Key developments since May 2003: Namibia submitted its initial
Article 7 Report, due by 28 August 1999, on 7 July 2004. In this report,
Namibia indicated that in 1998, it had destroyed 21,857 mines, and retains 9,999
for training and development purposes. Prior to 2004, Namibia had made no
official declarations about its stockpile, even though its treaty deadline for
destruction was 1 March 2003. Namibia reported in 2004 that plans are underway
to draft national implementation legislation. In June 2004, Namibia stated that
the country is “mine safe,” but noted that clearance units were
still “vigorously hunting” for UXO in the Northern regions of the
country. During 2003, the Namibian Red Cross Society conducted a mine risk
education program in the northern Kavango region.
Key developments since 1999: Namibia became a State Party on 1 March
1999. It has not enacted domestic implementation legislation, but reported in
2004 that it plans to do so. Namibia submitted its initial Article 7
transparency report nearly five years late, in July 2004. Namibia’s
treaty-mandated deadline for stockpile destruction was 1 March 1999; it did not
inform States Parties that it had met this obligation (in 1998) until 2004.
Angolan UNITA rebels and Angolan government troops used landmines inside
Namibia, prior to the peace accords of 2002. Allegations of use by Namibian
forces were not substantiated. The ICBL expressed concerns that Namibia could
have been “assisting“ Angolan government troops with mine use during
their joint military operations, which is a treaty violation, but Namibia denied
such actions.
Upon completion of its work in Namibia in February 2001, the US commercial
demining firm RONCO declared Namibia free of mines, except the area of conflict
on the Angola border in the Kavango Region. The US reported that ten known
minefields, 410 electric pylons and more than one million square meters of land
had been cleared, and more than 5,000 mines and 1,300 UXO destroyed. The ICRC
and partners initiated a new mine risk education project in Namibia in 2002.
Since 1999, there has been a significant decrease in the number of reported
mine/UXO casualties from 140 mine/UXO casualties in 2000, to 50 casualties in
2001, 19 in 2002, and 12 in 2003.
Mine Ban Policy
Namibia was active in the Ottawa Process, although it did not participate in
the Oslo treaty negotiations. Namibia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997, ratified on 21 September 1998, and the treaty entered into force on 1
March 1999. The Namibian Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL) and Namibian Red
Cross lobbied the government to sign, ratify and implement the
treaty.[1] Namibia has voted in
favor of every pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996, including UNGA
Resolution 58/53 on 8 December 2003.
As with all international treaties to which the country is party, the Mine
Ban Treaty is part of national law under the provisions of the Namibian
Constitution.[2] However, in a
statement addressed to the Standing Committee meeting on stockpile destruction
in February 2004, Namibia said that plans were underway to draft legislation
consistent with Article 9; this was also reported in Namibia’s Article 7
report submitted in July
2004.[3]
On 7 July 2004, Namibia submitted its initial Article 7 Report, which had
been due by 28 August 1999.[4]
Oddly, the report cites the reporting period as February 1998 to May 1998.
Namibia has never provided an explanation for the delay in producing this
report.
Namibia participated in the First and Fifth Meetings of States Parties, in
Maputo, Mozambique (1999), and Bangkok, Thailand (2003), respectively, and has
only attended intersessional Standing Committee meetings since 2003.
Regionally, Namibia has attended seminars on landmines held in Mali in 2001 and
Angola in June 2002.
Namibia 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. These discussions focus 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.
In 2001, Landmine Monitor expressed concern that Namibia could be in
violation of Article 1 of the Mine Ban Treaty if it was “assisting”
Angolan forces that might be using antipersonnel mines in joint
operations.[5] Moreover,
Namibia could be in violation if it were to permit the transfer, stockpiling or
use of antipersonnel mines on its territory by Angolan forces.
In response to a Landmine Monitor letter of 25 May 2001, expressing concern
about Namibia’s possible violation of Article 1 regarding assistance, the
Namibian government responded, “Since the ratification of the [Mine Ban
Treaty], the Namibian Defence Force has never used anti-personnel mines or
assisted any other forces in the use thereof, both in its internal and
international military operations.... The Government of the Republic of
Namibia...denies any use or assistance to use anti-personnel mines by its
forces. Such an allegation would thus lack any factual
basis.”[6] The government
has also stated that the Angolan army is “prohibited from transiting
weapons like mines through
Namibia.”[7]
Namibia is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Production, Transfer and Use
Namibia denies past production or export of antipersonnel
mines.[8] It says that it
obtained its mines as “left-overs during the liberation
struggle.”[9] In 2000 and
2001, Landmine Monitor reported on antipersonnel mine use in Namibia by UNITA
rebel forces and Angolan government forces, and on unsubstantiated allegations
of use by Namibian troops.[10]
There have been no serious allegations of use by Namibian forces, and no reports
of use by the Angolan government or UNITA, since the April 2002 peace agreement
in Angola.
