Afghanistan
has suffered greatly from war since 1978, and all sides to the various armed
conflicts have used antipersonnel mines, particularly Soviet forces and the
Afghan government from 1979 to 1992. Landmines reportedly continue to be laid
today in fighting between the Taliban, which controls all but parts of central
and northeast Afghanistan, and a loose coalition of opposition forces.
Landmines have been planted indiscriminately over most of the country.
Agricultural farms, grazing areas, irrigation canals, residential areas, roads
and footpaths, both in urban and rural areas, are contaminated. Mines are a
major obstacle to repatriation, relief, rehabilitation and development
activities.
Afghanistan is one of the heaviest mined countries in the world. In spite of
eight years of intensive mine clearance, only 146 square kilometers of mined
area have been cleared. An area of 713 square kilometers remains to be cleared.
Landmines kill or maim an estimated ten to twelve people each day in
Afghanistan. It is believed that almost 50 percent of landmine victims die due
to lack of medical facilities.
Mine Ban Policy
Afghanistan has not signed the 1997 Mine Ban
Treaty. This is due at least in part to the unstable political situation and
the status of Afghanistan’s seat in the United Nations. Though the
Taliban controls nearly all of the country, the government of Burhanuddin
Rabbani, ousted by the Taliban in September 1996, still holds
Afghanistan’s U.N. seat. The Taliban has formal diplomatic recognition
from only three governments. However, both the Taliban and the ousted
government have made statements in support of a comprehensive ban on
antipersonnel mines. These statements have been offset by continued
reports--yet to be confirmed--of mine use by all sides in the ongoing war.
Mullah Muhammad Omer, the supreme leader of the Taliban, in October 1998
issued a statement in which the Taliban “strongly condemns” the use
of landmines as an “un-Islamic and anti-human act,” expresses strong
support for the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and declares, at the national level,
“a total ban on the production, trade, stockpiling and use of
landmines.” More fully, the statement says:
1. At international level, the IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] calls
for a total ban on the production, trade, stockpiling and use of landmines, and
is ready to actively cooperate in this regard.
2. At national level, the IEA announces a total ban on the production, trade,
stockpiling, and use of landmines, and makes a commitment to the suffering
people of Afghanistan and the international community that the IEA would never
make use of any type of landmines.
3. The IEA asks all the opposition groups to avoid use, trade and stockpiling
of landmines and do not cause more harm to the bereaved and suffering people of
Afghanistan.
4. Those who use landmines in personal, political or any other differences
in Afghanistan would be punished in accordance with the Islamic law.
5. The IEA thanks all those countries that have signed the Ottawa treaty, and
strongly urges all those countries that have not yet signed this treaty to
immediately stop production, trade, stockpiling and use of landmines and respect
the Ottawa international
treaty.[1]
The Rabbani government declared its support for an immediate and
comprehensive ban on antipersonnel mines in a statement to the U.N. Human Rights
Commission in Geneva in March 1996. It had previously, during the 1994-1995
preparatory meetings for the Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional
Weapons, called for a ban on production and export, but not
use.[2] The Rabbani government
voted in favor of the December 1996 U.N. General Assembly Resolution calling on
states to pursue vigorously an international agreement banning antipersonnel
mines. It was absent for the votes on the pro-ban UNGA resolutions in 1997 and
1998. The government attended the preparatory meetings of the Ottawa Process,
but did not endorse the pro-ban treaty Brussels Declaration of June 1997, and
did not participate in the treaty negotiations in Oslo in September 1997.
The Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines (ACBL) reports that all of the major
military opposition factions have expressed their support for the landmine ban
process, but no formal written statements have been provided yet. The ACBL,
established in 1995, is a non-governmental organization composed of national and
international NGOs working in Afghanistan.
Production
There is no evidence of antipersonnel landmine
production in Afghanistan, past or current, by any government or warring
faction.
Transfer
Afghanistan is not known to have ever exported
antipersonnel mines. However, there are unconfirmed reports of small-scale
smuggling of landmines to some neighboring parts of Pakistan, Kashmir and Sri
Lanka.
The former Soviet Union supplied large quantities of antipersonnel mines to
pro-Soviet Afghan governments. The exact types and quantities of mines
transferred cannot be ascertained. The U.S. provided mines to the mujahideen.
