that a revised draft was due to be presented to the cabinet for approval before going to parliament. In May 2005, Uganda reported, “An implementation act is ready to be presented before Parliament.” In December 2005, Uganda reported that national implementation legislation was “ready for parliamentary debate.” In May 2007, an official told the Monitor that the bill still had to be approved by the cabinet before being sent to parliament. No further update has been provided.

[2] Uganda submitted undated reports covering the periods from April 2009 to April 2010, 2 April 2008 to 2 April 2009, 2 April 2007 to 1 April 2008, and from 1 May 2006 to 1 April 2007. Previous reports were submitted on 5 December 2005, 11 May 2005, 24 July 2003, and 24 May 2002. The initial report was due in January 2000. Uganda did not submit annual reports in 2004 or 2006.

[3] In January 2005, a UN report said that landmines had been supplied from a Uganda People’s Defence Force camp to a rebel group in the DRC in violation of a UN embargo. The report did not specify if the mines were antipersonnel or antivehicle. Uganda strongly denied the allegation as “patently false and inflammatory.” See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 596.

[4] This figure was considerably higher than Uganda initially indicated would be destroyed, apparently because of additional mines captured from rebel forces and a decrease in the number of mines kept for training purposes.  Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form G, 5 December 2005. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 746.

[5] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 711, for details on destruction in 2007. In 2009, Uganda reported destroying 120 Type 72 mines, but it did not note where the mines came from or who had possession of them before their destruction. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period 2 April 2008 to 2 April 2009), Form G.

[6] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period April 2009 to April 2010), Form D. At the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in September 2006, Uganda said it was retaining 1,798 mines of seven types for training purposes, but reported the destruction of 202 mines in training during the previous year. Statement of Uganda, Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 19 September 2006. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 700.

[7] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 834–835.


Last Updated: 24 August 2011

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Convention on Cluster Munitions status

Signatory

Participation in Convention on Cluster Munitions meetings

Attended First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010 and intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011

Key developments

Ratification process underway

Policy

The Republic of Uganda signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.

In June 2011, a Ugandan official said that ratification had been delayed by elections held in February 2011, but Cabinet could now refer ratification to the new parliament for approval.[1] In November 2010, Uganda informed the convention’s First Meeting of States Parties that, “we would have loved to come here as a full State Party” but “our ratification has been delayed” by the pending elections. Uganda said that ratification “has started” and the Attorney General would soon submit the ratification package to Cabinet for its consideration.[2] Uganda has established a committee on International Humanitarian Law to advise the government on the ratification of treaties such as the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[3]

Uganda participated extensively in the Oslo Process that produced the convention and hosted a regional meeting on cluster munitions in Kampala in September 2008. Uganda has continued to actively engage in the work of the convention in 2010 and the first half of 2011. It attended the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010, where it gave an update on ratification. Uganda also participated in intersessional meetings of the convention in Geneva in June 2011.

Civil society groups in Uganda have campaigned in support of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[4]

Uganda is party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Uganda is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war or actively participated in the CCW discussions on cluster munitions in recent years.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Uganda is not known to have produced or exported cluster munitions.

Cluster munitions were apparently used in the fighting in northern Uganda between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, but it is not clear who used the cluster munitions or precisely when or how many were used.  On several occasions, Uganda has denied that its armed forces used cluster munitions and said the LRA was responsible.[5] The Ugandan Mine Action Centre (UMAC) has informed the Monitor that no unexploded submunitions remain.[6]

The status of stockpiled cluster munitions is unclear. In 2009, Uganda claimed that it does not have a stockpile of cluster munitions.[7] In October 2007, a Foreign Ministry official said that Uganda had a stockpile of cluster bombs and pledged to destroy it.[8] In June 2009, a senior official said that Uganda had pledged to “check and destroy all its stockpiles” in 2007 but went on to state that Uganda does not have any stockpiles. [9]

Cluster Munition Remnants

Uganda had a problem with cluster munition remnants in the past.[10] In June 2009, the director of Uganda’s National Emergency Coordination and Operations Centre stated that Uganda is not currently contaminated by cluster munitions.[11] In April 2010, UMAC told the Monitor that all known unexploded submunitions had been cleared and none remained.[12]



[1] Interview with Oscar Uaule, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Uganda to the UN in Geneva, Geneva, 27 June 2011.

[2] Statement of Uganda, First Meeting of States Parties, Convention on Cluster Munitions, Vientiane, 9 November 2010.

[3] Committee members are drawn from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Justice, and Constitutional Affairs. Interview with Vicent Woboya, Director, UMAC, Kampala, 11 March 2011; interview with Bernadette R Mwesige, Foreign Service Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kampala, 31 March 2011; and minutes of the inaugural meeting of Uganda’s reconstitution of the IHL National Committee, Protea Hotel, 29–30 September 2010.

[4] To commemorate the convention’s 1 August 2010 entry into force, People with Disabilities presented a petition on cluster munitions to the parliament’s Committee of Defense and Internal Affairs and a Ugandan children’s football team attended the Norway Cup in Oslo, where they participated in drumming event. CMC, “Entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions Report: 1 August 2010,” November 2010, p. 28.

