Key developments
since March 1999: Italy ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 23 April 1999 and
it entered into force on 1 October 1999. From February 1999 through April 2000,
Italy destroyed 2.05 million antipersonnel mines. Between May 1999 and March
2000, Italy pledged about US$ 7.33 million for mine action programs. The Senate
approved the establishment of the Humanitarian Demining Trust Fund in October
1999, but it awaits further endorsement.
Mine Ban Policy
Italy signed the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on 3
December 1997, and deposited its instrument of ratification with the United
Nations on 23 April 1999. The treaty entered into force for Italy on 1 October
1999. Ratification seems to have marked the climax of Italian efforts to
transform the country’s reputation as one of the three major producers and
exporters (with Russia and China) of landmines up to
1992.[1] The major role of
nongovernmental organizations in this evolution of Italian policy was described
in the Landmine Monitor Report
1999.[2] Even before the
signing of the MBT, Italy was one of very few nations to have domestic
legislation banning antipersonnel
landmines,[3] and this Law
374/97 is still widely considered one of the most stringent legislative tools in
the world.
Italy participated in the First Meeting of States Parties of the MBT in
Maputo, Mozambique in May 1999, where State Secretary Rino Serri underlined
Italy’s preference for an effect-based definition of AP mines, which would
appear to cover more weapons than the existing MBT
definition.[4] The government
has also participated in meetings of the MBT’s intersessional Standing
Committees of Experts. Italy voted in favor of the 1999 pro-ban UN General
Assembly resolution, as it did with the prior three resolutions in 1996, 1997
and 1998.
Italy submitted its first Article 7 report as required by the MBT on 29 March
2000, reporting on implementation measures up to 31 January
2000.[5]
Italy’s major mine ban policy statements tend to focus on the pivotal
role of its national legislation, which highlights the government’s
efforts to eliminate the weapon. This effort marked quite a precedent in
Italy’s foreign and domestic policy, especially in terms of partnership
between institutions and civil
society.[6] Italy’s mine
ban policy has become a frequent example of its new, more engaged, higher
profile foreign policy. Given this emphasis, the Italian Campaign to Ban
Landmines (ItCBL) has called for more concrete attempts to influence governments
that have not yet acceded to the Treaty and in responding to new deployments of
landmines around the world.
Italy has taken other important domestic initiatives. On 22 February 1999
the Comitato Nazionale per l’Azione Umanitaria Contro le Mine
(National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action) was launched by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, following a proposal put forward by the
ItCBL.[7] The purpose was to
create a permanent working group made up of those involved in the landmines
issue: ministries, parliamentarians, NGOs, commercial demining companies, the
military, the Red Cross, etc. The objective is to develop joint guidelines for
Italian humanitarian action against landmines worldwide which are more caring
for the people - mine victims in particular - and for the socio-economic
development of the affected areas, rather than solely removal of mines from the
ground.
The Comitato Nazionale, chaired by State Secretary Rino Serri, is divided
into five working groups: (1) Political action and international relations
chaired by the Political Department of the Ministry Foreign Affairs and mandated
to produce a policy paper on Italian mine
action;[8] (2) Operational
training, chaired by the Ministry of Defense, to develop a standard curriculum
for the training of civilian humanitarian deminers; (3) Operations, chaired by
the Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to create a database
for humanitarian mine action and a pool of experts capable of selecting programs
to support humanitarian demining and victim assistance in the field; (4)
Technological research, chaired by the Ministry of University and Scientific
Research, to identify the most appropriate and sustainable end-user oriented
technologies for mine clearance and humanitarian assistance to the mine-injured;
and (5) Information and public awareness, chaired by the ItCBL, whose task is to
promote Italy’s commitment to mine action, increase public awareness
through the media and various other grassroot activities.
In July 1999 the last plenary meeting of the Comitato was held at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and work was to shift from debate on the major
principles to the beginning of an operational plan. The latter has not really
taken off, with the exception of a big public initiative promoted by the ItCBL
in December 1999 on behalf of the Comitato, to celebrate the second anniversary
of the signing of the MBT. Lack of budgets, lack of structures, new priorities
are all plausible explanations for the current deadlock in the Comitato.
A good opportunity to revive interest in the AP mine issue could be provided
by the recent move to create a Humanitarian Demining Trust Fund. The Bill to
establish this, promoted in Parliament by the Green
Party,[9] follows most of the
guidelines set by the Comitato Nazionale. The Trust Fund would be granted L50
billion (US$25 million) annually, beginning in fiscal year 2000. In 2000 alone,
an additional L20 billion (US$10 million) would be dedicated specifically to
mine clearance in the Balkans. The Bill was approved by the Senate in October
1999 and in May 2000 was still waiting for endorsement by the Foreign Affairs
Commission of the Chamber of
Deputies.[10]
Italy is a party to Amended Protocol II of the CCW and participated in the
Amended Protocol II conference in December 1999. Its report as required under
Article 13 was submitted.
