Key developments since May 2002: There
continue to be reports of use of antipersonnel mines by Georgian military
forces. Georgia strongly denies all allegations of use. NATO has agreed to
provide assistance for clearance around both Georgian military sites and former
Soviet military bases. In 2002, 70 new landmine/UXO casualties were recorded in
Georgia.
Mine Ban Policy
Georgia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty,
but it has frequently expressed support for a global ban on antipersonnel mines.
In a July 2002 letter to Landmine Monitor, the Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Merab Antadze, said Georgia “attaches great importance to the
issue of banning antipersonnel mines” and expressed support for the
“noble goal [of a] mine-free
world.”[1] Another
official has said, “Georgia is...convinced that the human and social costs
of antipersonnel mines far outweigh their military
value.”[2]
In a July 2003 letter to Landmine Monitor, the First Deputy Minister of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Aptsiauri, expressed appreciation for ICBL
activities aimed at “the noble goal to make the world free of
landmines.” He stated that Georgia “fully shares the concern of the
international community regarding the challenge of anti-personnel
landmines” and it “does its utmost to...facilitate the process of
elimination and eradication of the above-mentioned
threat.”[3]
Georgia states that it is unable to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty at this
time because it has no jurisdiction over mined areas in Abkhazia and Samachablo,
and because it would have difficulty clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance
(UXO) left by the forces of the former Soviet Union and
Russia.[4] Georgia has said
that “without financial and technological assistance, Georgia will not be
able to fulfill its obligations” under the Mine Ban
Treaty.[5]
Georgia attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty
in September 2002 and participated in the February 2003 intersessional Standing
Committee meetings. On 22 November 2002, Georgia voted in favor of UN General
Assembly Resolution 57/74, supporting universalization and implementation of the
Mine Ban Treaty, as it has on similar resolutions in previous years.
Georgia is party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its
original Protocol II, but it has not ratified Amended Protocol II on landmines.
In December 2002 Georgia attended the Fourth Annual Conference of State Parties
to Amended Protocol II.
Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling
Officials continue to state that Georgia has never
produced, exported, or imported antipersonnel landmines since independence.
Georgia inherited what is believed to be a small stockpile of antipersonnel
mines from the former Soviet Union. The exact size and composition of that stock
remains unknown.[6]
In 2002, Russia began to destroy its obsolete ammunition and landmine stocks
in Georgia. Russian landmines are believed to be stockpiled at three military
bases in Georgia.[7] On 15
March 2002, Russia reportedly destroyed 500 mines stored at its former base at
Sagarejo. Ammunition stockpiles at Sagarejo are estimated to be in excess of
100,000 tons; 35,000 tons of ammunition was transferred to Gumri, Armenia as the
result of a Georgian-Armenian
agreement.[8]
Use
Georgia has had an official moratorium on the use
of antipersonnel mines in place since September
1996.[9] However, in February
2002, a representative of the Ministry of Defense admitted that in 2001,
Georgian Armed Forces laid antipersonnel mines in several passes in the Kodori
gorge near Abkhazia.[10] In
July 2002, the Defense official confirmed this information, including that
Georgian forces used antipersonnel mines, not antivehicle
mines.[11]
A press report in July 2002 stated that, “Georgian frontier guards blew
up while laying mines in the upper Kodori gorge of Abkhazia,” and noted
that one guard died and another was seriously wounded. It said that a press
release from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeepers office
stated that “the staff of Georgian Border Protection Department are laying
mines in the upper part of the Kodori gorge...in particular the territory
between the 107th post of CIS peacekeepers and the village of
Kvabchara.” Georgia’s Defense Minister reportedly requested that
Russian peacekeepers provide timely evacuation of the
servicemen.[12]
In March 2003, Emzar Kvitciani, a representative of the President of Georgia
in Kodori, announced that the “main direction of Kodori gorge, the nearby
territory of the village Kvabchara and other territories, are permanently
mined.... Georgians demine the territory just before Russian peacekeepers and
United Nations military observers enter the territory for patrolling and just
after their leaving, they mine it again. Abkhazians in their turn have mined
the Marukhi pass.”[13] He
reiterated those remarks a few days later in an interview with the ICBL Georgian
Committee.[14]
In June 2003, the senior defense official in Abkhazia told Landmine Monitor
that in mid-2002, troops from both Abkhazia and Georgia mined areas around the
Marukh mountain pass.[15]
In response to inquiries from the ICBL Georgian Committee, representatives of
the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs denied that Georgia had placed new
mines in the Kodori area. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “Mr.