[5] Article 7 Report (for the period 2 April 2008 to 2 April 2009), Form J; “Uganda: Landmine Survivors Welcome Ban On Cluster Bombs,” IRIN (Gulu), 4 June 2008, allafrica.com; and Paul Amoru, “Cluster bombs conference on,” Daily Monitor, 29 September 2008, www.monitor.co.ug; and interview with Maj.-Gen. J. F. Oketta, Office of the Prime Minister, in Berlin, 25 June 2009.

[6] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, Director, UMAC, 1 April 2010.

[7] Human Rights Watch and the CMC have listed Uganda as a stockpiler of cluster munitions, based on an October 2007 Foreign Ministry statement and the cluster bombs, submunitions, and remnants discovered by deminers. In addition to possible stocks of cluster bombs, Uganda possesses Grad 122mm surface-to-surface rocket launchers, which have the capability to deliver rockets with submunitions. See, International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2005–2006, (London: Routledge, 2005), p. 403; and Colin King, ed., Jane’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal 2008, CD-edition, 15 January 2008 (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2008).

[8] Statement by Amb. Cissy Taliwaku, Deputy Head of Mission, Permanent Mission of Uganda to the UN in Geneva, Belgrade Conference for States Affected by Cluster Munitions, 4 October 2007. Notes by the CMC.

[9] Presentation by Maj.-Gen. J. F. Oketta, Office of the Prime Minister, Berlin Conference on the Destruction of Cluster Munitions, 25 June 2009, slides 2 and 22.

[10] Human Rights Watch has previously reported that deminers in the northern district of Gulu have found RBK-250/275 cluster bombs and AO-1SCh submunitions. These cluster bombs and submunitions are likely of Soviet/Russian origin. Photographs and information provided to Human Rights Watch by UNDP. See also, CMC, “Africa and the Oslo Process the Ban Cluster Munitions,” prepared by Human Rights Watch, September 2008; and Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 173.

[11] Presentation by Maj.-Gen. J. F. Oketta, Office of the Prime Minister, Berlin Conference on the Destruction of Cluster Munitions, 25 June 2009, slide 4.

[12] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 1 April 2010; and email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 8 April 2010.


Last Updated: 05 October 2011

Mine Action

Contamination and Impact

Mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination in Uganda is the result of armed conflict and civil strife, especially over the past two decades with the Lord’s Resistance Army, a non-state armed group (NSAG).[1]

Mines

As of July 2011, Uganda needed to release 15 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) covering 886,530m2 by 1 August 2012, its extended Article 5 clearance deadline, far more land than it has cleared in the past five years of operations.

Uganda reported in July 2009 that it had six suspected mined areas: five SHAs at Lomwaka in Agoro sub-county and one SHA at Ngomoromo in Lokung sub-county in Kitgum, along the northern border with Sudan.[2] In December 2010, Uganda reported that five additional SHAs covering an estimated 104,400m2 had been identified: four in Agoro sub-county (Ajagikech, Aruru, Lote, and Micha) and one at Ngomoromo in Lukung sub-county.[3] In July 2011, however, the director of the Uganda Mine Action Centre (UMAC) reported there were 20 suspected mined areas across Uganda covering more than 1.1km2 (see Table below), many times the estimated area of contamination reported in 2010. Contamination included a mined area of an estimated 300,000m2 at Bibia, a town in Amuru district on the Sudan border.[4] In 2010, three SHAs were cleared and two other canceled.

Minefields and SHAs in Uganda as of 14 July 2011[5]

 

 

 

Agoro mined areas

 

Sub county

SHA name

Size of mined area (m2)

Mined area cleared (m2)

No. of AP mines destroyed

Status

Lamwo

Lote

9,900

9,900

28

Cleared

Lamwo

Ajalikech

80,000

66,343

97

Clearance ongoing

Lamwo

Mica

150,000

14,300

12

Clearance ongoing

Lamwo

Gunya Doyo (Big)

18,000

0

0

Non-technical survey (NTS) completed

Lamwo

Gunya Doyo (Small)

600

0

0

NTS completed

Lamwo

Locuru Hill

60,000

0

0

NTS completed

Lamwo

Pokon Hill

18,000

0

0

NTS completed

Lamwo

Palamon Hill

18,000

0

0

NTS completed

Total

 

354,500

90,543

137

 

 

 

 

Ngomoromo mined areas

 

 

Lelabul

Ngomoromo

71,082

71,082

224

Cleared

Lelabul

Ngomoromo

70,000

70,000

 

Cleared

Lelabul

Lelabul

24,000

4,022

56

Clearance ongoing

Lelapwot

Yoke

24,000

553

0

Technical survey (TS) completed

Lelapwot

Yoke

24,000

636

2

TS completed

Lelapwot

Omwa

14,400

3,516

19

TS completed

Patabek Kal

West Ngomoromo to Waligo

192,000

0

0

TS completed

Lokung

Latikiriu

2,400

0

0

NTS completed

Lelapwot

Latikiriu B

18,000

0

0

NTS completed

Lelapwot

Latikiriu A

18,500

0

0

Discredited

Lelapwot

Ngomoromo

14,000

0

0

Discredited

Sub-Total

 

472,382

149,809

301

 

