Nicaragua’s Vice
Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmundo Castillo Salazar signed the Mine Ban Treaty
on 4 December 1997. Nicaragua deposited its instrument of ratification on 30
November 1998, the fifty-fourth nation to do so. On the one year
anniversary of the treaty signing, 4 December 1998, President Arnoldo Aleman
stated, “We Nicaraguans have been witnesses of the devastating effects of
antipersonnel landmines planted during the previous decade and that have caused
severe and irreparable damage to many persons, in the majority civilians and
sometimes children, that did not know the field of battle but that have been
mutilated by this mortal artifact. The same has happened in other countries.
That is why its use, stockpiling and production has been prohibited by the
Ottawa Treaty, that Nicaragua has signed and
ratified."[1]
Nicaragua was one of the early backers of a mine ban, first announcing its
support for an immediate, comprehensive ban on antipersonnel landmines at a
United Nations conference on mine clearance in July 1995 in Geneva, Switzerland.
In September 1996, it joined with other Central American nations in declaring
the region a mine free zone in a joint statement signed by each nation’s
foreign minister, with each pledging to no production, trade or use of
antipersonnel mines. Nicaragua attended all of the treaty preparatory meetings,
endorsed the pro-ban treaty June 1997 Brussels Declaration, and was a full
participant in the Oslo negotiations in September 1977. Nicaragua also voted in
favor of the pro-ban U.N. General Assembly resolutions in 1996, 1997, and 1998,
and supported the pro-ban resolutions of the Organization of American States
(OAS).
Domestic implementation legislation for the Mine Ban Treaty is currently
under consideration, through a commission of the Ministry of Defense and the
Ministry of Foreign Relations. It will be reviewed by the recently created
National Demining Commission, referred to the Presidency for approval, and
subsequently to the legislature.
Nicaragua is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, and is
not a member of the Conference on Disarmament.
Production
Nicaragua’s Ejercito Popular Sandinista
(Sandinista People’s Army - EPS) has been identified as a past producer of
the TAP-4 directional fragmentation antipersonnel
mine.[2] In an interview, Lt.
Col. Cesar Delgadillo, Army Chief of Operations, confirmed that around 1985, the
Sandinista Army produced a very primitive version of the TAP-4, but he said the
mine was never exported and production ceased before the end of the
war.[3] A November 1993 U.S.
Army document stated that “Nicaragua only produced minimal numbers of
TAP-4 mines, strictly for internal use. They are no longer produced and no
exports are
envisioned.”[4]
Transfer
The Sandinista Army acquired its mines from the
Soviet bloc and the Army will not specify the type or quantity of mines exported
to Nicaragua. The contras acquired Claymore antipersonnel mines and perhaps
others from the United States. It has also been reported that the contras used
a Brazilian-made antipersonnel mine nicknamed “quitadedos” or
“removes toes.”[5]
Other sources of contra mines are unknown.
According to a number of reports, the following antipersonnel mines have been
found in Nicaragua:
According to the Minister of Defense Pedro Joaquin
Chamorro, Nicaragua has a stockpile of approximately 100,000 antipersonnel
mines.[7] The Army began
destruction of stockpiles in April 1993 with the explosion of 2,858 mines by a
specialized Army platoon.[8] As
of November 1998, the Army had destroyed 18,672 antipersonnel mines including PP
MI SR II, PMD-6, and PMN
mines.[9]
When the ICBL and 1997 Nobel Co-Laureate Jody Williams visited Nicaragua in
January 1999, the government announced its decision to destroy its remaining
stockpile of about 100,000 mines by the end of March 1999. On 19 February 1999,
Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister Eduardo Montealegre stated that the first
destruction of the stockpile would take place in mid-April 1999 during the visit
by Canada’s Prime Minister Jean Chrètien, Secretary General of the
OAS Cesar Gaviria, and Foreign Ministers of the
region.[10] This will be the
first publicly-monitored destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines in
Nicaragua. The Foreign Minister indicated that no precise timetable had been set
for the destruction of the remaining
stock.[11]
In January 1999, Nicaragua’s Defense Minister had said that destruction
would take place in March 1999. "I'll be frank with you," he said, "we want to
be the first to comply, to set an example, because we need donations to clean
the country of mines. And the time to get donations is when there's a lot of
attention on the process, a lot of
sympathy."[12] The Minister
confirmed in an interview that "an important quantity of mines" will be
destroyed in the April destruction ceremony and admitted that as yet there is no
time-line in place for the destruction of the remaining
stockpile.[13]
Some in the Nicaraguan Army have indicated that it may require the maximum
four years allowed to complete destruction of the stockpile. A study for the
donor community is being undertaken to examine the social and ecological impact
of the destruction process, to calculate the costs of destruction and to set
forth a timetable for
destruction.[14]
Nicaragua’s stockpiled APMs are located in army warehouses. They are
destroyed by being exploded on site. To date no public figures have been
released of the cost of destruction. Nicaragua receives technical support from
the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) through the OAS for the destruction of
stockpiled mines.
