LM Report 2003

Djibouti

Key developments since May 2002: On 2 March 2003, Djibouti destroyed its stockpile of 1,118 antipersonnel mines. It retained 2,996 for training purposes. In 2002, 4,986 square meters of land was cleared and 221 antipersonnel mines were destroyed. On 16 January 2003, Djibouti submitted its first Article 7 transparency report.

Mine Ban Policy

Djibouti signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 18 May 1998. The treaty entered into force for Djibouti on 1 March 1999. Djibouti is not known to have put in place any domestic implementation measures, including imposition of penal sanctions, as required by Article 9 of the treaty. Draft legislation creating a National Council for Humanitarian Demining has been submitted to the National Assembly.^[1]

Djibouti did not attend the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002, but did participate in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003.

On 22 November 2002, Djibouti voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, supporting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

On 16 January 2003, Djibouti submitted its initial Article 7 Report, which was originally due by 27 August 1999. The report covers the period up to 1 October 2002.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, and Stockpile Destruction

Djibouti officially reported that it has not produced antipersonnel mines.^[2] It is not known to have ever exported mines.

For the first time Djibouti has revealed the size and composition of its stockpile of antipersonnel mines; it had been one of a handful of States Parties that had not made that information publicly available. The Article 7 report indicated that as of 1 October 2002, Djibouti had a stockpile of 4,184 antipersonnel mines.^[3] These were identified as: 929 French-Belgian M12; 439 French-Belgian M412; 888 Yemeni PPM2; 951 Chinese T72; 745 Egyptian MB; 16 French DV; 30 Portuguese M961; 10 French AV; 128 Czech PPMISR; 12 MLE421 fragmentation mines of unknown origin; 18 French M59; and 18 mines of an unknown type and origin.^[4]

Djibouti reported that it will retain 2,996 antipersonnel mines (72 percent of its stockpile) for training and development purposes under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty. Mines to be retained include: 656 M12; 307 M412; 621 PPM2; 665 T72; 521 MB; 16 DV; 30 M961; 10 AV; 128 PPMISR; 12 MLE421; 18 M59; and 18 of unknown type and origin.^[5] Djibouti has not reported precisely how the retained mines will be used.

Djibouti’s treaty-mandated deadline to complete stock destruction was 1 March 2003. At a 6 February 2003 Standing Committee meeting, Djibouti’s representative for the first time reported on Djibouti’s plan for destruction. He indicated that destruction was initially planned for early 2003, but was delayed due to the electoral campaign. He said that competent authorities had made all arrangements and that 27 February was the proposed date for actual destruction.^[6]

On 2 March 2003, Djibouti destroyed, by explosion, its stock of 1,118 antipersonnel mines. The destruction took place at Camp Tir Maryam. The destruction ceremony was attended by the Ministry of Defense, the head of the Armed Forces, the commandant of French forces in Djibouti, an ICBL/Landmine Monitor representative, and others.^[7] A government representative later explained that destruction took place one day after the treaty deadline because of the heavy schedule of the Defense Ministry.^[8]

Landmine Problem

Djibouti has a landmine problem as a result of the 1991-1994 internal conflict between the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) and the Djibouti military. Djibouti's northern plateau contains most of the suspected minefields or mined routes, particularly in the districts of Obok and Tadjourah, north of the capital.^[9] A small UXO threat also exists.^[10]

Mine Action and Funding

The US Department of State has been the main funder of the Djibouti Mine Action Center (DMAC), donating $404,000 in FY 2002.^[11] DMAC is a unit of the Djiboutian military. US support for the program is set to end in December 2003, after three years of operations.^[12] DMAC also receives technical assistance from the French military.^[13]

Clearance priorities are set by the government, with advice from US-contractor RONCO Consulting Corporation, and are based on the needs of humanitarian agencies and national infrastructure. DMAC reportedly carried out a level one survey under the supervision of RONCO, although no report on the results has been made available.^[14]

RONCO told Landmine Monitor that 4,986 square meters of land were cleared in 2002.^[15] Djibouti reported that 221 antipersonnel mines were destroyed in 2002, bringing the total of destroyed antipersonnel mines in mined areas to 521.^[16]

The government also reported that the main routes affected by antivehicle mines were cleared in 2002.^[17] On 8 June 2002, DMAC organized a ceremony to celebrate the end of the first phase of mine clearance in the northern district of Tadjourah.^[18] In the first two months of 2003, another 2,792 square meters were cleared and 97 antipersonnel mines destroyed.^[19]

In April 2002, mine risk education (MRE) activities were conducted by DMAC together with the local NGO Association for Mine Victim Assistance (ASSOVIM) in two primary schools in the regions of Andoli and Aliou Dadda, in the north of the country, reaching twenty children in each school.^[20]