Kvitciani categorically denied the disseminated information on antipersonnel
mines usage in Kodori gorge by Georgian governmental foundations. Due to the
explanation of representative of President, the correspondent of Akhali
Taoba (New Generation) made the wrong interpretation of his announcement on
the implemented activities on liquidation of territories mined in the result of
conflict.”[16] According
to the Ministry of Defense, the “elements of armed Forces of Ministry of
Defense of Georgia have never used forbidden military weapon. Concerning the
interview of Mr. Emzar Kvitciani, in our conversation was revealed that the
correspondent of the newspaper, maybe, understood in wrong way, the information
of Mr. Kvitciani, what caused the mistaken enlightening of materials on
‘permanent
mining.’”[17]
When informed that Landmine Monitor had received allegations of use of
antipersonnel mines by Georgian forces, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs replied in July 2003, “I would like to assure you that since 1996
(when President of Georgia H.E. Eduard Shevardnadze declared unilateral
moratorium on use, import and export of antipersonnel mines) onward Georgian
corresponding agencies have been strictly abstaining from usage of antipersonnel
landmines.”[18]
Landmine Problem and Mine Action
Mines and unexploded ordnance pose dangers to
civilians in Georgia mainly in areas near Abkhazia and near Russian military
bases. (See separate Landmine Monitor report on Abkhazia). Responsibility for
mine clearance in the zone of military actions and at military bases is
entrusted to the Ministry of Defense, whereas the Ministry of Internal Affairs
is responsible for populated areas, roads, and railroads, and the Department of
Border Guards is responsible for border areas.
The United States has provided $2.7 million in demining assistance to Georgia
since 1998. The US transferred demining equipment to Georgia in 2001 and 2002
and trained 20 Georgians as demining instructors, who have in turn trained 34
others, giving Georgia a force of 54 trained
deminers.[19] In its fiscal
year 2002, the US provided $1.1 million in demining assistance to Georgia, the
bulk of which went to support the HALO Trust mine clearance operations in
Abkhazia, while the remainder was used to purchase mine detectors, body armor,
and vehicles.[20] In 2003, the
demining program will continue to address the threat of landmines and unexploded
ordnance from the civil conflict in and around the Abkhazian region of
Georgia.
In 2002, the Netherlands provided $376,015 to mine action in Georgia, Germany
donated $160,040, and the UK donated
$487,500.[21]
On 1 October 2002, Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Irakli
Menagarishvili, and the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) signed a
memorandum of understanding on logistic cooperation, which opens the way for the
implementation of a Partnership for Peace Trust Fund Project to demilitarize and
disposal of missile stockpiles at Georgian military
sites.[22] Under the agreement,
NATO will provide material assistance and training to carry out the safe
disposal of missile stockpiles and the clean up of a former military site close
to Tbilisi.[23] The local
demining organization “Jani” (a group of former Georgian military
engineers) will clear this 10,000-hectare site, which will then be handed over
to the local population for agricultural
use.[24] The €1,250,000
project will be financially supported by Luxembourg, the lead nation for the
project, and other NATO and partner countries, while Georgian authorities will
contribute in kind
support.[25]
HALO conducted a Level One Survey of mined areas surrounding three Russian
military bases in Georgia during June 2002. The survey determined that the
areas were mined, but were fenced with barbed wire and guarded by military
personnel and did not constitute any immediate humanitarian threat. With
assistance from HALO, “Jani” developed a funding proposal to clear
these mines areas; NATO subsequently agreed to support the
proposal.[26]
Mine Risk Education
Other than in Abkhazia, there are no formal
governmental or nongovernmental mine risk education (MRE) programs. The Minister
of Education claims a decree was issued in 2001 requiring all secondary schools
to teach a course on “Extreme Situations and Civic Defense.” The
Minister also said that such courses had been taught since 1995 during primary
military training and in secondary schools in mountain and border regions, in
addition to one day a year devoted to mass defense
activities.[27] The ICBL
Georgian Committee conducted a school program survey in Tbilisi and discovered
that some schools teach limited mine risk education, but teachers stated that
they do not have any manuals or materials to conduct MRE
lessons.[28]
Landmine Casualties
In 2002, the ICBL Georgian Committee collected
data on 70 new casualties in Georgia caused by landmines, UXO, or improvised
explosive devices: 30 people were killed, including four children, and 40 were
injured, including seven children. Six of the casualties were members of the
Georgian Armed Forces and two were Russian
peacekeepers.[29]
In 2001, the ICBL Georgian Committee collected data on 98 new casualties (34
killed and 64 injured).