Italy continues to be involved in efforts to deal with AP mines in the
Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. On 4 March 1999 Italy was one of
twenty-two countries to submit a "Working paper concerning CD action on an APL
transfer ban."[11]
Production and Transfer
Italy’s former role as a major producer and
exporter of AP mines is described in detail in Landmine Monitor Report
1999, including the major manufacturers Valsella, Misar and Tecnovar, the
mine-types they produced and countries to which they exported AP mines.[12]
Italy’s Article 7 report gave scant or incorrect information on Form E
(“Status of programs for conversion or de-commissioning of AP mine
production facilities”). Valsella, contrary to what is stated, has
undergone a painstaking conversion program involving the municipality of
Castenedolo, trade unions and civil society, the result being that Valsella
Meccanotecnica’s shares were handed over to the new companies VE&D srl
and Prode srl, which manufactures ecological vehicles, in February 1998. No
mention is made of Misar facilities; Misar produced AP mines and is currently
owned by the Brescia-based Societa’ Esplosivi Industriali (SEI),
controlled since August 1998 by the French holding company, Societe’
Anonyme d’Explosifs de Produit Chimique.
Stockpiling and Destruction
Italy began destruction of its AP mine stockpile
in February 1999.[13] Of the
6.5 million AP mines in stock, a total of nearly 1.7 million had been destroyed
as of 31 January 2000,[14] and
2.05 million as of 30 April
2000.[15] The Italian
government states that stockpile destruction will be completed by October 2002
as required by the national law. Currently, about 12,000 mine per day are
destroyed, at a cost of about US$1.20 per
mine.[16] The total cost for
destruction of AP mines and their components is now estimated to be less than
L16 billion (US$8 million), versus a previous estimate of L30 billion (US$15
million).
At the May 2000 meeting of the SCE on Stockpile Destruction, the Italian
delegation stated that all U.S. antipersonnel mines stockpiled in Italy had been
removed.[17]
Information on AP mine stockpiles in Italy has come from two interministerial
reports in 1998 and 1999, the MBT Article 7 Report (with data as of 31 January
2000), and most recently a report to the SCE meeting on 22-23 May 2000. This
information has some inconsistencies and leaves some unanswered questions. The
first official information on Italian military and mine producer stockpiles of
AP mines was required by the governmental decree on stockpile destruction
approved by Parliament on 2 December 1998. The same information was given in
the first interministerial report to Parliament on 28 May 1998 on the
implementation status of Law 374/97, which requires such reporting every six
months. The vagueness of these first figures raised a series of questions that
were only partly clarified by the government.
The second report was released five months late on 30 April 1999. Article 6
of the Law required that a Registro delle Mine (Register of
Mines),[18] be attached to the
report, but it was not. The ItCBL repeatedly asked the Defense General Staff
for a copy of the Register, but there was no response until 29 October 1999 when
it was finally provided. This first Register reported on stockpiles through 16
November 1998, about one year before its actual release. It contained detailed
information on all mines and their components in stocks, divided into explosive
and inert material, belonging both to Italian Armed Forces and Italian landmine
producing companies. The materials reported as belonging to private companies
have been delivered to the Italian Armed Forces in order to be destroyed. Data
in the Register can be summarized as follows:
Explosive material (numbers):
Mines
Components
Army
6,482,876
257,199
Navy
6,039
19,589
Air Forces
40,160
-
Valsella
758
15,335
Total
6,529,833
292,123
Inert material (numbers):
Mines
Components
Army
551,947
720,826
Navy
3,086
2,032
Valsella
14,736
1,133,137
Tecnovar
19,375
-
Total
589,144
1,855,995
Explosive AP MINE materials belonging to the Italian Army and Navy are
reported as:
Type
Army (number)
Navy (number)
Valmara 69
409,132
600
Claymore
69
AUPS
1,735,259
614
MAUS 1
623,447
1,000
MK2
214,178
2,550
MK48
60
PMC*
2,068,193
V*
11,081
110
R*
36
VAR 40
1,421,586
1,000
Total Mines
6,482,876
6,039
AC/52*
146,644
AU/52*
110,555
Detonator
18,813
Valmara spares
276
AUPS spares
500
Total components
257,199
19,589
Explosive AP MINE materials belonging to the Italian Air Force are reported
as:
Type
Number
KB44
21,840
MIFF
6,400
MUSA
1,760
MUSPA
10,160
Total
40,160
The November 1998 Register of Mines (released in October 1999) clarifies some
previous questions about AP mine stockpiles which arose from the first
interministerial report in May 1998:
The approximately 2 million pressure mines (no longer in service) declared
in the first document refer substantially to the Army’s PMC mine;
The 450,000 wide-range mines declared in the first report refer to Valmara
69 AP mines belonging to the Army and the Navy;
Claymore mines form part of the military stockpiles, in particular of the
Navy, both as explosive and as inert material, though in limited quantities; no
details are given if they have been adapted for use only in command-detonated
mode or not; it was decided to destroy all of them;
VA50 mines are present in military stocks as inert material (2) and in
Valsella stocks as explosive (180) and inert (652) material.
