Contamination and Impact

Thailand is affected by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), including both abandoned explosive ordnance and unexploded ordnance (UXO), the result of conflicts on its borders with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Malaysia.

Mines

The precise extent of mined areas is not known. A 2001 Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) identified 530 communities in 27 of Thailand’s 76 provinces and more than 500,000 people as mine/ERW-affected. The LIS estimated the total area of mine/ERW contamination at 2,557 km².[1]

Thailand’s revised Article 5 deadline extension request submitted in 2008 claimed it had released 1,355km² of this area, leaving a total of 1,202km² of suspected hazardous area to be tackled, including an estimated 528.2km² of “real minefield” requiring manual clearance.[2]

In 2010 the Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) reported that it had found an additional 3km² of contaminated areas,[3] but as of May 2011 it was still in the process of revising official estimates of contamination.[4] At the Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2011 TMAC said the “total minefield clearance area” amounted to 546.8km².[5]

Thailand’s 700km-long border with Cambodia, used as a base by Cambodian non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in the 1980s and 1990s, is the worst affected, accounting for three-quarters of the LIS estimate of contamination and 51 of its 69 high-impacted communities.[6] More than half of the mine incidents in Thailand have occurred on this border.[7] On the border with Myanmar, the LIS identified 139 affected communities and 240 contaminated areas.[8] In 2010–2011, the conflict along the Thai-Myanmar border has continued since Myanmar’s independence in 1948.[9] Periodic spillover into Thailand of fighting between Myanmar government forces and Burmese NSAGs has deterred efforts to survey or clear affected areas on the border.[10]

Cluster munition remnants

Survey by Thai Civilian Deminers Association (TDA) in 2010 identified contamination by United States (US) Mk-118 submunitions dating back to the Vietnam War and covering an estimated 315,000m² in Fakta district of northern Uttaradit province,[11] apparently dumped by US aircraft returning to bases in Thailand after sorties over Vietnam and Lao PDR.[12] The contamination is located in a remote area of forest and mountains and no accidents have been reported.[13] TDA said the contamination limits villagers’ access to forest products, grazing for livestock, farming, and recreation.[14] 

Other explosive remnants of war

Thailand is also contaminated by other ERW, including unexploded artillery and mortar shells, rocket-propelled grenades, recoilless rifle ammunition, and hand grenades.[15] The extent is not known. Much of it is along the border with Cambodia border which was affected by cross-border shelling by Vietnamese and Cambodian government forces and where Cambodian guerrilla groups abandoned caches of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and ammunition.[16]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action (NMAC), set up in 2000, has responsibility for overseeing the national mine action program. NMAC’s mandate expired in January 2005 but was renewed in November 2006 after a military coup d’état. However, the committee has not met since 2008. TMAC reported plans to arrange a meeting of NMAC in 2011,[17] but Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who took office on 20 December 2008, had not chaired a meeting before his government fell in a general election in July 2011.[18]

TMAC was established in 1999 under the Armed Forces Supreme Command to coordinate, monitor, and implement mine clearance, mine/UXO survey, mine awareness/risk education (RE) and victim assistance throughout Thailand. TMAC is also responsible for establishing a program to meet Thailand’s obligations as a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.[19] A major turnover of personnel continued in 2010–2011. It became one of a number of constraints that not only hampered continuation of works, but also affected to outcome and efficiency.[20]

TMAC has pressed for a change in its status to a civilian organization since 2005, prompted by the slow progress of demining and the armed forces’ limited budget for its operations.  UNDP, reporting in 2011 on its support for TMAC, observed that: “TMAC’s current status as an ad hoc unit within the Royal Thai Armed Forces greatly hampers its functioning as staff rotates annually and capacity development efforts cannot gain traction.”[21] 

The NMAC agreed in principle to change TMAC’s status in February 2007, but a proposal that TMAC becomes a foundation under the Armed Forces is still pending. The February 2007 meeting also decided to set up five sub-committees for victim assistance, coordination with foreign organizations, demining, RE, and monitoring and evaluation. The victim assistance subcommittee met at least once in 2010,[22] but it was not possible to confirm whether subcommittees met.

TMAC’s priorities in 2010 included reviewing and amending its land release methodology in consultation with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), revising Thailand’s National Mine Action Standards (NMAS), and revising the Mine Action Master Plan 2011–2018, drafted in 2009 with support from UNDP and NPA.[23]

In February 2010, TMAC completed a National Mine Action Strategy of Thailand for 2010− 2014 after a series of workshops and consultation with concerned government ministries. The strategy had not received government approval by the time elections on 3 July 2011, which resulted in the formation of a new coalition government.[24]

TMAC has sought increased international support since 2008 to raise capacity and speed up clearance. UNDP completed a two-year capacity building project in January 2011 that focused on strengthening TMAC’s strategic planning, information management, and coordination with government ministries and other stakeholders.[25]

NPA continued a program of support started in October 2008, focusing in 2010 on developing mine action standards, particularly relating to land release and information management.[26] NPA handed over draft NMAS to TMAC in December 2010. The standards were under review by TMAC and due to be finalized after a series of workshops with stakeholders in 2011. NPA provided two data technicians from April 2010 to support TMAC in consolidating clearance data, helping to clarify the extent of remaining contamination, and it also developed clearance reporting procedures and standards. This support was due to continue throughout 2011.[27]

