Key developments
since March 1999: Landmines are still being found in Kuwait in both coastal
and desert areas, and mine clearance operations are ongoing. In 1999 the Kuwait
Institute for Scientific Research established the “Kuwait Environmental
Information System” that records and plots the locations of mines and UXO
recovered. Previously unknown, it appears Kuwait has a stockpile of
antipersonnel mines numbering more than 45,000. The United States also
apparently stockpiles antipersonnel mines in Kuwait.
Mine Ban Policy
Kuwait has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty nor
has the government provided any reason for not joining the treaty. In October
1999, the Kuwaiti representative at the UN First Committee stated that
antipersonnel mines were of “great concern, and the international
community needed to look into the best means for their
elimination.”[1] Kuwait,
as in the past, voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B
supporting the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 December 1999. Kuwait is not party to the
Convention on Conventional Weapons, but it did attend the First Annual
Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II (Landmines) in December 1999
in Geneva. Kuwait is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament.
Production, Transfer, Use, Stockpiling
It is not believed that Kuwait has produced or
exported antipersonnel mines. It is not known if Kuwait has imported or used
antipersonnel mines.
Citing the United Nations database, Landmine Monitor Report 1999
reported that Kuwait had said it did not have a stockpile of antipersonnel
mines.[2] However, based on
information obtained from the Kuwait Ministry of Defense, it appears that Kuwait
has collected and stored at least 45,845 antipersonnel mines cleared during the
demining operations conducted after the Gulf
War.[3] This represents 4.3% of
the total number of antipersonnel mines removed in Kuwait. In addition to the
AP mines, 48,742 antitank mines were
retained.[4] According to a
study conducted by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait, “During
mine clearing operations, the working teams destroyed the damaged mines which
were hazardous to manipulate. The usable ones were collected in order to be
stored.”[5]
It is not known if these mines were subsequently destroyed or retained by
Kuwait for unspecified purposes. The majority of the antipersonnel mines
retained and stored by Kuwait came from the northeast part of the country that
was cleared by Pakistani deminers, and from the Kuwait City-Ahmadi sector
cleared by Kuwaiti deminers.[6]
The types of AP mines retained and stored are unknown.
According to information dated 1997, the United States stockpiles 696 MOPMS
and 8,200 Volcano antipersonnel mines as part of pre-positioned U.S. Army
equipment stored in
Kuwait.[7]
The Landmine Problem
Landmines are still being found in Kuwait in
coastal and desert areas, including rough vegetated sandy plains, sabkhas,
active drainage basins, and oil contaminated
patches.[8] Emergency teams are
still clearing mines in several
areas.[9]
During the 1990-1991 Iraqi occupation and subsequent liberation of Kuwait,
almost 97.8% of the land area of Kuwait became mine or UXO affected. The most
heavily mined areas were the northern coast of Kuwait Bay (610 mines per square
kilometer) and the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border (917 mines per square kilometer).
As of 3 April 1999, a total of 1,646,916 landmines had been recovered from
the coastal and desert areas of Kuwait, including 1,078,961 antipersonnel mines
and 567,955 antitank mines.[10]
The statewide density of the recovered landmines was approximately 92 mines per
square kilometerand a ratio of 1.1 mines per person.
The Kuwait Ministry of Defense conducted an
in-depth assessment and survey for the extent of the mine and UXO problem in
Kuwait in 1991 and subdivided the country into eight sectors for subsequent
clearance.
In 1998, the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait prepared a complete
set of maps showing the geographic extent and density of the various types of
landmines. Mapping was based on information obtained during demining
operations. In 1999 the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research established the
“Kuwait Environmental Information System” that records and plots the
locations of mines and UXO
recovered.[12]
Mine Action Funding
Immediately after the liberation of Kuwait in
February 1991, the government of Kuwait planned for an integrated mine and UXO
clearance program. Its duration was twenty-four months and cost approximately
$728 million. The government of Kuwait financed the entire program.
Kuwait has not contributed funds toward international mine action programs
due to budgetary limitations and infrastructure rebuilding costs.
Coordination of Mine Action
A national mine clearance plan was established by
the Ministry of Defence in 1991. Priority was given to populated areas,
transportation nodes, infrastructure, oil fields, and recreation facilities. The
national plan consisted of the three phases. The military and contractors
continue in the on-going third phase to complete pending operations and carry
out new tasks requested by the government and private authorities, as well as
quality control.
The Engineering Corps (Ministry of Defense) and the Ministry of the Interior
are responsible for the coordination of mine action operations. The latter body
deals with mines and UXO in populated areas, while the former deals with these
explosives in desert areas (unpopulated). The two bodies receive notices from
the public and governmental organizations on the existence of mines and UXO. The
Fire and Safety department of the Kuwait Oil Company is responsible for the
coordination of mine clearance in company areas and has direct contact with the
Engineering Corps.
Mine Clearance
Contracts have been signed with the Bangladeshi
military, an American consulting company, and local companies to conduct
on-going clearance in nearly half of Kuwaiti territory (8,035 square kilometers)
over the next five years. From 16 June 1997 to 12 December 1998 approximately
380 mines were recovered from desert areas in Kuwait. From 12 December 1998 to
3 April 1999, twenty-two mines were
cleared.[13]
The Engineering Corps is currently clearing seismic survey tracks for the
Kuwait Oil Company, as well as electricity and oil line tracks, according to the
requests received by the Kuwaiti
Army.[14] Two Bangladeshi
battalions are engaged in mine clearance under the supervision of the
Engineering Corps.