Some
important questions remain to be answered after examination of the 16 November
1998 Register of Mines:
No explosive or inert material belonging to the former Misar company
(currently SEI) is included in the Register. Were Misar stocks removed or
destroyed by the company before the expiry dates fixed by the national Law for
their disclosure and delivery?
No mention is made of the mines belonging to foreign armed forces (United
States in particular) and of NATO located on Italian territory. Under Law
374/97 they should have been disclosed in quantity and category by 17 March
1998, to be handed over to special designated sites by 14 June 1998. According
to U.S. government sources, as of 1997 the United States had stockpiled about
90,000 antipersonnel mines in Italy, including ADAM, Gator, GEMSS, and MOPMS
mines.[19]
Part of the Register lists the patent rights and technologies for the
production of AP mines or components declared by landmine producing companies,
as required to be declared by Article 4 of Law 374/97. Of the three Italian
companies only Valsella declares construction drawings. However, Law 374/97
does not require destruction of the AP mine technologies and plans (or their
requisition) therefore such declarations have no effect in avoiding the transfer
abroad of AP mine projects, technologies and so on.
The final
section of the Register is supposed to cover the destruction of stockpiles (both
inert and explosive) but it contained no information. The first information on
stockpile destruction was given by the Ministry of Defense during the NGO visit
to the military plant at Baiano di Spoleto on 2 December 1999. The Baiano di
Spoleto military site is in charge of destroying the pressure mines type AUPS,
MAUS/1, VAR-40, MK-2, except their detonators; practice AP mines of any kind and
their components, plus Valsella and Tecnovar components and residual production
of practice AP mines. The visit was organized by the National Committee for
Humanitarian Action against Antipersonnel Mines, at the urging of the ItCBL.
By the end of November 1999 the Baiano di Spoleto plant had destroyed:
1,425,050 AP mines (all of AUPS type) out of 3,999,614 that the plant was
charged to destroy (the total number of AP mines is 6,529,833);
206,222 inert material/practice AP mines belonging to Army, Navy, Valsella
and Tecnovar, out of a total 587,317; and,
1,303,346 components, out of a total of 2,576,408.
The MBT
Article 7 report updates stockpile destruction to 31 January 2000. It reports
that 1,672,934 (all of AUPS type), plus 222,251 practice mines have been
destroyed. The report contained no information on the destruction of
components; although some information on destruction of components was presented
at the SCE meeting in Geneva on 22-23 May 2000.
The Article 7 report released late March 2000 states that 8,000 AP mines (as
also specified in the national law) will be retained for training in and
development of mine clearance and destruction techniques, but which mine types
will be retained is noted as “to be
determined.”[20]
As with the gaps in the Register of November 1998 described above, absence of
any information on NATO stockpiles was expected in the Article 7 report, but the
failure to report AP mines which had been produced and stocked by the Italian
company Misar/SEI was not
expected.[21]
On Form H of the report (‘Technical characteristics of each type
produced/owned or possessed’) the Ministry of Defense noted:
“...information [is] provided for the most common warfare models of AP
mines produced by national manufacturing companies and owned in a large number
by IT ARMY; further information concerning the entire production will be
provided as soon as it will be available.” This could imply that
Misar/SEI has not yet met the obligations under Article 3 and 4 of Law 374/97 to
report the quantity and nature of its AP mine stocks, as well as to deliver them
to local authorities. Or it could be that the Ministry of Defence has not yet
counted the mines produced by Misar. Given that these are among the most common
Italian AP mines, it seems incongruous that the Italian Army would have none in
its own stockpiles.
New information was made available during the May session of the Standing
Committee of Experts on stockpile
destruction.[22] Italy added
details of the destruction of inert material/practise AP mines (236,621)
belonging to Army, Navy, and manufacturing companies and components (1,303,346)
as of 30 April 2000.[23]
A new decree concerning stockpile destruction was approved by the Italian
Parliament in May 2000, replacing the decree of 2 October 1998. This charges
the Baiano di Spoleto plant with destruction also of PMC mines and ML1 (or ML4)
and OTO detonators, and the Noceto di Parma military plant with destruction of
Valmara 69 mines, at an estimated cost one-fifth of the cost tendered by private
companies. However, destruction of remaining mines and components will be given
to private companies.
Use and Landmine Problem
The former use of AP mines by Italian forces and
the landmine problem in Italy after World War II are detailed in Landmine
Monitor Report 1999, pp. 729-730.
