Key developments since May 2002: According
to the OAS, demining activities gained momentum in Ecuador in 2002. In March
2003, the OAS reported that a total of 61,649 square meters of land had been
cleared of 4,286 antipersonnel mines. Impact surveys and technical studies were
carried out in 2002 and 2003 in a number of provinces. The National Mine
Clearance Plan for 2003-2004 was approved on 17 December 2002. Ecuador reported
that antipersonnel mines were laid from 1995 to 1998, which indicates that
Ecuador used antipersonnel mines after signing the Mine Ban Treaty in December
1997, but prior to entry into force in 1999. Ecuador reported corrections to
the number of stockpiled mines destroyed and the number of mines retained.
Mine Ban Policy
Ecuador signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December
1997, ratified on 29 April 1999 and the treaty entered into force for the
country on 1 October 1999. Ecuador has not yet enacted national implementation
legislation.
Ecuador attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002 and
Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003.
Landmine Monitor received an advance copy of Ecuador’s latest annual
Article 7 transparency report dated 30 April 2003, covering the period March
2002 to April 2003. It includes voluntary Form J with information on survivor
assistance measures, and an additional Form K, with information on training
courses for calendar year 2003. This was Ecuador’s fifth Article 7
report.[1]
On 22 November 2002, Ecuador voted in support of UN General Assembly
Resolution 57/74, promoting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty. During the debate on the resolution, the representative of Ecuador
reiterated his country’s full commitment to the objectives of the Mine Ban
Treaty.[2]
Ecuador is a State Party to Amended Protocol II (Landmines) of the Convention
on Conventional Weapons, but did not attend the Fourth Annual Conference of
States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2002, and did not submit its
annual report under Article 13.
Servicio Paz y Justicia Ecuador (SERPAJ) has been the ICBL representative for
Ecuador since May 2001 and has carried out the country report research for
Landmine Monitor since 2001.
Production, Transfer and Use
Ecuador reports that it has not produced
antipersonnel mines and has no production
facilities.[3] According to
previous Article 7 reports, in the past Ecuador imported antipersonnel mines
from Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Singapore, the former Soviet Union, Spain, and the
US.[4]
There are no known reports of mine use in Ecuador in the reporting period,
including in regions along the border with Colombia. The Ecuadorian Army
recovered a landmine among weapons found abandoned at a Colombian rebel (FARC)
camp forty kilometers northeast of Lago Agrio in Ecuadorian territory in
November 2002.[5]
Ecuador stated in its 2003 Article 7 report that antipersonnel mines in the
country’s mine-affected regions were laid from 1995 to 1998, which
indicates that Ecuador used antipersonnel mines after signing the Mine Ban
Treaty in December 1997, but prior to ratification and entry into force in
1999.[6]
Stockpiling and Destruction
Ecuador has revised its stockpile destruction
information in its 2003 Article 7 report. Previously, Ecuador reported
completion of destruction of a stockpile of 260,302 antipersonnel mines by
January 2002. Nearly all were destroyed by 11 September 2001, when Ecuador
announced completion of destruction, but others (apparently initially to be
retained for training) were destroyed in January
2002.[7]
Ecuador now reports that a total of 254,344 mines were destroyed by 11
September 2001, and that on 17 January 2002, an additional 4,500 mines were
destroyed, for a total of 258,844
mines.[8] This is 1,458 fewer
mines destroyed than previously reported.
