Key developments since May 2003: On 12 March 2004, Ecuador and
Perú announced the completion of mine clearance in El Oro province on the
Ecuador side of the border and the department of Tumbes on the Peruvian side. A
total of 24,971 square meters of land was cleared in 2003, destroying 60
antipersonnel mines. Ecuador hosted a regional mine action seminar in Quito
from 12-13 August 2004. On 11 August 2004, Ecuador destroyed 1,970 of the 3,970
antipersonnel mines previously retained for training.
Key developments since 1999: Ecuador ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on
29 April 1999, and became a State Party on 1 October 1999. Ecuador has not yet
enacted national implementation legislation. It completed the destruction of
its stockpile of 258,844 antipersonnel mines in January 2002, far in advance of
the 1 October 2003 deadline. The number of mines retained for training purposes
has been revised downwards from 16,000 to 4,000, and then to 2,000. In
September 1999, Ecuador established a National Demining Center. In 2001,
Ecuador and the Organization of American States signed a Framework Agreement for
an Integrated Mine Action Program in Ecuador. A National Mine Clearance Plan
for 2003-2004 was approved on 17 December 2002. Impact surveys and technical
studies have been carried out since 2002 in a number of provinces. At the end of
2003, a total of 83,790 square meters of land had been cleared, destroying 4,342
antipersonnel mines and 59 antivehicle mines.Ecuador’s reporting
on mined areas laid from 1995-1998 indicates that the country used antipersonnel
mines after signing the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997.
Mine Ban Policy
Ecuador signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 29 April
1999 and the treaty entered into force on 1 October 1999. Ecuador has not
adopted legal measures to implement the treaty nationally, including penal
sanctions, as required by Article
9.[1]
While Ecuador was not an early supporter of a comprehensive mine
ban,[2] it participated fully
in the Ottawa Process and has subsequently attended every annual meeting of
States Parties, including the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003,
and most intersessional Standing Committee meetings. Since 1996, Ecuador has
voted in favor of every annual pro-ban United Nations General Assembly
resolution, including UNGA Resolution 58/53 on 8 December 2003.
Ecuador hosted a regional mine action seminar in Quito from 12-13 August
2004, and it has participated in other regional landmine meetings held in
Colombia (November 2003), Perú (August 2003), Argentina (November 2000)
and México (January 1999). In June 2004, the Presidents of Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, Perú and Venezuela, comprising the Andean Community,
met in Quito and issued the “Declaration of San Francisco de Quito on the
establishment and development of the Andean Peace Zone,” which included a
call for the eradication of antipersonnel mines under its fourth
objective.[3]
Ecuador submitted its annual Article 7 report on 23 June 2004, for calendar
year 2003. This includes voluntary Form J on victim assistance measures, and
information on the joint mine clearance operation with Perú under Form K.
This is the country’s sixth Article 7
report.[4]
Ecuador has not engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties have
had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2,
and 3. Thus, it has not made its views known on the issues of joint military
operations with non-States Parties, foreign stockpiling and transit of
antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling
devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.
Ecuador is a State Party to Amended Protocol II (Landmines) of the Convention
on Conventional Weapons, but it did not attend the Fifth Annual Conference of
States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2003.
Servicio Paz y Justicia Ecuador (SERPAJ) has served as the ICBL’s
representative for Ecuador since May 2001. It has carried out Landmine
Monitor’s country research for Ecuador since Landmine Monitor Report
2001.
