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NICARAGUA, Landmine Monitor Report 2001
 
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NICARAGUA

Key developments since May 2000: Nicaragua is the host of the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, which takes place from 18 to 21 September 2001 in Managua. Since September 2000, Nicaragua has served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance. A total of 70,000 antipersonnel mines have been destroyed from stockpiles since 1999, and stockpile destruction is scheduled for completion by December 2002. As of April 2001, a total of 2.1 million square meters of land had been cleared, including 64,874 landmines. More than 70,000 mines were still in the ground at 369 mined areas along the border with Honduras and 39 sites in the interior. Mine clearance along Nicaragua’s border with Costa Rica was reported completed in April 2001. New mine victims including fatalities are reported in 2001.

Mine Ban Policy

Nicaragua signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 30 November 1998 and the treaty entered into force on 1 May 1999. On 7 December 1999 President Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo signed implementing legislation, with penal sanctions for violations of the law.[1] Nicaragua submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 18 May 2000, and its annual updated report on 7 May 2001.[2] The second report utilizes the new optional Form J to report on victim assistance programs.

Nicaragua attended the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2000, with a delegation led by the President of the Comisión Nacional de Desminado (National Demining Commission - CND), Ramón Kontorosky of the Ministry of Defense. Nicaragua’s offer to host the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, in Managua, from 18 to 21 September 2001, was warmly accepted. A committee responsible for national level organization for the Third Meeting of States Parties was created in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, appointed President of the Committee and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bertha Marina Argüello, the Committee’s Secretary General.[3]

Since the Second Meeting of States Parties, Nicaragua has served as co-chair (with Japan) of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Socio-Economic Reintegration and Mine Awareness. In addition to being a co-chair, Nicaragua has played an important role in developing and promoting the intersessional work program more generally. A delegation from the capital and Nicaragua’s Geneva mission participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in December 2000 and May 2001; Nicaragua made a number of important interventions and presentations during the Standing Committee meetings on mine clearance, stockpile destruction, and general status of the Convention.

At the close of the May 2001 intersessional meetings, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs gave a presentation on preparations for the Third Meeting of States Parties and said she could “confirm to the international community, the honor Nicaragua feels in seeing how in September, we will host a meeting of committed countries and organizations destined to strengthen and foster a more effective implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, and to achieve our dream of a mine-free world.”[4]

At the fifteenth meeting of the National Demining Commission on 29 January 2001, Defense Minister Guerra appointed the Deputy Minister of Defense, María Auxiliadora Cuadra de Frech, as Secretary General of the CND, and created three subcommittees to oversee mine action in the country, including stockpile destruction.[5] A fourth subcommittee was also created to support preparations for the Third Meeting of States Parties.[6]

Nicaragua attended a regional seminar on stockpile destruction in Buenos Aires in November 2000. In Buenos Aires, the ICBL challenged governments of the region to meet three goals by the time of the meeting of States Parties in Managua: Mine Ban Treaty signatories should complete the ratification process; States Parties should complete and submit Article 7 reports; and States Parties should complete destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines.[7] These calls were issued at the conclusion of the seminar by the hosts, Argentina and Canada, as the “Managua Challenge.”

Also in November 2000, Nicaragua voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 55/33V, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Nicaragua introduced the resolution along with Mozambique and Norway, the past, present and future presidents of the meetings of States Parties.

On 5 Dec 2000, Nicaragua adhered to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II. It did not attend the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in Geneva later in December 2000.

Production, Transfer and Use

Nicaragua states that it no longer produces antipersonnel landmines, and does not have any production facilities.[8] It imported antipersonnel mines in the past, and reports Cuban, Czechoslovakian and Soviet antipersonnel mines in its stockpiles.[9] No use of mines was found during the reporting period.

Stockpiling and Destruction

As reported in Landmine Monitor Report 2000, at the beginning of 1999 Nicaragua had a stockpile of 136,813 landmines.[10] This included PMN, PMN-2, PP-Mi-Sr-II, OZM-4, PMFH, POMZ-2, POMZ-2M, MON-50, MON-100, MON-200, and TAP-4 mines.[11]

Nicaragua reports it will complete stockpile destruction by December 2002.[12] From April 1999 to June 2001, it destroyed 70,000 antipersonnel mines, in seven separate destructions: three in 1999, two in 2000, and two in 2001. A total of 10,000 mines were destroyed on 25 February 2000, and 10,000 more on 12 May 2000.[13] On 29 March 2001, 15,000 antipersonnel mines were destroyed at Estelí.[14] Another 15,000 antipersonnel mines were destroyed at Estelí on 21 June 2001.[15]

In June 2001, Landmine Monitor was informed that the current stockpile totals 66,813.[16]

Stockpiled mines have been destroyed by open burning and detonation in two locations: at the National Sergeant School near Managua and at the Infantry School at Condega, in Estelí.[17] Stockpile destruction at the National Sergeant School near Managua stopped in 2001 due to its location near a geological fault line and Army concerns about carrying out destruction explosions in an area where local inhabitants fear earthquakes.[18] The stockpile destructions have been attended by government officials, representatives of the Army, OAS representatives, members of the diplomatic corps, NGO representatives, media, invited civilians, including children, and military landmine survivors.

Nicaragua plans to carry out its eighth stockpile destruction act on 17 September 2001, the day before the opening of the Third Meeting of States Parties, when it will destroy 20,000 antipersonnel mines.[19] This will bring the number of stockpiled mines destroyed in the three destructions during 2001 to 50,000 mines and the total destroyed since April 1999 to 90,000 mines, leaving a stockpile of 46,813 mines.

