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Sub-Sections:
Western Sahara, Landmine Monitor Report 2007

Western Sahara

Stockpile

Uncertain; at least 6,353 destroyed in 2006-2007

Contamination

APMs, AVMs, CBU, UXO

Estimated area of contamination

100,000 km2 but not surveyed

Demining in 2006

No formal demining

MRE capacity

Inadequate

Mine/ERW casualties in 2006

Total: 24 (2005: 2)

Mines: 13 (2005: 2)

Unknown device: 11

Casualty analysis

9 killed (5 adults, 1 child, 1 military, 2 unknown) (2005: 1)

11 injured (4 adults, 2 children, 5 unknown) (2005: 1)

4 unknown (1 adult, 3 unknown)

Estimated mine/ERW survivors

400

Availability of services in 2006

Unchanged; physical rehabilitation increasing in 2007

Mine action funding in 2006

International: US$599,406/€477,120 (2005: none)

Key developments since May 2006

Polisario destroyed 3,181 of its stockpiled antipersonnel mines in February 2007. British NGO Landmine Action started general survey, marking and training of local staff in mid-2006. Casualties increased sharply.

Mine Ban Policy

The sovereignty of Western Sahara remains the subject of a dispute between the government of Morocco and the Polisario Front (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro). The Polisario’s Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a member of the African Union, but is not universally recognized. It has no official representation in the UN, which prevents formal accession to the Mine Ban Treaty. Polisario officials have, since as early as 1999, stated that they would join the Mine Ban Treaty if permitted to do so.

On 3 November 2005 Polisario Minister of Defense Mohamed Lamine Buhali committed Polisario unilaterally to a ban on antipersonnel mines through the Deed of Commitment administered by the NGO Geneva Call.[1] The Deed of Commitment calls for a comprehensive ban on use, production, trade and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines, and cooperation in mine action.

Use, Production, Transfer and Stockpiling

Both Polisario and Moroccan forces used mines extensively in the past. Polisario is not known to have produced or transferred antipersonnel mines. Polisario officials claim they acquired antipersonnel mines in the past by lifting them from Moroccan minefields, especially the defensive walls (berms).[2] Polisario stocks include antipersonnel mine types of Belgian, French, Israeli, Italian, Portuguese, Soviet and Yugoslav manufacture.[3]

Polisario has not revealed the total number of antipersonnel mines it possesses in its stockpile, and has previously provided conflicting information about the extent of its stockpile.[4] Polisario’s Chief Engineer told Landmine Monitor in January 2006 that the stockpile consisted of more than 10,000 antipersonnel and antivehicle landmines.[5]

Polisario has undertaken two public destructions of stockpiled antipersonnel mines, pursuant to the Deed of Commitment. Most recently, it was reported that Polisario destroyed 3,181 antipersonnel mines and 140 antivehicle mines in a public event on 27 February 2007 in the Tifariti region of Western Sahara. The numbers and types of antipersonnel mines destroyed included: 2,220 VS-50 (Italy); 490 PMD-6M (USSR); 175 PROM-1 (Yugoslavia); 130 VS-33 (unknown type, presumably Italian); 43 PMD-6 (USSR); 32 M-35 (Belgium); 27 M966 (Portugal); 20 POMZ-2M (USSR); 14 FMP-1 (unknown type, attributed to French origin); 13 “NEGRO” (unknown type, attributed to Israeli origin); 11 Mk.-1 (UK); and six PMN (USSR). The 140 K-1 antivehicle mines destroyed by Polisario are also known as PM-60 (East Germany).[6]

The destruction was carried out in the presence of UN and other international and local observers, with technical assistance from the British NGO Landmine Action.[7] The event coincided with the international ceremony to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the founding of SADR. Attending the destruction ceremony were Saharawi President Mohamed Abdelaziz, MINURSO Force Commander Major General Kurt Mosgaard, and representatives of the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines, Geneva Call and Landmine Action.[8]

