Mine ban policy overview

Policy

The Republic of India has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In October 2011, India reiterated its long-held position by stating, “We support the approach enshrined in Amended Protocol II of the CCW [Convention on Conventional Weapons] which addresses the legitimate defence requirements of states with long borders. However, we are fully committed to the eventual elimination of anti-personnel landmines.”[1]

On 2 December 2011, India abstained from voting on UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 66/29 calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it has on similar annual resolutions since 1997. India offered the same explanation as the previous year, stating it “supports the vision of a world free of the threat of anti-personnel mines” and that the “availability of militarily effective alternative technologies that can perform, cost-effectively, the legitimate defensive role of anti-personnel landmines will considerably facilitate the goal of the complete elimination of anti-personnel mines.”[2]

India sent an observer to the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2011,[3] where it stated that it supported the approach of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), not the Mine Ban Treaty.[4] India did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2012.

India is party to the CCW and its Amended Protocol II on landmines and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. It submitted its annual Article 13 report for Amended Protocol II.[5]

In January 2012, Control Arms Foundation of India organized a workshop for journalists and media professionals for investigating and reporting accurately on explosive weapons at the Indian Press Club in Delhi.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

India is one of the few countries still producing antipersonnel mines. India states that all production is authorized and controlled by government agencies.[6] During 2010 and into 2011, the Indian Ordnance Factory Board produced M14 and M16 antipersonnel mines. The quantities produced are not known.[7] Officials did not respond to a request for updated information on production in 2011 and 2012

In 2007–2008, India produced at least five types of mines, including two types of antipersonnel mines (AP NM-14 and AP NM-16) and two types of antivehicle mines (AT ND 1A and AT ND 4D), as well as the APER 1B mine (a type unknown to the Monitor).[8]

India has repeatedly stated that it has had a formal export moratorium of unlimited duration in place since May 1996. It has stated that it favors an outright ban on transfer of antipersonnel mines even to States Parties of CCW Amended Protocol II.[9] Five Mine Ban Treaty States Parties have reported Indian-made mines in their stockpiles: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mauritius, Sudan, and Tanzania. India has previously denied that any transfer of mines to these countries took place.[10]

In 1999, the Monitor estimated that India stockpiled between four and five million antipersonnel mines, one of the world’s largest stockpiles.[11] India has neither confirmed nor denied this estimate. In March 2008, Brigadier Vijay Sharma, former deputy director of the Directorate of Military Operations, stated that India does not possess mines that can detonate in the presence of mine detectors and does not possess—nor is it designing—any mine with antihandling characteristics.[12] An address by a military commander to army sappers (engineers) reported by the press in September 2010 stated, “After India became a signatory to a UN convention on landmine, we are compulsorily putting a steel rod measuring a few inches in each mine so that it can be detected during demining operations.”[13]

Use

Government

In September 2010, an Indian Army officer stated that India “had not laid any landmine since the Operation Parakram,” which took place in 2001-2002.[14] Previously, in April 2010, in response to a Right to Information Act (RTI) request, India stated that the army had not laid any mines during 2008 or 2009.[15] Officials did not respond to an updated request regarding any use in 2011 or 2012.

Indian officials have also previously stated on many occasions that “[t]here is no minefield or mined area in any part of India’s interiors,” but have acknowledged that “minefields are laid, if required, along the border areas as part of military operations.”[16] However, injuries from mines planted near military bases within Jammu and Kashmir state have been reported.[17]

Previously, some Indian Army officials have said that infiltration of Kashmiri militants across the Line of Control (LoC) between Pakistani- and Indian-administered sections of Kashmir is the main rationale for mines laid along the LoC, as well as the international border.[18]

The Monitor has previously reported mine use in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir.[19] Civilians continued to be killed and injured by mines in Kashmir in 2011 and early 2012 (see Casualties section). India’s last major use of antipersonnel mines took place between December 2001 and July 2002, when the Indian Army deployed an estimated two million mines along its northern and western border with Pakistan in Operation Parakram.[20] This was probably the most extensive use of antipersonnel mines anywhere in the world since the Mine Ban Treaty was negotiated and first signed in 1997.

