Last updated October 2013

Mine ban policy overview

Policy

The Republic of Yemen signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 1 September 1998. It entered into force on 1 March 1999. National implementation legislation was enacted on 20 April 2005.[1]

Yemen submitted its 15^th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report in 2013, covering the period 31 March 2012 to 31 March 2013.

Yemen attended the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2012, where it made a statement on mine clearance. Yemen participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings held in Geneva in May 2013, where it made statements on mine clearance and victim assistance. At both meetings Yemen responded to allegations of recent antipersonnel mine use (see section on Use below).

Yemen is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but it participated as an observer in the annual conference of CCW Amended Protocol II on landmines in November 2012.

Production, transfer, stockpile destruction, and retention

Yemen has stated that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. It destroyed the last of its known stockpile of 74,000 to 78,000 antipersonnel mines in April 2002.[2] An additional 30,000 mines were found in November 2006 and destroyed in December 2007.[3] Possible use of antipersonnel mines by government forces in 2011 also raises questions about whether stocks still exist.

In 2013, Yemen again reported that it has retained 3,760 antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes.[4] Yemen still has not reported on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines as agreed by States Parties in 2004.[5] Some of the types of mines used in 2011 are types that are being retained.

Use

In 2013, credible information emerged of antipersonnel mine use at a location north of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, in late 2011, allegedly by the government’s Republican Guard force. The Monitor previously reported antipersonnel mine use, possibly by government forces, in Sana’a that resulted in casualties in January and March 2012. Additionally, NSAGs are using antipersonnel mines in other locations.

Bani Jamooz

According to witness testimony collected by Human Rights Watch (HRW), evidence gathered by a local human rights organization, and evidence collected by an international journalist, antipersonnel mines were laid around the camps of the Republican Guards in Bani Jarmooz, north of Sana’a, in late 2011.[6]

Local inhabitants and mine victims interviewed by HRW said that they first learned that their farmland was mined around September 2011, notably when Abdulhamid Wasel Ali Wasl, a 14-year-old boy from Bayt al-Auseri village, was killed as the vehicle he was travelling in hit an antivehicle mine on September 2.

According to a resident who became a mine victim in November 2011, in late September or early October 2011 he used binoculars to watch between 10 and 15 soldiers in Republican Guard uniforms lay antipersonnel mines in a nearby wadi, or river bed. HRW interviewed a medic from the district of Milhin who lost his leg in an incident on 30 November 2011 in an antipersonnel minefield outside the camp of the 63rd Brigade of the Republican Guard, which resulted in five casualties.[7] The most recent victim interviewed by HRW was Fawaz Mohsin Saleh Husn, a nine-year-old boy from al-Khabsha village, who was injured by an antipersonnel mine at Bani Jamooz on 12 April 2013.[8] In total, HRW estimates that the mines at Bani Jamooz caused at least 15 civilian casualties, including nine children, in the period from September 2011 to May 2013.

From their descriptions and drawings by local residents, HRW identified PMN antipersonnel mines used at Bani Jamooz, while photographs taken by a journalist indicate that other types of mines have also been found in the area, including a PMD-6 antipersonnel mine.[9]

The mine casualties all occurred in the vicinity of military camps that the 63rd and 81st Brigades of the Republican Guard established at Bani Jarmooz around 26 July 2011 and which remained in place as of September 2013. There has been no other military activity in the area that could explain the presence of the mines. HRW did not observe any fencing or warning signs when it visited the site in April 2013.

