Key developments
since March 1999: As of March 2000, the civilian Azerbaijan National Agency
for Mine Action had developed a National Mine Action Plan, initiated a National
Mine Database, prepared for training of deminers, and begun to purchase
equipment. Training of national deminers started in March 2000 and demining
operations start in July 2000.
Background
Azerbaijan and Armenia engaged in conflict over
the Nagorny-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan from 1988 to 1994. Nagorny-Karabakh
is an autonomous region of western Azerbaijan, but the majority of the
inhabitants are Armenian. Mines were used by all sides in the conflict. A
cease-fire agreement was signed in May 1994, but negotiations for a final peace
settlement are on-going under the auspices of the OSCE. Landmines and demining
are reportedly on the agenda of the peace
negotiations.[1] (See also
reports on Armenia and Nagorny-Karabakh.)
Mine Ban Policy
Azerbaijan has not acceded to the 1997 Mine Ban
Treaty. Azerbaijan voted in favor of the 1996 pro-ban UN General Assembly
resolution, but abstained on the three subsequent resolutions in support of the
Mine Ban Treaty, most recently in December 1999.
In its February 2000 response to an OSCE questionnaire on landmines, the
government said, “Azerbaijan believes that a total ban and elimination of
antipersonnel landmines is a necessary humanitarian goal with which the world
community is faced in the 21st century. However, under the
conditions of the continuing occupation of 20% of Azerbaijan territories by
Armenian troops and threats of renewed military operations with extensive use of
land mines by the enemy on Azerbaijan territory, Azerbaijan is forced to use
appropriate measures as a deterrence.... Azerbaijan cannot become a party to
the Convention at this stage, since it would be unable to fulfill the
obligations that result from
it.”[2]
In April 1999, Vice Prime Minister Abid Sharifoff said that Azerbaijan
intends to sign the Mine Ban Treaty and Amended Protocol II (1996) to the
Convention on Conventional Weapons as soon as a peaceful settlement of the
conflict is achieved.[3]
Azerbaijan is not a signatory to the CCW or its original Protocol II on
landmines. Although it is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament,
Azerbaijan stated in February 2000 that it considered the CD “to be the
proper forum for discussion of the question regarding anti-personnel land
mines.”[4]
The government did not attend the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine
Ban Treaty in Maputo in May 1999, nor any of the ban treaty intersessional
meetings, nor the first Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol
II in Geneva in December 1999. It did, however, attend the NGO-sponsored
regional landmine meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia in December 1999. This
participation was largely the result of the work of the Azerbaijan Campaign to
Ban Landmines (ACBL) and its ongoing work to raise public awareness in support
of a ban.
The ACBL organized a landmine conference in February 2000 in Baku.
Government representatives took part and were pressed to demine border areas and
join the Mine Ban Treaty. At that conference, Colonel Isa Sadikhov, the former
deputy of the Minister of Defense, said that the experience of recent conflicts
showed that mines are very efficient weapons. He stated that as long as there
is a threat of renewed hostilities and Azeri territory is occupied, it would be
impossible to conduct demining operations or join the
treaty.[5]
Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling
Azerbaijan is not believed to be a landmine
producer or exporter. When the Soviet army left Azerbaijan in 1992, it left
landmines behind and this is likely the source of Azerbaijan’s stockpile
of antipersonnel mines. The number and types of mines in Azerbaijan’s
stockpiles are unknown.
Use
Landmines were used by all sides throughout the
Nagorny-Karabakh conflict.[6]
In 1998 the United Nations indicated that mines continued to be
used.[7] While Azerbaijan
clearly insists on its right and need to use antipersonnel mines, Landmine
Monitor is not aware of allegations of Azeri forces laying new mines in 1999 or
2000.
In April 2000, an Azerbaijan military official alleged that “Armenian
sabotage and reconnaissance squads” continue to enter Azeri territory and
mine roads and shepherd’s
paths.[8] A border area
resident also alleged this, saying that people and cattle are killed and injured
on roads on which they used to walk
safely.[9] However, Landmine
Monitor has not found concrete corroborating evidence of such use, and Armenian
officials deny such
charges.[10]
Landmine Problem and Survey
The conflict resulted in twenty percent of
Azerbaijan’s territory being occupied by Armenia and fifteen percent of
the population becoming internally
displaced.[11] UNMAS noted in
June 2000, “More than five years after the cessation of hostilities, the
biggest impediment to reconstruction and rehabilitation remains the problem of
landmine
contamination.”[12] A
complete, nationwide survey has not been undertaken because of the political
situation.[13] UNMAS has
estimated that 19,500 square kilometers of land is
mine-affected.[14] UNMAS has
also stated that approximately twenty-four of the sixty-five Azerbaijan regions
are believed to be contaminated, that seven Azeri regions controlled by
Armenians are suspected of having mines, and that fourteen other regions
“contain defensive minefields laid by the Azerbaijan Defense
Forces.”[15]
According to information from the Ministry of Defense the front line of
military contact covers 1,039 kilometers and much of this territory is mined.