According to its plan, Nicaragua aims to complete stockpile destruction by December 2002 and will therefore not meet the “Managua Challenge” issued at the regional seminar in November 2000, calling for stockpiles to be completely destroyed by the Third Meeting of States Parties. There is discussion in government circles on this issue, with some noting that stock destruction could be completed in 2001, and others noting that no commitments can be made to destroy stockpiles before 2004 unless donors commit the estimated $27 million needed for mine action in Nicaragua.

In its initial Article 7 report Nicaragua indicated that it will retain 1,971 antipersonnel mines for training purposes, including 500 PMN, 500 PMN-2, 100 PP-MiSr-II, 50 OZM-4, 50 PMFH, 100 POMZ-2, 500 POMZ-2M, 100 MON-50, 11 MON-100, and 10 MON-200.[20] The same information was included in the second Article 7 report. According to its most recent Article 7 report, the Army transferred 286 landmines to the OAS/IADB MARMINCA program for canine training on 29 September 1999.[21]

Landmine Problem

Nicaragua states that 135,643 mines were laid in the country during the 1979-1990 internal conflict including both antipersonnel and antitank mines.[22] NGOs including CEI and CEEN point out that this figure can only be an estimate since it does not account for mines planted during the conflict by Contra resistance forces or Army tactical units.[23] UNICEF also has reported that in addition to mines, a large quantity of unexploded ordnance (UXO) such as bombs, fragmentation grenades, mortars, and ammunition were also left in areas where combat took place.[24]

According to Nicaragua’s most recent Article 7 report, as of April 2001, 70,769 mines were still in the ground, located in 369 areas along the northern border, and in thirty-nine sites inside Nicaragua.[25] According to the report, location of suspected mine-affected areas is ongoing, and mine clearance operations “take into account minefields or groups of mines of which civilians have informed the authorities,” in the departments of Matagalpa, Madriz, Jinotega, Nueva Segovia, Estelí, Chontales, Boaco, Río San Juan, Chinandega, Zelaya Norte and Zelaya Sur.[26] According to the Commander of the Army Engineers, as of January 2001 there were 22 mine-affected municipalities out of a total of 143 in the country, with a population of approximately 834,500.[27]

Nicaragua reports that mine clearance along 96 kilometers of the southern border with Costa Rica was completed by April 2001 and the border was declared the country’s first mine-free region.[28]

The mine and UXO problem was illustrated by a recent incident in the Nuevo Amanecer neighborhood of Ocotal, where locals found a number of abandoned explosive artifacts and notified Army deminers, who destroyed them.[29] Included in the arsenal were 60, 80, and 120 mm mortar grenades and a Russian-manufactured antipersonnel mine. Local inhabitants, who were relocated there after being displaced by Hurricane Mitch, were concerned to learn that the Army’s Military Base No. 3010 had in the past been located there, and that the possibility of finding more landmines and UXO could not be discarded.

There is no reliable information available on the socio-economic impact of the landmine problem in Nicaragua, though it is hoped that an IMSMA database project will increase understanding of the impact. The Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) developed a field module of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA, Sistema de Gestión de Información para Actividades relatives a Minas) for training activities in 2000, which was presented in Nicaragua in September 2000 by IMSMA and the GICHD to users and system administrators from the OAS PADCA and MARMINCA programs, and government agencies.[30] IMSMA will permit users to enter into a single database information on: mine-affected lands and those suspected of being mine-affected, and their characteristics; progress on mine clearance in each zone; and complete information on incidents and landmine victims.[31]

Neither the director of the National Farmers and Ranchers Association (UNAG, Unión Nacional de Agricultores y Ganaderos) nor the Ministry of Agriculture could provide figures on the economic loss in rural agricultural regions due to landmines. The director of UNAG told Landmine Monitor, “In border areas and other places once considered strategic, mines are a big problem for farmers, a mine can be encountered at any time, particularly when they are preparing the soil for harvest and plowing with oxen.”[32]

Mine Action Funding

Nicaragua has invited donors to contribute approximately US$27 million to complete its stock destruction and mine clearance plans.[33] This does not include funds needed for victim assistance.[34] This figure was first introduced with the April 1999 presentation of Nicaragua’s National Demining Plan.

The National Plan concept envisions five operational demining fronts (company-sized 100 person units) as well as three separate platoon-sized units (approximately 50 persons per unit).[35] Two of the three separate units are the canine unit and the independent platoon charged with minefield marking, stockpile destruction and immediate response to reports of mines and UXO. A national level hotline has just been installed to facilitate this latter function. The third platoon-sized unit will be formed once heavy equipment provided by Japan arrives in Nicaragua. Based on over eight years of operational experience, the OAS coordinated program requires approximately $400,000 to fund a front-sized unit for each six-month period of field operations. Consequently, 6.5 fronts at $800,000 per year over a five year period (2000-2004), produced a general requirement for approximately $26 to $27 million.