In a May 2013 letter to Yemen’s Minister of Defense, HRW urged the government to conduct an immediate investigation into the use of antipersonnel mines at Bani Jarmooz to establish when, by whom, and under what authority the mines were laid and the extent of their deployment. It also called for the affected area to be marked, fenced, and cleared and for comprehensive assistance to be provided to the mine victims.[10] The ICBL wrote to Yemen’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to express its concern and ask for investigations, including on where these mines may have come from.[11]

During the session on compliance at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty in late May 2013, the ICBL said “it is clear that mines have been used” in Yemen, but “not clear whether government or rebel forces have been responsible.” It said that there are indicators that government forces “could be the culprits” and called for a thorough investigation.[12]

Over the course of the week-long intersessional meetings, 15 states as well as Matjaz Kovacic, the Slovenian Ambassador to the UN in Geneva (in his role as the President of the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties) called for an investigation that would report back to States Parties; they also expressed concern at the casualties and urged rapid mine clearance.[13]

On the final day of the intersessional meetings, Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Ali Mohamed Saeed Majawar, responded to the allegations, stating, “We have contacted the relevant government bodies and Yemen Mission in Geneva. It was agreed that an official investigation will be conducted on the use of AP mines in the mentioned area, by whom and the guilty will be punished. YEMAC [the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center] will implement a level one survey to locate the mines and clear them to stop any further casualties.”[14]

Since that time, the Yemeni government has not provided any information on the status of any investigation.

In September 2013, a government official informed the Monitor that the engineering corps of the Ministry of Defense—as opposed to YEMAC—will clear the minefield due to the location’s proximity to the capital. The representative acknowledged that the affected area at Bani Jamooz has not been cleared and said that the clearance effort “stops and starts…depending on the security situation.”[15]

In a meeting with YEMAC in September 2013, the head of the organization told HRW that because the government is not ensuring the security of a demining assessment team to Bani Jarmooz, no steps have been taken to start the clearing process.[16]

Sana’a

At some point since May 2011, antipersonnel mines were laid inside the building compound of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Jomhorriya Street in the Hassaba neighborhood of Sana’a. This situation came to public attention after a child was injured by an antipersonnel mine at the site in March 2012.[17] Deminers from the Army Engineering Corps were seen in a video recording obtained by HRW removing at least 25 antipersonnel mines from the compound on 7 March 2012, including one mine type not encountered before in Yemen, either in stock or laid.[18]

Armed clashes, the so-called “Hassaba war,” between members of the al-Ahmar tribal militia and government forces began in the area in May 2011.

Guards from the government’s Central Security forces who were present at the site in March 2012 stated that men who identified themselves as members of the Republican Guard claimed responsibility for laying mines inside the compound (although the date was unspecified) during the process of transferring control of the compound to the Central Security forces. HRW does not have any further information to corroborate this latter claim. It cannot be conclusively determined which forces used the mines at the compound.[19]

At the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties in December 2012, Yemen denied that its army was using antipersonnel landmines and instead blamed NSAGs. Germany stated that it had raised the issue of reported landmine use in Sana’a in 2012 with the general staff of Yemen’s armed forces, who informed Germany that the area was being demined.

At the intersessional meetings in May 2013, Yemen stated that it had investigated the incident in Sana’a but did not find any landmines. It said that assistance has been provided to the child victim.[20]

Use by non-state armed groups

In 2012, there were credible reports of use of antipersonnel mines by NSAGs in Sa’ada governorate and Abyan governorate. It is unclear if antipersonnel mines were still being used in 2013. In its 2013 Article 7 Report, Yemen stated that YEMAC could fulfill its mine action plans in Sa’ada and Abyan in 2012 because “the security situation became much better than 2011.”

Sa’ada

Yemen’s 2013 Article 7 report states that “YEMAC face new challenge in Sada’a governorate after insurgences [sic] war. New kinds of mines made manually by insurgences [sic] and planted in Sada’a, some of them demined by the insurgences [sic] and they missed others. …lot of mine accidents happened and many of people killed and injured.”[21]

Since June 2004, the government of Yemen has been fighting rebel forces led by Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi in the mountainous northern Sada’a governorate, which has seen occasional reports and allegations of the use of antipersonnel mines by both sides.[22] After a 2010 ceasefire opened access to the region, it became apparent that the Houthi rebel forces had used mostly, if not exclusively, so-called home-made antipersonnel mines, otherwise known as victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs).[23]