Fifty types of mines from ten countries have been found in Afghanistan. (See
list below).
In the October 1998 statement on landmines, the Taliban “asks and
demands of the whole international community and neighboring countries to
immediately stop export of landmines to Afghanistan” and “strongly
condemns the exporters of landmines to Afghanistan and considers such an act a
violation of the international
law.”[3]
The Taliban has accused Iran of supplying mines to the opposition forces in
Afghanistan, a charge Iran has denied. In December, the Taliban said it
captured 400 antipersonnel mines with Iranian markings from the opposition in
Bangi district of the northern province of
Takhar.[4]
In an interview, a representative of the ousted Rabbani government
acknowledged that its forces were still using, and actively importing,
antipersonnel mines. He indicated that Tajikistan was now the main supply route
for mines, mostly of Soviet
origin.[5]
Stockpiling
It appears that the Taliban and all of the warring
factions have stockpiles of antipersonnel mines, but there are no reliable
estimates of the quantities available. The list below of mines encountered in
Afghanistan may give some indication of mine types in stockpile.
There are no indications that the Taliban or any warring faction has begun
destruction of stockpiles. Efforts are being made by Mine Action Program for
Afghanistan (MAPA) to verify any future destruction.
Use
The vast majority of mines now in Afghanistan were
laid by the Soviet Union in its war with the mujahideen from 1979-1992. Many of
the mines were remotely delivered, by helicopter and airplane. Soviet and
Afghan government troops placed antipersonnel mines around their security posts,
military bases and strategic points for protection; in the outskirts of cities
to stop the advancement of mujahideen forces; as well as in and around villages
to depopulate them to reduce local support for the mujahideen. The mujahideen
planted mines (mainly antitank) in the main roads and supply routes of Soviet
and government troops to reduce their mobility and cut short their supplies.
Most of these mines were laid in and around the provinces bordering Iran and
Pakistan, and alongside the Salang highway connecting Kabul with the former
Soviet Union.
Various mujahideen factions have been fighting since 1992, and all sides have
used antipersonnel mines. In particular, large numbers of mines were planted in
different parts of Kabul City and its outskirts during factional war after the
fall of communist regime in 1992, and when the Taliban ousted the Rabbani
government from Kabul in September 1996. There have been press reports of new
use of mines by both sides in late 1998 and early 1999. In a report published
shortly after the Taliban’s mine ban announcement, The Frontier
Post stated, “Since their autumn offensive on October 10, 1998, the
Taliban militia has since heavily mined the 10-kilometer strip between the
districts of Nijrab and Tagab in Kapisa province...and one Western analyst
estimated that any attempt to cross the zone could result in 30 percent to 50
percent casualties.”[6]
The Rabbani government has also accused the Taliban of new use of antipersonnel
mines.[7]
A military official from the ousted government has admitted that it is still
using mines, justifying it as a legitimate and useful weapon. He said that
government forces had placed thousands of antipersonnel mines in the Salang
region in 1998, and the mines had played a key role in defeating the Taliban
offensive.[8]
Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mine-affected countries in the world.
Clearing of mines and unexploded ordnance is a pre-requisite for rehabilitation
and development of Afghanistan. Mines have had a devestating socio-economic
impact -- roads, irrigations systems, agricultural and grazing areas have been
rendered unusable, and inhabitants have been forced to leave their homes and
properties. Mines are a major obstacle for resettlement of Afghan refugees and
Internally Displaced Persons; mine victims become burdens on their families.
Mines drain Afghanistan’s already exhausted economy.
Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA) under the auspices of MAPA, has
conducted general level one surveys which show that an estimated 859 square
kilometers of land has been contaminated by mines in about 1,585 villages. This
total includes about 223 square kilometers of agricultural land, about 63 square
kilometers of roads, and 532 square kilometers of grazing land. The 1993
National Survey of Mine Situation in Afghanistan indicated that a total of
361,000 domestic animals have been killed by landmines in 979 villages.
For several years, the United Nations has estimated the number of mines in
Afghanistan at 10 million. A 1998 U.N. study reported the estimate had been
reduced to 5-7 million.1[0]
Many involved in actual clearance of mines believe that it is not possible to
make an accurate estimate at this time, and that the number is in fact
irrelevant -- it is the amount of land denied and the socio-economic impact that
matter.