It is not known if or how many mines are being retained for training
purposes, as allowed under Article 3 of the treaty. It is not known if
Claymore-type mines (MON-50, MON-100) are included in Nicaragua’s
stockpile destruction plan.
Use
There are no allegations of recent use of
antipersonnel mines in Nicaragua. According to Nicaraguan Army sources, the
Operational Division of the Army registered the laying of about 120,000
antipersonnel mines during the 1980s
conflict.[15] Massive
emplacement occurred in 1984 when the conflict intensified. According to
non-Army sources, in addition to the Operational Division of the Army, there
were at least three other operational levels that were authorized to use mines;
sometimes the Reserve Battalions or Fixed Brigades were also equipped with
mines, as were some militia
units.[16] Mines were used
mainly for protection of strategic installations, economically important
locations, and lines of communication.
The contras also employed mines extensively, mainly to disrupt economic life
and destabilize the government. According to a December 1996 report by Americas
Watch, mining by the contras “caused the great majority of civilian
casualties.... The contras made no effort to warn the civilian population of
the placement of
mines.”[17]
Landmine Problem
A systematic survey of the mine problem in
Nicaragua has never been undertaken, though an initial United Nations assessment
mission was recently
completed.[18] Estimates of
the number of mines planted in the ground during the war range from 91,000 to
135,000.[19] The most common
recent estimates of the number of mines currently in the ground range from
70,000 to 75,000,[20] though
some official estimates are as high as
85,000-90,000.[21] According to
one source, at least 600,000 Nicaraguans, or one out of every seven, are
affected by the presence or suspected presence of mined
areas.[22]
Mines are mostly located in the border areas in the north and south of the
country, with perhaps two-thirds along the Honduran border. Mine-affected land
is found around electricity towers and power stations, settlements and
cooperatives, bridges, communications towers, and warehouses. Heavily mined is
the Dipilto cordillera from Las Manos to the joining of the river Poteca with
the river Coco. Additional minefields are near Wamblan, Bocay and Waslala.
According to the UN, the most affected Departments are Esteli, Jinotega, Madriz,
Matagalpa, and Nueva Sergovia, which contain one-quarter of the Nicaraguan
population and form the breadbasket of the
nation.[23]
Mine Action Funding
Mine clearance in Nicaragua is carried out as part
of the regional Organization of American States / Inter-American Defense Board
Demining Program in Central America. Total costs in 1993 and 1996-1998 have
been about US$6 million. Operations were suspended in 1994 and 1995 due to lack
of funding. The OAS has calculated that about $9 million will be required to
complete the demining process in Nicaragua, a figure which takes into account
the impact of Hurricane Mitch on the demining
program.[24] An Army
spokesperson, Lt. Col. Spyro Bassi has estimated $10 million is needed to
complete the demining
task.[25]
The annual budget has been approximately $1.5 million per year.
International donors have included Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan,
Norway, Spain, Sweden, UK and
US.[26] Denmark has contributed
$1.8 million on a bilateral basis, Sweden has contributed $1.6 million though
the OAS program, and Norway has contributed $800,000 through the
OAS.[27]
Some 250 military (and ex-military) personnel have participated in the
OAS/IADB demining program, from countries of the region as well as from the
United States.[28] Nations that
have provided military specialists to assist in the clearance effort include
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru,
Uruguay, and Venezuela. In November 1998 there were twenty-three trainers and
advisors engaged in field operations, from Brazil (nine), Colombia (seven), US
(four) and Venezuela (three).
Mine Clearance
The Nicaraguan Army, with support from the
Inter-American Defense Board and the Organization of American States, is
currently undertaking mine clearance and training operations in Nicaragua. The
Sandinistas begin demining on their own in 1990, and claim that almost 11,000
antipersonnel mines were removed from 131 locations in the first
year.[29] In August 1991,
Nicaragua requested assistance in mine clearance from the OAS. After a study was
conducted by the IADB of the problem, the OAS and IADB began demining in
cooperation with the Nicaraguan Army. They put together a team of 15 military
specialists from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru
and Uruguay. The team targeted the Sebaco area. But the program was suspended
in December that same year due to the lack of funding. By then an estimated
2,538 mines had been eradicated.