One of the objectives of hosting the Third Meeting of States Parties in Managua, say government officials, is to impress upon donors both achievements to date in mine action and the county’s remaining financial needs.[36]

Some $22 million has been pledged for the 2000-2004 period, including $6.2 million by Denmark and $2 million for mechanical mine sweepers by Japan.[37] Army officers reported to the CND subcommittee on stockpile destruction and mine clearance that if certain donors continued to “drag their feet,” the stockpile destruction and mine clearance plan running through 2004 could not be guaranteed.[38]

According to a May 2001 response to Landmine Monitor from the Minister of Defense, in an unspecified time period donors have contributed the following funds:[39]

  • Denmark: More than $6 million for operations fronts one and two;
  • USA: More than $1.8 million, including at least $1.2 million for two modules in operations front five and for mine detecting dogs, and $600,000 for operations fronts one and two;
  • UK: $1.2 million for two modules in operations front five;
  • Canada: $1 million for two modules in operations front four;
  • Sweden: $1 million for three modules;
  • Norway: $1 million for two modules in operations front four;
  • France: $70,000 for the independent demining platoon;
  • Spain: $70,000 for the independent demining platoon.[40]

Last year, based on information provided by the Nicaraguan Army, Landmine Monitor reported the following funding pledges as of January 2000: Denmark - $6.8 million for the period 2000-2004; Sweden - $5 million also for 2000-2004; Canada - $2 million for 2000-2001; Norway - $2 million for 2000-2001; the US - $2.5 million for 2000-2002; and the UK - $2.5 million for 2003-2004.[41]

In 2000, the annual budget for the OAS regional program in Central America was $7.6 million, financed by Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the US and the UK.[42] Between June 2000 and May 2001 financial contributions totalled approximately $6 million.[43] According to the OAS, Italy and the Russian Federation have joined the donors group in 2001, while Switzerland is no longer listed.[44]

Mine Action Coordination

The Comisión Nacional de Desminado (CND), established in November 1998, is the government body responsible for mine action in Nicaragua. Previously criticized for its inactivity,[45] the CND was reactivated at its fifteenth meeting in January 2001, when a new Secretary General was appointed, Deputy Minister of Defense María Auxiliadora Cuadra de Frech, and three subcommittees were established to oversee mine action: stockpile destruction and mine clearance; victim assistance and rehabilitation; and education, prevention, and minefield signalling.[46] Representatives of the government, NGOs, and international organizations are members of the subcommittees.[47]

In January 2001, Minister of Defense José Adán Guerra told Landmine Monitor that there would be a “de-bureaucratization” of the CND and that Ministry of Defense officials were determined to improve their performance with respect to mine action.[48] He said he proposed “a change of course” for the CND, and added that he wanted to convert the CND into an institution whose mission and vision go beyond strictly military components and tasks, and make it an institution inspired by Nicaragua’s humanitarian commitment to prevention and victim assistance projects, as well as social and economic reintegration, thereby making the individual and community the focus of demining.[49]

NGO members of the CND note that discussion on core objectives and programmatic directions have not taken place yet – for example, on the role of community participation and input into areas to be cleared of mines and their degree of priority and urgency. The head of OAS PADCA in Nicaragua recognizes that the participation of municipal authorities and local people who have a first-hand knowledge of the mine problem would benefit the CND.[50]

The OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, through its Program for Integral Action against Antipersonnel Mines (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 and MARMINCA are active in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Mine Clearance

Mine clearance is the responsibility of the Pequeñas Unidades de Desminado, PUD (Small Demining Units) of the Engineer Corps of the Nicaraguan Army. Mine clearance is conducted along five operations fronts. Mine clearance in Nicaragua is scheduled for completion by December 2004.[51]

In the year 2000, 6,155 antipersonnel mines and 16,172 UXO were destroyed. Border clearance advanced 31 kilometers, including clearance of 57 border encampments, 63 electrical towers and four bridges.[52]

According to the Article 7 report, as of April 2001, a total of 64,874 emplaced landmines had been destroyed, and 2,120,137 square meters of land cleared by the approximately 650 Army personnel of the national mine clearance program.[53]

A total of 241 kilometers of the northern border with Honduras has been cleared, but not some of the most heavily mined areas. There were approximately 70,769 landmines still in the ground in 369 mined areas along the northern border and in 39 sites in the interior of the country.[54] Border tensions with Honduras continue but when asked to comment, Minister of Defense Guerra stated, “Relations with our sister Republic of Honduras do not and will not affect our firm and imperative decision to fully carry out mine clearance.”[55]

Nicaragua reported in its Article 7 report that mine clearance along 96 kilometers of the southern border with Costa Rica was completed by April 2001, and the border was declared the country’s first mine-free region.[56] The government states this will benefit some 55,607 inhabitants, as well as the ecology and economy of the region.

Nicaragua plans to clear and destroy 11,684 landmines during 2001 including 3,540 mines in the first operations front; 1,865 in the second operations front; 1,567 in the third operations front 3; 2,360 in the fourth operations front; and 2,352 in the fifth operations front.[57] Nicaragua also expects to declare the departments of Chinandega, Chontales, Boaco, and the Southern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) landmine free in 2001.[58]

The national demining structure includes 635 deminers working in all mine-affected regions of the country. An additional platoon of 40 to 50 deminers will be formed to operate heavy demining equipment to be provided by Japan.

The OAS PADCA continued to provide funds for 100 deminers (each) in operations fronts three, four and five. Operations front five began mine clearance in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) in June 2000. A new independent demining platoon (Pelotón Independiente de Desminado) of 60 deminers completed training and started work in January 2001. The platoon is responsible for marking minefields, rapid response to civilian reports of mines and UXO, and stockpile destruction.

According to the OAS, from June 2000 to May 2001, eleven mine detecting dogs were active in Nicaragua, funded at a cost of $500,000 by the US.[59] Questions about the use of mine detecting dogs continue regarding their capacity to adapt, effectiveness under harsh weather conditions, effectiveness in steep inclines, and delays on account of explosions affecting their detection capacities, but, according to military officials, the use of mine detecting dogs is still considered favorable.[60]

According to the OAS, an additional helicopter will be rehabilitated to bring the number in country to four helicopters (even though only three will support at a time), which permits complete support for mine clearance units in Nicaraguan territory.[61] Mine clearance units report impediments and limitations to clearing operations, the rough jungle terrain and general absence of adequate roads among others, with some areas only accessible by river transport. The situation worsened after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, when numerous roads were washed away or further deteriorated.