A summary of area mined, and area cleared, by land type is presented in the
table below.
Afghan authorities have not provided financial or
technical support to humanitarian mine action programs in Afghanistan. However,
they have provided support in the form of security, assistance in resolving
problems with local authorities, and information on mined areas and impact.
The humanitarian mine action program in Afghanistan is coordinated by the
United Nations Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (MAPA). Donors voluntarily
contribute to MAPA and its components. Though funding of MAPA has been generally
sufficient, several times it has faced severe shortages that affected field
operations, caused temporary salary reductions and suspensions of personnel.
Funding for MAPA has totaled $113 million from 1991 through October 1998. It
has grown from $15.6 million in 1995, to $17.8 million in 1996, to $20.2 million
in 1997, to $22.3 million in 1998 (through October). The biggest donors have
been Sweden, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European
Community.
The allocation of funds to various components of mine action for 1997 and
1998 are as follows: mine clearance (80%); battle area clearance and explosive
ordnance disposal (6%), minefield survey and marking (6%), mine awareness
training (5%), and mine clearance training
(3%).1[2]
Note: Funds for Victim Assistance programs are not included in the
adjoining table since MAPA does not have a Victim Assistance component.
Table: Details of funds received by MAPA from 1991 to 31 October 1998 in
US$1[3]
Country
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998 *
Total
Contributions e/f from 1997
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,817,433
4,817,433
Australia
-
658,868
138,279
274,800
306,000
293,600
748,380
335,550
2,701,477
Austria
-
180,000
-
315,725
159,982
203,030
16,667
10,000
885,404
273,224
273,224
Canada
-
-
562,559
716,874
355,540
737,419
777,940
705,937
3,856,269
CEC
-
-
-
-
2,785,321
5,077,730
3,624,437
3,027,613
14,515,101
Cyprus
-
-
-
-
10,000
-
-
-
10,000
Denmark
-
400,000
-
202,823
900,000
900,000
598,802
729,639
3,731,264
Finland
235,294
227,635
175,991
756,559
242,825
423,191
380,952
-
2,442,447
France
-
-
-
-
-
-
167,000
-
167,000
Germany
-
-
-
-
374,232
2,388,041
2,000,000
2,373,000
7,135,273
Greece
-
16,365
-
-
-
-
-
-
16,365
Japan
5,000,000
2,000,000
2,000,000
-
2,000,000
-
1,000,000
210,267
12,210,267
Korea
-
-
75,000
-
-
-
-
50,000
125,000
Netherlands
-
586,281
780,457
341,591
789,345
1,363,527
2,530,993
1,482,945
7,875,139
Norway
765,004
1,126,877
1,819,103
631,606
562,375
886,163
1,508,107
1,439,273
8,738,508
Sweden
894,457
872,600
1,148,494
1,894,524
2,218,743
2,535,812
2,500,000
2,278,481
14,343,111
Switzerland
-
-
709,220
-
344,828
344,828
-
135,135
1,534,011
UK
904,350
954,350
1,494,000
1,085,840
1,970,728
1,183,088
1,209,678
3,346,000
12,148,034
USA
123,000
1,105,023
1,500,000
3,227,405
2,564,089
1,308,507
2,000,000
1,000,000
12,828,024
Direct/in kind Contribution
-
2,955,000
6,972,428
7,521,244
-
115,328
1,111,111
125,949
18,801,060
Mine Clearance
The MAPA program, is one of the world’s
largest civilian mine clearance programs, and is considered by many to be the
most successful and cost effective program in the world. MAPA began its
activities with a training program in 1988 and its field operation was launched
in early 1990.1[4] Since
1990, an area of 146 square kilometers has been
cleared.1[5] Currently an
average of more than 30 square kilometers of land is cleared each year, at a
cost of about 60 cents per square meter. The U.N. reports that more than
686,813 mines and UXO have been
destroyed.1[6]
Currently, 3,900 Afghans undertake mine clearance and related activities
under the auspices of MAPA. Organizations involved in mine clearance and
training operations are: Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA), Organization
for Mine clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR), Afghan Technical
Consultants (ATC), Demining Agency for Afghanistan (DAFA), Mine Detection Dog
Center (MDC), Monitoring, Evaluation and Training Agency (META), and the Agency
for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan (AREA). All are based
in Pakistan. HALO Trust, based in Kabul, conducts clearance independent of
MAPA.