 

 

 

Bibia mined area

 

 

Bibia

Bibia

300,000

0

0

NTS completed

Sub-Total

 

300,000

0

0

 

Total

 

1,126,882

240,352

438

 

On 1 April 2011, two antivehicle mines were found in Bonere village in Ludara Sub County in the West Nile region, causing some panic among the population according to news report. The district police commissioner said a man found the mines while hunting and claimed that they probably came from the West Nile Bank Front, a defunct NSAG. UMAC explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams were called to destroy the mines.[6]

Cluster munition remnants

All known cluster munition remnants are reported to have been cleared in Uganda.[7]

Other explosive remnants of war

In December 2009, Uganda was said to be “littered” with ERW.[8]A 2007 survey had identified 428 SHAs containing ERW, although as of May 2011 Uganda reported that all of these areas had been released.[9] The remaining ERW problem in Uganda is said to exist in areas where internal conflicts were fought over the past 20 years, including the West Nile region in the north of the country and the Rwenzori subregion (Kasese and Bundibugyo districts) in western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).[10]

EOD teams are deployed on a call-out basis after receiving reports of ERW. From July 2011, UMAC was planning to retain only two of its four EOD teams (and funding had been secured for only one; see, below, EOD in 2010 section). UMAC expects to find and clear ERW for several years even after it has completed clearance of all known mined areas.[11]

In July 2011, the media reported that the Ikobero Church of Uganda primary school in Kasese region had been using an item of unexploded ordnance (UXO) as a school bell. According to Wilson Bwambale, coordinator of the Anti-Mine Network Rwenzori (AMNET-R), the bomb was discovered during a mine/ERW risk education (RE) session at the school. This was the second bomb found in a school since the beginning of the year. Previously teachers at Muhindi primary school had found students playing with an unexploded bomb. AMNET-R claimed that Bugoye, Ihandiro, Kisinga, Kyalhumba, Kyondo, Munkunyu, Nyakiyumbu, and Rukoki sub-counties all required surveys to identify other ERW.[12]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

Body

Situation on 1 January 2011

National Mine Action Authority

NMASC

Mine action center

UMAC

International demining operators

Danish Demining Group (DDG), serving as technical advisor to UMAC

National demining operators

Ugandan army and police seconded to UMAC

International RE operators

International Service Volunteers Association (Associazione Volontari per il Servizio Internazionale, AVSI), World Vision International, DDG, Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, Handicap International (HI)

National RE operators

AMNET-R

Uganda’s national mine action authority is its National Mine Action Steering Committee (NMASC), which is located at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala.[13]Mine action is integrated in the government of Uganda’s Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan, one of the aims of which is to facilitate the return and resettlement of internally displaced persons.[14]

The Office of the Prime Minister, through UMAC, is responsible for the management and coordination of mine action in the country, with the exception of victim assistance, which falls under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Ministry of Health. UMAC, which was established in Kampala in 2006, is responsible for quality management of demining operations, RE, and accreditation of mine action operators. A regional mine action center was established in Gulu in 2008.[15]

UNDP provided minimal support to UMAC in 2010, which according to UMAC prevented it from fully implementing its operational plan, deploying teams to western Uganda, and making significant progress in clearance.[16] UNDP was said to be ending its support to mine action on 1 July 2011 as Australia, Denmark, and Norway have provided direct funding to DDG for technical and logistics support and EOD teams.[17] It is said that UNDP’s disengagement from mine action in Uganda will not affect field operations but will require a restructuring of UMAC’s operations.[18]

In April 2011, the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) committed to clearing seven mined areas covering 296,400m2 at Ngomoromo, beginning in July 2011 with an M-4 vegetation-cutting machine.[19] As of 12 July 2011, however, FSD had been unable to secure funding to bring the machine to Uganda.[20]

Land Release

In 2010, UMAC released 168,696m2 through clearance and canceled 32,000m2 (two SHAs) through non-technical survey.[21]

Survey in 2010

After clearance of the initial two SHAs covering 141,082m2 at Ngomoromo in March 2010,[22] UMAC has received new reports of nine SHAs at Ngomoromo, two of which have been discredited. An additional five SHAs have been identified at the Agoro mined area.[23] A follow-on UMAC survey team with technical assistance from DDG mapped out a 10km stretch of mined area extending to the west of Ngomoromo. UMAC confirmed a minefield with PMD6 antipersonnel mines and by the end of 2010 had destroyed three mines from it. However, due to the heavy vegetation in the large area it was determined that mechanical clearance would be required.[24]

At the end of May 2011, a non-technical survey team funded by Norway began surveying suspected battle areas between Agoro and Ngomoromo, which borders South Sudan. Once survey is completed, the team will move west towards the DRC to complete surveys of ERW contamination in West Nile near the DRC and Sudan borders in October 2011. It is planned to complete all surveys by the end of 2011.[25]

Mine clearance in 2010

In 2010, UMAC cleared two mined areas covering 168,696m2, destroying 343 antipersonnel mines.[26] As of the end of 2010, mine clearance capacity consisted of six teams comprising a total of 60 deminers.[27]