Landmine Monitor Report 2000 noted that civilians, usually impoverished peasants who are former combatants, were hiring themselves out as mine clearers to landowners wanting to expand their agricultural and ranching lands. UNICEF reports to be increasingly worried regarding the high level of acquaintance of some local populations with landmines and UXO, and particularly that male adults and adolescents have lost their natural sense of fear towards these objects.[62] According to UNICEF, “along the northern borders it is disturbingly common to hear testimonies of juveniles and even children stating that they themselves have been ‘clearing’ mines, following the examples of their fathers and other adults.”[63]

In Central America, GICHD and the OAS AICMA program are working with focus groups to review and comment on the new international mine action standards (IMAS). The first analysis was carried out at a workshop held in Managua in January 2001, with the participation of administrators from OAS AICMA programs in Central America, Ecuador and Peru.[64]

Mine Awareness

Mine awareness education in Nicaragua is conducted by a number of actors, including the Comisión Conjunta de Discapacitados de Madriz para la Paz y Reconstrucción (ORD/ADRN), CEEN, the Nicaraguan Red Cross, the OAS and UNICEF.

ORD/ADRN conducts mine awareness and prevention workshops in Nueva Segovia and Madriz, with the financial support from the German agency Misereor and Nicaraguan NGO CEI. The Coordinator of ORD/ADRN told Landmine Monitor that the Commission’s principal task is the compiling of community derived information about landmines or suspected presence of landmines.[65] In February 2001 ORD/ADRN in coordination with CEI held a departmental forum on “integral mine action” in Somoto, in Madriz department.[66] USAID support for CEEN’s mine awareness project was terminated in 2000.

In August 2000, the UK-based NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) conducted a safety and mine risk education project in northeast Nicaragua, with funding provided by the American Red Cross (ARC).[67] In November 2000, MAG completed an operational assessment of the Waspam region with funding from ARC and Austria. The assessment report provided a set of recommendations regarding appropriate mine awareness and data gathering based on the type and extent of the landmine/UXO problem.

The Nicaragua Red Cross, supported by UNICEF and ICRC, continues with its “child to child” mine awareness program in communities along the northern border with Honduras. The program will discard the use of the Superman and Wonder Woman comics, after much criticism.[68] According to the Nicaraguan Red Cross, the program reached some 1,500 children during 2000. Army specialists provided training to the Red Cross trainers.

According to the OAS, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration provides funding for its mine awareness campaigns in Honduras and Nicaragua.[69] OAS PADCA, the Ministry of Defense and the Nicaraguan Army have conducted mine awareness seminars with student councils of secondary schools in the north of the country, reaching some 3,000 youth. Most of the instruction is carried out by Army officers.[70] The Ministry of Education is reportedly preparing indigenous education material to introduce in schools. According to the CND Secretary General, all CND members will have an opportunity to review the materials.[71] The OAS also uses local and national media in mine awareness education. The OAS and Radio Corporación broadcast a mine awareness program throughout the country using the well-known character “Pacho Madrigal.”[72]

Following the signing of a formal cooperation agreement between UNICEF and the OAS in October 2000, UNICEF in cooperation with PADCA and the Nicaraguan Army is implementing a one-year “landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) awareness education in Nicaragua through community liaison” project.[73] According to UNICEF, the intention is to contribute to an “integrated mine awareness campaign in the remaining high-risk communities along the northern border which await mine-clearance according to the national Demining Plan and to integrate mine and UXO awareness in the school curriculum at national level.” The objective of the project is to counteract mine clearance by civilians by improving information flows between demining units and nearby communities, and raising mine awareness in those communities. As of April 2001, $35,000 of the total $70,000 required for the project had been raised. UNICEF also reports it will carry out a knowledge-attitudes-practices study in mine-affected communities of 12 municipalities in Nicaragua.[74]

UNICEF and OAS AICMA held the “Una Sola Voz” (One Voice) seminar on mine awareness in Nicaragua, 25-27 April 2001.[75] The goals of the seminar were to analyze mine awareness education in the country; analyze materials used in mine awareness education and community participation; define goals and objectives, actions and priorities; and establish commitments. According to UNICEF, “Mine action in Nicaragua is characterized by a continued emphasis on mine clearance, whereas other components, [such as] mine awareness education, [and] victim assistance receive comparatively less attention.”[76] UNICEF adds, “Other aspects that have been repeatedly criticized include: the limited role for non-governmental agencies and for civil society, insufficient consultation with communities, and emphasis on the number of mines removed as criterion of progress as opposed to the enhancement of living conditions for mine-affected communities.”[77]

The Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the support of the OAS, Nicaraguan Red Cross, and Correos de Nicaragua (Nicaraguan Postal Service), organized a national art contest for children and youth to raise awareness about landmines in the country, as part of the preparations for the Third Meeting of States Parties.[78] The six winning entries were announced at an event on 22 June 2001, attended by government officials and other representatives, including the ICBL coordinator and coordinator of the Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines. Winning entries will be featured on commemorative stamps as well as posters for the meeting, and funds raised will be donated to the CND subcommittee on victim assistance.