In reporting on the event, the ICBL said it “welcomes the latest destruction by the Polisario Front of some of its remaining arsenal of antipersonnel landmines, and encourages Polisario to make a voluntary public accounting of its remaining mine stocks and a schedule for their destruction.”[9]

Polisario also destroyed an unknown number of mines and other explosive hazards under Military Agreement No. 3 during the reporting period.[10] In its first stockpile destruction event, in February 2006, Polisario destroyed 3,172 antipersonnel mines and 144 antivehicle mines.[11] The UN reported that as of 31 March 2007, Landmine Action had assisted the Polisario with the destruction of 6,757 antipersonnel mines.[12]

Landmine and ERW Problem

The UN estimated that around 100,000 square kilometers of Western Sahara are affected by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) as a result of years of colonial and post-colonial conflicts.[13] Landmine Action reported that other explosive remnants of war (ERW) posing a serious threat include artillery shells, bombs and submunition duds that were sold by the US to the Moroccan military.[14]

Over 2,000 kilometers of berms (earthen walls of about three meters high) were built during conflict in the 1980s, and remained after the 1991 ceasefire between Morocco and by the Western Sahara independence movement, Polisario.[15] Moroccan troops emplaced antipersonnel and antivehicle mines in and around the berms. There are also mined berms in the Moroccan-controlled zone, around Dakhla and stretching from Boujdour, including Smara, in a crescent to the Moroccan border.[16]

Although the defensive boundary is the most heavily mined area in Western Sahara, people are said to be most at risk in the vicinity of Mehaires, Tifariti and Bir Lahlou in the northern sector of the Polisario-controlled side.[17] Antivehicle mines emplaced in the vicinity of well-used tracks and antipersonnel mines placed around water holes pose a threat to the local population, particularly nomadic pastoralists who rely on the water wells.

According to the UN, each month civilians and their livestock are killed or injured in mine accidents and the numbers are likely to increase when refugees begin to return.[18] Personnel working for United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) are said to be at increasing risk, especially after starting night patrols to better monitor both parties’ activities.[19] Some refugees have reported that if caught by the Moroccan security forces they are sent back to the berms and told to walk straight across the minefields.[20]

Mine Action Program

MINURSO established a small mine action cell (MAC) in January 2006 staffed with two military officers and one information technology specialist who is being trained to use the latest version of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA).[21] The MAC coordinates, supports and monitors mine/UXO activities, in addition to collecting and disseminating information.

The MAC also seeks to promote a regional approach to mine action. According to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), Mauritania and Polisario are supportive; contacts have been established with the authorities and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Mauritania in order to facilitate the clearance of mines along the border with Western Sahara, in particular the Nouadibu peninsula. Discussions with Morocco on this issue had not started as of May 2007.[22] On 14 June 2007 MINURSO sent a note to the Mauritanian government supporting Landmine Action’s request to be registered as an NGO in Mauritania. This was to facilitate Landmine Action’s logistic support and transit options that had been conducted through Algeria.[23]

There is no mine action legislation or ‘national’ standards in Western Sahara. To ensure that the national capacity operates in accordance with international mine action standards, Landmine Action trained a local team from Western Sahara in 2006.[24]

Strategic Mine Action Planning

As of early 2007, no strategic plan for mine action in Western Sahara existed. UNMAS signed a contract with Landmine Action in April 2006 to conduct a general survey of areas under Polisario control that would provide a basis for future mine action.[25] The survey may be extended to areas under Moroccan control west of the berm if Morocco approves and signs the Mine Ban Treaty and funding is available.[26] MINURSO and Landmine Action used version 4 of IMSMA to obtain an accurate database of mine/UXO-affected areas in order to provide updated maps for demining.[27]

In early 1999, Morocco and Polisario signed bilateral military agreements in which both parties agreed to cooperate with MINURSO in the exchange of mine-related information, marking of mined areas, and the clearance and destruction of mines and UXO in the presence of MINURSO observers.[28] This agreement does not cover minefields along the berms and minefields that Morocco regards as an integral part of its defenses.[29]

