Key
developments since May 2000: On 2 November 2000 Honduras destroyed its
stockpile of 7,441 antipersonnel mines, except for an uncertain number retained
for training purposes. Honduras is serving as co-rapporteur of the
intersessional Standing Committee on Victim Assistance. The mine clearance
operation along the border is scheduled for completion in September
2001.
Honduras signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997, the National Congress approved ratification legislation, Law 92-98, on 21
April 1998 and President Carlos Roberto Flores signed the legislation into law
on 14 September 1998.[1]
Honduras deposited the instrument of ratification on 24 September 1998 and the
treaty entered into force on 1 March 1999.
Honduras has not enacted any
national legislation to implement the Mine Ban Treaty. Honduras submitted its
initial Article 7 transparency report on 28 August 1999, but it has not
submitted the required annual updated reports, due 30 April 2000 and 30 April
2001.
Honduras attended the Second Meeting of States Parties in September
2000, with a delegation from the capital. It also participated in
intersessional Standing Committee meetings in December 2000 and May 2001.
Honduras currently serves as co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Victim
Assistance, Socio-Economic Reintegration and Mine Awareness, together with
Canada. Honduras will become co-chair of this committee at the Third Meeting of
States Parties in September 2001.
In November 2000 Honduras participated in
the Regional Seminar on Stockpile Destruction in the Americas in Buenos Aires.
Also in November, Honduras voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
55/33V, supporting the Mine Ban Treaty.
Honduras is not a party to the
Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Production, Transfer, Use, and Stockpiling
Honduras has never produced or exported
antipersonnel mines. In the past it imported and used antipersonnel mines in
limited quantities, for training purposes only. There has been no use of mines
in Honduras by any party since the end of the conflicts in Nicaragua (in 1990)
and El Salvador (in 1992).
On 2 November 2000 Honduras destroyed its
stockpile of 7,441 antipersonnel mines in a ceremony attended by government
officials, representatives of the OAS and an international team of supervisors
from the demining program.[2]
This followed an assessment of the stockpile by three Canadian officials in
March 2000. The First Field Artillery Battalion of the Honduran Army carried
out the destruction, by explosion and incineration, near the village of Zambrano
Francisco Morazán. MARMINCA supervisors from Brazil and Colombia
certified the destruction.[3]
The destruction took three days and cost approximately US$1.60 per
mine.[4] Included in the
destruction were 1,436 Sopro M-969 mines (manufactured by Portugal), 4,224 M-4
mines (manufactured by Israel), and 1,781 FMK-1 mines (manufactured by
Argentina).[5]
There are
discrepancies between the reported destruction and the Honduran Article 7 report
submitted in August 1999:[6]
The Article 7 report indicated that there were 2,969 M-4 mines in stock, of
which 2,639 would be destroyed and 330 retained. However, Honduras reported
destruction of 4,224 M-4 mines, considerably more than previously reported to be
held in stock.
The Article 7 report indicated 2,959 FMK-1 mines in stock, of which 2,330
would be destroyed and 329 retained. Honduras reported destruction of 1,781
FMK-1.
The Article 7 report indicated 1,480 M-969 mines in stock, of which 1,315
would be destroyed and 165 retained. Honduras reported destruction of 1,436
M-696.
The Article 7 report indicated 2,031 M18A1 Claymore mines in stock, of which
1,805 would be destroyed and 226 retained. Honduras reported no destruction of
M18A1
mines.[7]
It
would appear that the stockpile numbers reported in the August 1999 Article 7
report proved to be inaccurate. It is now uncertain how many antipersonnel
mines Honduras is retaining for training purposes. If the Article 7 report is
accurate, that number is 824 (330 M4, 329 FMK-1, and 165 M-969 mines), in
addition to all of its Claymore
mines.[8]
Landmine Problem
Landmines were planted during the 1980s by
combatants to the Nicaragua conflict and were found on both sides of the
Nicaragua/Honduras border. More than 2,000 have been cleared and destroyed on
the Honduran side of the border while more than 49,000 remain to be cleared and
destroyed on the Nicaraguan
side.[9] None of the mines
destroyed in Honduras has been more than a few hundred meters from the frontier.