Haijjah governorate, which borders Sa’ada governorate and where Houthi rebels have been fighting local Sunni tribes backed by the government, has also suffered casualties from landmines.[24] In March 2012, a local representative said that Houthi rebels had planted approximately 3,000 landmines in Kushar and Ahim in Hajjah governorate.[25] In February 2013, a local involved in mine clearance efforts reportedly said, “The way in which the land mines were placed in Ahim is one of the biggest inhibiting factors to their cleanup. Because the weapons were placed unsystematically, they have even killed those accused of planting them.”[26]

In September 2013, a representative of the district of Al-Asha bordering Sa’ada governorate told media that Houthi rebels were planting landmines “in the mountainous areas under their control.”[27]

Abyan

In its 2012 Article 7 report, Yemen listed Abyan governorate in the south of the country as newly mine-affected “because of the war that started between the Yemeni army and Al Qaeda groups.”[28]

According to media reports in June 2012, the governor's office in Zinjibar (the capital of Abyan governorate) said that engineering teams have removed some landmines from around the city and the nearby city of Jaar. Government forces regained control of both cities in May 2012, a year after they were occupied by Ansar al-Sharia, an armed organization linked to al Qaeda.[29] Photographs of weapons recovered by deminers from Ansar al-Sharia positions after the withdrawal, which HRW examined in October 2012, included antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, explosive booby-traps, and IEDs.[30]

The Republic of Yemen has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Yemen has not made a public statement explaining its position on joining the convention.

Yemen participated in two meetings of the Oslo Process that produced the convention (Lima in May 2007 and Belgrade in October 2007) and stated its support for work to prohibit cluster munitions.[1] It did not attend the negotiations of the convention in Dublin in May 2008 or the Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference in Oslo in December 2008.[2]

In September 2011, Yemen participated in its first meeting of the convention when it attended the Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut as an observer, but it did not make any statements. Yemen did not attend the convention’s Third Meeting of States Parties in Oslo in September 2012. Yemen was present at the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2013 but did not make any statements.

Yemen is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Yemen is not known to have used, produced, or exported cluster munitions.[3]

It appears that Yemen stockpiles cluster munitions. Jane’s Information Group reports that KMG-U dispensers that deploy submunitions are in service with the country’s air force.[4] Moldova exported 13 220mm Uragan multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Yemen in 1994, and Yemen possesses Grad 122mm surface-to-surface rocket launchers, but it is not known if the ammunition for these weapons includes versions with submunition payloads.[5]

In June 2010, Amnesty International (AI) reported that it appears the United States (US) used at least one ship- or submarine-launched TLAM-D cruise missile, which contains 166 BLU-97 submunitions, to attack a “training camp” in al-Ma‘jalah in the al-Mahfad district of Abyan governorate of Yemen on 17 December 2009. It said the attack killed 55 people, including 14 alleged members of the targeted “terrorist group,” as well as 14 women and 21 children.[6] Neither the US nor the Yemeni government has publicly responded to AI’s allegations. In December 2010, Wikileaks released a US Department of State cable dated 21 December 2009 that acknowledged the US had a role in the 17 December strike; the cable said that Yemeni government officials:

…continue to publicly maintain that the operation was conducted entirely by its forces, acknowledging U.S. support strictly in terms of intelligence sharing. Deputy Prime Minister Rashad al-Alimi told the Ambassador on December 20 that any evidence of greater U.S. involvement such as fragments of U.S. munitions found at the sites - could be explained away as equipment purchased from the U.S.[7]

The US has never exported the TLAM-D cruise missile.[8] The extent of any residual contamination from this reported cluster munition use is not known.

In July 2013, mine clearance operators in Yemen shared photographic evidence with the Monitor of cluster munition contamination in Sa‘daa governorate in northwestern Yemen near the border with Saudi Arabia. The contamination apparently dates from conflict in 2009–2010 between the government of Yemen and rebel forces led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.[9] Human Rights Watch has identified the remnants as unexploded BLU-97 bomblets, BLU-61 submunitions, and dual purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions of an unknown origin.[10] Because the circumstances of the cluster munition use are not clear, it is not possible to determine definitively the actor responsible for the use.[11]

Contamination and Impact

The Republic of Yemen is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) from a series of conflicts (1962–1969, 1970–1983, and in 1994), but escalating instability and conflict in the last two years has added significant new ERW contamination.