Demining

Both Polisario and the Royal Moroccan Army assist MINURSO in the marking and disposal of mines, UXO and expired ammunition.[30] Unconfirmed reports suggest that members of the Polisario armed forces have conducted limited demolitions of explosive ordnance.[31]

Landmine Action was contracted for mine action on the eastern side of the berm by UNMAS in 2006 and by Norway for 2007.[32] Since October 2006, Landmine Action has undertaken the training of a national staff team of 12 demobilized Polisario army engineers in survey, battle area clearance and explosive ordnance disposal in addition to medical procedures.[33]

Identification of Affected Areas

After deploying to Western Sahara in August 2006, Landmine Action embarked on a general survey of mine and ERW contamination in areas east of the berm, mapping hazardous areas and grading roads according to the level of threat. As of mid-April 2007, Landmine Action had surveyed 226 areas in Western Sahara, identified 78 areas as hazardous, and conducted 144 spot tasks and four route assessments. Landmine Action found that 54 out of 193 sites reported as suspect by MINURSO patrols were not contaminated.[34]

In order to obtain accurate mapping, a Geographic Information System (GIS) cell has been established in MINURSO. The cell integrates information from various sources with digital maps of major areas to further enhance MINURSO’s effectiveness and increase the safety of its personnel. It has produced updated maps showing the locations of mines and ERW.[35] Landmine Action enters geographical features on the GIS, such as water points, settlements and all dangerous areas and spot tasks recorded during survey.[36]

Marking and Fencing

MINURSO marks locations of mines and ERW with red metal signs; previously it used piles of red painted stones up to half a meter high. MINURSO patrols check markings routinely. Between April 2006 and April 2007 MINURSO discovered and marked 124 mines and items of UXO as well as 15 cluster bomb-contaminated areas. Landmine Action marked 112 affected locations east of the berm.[37]

Mine and ERW Clearance

In 2006 Landmine Action destroyed 71 items of UXO and three antipersonnel mines recovered during general survey.[38]

In January 2007 the Royal Moroccan Army began a major mine clearance operation in Western Sahara from the Atlantic coast to the berm. The starting point for its six demining teams was the area from the berms towards Smara; operations changed from generalized clearance to prioritize the most affected areas based on consultation with local authorities and survivor groups. After a pause during the hottest months, operations were scheduled to resume in October. Since 1980, according to Moroccan authorities cited in a newspaper article, the army has recovered and destroyed 20,469 antivehicle mines and 44,253 antipersonnel mines.[39]

Mine Risk Education

In 2006, the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines (SCBL) continued to conduct mine risk education (MRE) for 378 children attending school in Auserd and Smara camps south of Tindouf and 97 adults in the same camps. Fifty-seven people (both adults and children) received MRE in the Tifariti area as well as an unknown number of Bedouins in Bir Lehlou. Special materials, including pictures of landmines and games for children, were used during MRE sessions. These MRE activities were not donor-funded and were carried out on a voluntary basis by members of the SCBL.[40] Some of the SCBL members had been trained in MRE during a Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) MRE program in 1998-2000; the program was not extended and no database was created.[41] UNICEF-Algeria was solicited by the SCBL regarding an MRE project that targeted Saharawi children, but the project has not been included in UNICEF’s action plan for 2007.[42]

From August 2006, Landmine Action carried out some limited MRE for Bedouins in Western Sahara during survey operations. Reportedly, Bedouins traveling with their animals in the desert during the rainy season are the group most exposed to the risk of landmines, as are MINURSO military observers. Landmine Action planned to prepare mine awareness messages to be broadcast by the Saharawi Radio and Television Service in 2007. Mine awareness placards were also under preparation for use in public areas inside the refugee camps.[43] MINURSO patrols carry out limited MRE during their patrols. To mark mine awareness day, MINURSO has delivered MRE lectures in refugee camps in southwestern Algeria for the last two years.[44]

MINURSO shares mine and UXO related information they collect with the local military staff as well as with civilians in the area. Incoming staff and visitors receive landmine safety briefings. On 16 May a visit by the MINURSO Mine Action Center to Tindouf and the refugee camps concluded that MRE is the most neglected aspect of mine action in Western Sahara.[45] The increase in mine and ERW casualties indicates a need for systematic MRE, particularly for pastoralists living outside the refugee camps.