Non-state armed groups

During 2011 and the first half of 2012, no use of antipersonnel mines by non-state armed groups (NSAG) is known to have occurred in India. There have been reports of use of improvised explosive devices (IED), that appear to be command-detonated, and one unconfirmed report of use of pressure mines.

In May 2011, in response to an RTI request on mine use by NSAG, a Ministry of Home Affairs official, referring to the NSAG Naxal, wrote, “The naxal Affected area are prone to IEDs planted by naxal operation.” He further noted that detection and disposal of IEDs is carried out by the state police/ Central Armed Police Forces allotted to the affected states. Army units have not been tasked to deal with naxal related problem.”[21]

Previously, in an April 2010 response to an RTI request on mine use by NSAG, an Indian Army official stated that NSAGs had used IEDs against the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir state and that government forces had recovered mines.[22] No further details about the types of devices and circumstances of their recovery were specified.  

In 2011 and the first half of 2012, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M) and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army, continued to use command-detonated IEDs (which are not considered antipersonnel mines or prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty).[23] These were frequently reported as “landmines” in the media and specialized reports on the conflict. However, in April 2011 “pressure mines” capable of detonating with as little as 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) were reportedly used by a Naxal group.[24] Indian authorities regularly are reported recovering material from armed groups for making explosive weapons.[25] Maoist cadres have deployed large numbers of command-detonated roadside bombs, some of which have destroyed civilian vehicles.[26]

No NSAG declared a ban on mine use during the reporting period.[27]

Contamination and Impact

Mines

India is contaminated with mines, mainly as a result of mine-laying by government forces on and near the northwestern border with Pakistan during the 2001–2002 stand-off between the two countries. Antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were laid on cultivated land and pasture, as well as around infrastructure and a number of villages.[1]

In its Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) Amended Protocol II Article 13 report submitted in November 2005, India claimed that it had concluded mine clearance operations along its northern and western borders and that all arable land had been cleared and returned to its owners except land required “for operational purposes.”[2] Defence Minister Arackaparambil Kurien Antony repeated the claim in March 2008.[3]

India’s Engineer-in-Chief’s Staff Directorate reported in 2009 that “all mines laid during Operation Parakaram[4] were recovered/cleared (99.32%) by 2006.” It stated that the very few stretches where demining was not possible “due to terrain conditions” were fenced in accordance with “UN protocols.” According to media reports, in February 2010 the Indian Army had transferred to farmers more than 360,170m² of land along the Indo-Pakistan border near Akhnoor, 35km north of Jammu, after two months of clearance operations. The army said the landmines were laid during Operation Parakaram over an area of 2.3km² and that demining operations would continue to clear the remaining affected areas.[5]

Unofficial estimates cited in the Indian media, however, put the area still contaminated in 2007 at 160km² of Jammu and 1,730km² of Kashmir.[6] An army officer interviewed in 2009 said no official assessment had been made of the extent of remaining contamination but that such estimates could still be correct.[7] After landmine explosions in Jammu’s border district of Athua and near the Line of Control in Akhnoor in 2010, media reports cited local sources as saying that 10% to 15% of the mines laid in Operation Parakaram were never found.[8]

Military authorities acknowledge that areas prone to infiltration by militants are still mined but say the areas are clearly marked. However, they also say heavy rainfall, snow, mudslides, and avalanches can cause mines to move.[9]

Other explosive remnants of war

The extent of India’s problem with explosive remnants of war (ERW) is not known, but it contends with increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by non-state armed groups (NSAGs), notably in four states affected by Maoist insurgency (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkand and Orissa); media reports show this increased use of IEDs has resulted in extensive casualties.[10] In recent months, there have also been media reports of IED incidents or discoveries in Assam.[11] In its latest Article 10 report under CCW Protocol V on ERW, India declined to provide information on the extent of ERW contamination or steps it has taken to address the problem.[12]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