Mine Action Funding
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not
appear to have a clearly defined policy or program for mine action. An expert
in the Ministry’s Emergency Office commented: “This is something
that should be hoped for, but what I see at present is just a series of isolated
actions.”[24] Between May
1999 and March 2000, the Development Cooperation Department at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs pledged a contribution of L13.941 billion (US$7.33 million) for
mine action activities through the following multilateral and bilateral
programs:[25]
Note: abbreviations used in this Table are: UTL - Local Technical Unit of the
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HI – Handicap International, NPA
– Norwegian People’s Aid, CUAMM – University College for
Aspirant Doctors and Missionaries, NRRDS – Nuba Relief Rehabilitation
Development Society, OMAR - Organization for Mine Awareness and Rehabilitation
UNMAS – United Nations Mine Action Service, WHO – World Health
Organization, UNOCHA - United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian
Assistance to Afghanistan, UNOPS - UN Office for Project Services, ICRC –
International Committee of the Red Cross, UNDP – UN Development Programme,
AVSI - Association of Volunteers for International Service, SCF – Save the
Children Fund.
Demining of a water reservoir, war victim assistance, orthopedic
surgery
US$29,500 to HI for orthopaedic assistance to disabled war victims in
Negage.
US$50,586 to NPA for mine clearance of a water reservoir and adjacent area
in Uige.
US$180,000 to CUAMM (Italy) for victim assistance at Uige Hospital.
Another contract is expected in March 2000 in Bengo province.
SUDAN- Nuba Mountains
L0.013 billion (US$
6,842)
Local Italian Embassy and UTL
Food and accommodation for UXO victims
These funds were part of a development project of L0.5 billion lire
(US$263,000), entrusted to NRRDS to provide food and accommodation in Lokichokio
(Kenya) for mine victims from Sudan being assisted in Kenya's hospitals.
YEMEN- Taiz
L1.2 billion (US$ 631,600)
Local Italian Embassy and UTL
Surgery programs at the Taiz Orthopedic Center
The project has been completed (carried out by the Italian surgeon Carlo
Astini).
ANGOLA- Huila Province
L1.4 billion (US$ 737,000)
European Union
Demining activities
Started in October 1999 by Intersos, an Italian NGO; two priority clearance
areas have been identified in the municipality of Matala, to support the
resettlement process.
ANGOLA- Cuando Cubango Province
L0.6 billion (US$ 316,000)
European Union
Victim rehabilitation programs
Intersos started the project in October 1999 that included the
implementation of a rehabilitation center and training of specialized
personnel.[28]
Funds were disbursed with great delay (March
2000)[30] and the project is
still to be started; probably to be carried out in coordination with ICRC and
WHO.[31]
CROATIA- Slavonski Brod
L0.5 billion (US$ 263,000 )
UNMAS
Demining activities
Funds were disbursed with great delay (March 2000) and the project is still
to be started. ABC seems most likely to win the demining contract. The choice
of Slavonski Brod, a frontier district, as a priority area is aimed at promoting
integration and reconciliation between Bosnians and Croats.
CAMBODIA- Battambang
L0.7 billion (US$ 368,500 )
WHO
Support to the orthopaedic surgery center
An agreement with WHO has been signed, which provides for participation of
the Italian NGO Emergency,[32]
but the contribution is blocked due to WHO
bureaucracy.[33]
AFGHANISTAN- Anabah
L0.8 billion (US$ 421,000 )
WHO
Victim assistance in two first aid centers
AFGHANISTAN- Location unknown
L0.186 billion (US$ 97,000)
UNOCHA
Demining and mine awareness activities
Funds disbursed and entrusted to local (ARCS, OMAR) and international NGOs
(HI, BBC-AEP, SCF). Details after publication of 1999 UNOCHA
Report.[34]
MOZAMBIQUE- Maputo, Sofala and Manica Provinces
L2.28 billion (US$1.2 million)
UNABPS
UNOPS
Demining and mine awareness activities
Funds disbursed at the end of 1999; part of the PDHL/MOZ, an
Italy/UNOPS/UNDP joint project for human development in Mozambique, started in
March 1999 to which Italy contributed L32 billion (US$16.842 million).
Maputo Province: 96,130 sq m cleared and 86 explosive devices disarmed.
Further 1,173,500 sq m identified in other areas. Matutine District should be
declared mine-free by June 2000.
Sofala and Manica Provinces: surveying activities completed, by HI and
Mozambique's Red Cross; mine awareness programs reached 30,552 people; 209
suspected minefields identified. Demining operations will start in coming
months.[35]
TCHAD- Tibesti, Borku, Ennedi
L0.4 billion (US$ 210,500 )
UNDP
Demining
Funds disbursed at the end of 1999; supported also by USA, Japan, Germany
and Canada. Visit by Italian Embassy to monitor progress scheduled in
2000.
UGANDA- Gulu
L0.06 billion (US$ 31,500)
UNICEF
Equipment and activities for victim rehabilitation
US$33,665 (20,000 in equipment and 13,665 in cash for activities) to the
Milan-based NGO AVSI via UNICEF (Uganda), as part (10.51%) of program run by
AVSI with private donor
support.[36]
___
L1 billion (US$ 526,000 )
ICRC
Mine awareness, victim assistance, data collection and study, promote
adherence to the MBT.[37]
Part of the L10 billion (US$5.263 million) annual contribution of Italy to
ICRC; disbursed in July 1999 after ICRC Special Appeal Mine Action 1999-2003 was
issued; not allottable.