MAPA has the following criteria for prioritization: the area must be secure
and free from conflict; the population will obtain immediate economic or social
benefits after demining operation; the local people are ready to provide
security and assistance where possible; the local authorities have requested
assistance; refugees are returning to the area; and the area should be free of
poppy cultivation or complying with the UNDCP policy.
MAPA’s priority system has five categories. The first priority is:
Agricultural areas, roads, villages, canals and irrigation systems requested
by UN agencies and other NGOs. The requesting agency must provide proof that
funds are available for rehabilitation to begin after completion of the demining
operation.
MCPA maintains the MAPA mine action management information system. This
database contains a wide range of information and data relating to the mine
contamination threat faced by Afghans, records of minefields marked and cleared,
and data related to landmine incidents and injuries.
MCPA has conducted for MAPA a major study on the socio-economic impact of
mines in Afghanistan. Its interim report, Socio-Economic Impact Study (SEIS) of
Mine Operations Afghanistan, indicates that clearance of agricultural lands,
residential areas, irrigation systems, grazing lands, footpaths and roads has
had a very positive impact for the Afghan people and economy. The SEIS report
indicates that 93% of the area cleared is currently under productive
use.1[7]
As of July 1998, MAPA had cleared 54 square kilometers of agricultural land,
6 square kilometers of irrigation canals, and 21 square kilometers of roads. The
SEIS report indicates that a total of 3,541 public buildings including schools,
hospitals, health clinics, and other governmental offices have become available
for public use.
According to the findings of SEIS, 535,892 people have returned to their
houses because of demining of residential areas. Nearly one-third of them are
refugees or IDPs who have been repatriated to their homes. The rest are local
inhabitants who did not leave their villages.
SEIS estimates that mine action operations bring the following benefits
annually:1[8]
From clearance of grazing areas + livestock products: $ 43.36 million
From clearance of roads: $ 6.63 million
From clearance of agricultural land: $ 3.37 million
From clearance of irrigation systems: $ 1.06 million
Provision of employment opportunity: for more than 9,200 farmers
Repatriation of refugees and IDPs to cleaned areas: 1.53 million people
Mine Awareness Education
Effective mine awareness programs exist in
Afghanistan. Some three million people had received mine awareness education at
the end of 1996. In 1997 alone, 986,529 people received mine awareness
education, and in 1998, another 652,934 people, bringing the overall total to
more than 4.6 million people with mine awareness training.
The agency that has trained the most people is the Organization for Mine
Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR), with more than one million in 1997
and 1998 combined. Others involved in mine awareness education are the Afghan
Red Crescent Society, Save the Children Fund, Handicap International, the Ansar
Relief Institute, and the Afghan Mine Awareness Agency.
The British Broadcasting Corporation Afghan Education Drama project (BBC
AEDP) continued to receive direct UNOCHA funding to carry on with broadcasting
and printing in a cartoon magazine mine awareness messages. Both the Pashto and
Dari services of BBC broadcast the “New Home, New Life” program that
disseminates community training and awareness.