There have been periodic concerns that mined areas might exist in the four
“bolsone” or pockets of territory whose ownership had been in
international court dispute between Honduras and El Salvador. Since these areas
had long been a “no man’s land,” the concern was that
Salvadoran insurgents might have used them as refuge areas and might have
planted protective minefields to keep both Salvadoran and Honduran authorities
out. In September 2000, Honduran demining personnel and international
supervisors carried out a general survey in the vicinity of a former Contra base
in El Aguacate, department of Olanchos, to determine if the area is
mine-affected. A second survey was carried out in January 2001 along the border
with El Salvador. According to the OAS, authorities and local people in both
areas did not report any landmines, and no physical indicators were found that
pointed to the existence of mines or minefields in these
areas.[10]
The Honduran
Army recommends further supervision of the bordersas it is concerned
that mines could have moved into the country by the effects of Hurricane
Mitch.[11]
Mine Action Coordination and Funding
The OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy,
through the Integral Action against Antipersonnel Mines Program (AICMA -
Acción Integral Contra las Minas Antipersonal), is responsible for
coordinating and supervising the Assistance Program for Demining in Central
America (PADCA - Programa de Asistencia al Desminado en Centroamérica),
with the technical support of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB). The IADB
is responsible for organizing the team of international supervisors in charge of
training and certification. This supervising team is known as the Assistance
Mission for Mine Clearance in Central America (MARMINCA - Misión de
Asistencia para la Remoción de Minas en Centroamérica).
PADCA/MARMINCA have mine action programs in Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and
Nicaragua.
In 2000, the annual budget for the OAS regional program was $7.6
million, financed by Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands,
Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the US and the
UK.[12] Between June 2000 and
May 2001 financial contributions totalled approximately $6
million.[13] The current budget
for the demining program in Honduras is approximately $500,000 for a six-month
period.[14]
Honduras
contributes to the OAS PADCA program; four of thirty current trainers and
supervisors with MARMINCA are from
Honduras.[15]
Mine Clearance
In March 2001, mine clearance operations in
Honduras started the final phase in Choluteca department, in the four remaining
mine-affected areas along the border with
Nicaragua.[16] The clearance
operation is scheduled for completion by September 2001. Once the mine
clearance is completed, international supervisors will assist the Honduran Army
in conducting quality
assurance.[17]
As of 31 April
2001, the total area of land cleared since the PADCA program began in 1995 is
377,935 square meters; 2,158 mines and 54,785 UXO have been
destroyed.[18] As of 31 May
2001, this included 248,000 square meters in El Paraíso province, 107,000
square meters in Choluteca and 22,000 square meters in Olancho
province.[19]
Mine Awareness
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration
is supporting an OAS mine awareness and accident prevention program in Honduras
and Nicaragua.[20] The
Canada/Mexico/PAHO Joint Program for the Rehabilitation of Victims in Central
America is training mine awareness educators in Honduras to carry out mine
awareness courses in communities and schools in mine-affected areas, delivering
materials along with mine awareness messages.
Landmine Casualties
According to Handicap International (Belgium) and
an official in the Honduran embassy in Guatemala, there were no mine or UXO
incidents reported in Honduras during
2000.[21]
On 18 March 2001
a Honduran civilian attempting to cross into Nicaragua to hunt, lost a leg and
an eye when he stepped on a landmine on the Nicaraguan side of the border. The
victim received medical assistance in Danli El Paraiso (Honduras), and a
prosthesis has been requested from
PAHO.[22]
In September 1995,
Honduran officials estimated that over 200 civilians had been killed in landmine
incidents since 1990.[23] From
March 1996 to September 1997, the IADB recorded five mine accidents involving
civilians in Honduras.[24]
Survivor Assistance
Since 1999, Honduras has been making real efforts
in addressing the needs of landmine survivors and providing them with adequate
treatment. Handicap International Belgium (HI-B) has helped the Ministry of
Health set up the first prosthetic and orthotic workshop in Tegucigalpa. In
2001, an outreach mission was conducted in the Danli area in order to provide
specific assistance to mine victims in that area. A second prosthetic and
orthotic workshop will be created by Foundation Teleton, an NGO specializing in
rehabilitation services for the disabled, with the support of HI-B in San Pedro
Sula in 2001. In the framework of the Canada-Mexico-PAHO initiative and with
the support of SIDA-Moh Acceso Program, CBR activities are now implemented in
mine-affected areas from the El Paraiso Department. In Danli, a program to
reintegrate mine victims into the workforce is now implemented in Gabriela
Alvarado Rehabilitation
Center.[25]
[1] Law 92-98 was published
in La Gazeta, No. 28653, 21 August
1998.