Mine Clearance
Intersos is the only Italian NGO involved in mine
clearance, through its Mine Action Unit, and is also active in mine awareness
and mine victim assistance.[38]
Intersos works with EOD experts selected from retired members of the Italian
Army’s Engineers Corps. Mine action was carried out in 1999 in Bosnia,
Kosovo and Angola with funds from several Italian local councils (Veneto Region
and Venezia Province) and from private donors. In Kosovo, Intersos clearance
activities started in June 1999 with funding by the European Community
Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the “Mission Rainbow” special Italian
fund for Kosovo. In Angola, in November 1999, Intersos started an
eighteen-month demining project in Huila Province, funded by the EU and Italian
Government for a total of 1.7 million Euros.
In Bosnia the ItCBL donated L180 million (US$ 95,000) to Intersos for
clearance in the Stup district of Sarajevo. With contributions by the Province
of Venice (L50 million, US$ 25,000) and other local municipalities, this
activity will continue.
The Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines is also funding mine/UXO clearance in
Afghanistan through its local partners the Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA)
and Organization for Mine Awareness and Rehabilitation (OMAR). The ItCBL has
raised funds totalling US$ 80,000; of that US$ 35,000 was allocated to MCPA in
January 1999 and US$ 45,000 to OMAR in August 1999. From 21 November to 1
December 1999, a visit to Afghanistan to monitor the clearance activities was
carried out by the ItCBL, which formed a favourable assessment of these
activities, the organizational ability of its local Afghan partners, the
economic value of the demining operations and the involvement of women in most
of the programmes.[39]
Appalti, Bonifiche, Costruzioni (A.B.C.) is a private commercial company
involved in mine clearance in Croatia since 1999.
Italian Army engineers sent two Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
specialists, as part of the UN peacekeeping forces in East Timor in 1999. A
large team of EOD specialists carried out mine clearance in Kosovo as part of
the West Multinational Brigade of NATO, and in Bosnia-Herzegovina with a team of
twelve EOD specialists.
Mine Awareness
During 1999 the ItCBL, with Handicap
International, printed 100,000 leaflets both in Serb and Albanian informing
people from Kosovo about the dangers of mines and UXO, soon after the end of the
war in Serbia and Kosovo. These leaflets have been delivered to all Italian
organizations working in the Balkans.
In Albania UNICEF Italy financed a major mine, cluster bomb and UXO awareness
campaign, to the total value of over L2 billion (US$ 1
million).[40] In districts of
the cities of Kukes, Skoda and Tirana, the local youth has been involved in
social activities aimed at informing people about the landmine problem. Some
560,000 mine awareness leaflets were printed by UNICEF in Albania. The Aibi
(Associazione Italiana Amici dei Bambini — Italian Association Friends of
the Children) mine awareness campaign directed at children in Albania took place
in many cities: Tirana, Fier, Durazzo, Scutari, Berat, Lezha, Lac, from June to
July 1999. This campaign was completely financed by Aibi, as part of a larger
project under the “Rainbow Mission” in the Balkans led by the
Italian Government.[41]
Intersos, whenever possible, includes mine awareness in its mine clearance
programs.[42] In Bosnia, it
used T-shirts printed with mine and UXO drawings and warnings in the local
language as a mine awareness tool for children; distributing about 10,000
T-shirts to schools in Sarajevo, both on Federal and Serb side with funding from
the Canadian Embassy, ECHO and Italian private funds. In Kosovo, Intersos
trained and employed six local operators to provide mine awareness sessions to
families with houses being cleared of mines and UXO. Also in Kosovo, in the
cities of Pec, Decani and nearby villages, a mine awareness campaign was carried
out by the NGO Cesvi (Cooperation and Development) over the summer of
1999.[43] During emergency
activities related to food delivery and the reconstruction of houses, about
2,000 mine/UXO awareness leaflets, in Serb and Albanian produced by the ItCBL,
were distributed.
In Nicaragua’s San Francisco Libre Municipality, the NGO Movimondo
Molisv took part in a program supporting a three-year campaign to clear rural
areas, financed by the European
Union.[44] Mine awareness was
mainly carried out through training courses for communities living in the areas
suspected of containing mines, with educational material aimed at schools and
producers' associations. The program, at a cost of US$ 30,000 and involving
about 12,000 people, was coordinated with the municipality, including the use of
local mass media.