In March 2010, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) completed clearance of a 4km-long mined area at Ngomoromo using a MineWolf vegetation cutter borrowed from its program in Sudan. The area has not officially been handed over to the local community although the cleared land is being used for farming.[28] The MineWolf cleared 141,082m2, destroying 224 antipersonnel mines in the process.[29]

In 2010 at the Lote SHA at Agoro UMAC cleared 9,900m2, destroying 28 Type 72 antipersonnel mines in the process. The cleared area was handed over to the community on 20 November 2010. Also in 2010, UMAC cleared 17,714m2 of the 80,000m2 at the Ajalikech minefield at Agora; during clearance, 22 Type 72 antipersonnel mines were destroyed.[30]

Mine clearance in 2010[31]

Name of SHA and sub-county

Area cleared (m2)

No. of antipersonnel mines destroyed

Status of clearance

Lote (Lamwo)

9,900

28

Complete

Ajalikech (Agoro)

17,714

91

Ongoing

Ngomoromo (Lelabul)

141,082

224

Complete

Totals

168,696

343

 

There has been a significant increase in demining productivity following the addition of 39 deminers in November 2010. In the month of May 2010, 21 deminers cleared just 1,101m2; one year later, in May 2011, 60 deminers cleared 15,200m2 during the month.[32] UMAC and DDG attribute the increased productivity to an improvement in the command and control structure in the UMAC, leading to better command and control in the field; upgraded equipment; more and better onsite technical supervision; and better weather compared to 2010 when heavy rains in the Agoro mountains reduced the number of working days.[33]

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, and in accordance with the three-year extension to its deadline granted by the Second Review Conference in 2009,[34] Uganda is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 August 2012.

In July 2009, Uganda declared that it had underestimated the complexity of clearing its operations and the time required to clear them; subsequently, it would not meet its 1 August 2009 Article 5 deadline. It applied for a three-year extension,[35] which was approved at the Second Review Conference. An essential element in Uganda’s three-year plan was the use of a MineWolf vegetation-cutting machine belonging to NPA in Sudan.

In March 2010, UMAC reported to the Monitor that NPA had brought a MineWolf into Uganda and that it had helped to clear the Ngomoromo area by the middle of that month, several months ahead of schedule, indicating that Uganda might be in a position to complete its Article 5 obligations before 2012.[36] In December 2010, however, Uganda announced it had identified five small SHAs covered in heavy vegetation that required a MineWolf. Although Uganda is still on schedule to clear all known mined areas by August 2012, it must secure the use of a MineWolf to do so.[37]

Then in July 2011 UMAC provided an update of the original and remaining problem, which contrary to previous reports more than doubled the number of SHAs and increased the contaminated area by more than 700,000m2. It also included a completely new mined area of an estimated 300,000m2 at Bibia, a town in Amuru district on the Sudan border. Of the total of 20 SHAs identified in Agoro, Ngomoromo and Bibia three had been cleared and quality controlled as of July 2011, and two discredited leaving 15 SHAs and 886,530m2 to release by August 2012.[38] The failure to obtain the use of mechanical assets by the end of 2011 to clear six of the 15 remaining SHAs is a critical factor in whether the August 2012 deadline is met.[39]

As of 14 July 2011, Uganda had not submitted an updated Article 7 report that included a complete list of mined areas.

Explosive ordnance disposal in 2010

In 2010, emergency response EOD continued with four teams in the five northern districts of Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Lamwo, and Pader. During the year, the teams cleared nine antipersonnel mines, two antivehicle mines, and 1,707 items of UXO as well as a large quantity of small arms ammunition from 515 villages.[40]

As noted above, the clearance of contaminated areas identified in the 2007 Mines Awareness Trust survey has been completed. In 2010, the lowest number of EOD tasks was conducted since 2007. Reports of newly discovered UXO average less than five per week, an amount two EOD teams can handle, according to DDG, although as of July 2011 there was sufficient funding for only one team.[41] Since February 2010, HI has reported 92 EOD tasks to UMAC.[42]

In February 2011, five people died and seven others were injured in a UXO accident in Obongi, Moyo District, which is outside the current area of operations for the EOD teams.[43]

Explosive ordnance disposal in 2009–2010

Year

No. of teams

No. of villages covered

Explosive devices found

 

 

 

AP mines

AT mines

UXO

Air-dropped bombs

2010

4

515

9

2

1,707

6

2009

4

772

31

9

1,802

7

Quality management

National Mine Action Standards were passed and approved in December 2008.[44] A five-person quality assurance (QA) team conducts internal quality control (QC) as well as QA.[45] DDG conducts external QA/QC. In 2010, QA/QC was carried out on the 141,082m2 cleared at Ngomoromo. The area was found to have been cleared correctly.[46]

Safety of demining personnel

There were no accidents during demining or EOD operations in 2010.[47]

Other Risk Reduction Measures

In coordination with UMAC, DDG, and HI, in partnership with the local NGO, AMNET-R, have conducted RE in the two known mine-affected regions of Uganda.[48] In June 2010, DDG closed its RE program due to a lack of funding.[49]

In 2010, 10 radio talk shows aimed at educating the local population on the dangers of mines and ERW were conducted in the Acholi sub-region. In addition, HI and AMNET-R held at least five “community mobilization” meetings in Kasese, Gulu, Kitgum and Pader between October and December 2010.[50]

 



[1] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 17 August 2009, p. 3.