Landmine/ERW Casualties

In 2006 at least 24 new mine/ERW casualties were reported in 12 incidents, with nine killed and 11 injured; the status of four of the casualties is unknown. This is a big increase compared to 2005, when only two casualties were reported from two antipersonnel mine incidents (one killed and one injured).[46] In 2006, most of the casualties were men (10), two were boys, one girl and one woman; the gender of the others is unknown. Antipersonnel mines caused at least five incidents and antivehicle mines caused at least two; the devices causing the other incidents is unknown. The most common activity at the time of the incident was driving (12 casualties); two casualties happened while herding animals. Most of the casualties (16) occurred in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara and involved at least one Moroccan soldier and six Saharawi civilians.

MINURSO recorded four mine/ERW incidents in 2006. However, casualty details were not provided, and therefore the incidents are not included in the total.[47]

In 2007 casualties continued to be reported at an increased rate, with at least 16 new casualties as of May, including nine killed and seven injured in six incidents. At least four of the casualties were children. Two casualties were caused by cluster submunitions. Thirteen of the casualties occurred in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara and involved 11 Moroccan citizens. Between January and April 2007, MINURSO recorded five new mine/ERW-related incidents, but failed to provide details.[48]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Western Sahara is not known; many incidents may not be recorded. The Moroccan Association of Mine Victims in Smara stated that at least 360 people were killed in mine/ERW incidents and approximately 600 were injured.[49] In November 2005, SCBL identified 347 mine/ERW survivors in the four main refugee camps. In October 2005, Polisario stated that 525 people from Western Sahara had been injured and 30 killed since 2001.[50] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimates there are approximately 400 mine/ERW survivors.[51] Between March 2000 and March 2001, Moroccan authorities registered 51 military mine/ERW casualties (seven killed and 44 injured) in Western Sahara.[52] However, there have reportedly been more than 2,500 landmine casualties since 1975.[53]

A mid-term evaluation prepared by the French NGO Triangle Génération Humanitaire (TGH) for the European Commission identified 452 people with multiple disabilities, 25 people with sensory disabilities, 215 physically disabled and 30 people with mental disabilities. It is not known how many of these are mine/ERW survivors.[54]

Data Collection

It was planned that landmine/ERW casualty data would be collected as part of Landmine Action’s survey and clearance program in Western Sahara which started in August 2006. Also, a casualty database was to be created and run by survivors from the Mine Victim Centre in Rabouni near Tindouf, Algeria. The data would be used for victim assistance and MRE planning and to improve public information on mine/ERW casualties. However, as of May 2007 no information on casualties had been collected and the database had not been set up.[55]

Survivor Assistance

Saharawi authorities offer basic free healthcare for all Saharawi citizens in each of the four refugee camps.[56] On the Moroccan side of the berm, there are medical facilities in Laayoune, Smara and Auserd. Health facilities are rudimentary and access to emergency assistance is difficult, especially in remote areas. On average it takes one or two days to transport people involved in mine/ERW incidents to the hospital in Rabouni, near Tindouf, Algeria.[57] People with special needs often find themselves in a precarious situation and the burden of caring for a disabled person is usually carried by women.[58]

The Chehid Cherif Centre, located in one of the refugee camps close to Rabouni, is the only rehabilitation center for the four refugee camps. There is a self-help system in which local authorities, NGOs and individuals spend time with survivors and provide aid.[59] Education and training opportunities are also provided. However the orthopedic and physiotherapy units have never functioned due to lack of funds and staff.[60] In 2006, the center assisted 153 mine/ERW casualties and aimed to improve housing for mine/ERW survivors.[61] In total, some 350 mine/ERW survivors have been treated in the center, but this is far less than the estimated number of people needing assistance.[62] Due to the difficult terrain, prostheses are in constant need of repair.[63]