Stockpiling and Destruction
The extent of Namibia’s antipersonnel mine stockpile only became known
with the release of its initial Article 7 report on 7 July 2004. Namibia
declared that, prior to destruction, it had 31,856 antipersonnel mines in stock;
it destroyed 21,857 and retained the other
9,999.[11] Destruction took
place at the Oshivello Training Area, using open detonation with a “safe
distance observed.”[12]
There is no date of destruction given in the report, other than the reporting
period of February to May 1998. However, in February 2004, at the
intersessional meetings in Geneva, Namibia stated that it had “destroyed
all its stockpiles of anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance from its
stores in May 1998,” except for “a very limited number of
anti-personnel mines ... for research and development, training in mine
detection, mine clearance and destruction
techniques.”[13]
According to the Article 7 report, Namibia‘s stockpiles were comprised
of 298 PPM-2, 100 OZM-72, 41 PROM-1, 3,720 PMN, 777 POMZ-2, 7,364 POMZ-2M,
19,412 PMD-6, 22 Claymore and 122 “Mine Sharpener” mines. Namibia
destroyed 2,216 PMN, 477 POMZ-2, 3,454 POMZ-2M and 15,710 PMD-6 mines. The
Article 7 report did not provide details of the origins of the mines. In 1999,
Landmine Monitor reported that 25 types of antipersonnel mines, sourced from
nine countries, had been identified in
Namibia.[14]
In January 2001, the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) undertook a military
operation that targeted a number of UNITA bases and depots inside Angola,
seizing a large assortment of weaponry, including more than 600 antipersonnel
mines of South African origin, which it brought into Namibia and displayed. In
December 2000, NDF also displayed a selection of antipersonnel mines and
antivehicle mines allegedly captured from UNITA
forces.[15] Namibia has not
explained what has happened to mines captured or removed from Angola since May
1998.
Although Namibia has said that it is retaining only a “very limited
number” of mines, the 9,999 is among the very highest of all States
Parties. It would appear that the number has not changed since 1998, indicating
that none of the mines are consumed during research, development and training
activities. Namibia has not specified the nature of those activities.
Landmine Problem, Survey and Assessment
Landmines were frequently used during the war of independence, fought between
1961 and 1990. The conflict left mines and UXO in the densely populated
Kaokoland, Owambo, Kavango and Caprivi Strip districts in the northwestern,
northern, and northeastern regions of the country. Although more than 60
percent of the country’s population inhabits these areas, only a small
fraction could be described as “affected” by the presence of mines,
as indicated by mine-related incidents. There has been no national landmine
survey of Namibia, and no assessment of the mine problem undertaken other than a
1999 UNMAS mission, which concluded that the “landmine situation in
Namibia constitutes neither a humanitarian emergency nor a major obstacle for
development,” and that the “mine problem in Namibia is finite, well
known and could be solved relatively quickly given the appropriate resources and
coordination.”[16]
Upon completion of its work in Namibia in February 2001, the US commercial
demining firm RONCO declared all of Namibia free of mines, except the area of
conflict on the Angola border in the Kavango
Region.[17] In November 2001,
the US government stated that landmines and UXO affect some 100,000 square
kilometers of land, or about 12 percent of Namibian
territory.[18]
In May 2002, the Director of the US State Department’s Office of
Humanitarian Demining observed that if not for the “intrusion” of
mines recently laid by the Angolans in the northwest corner of the country,
“Namibia would be mine
safe.”[19] A US
Department of State document said that residents in the northern regions of
Onamunama and Utomba continued to report the presence of landmines in
2002.[20] In a November 2002
report, UNMAS stated that Namibia was affected by landmines and had requested
international mine action
assistance.[21] According to a
media report in early 2003, over the last three years, small-scale farmers at a
government-subsidized cotton-growing program in West Caprivi had been unable to
plant because of landmines in the
area.[22]
At the intersessional meetings in June 2004, Namibia stated that while there
was still a problem in Kavango and Western Caprivi on the Angolan border,
“no-go” areas do not exist there, and that the country could be
viewed as “mine safe.” It was also reported that mine/UXO-related
accidents had dropped
dramatically.[23]
Namibia’s July 2004 Article 7 report declares that there are “no
areas that contain
mines.”[24]
Mine Action Coordination and Mine Clearance
The Ministry of Defense is responsible for mine clearance, whereas the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is responsible for mine/UXO risk
education. There is no apparent policy, criteria or strategy governing the
allocation and use of mine action funds in Namibia.