[2] Email from Vicent Woboya, Director, UMAC, 7 July 2009; and see Statement of Uganda, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 27 May 2009.

[3] Uganda Radio Network, “Deminers demand more funds,” ugandaradionetwork.com.

[4] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 1 April 2010.

[5] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 14 July 2011.

[6] Ramu Afema, “Explosives litter West Nile region,” The Razor, 1 April 2011, www.razor.ug.

[7] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 8 April 2010.

[8] Statement of Uganda, Second Review Conference, Cartagena, 1 December 2009.

[9] Email from Samuel Paunila, Program Manager, DDG, Uganda, 9 June 2011.

[10] Ibid.; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 10 June 2011.

[11] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 10 June 2011.

[12] Thembo Kahungu Misairi, “Kasese school uses bomb as a bell,” 3 July 2011, www.monitor.co.ug.

[13] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 17 August 2009, pp. 12–13.

[14] Government of Uganda, “Report Presented by the Office of the Prime Minister, Republic of Uganda to the Second Review Conference of the AP Mine Ban Convention,” May 2009, p. 1.

[15] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 29 March 2009.

[16] UMAC, “October-December 2010 Progress Report.”

[17] Email from Samuel Paunila, DDG, Uganda, 9 June 2011.

[18] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 10 June 2011; and DDG Monthly Reports for December 2010 and April 2011, provided to the Monitor by email from Samuel Paunila, DDG, 7 June 2011.

[19] DDG, “April 2011 Monthly Report.”

[20] Email from Valeria Fabbroni, Head of Operations, FSD, 12 July 2011.

[21] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 10 June 2011.

[22] Statement of Uganda, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[23] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 14 July 2011.

[24] DDG December 2010 Monthly Report.

[25] DDG May 2011 Monthly Report; and email from Samuel Paunila, DDG, 9 June 2011.

[26] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 14  July 2011

[27]UMAC, “October-December 2010 Progress Report.”

[28] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 14  July 2011.

[29] DDG December 2010 Monthly Report.

[30] DDG December 2010 Monthly Report.

[31] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 10 June 2011.

[32] UMAC, “IMSMA May 2011 report.”

[33] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 14 July 2011.

[34] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 9 July 2009; and letter to Jurg Streuli, President of the Ninth Meeting of States Parties, from Pius Bigirimana, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister, 2 July 2009.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Interview with Vicent Woboya, UMAC, in Geneva, 15 March 2010; and ICBL, “Critique of Uganda’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request,” available at www.icbl.org.

[37] Interview with Vicent Woboya, UMAC, in Geneva, 20 June 2011.

[38] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 10 June 2011.

[39] UMAC, “October-December 2010 Progress Report.”

[40] Ibid.

[41] DDG December 2010 Monthly Report.

[42] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 14 July 2011.

[43] DDG February 2011 Monthly Report.

[44] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Elina Dibirova, Risk Education/Victim Assistance Specialist, DDG, 27 February 2009.

[45] Email from Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 8 April 2010.

[46] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, UMAC, 10 June 2011.

[47] Interview with Vicent Woboya, UMAC, in Geneva, 20 June 2011.

[48] “UMAC IMSMA Report May 2011,” provided to the Monitor.

[49] DDG December 2010 Monthly Report.

[50] Ibid.


Last Updated: 14 July 2011

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2010

2,744 (524 killed, 2,220 injured)

Casualties in 2010

3 (2009: 9)

2010 casualties by outcome

3 injured (2009: 8 killed; 1 injured)

2010 casualties by device type

2 antivehicle mines;1 ERW

In 2010, the Monitor identified three mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in two separate incidents, both of which occurred in northern Uganda.[1] All casualties were adults who were injured; one was a woman.[2] This represented a decrease from the nine casualties reported in 2009 and was consistent with the trend of declining annual casualty figures since a peak during 1996–1997.[3] However, given the lack of a central data collection mechanism, it is likely that some casualties were not identified.[4]

While the total number of casualties in Uganda is not known, at least 2,744 casualties (524 killed; 2,220 injured) had been identified by August 2010.[5] Of the people injured, 1,800 were based in northern Uganda and the remaining 420 were in the west. Incidents resulting in death have only been identified in the north, most likely because data collection in the west has been mainly carried out by local survivors’ organizations whose primary interest is identifying survivors. As such, it is certain that people have been killed by mines/ERW in western Uganda who have not been recorded.[6] The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database, managed by the Uganda Mine Action Centre (UMAC) in cooperation with the Danish Demining Group (DDG), recorded 784 casualties between 1971 and April 2011.[7]  

A 2006 survey of mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties in Gulu district determined that 3% of recorded casualties (1,387 at the time) were caused by cluster munition remnants. Five other suspected unexploded submunition casualties were reported in 2006.[8] At the end of 2010, no additional casualties caused by cluster munition remnants had been identified since 2006.