In April 2003, Ecuador reported that it is retaining 3,970 antipersonnel
mines for training, which is thirty less than reported in May
2002.[9] However, no mines were
actually consumed for training or development purposes during the reporting
period. Ten of the mines are M18A1 Claymore mines that Ecuador will no longer
count as retained because command-detonated Claymores are not “considered
within the Convention.” The other 20 mines are VS-50 antipersonnel mines
that were transferred to the US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology
Division in January 2002. This was a correction of the number previously
reported as transferred (420 instead of
400).[10]
Landmine Problem and Survey
Previous editions of Landmine Monitor have provided
extensive details about the landmine problem in Ecuador. According to the April
2003 Article 7 Report, there are five mine-affected areas from the 1995
“Cenepa” border conflict with Perú: the provinces of Morona
Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe in the Cordillera del Cóndor (southeast
border region with Perú); Morona Santiago province in Cusumaza-Bombuiza
region (central-eastern border with Perú); Tiwintza on the
Perúvian side of the border; and El Oro, and Loja provinces in the
southern border region. Montalvo, in the east-central border region, and
Orellana province, are suspected of being
mine-affected.[11] The number
of mines laid in the mine-affected areas is unknown, except for El Oro (280
mines) and Loja (120 mines).[12]
According to the Organization of American States (OAS), impact surveys
carried out in El Oro and Loja provinces during the first half of 2002
identified 12 mine-affected
areas.[13] Two more surveys
conducted in Huaquillas at the beginning of 2003 identified a mine-affected area
close to populated areas that was subsequently
demined.[14] The OAS reports
that impact surveys found ten mine-affected areas in Macará department
and three mine-affected areas in
Zapotillo.[15]
According to the General Command for Mine Clearance, demining units are now
conducting technical studies using information provided by the impact surveys.
As of March 2003, four technical studies had been conducted in 13 mine-affected
areas of Loja province, but no minefields were found, and technical studies
carried out in seven of the 14 mine-affected areas in El Oro also found no
minefields, but “isolated” individual mines.
Mine Action Funding
In May 2003, the OAS presented a projection of
financial resources and requirements for the period 2003-2007. For Ecuador, the
total was $4.4 million: $600,000 for 2003, $800,000 for 2004, $1 million for
2005, $1 million for 2006, and $1 million for 2007, which is when OAS funding
for Ecuador is scheduled to
end.[16] According to United
Nations country reports, the OAS budget for calendar year 2003 for mine
clearance in Ecuador is $1,205,452. The 2002 OAS budget for victim
rehabilitation was $75,000.[17]
According to a May 2003 presentation by the OAS, sixteen governments and the
European Union have contributed to the OAS regional mine action program to
date.[18] In its fiscal year
2002, the United States contributed more than $1 million to Ecuador to fund
humanitarian demining
activities.[19]
Mine Action Coordination and Planning
The Ecuadorian Mine Clearance Center (CENDESMI,
Centro de Desminado del Ecuador) and the General Command for Mine Clearance are
responsible for mine action in the country, and for coordination with the OAS
Mine Action Program (AICMA).[20]
CENDESMI’s headquarters are located near Quito and the center has regional
command centers in El Oro province (“Tarqui”) and Morona Santiago
province
(“Amazonas”).[21]
The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) was installed at
the OAS AICMA office in January 2002 to assist CENDESMI in the planning,
coordination and direction of a national humanitarian demining
plan.[22] IMSMA is the main
source of information for CENDESMI, the General Command, and other organizations
involved in mine action.[23]
The National Mine Clearance Plan for 2003-2004 was approved on 17 December
2002. The plan projects that clearance and quality control would be completed
in two provinces, La Loja and El Oro, that are densely populated and have
agricultural lands.[24]
In May 2003, the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) established a permanent
team of international monitors to support mine clearance in Ecuador and
Perú.[25]
Mine Clearance
Engineer units of the Ecuadorian Army conduct mine
clearance in the country. The 40-deminer Amazonas Regional Demining Unit is
based at Santiago in Morona Santiago province along the eastern border with
Perú.[26] In 2001, it
carried out mine clearance operations along two fronts: from border marker
Shirumsa Chiqueiza to border marker Tambillo, and from Soldado Monge to the
border marker at Tambillo.[27]