The US-sponsored training and clearance program in Namibia started in 1994
and ended in February 2001. At that time the United States noted,
“Overall the establishment of Namibia’s demining program is
complete.... Namibia now possesses a modern demining capacity and a dedicated
unit of 1,000
deminers.”[25]
The US reported that ten known minefields, 410 electric pylons and more than
one million square meters of land had been cleared, and more than 5,000 mines
and 1,300 UXO destroyed. The project was completed without casualties to the
deminers.[26] The German NGO,
MgM, which has undertaken field tests in Namibia as part of its research and
development on demining technology, reported carrying out emergency clearance in
the Caprivi area in June
2000.[27]
According to local media in 2003, Namibian security forces were carrying out
demining in Kavango and other northeastern, northern and northwestern parts of
the country along the common border with
Angola.[28] At the
intersessional meetings in June 2004, Namibia reported that the Engineer
Regiment and Nampol Explosive Unit were “hunting” UXO in the
northern regions of the
country.[29]
In 2003, Landmine Monitor reported on the development of demining vehicles in
Namibia as a collaborative product of Military International Ltd. of Canada and
Windhoeker Maschinenfabrik Pty. Ltd. of
Namibia.[30]
In November 2002, in response to a request for assistance from Zambia’s
president, teams from Namibia and Zambia worked jointly on a survey to establish
the scale of the landmine problem in Zambia’s Western province where SWAPO
freedom fighters had
operated.[31]
Mine Risk Education
During 2003, the Namibian Red Cross Society (NRCS) conducted a mine risk
education (MRE) program along the Kavango River in the Kavango Region.
According to NRCS, the program involved mine awareness through radio messages
and distribution of T-shirts, teaching villagers how to give first aid support
to mine casualties, and providing villagers with information about psychological
support and prosthetic services. This was part of a joint International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Canadian Red Cross Society (CRCS) and NRCS
program, begun in 2002, which targeted 45 vulnerable villages in the
region.[32] The Kavango program
benefited 33,131 people before coming to an end in December 2003, due to lack of
funding.[33] At the request of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ICRC also conducted
training-of-trainer programs in the Osire Refugee Camp for a large number of
Angolan refugees who are expected to return to their
country.[34]
In 2001, a US-supported nationwide mine awareness program delivered MRE
messages in five local languages on local radio and television. A local joint
mine awareness initiative — including Western embassies, government
departments, local NGOs and financial institutions — was also launched
under the theme Namibia Against Landmines. The initiative aimed at distributing
mine education materials, largely through
schools.[35] The Namibian
government conducted MRE campaigns since independence in 1990, using radio,
television, T-shirts and
pamphlets.[36]
Funding
In 2003, the United States donated US$600,000 for mine action in Namibia,
which was a significant increase over 2001 and
2002.[37] From 1999-2003, the
US provided about $2.25 million in mine action assistance: 1999, $1.053 million;
2000, $492,000; 2001, $40,000 (for MRE program); 2002, $65,000; 2003, $600,000.