Landmine Casualties

There is no centralized source of information on landmine casualties in Nicaragua and it is difficult to get reliable figures on mine and UXO casualties. It is also still possible that some mine victims are not registered. The IMSMA database project is expected to improve information on mine incidents and victims in the country.[79] The OAS PADCA program and the Nicaraguan Army also plan to conduct a census of mine victims, gathering information on the number of victims, place of residence, site of incidents, and assistance received.[80]

In 2000 and up until June 2001, there were 23 mine casualties in Nicaragua, involving twelve civilians and eleven military.[81] In 1999, according to the Army, there were thirty-one mine casualties in Nicaragua, including eleven deaths and twenty injuries.[82]

The UN estimates that 1,500 people have been reported injured by landmines in Nicaragua, without taking into account fatalities.[83] The UN notes that since 1990 the number of victims has gradually decreased to a yearly average of approximately ten, most of these peasants and many of them children.[84]

On 26 January 2001, three deminers were injured in San Francisco Libre municipality, near Managua, after one stepped on a mine while on demining duty.[85] The deminer had a leg amputated, while the two others suffered facial wounds. The incident happened at the Panchito airstrip, which the military reported was surrounded by six kilometers of mined land. The deminer was awarded a service medal from President Alemán Lacayo.

On 25 March 2001, a 22-year-old peasant from El Boquerón, a few kilometers from the Honduran border in Jalapa municipality, was killed when on his way to Las Pampas with a friend he found a landmine, picked it up and tried to defuse it.[86] According to media reports, there have been a total of seven mine victims in El Boquerón.[87] After the incident the National Police warned locals there was a minefield in the area. A letter written by local citizens, including the father of the deceased youth, said, “The people of the communities of El Boquerón and Las Pampas request the help of the military authorities as soon as possible, so that they determine how to remove these mines, otherwise people will continue to die.”[88]

On 21 April 2001, an 11-year-old child from Villa Chagüitillo, in Sébaco municipality was killed when he stepped on an explosive object while gathering firewood near El Cacao. His 13-year-old companion lost his right leg in the incident. Military sources reportedly noted that there had been a military base in the area previously, and that probably because of Hurricane Mitch floods, explosives had been displaced and lay exposed in the area. Lt. Colonel Herminio Escoto, head of the Sixth Regional Military Command said that the explosive had not been a landmine but a fragmentation grenade. He noted that in the past there had been an Army storage site in El Cacao, but that the area had been cleared before a German company began construction of a potable water system. “We are sure that there are no mines in the area,” he added.[89]

Also on 21 April 2001, a peasant lost a leg after stepping on a landmine in La Chata, El Cuá-Bocay municipality, Jinotega.[90] The victim had moved to the area only in the previous month, and was out gathering fruit when the incident happened.

In May 2001, a peasant in San Fernando municipality lost his left leg after stepping on a landmine while working in the fields.[91] He was treated in the Ocotal department hospital, and the OAS, which was carrying out mine clearance activities in the area, provided medicine for his treatment.

Survivor Assistance

The government of Nicaragua claims a “shift in course” in mine action, towards “placing people and community rehabilitation” at the heart of new programs.[92] According to Handicap International, the present capacity of orthopedic devices in the country responds to at most 60 percent of the demand from disabled people.[93]

Nicaragua’s May 2001 Article 7 report includes a completed form J on victim assistance. Organizations and agencies listed in the report as involved in first aid and medical care of landmine victims include the OAS, Nicaraguan Red Cross, Ministry of Health, PAHO, and the Nicaraguan Army. Organizations and agencies involved in rehabilitation include the OAS, Nicaraguan Army, Ministry of Health, PAHO, ICRC, Walking Unidos, the US Army (donating equipment for prostheses and ortheses), Handicap International, PRODINIC, and the Centro Nacional de Prótesis and Ortesis (CENAPROTO). Organizations reported as involved in social reintegration include MOVIMUNDO, PRODINIC, INATEC, and Impedimento Internacional. Handicap International, MOVIMONDO and PRODINIC are active in economic integration.

According to the report, the government of Nicaragua, through the CND and together with NGOs and international organizations, is in the process of developing a national policy on victim assistance, taking into account rehabilitation and economic reintegration.[94] The CND, OAS, ICRC, Nicaraguan Army, Nicaraguan Red Cross, CENAPROTO are contributing data to the IMSMA database.

On 1 July 2000, Handicap International began a three-year project in Trinidad, Estelí department, reactivating a Ministry of Health workshop that had not been operational for a number of years.[95] The project provides support to the services of physical medicine and readaptation (one orthopedic center and four physiotherapy services), including equipment, refurbishing of infrastructure, training, logistical and financial support. The workshop is receiving about 25 patients per month. The HI project has a total budget of $1.3 million, 75 percent funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg and 25 percent funded by HI Luxembourg. The project calls for a census by the Ministry of Health of all disabled people. At the orthopedic center, all disabled patients receive the same assistance, regardless of the cause of their disability. The equipment costs to the patients is between $10 and $60. In Cenaprorto, the main orthopedic center in the country, mine and war victims receive free access to orthopedic items, but other patients must pay between $600 and $1,000. In June 2001 HI signed a partnership agreement with the National Demining Commission, under which HI will provide technical advice to help it to assume its functions.

The OAS Landmine and UXO Victim Assistance program provided assistance to some 300 persons up to May 2001.[96] Its budget for 2001-2002 is $275,000.[97] According to the OAS, the program has addressed the needs of landmine victims who have no social security or Army benefits, with transportation to the rehabilitation center, lodging, prosthesis, therapy, and medications.