The Tarqui Regional Unit, based at Santa Rosa in El Oro province, operates in
Arellinas and Huaquillas departments along the border with
Perú.[28] In 2001, it
conducted mine clearance operations in Quebrada Seca, El Progreso, Roncano
departments and the Zarumilla River in El Oro
province.[29]
According to the OAS, demining activities gained momentum in Ecuador and
Perú in the course of
2002.[30] In March 2003, the
OAS reported that a total of 61,649 square meters of land had been cleared of
4,286 antipersonnel mines to date (cumulative, not just 2002), as well as 59
antivehicle mines and two pieces of unexploded
ordnance.[31] In April 2003,
Ecuador reported that a total of 4,573 mines had been cleared to date (again
cumulative): 4,355 mines from Santiago, 30 mines from Tiwintza, 186 mines from
El Oro, and two from Loja.[32]
In mid-May 2003, Ecuador reported that clearance operations in El Oro would be
completed by the end of the
month.[33] In June 2003, the
Armed Forces reported that mine clearance was underway in
Macará.[34]
Ecuadorian and Peruvian Army clearance personnel held a number of meetings in
2002 and 2003 to coordinate clearance activities along their common
border.[35] The first meeting
was held on 13 July 2002 in Aguas Verdes, in Tumbes department, Perú with
the support of the OAS.[36] On
22 August 2002, Ecuador and Perú signed a Memorandum of Understanding on
mutual procedures for evacuation situations, and communications systems for
carrying out coordinated
actions.[37] On 7 February 2003
in Zarumilla, Tumbes department, Perú, mine clearance goals were
discussed, especially the need for joint mine clearance efforts at the source of
the Zarumilla River.[38]
A basic demining course and an IMSMA training course were held during the
first quarter of 2002, and in addition the US Army conducted a humanitarian
demining course in 2002.[39]
More training courses were planned for
2003.[40] In February 2003,
Ecuador reported that discussions had been held with OAS AICMA and the IADB on
training by international supervisors on International Mine Action Standards, as
well as quality control.[41] On
12 May 2003, four international monitors from MARMINCA (Honduran and Nicaraguan
personnel) were sent to Ecuador and Perú to provide training and quality
control.[42]
CENDESMI reports that the first phase of training of mine detection dogs is
being carried out as of April 2003, using its own resources. CENDESMI is also
providing support to Chilean Army demining personnel. As of mid-2003, six
officers and three volunteers were trained at
CENDESMI.[43]
Ecuador sent representatives to a regional mine action conference
(“Advances in Mine Clearance in the Americas”) held on 27-28 August
2002 in Managua, Nicaragua. In January 2003, Ecuadorian representatives
attended a regional IMSMA seminar in Antigua,
Guatemala.[44]
Mine Risk Education
Mine risk education (MRE) activities are carried
out by the Army, the OAS, and the Ecuadorian Red
Cross.[45] The Psychological
Operations Unit of the US Army Southern Command has also
assisted.[46]
Mine risk education has been conducted in the provinces of La Loja (for
approximately 2,100 people in Macará, Bocana, El Limón, Badea and
Guatara in Macará department, and Cazaderos, Zapotilla and Tronco Quemado
in Zapotillo department) and El Oro (for approximately some 3,000 people in
Huaquillas, Carcabón, Chacras, Balsalito, San Pedro, Quebrada Seca, and
El Progreso Palmales).[47] MRE
activities include meetings with the local population, distribution of folders,
brochures, and posters, and MRE messages broadcast on local television. There
is also a no-cost phone number set up that provides information on mines and
mine risk prevention. In January 2003, the Geneva International Center for
Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) was asked to provide an expert to evaluate these
MRE efforts.[48] According to
the Director of CENDESMI, MRE campaigns target the local population, including
peasants and youth.[49]
Landmine Casualties
There is no systematic data-gathering mechanism for
landmine incidents in Ecuador and exact figures are unavailable. On 10 January
2002, a 19-year-old Peruvian died after stepping on a landmine when returning
home from Ecuador; Ecuadorian officials claim the mine was in Peruvian
territory.[50] Landmine Monitor
has no information on further casualties in 2002 or the first half of 2003.
An impact survey carried out in La Loja province in November 2001 identified
seven mine casualties resulting from five
incidents.[51] One person was
killed, two lost a lower limb, two had multiple injuries, and two were not
physically harmed.[52]
According to the US State Department, there were approximately 120 landmine
casualties in Ecuador between 1995 and 1999, the majority of them
civilians.[53]
There have been no recorded mine casualties among deminers since mine
clearance operations began in Ecuador.
Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and Practice
The military in Ecuador has a health care system
that provides integrated care to military landmine casualties through the Armed
Forces Social Security Institute (ISSFA, Instituto de Seguridad Social de las
Fuerzas Armadas). Civilians injured by landmines do not receive the same level
of attention as military personnel and existing services remain inadequate. Mine
clearance operations have trained personnel and helicopters for evacuation
available at all times.[54]
In March 2002, Landmine Monitor visited mine-affected zones in the southern
border, as well as the public hospital in Huaquillas and the military hospital
in Pasaje. Hospital records in Huaquillas indicated that five mine casualties
were treated there during the Cenepa conflict. The military hospital in Pasaje
has an Orthopedic
Center.[55]
The OAS AICMA Ecuador program maintains a registry of landmine casualties.
Two mine survivors have received new prostheses and a third required
reconstructive surgery to a foot. The OAS program provides transport from the
communities to a rehabilitation center, lodging, medical care, prostheses,
physical therapy, and
medicines.[56] The budget for
MRE and rehabilitation was $75,000 for four six-month modules in
2002.[57]
In 2002, five disabled veterans from the Association of Disabled Veterans
“Upper Cenepa” received training on the IMSMA system and continue to
work at CENDESMI headquarters and at the regional demining
units.[58]
In 2003, the OAS program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense,
provided funding for a landmine survivor to begin the three-year training
program in prosthetics and orthotics at the University Don Bosco in El
Salvador.[59]
Ecuador has legislation to protect the rights of victims of the
conflict.[60]
[1] See Article 7 Report, 31 May 2002 (for
the period March 2001-April 2002); Article 7 Report, 5 March 2001 (for the
period July 2000-March 2001); Article 7 Report, 23 August 2000 (for the period
March-July 2000); Article 7 Report, 29 March 2000 (for the period April
1999-March 2000). [2] Statement by
Permanent Alternate Representative Dr. Fernando Yépez Lasso, 57th UN
General Assembly First Committee General Debate, New York, 2 October
2002. [3] Article 7 Report, Form E and
H, 30 April 2003. [4] See Article 7
Report, Form B, 29 March 2000 and 5 March
2001. [5] Dimitri Barreto P., "El
Ejército destruyó una base y escuela insurgentes," El Comercio
(Quito), 6 November 2002. [6] Article 7
Report, Form C, 30 April 2003. [7]
Article 7 Report, Form G, 31 May 2002. See also, Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
pp. 235-236. [8] Article 7 Report, Form
G, 30 April 2003. [9] Article 7 Report,
Forms B and D, 30 April 2003; Article 7 Report, Forms B and D, 31 May
2002. [10] Article 7 Report, Form B
(Observación) and Form D, 30 April 2003; Article 7 Report, Form D, 31 May
2002. [11] Article 7 Report, Form C, 30
April 2003. [12]
Ibid. [13] OAS AICMA Ecuador web page,
“AICMA-EC,” see “Estudios de Impacto,” last updated 10
March 2003, at www.aicma-ec.org (accessed
27 May 2003); OAS Update on Regional Mine Action Efforts, May 2003, p.
3. [14] OAS AICMA Ecuador web page,
“AICMA-EC,” see “Estudios de
Impacto.” [15] Ibid.; OAS,
“Landmine Removal in Ecuador,” Project document located on UN Mine
Action “Emine” website, Ecuador, last updated 30 November 2002, at
www.mineaction.org (accessed 29 May
2003). [16] See OAS, “Mine Action
Program: Making the Western Hemisphere landmine-safe,” Resource
Mobilization: Projection of Financial Resources/Requirements 2003-2007, p. 6.