The US has been the primary donor for mine action in Namibia since the
mid-1990s, providing about US$7.25 million from 1995 through
1998.[38] The US government
also transferred demining equipment worth US$2 million to the NDF at the
conclusion of its mine clearance program in February
2001.[39]
In August 2003, China donated demining military equipment to Namibia,
including 30 mine detectors or sweepers, and 50 tons of explosive
devices.[40] It was reported
that the Namibia Development Corporation spent $33,950 during 2002 on demining
30-hectare farming plots in the West Caprivi region, which had been mined
between 1999 and 2001.[41]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
In 2003, official Namibian police statistics recorded twelve new mine/UXO
casualties, including three killed and nine injured; one incident was attributed
to a landmine. To March 2004, two people were injured in separate UXO-related
incidents.[42]
Since 1999, there has been a significant decrease in the number of reported
mine/UXO casualties from 140 mine/UXO casualties in 2000 (14 killed and 126
injured), to 50 casualties in 2001 (nine killed and 41 injured), and 19
casualties in 2002 (two killed and 17
injured).[43]
There is no systematic nationwide data collection on mine/UXO incidents in
Namibia, and various sources report contradictory information. The police
department and media are the principal sources of information relating to
mine/UXO casualties. According to the US Department of State, from 1999 to July
2002, landmines and UXO killed 135 civilians and injured 440 others, with 23
killed and 138 injured in the Kavango and Caprivi regions alone in 2000 and
2001.[44] In August 2001,
Foreign Affairs Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab reportedly stated that “just
over 100 Namibians have died as a result of landmine explosions and a further
255 have sustained injuries since
Independence.”[45]
Namibian soldiers have also been killed and injured in mine incidents in
Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo since
1999.[46]
Survivor Assistance
Landmine casualties in Namibia receive emergency medical treatment from local
health centers in the mine-affected areas. Casualties with more serious
injuries are transferred by ambulance to Windhoek Central State Hospital. The
hospital has a rehabilitation center that provides prostheses, physiotherapy,
and psychological support. The Roman Catholic Hospital also assists mine
survivors. The government has adopted a community based rehabilitation approach
to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of persons with disabilities.
Although the government reportedly has the capacity to meet the physical needs
of mine survivors, assistance is needed to promote their social and economic
reintegration.[47]
Between 2000 and 2002, the ICRC provided medicines and surgical supplies to
the Runda Hospital in Kavango region and up to four district hospitals to treat
an influx of war-wounded. Since 2000, the ICRC-supported hospitals performed
amputation surgery for more than 140 war-wounded, including mine casualties. The
ICRC also held surgical training seminars for health professionals from the
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defense in
2001.[48]
The Namibian Red Cross Society trains villagers in first aid for mine
casualties and provides information on psychological support and prosthetic
services, as part of its mine risk education
program.[49]
The ICRC-upgraded Rundu prosthetic/orthotic workshop began production in
April 2002. The center is the only orthopedic facility in a region of
approximately 400,000 people. Between January and March 2003, the center
produced 20 prostheses, of which 14 were for mine survivors; 85 prostheses (49
for mine survivors) were produced in 2002. An ICRC ortho-prosthetist was based
as the center until March 2003 providing technical expertise for the
introduction of polypropylene technology and training of local technicians and
Ministry of Health
personnel.[50]
Disability Policy and Practice
There is no legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in
Namibia. The National Assembly adopted the National Policy on Disabilities in
April 1997; however, the implementation of the policy is still lacking. The
Ministry of Lands, Resettlement, and Rehabilitation is primarily responsible for
the coordination of disability matters, and implementation of the National
Policy on Disabilities. Within the Ministry, the main function of the
Rehabilitation Division is to facilitate access to services that will promote
the social and economic integration of persons with disabilities into the larger
community. In September 2001, the Disability Advisory Office, within the Prime
Minister’s office, was established to provide advice on issues relating to
persons with
disabilities.[51]
Landmine survivors and other persons with disabilities receive assistance, in
the form of monthly pension payments, from the Ministry of Health and Social
Services.[52]
[1] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
64-65, for further details. [2] For
details of Article 144 of Namibia’s Constitution, see Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 121. It is not clear how penal sanctions would be applied to
offending parties with regard to specific Articles of the ban
treaty. [3] Presentation by Namibia,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 12 February 2004; Article 7
Report, Form A, 7 July 2004. Form A stated “domestic law under
consideration.” [4] Namibia
lists the date of the report as 21 June 2004, but the date of submission to the
UN was 7 July 2004. Much of the report is
handwritten. [5] Landmine Monitor
Report 2000, pp. 83-84. [6] Letter to
Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Gerhard Theron, Charge d’Affaires, Permanent
Mission of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations, New York, 23 July
2001. [7] “Army not breaking
landmine treaty,” IRIN, 9 January 2001, citing MOD spokesman Frans
Nghitila. [8] In 1999, Landmine
Monitor reported that the U.S. Department of Defense claimed that the country
produced PMD-6 AP mines in the past. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 65.
[9] Statement by Namibia,
intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 21-25 June
2004. [10] See Landmine Monitor Report
2000, pp. 81-84, and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 123-125, for further
details. [11] Article 7 Report, Forms
D and G, 7 July 2004. [12] Article 7
Report, Form F, 7 July 2004. [13]
Presentation by Namibia, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 12
February 2004. This was repeated in Namibia’s statement to the June
interessional meetings. [14] Landmine
Monitor Report 1999, p. 65. [15]
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 121-122. The Namibian Campaign to Ban
Landmines charged that bringing the mines back from Angola constituted
“transfer,” but the government argued that this did not amount to
violation of the treaty, and that the act was merely for displaying “the
weapons used to maim our people. This is not a
transfer.” [16] UNMAS, Joint
Assessment Mission Report: Namibia, 6 April 2000, p.