The gap left by discontinuation of ICRC services in 2004 had not been filled completely as of May 2007. Both the ICRC and Handicap International assessed the rehabilitation needs of the Saharawi population concluding that further services were required.[64] Following assessment missions in April and July 2006, the ICRC signed a cooperation agreement with the Polisario health authorities in November, which will result in the opening of a physical rehabilitation center in Rabouni for disabled Saharawis, particularly mine/ERW survivors. The center was expected to open in the second half of 2007. Training of one bench worker and one prosthetic technician have started. The project operates on a budget of approximately US$500,000 for 2007, but this will be less in subsequent years. The total projected budget is $1 million. The program is scheduled to run for four years initially, treating 100 patients per year.[65]

When possible, survivors receive specialized treatment abroad.[66] Some Spanish and Italian NGOs have regularly provided aid. The Spanish NGO Association for Support of Saharawi People funds the provision of artificial limbs for two or three people per year.[67]

There are no formal psychosocial support mechanisms for mine/ERW survivors and families of mine casualties. Families and communities function as a support mechanism for mine/ERW survivors and their families; survivors are often seen as ‘heroes.’[68] No pensions or compensation are awarded to mine/ERW survivors.[69]

Triangle Génération Humanitaire provides assistance to people with disabilities, particularly children, in the refugee camps.[70] In 2006, it assisted 1,063 people with disabilities with material and medical aid, as well as prosthetic devices and maintenance, funded by the European Commission. TGH identified 230 mine/ERW survivors, mostly adult males. Most prosthetic material comes from Algeria, Spain and Libya. Follow-up is provided by N’keila hospital for war victims. The most vulnerable people receive board in the hospital where a room is granted to them and their families. The project continued in 2007. [71]

The Saharawi Association of Mines Victims (Associación Saharaui de Victimas de Minas) aims to physically and socially support mine/ERW survivors to help them reintegrate into society; it assists them in accessing health and rehabilitation services.[72]

Funding and Assistance

A total of $599,406 (€477,120) was contributed by two national donors for mine action in Western Sahara in 2006:[73]

  • Germany: €29,100 ($36,558) to Landmine Action for mine clearance;[74]
  • Norway: NOK3,608,000 ($562,848) to Landmine Action for mine clearance.[75]

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund contributed £100,000 ($182,000) to Landmine Action for mine clearance in 2006; Landmine Action also received $633,977 from UNMAS and logistical support from MINURSO.[76]

Landmine Monitor did not record any financial contributions to mine action in Western Sahara in 2005.


[1] Geneva Call, “Western Sahara: The Polisario Front commits to ban anti-personnel mines,” Press Release, 3 November 2005.

[2] They may have acquired mines from other sources as well. Some of the stockpiled mines Polisario destroyed in 2006 and 2007 are not known to have been in Morocco’s arsenal, such as those of Belgian, Portuguese and Yugoslav origin.

[3] “Observations made during field mission by Landmine Action UK,” email 3 May 2006; lists of mines destroyed in February 2006 and 2007.

[4] In 2002 Polisario told Landmine Monitor in writing that it no longer had a stockpile of antipersonnel mines, except for 1,606 disarmed mines on display in a military museum. Polisario Response to Landmine Monitor, 27 June 2002.

[5] Interview with Mhd. Fadel Sidna, Chief Engineer, Second Military Regiment, Tifariti (Second Military Region), 15 January 2006.

[6] A list of numbers and types destroyed was provided to Landmine Monitor by email from Mikaela Wallinder, Desk Officer, Western Sahara, Landmine Action, 14 May 2007. This has been erroneously reported elsewhere as 3,321 antipersonnel mines. However, Geneva Call stated that Landmine Action and Polisario indicated that only antipersonnel mines were destroyed.

[7] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, p. 5.