Mine Awareness
Mine awareness activities are on-going in Kuwait.
In May 2000, the Kuwait Red Crescent arranged an exhibition on the hazards of
antipersonnel mines.
As part of the integrated mine action effort, the government established a
mine awareness program that produced maps, posters, pamphlets and media programs
on the distribution, types, and hazards of mines and UXO. The Ministry of
Defence issued a 160-page guide for deminers that included the specifications,
mechanism of operation and safety measures of landmines and ammunition found in
Kuwait. The book covers cluster bombs (eight types), antipersonnel mines (VS50,
PMN, Type 72, SB33, P40, VS.T), antitank mines (P2, MARK3, VS1.6, VS2.2, Type
72), mortars (fifteen types), artillery ammunition (twelve types), tank
ammunition (six types), grenades (twelve types), RPG and missiles (six
types).[15] Another similar
twenty-eight-page guide was distributed to the public with the warning
“report all suspected strange
objects.”[16]
The Kuwait Red Crescent Society arranged, in 1997, an exhibition with the
theme landmines should be stopped and included several pavilions displaying the
effects of landmines. Additionally, Kuwait Red Crescent Society issued a
40-page booklet that discusses international law and the landmines in Kuwait
entitled “Landmines Must be Stopped” in English, French and Arabic.
Landmine Casualties
The government conducted a countrywide survey of
the number of people killed and injured by mines and UXO between 1991 to
1993.[17] A total of 429 persons
were wounded and twenty killed by mines and UXO. Regarding children under 16
years, 5 were killed and 149 were wounded. For adults, 15 were killed (all men)
and 280 were wounded (18 women and 262 men). 51 victims had limbs
amputed.[18] All victims have
received prosthetic devices. The mine incidents took place in both urban and
desert areas.
The number and nationalities of deminers killed or injured between 1991 and 3
April 1999 during clearance operations in Kuwait is presented in the following
table.[19]
Sector
Injured
Deaths
Total
Kuwaiti
8
4
12
American
11
1
12
British
8
3
11
French
7
1
8
Egyptian
37
29
66
Bangladeshi
28
13
41
Pakistani
32
9
41
Turkish
0
0
0
Total
131
60
191
Victim Assistance
For landmine and UXO victims medical and
rehabilitative services are generally free except for some items like
wheelchairs that are partially paid for by victims. Health care and medical
treatment are sponsored by the government of Kuwait and disabled persons receive
pensions. The medical expenditure incurred by the state to treat traumatic
injuries caused by a mine or UXO accident, from initial visit to the emergency
room through psysiotherapy, totals
$17,331.[20]
The Ministry of Health with the cooperation of the Ministry of Social Affairs
and Labour constitute a national level coordination body focused on disability
issues. For disabled persons in Kuwait facilities and services are available.
These involve rehabilitation centers, manfacturing of orthopaedic devices and
appliances, physiotherapy, prosthetic technicians, occupational therapists,
psychologists, and vocational rehabilitation programs. Kuwait Red Crescent
Society provides services for disabled persons and landmine victims in the whole
country. There are no specific disability laws or decrees in Kuwait.
[1] Statement of Hisham al-Ghanim, General
Debate of the First Committee, GA/DIS/3142, 13 October
1999. [2] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
p. 891. [3] Center for Research and
Studies on Kuwait, Landmines and the Destruction of the Environment of Kuwait
(ISBN 99906-32-20-0), Kuwait, 1999, p. 37 (Table 7). Data was as of 22 January
1997. [4] Landmines and the Destruction
of the Environment of Kuwait, p. 40 (Table
9). [5] Ibid., p.
33. [6] Ibid., p. 37 (Figure
13). [7] Information provided to Human
Rights Watch by U.S. government sources, March
1999. [8] Interviews with officers of
the Kuwaiti Army, July 1999. [9]
Information provided by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense to the Center for
Research and Studies, May 2000. [10]
Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense “Ammunition and Explosives Disposal
Report,” 1999. [11] For a detailed
examination of the mine and UXO problem in Kuwait, see Landmines and the
Destruction of the Environment of Kuwait (ISBN 99906-32-20-0) by the Center for
Research and Studies on Kuwait,
1999. [12] Kuwait Institute for
Scientific Research, “Kuwait Environmental Information System, Phase II,
Interim report No 4,” 1999. [13]
Information provided by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense to the Center for
Research and Studies, May 2000. [14]
Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait, Landmines and the Destruction of the
Environment of Kuwait, 1999, p.
120. [15] Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense,
“Unexploded Ammunition in Kuwait, a Pocket Book for the Personnel of the
Clearance Operations of the Remains of War,”
undated. [16] Kuwaiti Ministry of
Defense, “War Remains,”
undated. [17] Kuwaiti Ministry of
Planning, Statistics and Information Sector, Edition 34,
1997. [18] Kuwaiti Ministry of Health,
“Statistics of Casualties of Landmines,”
1993. [19] Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense,
reports on landmine and ammunition clearance,
1999. [20] Kuwaiti Public Authority for
Assessment of Compensation for Damage Resulting from Iraqi Aggression, 1996.
Converted at 1996 exchange rates.
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