Mines

Mines were laid in border areas between North and South Yemen before they unified in 1990, again in the 1994 internal conflict,[1] and most recently in the political turmoil and tribal conflicts of the last two years.[2]

Yemen’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request in 2008 reported that it had 457 mined areas to be “addressed,” covering a total of 213km².[3] Its latest Article 7 report stated that 20 of Yemen’s 21 governorates had suspected contamination affecting 757 communities and covered a total area of 1,157.55km².[4] Yemen Mine Action Center (YEMAC), however, has reported there are 1,328 mined areas covering 1,064 km².[5]

The Article 5 deadline extension request noted that a Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) completed in July 2000 identified mine and ERW suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) covering an estimated 922km² and affecting 592 mine villages across 18 of Yemen’s 21 governorates. Subsequent demining identified a further 10 mined areas estimated to cover a total of some 605,000m², bringing the estimate of total contamination to 923km². The extension request reported that 710km² of affected land had been released, leaving 457 areas covering 213km² still to be released.[6]

However, new contamination, some of it on previously cleared land, resulted from the 2010 insurgency in northern Sa’ada governorate led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the 2011 insurgency around southern Abyan by militants identified as belonging to Ansar al-Sharia which is linked to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as conflict in Amran and Hajjah.[7] YEMAC said non-technical survey (NTS) conducted in 2012 in two districts of Abyan, Zinjibar and Khanfar had increased estimates of their contamination from 35.48km² to 126.8km².[8]

A media report in 2013 alleged that two of the government’s Republican Guard units had emplaced around 8,000 mines in the mountainous Bani Jormooz area north of the capital, Sanaa, in 2011. The report said local inhabitants had collected four types of antipersonnel mines.[9]

Cluster munition remnants

Yemen is affected by cluster munition remnants but the extent of contamination is not known. YEMAC has confirmed the presence, but not the origin, of cluster munition remnants in four districts on the border between Sa’ada governorate and Saudi Arabia.[10] These consisted mainly of BLU-97s, dual purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs), and BLU-61s.[11]

Amnesty International reported the presence of unexploded BLU-97 submunitions in June 2010, which it alleged originated from a United States (US) cruise missile attack on 17 December 2009 on the community of al-Ma’jalah in the Abyan area in south Yemen.[12] YEMAC said it has not been able to access the area to confirm the presence of submunitions.[13]

Other explosive remnants of war

Contamination identified by the LIS (see above) included unexploded ordnance (UXO) as well as mines, but the full extent of UXO contamination following recent conflict is not known. An August 2012 funding appeal by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted the presence in Abyan of “new threats from unexploded ordnance, mines and the new and more unpredictable security environment.”[14] In addition to reports of booby-traps and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) around Abyan and its main town, Zinjibar, recaptured by government forces in June 2012, media photos also suggested the presence of artillery shells among other items of UXO.[15]

Mine action program

Key institutions and operators

Yemen established a National Mine Action Committee (NMAC) in June 1998 by prime ministerial decree to formulate policy, allocate resources, and develop a national mine action strategy.[16] NMAC, chaired by the Minister of State (a member of the cabinet), brings together representatives of seven concerned ministries.

YEMAC was established in Sana’a in January 1999 as NMAC’s implementing body with responsibility for coordinating all mine action in the country.[17] It is supported by a Regional Executive Mine Action Branch (REMAB) and a National Training Center in Aden, also set up in 1999, and another REMAB in al-Mukalla (Hadramout governorate) that was added in March 2004. REMABs are responsible for field implementation of the national mine action plan.