[8] See Geneva Call, “Polisario Front destroys second landmine stockpile,” Press Release, 1 March 2007. MINURSO = United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.

[9] “Western Sahara: Polisario Front continues destruction of its antipersonnel landmine stockpile,” www.icbl.org, 5 March 2007.

[10] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, p. 5, and S/2006/817, 16 October 2006, p. 7. These reports give a combined total of 11,574 hazardous items destroyed in MINURSO presence by the parties, including the above mentioned stockpiled mines, but gives no further breakdown of the items destroyed.

[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1196. This included the same types of mines as in the 2007 event.

[12] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, p. 6. This number appears to include antivehicle mines as well.

[13] MINURSO, “Mines and UXOs,” www.minurso.unlb.org, accessed 12 May 2007.

[14] Landmine Action, “First National Capacity for Weapons Clearance Established in Western Sahara,” Press Release, 18 April 2007.

[15]Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1196; see also “Around globe, walls spring up to divide neighbors,” Reuters, 30 April 2007, www.alertnet.org, accessed 12 May 2007.

[16] Email from Simon Conway, Director, Landmine Action, 3 May 2006.

[17] Email from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 5 June 2007.

[18] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 21.

[19] Email from Patrick Tillet, Programme Officer, UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), 25 May 2007.

[20] Email from Simon Conway, Landmine Action, 3 May 2006.

[21] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 24.

[22] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 25 May 2007.

[23] Email from Capt. Muhammad Amaair Iqbal, MAC, MINURSO, 17 July 2007.

[24] Landmine Action, “First National Capacity for Weapons Clearance Established in Western Sahara,” Press Release, Alertnet, 18 April 2007, www.alertnet.org, accessed on 29 April 2007.

[25] Email from Charlotte McAulay, Programme Officer, Landmine Action, 5 July 2006.

[26] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 25 May 2007; emails from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 21 May 2007 and 5 June 2007.

[27] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 25 May 2007; “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” UN Security Council, S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 24.

[28] MINURSO, “Military agreement No. 3 on the reduction of hazards from mines and UXO,” 12 March 1999; UN Security Council, “Report of the UN Secretary-General on the Situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/1999/307, 22 March 1999, Para. 13.

[29] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 25 May 2007; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1072, 1241.

[30] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 20; UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2006/817, 16 October 2006, Para. 27.

[31] Email from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 21 May 2007.

[32] Ibid, 5 June 2007; email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 25 May 2007; UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 26.

[33] Email from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 21 May 2007; Landmine Action, “First National Capacity for Weapons Clearance Established in Western Sahara,” Press Release, 18 April 2007.

[34] Emails from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 21 May and 5 June 2007; Landmine Action, “First National Capacity for Weapons Clearance Established in Western Sahara,” Press Release, 18 April 2007; UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 25.

[35] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 27.

[36] Email from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 21 May 2007.

[37] UN Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 25.

[38] Email from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 21 May 2007.

[39] “Une opération de grande envergure sera lancée bientôt, la chasse aux mines a commencé” (“A large-scale operation will be launched soon, the hunt for mines has started”), Libération (Moroccan daily) via All Africa Global Media, http://fr.allafrica.com, accessed 3 June 2007; “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” UN Security Council, S/2007/202, 13 April 2007, Para. 22; email from Capt. Muhammad Amaair Iqbal, MAC, MINURSO, 17 July 2007.

[40] Email from Boybat Cheikh Abdelhay, President, SCBL, 17 May 2007.

[41]Telephone interview with Harald Smedsrud, Program Coordinator, Landmines Unit, NPA, Oslo, 22 May 2007.

[42] Telephone interviews with UNICEF staff, Algiers, 15 and 23 May 2007.

[43] Emails from Zlatko Gegic, Programme Manager, Landmine Action, Western Sahara, 8 April and 21 May 2007; see also www.landmineaction.org, accessed 1 June 2007; UNMAS, “Annual Report 2006,” p. 56; Mine Action Support Group, “Newsletter-First Quarter of 2006,” Washington, DC, 1 May 2006, pp. 3-4.