3. [17] RONCO website, www.roncoconsulting.com. [18]
US Department of State (DOS), “To Walk the Earth in Safety: The US
Government Commitment to Humanitarian Demining,” Bureau of
Political-Military Affairs, Washington, November 2001, p.
10. [19] Charles Cobb, "Mozambique
Leads the World - in Clearing Land Mines,” allAfrica.com, 27 May
2002. [20] U.S. DOS, “Namibia:
Country Report on Human Rights Practices,” Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor, 31 March 2003. [21]
UNMAS, “Namibia: Overall Environment,” 30 November 2002.
[22] Chrispin Inambao, “Cotton
Farmers Miss Out on Reaping Harvest Pay,” The Namibian, 26 February
2003. [23] Statement by Namibia,
intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 21-25 June 2004.
[24] Article 7 Report, Form C, 7 July
2004. [25] US DOS, “To Walk the
Earth,” November 2001, p.
10. [26]
Ibid. [27] Email from Hendrik Ehlers,
MgM, 20 April 2001. [28]
“Demining underway in Kavango,” The Namibian online, November 26
2003. [29] Statement by Namibia,
intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 21-25 June 2004.
[30] GICHD, “Mechanical
Demining Equipment Catalogue 2003,” Geneva, December
2002. [31] Interview with Mark
Singongi, Coordinator, Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Landmines, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, 5 December 2002. [32]
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
357. [33] Telephone interview with
Razia Essack Kauaria, Secretary General, NRCS, 4 March 2004. As reported in
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 356, in September 2002, Canadan announced
US$573,300 for mine action in Mozambique and Namibia, which was supposed to
include US$318,500 (through the CRCS) for MRE and landmine survivor programs in
both countries. Canada country reports do not include any disbursement to
Namibia for 2002 or 2003. [34]
Interview with ICRC field officer, 4 March
2004. [35] Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 128. [36] Landmine Monitor
Report 1999, pp. 71-72. [37] US
Department of State, “Congressional Budget Justifications: Foreign
Operations, Fiscal Year 2005, Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and
Related programs (NADR) appropriation,” 10 February 2004, pp.
154-158. [38] Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 126. [39] US Embassy,
“US-Namibia Joint Demining Project,” Background Text, 5 February
2001. [40] “China skenk militere
toerusting,” Die Republikein, 1 August
2003. [41] “Cotton Farmers Miss
Out on Reaping Harvest Pay,” The Namibian, 26 February 2003. (Currency
exchange rate: 1N$ = US$0.097, the average for 2002 found at www.oanda.com). [42]
Letter to Executive Director, National Society for Human Rights, from Lt. Gen.
L. P. Hangula, Inspector General, Namibian Police, 2 April
2004. [43] In 2000, 12 of the 14
killed and 117 of the 126 injured were mine-related. In 2001, three of the nine
killed and at least 21 of the 41 injured were mine-related. In 2002, at least
four of the casualties were caused by landmines. For details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2003, p. 357; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 364; and Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 129. [44] US
DOS, “To Walk the Earth,” September 2002, p.
20. [45] Absalom Shigedha,
“Landmines claim 100 since 1990,” The Namibian, 24 August
2001. [46] For details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2003, p. 357; and Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
87. [47] Presentations by Namibia,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 10 February 2004 and 4 February
2003; Dimitris Michailakis, “Government Action in Disability
Policy,” UN, New York, 1997, p.
183. [48] ICRC Special Reports,
“Mine Action 2002,” Geneva, July 2003, p. 23; “Mine Action
2001,” July 2002, p. 19; “Mine Action 2000,” July 2001, p.
16. [49] Email from Karen Mollica,
Program Coordinator, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of
Canada, 8 July 2003. [50] ICRC
Physical Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, 9
March 2004, pp. 9 and 26; “Annual Report 2002,” June
2003. [51] Wezi Tjaronda, “New
Campaign to Raise Awareness on Disability,” New Era (Windhoek), 23 July
2004; see also HI, “Landmine Victim Assistance: World Report 2002,”
Lyon, December 2002, p. 118. [52]
Presentation by Namibia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 4 February
2003.
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