Casualties continue to be reported in 2003. In April, three Georgian
soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion during a US-sponsored training
exercise.[30]
There are no comprehensive official statistics on the number of people killed
or injured by landmines and UXO in Georgia.
Survivor Assistance
Hospitals throughout Georgia, including in
Abkhazia, routinely run short of basic medical supplies due to a lack of
funding, and specialized rehabilitation and psychological support appears to
remain inaccessible, or unavailable, for many mine
survivors.[31]
The ICRC regularly provides equipment, supplies, and medicine to Zugdidi
Republican Hospital, Sukhum Republican Hospital, Agudzera and Tkvarcheli
hospitals, two facilities in Darcheli and Jvari, and the Gali and Ochamchira
hospitals received first aid supplies. In 2002, 779 surgical procedures were
performed in western Georgia, including three for landmine casualties, and in
the Abkhazia region 1,362 operations were performed, including 14 for mine
casualties.[32] In October
2002, seven surgeons from Georgia, including two from Abkhazia, attended an ICRC
seminar on war surgery in
Moscow.[33]
The ICRC, in collaboration with local authorities, supports two
prosthetic/orthotic centers in Tbilisi and Gagra. The centers are the only
major facilities available for physical rehabilitation in Georgia. In 2002, the
centers produced 478 prostheses, 968 orthoses, repaired 81 prostheses, and
distributed 42 wheelchairs, and 398 pairs of crutches; 120 prostheses were for
mine survivors. The Tbilisi Orthopedic Center had 458 amputees on its waiting
list as at the end of December
2002.[34] In May 2002, one
technician was sent to Germany for a three-month upgrading course in prosthetics
and orthotics.[35]
The Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs has developed a special
program, “Medical and Psycho-Social program for Invalids,” for the
care and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities at rehabilitation centers
in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and
Batumi.[36] Under the program
outpatient treatment was provided to 13,248 people, prosthetic/orthopedic
assistance was given to 465 people, 153 people received a re-qualification
course, and 412 people benefited from consultations on their legal
rights.[37] It is not known if
any landmine survivors were assisted. In 2002, the budget for the program was
US$100,000 (222,000 Georgian Lary); part of the budget, US$25,000 (55,500
Georgian Lary), was provided for the ICRC Orthopedic Center and US$75,000
(166,500 Georgian Lary) to the Social Rehabilitation Center for the
Disabled.[38]
[1] Letter to Landmine Monitor (Mary
Wareham, Coordinator) from Merab Antadze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, 19
July 2002. [2] Statement by Vakhtang
Chkhaidze, Military-Political Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at an
ICRC Seminar on Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War, Moscow, 4 November
2002. [3] Letter to Landmine Monitor
(Mary Wareham, Coordinator) from David Aptsiauri, First Deputy Minister of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 July
2003. [4] Interview with a
representative of the Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, 6 February 2002. The
representative also provided written answers to questions submitted by Landmine
Monitor. One written answer stated: “There do still exist the mined
territories in Abkhazia and Samachablo, on which do not apply the jurisdiction
of Georgia and naturally on these territories Georgia cannot carry out
monitoring nor demining works. Besides on the territory of Georgia there are
hundreds of military objects left by forces of former Soviet Union and Russia,
objects where are set mines, explosive substances and the sources which cause
various professional diseases, and in the budget of the state and the Defense
Ministry of Georgia there were not foreseen the means for liquidation of sources
of danger.” [5] Note Verbale from
the Permanent Mission of Georgia to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), FSC. DEL/12/01, 17 January
2001. [6] Information provided to the
ICBL Georgian Committee by the Ministry of Defense, 6 February
2002. [7] As reported in Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 878, mines are at Sagarejo, Batumi, and Akhalkalaki
bases. [8] “Explosion of firing
equipment in Vaziani continues,” Akhali Taoba (New Generation), 29 July
2002, No. 206, p. 8; “Soon in Georgia will close several military
sites,” Akhali Taoba, 13 December 2002, No 343, p.