Presented at the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the
Convention, 12 May 2003. [17] OAS,
“Landmine Removal in Ecuador,” Project document located on UN Mine
Action “Emine” website. [18]
The donors include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, UK, and
USA. OAS, “Mine Action Program: Making the Western Hemisphere
landmine-safe,” Resource Mobilization: Projection of Financial
Resources/Requirements 2003-2007, p. 5. Presented at the Standing Committee on
General Status and Operation of the Convention, 12 May 2003. Also notes taken by
Landmine Monitor (MAC) at the OAS presentation to the Standing Committee on
General Status and Operation of the Convention, 12 May
2003. [19] US Department of State,
“To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002. This includes $370
million from the State Department and an estimated $700,000 from the Defense
Department. [20] OAS AICMA Ecuador web
page, “AICMA-EC,” see
“Antecedentes.” [21] Article
7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2003. [22]
OAS AICMA Ecuador web page, “AICMA-EC,” see
“Antecedentes.” [23]
Statement by Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education
and Mine Action Technologies, 5 February
2003. [24] Statement by Ecuador,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 5 February
2003. [25] OAS Update on Regional Mine
Action Efforts, May 2003. [26] OAS,
“Landmine Removal in Ecuador,” Project document located on UN Mine
Action “Emine” website. [27]
Ibid. [28]
Ibid. [29]
Ibid. [30] OAS Update on Regional Mine
Action Efforts, May 2003, p. 2. [31] OAS
AICMA Ecuador web page, “AICMA-EC,” see “Despeje de Campos
Minados.” [32] Article 7 Report,
Form G, 30 April 2003. [33] Intervention
by Ecuador, the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, MRE and Mine Action
Technologies, 14 May 2003 (Notes taken by Landmine
Monitor). [34] Publication by the
Engineer Division of the Armed Forces, 27 June
2003. [35] OAS Update on Regional Mine
Action Efforts, May 2003, p. 3. [36] OAS
AICMA Ecuador web page, “AICMA-EC,” see “Reuniones entres las
unidades de desminado de Ecuador and
Perú.” [37] Statement by
Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 5 February 2003; OAS AICMA
Ecuador web page, “AICMA-EC,” see “Reuniones entres las
unidades de desminado de Ecuador and Perú.” The agreement had eight
points, including information exchange on mine presence, development of joint
mine clearance operations, and coordinated mine risk education
campaigns. [38] OAS AICMA Ecuador web
page, “AICMA-EC,” see “Reuniones entres las unidades de
desminado de Ecuador and
Perú.” [39] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 238. [40]
Article 7 Report, Form K, 30 April
2003. [41] Statement by Ecuador,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 5 February
2003. [42] Intervention by Ecuador,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 15 May 2003 (Notes taken by
Landmine Monitor). [43] Interview with
Lt. Col. Roberto Arauz, CENDESMI, 1 April
2003. [44] Statement “El Llamado
de Managua,” 28 August 2002. [45]
Intervention by Ecuador, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, 15 May
2003 (Notes taken by Landmine
Monitor). [46] OAS AICMA Ecuador web
page, “AICMA-EC,” see “Educación
Preventiva.” [47] See Article 7
Report, Form I, 30 April 2003; statement by Ecuador, Standing Committee on Mine
Clearance, 5 February 2003; OAS AICMA Ecuador web page, “AICMA-EC,”
see “Educación
Preventiva.” [48] Article 7
Report, Form I, 30 April 2003. [49]
Interview with Lt. Col. Roberto Arauz, CENDESMI, 1 April
2003. [50] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, pp. 239-240. [51] OAS AICMA
Ecuador web page, “Asistencia a Víctimas,” “Estudios de
Impacto.” [52]
Ibid. [53] US Department of State,
“To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002, p.
47. [54] For more details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, pp. 333-334. [55]
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
240. [56] OAS AICMA Ecuador webpage,
“Asistencia a Víctimas;” Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April
2003. [57] OAS/Mine Victim
Rehabilitation Program (as part of the OAS/ Comprehensive Action Against
Antipersonnel Mines) Ecuador 2002, available at
www.mineaction.org (accessed 29 May
2003). [58] Article 7 Report, Form J, 30
April 2003. [59] OAS AICMA Ecuador
webpage, “Asistencia a Víctimas;” Article 7 Report, Form J,
30 April 2003. [60] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 240.
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