[2] “Firma de
Acta de destrucción del inventario de minas antipersonales en
posesión de las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras,” Press Release # 060,
External Relations Secretariat, Government of Honduras, 2 November 2000;
“Experiencia de Honduras en Operaciones de Desminado Humanitario y
Destrucción de Minas en Almacen,” 2 November 2000, presented to
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 7 December 2000; OAS,
“Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las
Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” 7 May
2001.
[3] Interview with
Colonel Alejandro Rodríguez, Military Attaché, Embassy of Honduras
in Guatemala, Guatemala City, 13 February
2001.
[4] Oral remarks of the
Honduran Delegation to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
7 December 2000.
[5]
“Experiencia de Honduras en Operaciones de Desminado Humanitario y
Destrucción de Minas en Almacen,” 2 November 2000, presented to
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 7 December 2000; Department
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Armed Forces of Honduras, Report for Conference of
the Armed Forces of Central America, JEMC 2120-2000, 22 November 2000. In oral
remarks of the Honduran delegate to the Standing Committee, 7 December 2000, he
clarified that the M4 mines that were listed in the Article 7 report as of
US-origin (and therefore assumed by Landmine Monitor to be M-14), were in fact
Israel-made mines, usually called No.
4.
[6] Article 7 report,
Forms B and D, 30 August 1999; “Experiencia de Honduras en Operaciones de
Desminado Humanitario y Destrucción de Minas en Almacen,” 2
November 2000, presented to Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
7 December 2000.
[7] At the
Buenos Aires stockpile destruction meeting in November 2000, the Honduran
representative told Landmine Monitor that a decision had been made to retain all
M18A1 Claymore mines.
[8]
Article 7 report, Form D, 30 August 1999. This number does not include the 226
M18A1 mines Honduras reported it would
retain.
[9] Email to Landmine
Monitor (HRW) from William McDonough, Coordinator, PACDA, Organization of
American States, 24 July
2001.
[10] OAS,
“Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las
Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” 7 May 2001;
Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from William McDonough, Coordinator, PACDA,
Organization of American States, 30 July
2001.
[11] Interview with
Col. Alejandro Rodríguez, Military Attaché, Embassy of Honduras in
Guatemala, Guatemala, 2 November 2000; Telephone Interview with Miguel Barahona,
National Coordinator, PADCA Honduras, 9 May
2001.
[12] Email to Landmine
Monitor from Jhosselin Bakhat, Organization of American States, 20 June
2000.
[13] OAS,
“Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las
Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” 7 May
2001.
[14] Telephone
Interview with Miguel Barahona, PADCA Honduras, 18 June
2001.
[15] OAS,
“Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las
Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” 7 May
2001.
[16]
Ibid.
[17]
Ibid.
[18] Telephone
Interview with Miguel Barahona, PADCA Honduras, 18 June 2001; “Firma de
Acta de destrucción del inventario de minas antipersonales en
posesión de las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras,” Press Release # 060,
External Relations Secretariat, Government of Honduras, 2 November
2000.
[19] Telephone
Interview with Miguel Barahona, PADCA Honduras, 18 June 2001; Department of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Armed Forces of Honduras, Report for Conference of the
Armed Forces of Central America, JEMC 2120-2000, 22 November
2000.
[20] OAS,
“Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las
Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” 7 May
2001.
[21] Email to Landmine
Monitor (HI-B) from Thierry Gonthier, HI-B Honduras, 16 July 2001; Interview
with Col. Alejandro Rodríguez, Military Attaché, Embassy of
Honduras in Guatemala, Guatemala, 12 March
2001.
[22] Telephone
interview with Emilio Ramires Pinto, PAHO/OAS, Honduras, 19 June 2001; Fax to
Landmine Monitor from Emilio Ramires Pinto, PAHO/OAS, Honduras, 20 June 2001;
Interview with Miguel Barahona, National Coordinator, PADCA Honduras, 9 May
2001.
[23] UN landmine
country report for Honduras, September
1995.
[24] OAS, Junta
Interamericana de Defensa, Mision de Asistencia para Remoci\n de Minas en Centro
America, “Cuadro Demostrativo de Los Accidentes Ocurridos al Personal
Civil que Vive en Las Areas Rurales de La Republica de Honduras,”
September 1997.
[25] Email
from Thierry Gonthier, Program Director for HI-B in Honduras, to Landmine
Monitor (MAC), 17 July 2001.