On 18-19 June 2001 the OAS and the International Rehabilitation Center (IRC) organized the First Regional Conference on Victim Assistance, Rehabilitation and Technologies, in Managua with the participation of prosthetics technicians from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Minister of Defense and President of the CND José Adán Guerra said, “One of the most valuable aspects of the regional conference is the Programa de Educación a Distancia de las Extremidades Inferiores (Distance Education Program for the Lower Extremities) which will be implemented by the IRC through the Internet.” [98]

Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) is implementing a Landmine Survivors Advocate Training Program, focusing on the Americas region for 2000-2001.[99] Landmine survivors from five countries of the region, including Nicaragua, participated in the first training session, held in Geneva in May 2001, at the same time as the intersessional Standing Committee meetings. A second training session will be conducted during the Third Meeting of State Parties in Managua in September 2001.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) contributed Can$750,000 to the Pan American Health Organization in 1999 as part of a five-year, Can$3.5 million victim assistance initiative in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.[100] This tripartite project involves PAHO, Canada (through Queen’s University International Centre for Community Based Rehabilitation), and México. According to CIDA, the project consists of developing rural rehabilitation services, long-term sustainable community-based rehabilitation programs, regional prosthetic and orthotic development and the socio-economic reintegration of landmine victims.

The Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, an NGO, opened the “Walking Unidos” prosthetic outreach program in León, in August 1999.[101] According to the Polus Center, Walking Unidos, which has an annual budget of approximately $120,000 and seven full-time staff, was the culmination of three years of collaboration and planning with private individuals, municipalities, regional hospitals, clinics and the Nicaraguan government. The project provides above and below knee prosthetic limbs.

Canada also reported a victim assistance initiative being implemented by the Canadian NGO Falls Brook Centre, which received Can$100,000 from CIDA’s Tapping Canadian Creativity Program to support a project in northern Nicaragua. According to CIDA, the project provides landmine victims with prostheses and training in solar electrification to enable them to distribute, install and maintain village-level solar energy systems. Canada has contributed Can$206,000 to this project.[102]