Mines can also be found in and around villages, agricultural regions, pastures,
roads, bridges, schools, water sources and forest regions. The Ministry of
Defense states that it marks minefields and informs the population about them.
The Ministry of Defense also says that it has records and maps of all its
minefields. The information is classified.
Mine Clearance and Funding
On 18 July 1998 the civilian Azerbaijan National
Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) was established to assume responsibility for mine
clearance. As of March 2000, it had developed a National Mine Action Plan,
initiated a National Mine Database, constructed several administrative
buildings, selected places for training of deminers, and begun to purchase
equipment.[16] It is planned to
conduct 24 demining training courses for 115
individuals.[17] In 2000 it is
planned to demine more than 5 million square meters of territory. Demining
operations were expected to start in June 2000 in Fizulu.
British-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG) stated training of deminers in March
2000.[18] Several teams of
deminers are now operational under MAG technical supervision. The deminers are
employed by the local NGO Relief Azerbaijan, coordinated by ANAMA. Funding is
from UNDP through contract with UNOPS.
The National Mine Action Plan delineates a four-phased approach to the mine
problem. UNDP is assisting ANAMA with the first phase, the aim of which is to
establish the capacity to deal with the mine problem in government-controlled
territory (and secondarily to build capacity to eventually deal with the mine
problem in territory currently occupied). The estimated cost for establishing
the program and the first year of operation is almost $3.53
million.[19]
The breakdown of the budget includes: international training and supervision
agency ($120,000), national demining NGO ($340,000), international dog support
and training contractor ($550,000), national quality assurance and dog support
NGO ($240,000), mine awareness ($150,000), victim assistance ($150,000), general
survey (Level One) ($120,000), facility development ($200,000), and equipment
and material procurement
($1,658,900).[20]
On 10 March 2000, АNАМА met with donors of the
Azerbaijan Mine Action Program. It announced that $2.265 million of the $3.53
million budget had been raised. Of this sum the Azeri government contributed
$600,000, UNDP $500,000, the World Bank $600,000, the Japanese government
$500,000, and Canada
$65,000.[21]
The ultimate beneficiaries of clearance efforts in Azerbaijan will be the
350,000 inhabitants, including refugees, IDPs living in tent camps and people
who never left their place of residence in the conflict ridden and contaminated
areas. These groups are among the poorest of Azerbaijan’s population and
include a large percentage of women and children. The project will also provide
some income generation activities for people who will be eventually involved in
the mine action program.
Apparently, discussions are underway between officials of Azerbaijan and
Turkey regarding an agreement to demine the border and prohibit future use on
the border, similar to an agreement Turkey has made with
Bulgaria.[22]
Mine Awareness
The National Mine Action Plan calls for mine
awareness instruction to be given to people living next to the mined
territories, as well as to refugees and IDPs. According to preliminary estimates
the number of people who will be reached by the mine awareness programs will be
some 110,000
individuals.[23]
Beginning in 1996, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
United Nations Development Program and HALO Trust carried out mine awareness
programs in Nagorny-Karabakh. The ICRC’s mine awareness program works in
cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Education, UN agencies and
nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs).[24] ICRC field officers
have trained 5,400 schoolteachers in mine awareness, who then teach their
students. Some 81,000 children have had instruction in mine awareness. In
addition these teachers pass on the information to parents in the IDP camps. The
ICRC program is community-based and uses locally produced materials, such as
videos, leaflets, brochures, and posters. These programs were conducted
throughout 1999 in refugee and IDP camps in Barda, Sabirabad and
Saatli.[25]
UNICEF, in partnership with the Ministries of Education, Health, Labor and
Social Welfare, the national Agency for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of
Areas, ANAMA, other UN agencies, the ICRC and NGOs, requested $300,000 for mine
awareness in Azerbaijan between February-December 2000. The objective of the
project is to “sensitize the IDPs of the danger of mines and
reduce/eliminate the potential incidence of mine fatalities and injuries among
children in
Azerbaijan.”[26]
ACBL and Institute of Peace and Democracy, with financial support from the
Landmines Project of the Open Society Institute Development Foundation, are
implementing two projects for humanitarian mine action during August 1999- July
2000.