Production, Transfer and Use
Ecuador has not produced antipersonnel mines and has no production
facilities.[5] It has not
exported antipersonnel mines,[6]
and instituted an export moratorium in
1995.[7] According to Article 7
reports, Ecuador imported antipersonnel mines in the past from Belgium, Brazil,
Chile, Singapore, the former Soviet Union, Spain, and the United
States.[8]
In January 2002, Ecuador transferred 1,644 of its retained mines to the
United States, for research and development purposes, as permitted under Article
3 of the Mine Ban Treaty. On 2 January 2002, the US Embassy in Quito
facilitated the transfer to the US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology
Division in Indian Head,
Maryland.[9]
Ecuador has acknowledged using antipersonnel mines during the
“Cenepa” border war with Perú in 1995. In its 2003 Article 7
report Ecuador stated that antipersonnel mines in the country’s affected
regions were laid between 1995 and
1998.[10] This indicates that
Ecuador used antipersonnel mines after signing the Mine Ban Treaty in December
1997, but prior to ratification and entry into force in 1999. In June 2004,
Ecuador reported that the mines were emplaced prior to the signing of the Peace
Accord with Perú on 26 October
1998.[11] Landmine Monitor has
previously reported on Ecuadorian mine use after the February 1995
cease-fire.[12]
There are no known reports of mine use in Ecuador in the reporting period,
including along the border with Colombia. In February 2004, Ecuadorian media
reported that military engineers of the army brigades stationed along that
border were “sufficiently prepared to detect and remove mines or
explosives.”[13] The
Ecuadorian Army recovered a landmine among weapons found abandoned at a
Colombian rebel (FARC) camp forty kilometers northeast of Lago Agrio in
Ecuadorian territory in November
2002.[14]
Stockpiling and Destruction
Ecuador completed destruction of its stockpile in January 2002, destroying a
total of 258,844 antipersonnel
mines.[15] Between April 1999
and March 2000, a total of 101,458 antipersonnel mines were destroyed by the
Army at its “El Corazón” practice institution in Machachi,
Pinchinca province near
Quito.[16] Another 143,325
antipersonnel mines were destroyed between August and 11 September
2001.[17] Between September
2001 and January 2002, 9,561 PRB M-409 antipersonnel mines were destroyed by the
Engineers Brigade No. 25
“Cenepa.”[18] On 17
January 2002, an additional 4,500 mines originally retained for training were
destroyed at El Corazón in front of witnesses from the OAS and
government.[19]
No media or civil society representatives witnessed the stockpile destruction
done in 1999 or 2000, but they were invited to subsequent events, including one
held on 11 September 2001 in which 8,051 mines were
destroyed.[20] The Ecuadorian
Mine Clearance Center, CENDESMI (Centro de Desminado del Ecuador) was the
institution in charge of stockpile destruction, while the Army carried out the
destruction by open detonation.
Mines Retained for Training
On 11 August 2004, Ecuador destroyed 1,970 of the 3,970 mines it previously
was retaining for training. The mines were destroyed in the presence of the
OAS, Red Cross, ICBL, and diplomatic
representatives.[21] All the
mines are held by the Army Engineers Brigade No. 23 “Cenepa,” which
is tasked with demining the
country.[22]
Ecuador initially reported that a total of 170,344 antipersonnel mines would
be retained for training.[23]
At the May 2000 Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction meeting in Geneva,
the ICBL stated its alarm at the high number of mines that Ecuador intended to
retain. The country representative subsequently told Landmine Monitor that this
number in its initial Article 7 report was an error and the correct figure would
be provided before the annual meeting of States Parties in September
2000.[24] In its second Article
7 report submitted August 2000, Ecuador stated that its stockpile totaled
170,344 antipersonnel mines (since 154,344 mines were transferred for
destruction between March and July 2000), and it would retain 16,000 mines for
training.[25]
At the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001, Ecuador announced
that it would further reduce the number of mines retained for training from
16,000 to 4,000 mines.[26]
Landmine Monitor reported on the other 12,000 mines including those reported
destroyed or transferred.[27]
In April 2003 Ecuador reported that it had adjusted the number retained to
3,970.[28]
Landmine Problem, Survey and Assessment
Ecuador’s mine problem along its border with Perú is a result of
the 1995 “Cenepa” border conflict. Five main areas were affected by
mines: 1) Cordillera del Cóndor region in the provinces of Morona
Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe; 2) Cusumaza-Bombuiza region also in Morona
Santiago province; 3) the Tiwinza square kilometer inside Peruvian
territory;[29] 4) Loja province;
and 5) El Oro province.[30]
On 12 March 2004, Ecuador and Perú announced the completion of mine
clearance in El Oro province on the Ecuador side of the border and the
department of Tumbes on the Peruvian
side.[31] Mine clearance
operations in Loja province were scheduled for completion in
mid-2004.[32] The provinces of
Pastaza and Orellana were previously suspected of being mine-affected, but in
June 2004, Ecuador reported they were
not.[33]