India has no civilian mine action program and no structured mechanism to address the problems from mines and ERW.[13] Its international point of contact for clearance activities is the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division within the Ministry of External Affairs. The Director-General of Military Operations decides on mine clearance after receiving assessment reports from the command headquarters of the respective districts where mine clearance is needed.[14]

The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for clearing mines as well as IEDs placed by NSAGs.[15] Media reports indicate police also play an active part in clearing mines and IEDs in states dealing with insurgency.[16]

Land Release

India does not report publicly on its release of suspected hazardous areas. Its latest Amended Protocol II Article 13 and Protocol V Article 10 reports contain no information on any clearance within its borders.[17]

The government reportedly decided in mid-2010 that it would not deploy troops to areas affected by a Naxalite (Maoist) insurgency and would instead recruit some 1,100 retired army engineers to conduct mine clearance there. The engineers would work on contract and would be attached to paramilitary units, reports said.[18]

Army bomb disposal experts started the destruction of some 17,000 items of ordnance imported as scrap (probably from Persian Gulf countries) by steel companies based in the Punjab. The munitions included artillery shells, mortar bombs, rockets, grenades and detonators. Media reports indicate the munitions were found in 2004 but destruction began only in November 2010.[19]

Mine action by non-state armed groups

One NSAG, the Zomi Re-Unification Organisation, has reported to Geneva Call that it has marked a number of dangerous areas that had not been cleared by the Indian Army in northeast India.[20]

Casualties Overview

In 2010, the Monitor identified 26 casualties from mines, including victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) in India. Men made up the largest casualty group, with almost 70% (18) of the total casualties; all but one adult male casualty was military/security personnel. There were eight child casualties; seven were boys. No women were reported among the casualties. As in previous years, the majority of casualties over 60% (16) occurred in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. A single victim-activated IED incident caused eight casualties in Chhattisgarh state. The other two casualties occurred in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The 26 mine/IED and ERW casualties identified in 2010 represented a decrease from the 57 casualties in 2009, but was closer to the 33 identified in 2008.[1] Such fluctuations in annual casualty figures are not thought to be indicative of trends and can be attributed to the challenges in collecting consistent and accurate data from media and local sources, since India lacks a systematic data collection system. In addition to the confirmed casualties from mines/victim-activated IEDs and ERW in 2010, the Monitor identified 137 casualties in nine incidents thought to have been caused by command-detonated IEDs. In each of the identified incidents, casualties included security forces, either police or members of the army. These casualties were not included in the annual total.[2]

The cumulative number of casualties in India is not known. Between 1999 and 2010, the Monitor identified 3,014 victim-activated mine/IED and ERW casualties in India (1,050 killed; 1,964 injured).[3]  Nearly 50% of these casualties were civilians.[4]

Victim Assistance

Total number of survivors is unknown but is at least 1,964.

Assessing victim assistance needs

No efforts were made to assess the needs of mine/ERW survivors in 2010. In 2011, the Indian census included an increased number of categories of disabilities to enumerate a more accurate count of all persons with disabilities. The information collected was to be used in the allocation of government resources. There were no questions included as to the cause of disability.[5] India’s online national disability register, Punarbhava, continued to collect information from persons with disabilities to include in a national disability database and to facilitate the provision of disability certificates enabling people to become eligible for services.[6] The disability register does not collect information about the cause of disabilities resulting from an accident, nor does it attempt to assess the needs of persons with disabilities.[7]

Victim assistance coordination

India does not have any specific coordination mechanisms or national plans for mine/ERW victim assistance. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s (MSJE) coordinates assistance for all persons with disabilities by regulating physical rehabilitation services and various disability funds, and developing and implementing India’s legal framework as it relates to disability.[8] The MSJE’s Central Coordinating Committee develops and monitors the implementation of disability-related policies and services.[9]