The Nicaraguan Army continued on its own, with some bilateral support, until
May 1996 when new funding was allocated to reinitiate the IADB/OAS program. Mine
clearance operations recommenced in April 1997, this time under the
responsibility of the OAS’s Unit for the Promotion of Democracy. The OAS
also set up its regional base for the clearance effort in Central America in
Danli, Honduras called MARMINCA(Mision Asistencia Para la Remocion de
Minas en Centro America).
Clearance has proceeded in several phases or “modules.” The first
module involved a sweep of the perimeter of a hydroelectric plant near Jintega
to check and certify the results of demining carried out previously by the
Nicaraguan army. In the second module, 1,656 mines were removed from
thirty-eight electricity towers in the Juigalpa area. The third module which
began in October 1997 involves clearance of 17 highway bridges.
At the end of October 1998, the Nicaraguan program included 14 mine clearance
platoons with about 380 personnel, working on three
fronts.[30] Each special
clearance unit is composed of half military experts, and half
specially-contracted civilians. They work under the technical supervision of
Nicaraguan military officers and those from other countries. There have been
approximately ninety casualties among the deminers, including twelve fatalities.
But recently there has been a steady reduction in the accident
rate.[31]
As of 23 September 1998, under the OAS program, 4,805 mines had been
destroyed,[32] and more than
141,000 square meters of land had been
cleared.[33] These numbers
represent clearance under OAS auspices only; total area cleared is estimated at
819,000 square meters, and some 26,000 mines destroyed, according to the
Army.[34] A UN report indicates
that a total of 43,000 mines have been destroyed, and from 1996-1998, about 13
hecares of minefields have been
cleared.[35]
Cleared areas are located primarily along the northern and southern border
areas, in particular the departments of Esteem, Jinotega and Matagalpa. There
are no figures on the number of people who have benefited from mine clearance
efforts. To date cattle ranchers have benefited along with farmers seeking to
cultivate fields previously denied access by the presence or suspected presence
of mines.
The demining program is now taking place in four different areas and there
are plans to begin clearance in a fifth area and to add an additional 200 men in
order to clear all mines by the year
2004.[36] The initial goal for
completion of mine clearance region-wide had been the year 2000. While it still
appears the other mine-affected countries (Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala)
can meet that goal, it became apparent in 1998 that Nicaragua would not. Even
prior to Hurrican Mitch, Nicaragua had shifted the date to
2002.[37] After Hurricane
Mitch, OAS Secretary General, Cesar Gaviria, "insisted on the reformulation of
the demining program in order to define a more realistic completion date and to
incorporate the support of the international community in a greater dimension in
tasks of prevention, and victim attention so that Nicaragua can get out of this
problem."[38] President Aleman
commented that “it would be unrealistic to say that we will eliminate
70,000 mines in 1999 or
2000."[39]
In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, priorities needed to be reestablished on
account of the displacement of thousands of mines. A Ministry of Defense
mission traveled to Washington to meet with OAS and US government officials to
procure more specialized equipment and lay the basis for a new four year plan.
Following a request from President Aleman to the United Nations
UnderSecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, an assessment mission was deployed to Nicaragua. Part of the
mission’s mandate was to examine damage caused by Hurricane Mitch and to
suggest recommendations for mine action in the short and longer
term.[40]
On 4 December 1998, President Aleman announced the creation of the National
Demining Commission. He said that "implementing the commitment acquired under
the Ottawa Convention requires the creation of the National Commission on
Demining so that it will be the principal instrument of the National Program of
Demining. This will be inter-institutional with the sole purpose of ensuring
that the National Program of Demining be implemented without further
delay.” He also stated, “The government that I preside considers the
coordinated and efficient execution of the Demining Program as a national
priority actively involving all sectors of Nicaraguan
society."[41] Executive Decree
No. 84-9,8 signed on 27 November 1998 and published in La Gaceta, Diario Oficial
No. 236 on 5 December 1998, established the National Demining Commission.