YEMAC operated in 2012 with six demining units, one small unit or platoon, 12 survey teams, eight BAC/EOD (battle area clearance/explosive ordnance disposal teams, and 12 mine detection dog teams of which three were operational.[18] Yemen’s Article 7 report stated that it had 777 trained deminers and five quality insurance teams.[19]

UNDP started a program of support to YEMAC in 1999 but provided no international technical advisor between 2005 and 2013. Phase III of the program was due to end in 2009, but was extended as a result of political turmoil and conflict in 2010−2012. In March 2013, UNDP embarked on a new US$10.1 million four-year program of support, returning to a ‘direct implementation methodology’ and providing an international technical advisor to work with NMAC and YEMAC in developing a national strategy, priorities, and standards. The program for 2013 included drafting and disseminating a new National Mine Action Strategy; conducting NTS of 17,818km² in Amran, Hajjah, and Sa’ada as well as 2,830km² in Abyan; and reorganizing military EOD/demining capacity under a single, integrated command within the Ministry of Defense.[20]

Land Release

YEMAC reported release of a total of 3.13km² through clearance in 2012.[21] Although YEMAC conducted demining in 2010 and 2011, it did not report any clearance in those years. Yemen’s Article 7 report for 2012−2013 says it has cleared 815 minefields, 37 more than the report for the previous year, but it gave no detail of the amount of land cleared.[22]

Five-year summary of clearance

N/R = not reported

Survey in 2012

YEMAC reported that it conducted an emergency survey in Abyan after government forces regained control of the area, identifying 22 SHAs covering 19.32km² affected by antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, ERW, and booby-traps.[23] Survey initially focused on Zinjibar city, but from September onwards teams undertook non-technical survey in Zinjibar district and Khanfar district.

YEMAC started survey in Sa’ada governorate in November 2012 with three NTS teams, one technical survey team, one demining unit, and six BAC/EOD teams. By April 2013, YEMAC said they had identified suspected mined areas amounting to 107.4km² in three districts and confirmed hazards amounting to 9.82km².[24]

In 2013, YEMAC said it planned to conduct NTS in four more districts of Abyan governorate (Alwadee, Ahwar, Sarar Modia, and Almahfed) and in the western districts of Sa’ada (Haidan, Al Daher, Saqain, and Shatha). It expected to complete NTS in Sa’ada and Hajjah in about six months (October) and in Abyan by the end of the year.[25]

Mine and battle area clearance in 2012

YEMAC cleared a total of 2.1km² in 2012 in the governorates of Sa’ada, Abyan, Amran, Hadramaut, Ebb, and Al Dhala and expected to continue demining in these areas in 2013, operating with the same capacity as in 2012.[26] Yemen reported that demining operations were conducted in 23 districts of these governorates and was continuing in 61 minefields.[27]

YEMAC had halted demining operations in Sa’ada in 2011 because of insecurity but resumed working there in November 2012. By the end of the year, YEMAC reported that it had found and destroyed a total of 440 cluster munition remnants but did not identify the types or origin of these munitions.[28]

Mined area clearance: 2012[29]

U-SUB = unexploded submunition; UXO = unexploded ordnance other than unexploded submunition

Abyan became the focus of emergency survey and clearance operations after government forces regained control of most of the governorate from insurgents in June 2012. YEMAC and army engineers deployed to clear large numbers of mines, booby-traps, IEDs, and other ERW in Zinjibar, Lawdar, and other parts of Abyan. The contamination reportedly inflicted heavy civilian casualties and posed a major obstacle to the return of populations displaced by the conflict. YEMAC reported in July 2012 that 95 people had died in mine and ERW incidents in Abyan, including five of its own personnel. It said engineers had cleared 1,537 mines in Abyan since the government takeover. In September 2012, YEMAC reported to donors that its inquiries had revealed only 16 casualties resulted from mines or UXO; it also reported that it had cleared 72 antipersonnel mines, 35 antivehicle mines, 2,505 items of ERW, and 1,681 booby-traps since June 2012.[30]

Battle area clearance: 2012[31]

U-SUB = unexploded submunition; UXO = unexploded ordnance other than unexploded submunition

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the five-year extension granted in 2008), Yemen is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2015.

