Contamination and Impact

Mozambique is affected by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), a legacy of nearly 30 years of conflict that ended in 1992.[1]

Mines

Since 2008, Mozambique has identified three times more mined area than it expected. The 2006–2007 baseline survey of Mozambique, conducted by HALO Trust, provided the basis for the 2008–2014 National Mine Action Plan and Mozambique’s Article 5 deadline extension request. The baseline survey identified 541 suspect hazardous areas (SHAs) covering 12.2km², in Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Sofala, and Tête provinces.[2]

Since 2008, however, surveys have identified a further 512 SHAs not captured in the baseline survey covering a total of 22.2km². This includes 146 SHAs that were identified in the four northern provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Niassa, and Zambezia. These results, combined with the baseline survey, tripled the total estimated contaminated area to 34.4km² across 1,053 SHAs.[3] Nonetheless, Mozambique may still meet its extended Article 5 deadline of 1 March 2014. As of the end of 2011, 377 SHAs remained covering 16km².[4]

 As of January 2012, 86 of Mozambique’s 128 districts had been declared “mine-free”; this left 42 districts in eight provinces, including the two northern provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado, as contaminated of the end of 2011. Approximately 75% of the remaining tasks are in Sofala and Inhambane provinces. The National Demining Institute (IND) planned to declare land release in another 25 districts complete in 2012.[5]

Mined areas remaining, by province, as of end 2011[6]

Cluster munition remnants

In its initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report, Mozambique indicated that the extent of areas contaminated by cluster munitions is not known. It reported that a small number of cluster munitions, including both unexploded submunitions and RBK-250 and CB-470 containers, were found from 2005–2012 in the Guro district in Manica province; in Mulataine, Boane district in Maputo province; in the Mabalane district, Gaza province; and in the Changara district, Tête province; all of these cluster munitions were destroyed.[7] In 2010, APOPO reported finding one dispenser containing 150 submunitions in Gaza province.[8] HALO Trust, Handicap International (HI), and APOPO all reported they did not find any submunitions in 2011.[9] There were no known victims of cluster munitions in 2011.[10]

Other explosive remnants of war

IND believes addressing the ERW problem will present challenges for the government for years.[11] HI has reported ERW incidents occur in rural areas in the course of normal community activities, such as food and water collection, farming, herding, or household work.[12]

In 2011, 133 of the 853 villages HALO Trust visited reported the presence of UXO. HALO destroyed 281 items of UXO in these villages, which were in Manica, Maputo, and Tête provinces.[13] HI reported conducting 49 UXO tasks in Inhambane and Sofala provinces.[14] As part of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training for the police, IND destroyed a total of 239 UXO found in the provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado.[15]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

IND serves as the mine action center in Mozambique under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is mandated to coordinate and oversee implementation of demining programs, including quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and information management.[16]

Provincial demining commissions have been created that include the Directorate of Planning and Finance, the Provincial Police Command, and the army. Other sectors are represented on the commissions depending on the province. For instance, the Inhambane commission includes representatives from the tourist industry, and in Tête the mineral resources sector is represented on the commission.[17]

In 2011, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) produced a study on the evolvement of national ownership of mine action in Mozambique since the 1990s. The study found that even though Mozambique has made considerable progress in clearing mined areas since 2008 and is within reach of meeting its 2014 Article 5 deadline (pending continued international support and the successful identification of all known mined areas), IND oversight of commercial demining and surveys for development needs strengthening if it is to continue.[18] Also, in its initial Article 7 report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions submitted in July 2012, Mozambique claimed it needed continued international technical and financial assistance as well as 10 years to determine and address the extent of the cluster munition problem.[19]

UNDP has provided technical assistance since 1999. The current structure and the position of UNDP international technical advisor have been supported since 2008 under the project “Weapons Risk Mitigation and Mainstreaming Mine Action, Small Arms and Light Weapons Controls 2008–2011.”[20] The UN Development Assistance Framework for Mozambique (UNDAF) 2012–2015 lists supporting Mozambique to meet its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 obligations as part of its disaster relief and risk reduction efforts.[21]

Mine action in Mozambique has widely applied the UN gender guidelines. The 2011 GICHD study on the transition to national ownership in mine action attributed the active role women play in mine action to the fact that equality between men and women is stated in the Constitution. Additionally, at the grass roots level women voice their opinions in surveys and consultations with local communities; local Consultative Councils always have at least one female member to express the views and advocate on behalf of all women in the community. One of commercial demining companies is directed by a woman, as are the legal, international, and human resource departments at IND. The head of the legal department at IND, who attended a James Madison University mine action training course that included gender issues, is responsible for promoting gender awareness in mine action in Mozambique.[22]

Land Release

Since 2008, Mozambique has released 708 SHAs covering 20km², leaving 377 SHAs covering 16km² to release as of 31 December 2011.