Victim Assistance

There are at least 2,200 mine/ERW survivors in Uganda.[9]

Survivor needs

In 2010, a second pilot of the national casualty surveillance system was carried out, following an initial pilot in 2008.[10] This system, under development since 2008, was designed by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and is intended to collect indicators on mine survivors and other persons with disabilities.[11] In addition, the government-established Community Information System (CIS) was operational in 28 of Uganda’s 80 districts. The CIS collects basic information from communities to monitor the welfare of households and includes parameters relating to disability. Data collected was made available to local authorities as well as national-level policymakers.[12] In addition to these efforts, Uganda’s Comprehensive Plan on Mine Victim Assistance 2010–2014 identified the “need to create a harmonized database on persons with disabilities which include information on the cause of disability, including landmine and other ERW accidents.”[13]

Handicap International (HI) and the Uganda Landmine Survivor’s Association (ULSA) both carried out assessments of survivors’ needs in Kasese district in western Uganda in 2010. HI provided the data collected to UMAC and used the information to design their program and to facilitate survivors’ access to medical and physical rehabilitation services as needed.[14] ULSA used the information to identify participants for their economic empowerment project and to develop evidence-based policy recommendations to the Kasese District government.[15] The International Service Volunteers Association (Associazione Volontari per il Servizio Internazionale, AVSI) carried out needs assessments of survivors and other victims of war in northern Uganda to determine needed follow-up care for physical rehabilitation, plastic surgery, and individual and family counseling.[16]

Victim assistance coordination[17]

Government coordinating body/focal point

The Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (MGLSD)

Coordinating mechanism

Forum on Victim Assistance led by the MGLSD and including the ministries of health, education, and sports; the Office of the Prime Minister; and NGOs. The Forum did not meet regularly in 2010.

Plan

Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014

In 2010, the MGLSD coordination of victim assistance consisted of revising the Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2008–2012, in consultation with victim assistance stakeholders, and the implementation of an economic empowerment project for survivors in northern Uganda.[18] While no regular meetings of the Forum on Victim Assistance were held, one national planning meeting on victim assistance was carried out to seek input on revising the national victim assistance plan. Additional bilateral coordination meetings were arranged as needed between the MGLSD and NGO victim assistance implementers.[19] District government officials in Kasese regularly coordinated with service providers and survivors’ associations.[20]

In 2010 the government reviewed the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2008–2012. The review found that “[d]espite the definite efforts by government to protect and promote the rights of landmine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities . . . the Comprehensive Plan [2008–2012] has not been fully implemented.” This was attributed to a lack of funding and limited capacity and awareness among service providers.[21] NGO representatives also found that although some progress was seen through the implementation of the MGLSD’s victim assistance project in northern Uganda, very little progress overall had been made in implementing the previous victim assistance plan.[22]

In August 2010, the MGLSD published a new Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014. Objectives from the previous 2008–2012 plan were reviewed and aligned to relevant national policies such as the National Development Plan and the National Disability Policy as well as to international legal mechanisms such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Cartagena Action Plan, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[23]

Survivor inclusion

Representatives of some survivors’ associations and disabled persons organizations were included in the workshop that reviewed the national victim assistance plan;[24] however, survivor associations from some mine-affected districts were not invited to provide input.[25] At least one representative of a survivor association stated that the association’s members were not included in the monitoring of the previous plan.[26]

NGO service providers included survivors in the design and implementation of projects, including in the collection of data, referral of services, peer-to-peer support and awareness raising activities, and in the monitoring of project implementation.[27]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2010[28]

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2010

MGLSD

Government

Health referral service; provision of sports equipment to inclusive schools; vocational skills training and support for small business creation; promotion of affirmative action in employment

Implementation of a victim assistance project in northern districts through April 2010; increased efforts on coordination

MoH

Government

Medical Treatment and referrals for physical rehabilitation

Ongoing

Rwenzori Empowerment Centre (RECKAS)

Local NGO

Referrals; transportation, and accommodation support for survivors while receiving rehabilitation services; psychological assistance; advocacy

Ongoing support for survivors in Kasese district

Kasese District Union of Persons with Disabilities (KADUPEDI)

Local disabled persons’ organization

Advocacy and referral services for physical rehabilitation

Increased activities to raise awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities

Kasese District Women with Disabilities (KADIWOD)

Local disabled persons’ organization

Advocacy and referral services for physical rehabilitation

Increased amount of advocacy work

Kasese Landmine Survivors Association (KALSA)

Local survivor association

Advocacy, peer support, and socio-economic projects

Increased level of activity through cooperation with HI

Gulu/Amuru Landmine Survivors Group

Local survivor association

Advocacy, income generation activities, and housing support

Ongoing support to members

ULSA

National NGO

Socio-economic empowerment project and peer support implemented in Kasese District- western Uganda; advocacy at local and national levels

Continued support for local survivors’ associations and launch of economic empowerment project

AVSI

International NGO

Physical rehabilitation, income-generating projects, and psychological support including both individual and family counseling

Ongoing

HI

International NGO

Data collection and needs assessment, mapping of service providers and dissemination of a directory of services, awareness-raising, referrals to physical rehabilitation services and provision of support with transportation and accommodation. Capacity building of local association of mine survivors and other DPOs in Kasese District.