Contamination added by conflicts in 2010−2012 (not yet fully assessed) prevents any determination of the extent of Yemen’s contamination; however, even before these conflicts more than 200km² of SHAs identified by survey had not been cleared and therefore it looked certain that Yemen would need to apply for an extension to its Article 5 clearance deadline.

Quality management

YEMAC reports that it operates with five quality assurance teams.[32]

Safety of demining personnel

YEMAC reported that four deminers were killed and nine injured in 2012 in the course of clearance operations. Another four deminers were killed and one injured in the same year as a result of security incidents.[33]

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Summary findings

·         Implementation of the national victim assistance plan was included in the Republic of Yemen’s 2013 budget for the first time on the orders of the office of the Prime Minister

·         Survivors were not included in the coordination or monitoring of victim assistance in 2012

·         Government assistance remained limited to medical care and physical rehabilitation rather than addressing all victim’s needs through economic and psychosocial inclusion

Victim assistance commitments

Yemen is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Yemen has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

In 2012, the Monitor identified 263 casualties from mines and ERW from Yemen Mine Action Center (YEMAC) casualty data and other sources.[1] As in previous years, YEMAC only had access to casualty data from government-controlled parts of the country.[2] Casualty data from other parts of the country was collected through media reports and NGOs.[3]

The vast majority of casualties, 92% (242) were civilians.[4] There were 19 casualties among deminers; 10 of these occurred between January and July 2012 as deminers cleared areas where there had been recent fighting in Abyan. Following these casualties, YEMAC ceased clearance in this area until deminers received further training. Another five deminer casualties occurred in a single accident in October when an item of ERW that had been removed for disposal exploded while being transported.[5]

There were 104 child casualties, representing 50% of the total civilian casualties for which the age was known.[6] At least 77 of these were boys; there were 10 casualties among girls.[7] While men made up the majority of adult casualties, at least three casualties were women. Three Ethiopian nationals were injured in a single incident in Hajjah governorate while attempting to cross the border with Saudi Arabia.[8]

The number of casualties recorded in 2012 was the highest annual number recorded by the Monitor for Yemen since research began in 1999. It was many times higher than the 19 recorded in 2011 or the 52 identified in 2010.[9] This significant increase was due to the increased population movement immediately after fighting subsided in early 2012.[10]

It was also, at least in part, attributed to suspected new use of mines in the governorates of Sana’a, Sa’daa, Hajjah and Abyan in 2011–2012. The Monitor was able to confirm casualties in at least three of these areas of suspected new use. A 10-year-old boy was injured by an antipersonnel landmine at the Ministry of Industry building in the Hassaba neighborhood in Sana’a on 4 March 2012, an area of suspected new landmine use.[11] Another 16 mine/ERW casualties were confirmed by YEMAC in Abyan in a period of just three weeks in June and July, in an area where suspected mine use by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) was reported.[12] In 2012, 124 casualties were reported in Hajjah , most of which were recorded through field interviews by the Wethaq Foundation for Civil Orientation, a national human rights organization.[13]

Through the end of 2012, there were at least 5,785 mine/ERW casualties identified in Yemen.[14] A Landmine Impact Survey had identified 4,904 casualties through July 2000, of which 2,560 people were killed and 2,344 were injured.[15] In 2010, it was reported in the media that there were 35,000 mine/ERW casualties in Yemen since 1995.[16]

Cluster munition casualties

A cluster munition strike in Yemen in December 2009 was reported to have killed 55 people, including 14 women and 21 children.[17] No confirmed cluster munition remnants casualties have been reported.[18]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 2,789 survivors registered in Yemen as of end of 2012.[19]

Victim assistance in 2012

In 2012, YEMAC gradually resumed the implementation of its victim assistance plan following the suspension of almost all activities in 2011 as a result of increased armed violence in several regions of the country. However, the persistent insecurity continued to prevent many mine/ERW survivors from accessing services while many service providers, such as the ICRC and the Aden Rehabilitation Center, maintained reduced coverage and the suspension of outreach services that had begun in 2011.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In line with its annual victim assistance plan, in 2012 YEMAC carried out a medical survey in eight districts, reaching 295 survivors—including 96 children. YEMAC was able to reach more women and children in 2012 than in previous years.[20] The medical survey was designed to assess medical and physical rehabilitation needs of survivors.[21]