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
Based on official data provided by the government,
5,561 people injured in the Karabakh conflict have been registered in the
country; of these, 78% are military and 22% civilian. Many of them are mine
victims.[27] Data from the
Society of the Invalids of the Karabakh conflict indicate there are more than
7,000 invalids from the conflict and that more than 70% of them are mine
victims.[28]
The ICRC runs an orthopedic/prosthetic center in Baku, as does the
government. Since April of 1997, Azerbaijan has had a law for the protection
and rehabilitation of disabled. (For more on casualties and mine survivor
assistance, see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 768-769.)
[1] United Nations Mine Action Service,
“Joint Assessment Mission Report: Azerbaijan,” 5 November 1998, p.
13. [2] Response to Questionnaire on
Anti-Personnel Landmines, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the
Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), FSC.DEL/28/00,
Vienna, 2 February 2000. [3]
“Azerbaijan Mine Action Program,” a joint project of the Government
of the Republic of Azerbaijan and United Nations Development Program, April
1999, page 2. [4] Response to OSCE
Questionnaire, 2 February 2000. [5] ACBL
Landmine Conference, Baku, Azerbaijan, 19 February
2000. [6] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 762-765. [7] United Nations
Mine Action Service, “Joint Assessment Mission Report: Azerbaijan,”
5 November 1998, p. 14. [8] Interview
with Col. Isa Sadikhov, former deputy of the Minister of Defense, Azerbaijan
Campaign to Ban Landmines Office, 17 April
2000. [9] Interview with Vagif
Hanbabayev Hasan, Kazakh District, Azerbaijan, 10 September
1999. [10] Armenian Defense Minister
Harutiunian has stated that since his appointment to the position in June 1999
not a single order to lay new landmines has been issued. Landmine
Monitor/Armenia interview with Lt.-Gen. Vagharshak Harutiunian, Minister of
Defense, Republic of Armenia, 19 April
2000. [11] UNMAS, Portfolio of
Mine-Related Projects, “Country Programs: Azerbaijan,” June 2000,
p. 37, available at:
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/mine/Portfolio.pdf. [12]
UNMAS, Portfolio of Mine-Related Projects, June 2000, p.
34. [13] A partial Level 1 survey of 260
of the 700 square kilometers potentially mined in the Fizuli region was carried
out in 1998 by BACTEC International. UNMAS, “Joint Assessment Mission
Report: Azerbaijan,” p. 9 [14]
UNMAS, Portfolio of Mine-Related Projects, p.
34. [15] Ibid., p.
37. [16] Interview with ANAMA Director
Ilyas Badalov, Zerkalo, 10 March 2000; Zerkalo (newspaper), 11 March 2000,
available at: http://www.zerkalo-daily.com; UNMAS, Portfolio of Mine-Related
Projects, p. 35. [17] Interview with
ANAMA Director Ilyas Badalov, Zerkalo, 10 March
2000. [18] Email from Tim Carstairs,
Communications Manager, Mines Advisory Group to Landmine Monitor (Mary Wareham,
Human Rights Watch), 28 July 2000. [19]
Ibid, pp. 35-36. [20] Ibid, p.
36. [21] Zerkalo (newspaper), 11 March
2000, available at:
http://www.zerkalo-daily.com. [22]
Statement by the Turkish Delegation to the Ljubljana, Slovenia Regional
Conference on Landmines, 21-22 June
2000. [23] Interview with ANAMA Director
Ilyas Badalov, Zerkalo, 10 March
2000. [24] UNMAS, “Joint
Assessment Mission Report: Azerbaijan,” p.
12. [25] Statement of Musa Jalalov, Mine
Awareness Program of International Committee of the Red Cross, delivered at the
Landmine Seminar “Mine Free Caucasus,” Baku, 17 November
1999. [26] UNMAS, Portfolio of
Mine-Related Projects, p. 37. [27] Yeni
Musavat, 13-19 August 1998. [28] Azadliq
(Independent,), Baku, 12 August 1998 (in Azeri).
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