Some elements of Nicaraguan civil society have noted that while there is some
community participation in mine action in Nicaragua, the OAS/IADB program is
largely military and dominated by expatriates. There is little involvement by
government agencies or ministries other than the Army. While citizen security
and economic development are the officially established demining priorities, in
practice it appears that the Army determines the criteria and priorities for
demining. The commitment of the Army to rapid humanitarian clearance has been
questioned. Clearance of agricultural land in particular has proceeded
slowly.[42]
Communities are not always satisfied with the clearance of their land and in
some areas campesinos are still refusing to go back to claim their land.
Ranchers and farmers have joined with community residents in complaining about
the continued incidence of mine-related accidents, restrictions on
communication and travel due to the presence or suspected presence of mines and
both have called for demining efforts to be
redoubled.[43]
Mine Awareness
A large-scale mine accident prevention campaign was
initiated in 1996 by the Red Cross in conjunction with the Army. About 150
workshops were set up, educating 1,500 youth. In 1998, with support from
UNICEF, the campaign was extended to the Departments of Jinotega, Matagalpa,
Nueva Segovia, Madriz and
Rivas.[44]
Nicaragua’s representative at the United Nations has said that the
“Child to Child” program has taught some 23,000 children about the
dangers of mines.[45]
International military supervisors that work with the Army periodically visit
local schools to "inform, conscientize and to warn children as to the dangers of
mines, distributing materials, posters,
comics.”[46] Items
including calendars, shopping bags and school supplies with mine warnings and
instructions have been produced and
disseminated.[47] Superman and
Wonder Woman comic books produced by D.C. Comics, UNICEF and the U.S. Department
of Defense have also been distributed.
Heavy reliance on the military and external multilateral support has resulted
in less than adequate community involvement. In 1999, the OAS/IADB mine
awareness component of the demining program will increase its efforts to work
with national and community-based non-governmental organizations.
Two Nicaraguan NGOs, the Centro de Estudios Internacionales (CEI) and Centro
de Estudios Estratégicos (CEEN), are involved in mine awareness education
in Nicaragua, working with local communities in north-central part of the
country. CEI also has peace promoters involved in mine action in central
Nicaragua and has trained 23 persons in mine awareness education. There is a
need for more involvement and support from community-based organizations in mine
awareness education.
Landmine Casualties
There are no exact figures on the number of people
killed or injured by landmines as there is no national registry of mine-related
injuries and deaths and not all cases are reported. The OAS is making an effort
to set up a Central American database on landmines and mine victims. The United
Nations has estimated that roughly 1,500 people in Nicaragua have been injured
by mines, not including fatalities. According to the UN, an average of 10 to 20
mine incidents per year are currently reported, and it is believed that many
more occur and are not
reported.[48]
More than 500 landmine casualties have been reported by just two hospitals in
Managua (Davila Bolanos and Aldo Chavarria) and the national Red Cross.
According to the Nicaraguan Red Cross, there have been a total of 553 accidents,
with 423 civilian and 76 military injured; 46 civilian and 7 military
dead.[49]
Mine accidents seemed to occur when individuals were going about their daily
work, usually agricultural activities such as herding cattle or harvesting
crops. Military casualties to landmines are now usually the result of demining
accidents. There is no available data on the types of injuries suffered. There
are several cases where victims have died before reaching hospital due to
distance, bad roads and inadequate transport.
Survivor Assistance
Through a technical collaboration program between
Nicaragua and the OAS, 120 injured mine victims with no means to pay for medical
care have received assistance. The program is paid for with a Swedish
contribution of US$200,000, and is allocated for about 200 cases. In addition,
since 1997 the OAS has had a program of “Care for Civilian Amputees in
Mine Related Accidents,” which includes prevention and rehabilitation as
well as public awareness and
education.[50]
Access to medical, surgical or rehabilitation services is difficult if the
victim has no money, unless they are a member of the Army. There are prosthetics
services and some rehabilitation and vocational training available in Nicaragua
such as the Centro Nacional de Producción de Ayudas Técnicas y
Elementos Ortoprotésicos (CENAPRORTO) run by the Ministry of Health. Its
capacity to deliver services is sometimes limited by demand. There are also some
small-scale prosthetics manufacturing and repair services, often run by the
disabled themselves. While there is some social security available, most victims
receive support from their families.
The first mine victim in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch was a
sixteen-year-old boy, Bernardo Ocampo Gonzalez, from the community of Puerto
Viejo in Waslala municipality. Early on the 16 November 1998, Gonzalez decided
to go swimming in a nearby river pond. When he went to dive he detonated one of
thousands of antipersonnel mines displaced from their original location during
Hurricane Mitch and now lodged in river bends and water holes by storm currents.