YEMAC continued to regularly update casualty information when it recorded information about new mine/ERW incidents, including information about victim assistance services received. However, as in previous years, security concerns prevented YEMAC from collecting data in areas of the country where the greatest number of mine/ERW casualties occur.[22]

Victim assistance coordination[23]

No multi-stakeholder victim assistance coordination meetings were held in 2012; the Victim Assistance Advisory Committee remained inactive. Yemen’s National Victim Assistance Strategic Plan 2010–2014 was approved by the Office of the Prime Minister and sent to the Ministry of Planning to be included in Yemen’s 2013 budget.[24]

Yemen provided an update on victim assistance at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2013 and on details of its victim assistance program in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for 2012.[25] It did not provide any update at the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2012.

Survivor Inclusion

Survivors and their representative organizations were not included in victim assistance coordination or the monitoring of the victim assistance plan in 2012.[26] There was some limited coordination between YEMAC and Yemen Association for Landmine Survivors (YALS) in the implementation of victim assistance.[27] YALS worked with the Disability Fund and with various hospitals to refer mine/ERW survivors.[28]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[29]

Emergency and ongoing medical care

Government support for medical care and rehabilitation for mine/ERW survivors resumed in 2012. Close to 350 survivors received medical attention and/or physical rehabilitation, completing 50% of YEMAC’s annual planned activities in this area.[30] International organizations, such as the ICRC and MSF made efforts to sustain increased emergency relief, but planned activities were hampered by unpredictable insecurity that continued to prevent access to certain parts of the country.[31] The ICRC had occasional access to Abyan governorate, which had previously been off limits, and was able to open an office in Taiz, in southern Yemen.[32] At the same time, a security incident in Amran governorate forced MSF to suspend activities in that region.[33]

Physical Rehabilitation

Long distances and inability to afford transportation and accommodation were the main obstacles in accessing physical rehabilitation in 2012, especially for mine/ERW survivors living in rural areas.[34] The rehabilitation center in Aden was unable to resume its outreach service, suspended in 2011, which restricted access to the center just to those mine/ERW survivors living in Aden.[35] Both YEMAC and YALS reported that physical rehabilitation became more expensive in 2012, making it more difficult for survivors to afford services directly and decreasing government capacity to fund services.[36]

The ICRC continued to provide support to four rehabilitation centers throughout the country, but plans to start construction of a new rehabilitation center in Sa’ada remained suspended due to security issues.[37] A lack of female rehabilitation professionals prevented women from accessing needed services; in 2012, the ICRC sponsored formal prosthetics and orthotics training for four women to address this gap in attention.[38]

Economic Inclusion

YALS resumed economic inclusion activities in 2012, providing vocational training, supporting access to education, and initiating livelihood projects for mine/ERW survivors. Participation by women and girls increased. YALS also began supporting beneficiaries by marketing products and services offered by small businesses.[39]

Psychological Support

YALS and a few national NGOs, such as the AHRF, provided psychosocial support to mine survivors.[40] The Aden Rehabilitation Center provided psychological support to people receiving physical rehabilitation.[41]

Laws and Policies

Laws protect the rights of persons with disabilities, but they were poorly enforced and discrimination remained. No national law mandated accessibility of buildings for persons with disabilities.[42] Some schools in urban centers were made accessible through the construction of ramps in 2012.[43]

Yemen ratified the CRPD on 26 March 2009. The Social Fund for Development and the Special Needs Association held workshops to raise awareness about the CRPD and the rights of persons with disabilities, targeting government ministries and NGOs.[44]

In 2012, the United States (US) and Germany contributed US$3,668,984 to UNDP for mine action in the Republic of Yemen.[1]

Since 2008, the government of Yemen has reported contributing at least $1.5 million per year toward its own mine action program.[2]

International government contributions: 2012[3]

Summary of support: 2008–2012[4]