In August 2003, the OAS provided information on the landmine problem in
Morona Santiago province where clearance operations were planned for calendar
year 2004. In the northeast of Limón Indaza cantón, a total of 60
dangerous areas were reported, affecting approximately 2,597
inhabitants.[34] In Tiwinza
cantón,[35] 22 dangerous
areas affect approximately 2,660 inhabitants, mainly indigenous
Shuar.[36] Most of Morona
Santiago consists of native forest rich in biological, ecological and cultural
diversity and an ecological park (“Parque Ecológico
Cóndor”) is planned for the
area.[37]
In the first half of 2003, three new impact studies were carried out: two in
Huaquillas cantón in El Oro province and one in Macará
cantón in Loja province, with an additional two mined areas
reported.[38] Previous impact
surveys carried out in El Oro and Loja provinces during the first half of 2002
identified 12 mine-affected
areas.[39]
According to the OAS, in San Juan Bosco cantón 2,160 antipersonnel
mines lie in an area estimated at 211,080 square meters, while in Tiwinza
cantón approximately 1,350 mines lie in an area of approximately 46,302
square meters. In Zamora Chinchipe province, initial survey results indicate
the presence of approximately 2,500 antipersonnel mines affecting an area
estimated at 143,219 square meters. In addition, various sites mined by Ecuador
are now located in Peruvian territory following the Peace Accord and completion
of border-marking. The area at risk contains approximately 1,090 antipersonnel
mines, in an area of approximately 56,005 square
meters.[40]
In May 2001, after two children were killed and a third seriously injured by
unexploded ordnance in Montalvo Parrish, Pastaza province, the leader of the
Ashuar Federation of Ecuador (FINAE), Domingo Peas, reportedly said that several
indigenous communities could not work the land for fear of
explosives.[41] In November
1998, the “Families of the Shuar and Ashuar of the Frontier” issued
a joint declaration asking both governments to demine the border.
From 16 to 20 August 1999 the OAS conducted a multi-disciplinary mission with
the US Department of State in Ecuador and Perú to evaluate the
antipersonnel mine situation in the border regions of the two
countries.[42] From 23 to 27
August 1999, UNMAS organized and led a multi-disciplinary and inter-agency
mission to Ecuador.[43]
In 1999 the Latin American Association for Human Rights (ALDHU) reported that
both parties laid some 130,000 to 150,000 antipersonnel landmines during the
conflict. UNMAS reported that those figures did not contradict information from
the Ecuadorian military who estimated that the number of mines on the Ecuadorian
side of the Cordillera del Cóndor region to be in excess of
90,000.[44] Ecuadorian military
minefield records were provided to the Multinational Observation Mission
(MOMEP), but were not made public.
Mine Action Coordination
The Ecuadorian Mine Clearance Center (CENDESMI, Centro de Desminado del
Ecuador), established by Executive Decree 1297 on 22 September 1999, and the
General Command for Mine Clearance of the national Army are responsible for mine
action in the country, in coordination with the OAS Mine Action Program (AICMA).
CENDESMI has an administrative unit, an operations unit, and a national school
of demining. It is headquartered near Quito and maintained two regional command
centers at “Tarqui” in El Oro province and “Amazonas” in
Morona Santiago province until 2004, when the centers were consolidated in
Morona Santiago.[45]
The OAS AIMCA opened an office in Quito in May 2001, following the conclusion
of a framework agreement between the OAS and Ecuador on 19 March 2001 to
establish an integrated mine action program, with CENDESMI responsible for
clearance operations, training personnel, and promoting landmine survivors
training programs.[46] The
Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database program was
installed at the OAS office in January 2002 to assist CENDESMI in the planning,
coordination and direction of the national humanitarian demining
plan.[47] In February 2002
representatives from the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining
(GICHD) conducted training and provided technical advice on using the database
system.[48] IMSMA is the main
source of information for CENDESMI, the General Command, and other organizations
involved in mine action.[49]
In May 2003, the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) established a permanent
team of international monitors called the Misión de Asistencia a la
Remoción de Minas en Suramérica (MARMINAS, Mission of Assistance
to Mine Clearance in South America) to support mine clearance in Ecuador and
Perú.[50] As of July
2004, officers from Brazil, Honduras and Nicaragua were serving with
MARMINAS.[51]
Mine Clearance
The Engineers Brigade No. 23 “Cenepa” of the Ecuadorian Army
conducts mine clearance in the country, employing a total of 95 deminers in
2004.[52] Mine clearance
operations were scheduled to commence in Morona Santiago province in the second
half of 2004, while mine clearance in Zamora Chinchipe province was pending the
outcome of technical
studies.[53]
Ecuador has progressively reported on mine clearance results and on training
activities in its Article 7 reporting. In June 2004, it provided information on
progress in mine clearance by province, and by year, to the end of 2003.