Under a memorandum of understanding signed with TMAC in November 2010, NPA started a land release pilot project in early 2011 working with a 10-man survey team undertaking technical and non-technical survey on the border with Cambodia (see Land Release section, below).[28]

The Belgian NGO, APOPO, also started conducting non-technical and technical survey in two provinces bordering Cambodia, beginning in 2011 (see below).[29]

Land Release

Thailand released a total of 5.23km² in 2010, 1.99km² by manual clearance and 3.24km² by the Locating Minefield Procedure (LMP), TMAC’s variant of area reduction.[30] TMAC said it had received a 60% increase in its budget for mine action and it expected land release to accelerate in 2011 as a result of the extra funding and projects agreed with NPA and APOPO.[31]

NPA deployed one team to conduct non-technical and technical survey in Surin province on the Cambodian border in May 2011, applying updated and International Mine Action Standards-compliant land release standards.[32] APOPO recruited and trained 25 staff in 2011 and started work conducting non-technical and technical survey in Trat and Chanthaburi provinces.[33]

Five-year summary of clearance[34]

Mine clearance in 2010

Manual clearance by TMAC’s four Humanitarian Mine Action Units (HMAUs) and 219 deminers fell to 1.99km² in 2010, 22% less than in the previous year and representing less than 5% of the clearance foreseen in Thailand’s Article 5 deadline extension request. Most clearance took place in provinces bordering Cambodia, notably Trat, Chanthaburi, Sakeo, and Sisaket. A small amount of clearance also took place in Nan province bordering Laos. Thai NGOs, which have undertaken manual clearance in the past, failed to attract funding and, as a result, were not actively demining in 2010.[35]

Mine clearance in 2010[36]

In June 2011, at the Standing Committee meetings in Geneva, TMAC disclosed that its budget for mine action had increased by 60% and reported that the HMAUs had cleared 2.2km² since December 2010.[37]

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under the extension it received to its deadline under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Thailand is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 November 2018.[38] However, Thailand has already fallen far behind the targets set out in its Article 5 extension request.

Land released in 2010 totaled 5.23km²,[39] representing less than 1% of the 546.8km² Thailand identifies as mine contaminated. UNDP observed in an end-January 2011 report that at the current rate of clearance, “it is estimated that it will take Thailand several decades to clear all landmines.”[40]

Lack of attention to mine action on the part of political leaders has become the biggest constraints on progress resulting in a lack of funds for TMAC or the sector. UNDP observed that TMAC’s priority is to bring the issue up to the Humanitarian Mine Action Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, for advocacy at the policy level on the vulnerability of mine-affected people and the need to have all mines cleared by 2018.[41]

TMAC reported a 60% increase in the budget allocated for fiscal 2011 (year beginning October 2010) to US$2.5 million, but noted this represented 10% of what it had sought under the Article 5 extension plan.[42] In a bid to attract international support, Thailand organized a conference on mine action with donor countries and international organizations in January  2011 and introduced a concept of “Mine-free Provinces” focusing on all pillars of mine action in individual provinces so as to raise donor awareness of needs.[43] Nonetheless, TMAC continues to identify fundraising as a major challenge.[44]

Clearance of cluster munition contaminated areas in 2010

No cluster munition clearance was reported in 2010.

TMAC’s HMAU 4 started clearing cluster munition remnants in 2011 and as of April had cleared 56,816m² of contaminated area in the Pooh Nong Sam Yai area of Uttaradit province.[45]

TDA also submitted a project proposal for clearing cluster munition remnants in Uttaradit province to potential donors in February and April 2011.[46]

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Thailand is not a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Battle area clearance in 2010

No battle area clearance (BAC) was conducted in 2010.

After cross-border shelling between Thailand and Cambodia in April-May 2011, TMAC’s HMAU 3 conducted BAC in a border district of Sisaket province, destroying six items of UXO.[47] NPA Thailand also deployed its team to the area to conduct non-technical and technical survey, finding and marking the location of seven unexploded rockets and releasing surrounding land.[48]

Quality management

Clearance operations by TMAC’s HMAUs are quality assured by TMAC’s Bangkok-based Coordination and Evaluation Division.[49]

Safety of demining personnel

Five HMAU deminers were injured in two incidents in the course of clearance operations in 2010. Three deminers were injured in the first accident on 18 February 2010 and one deminer suffered slight injuries to his left hand in an accident on 13 May 2010.[50]

Other Risk Reduction Measures

TMAC’s HMAUs conduct regular RE and in 2010 TMAC also cooperated with the Ministry of Education’s Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC) to organize a series of RE activities through school directors and teachers in affected areas and a follow-up workshop in December. UNDP and TMAC also reproduced and distributed teacher and student manuals, teaching and learning tools, and self-learning tools developed by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and Handicap International (HI), marking the first participation of a national institution in RE.[51]

Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR) cooperated with HMAU 1 in 2010, providing RE to adults in 10 villages of four districts of Sakeo province and to schoolchildren in 16 schools of Sakeo and Surin provinces. RE for schoolchildren continued in 2011 in Buriram (two districts) and Surin (four districts).[52]

During Thai-Cambodian border clashes in February–May 2011, HMAU 3 conducted RE for villagers at five temporary shelters in Sisket and Surin provinces.[53]

HI has conducted RE in 2010 and 2011 for children from Myanmar crossing into Thailand to attend schools in two camps in Tak province.[54]