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[1] Law for the Prohibition of Production, Purchase, Sale, Import, Export, Transit, Use and Possession of Antipersonnel Landmines, Law No. 321, published in the Official Gazette on 12 January 2000. Article I of this law adds “installation” to the prohibition on antipersonnel mines. Article III states that the Armed Forces must destroy its stockpiles in the “period determined by the relevant authorities.” Article VI states that persons who violate the Law will be charged with “exposing the public to danger,” and will be charged accordingly. See “Prisión para vendedores de minas,” Confidencial, No. 158, 5-11 September 1999, p. 5.
[2] While the reporting period is not specified in either report, the first report contained information as of 30 September 1999, and the second contained information as of 20 April 2001.
[3] Statement by H.E. Bertha Marina Argüello, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, “Presentation on the Logistics and Preparations for the Third Meeting of States Parties of the Mine Ban Convention,” Geneva, 10 May 2001.
[4] Ibid.
[5] See Consuelo Sandoval, “Más de 70 mil minas quedan por remover,” La Prensa, 1 February 2001; Article 7 report, Form A, 7 May 2001; Response by Defense Minister José Adán Guerra to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 24 May 2001.
[6] See also Nicaragua’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site for the Third Meeting of State Parties, http://www.cancilleria.gob.ni/third.html.
[7] See also OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Ecuador y Perú) y 1751 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Centroamérica),” CP/doc.3422/01 rev.1, 7 May 2001.
[8] Article 7 report, Form E, 7 May 2001.
[9] Article 7 report, Form B, 7 May 2001.
[10] Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 282. In its September 1999 Article 7 report, Nicaragua did not report on stockpile totals for Cuban PMFH-1 and Nicaraguan TAP-4 Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines. Article 7 report, Form B, 30 September 1999.
[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 282. See also, Article 7 Report, Form B, 7 May 2001. The report does not indicate the number of each type of mine in stock, but says that the numbers of each type would be updated in June 2001.
[12] Article 7 report, Introduction, 7 May 2001.
[13] In addition, 15,172 stockpiled munitions were destroyed during 2000. Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Oliver Bodán, CEI, 27 July 2001. According to the most recent Article 7 report, the 20,000 antipersonnel mines destroyed in 2000 included 4,408 PMN, 5,460 PMN-2, 2,405 PP-Mi-SrII, 459 POMZ-2, 6,182 POMZ-2M, and 1,086 NVVR. See Article 7 report, Form G, 7 May 2001.
[14] The 15,000 antipersonnel mines destroyed included 5,000 PMN, 5,000 PMN-2, 4,500 POMZ-2, and 500 NVVR. See Article 7 report, Form D, 7 May 2001; Adolfo Olivas Olivas, “Destruyen 15 mil minas antipersonales en Condega. Aún quedan más de 81 mil, para declarar a Nicaragua libre de minas,” La Prensa, Managua, 30 March 2001. Landmine Monitor has photographs of this event.
[15] “Nicaragua destruye 15.000 minas antipersonales,” Agence France Presse, Managua, 22 June 2001; Máximo Rugama Castillo, “Destruyen 15 mil minas en Condega,” El Nuevo Diario, 23 June 2001.
[16] According to the PADCA/OAS database and June 2001 meetings with the Army. Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Oliver Bodán, CEI, 27 July 2001.
[17] Article 7 report, Form F, 7 May 2001.
[18] Aide memoire, First meeting of the subcommittee on stockpile destruction and mine clearance, 7 February 2001.
[19] Article 7 report, Form G, the 8th Destruction of AP mines Act projected for September 2001, 7 May 2001; Statement by H.E. Bertha Marina Argüello, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, “Presentation on the Logistics and Preparations for the Third Meeting of States Parties of the Mine Ban Convention,” Geneva, 10 May 2001.
[20] Article 7 report, Form D, 30 September 1999.
[21] This included 62 PMN, 65 POMZ, 66 PP-Mi-SrII, 20 PMD-6M, 48 PMN-2, 20 MON-50, and 5 PTMI-K. Article 7 report, Form D, 30 September 1999.
[22] Article 7 report, Introduction and Form F, 7 May 2001.
[23] See also, UNICEF, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness (UXO) Education in Nicaragua through Community Liaison,” UN Portfolio of mine-related projects, April 2001, p. 184.
[24] UNICEF, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness (UXO) Education in Nicaragua through Community Liaison,” UN Portfolio of mine-related projects, April 2001, p. 184.
[25] Article 7 report, Form C, 7 May 2001.
[26] Article 7 report, Introduction and Form C, 7 May 2001.
[27] Response from Lt. Col. Spiro Bassi Aguilar, Commander of the Engineers Corps of the Army, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 22 January 2001.
[28] Article 7 report, Introduction, 7 May 2001; Jairo Antonio Méndez, “Campesino pierde pierna al pisar una mina,” La Prensa, 25 April 2001; Statement by H.E. Bertha Marina Argüello, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, “Presentation on the Logistics and Preparations for the Third Meeting of States Parties of the Mine Ban Convention,” Geneva, 10 May 2001; “Nicaragua destruye 15.000 minas antipersonales,” Agence France Presse, Managua, 22 June 2001.
[29] Gustavo Vindell Acuña, “Destruyen explosives en Ocotal. Hallan arsenal en antigua base militar,” La Noticia, 8 June 2001.
[30] Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), Annual Report 2000, 25 April 2001. See www.gichd.ch/imsma/index.htm; also OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1,7 May 2001.
[31] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1,7 May 2001.
[32] Landmine Monitor interview with Alvaro Fiallos, UNAG Director, 19 January 2001.
[33] See Article 7 report, 30 September 1999, p. 4; Consuelo Sandoval, “Más de 70 mil minas quedan por remover,” La Prensa, 1 February 2001.
[34] Adolfo Olivas Olivas, “Destruyen 15 mil minas en Condega. Aún quedan más de 81 mil, para declarar a Nicaragua libre de minas,” La Prensa, 30 March 2001.
[35] Letter of Sergio Caramagna, OAS PADCA Nicaragua Director, to Landmine Monitor, 11 January 2001; Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from William McDonough, Coordinator, PACDA, Organization of American States, 26 July 2001.
[36] According to the Ministry of Defense, Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Oliver Bodán, CEI, 27 July 2001.
[37] According to the Ministry of Defense, Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Oliver Bodán, CEI, 27 July 2001. In its Article 7 report, Nicaragua reported a deficit of $6 million as of April 2001.
[38] Army Engineers Corps, “Report on Compliance with the National Humanitarian Demining Program for the Year 2000 and Work Plans for 2001” for the CND sub-committee on stockpile destruction and mine clearance, 29 January 2001.
[39] Response from Minister of Defense José Adán Guerra, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, dated 24 May 2001.
[40] This funding by Spain represents part of a $500,000 contribution, which includes funding of additional demining efforts in Nicaragua and two other Central American countries as authorized by the regional grant. Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from William McDonough, Coordinator, PACDA, Organization of American States, 26 July 2000.
[41] Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 284-285.
[42] Email from Jhosselin Bakhat, Organization of American States, 20 June 2000.
[43] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1, 7 May 2001.
[44] OAS web site, www.upd.oas.or/demining/contributing.htm, visited June 2001.
[45] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 287.
[46] Article 7 report, Form A, 7 May 2001; Response by Defense Minister José Adán Guerra to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, dated 24 May 2001.