On 12 March 2004, Ecuador and Perú announced the completion of mine
clearance near the Zarumilla River in El Oro province on the Ecuador side of the
border and the department of Tumbes on the Peruvian
side.[56] According to media
reports, in October 2003 clearance of the Tiwinza square kilometer in Peruvian
territory was completed.[57]
Ecuador reported in June 2004 that the last certifications were being done in
Loja and operations would conclude
shortly.[58] By August 2004,
clearance in Loja had not concluded.
Ecuador reported that in 2003 training courses were held for all mine
clearance personnel: a first and second advanced course in mine clearance; a
second course for sappers; a first course for leaders; and a second course on
retraining.[59]
Mine Risk Education
In Ecuador, the Army, the OAS, and the national Red Cross carry out mine risk
education (MRE) activities.[60]
Ecuador reported that an MRE campaign was carried out in schools and on local
radio and television in Macará cantón, Loja Province on 27 May
2003, reaching 1,1031 students, 19 local authorities, 21 teachers and some 5,000
local inhabitants.[61] On 4-5
September 2003, MRE was carried out in Huaquillas cantón, El Oro
Province, reaching 860 students, 14 local authorities, 40 teachers, and 146
local inhabitants, while a total of 6,000 persons received MRE by radio for a
month.[62]
In February 2004, the Ecuadorian Red Cross and the Army’s General
Command for Mine Clearance carried out an mine risk education campaign out in
Zapotillo cantón, Loja Province, reaching 5,580
people.[63] In 2004, the
CENDESMI approved plans for MRE campaigns in Zapotillo cantón in Loja
province and Santiago cantón in Morona Santiago
Province.[64]
In June 2004, following reports of the deaths of two indigenous Shuar persons
in Morona Santiago province, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stated that
the indigenous population in Morona Santiago was not aware of the mine problem
and MRE campaigns were needed using local structures and languages, radio, and
train the trainer methods.[65]
The OAS AICMA program has established a toll-free phone number which provides
information on landmines and prevention, and collects public reports on
discoveries of
landmines.[66]
Previously, Ecuador reported mine risk education campaigns in Loja Province
and El Oro in 2002-2003, reaching 2,100 and 3,000 people
respectively.[67] In March 2001
and in May 2002, Ecuador reported that MRE campaigns had been carried out in El
Oro and Morona Santiago
provinces.[68] Landmine Monitor
visited El Oro Province in March 2002 and found that there was little awareness
of the mine problem among the local population, perhaps because mined areas are
not located in populated
centers.[69]
In May 2002, Ecuador reported that it had taken appropriate measures to make
the population aware of the landmine problem, such as using barbed wire and
danger signs.[70] A member of
the General Command for Mine Clearance told Landmine Monitor in May 2002 that
maintenance of marking and warnings around minefields had been difficult because
the local populations stole the materials, including the barbed wire and warning
signs.[71] The Director of
CENDESMI told Landmine Monitor in April 2001 that mine warnings were nailed to
trees in mine-affected areas to warn the local indigenous
population.[72] In March 2000
ALDHU reported that the Ashuar and Shuar indigenous peoples were at risk because
of the levels of illiteracy and lack of knowledge of the
problem.[73]
Mine Action Funding
In May 2003, the OAS presented a projection of financial resources and
requirements for the period 2003-2007. For Ecuador, the total was $4.4 million:
$600,000 for 2003, $800,000 for 2004, $1 million for 2005, $1 million for 2006,
and $1 million for 2007, which is when OAS funding for Ecuador is scheduled to
end.[74]
In August 2003 the OAS reported that for calendar year 2004 it required an
estimated $660,610 to implement its mine action program in Ecuador, including
clearance in Morona Santiago province and the other components of the OAS AICMA
program.[75]
The OAS AICMA Ecuador website lists Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United
States as current donor countries for the Ecuador
program.[76] According to the
information they submitted to Landmine Monitor, none of those governments
provided direct contributions to mine action in Ecuador in 2003.