Mozambique planned to clear 8km² in 2012 and declare 25 districts “mine free” in Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Niassa, Sofala, and Tête provinces and to complete mine clearance in the entire provinces of Cabo Delgado, Gaza, and Niassa.[23] In 2012, as of the end of June, Mozambique had released another 1.8km². IND expected productivity to increase during the second half of the year, as is typical after the rainy season. Also, IND has contracted commercial operators to begin clearance in July and August to augment the work done by the NGOs.[24] Additionally, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)’s mine action team returned to Mozambique in July 2012 and will initially conduct 10 tasks consisting of approximately 60,000m² of clearance in five districts in Tête province as well as district surveys in these areas. NPA is also providing technical support in information management and has assigned an information management officer to assist the IND’s database team.[25]

Survey in 2011

Mozambique’s “Mine Free District Assessment” process requires HALO Trust, HI, and APOPO to visit every village to assess whether there are any remaining SHAs. The Mine Free District Assessment is a technical process of community liaison and post-clearance assessment to confirm that all communities have no remaining mined areas.[26] If the community does not report contamination, it is determined to be free of mined areas. Since 2008, IND has declared 86 districts “mine-free” as a result of the Mine Free District Assessment.

Since Mozambique’s extension request was granted in November 2008, surveys on mined infrastructure sites were completed and in some cases hazardous areas were cleared as well. The Chicamba Dam and the Beira-Machipanda railway lines were surveyed and cleared. The Cahora Bassa Dam, the Limpopo and Komatiport railroads, and Maputo power lines have been surveyed and, as of July 2012, mine clearance operations were ongoing. The Beira I and Beira II power lines were also being surveyed and mine clearance was similarly ongoing. HALO Trust completed surveys along the border with Zimbabwe and mine clearance was ongoing as of July 2012.[27]

The remaining number of tasks and areas could increase in 2012 as surveying continues. However, UNDP does not expect new areas of contamination to be very large because surveys of all the infrastructure sites have been concluded and there were only 10 remaining districts to survey at the end of 2011, further reducing the area where previously unknown mined areas could be identified.[28]

Mine clearance in 2011

IND has organized its demining operations by assigning provinces to the NGOs and developing a work plan based on a district-by-district approach to clearance; the goal is to complete clearance of an entire district before moving on to the next one. HI is operating in the provinces of Inhambane and Sofala; APOPO in Gaza and two districts in Manica province; and HALO in Manica, Maputo, and Tête. In July 2012, NPA began training demining teams and in September 2012, NPA began mine clearance operations in Tête province.[29]

The Mozambican army cleared 6,252m² of a confirmed hazardous area in Chokwe district in Gaza Province, destroying 33 antipersonnel mines and 24 items of UXO.[30]

IND conducts public tenders each year before contracting commercial companies to survey, clear mines or conduct UXO spot clearance tasks based on information in IND’s database of SHAs. As of 2012, 47 commercial demining operators were licensed by IND to perform this type of work. In 2011, eight commercial operators (Moprotector Desminagem Lda, Empresa Mocambicaca de Desminagem Lda, Mine Kills Lda, DAG Desmainagem & Agricultura Lda, Scorpion Desminagem Lda, Namacoma Desminagem Lda, Monechecha Desminagem Lda, and Sonda/MF Investimentos Lda) were contracted to perform demining, technical survey and EOD operations on 53 SHAs covering a total of 1,360,943m² of contaminated area. In addition, three commercial operators (Lhanga Investimentos Lda, Vero Lda, and MBCQ Desminagem Lda) were contracted to perform QA and QC over the work of the commercial demining operators. In total, the government of Mozambique provided MZN34,828,488 (US$1,302,585) for commercial demining activities.[31] These activities resulted in the release of all 53 SHAs and the destruction of 49 landmines and 151 items of UXO.

IND reported that a total of 7.8km² of SHA/confirmed hazardous area (CHA) was released in 2011. HALO Trust, HI, and APOPO cleared 4.55km² while some commercial companies and the Mozambican army released another 1.37km² through clearance for a national total of 5.92km². APOPO released/canceled a further 1.88km² through technical and non-technical surveys.[32] Mozambique needs to slightly exceed this level of productivity in 2012 and 2013 in order to meet its Article 5 deadline of 1 March 2014.

Clearance results in 2011[33]

Mine clearance by commercial companies

There are 20 mine clearance private companies and two QA companies registered with IND and licensed to operate in Mozambique. The government of Mozambique, but not IND, also contracts national commercial demining companies to verify and clear areas designated for investment and development projects.[34] To address safety concerns, these companies hire commercial demining companies to verify that areas where they are working are free of landmines, UXO, and any other dangerous items before they begin construction or development in these areas. The companies then perform technical survey and, if necessary, conduct clearance in the contracted areas. Often these areas are not included as SHAs in IND’s database. Some companies report this type of verification work to IND, others only report to IND if they discover UXO or mines in these areas.[35] IND has not fully reported on this type of commercial demining for 2011.