8. [9] The moratorium was proclaimed by
President Shevardnadze at the United Nations in September 1996 and has been
repeated by officials many times since. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p.
792, and Note Verbale to the OSCE, 17 January
2001. [10] Interview with a
representative of the Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, 6 February 2002. The use of
mines was confirmed in his written answers to questions submitted by Landmine
Monitor. He also stated mines were used in the Pankisi
gorge. [11] Telephone interviews with a
Ministry of Defense official, Tblisi, 23 and 24 July 2002. He stated that the
areas where the antipersonnel mines were laid are inaccessible to
vehicles. [12] “Georgian frontier
guards blown up on a mine in the upper Kodori gorge,” Caucasus Press
(Sukhumi), 2 July 2002. [13]
“Kodori main direction is permanently mined,” Akhali Taoba, No. 74,
17 March 2003, p. 7. [14] ICBL
(Georgian Committee) interview with Emzar Kvitciani, representative of President
of Georgia in Kodori, 23 March
2003. [15] Landmine Monitor (Abkhazia)
interview with Vyacheslav Eshba, Minister of Defense of Abkhazia, Sukhum, 23
June 2003. [16] Letter to ICBL Georgia
Committee from Shota Dogonadze, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
#8-14/621, 23 May 2003. [17] Letter to
ICBL Georgia Committee from Major General Loria, Head of Logistics Management
Center, Ministry of Defense, #3-11/814, 30 May
2003. [18] Letter from David Aptsiauri,
First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 July
2003. [19] US Department of State,
“Humanitarian Mine Action Subgroup Minutes of June 14,
2002.” [20] US Department of
State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September
2002. [21] UN Mine Action Investments
database. [22] NATO press release,
“NAMSA Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Georgia on Logistics Support
for Demilitarization,” 2 October
2002. [23] NATO press release,
“NATO to help destroy munitions and clean up military sites in
Georgia,” 2 October 2002. [24]
NATO press release, “Signature of a Memorandum on Logistic Cooperation
between Georgia and the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization on
Demilitarization and Disposal of Missile Stockpiles and the Remediation of
Georgian Military Sites,” 2 October
2002. [25] NATO, “NATO to help
destroy munitions in Georgia,” 2 October
2002. [26] Email to ICBL (Georgia
Committee) from Tim Turner, Program Manager, HALO Trust, Abkhazia, Georgia, 28
October 2002. [27] Letter to ICBL
(Georgian Committee) from A. Kartozia, Minister of Education, 11 October
2001. [28] Results of School Program
Survey conducted by ICBL Georgian Committee, October
2002. [29] The ICBL Georgian Committee
collects data on incidents from hospitals and media reports and records the
information in a database. [30]
“Three Georgian soldiers wounded in US training exercises,” Agence
France Presse, 16 April 2003. [31] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
826. [32] ICRC, “Georgia: January
2003,” Operational Update, 6 May 2003, p. 4, available at
www.icrc.org.
[33] ICRC, “Annual Report
2002,” Geneva, June 2003, p.
251. [34] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Program, “Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003; statistics
provided by ICRC Mission in Tbilisi, 17 March
2003. [35] ICRC, “Georgia: January
2003,” Operational Update, 6 May 2003, p. 5.
[36] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
pp. 883-884. [37] Letter to ICBL
(Georgia Committee) from L. Topuridze, Head of Political Department, Health
Protection Ministry of Georgia, 4 June
2002. [38] Interview with Marina
Gudushauri, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, 7
February 2002.