In 2002, the United States contributed more than $1 million to Ecuador to
fund humanitarian demining
activities.[77] In 2001 the
United States provided $1.76 million. The contribution covered the cost of US
Special Operations Forces “train the trainer” programs, as well as
the provision of vehicles and equipment for
demining.[78] In addition, in
2001, Japan contributed $594,000 to the OAS AICMA program for both Ecuador and
Perú.[79] In 2000, the
US provided $1.4 million. In 1999, the US contributed $1.1 million and Canada
contributed US$197,000.[80]
Landmine Casualties
No landmine casualties were reported in Ecuador in 2003. On 23 May 2004, a
20-year-old indigenous Shuar man and his 5-year-old brother were killed, and
three others injured, when they handled an antipersonnel mine they had found in
the Cordillera del Cóndor region and brought back to their village in
Tiwinza cantón, Morona Santiago
province.[81]
Between 1999 and 2003, Landmine Monitor identified only two landmine and one
UXO incidents in Ecuador. On 10 January 2002, a 19-year-old Peruvian died after
stepping on a landmine in Kanga, close to the Cenepa River when he was returning
home. In 2001, a man received serious injuries after stepping on a mine while
hunting in Shaime near the Peruvian border, and two children were killed and a
third was seriously injured when a grenade they found
exploded.[82]
The OAS AICMA Ecuador program maintains a registry of landmine casualties.
Nine civilian casualties are registered including one person killed, two who
lost a lower limb, one who lost an upper limb, two with multiple injuries, and
two who were not physically
harmed.[83]
There have been no recorded casualties among deminers since mine clearance
operations began in
Ecuador.[84]
The total number of mine casualties in Ecuador is not known as there is no
systematic data collection mechanism for landmine incidents. The Ministry of
Health and the National Statistics Institute do not have official registries of
landmine casualties. According to the US State Department, there were about 120
landmine casualties in Ecuador between 1995 and 1999; the majority are
civilians.[85]
Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and Practice
The military in Ecuador has a healthcare system that provides integrated care
to military landmine casualties through the Armed Forces Social Security
Institute (Instituto de Seguridad Social de las Fuerzas Armadas), including
physical rehabilitation and socio-economic reintegration programs. Civilians
injured by landmines do not receive the same level of attention as military
personnel; existing services remain
inadequate.[86]
The OAS AICMA Ecuador program provides support to mine/UXO survivors,
including transport from their communities to a rehabilitation center, lodging,
medical care, prostheses, physical therapy, medicines and surgery if required.
In 2003, one survivor received psychological support and physiotherapy at the
Hermano Miguel Foundation and another had surgery on the right eye at the Vista
Para Todos (Sight for all) Foundation. In January 2003 the OAS program in
cooperation with the Ministry of Defense provided funding for a military
landmine survivor to begin the three-year training program in prosthetics and
orthotics at the University of Don Bosco in El
Salvador.[87] In 2002, five
disabled veterans from the Association of Disabled Veterans “Upper
Cenepa” received training on the IMSMA system and worked at CENDESMI
headquarters and at the regional demining units. In 2002, two mine survivors
received new prostheses and a third required reconstructive surgery to a
foot.[88]
In March 1995, a law was enacted to support the victims of the conflict with
housing, pensions and school bursaries for their
children.[89]
Ecuador submitted the voluntary Form J attachment with its annual Article 7
Report in 2003 and 2004, to report on victim assistance
activities.[90]
One mine survivor from Ecuador participated in the Raising the Voices
training in 2001.