[47] Subcommittee members include the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Health, Education and Culture, Family, Governance, Agriculture and Forestry, Transport and Infrastructure, Environment and Natural Resources; the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security, the Army, the Joint Commission of Disabled for Peace and Reconstruction of Madriz (ORD/ADRN), CEI, CEEN, MOVIMUNDO, INATEC, Marshall Legacy, Walking Unidos, the Nicaraguan Red Cross, the ICRC, OAS, UNICEF and PAHO. Response by Defense Minister José Adán Guerra to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, dated 24 May 2001.
[48] Interview with José Adán Guerra, Minister of Defense, Managua, 30 January 2001.
[49] Ibid.
[50] Letter from Sergio Caramagna, OAS PADCA Nicaragua Director, to Landmine Monitor, 11 January 2001.
[51] Article 7 report, Introduction, 7 May 2001.
[52] Response from Lt. Col. Spiro Bassi Aguilar, Commander of the Engineers Corps of the Army, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 22 January 2001.
[53] Article 7 report, Introduction and Form G, 7 May 2001.
[54] Article 7 report, Introduction and Form C, 7 May 2001.
[55] Letter from Minister of Defense José Adán Guerra to Landmine Monitor, 20 February 2001.
[56] Article 7 report, Introduction, 7 May 2001, p. 2; Jairo Antonio Méndez, “Campesino pierde pierna al pisar una mina,” La Prensa, 25 April 2001; Statement by H.E. Bertha Marina Argüello, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, “Presentation on the Logistics and Preparations for the Third Meeting of States Parties of the Mine Ban Convention,” Geneva, 10 May 2001; “Nicaragua destruye 15.000 minas antipersonales,” Agence France Presse, Managua, 22 June 2001.
[57] Article 7 report, Form F, 7 May 2001.
[58] Article 7 report, Introduction, 7 May 2001.
[59] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1,7 May 2001; Letter by Sergio Caramagna, OAS PADCA Nicaragua Director, to Landmine Monitor, 11 January 2001.
[60] Response from Lt. Col. Spiro Bassi Aguilar, Commander of the Engineers Corps of the Army, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 22 January 2001.
[61] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1,7 May 2001.
[62] UNICEF, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness (UXO) Education in Nicaragua through Community Liaison,” UN Portfolio of mine-related projects, April 2001, p. 184. See www.un.org/Depts/dpko/mine/Portfolio.PDF.
[63] Ibid, p. 186.
[64] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1,7 May 2001.
[65] Interview with Uriel Carazo, Coordinator ORD/ADRN, 10 January 2001.
[66] Carole Thimpson R., “Discapacitados en Acción sobre Minas. Esfuerzos por involucrar a especialistas en la destrucción de minas,” La Prensa, 7 February 2001.
[67] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Tim Carstairs, Director of Communications, Mines Advisory Group, 17 July 2001.
[68] Letter by Esperanza de Morales, President of the Nicaragua Red Cross, to Landmine Monitor, 12 January 2001; interview with Manya Gharhramani, UNICEF Mine Action Officer, 29 January 2001; “Supermán y la Mujer Maravilla: la pólemica continúa,” Confidencial, week of 29 October-4 November 2000; ICRC, “ICRC mine/UXO awareness programmes worldwide,” at www.icrc.org/icrceng.nsf/, updated 7 May 2001.
[69] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Ecuador y Perú) y 1751 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Centroamérica),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev. 1, 7 May 2001.
[70] “Aide Memoire provided to the first meeting of the subcommittee on education, prevention, signalling and reintegration,” 7 February 2001.
[71] Letter from CND Secretary General María A. Cuadra de Frech to Landmine Monitor, 20 February 2001.
[72] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Ecuador y Perú) y 1751 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Centroamérica),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev. 1, 7 May 2001.
[73] UNICEF, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness (UXO) Education in Nicaragua through Community Liaison,” UN Portfolio of mine-related projects, April 2001, p.186.
[74] Ibid.
[75] Article 7 report, Form I, 7 May 2001.
[76] UNICEF, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness (UXO) Education in Nicaragua through Community Liaison,” UN Portfolio of mine-related projects, April 2001, p.185.
[77] Ibid.
[78] Julia Ríos, “Niños nicaragüenses pintan su tragedia en campos minados,” Agence France Presse, Managua, 22 June 2001; see also www.icbl.org/news/2001/51.html.
[79] Response from Lt. Col. Spiro Bassi Aguilar, Commander of the Engineers Corps of the Army, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 22 January 2001; OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Ecuador y Perú) y 1751 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Centroamérica),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1,7 May 2001.
[80] Article 7 report, Form I, 7 May 2001.
[81] According to the PADCA/OAS database. Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Oliver Bodán, CEI, 27 July 2001. There were apparently no incidents involving military deminers in 2000.
[82] Nicaragua Army internal report provided to Landmine Monitor, “Resultados Acumulados Del Programa De Desminado Humanitario,” 28 April 2000.
[83] UNICEF, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness (UXO) Education in Nicaragua through Community Liaison,” UN Portfolio of mine-related projects, April 2001, p.186.
[84] Ibid. See also, Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 288-289.
[85] “Tres heridos en explosión de mina,” La Prensa, 29 January 2001.
[86] Roger Olivas, “Mina destroza a campesino travieso,” El Nuevo Diario, 29 March 2001; Alina Lorio, “Campesino muere al manipular una mina. En la comunidad fronteriza de Boquerón se registran siete víctimas de los artefactos explosivos,” La Prensa, 5 April 2001.
[87] Ibid.
[88] Alina Lorio, “Campesino muere al manipular una mina. En la comunidad fronteriza de Boquerón se registran siete víctimas de los artefactos explosivos,” La Prensa, 5 April 2001.
[89] Celso Martínez Orozco, “Mina mata a niño. Otro perdió una pierna,” La Prensa, 23 April 2001.
[90] Jairo Antonio Méndez, “Campesino pierde pierna al pisar una mina,” La Prensa, 25 April 2001.
[91] Róger Olivas, “Mina desbarata pierna de campesino,” El Nuevo Diario, 20 May 2001.
[92] Statement by Defense Minister Guerra on occasion of the XV meeting of the CND, 29 January 2001.
[93] Email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Philippe Dicquemare, Programme Director, Handicap International, 24 July 2001.
[94] Article 7 report, Form J, 7 May 2001.
[95] Emails to Landmine Monitor (HI-B) from Philippe Dicquemare, Programme Director, Handicap International, 24 July 2001 and 31 July 2001.
[96] OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Ecuador y Perú) y 1751 (apoyo a la acción contra las minas en Centroamérica),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev. 1, 7 May 2001.
[97] ICBL Working Group on Victim Assistance and Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, “Portfolio of Victim Assistance Programs,” www.ladnminevap.org/display.html?id=118.
[98] “Ayudarán más a víctimas de minas antipersonales. Primera conferencia regional de rehabilitación y tecnología,” El Nuevo Diario, 19 June 2001.
[99] Landmine Survivors Network, “Report: Raising the Voices Landmine Survivor Advocate Training Program,” 5-12 May 2001.
[100] Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade “Safelane” web site, Report on Central America, published 29 June 2000, last modified 27 March 2001.
[101] ICBL Working Group on Victim Assistance and Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, “Portfolio of Victim Assistance Programs,” www.ladnminevap.org/display.html?id=119.
[102] Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade “Safelane” web site, Report on Central America, published 29 June 2000, last modified 27 March 2001.