Landmine Casualties
It is not possible at this time to determine the
exact number of landmine victims in Afghanistan. It has been estimated that
there are more than 400,000 landmine disabled people in
Afghanistan.1[9] The SEIS
report maintains that a better estimate would be 90,000-104,400 mine victims,
based on an average rate of 14-16 victims per day for the 18 years since major
mining started.2[0] The 1993
National Survey of Mines Situation report by MCPA estimated mine casualties at
20-24 per day.2[1] According to
the SEIS report, effective mine action programs had reduced the toll by fifty
percent, to 10-12 people per day as of June
1998.2[2]
SEIS indicates that out of 2,647 victims interviewed, 36% were children below
18 years of age. About 52% of them were 18-40 years old and 12% were above age
40. The same survey estimated that 96% of the victims were male and 4% were
female.2[3] The types of
casualties were as follows: Death (29%); Light injuries (49%); Severe injuries
with no total loss of body part (12%); Blindness (6.5%); Single amputation of
limb (3.5%); Double amputation of limbs
(0.1%).2[4]
Survivor Assistance
There are about thirty organizations and NGOs that
provide services and assistance to landmine survivors in Afghanistan, including
medical care, surgical operations, orthopedic care, physical rehabilitation,
technical training and employment opportunities. The main organizations are:
International Committee of Red Cross; Handicap International and its local
counterpart Guardians; Radda Barnen (CDAP) and its implementing partners,
Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance
(CHA), and Afghan Association for Blind; IAM; World Health Organization;
Comprehensive Disabled Afghan Program; Afghan Disabled Society; Save the
Children Fund (USA); Sandy Gall Afghanistan; Afghan Amputee Bicyclist for
Rehabilitation and Recreation (AABRAR); and Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy
Conservation in Afghanistan (AREA).
Landmines survivor assistance is limited in Afghanistan. The main services
provided are:
* first aid by the ICRC
* surgical facilities by ICRC, Kuwait Red Crescent Society Hospital,
GUARDIANS
* prostheses and mobility devices produced by ICRC, GUARDIANS, CHA, SCA,
AABRAR
* economic reintegration and employment support services by CDAP, SCA,
AREA
According to the Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines, there is no disability law
in Afghanistan.
Note to Readers: A much longer, more detailed country report on
Afghanistan has been prepared for Landmine Monitor which could not be used in
full due to space considerations. The full report is available upon
request.
[1] Statement of the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan on the Problem of Landmines, 6 October 1998.
[2] Human Rights Watch Arms
Project Fact Sheets, “Nations Calling for a Comprehensive Ban on
Antipersonnel Landmines,” April 1996 and January 1996.
[3] Statement of the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan on the Problem of Landmines, 6 October 1998.
[4] Reuters,
“Afghan Taleban Say Seize Iran-Supplied Mines,” Islamabad, 4
December 1998.
[5] Interview with Deputy
Military Attache, Embassy of Afghanistan, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, (information
contained in fax received 4 January 1999).
[6]Frontier Post, 18
November 1998; see also Frontier Post, 19 November 1998, and VOA (The
Nation) 27 October 1998.
[7] Press release, Islamic
State of Afghanistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 November 1998.
[8] Interview with Deputy
Military Attache, Embassy of Afghanistan, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, (information
contained in fax received 4 January 1999).
[9]
Much of the remainder of this report on the Landmine Problem and Mine Action is
drawn from the MCPA Interim Report to U.N. MAPA, “Socio-Economic Impact
Study of Mine Action Operations Afghanistan” (SEIS), October 1998. This
is the most comprehensive and up-to-date information available. However, it
should be recognized that it is an interim report and its authors, the Mine
Clearance Planning Agency, take full responsibility for the information and
analyses in the SEIS.
1[0] UNDHA,
“Afghanistan: The Development of Indigenous Mine Action
Capabilities,” February 1998, p. 9, citing UNOCHA estimates, as quoted in
U.S. State Department, Hidden Killers, September 1998, p. 58.
[1]1 MCPA,
“Socio-Economic Impact Study of Mine Action Operations Afghanistan,”
Interim Report by MCPA to United Nations, MAPA, October 1998.
1[2] United Nations, MAPA,
Work plan 1997 and Work plan 1998.
1[3] United Nations, MAPA,
Work plan 1997, Annual Report 1997, Work plan 1998 and Monthly activity report
31 October 1998.
1[4] In 1988 the UN
established the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to
Afghanistan (UNOCHA), which created its Mine Clearance Program (UNMCP), now
called the MAPA.
1[5] MCPA,
“Socio-Economic Impact Study of Mine Action Operations Afghanistan,”
Interim Report by MCPA to United Nations, MAPA, October 1998.
1[6] UNOCHA, “Mine
Action Program for Afghanistan: Workplan 1998,” 1998, p.5, as cited in
U.S. Department of State, Hidden Killers, September 1998, p. 61.
1[7] MCPA,
“Socio-Economic Impact Study of Mine Action Operations Afghanistan,”
Interim Report by MCPA to United Nations, MAPA, October 1998. See note to
readers at end country report.
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