Launched new program at the start of 2010 increasing support victim assistance plan in western Uganda

ICRC

International organization

Materials and training for two orthopedic centers; support to the MoH

Renovations to physical structures; increased access to services; ceased support to Kalongo Hospital in northern Uganda

While some victim assistance services were available in mine-affected districts in 2010, survivors were often unable to access them due to the distances needed to travel, poverty, and a lack of awareness about these services.[29] A decline in the number of international service providers in northern Uganda in 2009 was seen to have decreased availability of services in that region significantly by 2010.[30] At the same time, the launch of an HI victim assistance program in western Uganda in early 2010 increased access to rehabilitation services, peer-to-peer support, and advocacy activities.[31]

There were ongoing government efforts in 2010 to improve roads and provide major health units with ambulances to improve emergency response in the rural areas. However, most health units lacked capacity to effectively handle trauma when it occurred and most first aid practitioners were unable to address immediate and life-threatening situations.[32] Continuing medical attention was inadequate and health centers in rural areas, where 87 percent of survivors lived, were “grossly understaffed.”[33] Uganda’s third five-year Health Sector Strategic Plan (2010–2015) was launched in 2010 to address health care needs.[34]

The distribution of a service directory for health and rehabilitation services, the provision of transportation and accommodation for some survivors in western Uganda, and the increased physical accessibility of the two ICRC-supported rehabilitation centers increased access to these services.[35] A lack of materials and staff, however, prevented service providers from meeting demand: a rehabilitation center in Gulu estimated the need for twice the number of staff and had a waiting list of 650 people[36] and a continued lack of capacity among prosthetic technicians affected the quality of mobility devices.[37]

In 2010 psychosocial support was provided by AVSI in northern Uganda through home-based counseling, and several survivor associations in northern and western Uganda reported providing some form of peer-to-peer support.[38] However, the government recognized a lack of psychological support services and qualified staff. To begin to address the deficit, in 2010 the MGLSD supported the training of 64 community development workers and rehabilitation officers in psychosocial support in mine-affected districts in northern Uganda.[39]

In 2010, the government provided economic incentives to employers hiring persons with disabilities, including mine survivors.[40] Most survivors did not participate in employment training programs available to persons with disabilities and there is a need to establish training centers in communities where survivors are based.[41] The withdrawal of two international organizations from northern Uganda in 2009 resulted in a decrease in economic inclusion activities by 2010. This was somewhat offset by the government-implemented victim assistance program in the region.[42] AVSI and the Gulu/Amuru Landmine Survivors Group continued to support income-generating projects for survivors.[43] In western Uganda, ULSA launched a new economic empowerment project with the participation of 120 survivors.[44]

The law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities, but it was not enforced and discrimination was common. There was no law requiring buildings to be accessible for persons with disabilities.[45]

Uganda ratified the CRPD on 25 September 2008. In 2010, the Disability Act 2006 was under review to ensure harmonization with the requirements of the CRPD.[46] A National Disability Plan 2010–2014 was also launched in 2010.[47]

 



[1] One incident occurred in Gulu district and one in Kitgum district.

[2] Email from Afedra Robert Iga, Information Management Officer, UMAC, 25 May 2011; and Stephen Komakech and Chris Abonga, “Two injured in Kitgum garage bomb blast,” Daily Monitor (Kitgum), 5 April 2010, www.monitor.co.ug.

[3] Casualty data analysis over time based on previous Monitor data and “Mines/UXO victim status in IMSMA: Mine and UXO Victims data collected by UMAC/DDG, Handicap International and AVSI in Uganda 1971–2011,” provided by email from Afedra Robert Iga, UMAC, 25 May 2011.

[4] Despite plans for the MGLSD to take over casualty data collection by 2009, this had not occurred in 2010 and the National Surveillance Network, a tool designed to collect data on mine survivors and other persons with disabilities, was still in the piloting stage. MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan On Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 4. In addition, AVSI, a major source of casualty data for several years, ceased collecting data in 2009. Email from Joyce Laker, Assistant Program Officer, AVSI-Uganda, 30 May 2011.

[5] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 4. No further casualties were confirmed between the date of publication (August 2010) and the end of 2010.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Mines/UXO victim status in IMSMA: Mine and UXO Victims data collected by UMAC/DDG, HI and AVSI in Uganda 1971–2011,” provided by email from Afedra Robert Iga, UMAC, 25 May 2011.

[8] AVSI, “Gulu District Landmine/ERW Victims Survey Report,” May 2006, p. 20; and HI, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI: May 2007), p. 147.

[9] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 4.

[10] Ibid; and ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2009: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2009), www.the-monitor.org.

[11] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2009: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2009), www.the-monitor.org.

[12] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 4.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, Base Coordinator Western Uganda, HI, 7 April 2011.

[15] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Lagua Mystica, Project Officer, ULSA, 10 March 2011.

[16] AVSI, “AUSAID AFRICA REGIONAL SMALL ACTIVITIES SCHEME: 2010 Report,” by email from Joyce Laker, AVSI-Uganda, 17 March 2011.

[17] Statement of Uganda, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 1 December 2010.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, HI, 7 April 2011; and by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011.

[20] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, HI, 7 April 2011.

[21] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 2.

[22] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, HI, 7 April 2011; and by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011.