[1] Ecuador’s Article 7 reports, Form
A (national implementation measures) mention only the establishment of the Mine
Clearance Center by Executive Decree No 1247, 23 September
1999. [2] During the Oslo
negotiations, Ecuador supported proposals put forth by the United States,
including one for a delay of nine years in the proposed entry into force period,
and a clause permitting withdrawal from the treaty in times of
war. [3] “Declaración de
San Francisco de Quito sobre Establecimiento y Desarrollo de la Zona de Paz
Andina,” Quito, Ecuador, 12 July
2004. [4] The fifth Article 7 Report
dated 30 April 2003 (for the period March 2002–April 2003) has not been
posted on the UN disarmament website as of July 2004. Other Article 7 reports
were submitted: 31 May 2002 (for March 2001–April 2002), 5 March 2001
(for July 2000–March 2001), 23 August 2000 (for March-July 2000), and 29
March 2000 (for April 1999–March
2000). [5] Article 7 Report, Forms E
and H, 23 June 2004. [6] Telephone
interview with Colonel Roberto Tandazo, 31 March
2000. [7] “Report of the
Secretary General: Moratorium on the export of antipersonnel landmines,”
A/50/701, 3 November 1995, p. 13. [8]
Article 7 Report, Form B, 23 June 2004; Article 7 Report, Form B, 29 March 2000
and 5 March 2001. [9] The 1,644 mines
included: T-AB-1 (1,000), VS-50 (400), PRB M-409 (200), PRB M-35 (20), P-4-AB
(20), and PMD-6M (4). Interviews with Gustavo Anda, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Major Juan Carlos Guarderas, Comando General de Desminado, Las Malvinas
Military Base, 25 May 2002; Article 7 Report, Form B (Observación) and
Form D, 30 April 2003; Article 7 Report, Form D, 31 May
2002. [10] Article 7 Report, Form C,
30 April 2003. [11] Article 7 Report,
Form C, 23 June 2004. [12] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
264. [13] Fabián Taco,
“Más control en frontera,” La Hora (Quito), 26 February
2004. [14] Dimitri Barreto P., "El
Ejército destruyó una base y escuela insurgentes," El Comercio
(Quito), 6 November 2002. [15] Article
7 Report, Form G, 30 April 2003. Ecuador revised its stockpile and stockpile
destruction information in its 2003 Article 7 report. Previously, Ecuador
reported completion of destruction of a stockpile of 260,302 antipersonnel mines
by January 2002. Article 7 Report, Form G, 31 May 2002. See also, Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, pp. 235-236. Initially, in March 2000, Ecuador reported a
stockpile totaling 271,802 antipersonnel mines. Article 7 Report, Form B, 29
March 2000. [16] The 101,458 mines
consisted of: MAPP pressure 78 F-2 pressure mines (93,278); MAPP 78 F-2 pressure
mines (4,655), and MAPT 78 F-2 traction mines (3,525). Article 7 Report Form G,
29 March 2000. [17] The mines
consisted of: T-AB-1 (124,497), VS/50 (20,151), PRB M-35 (100), P-4-B (20),
PMD-6M (8), and M18A1 (7). [18]
Article 7 Report, Form G, 31 May
2002. [19] The 4,500 mines consisted
of: T-AB-1 (1,334), VS-50 (3,121), PMD-6M (40) and P-4-AB (5). Landmine Monitor
noted that the PMD-6M and P-4-B mines were in excess to those Ecuador reported
in stock and having destroyed. See Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release,
“Destruction Event Act,” 17 January 2002; and “4,500
anti-personnel mines destroyed in Ecuador,” Xinhua (Quito), 22 January
2002. [20] Article 7 Report, Form G,
31 May 2002. “Ecuador: destrucción de minas antipersonal en
Ecuador concluirá este martes,” AFP (Quito), 10 September 2001;
“Latinoamérica cumple tratado: sigue destrucción de
minas,” El Expreso (Guayaquil), 12 September 2001;
“Destrucción de almacenes en Honduras, Nicaragua, Perú y
Ecuador,” in El Desminado (OAS), Vol. 1 Number 1, November 2001; Brochure
(in Spanish) by Ecuador and the OAS dated September
2001. [21] Landmine Monitor was
present at the destruction event. [22]
The 3,970 mines consisted of: T-AB-1 (2,100), VS/50 (1,459), PRB M-409 (300),
PRB M-35 (80), P-4-B (25), and PMD-6M (6). Lot numbers were not reported.