In Senegal in 1999, in the zone between the river Casamance and the border
with Guinea-Bissau, the NGO Cospe began a mine awareness programme financed by
ECHO for a total of 1,100 Euros, to support war and landmine victims. With the
help of twelve local officers many meetings were held, as well as the showing of
films, distribution of drawings, posters and leaflets. A large house for the
mine victims and survivors (442 in total) was reconstructed. A total of 190
villages and 80,820 people have been involved in this program, and they have
also been helped to begin their artisan and agricultural activities in those
areas declared safe.[45]
Survivor Assistance
Italian NGOs are involved in programs offering
assistance to landmine survivors in a number of countries. The mine
victim/survivor assistance program carried out by the NGO AVSI in 1999 is part
of a three-year project that began in July 1998, in many districts of northern
Uganda (Gulu, Kingtum, Lacor, Lira, Apac, Nebbi, Adjumani), with the
collaboration of local structures, medical offices and disabled people’s
associations. The program includes delivery of prostheses and subsequent
rehabilitation of amputees. A budget of US$33,665 was proposed, of which
US$20,000 was for purchase of instruments and the remainder for associated
activities; UNICEF in Uganda financed 10.51 per cent of the project, the rest
being paid by AVSI through private funds and donations. About thirty patients
having their lower limb amputated have been treated. Seminars, training and
specialization courses have been held for local technical, social and medical
personnel. The program has been a success so far. In the majority of cases
patients have learnt how to use their prostheses and taken advantage of them;
some returned to the activities they practiced before the casualty occurred and
children returned to schools. In some cases (15 percent) there were problems:
prostheses broke or had technical problems; in other cases the patient had
little motivation to use the prosthesis. This has been solved sometimes through
the intervention of a social assistant.[46]
In 1999, at the Experimental Center For Prostheses Application of the
National Institute for Insurance Labour Accidents (INAIL) situated in Budrio
(Bologna), prosthetic operations and rehabilitation were carried out for five
people heavily injured by landmine blasts. This small group was aged between 9
and 37 years old, one was a female; they are from Former Yugoslavia, Albania,
Libya and Somalia. Three of them have undergone amputations of lower limbs, the
others of their upper limbs.
The NGO Emergency assists mine victims and survivors by establishing surgical
hospitals and rehabilitation centers, providing basic medical assistance, and
training local people to face the most urgent medical and surgical
necessities.[47] In 1999, 214
patients were treated at the surgical center for war victims in Sulaimaniya,
Iraqi Kurdistan, 82 patients were treated at the surgical center in Ebril,
Northern Iraq, and 333 were treated at the surgical center “Ilaria
Alpi” in Battambang, Cambodia. Since December 1999, 21 patients have been
treated at the surgical center in Anabah, Afghanistan. At the rehabilitation
center in Sulaimaniya, prostheses produced and fitted to lower limbs number 610
and to upper limbs number 34. The center also provides special courses for the
reintegration of handicapped people into society; over 70 per cent of the staff
employed is composed of disabled patients. This center costs US$31,000 per
month to maintain. All centers in Northern Iraq were financed by the European
Commission until July 1999, then by UNOPS. For the centers in Cambodia and
Afghanistan Emergency has used its own funds and private
donations.[48]
The NGO International Cooperation (Coopi) was involved in the treatment and
assistance of injured people coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in
the districts of Congo, Libengue and Moboy Mbongo, from September to December
1999. First aid and surgery were provided for mine victims, then, where
possible, rehabilitation courses were organized. Thirty-six patients were
treated in collaboration with the Re-education Center for Motor Disabled in the
city of Bangui, supported by EU funding (L120 million;
US$60,000).[49]
CUAMM is an NGO mainly involved in medical cooperation and training. In
Angola in 1999, in the provincial hospital in Uige and the municipal hospital in
Nagage, CUAMM activities focused on technical and organizational support of the
orthopaedic department where patients injured by landmines are treated. These
activities were financed by the Italian Episcopal Conference, the EU, the
Italian Embassy in Luanda and private
contributions.[50]
In Angola, Intersos is supporting a center for prostheses and rehabilitation
of landmine victims in the Cuando Cubango Province. This area is heavily
affected by fighting and landmine pollution; the Center is the only resource for
mine victims in the Province. The project includes training local personnel in
rehabilitation and prosthesis production. Specific attention is paid to social
and economic reintegration of the disabled, through vocational training. The
total budget for the project is 800,000 Euros, financed by the EU, Italian
Government and Intersos.[51]
In April 1999 the Orthopaedic Project implemented by Intersos in Burundi with
ECHO funds came to an end: more than 450 patients have been treated including
230 treated surgically in a six-month period, several of them being mine
victims.
The Italian Red Cross[52]
continued collaboration with the ICRC throughout 1999 to finance the
Rehabilitation and Victim Assistance Centers in Kabul and Addis Abeba.