While the area was unmarked, the Army warned the local population not to wade
into or cross the rivers. Gonzalez suffered serious wounds in his chest and
lower jaw and it took two days for him to be transported to the nearest
hospital, a journey greatly slowed by poor road. He died in hospital two days
later.[51]
[1]Speech, “Firma del
Decreto Creador de la Comision Nacional de Desminado,” 4 December
1998.
[2] United States Department
of Defense, “Mine Facts” CD Rom.
[3]Lt. Col Delgadillo, Army
Chief of Operations, communication with LM Researcher, Managua, 4 March
1998.
[4] U.S. Army Foreign Science
and Technology Center, Department of Army, Letter to Human Rights Watch Arms
Project, 1 November 1993, p. 4.
[5] Americas Watch, Land
Mines in El Salvador and Nicaragua: The Civilian Victims, December 1985, pp.
55-56.
[6] See, OAS,
Desminando, No. 1, December 1998, pp. 6-7; United States Department of
State, Hidden Killers: The Global Problem with Uncleared Landmines, July
1993, p. 132; U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and U.S. Army Foreign Science and
Technology Center, Landmine Warfare - Trends and Projections, December
1992, DST-11608-019-92, p. 2-18.
[7] Statement made to ICBL
delegation, Managua, 6 January 1999.
[8] LM Researcher interview
with Major Sergio Ugarte, head of demining for Nicaraguan Army, Managua, 15
January 1999.
[9]LM Researcher interview
with Major Sergio Ugarte, head of demining for Nicaraguan Army, Managua, 15
January 1999. Also mentioned were PTMI-K and SM mines, of unknown origin to
LM.
[10]"Destruiran 170 mil minas
del Ejercito," La Prensa, 20 February 1999.
[19] The lower estimate is
Nicaraguan Army (La Prensa, 24 February 1999), the higher estimate is US State
Department, Hidden Killers, July 1993, p. 132, and United Nations,
Nicaragua Landmine Situtation Assessment Mission Report, 15 December 1998, p.
3.
[20]OEA,Programa de
Asistencia de Desminado en Centroamerica PADCA, Proyecto en Nicaragua, January
1999; "La OEA y el Desminado en Nicaragua," Desminado, (PADCA-Nicaragua), No. 1,
December 1998, pp. 2-3.
[21] Programa OEA/JID de
Desminado, “Despejando el Camino hacia el Futuro.” See also,
http://www.oas.org/EN/updhome.htm.
[22] Figure provided by
Centro de Estudios Internacionales (CEI) .
[23] UN, Nicaragua Landmine
Situation Assessment Mission Report, 15 December 1998, p. 6.
[24]"Destruiran 170 mil minas
del Ejercito," La Prensa, 20 February 1999; Interview Major Sergio
Ugarte, 15 January 1999.
[25] “EN urge 5
milliones de dolares,” La Prensa, 24 February 1999.
[26] OAS/IADB Fact Sheet,
“Facts About Demining in Nicaragua,” 1998.
[27] Mine Action Bilateral
Donor Support, Fact Sheet, 16 November 1998, provided by government of
Norway.
[28]Programa OEA/JID de
Desminado, "Despejando el Camino hacia el Futuro." See also
http://www.oas.org/EN/updhome.htm
[31] Interview with Major
Sergio Ugarte, Managua, 3 December 1998.
[32]OEA,Programa de
Asistencia de Desminado en Centroamerica PADCA, Proyecto en Nicaragua, January
1999; "La OEA y el Desminado en Nicaragua," Desminado, (PADCA-Nicaragua), No. 1,
December 1998, pp. 2-3.
[33] OAS/IADB,
“Information Paper: OAS/IADB Demining Program Update,” 14 September
1998 cites 141,479 square meters cleared as of 21 August 1998.
[34] See, "EN urge 5
millones de dolares," La Prensa, 24 February 1999, citing an Army
spokesperson.
[41]Speech of 4 December
1998, "Frima del Decreto Creador de la Comisión Nacional de
Desminado."
[42] These views have been
expressed by representatives of the Centro de Estudios Internacionales (CEI) and
Centro de Estudios Estratégicos (CEEN), and others.
[43] Interview with Uriel
Carazo, Joint Wounded War Veterans Commission, Somoto, 14 December 1998;
interviews with Heriberto Bermudez, farm administrator, La Misión, and
Fidel Rodriguez, Cattle Ranchers Commission, Matiguas, 11 December 1998.
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