According to a GICHD study on national ownership, however, the companies have no permanent capacity as they operate from contract to contract. They recruit deminers and mobilize equipment only when they are awarded a contract by the government in a competitive bidding process to verify or clear mined areas of public development projects such as roads, schools, and clinics. GICHD found that IND is not always informed of the clearance results in development projects and sometimes the government awards contracts to clear and verify areas that have already been released by IND,[36] raising the question of how much, if any, of the mine clearance paid for by public development projects contributes to Mozambique meeting its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance obligations.

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 request granted in 2008), Mozambique 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 2014. In May 2012, at the Intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Mozambique stated its mine action program needed US$17 million in 2012 if it was to stay on course to meet its 2014 deadline.[37]

Determining the number of mined areas has been a challenging exercise in Mozambique. The Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) in 2001 was largely dismissed for identifying approximately 1,200 mined areas covering 575km². Nonetheless, Mozambique is likely to have cleared almost the same number of mined areas by 2014 (though far less area than the LIS estimated). Its Article 5 deadline extension request and the National Mine Action Plan were formulated based on the information contained in the 2008 baseline survey. The baseline survey was intended to be a comprehensive assessment of the remaining work to be done in the six southern and central provinces based on a consolidation of a number of older surveys that existed at the time, thereby, in theory, reducing duplications. In addition, a number of infrastructure sites had not yet been surveyed at the time of the extension request but surveying them was an important task listed in the extension request.

The 2007 baseline survey was the basis for the estimated annual clearance goals to clear 541 tasks by 2014. Since Mozambique submitted its extension request in 2008, it has identified another 500 or so SHAs through the Mine Free District Assessment, which almost tripled the amount area needed to clear, from 12.2km² to 34.4km². Reports of residual contamination in the four northern provinces, the HALO survey on the Zimbabwe border, and surveys of the infrastructure partly explain the increase from the baseline survey. While IND expected the surveys of infrastructure sites to increase the amount of area to clear, it was surprised by how much the baseline survey underestimated the remaining problem in the villages of the southern districts outside the infrastructure sites. As more district surveys were completed, it became apparent that the remaining problem was almost three times larger than estimated by the baseline survey and that mine clearance capacity would have to be increased. Increases in demining capacity have enabled Mozambique to meet annual outputs above the estimates in the extension request and without falling behind its Article 5 deadline extension request operational plan.[38]

In July 2012, IND reported it was confident that additional large areas of suspected mined areas would not be found in the final two years of the extension request. It estimated that as of July 2012, release in 80% of the 128 districts has been completed, leaving some 30 to clear. IND expects some new areas will be discovered but the number will be far less than in previous years and that there are no large unknown mined areas remaining to be found.[39]

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Mozambique is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible but not later than 1 September 2021.

In its initial Article 7 report submitted in July 2012, Mozambique stated it needed technical assistance in determining the extent of any cluster-munition-contaminated area, including a request to former users to provide information on possible locations and type of cluster munition remnants. Mozambique has stated it may need until 2021 to clear all cluster munition remnants, largely because they do not know the full extent of the problem.[40]

Battle area clearance in 2011

The baseline assessment identified six battle area clearance (BAC) tasks measuring 81,285m²: three in Manica, two in Tête, and one in Sofala. These tasks will be included in the district-by-district post-survey planning, to be cleared as each district is cleared. HI, HALO Trust, and APOPO did not conduct any BAC in 2011.[41]

Quality management

Each clearance operator has its own internal quality management (QM) system. IND is responsible for external QC of cleared sites and conducts QA through random visits on all active tasks.[42]

HALO Trust provincial operation managers and location managers conduct regular QA of demining lanes within their area of responsibility. HALO section commanders and supervisors check 100% of mine clearance lanes after deminers have progressed 5–10 meters. HALO supervisors similarly check lanes and HALO senior staff conducted random quality checks of all its mine clearance operations at least once a month.[43]

 HI demining team leaders conduct QA of demining lanes as part of its routine daily operations. QA is also conducted by the two provincial operations supervisors (aided by written checklists) during their site visits. Responsibility for the conduct and monitoring of internal QA/QC lies with the HI chief of operations. IND also conducts QA inspections of HI demining sites at various intervals.

At a national level, IND maintains responsibility for fulfilling QM requirements, which includes random sampling of areas and inspection of completed sites.[44]

APOPO conducts internal QA on both the work of the deminers and the teams with 47 mine detection rats.[45]

Safety of demining personnel

Three deminers in two separate accidents in Gaza province were injured in 2011.[46]

Risk Education

Mine/ERW risk education (RE) was primarily conducted in affected communities during mine clearance, non-technical survey, and through community liaison by the demining operators. Demining operators also mark SHAs. IND coordinates RE in other locations. In 2011, IND conducted 92 RE sessions that were attended by approximately 13,000 people in 15 districts in seven provinces. In the same 12-month period, a total of three landmine and UXO incidents were registered, resulting in nine casualties, of whom three were killed and six injured. IND attributes the decline in annual casualties to an effective RE program.[47] The decline in casualties, however, is also a result of the progress in clearing mines, which since 2008 has greatly reduced the amount of contaminated area that can cause harm.