In December 2010 at the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, India stated that “mine victims are assisted with rehabilitation inter alia through financial compensation employment and health care including by providing prosthetics.”[10] In its Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Amended Protocol II Article 13 report for the period from September 2010 to December 2010, no details of this assistance were provided.[11] India stated that reporting on the protection of the civilian population from the effects of ERW was not applicable for India in its CCW Protocol V Article 10 report.[12]

Survivor Inclusion

Associations of mine survivors were included in the consultative process to draft the national Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill.[13] There were no reports of their inclusion in other disability coordination or planning mechanisms. The MSJE’s Central Coordinating Committee includes representatives of disabled persons’ organizations.[14]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2010[15]

In 2010, a violent and volatile security situation persisted in various rural and remote areas of India including Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, and Nagaland. An upsurge in violent protests and clashes for several months that occurred mid-year increased the demand for victim assistance and at the same time restricted access to these services.[16] Few efforts were identified to address the increase in demand. The scarcity of services and trained staff in rural areas, where most mine/ERW survivors are based, the cost of transportation, accommodation and treatment, and other ongoing obstacles continued to prevent many survivors from accessing assistance.[17] There were some initial efforts within civil society to support survivors in applying for government benefits, most especially compensation. Most survivors had not seen concrete results by the end of the year.[18]

The violence in India continued to impact the provision of ongoing medical care for survivors and others in affected areas by damaging infrastructure, limiting physical access, and disrupting supply chains. [19] During the upsurge in violence in the Kashmir Valley, the Indian Red Cross increased its efforts to evacuate more than 600 people wounded in the violence, including mine/ERW survivors, to referral hospitals in the region. The ICRC continued to provide training in the treatment of weapon wounds and first aid.[20]

Just one government-run regional rehabilitation center, the Composite Regional Center in Jammu, is located near mine-affected areas. It provides services and prosthetics free of charge.[21] There were approximately 200 government-run physical rehabilitation centers throughout the country; however these services were concentrated in urban areas.[22] The ICRC continued to support two other rehabilitation centers in Jammu and Kashmir, including the cost of transportation and accommodation associated with treatment, though there was a significant decline in prosthetics production during the year. It also supported the opening of a rehabilitation center in Nagaland.[23]

Psychosocial support for survivors continued to be limited in 2010. MSF offered psychosocial care in Kashmir and began conducting home visits in the region to provide psychological assistance to those wounded by the upsurge in violence during the year.[24]

While many survivors were reported to be receiving a monthly disability allowance, this was considered insufficient to live on.[25] While the government has repeatedly stated at international meetings that mine survivors and families of those killed by mines are entitled to compensation,[26] most survivors have not been successful in applying for compensation.[27] Between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2009, the government paid out just 29 compensation claims, three to the family members of fatal casualties and 26 to survivors of mine incidents.[28]

In May 2010, the government agreed to pay INR1.2 million (US$26,287) in compensation to a survivor from Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir who was injured in an antipersonnel mine incident in 2002.[29] This settlement was only reached after what has been described as an “epic legal battle” which received the support of two national NGOs, the Control Arms Foundation, and the Human Rights Law Network.[30] Despite an order by the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Defense to pay the settlement in March 2011, the compensation had not been received as of August 2011.[31] No other information on compensation cases was available from the government for 2010.

There were no known economic inclusion initiatives targeting or inclusive of mine/ERW survivors in 2010.

India’s Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 protects the rights of persons with disabilities. However, discrimination remained pervasive, especially in rural areas.[32] Throughout 2010, efforts were underway to align the act with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Following extensive consultations, the new Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill was finalized in June 2011. The new bill does not include explicit mention of mine/ERW survivors, though survivors associations were included in the consultation process to draft the Bill.[33]

Legislation requires that all public buildings and transportation be accessible for persons with disabilities though accessibility remained limited with few exceptions.[34]

India ratified the CRPD on 1 October 2007 and it entered into force in May 2008.