[44] Email from Capt. Muhammad Amaair Iqbal, MAC, MINURSO, 17 July 2007.

[45]Information provided by MINURSO staff, 2 June 2007.

[46] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1199.

[47]Email from Capt. Amaair Iqbal, Head, MINURSO MAC, Laayoune, 19 April 2007.

[48]Ibid.

[49]Mohamed El Hamraoui, “Des victimes par centaines,” (“Victims in the hundreds”), Le Reporter, 6 February 2007, www.lereporter.ma, accessed 3 June 2006; “Une opération de grande envergure sera lancée bientôt, la chasse aux mines a commencé” (“A large-scale operation will be launched soon, the hunt for mines has started”), Liberation/AllAfrica Global Media, 29 January 2007.

[50] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1200.

[51] Interview with Jean-Luc Noverraz, Head of Delegation, ICRC, Algiers, 22 January 2007.

[52] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1072.

[53] Email from Gaizi Nah Bachir, researcher and anti-mines activist, Western Sahara, 3 September 2005.

[54] Email from Anne Barthes, Desk Officer-Saharawi Refugees, TGH, Lyon, 24 May 2007.

[55] Email from Zlatko Gegic, Landmine Action, Western Sahara, 21 May 2007.

[56] Email from Boybat Cheikh Abdelhay, SCBL, Tindouf, 17 May 2007.

[57] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, pp. 1200-1201.

[58] Email from Anne Barthes, TGH, Lyon, 24 May 2007.

[59] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1201.

[60] Geneva Call, “Armed Non-State Actors and Landmines,” Vol. II, Geneva, 2006, p. 118.

[61]Information provided by Brahim Mulay Ahmed, Director, Chehid Chreif Centre, Rabouni, via MINURSO, 2 June 2007.

[62] Email from Ahmed Sidali, Deputy Programme Manager, Landmine Action, Western Sahara, 19 March 2007.

[63] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1201.

[64] Interview with Gaëtan de Beaupuis, Country Director, HI, Algiers, 21 January 2007; interview with Jean-Luc Noverraz, ICRC, Algiers, 22 January 2007.

[65] Email from Bernard Pfefferlé, Head of Delegation, ICRC, Tunis, 2 June 2007; interview with Jean-Luc Noverraz, Head of Delegation, ICRC, Algiers, 22 January 2007; information provided by MINURSO staff, Western Sahara, 2 June 2007.

[66] Email from Zlatko Gegic, Landmine Action, Western Sahara, 21 May 2007; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1201.

[67]Information provided by MINURSO staff, Western Sahara, 2 June 2007.

[68] Email from Ahmed Sidali, Landmine Action, Western Sahara, 19 March 2007; email from Anne Barthes, TGH, Lyon, 24 May 2007.

[69] Email from Boybat Cheikh Abdelhay, SCBL, Tindouf, 17 May 2007; Geneva Call, “Armed Non-State Actors and Landmines,” Vol II, Geneva, 2006, p.118.

[70]TGH, www.trianglegh.org, accessed 29 May 2007.

[71]Email from Andrea Koulaimah, Desk Officer-Saharawi Refugees, European Commission, DG ECHO, Brussels, 14 May 2007; email from Anne Barthes, TGH, Lyon, 24 May 2007.

[72]Information provided by MINURSO staff, Western Sahara, 2 June 2007.

[73] Average exchange rate for 2006: €1 = US$1.2563, used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2007.

[74] Germany Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2007.

[75] Email from Berggrav Yngvild, Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 July 2007. Average exchange rate for 2006: NOK1 = US$0.1560. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2007.

[76] Email from Mikaela Wallinder, Landmine Action, 18 June 2007. UNMAS, “Annual Report 2006,” p. 76; Mine Action Support Group, “Newsletter- Third Quarter of 2006, p. 8. Average exchange rate for 2006: £1 = US$1.8434. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2007. National and NGO donations above are assumed not to have been made via UNMAS.