Article 7 Report, Forms B and D, 23 June 2004. No details were provided on the
1,970 mines destroyed on 11 August 2004 and there is no information available on
the 2,000 mines that remain for
training. [23] Article 7 Report, Form
D, 29 March 2000. [24] Notes taken by
Landmine Monitor (HRW), 30 May
2000. [25] Article 7 Report, Forms B
and D, 23 August 2000; Article 7 Report, Form B, 5 March
2001. [26] Statement by Dr. Alfredo
Luna Tobar, Ecuadorian Ambassador to Nicaragua, Third Meeting of States Parties,
Managua, 19 September 2001. [27] It
disposed of the 12,000 in the following way. It destroyed 4,500 mines on 17
January 2002. Another 1,644 were transferred to the United States on 2 January
2002. A total of 4,856 T-AB-1 mines originally meant to be retained were
apparently destroyed by September 2001. Finally, 1,000 MOH-50 Claymore-type
directional fragmentation mines were kept, but no longer recorded as
antipersonnel mines. These are apparently ex-Soviet mines usually designated
MON-50. [28] Ten of the mines were
M18A1 Claymore mines that Ecuador no longer counted as antipersonnel mines
because they were command-detonated. Another 20 VS-50 mines were transferred to
the US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division in January 2002.
This was an amendment of the number of VS-50 previously reported as transferred,
420 instead of 400. Article 7 Report, Form B (Observación) and Form D,
30 April 2003. [29] Under the Peace
Accord, Perú gave one square kilometer in Tiwinza as “private
property” to Ecuador for commemorative purposes. Perú retains
sovereignty. [30] Article 7 Report,
Form C, 30 April 2003. See also Article 7 Reports, 5 March 2001 and 29 March
2000. [31] Boletín de Prensa
No. 109, “Conclusión del desminado humanitario en la frontera
ecuatoriana-peruana: El Oro y Tumbes,” Quito, 12 March
2004. [32] Ecuador reported in June
2004 that the last certifications were being done in Loja and the end of
operations would occur soon. Landmine Monitor (MAC) notes taken during
presentation by Helena Yánez, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, MRE and Mine Action Technologies, 22 June
2004. See also OAS, Update of the OAS Mine Action Program (AICMA) to the
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, MRE and Mine Action Technologies, June
2004. [33] Article 7 Report, Form C,
23 June 2004. [34] OEA AICMA,
Portafolio 2003-2004, August 2003, p.
16. [35] Not to be confused with the
Tiwinza square kilometer territory provided to Ecuador by Perú in
Peruvian territory. [36] OEA AICMA,
Portafolio 2003-2004, August 2003, p.
17. [37] Ibid, p.
16. [38] Ibid, p.
13. [39] OAS, Update on Regional Mine
Action Efforts, May 2003, p. 3. [40]
See OAS AICMA Ecuador webpage, “Estudios de Impacto,” at www.aicma-ec.org [41] Marcelo Gálvez,
“Dos muertos en maniobras,” El Universo (Guayaquil), 30 May 2001;
Marcelo Gálvez, “Familia de niño muerto demandará a
las FF.AA,” El Universo, 7 June
2001. [42] OAS contribution to
Landmine Monitor Report 2000. [43]
UNMAS, “Mine Action Assessment Mission Report: Ecuador,” 15 November
1999. [44] ALDHU Report, “Human
and Environmental Security of Shuar and Achuar (Ecuador), Aguaruna and Huambisa
(Perú) Populations after the War,” August 1999; UNMAS,
“Assessment Mission Report,” 15 November 1999, p.