[23] Statement of Uganda, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 1 December 2010.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Interview with Peter Baluku, Finance and Administrative Manager, Kasese District Union of People with Disabilities, Kasese, 23 March 2011.

[26] Interview with Wilson Bwambale, Coordinator, Anti-Mines Network-Rwenzori, Kasese, 23 March 2011.

[27] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, HI, 7 April 2011; and by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011.

[28] Statement of Uganda, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 1 December 2010; responses to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, HI, 7 April 2011; and by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011; AVSI, “AUSAID AFRICA REGIONAL SMALL ACTIVITIES SCHEME: 2010 Report,” by email from Joyce Laker, AVSI-Uganda, 17 March 2011; interviews with Robinah Biira, Administrator, RECKAS, Kasese, 23 March 2011; Peter Baluku, Kasese District Union of People with Disabilities, Kasese, 23 March 2011; and Wilson Bwambale, Anti-Mines Network-Rwenzori, Kasese, 23 March 2011; telephone interview with Stephen Okello, Project Coordinator, Gulu/Amuru Landmine Survivors Group, 17 March 2011; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, May 2010, p. 186.

[29] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 4.

[30] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011.

[31] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, HI, 7 April 2011.

[32] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 5.

[33] Ibid.

[34] Interview with Rose Bongole, Officer, Disability Section, MoH, Kampala, 28 March 2011.

[35] ICRC, “Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, May 2010, p. 186; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Anne Burtin, HI, 7 April 2011.

[36] AVSI, “AUSAID AFRICA REGIONAL SMALL ACTIVITIES SCHEME: 2010 Report,” by email from Joyce Laker, AVSI-Uganda, 17 March 2011; and MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 8.

[37] Interview with Ahab Ndathu, Coordinator, KALSA, Kasese, 22 March 2011.

[38]  AVSI, “AUSAID AFRICA REGIONAL SMALL ACTIVITIES SCHEME: 2010 Report,” by email from Joyce Laker, AVSI-Uganda, 17 March 2011; response to Monitor questionnaire by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011; and interview with Ahab Ndathu, KALSA, Kasese, 22 March 2011.

[39] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 11.

[40] Statement of Uganda, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 1 December 2010.

[41] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan on of Action Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 15.

[42] Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief and World Vision had implemented income-generating activities with survivors until 2009. MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 15; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011.

[43] Telephone interview with Stephen Okello, Gulu/Amuru Landmine Survivors Group, 17 March 2011; and AVSI, “Trust Fund for Victims: 4th Quarterly Report,” December 2010, by email from Joyce Laker, AVSI-Uganda, 22 March 2011.

[44] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Lagua Mystica, ULSA, 10 March 2011.

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

[46] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 17.

[47] MGLSD, “Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014,” Kampala, August 2010, p. 18.


Last Updated: 24 August 2011

Support for Mine Action

Uganda reported national contributions to its mine action program for the first time when it submitted its Article 5 deadline Extension Request in August 2009. At that time it reported the government of Uganda had been contributing to mine action since 2005. Annual contributions have ranged from US$125,000 to $400,000. Government support has been mainly in the form of rent for the Uganda Mine Action Center (UMAC), staff salaries and allowances, and explosives.[1]

In 2010 Uganda received three times as much in international contributions as it did in 2009. In addition to Denmark continuing its support through the Danish Demining Group (DDG), (DKK2,000,000/US$355,454), Australia (A$1,050,000/$966,000), Norway (NOK1,500,000/$248,135), and Luxembourg (€129,369/171,556) also made contributions. Norway’s contribution supported Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) for transfer and operational costs of a Minewolf vegetation cutter to clear two suspected hazardous areas covering 141,082m2 at Ngomoromo in March 2010.[2]  

International contributions: 2010[3]

Donor

Sector

Amount

(national currency)

Amount

($)

Australia

Victim assistance; clearance

A$1,050,000

966,000

Denmark

Clearance

DKK2,000,000

355,454

Norway

Clearance

NOK1,500,000

248,135

Luxembourg

Risk education

129,369

171,556

Total

 

 

1,741,145

Summary of contributions: 2006–2010[4]

Year

National contributions
($)

Amount ($)

Total contributions

2010

400,000

1,741,145

2,141,145

2009

125,000

578,646

703,646

2008

250,000

783,506

1,033,506

2007

250,000

1,841,052

2,091,052

2006

216,217

1,666,251

1,882,468

Total

1,241,217

6,610,600

7,851,817

 



[1] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Vicent Woboya, Director, UMAC, 10 June 2011; and Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 17 August 2009, p. 19.

[2] Statement of Uganda, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[3] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Christine Pahlman, Mine Action Coordinator, AusAID, 11 July 2011; Hanne B. Elmelund Gam, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department for Security Policy, Denmark, 29 March 2011; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luxembourg, 8 April 2011; and Ingunn Vatne, Senior Advisor, Department for Human Rights, Democracy and Humanitarian Assistance, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 April 2011. Average exchange rate for 2010: A$1=US$0.92; US$1=DKK5.6266; €1=US$1.3261; and US$1=NOK6.0451. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2011.

[4] ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Uganda: Support for Mine Action,” www.the-monitor.org, 3 August 2010.