[1] Human Rights Watch and Physician for
Human Rights, Landmines: A Deadly Legacy (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1993),
p. 36. [2] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
pp.712-717. This section of the report by researchers of the Italian Campaign
to Ban Landmines traces the history of the Italian role in landmine production
and trade, and the roles of the ICBL and ItCBL in the evolution of governmental
policy. An updated and longer version of the 1999 report was published in book
form in Italy to celebrate the second anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty, as:
Mine: Il Cammino che Resta (Mines: the Remaining Steps), (Rome: Rubbettino,
December 1999). The book was presented during a major event at the stockpile
destruction site, at Baiano di Spoleto, on 2 December
1999. [3] Law 374/97, Norme per la Messa
al Bando delle Mine Antipersona (Provisions Prohibiting Antipersonnel Mines),
approved on 29 October 1997. [4]
Statement of the Head of the Italian Delegation, Senator Rino Serri, State
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Maputo, Mozambique, 3 May
1999. [5] Italy, Mine Ban Treaty Article
7 Report, submitted 29 March 2000. The report does not give the starting date of
the reporting period. [6] The relevance
of this partnership was stressed by the rapporteur of the national legislation,
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Commission at the Chamber of Deputies Achille
Occhetto, when presenting law 374/97 in Ottawa: “First of all, I feel
obliged to underline what I consider the main feature of this year’s
activity, namely the exceptional concordance between the legislative body...and
civil society, through NGOs and particularly those engaged in the Italian
Campaign to Ban Landmines. It often happens in all countries that behind laws
passed by parliaments there are lobbies expressing interests of various natures,
more or less legitimate, not always transparent. Rarely are these interests, or
better the promoters of these interests, acknowledged as inspirers of the
legislator’s will.” Foreword of Achille Occhetto to Law 374/97,
presented in Ottawa, 2 December 1997. This sentiment was repeated at the First
Meeting of States Parties to the MBT in May 1999, by the Head of the Italian
delegation. This cooperation model, unprecedented in Italy, has served since
then for other actions promoted by civil society, such as the campaigns against
child labour or for debt
cancellation. [7] The idea was
originally formulated on 12 December 1997 during the first international
conference on humanitarian demining organized by the ItCBL, with the title
“From Landmines to Food: Clearing the Road to Development.” The
ItCBL proposed a joint, ad hoc “working table” on mine action to
State Secretary Rino Serri, attending the conference. The proposal was later
presented again to Secretary Serri on 26 May 1998, in a meeting at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. [8] The English
version of the Italian policy paper on mine action, as finally endorsed by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, can be found on the website of the Geneva
International Centre for Humanitarian Demining:
http://www.gichd.ch. [9] The
establishment of a trust fund for humanitarian demining was a binding
recommendation annexed to Law 106/99 that ratified the
MBT. [10] The ItCBL has solicited a
rapid debate and approval via a letter to Achille Occhetto, Chair of the Foreign
Affairs Commission, 22 February 1999. At the end of April 2000, the legislative
department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out a note expressing its
objections to the additional L20 billion fund dedicated to the programs in the
Balkans, with the twofold reason that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not
have the budget for it in year 2000, and no sufficient details are provided on
how the money ought to be spent in the
field.” [11]
CD/1572. [12] Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 717-729. [13]
“Destruction of Antipersonnel Landmines in Italy,” Presentation by
Ministry of Defense to SCE on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 22-23 May 2000.
Destruction of “warfare mines” began in February 1999, of
“practice mines” in November
1998. [14] Article 7 Report, submitted
29 March 2000, data as of 31 January 2000. The report cites a beginning total
of 6,529,809 “total warfare APM” in stock. That included 2.068
million PMC mines (designated as “out of order”), 1.736 million AUPS
mines, and 1.423 million VAR 40 mines. The report indicates that 1,672,934
mines had been destroyed (all AUPS mines), leaving a total of 4,856,875 yet to
be destroyed. [15] “Destruction of
Antipersonnel Landmines in Italy,” Presentation by Ministry of Defense to
SCE on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 22-23 May 2000. The precise number cited
was 2,053,286 destroyed. [16]
Ibid. [17] Oral remarks by Italian
delegation to the SCE on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 23 May 2000. This
information has not been officially
confirmed. [18] Registro delle Mine
(Register of Mines), 16 November 1998, released 30 April 1999/29 October
1999. [19] Information provided by U.S.
government sources to Human Rights Watch, March
1999. [20] Article 7 Report, submitted
29 March, data as of 31 January
2000. [21] The Italy section of Landmine
Monitor Report 1999 deals with the numerous shareholders’ passages of
Misar at length. The acquisition of Misar by SEI makes it potentially the only
company in Italy still active in the landmine producing sector. While no sales
of landmines have been registered up to 1998 (the ItCBL was not able to get
relevant data for 1999) the location of Misar stocks remains unknown, whether in
Italy or even in France. No response has been given so far to the ItCBL’s
requests for clarification, which were repeated during the press conference held
in Baiano di Spoleto on 2 December 1999 after visiting the military site where
stockpile destruction is taking
place. [22] “Destruction of
Antipersonnel Landmines in Italy,” Presentation to the Standing Committee
of Experts on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 22-23 May
2000. [23] There are some differences
between the figures in the Article 7 report (as of 31 January 2000) and the SCE
presentation (as of 30 April 2000), small differences concerning Army explosive
material (Article 7: 6,482,876 units, SCE: 6,482,852), more substantial
differences in Army inert materials (Article 7: 551,947, SCE: 555,629) and
components (Article 7: 720,826, SCE: 1,441,239), and manufacturing
companies’ inert materials (Article 7: 34,111, SCE:
31,857). [24] Interview with Vincenzo
Oddo, Office VI (Emergency), Development Cooperation Department, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Rome, 15 March
2000. [25] Ibid.