11. [45] OEA AICMA, Portafolio
2003-2004, August 2003, p. 15. [46]
See OAS AICMA Ecuador webpage, “Antecendentes.” OAS,
“Destroying Land Mines in Ecuador, Perú,” (Newsletter),
May-June 2001. [47] See OAS AICMA,
“Antecendentes.” [48]
Landmine Monitor was present at the IMSMA presentation. GICHD, “Updates
on activities between January and April 2002,” 30 April 2002, p.
4. [49] Statement by Ecuador, Standing
Committee on Mine Clearance, 5 February
2003. [50] OAS, Update on Regional
Mine Action Efforts, May 2003. [51]
See OAS AICMA Ecuador webpage,
“Contribuyentes.” [52]
Statement by Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February
2004. [53] Article 7 Report, Form F,
Table 2, 23 June 2004. [54] Article 7
Report, Form G, Table 2 (a), 23 June
2004. [55] Article 7 Report, Form G,
Table 2 (b), 23 June 2004. [56]
Boletín de Prensa No. 109, “Conclusión del desminado
humanitario en la frontera ecuatoriana-peruana: El Oro y Tumbes,” Quito,
12 March 2004. [57] “Ecuador y
Perú delimitaron la zona de Tiwintza,” El Comercio (Quito), 30
October 2003. [58] Presentation by
Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June
2004. [59] Article 7 Report, Form K,
23 June 2004. [60] Intervention by
Ecuador, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, 15 May 2003 (Notes taken
by Landmine Monitor). [61] Article 7
Report, Form I, 23 June 2004. [62]
Article 7 Report, Form I, 23 June
2004. [63] See OAS AICMA webpage,
“Educación Preventiva.”
[64] Statement by Ecuador, Standing
Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February
2004. [65] Presentation by Ecuador,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June
2004. [66] Article 7 Report, Form I,
23 June 2004. [67] Article 7 Report,
Form I, 30 April 2003; Statement by Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine
Clearance, 5 February 2003. [68]
Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 May
2002. [69] Landmine Monitor trip to
Huaquillas, Santa Rosa and Pasaje, El Oro Province, March
2002. [70] Article 7 Report, Form I,
31 May 2002. [71] Interview with Maj.
Juan Carlos Guarderas, Comando General de Desminado, Las Malvinas Military Base,
25 May 2002. [72] Interview with Col.
Hernán Bedón, Commander of the 23rd Brigade “Cenepa”
and Head of mine clearance operations, CENDESMI, 27 April
2001. [73] Telephone interview with
Juan de Dios Parra, Director, ALDHU, 24 March
2000. [74] See OAS, “Mine Action
Program: Making the Western Hemisphere landmine-safe,” Resource
Mobilization: Projection of Financial Resources/Requirements 2003-2007, p. 6.
Presented at the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the
Convention, 12 May 2003. [75] OEA
AICMA, Portafolio 2003-2004, August 2003, p.
18. [76] See OAS AICMA Ecuador
webpage, “Países
Donantes.” [77] US Department of
State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety: The United States Commitment to
Humanitarian Demining,” September 2002.
[78] US DOS, “To Walk the Earth
in Safety,” November 2001, p.
38. [79] “OAS Mine Action
Program: Statement of Contributions Received by December 2001, 1992-2001,”
Non-official table provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Carl Case,
OAS, 18 June 2002. [80] Mine Action
Investments database, www.mineaction.org
. [81] “Dos Shuaras murieron al
manipular una mina,” El Comercio, 27 May 2004; “Dos personas mueren
por manipular una mina antipersonal,” El Diario Hoy (Quito), 27 May 2004;
Presentation by Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June
2004. [82] For details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, pp. 239-240. [83]
See “Cuadro de Registro de Víctimas de Minas Antipersonal en el
Ecuador,” in OAS AICMA Ecuador webpage, “Asistencia a
Víctimas.” [84]
Presentation by Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February
2004. [85] US DOS, “To Walk the
Earth in Safety,” November 2001, p.
38. [86] See also Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, pp. 333-334; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
240. [87] Article 7 Report, Form J, 23
June 2004; see also OAS AICMA, “Asistencia a
Víctimas.” [88] Article 7
Report, Form J, 30 April 2003. [89]
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
240. [90] Article 7 Report, Form J, 23
June 2004; Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2003.
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