In May 2003, it was reported that, according to the Djibouti military and RONCO, there were only four remaining sites to be cleared in the country and, with concerted effort, these sites could be cleared of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) between September and December 2003.^[21] The US Department of State reported that with the current rate of progress in mine clearance, Djibouti should be “mine-safe” by the end of 2003.^[22] Verification that the country is “mine-free” would take several more years.^[23]

At a February 2003 Standing Committee meeting, the Djibouti delegate recalled the mandate given to DMAC by the Final Declaration of the first Regional Conference of the Countries of the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden, held in Djibouti in November 2000, to become a regional center for research and mine action.^[24] Steps reportedly have been taken toward that goal, with the support of the Executive Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development and the technical support of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), but no details are available.^[25]

Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance

No new mine casualties were reported in 2002. In 2001, one soldier was killed and four others injured when their vehicle hit an antivehicle mine in Obock.^[26] Between 1997 and 2000, 31 people were killed and 90 injured in mine incidents.^[27]

Public health services in Djibouti have remained heavily impaired since the end of the civil conflict and facilities for mine survivors are inadequate. The only hospital with the capacity to treat trauma patients, Peltier Hospital, is in the capital. Regional health centers are only capable of providing first aid. Health facilities suffer from a lack of equipment and resources. There are reportedly difficulties in transporting casualties from the place of the incident to appropriate medical care. In 1994, the government assumed responsibility for the rehabilitation center at the Peltier Hospital, which provides physiotherapy and prosthetic services; however the orthopedic workshop is no longer operational. The government provides no other services for persons with disabilities.^[28]

The ICRC runs a small program that funds the travel and costs of mine survivors to the Prosthetic and Orthotic Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2002, 25 mine survivors benefited from the program and were fitted with new prostheses.^[29]

The local association, Assistance to the Handicapped (AAPDH), implements the Program for Reinsertion of Ex-Combatants of the Ministry of Employment and Solidarity at the orthopedic center in the Peltier Hospital. In 2002, Handicap International provided equipment and a four-month training course for orthopedic technicians.^[30] AAPDH assisted 50 war amputees. No details are available on the number of mine survivors assisted.^[31]

Vocational training for disabled war veterans, including mine survivors, is available in carpentry and electrical trades.^[32]

The national plan of action for assistance to mine survivors, proposed by the Ministry of Health in November 2000, has not been implemented due to a lack of resources.^[33]

[1] Statement by Djibril Djama Elabé, Secretary-General in charge of relations with Parliament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation, Geneva, 3 February 2003.
[2] Article 7 Report, Form E, 16 January 2003.
[3] Article 7 Report, Form B, 16 January 2003.
[4] Article 7 Report, Forms B and H, 16 January 2003.
[5] Article 7 Report, Form D, 16 January 2003.
[6] Statement to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February 2003 (Landmine Monitor/HRW notes).
[7] Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation press release, 2 March 2003.
[8] Statement to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 15 May 2003 (Landmine Monitor/HRW notes).
[9] For more detailed information on location of mined areas see Article 7 Report, Form C, 16 January 2003; US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002.
[10] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002.
[11] Ibid.
[12] US Embassy in Djibouti, “Djibouti: Humanitarian Demining, Approaching The End,” Cable 1027, May 2003.
[13] Statement by Djibril Djama Elabé, Standing Committee on General Status, 3 February 2003.
[14] Interview with Ray Getchell, RONCO Consulting Corporation, Camp Lemonier, 19 March 2003.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Article 7 Report, Form G, 16 January 2003.
[17] Ibid.
[18] La Nation (newspaper), Number 47, 13 June 2002. The Landmine Monitor researcher was present.
[19] Interview with Ray Getchell, RONCO, 19 March 2003.
[20] Interview with Daher Osman Omar, Chairman, ASSOVIM, Djibouti, 19 March 2003.
[21] Ibid; US Embassy in Djibouti, “Humanitarian Demining,” May 2003.
[22] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002; US Embassy in Djibouti, “Humanitarian Demining,” May 2003.
[23] US Embassy in Djibouti, “Humanitarian Demining,” May 2003.
[24] Statement by Djibril Djama Elabé, Standing Committee on General Status, 3 February 2003.
[25] Ibid.
[26] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 73.
[27] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002.
[28] Presentation by Djibouti, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 13 May 2003.
[29] Interview with Moustapha Mohamed, Head of Office, ICRC, Djibouti, 28 February 2003; ICRC, “Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003, p. 130.
[30] Interview with Antoine Clauzier, Technical Assistant, HI, Djibouti, July 2002; HI, “Review of Activities 2001-2002,” p. 12.
[31] Interview with Mohamed Chehem, AAPHD, Djibouti, 15 March 2003.
[32] Presentation by Djibouti, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 13 May 2003.
[33] Ibid; see also, Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 74.