[26] Angola is considered a priority
area by the Cooperation Department. [27]
Only US$900,000 has actually been spent out of this contribution; the rest is to
be given back to the Italian Government, as residual funds that could not be
spent by 31 December 1999 (in compliance with the Law of 18 November 1923 no.
2440 on the State's General Accounts); this does not take into consideration the
bureaucratic slowness peculiar to Cooperation procedures (it takes at least 3 to
5 months for a contribution to be disbursed, after its approval), and risks
paralyzing many initiatives. [28]
Interview with Stefano Calabretta, Intersos, Rome, 9 March
2000. [29] This is the first time the
Italian Government has pledged a contribution to UNMAS. This policy has been
confirmed for the year 2000, when another L1 billion is expected to be
contributed to this UN agency. [30] The
delay in this and the following project was due to an “oversight” on
the part of the Treasury. [31] Interview
with Nicola Occhipinti, Office II (Multilateral Cooperation), Development
Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rome, 22 March
2000. [32] Telephone interview with
Giorgio Raineri, responsible for the Operating Support Unit of Emergency, 23
March 2000. [33] An officer of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized WHO for its "slowness and inability to
manage this kind of project.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is taking
steps to stir WHO into action, and is even considering withdrawing the funds.
Interview, Rome, 15 March 2000. [34] The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not routinely monitor directly the
implementation of projects which it supports through multilateral channels,
unless serious problems are reported, as in the case of WHO; even in these
cases, visits of monitoring delegations are organized only rarely and only for
contributions exceeding L1 billion. This is mostly due to the Cooperation
Department's scarcity of means and personnel. Interview with Mrs. Dradi, Office
II (Multilateral Cooperation), Development Cooperation Department, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Rome, 15 March
2000. [35] Programma
Italia/UNDP/ILO/UNICRI/UNOPS di Sviluppo Umano a Livello Locale in Mozambico,
aggiornato a gennaio 2000 (1999 PDHL/MOZ Report), pp.
24-30. [36] Report of the Medical
Rehabilitation Programme for War Victims, AVSI. Interview with Alberto Repossi,
Programme Officer Desk Africa, AVSI, 9 March
2000. [37] Special Appeal Mine Action
1999-2003, International Committee of the Red
Cross. [38] Interview with Stefano
Calabretta, Humanitarian Mine Action Unit, Intersos, Rome, 28 January
2000. [39] Interview with Col. Mario
Pellegrino, technical expert deminer and volunteer of the ItCBL, Rome, 1
February 2000. The clearance follows standardized procedures for the manual
(metal detectors and prodders) and mechanical activities, but ItCBL noticed
little attention paid to the safety of personnel in the field. There was also a
lack of reconstruction, social and economic programs in favour of the refugees,
and quite strained relationship with UNOCHA. The ItCBL team could not verify
the relations between its local partners and the Taleban regime; OMAR denies any
collaboration with the political power. The liberty with which they act
indicates good relations with the Taleban, but this is necessary to operate in
Afghanistan. [40] Interview with Luca
Cappelletti, Press Office, UNICEF-Italy, Rome, 26 January
2000. [41] Telephone interviews with
Stefano Oltolini, Aibi, Milano, and Carola Molteni, Aibi officers for Albania,
31 January 2000. [42] Interview with
Stefano Calabretta, Intersos, Rome, 28 January
2000. [43] Telephone interview with
Simona Stella, Cesvi, Bergamo, 7 March
2000. [44] Interview with Elena Abbati,
Latin America Area Assistance, Movimondo, Rome, 7 February
2000. [45] Telephone interview with
Raffaella Di Salvatore, Cospe, Firenze, 2 February 2000; Cospe has worked in
close contact with Handicap International, having offices in the cities of
Ziguingchor and Dakar in Senegal. [46]
Telephone interview with Alberto Repossi, Program Officer for Africa, AVSI,
Milano, 20 March 2000. [47] Telephone
interview with Giorgio Raineri, Emergency, Milano, 24 March
2000. [48] These figures refer only to
surgical operations, not including ambulatory patients and first aid
activities. [49] Telephone interview
with Ennio Miccoli, Coopi, Milan, 3 February
2000. [50] Telephone interview with
Claudia Belleffi, CUAMM, Padua, 14 April
2000. [51] Interview with Federica
Biondi, Intersos, Rome, 7 March
2000. [52] Telephone interview with
Maria Letizia Zamparelli, Studies and Planning Special Activities Service,
Italian Red Cross, Rome, 24 April 2000.