Key developments since May 2002: In
September 2002, Guinea-Bissau destroyed 1,000 of its 4,997 stockpiled mines.
The remainder are scheduled to be destroyed in 2003. In June 2003, CAAMI
reported that 390,000 square meters of land had been cleared since 2000,
including 2,400 antipersonnel mines. LUTCAM, the second domestic mine clearance
NGO in Guinea-Bissau, started field operations in February 2003. Since
mid-2001, 112 mine risk education activists and 260 community liaison agents
have been trained, and have reached some 30,000 people.
Mine Ban Policy
Guinea-Bissau signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3
December 1999, ratified it on 22 May 2001, and it entered into force on 1
November 2001. Guinea-Bissau submitted its annual Article 7 update on 30 April
2003, for the period 30 April 2002 to 30 April
2003.[1] It has not enacted
national implementation legislation, or reported other implementation measures
in accordance with Article 9.[2]
In January 2003, the Director of the National Mine Action Center (CAAMI, Centro
Nacional de Coordenação da Acção Anti-Minas) told
Landmine Monitor that because of the transitional government, legislative steps
could not be taken, but that he would raise the issue once a new Parliament was
elected.[3]
Guinea-Bissau attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban
Treaty in September 2002 and intersessional Standing Committee meetings in
February and May 2003. At the February 2003 Standing Committee meetings, the
Director of CAAMI reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the Mine Ban
Treaty stating, “Guinea-Bissau is certain of its policy on compliance
with the Convention. We do not have any intentions to transfer mines or open our
territory to the transit of mines from any country, or to help another country
break its commitments to the
Convention.”[4]
Guinea-Bissau voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74 in
November 2002, promoting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Destruction
Guinea-Bissau reports that it has never produced
antipersonnel mines and no mine production facilities
exist.[5] Guinea-Bissau is not
known to have ever exported antipersonnel mines.
According to its initial Article 7 report, Guinea-Bissau destroyed a total of
5,800 mines (4,711 antipersonnel mines and 1,089 antitank mines) in February
1998, prior to ratification of the Mine Ban
Treaty.[6]
Stockpiled landmines were inventoried between 25 and 27 March
2002.[7] As of March 2002,
Guinea-Bissau’s stockpiles totaled 4,997 antipersonnel mines, located in
17 army sites throughout the country. Most are located at the headquarters of
the Gabú Batallion in the Eastern Military
Zone.[8]
On 14 September 2002, 1,000 stockpiled antipersonnel mines were destroyed at
an event in Cabuca, 45 kilometers from Gabú, which was attended by a
committee made up of government and UN representatives, military
attachés, former soldiers and
journalists.[9]
Guinea-Bissau’s remaining stockpile of 3,997 antipersonnel mines is
scheduled to be destroyed in
2003.[10] The treaty-mandated
deadline for destruction of the entire stockpile is 1 November 2005.
In May 2002, the Director of CAAMI told Landmine Monitor that Guinea-Bissau
would retain “a maximum of 50 mines” for instruction purposes, with
five of those being live
mines.[11] However, both the
June 2002 and April 2003 Article 7 reports state that no mines will be retained
for training purposes.[12]
Landmine Problem and Survey
As has been previously reported in Landmine
Monitor, the landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem in Guinea-Bissau was
primarily the result of the military conflict of the late 1990s; a significant
number of mines are also attributed to foreign troops involved in the
conflict.[13] According to a
1998 report by the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), mines were used principally
in five locations in Guinea-Bissau: around the Bissau airport, along the
demarcation line within Bissau, around the psychiatric hospital in Bissau, along
the northern border with Senegal, and along main routes in the south of the
country. The report estimated that at that time there were 20,000 mines and
additional UXO dispersed along the former front lines in Bissau, which was in a
densely populated area of the capital where approximately 30 percent of the
country’s population
lives.[14]
CAAMI identifies at least 12 other locations outside Bissau as still mined:
São Domingos, Bigene, Dungal, Mansaba, Contuboel, Sonaco, Pitche,
Buruntuma, Bissasseme de Cima, Galomaro, Boe, and
Cutar.[15]HUMAID, a
local mine clearance NGO, reported that there are at least thirteen affected
locations outside Bissau “mainly around the perimeters of former
Portuguese military locations in the
interior.”[16]While some minefield marking was carried out in 2000, it was not done to
international mine action standards and is inadequate.
In order to more effectively measure the current extent of the mine and UXO
problem in Bissau and the rest of the country, a general survey of the affected
areas was planned for 2003, to be carried out by two national community survey
teams (ENPC) from the local NGO LUTCAM, under a UN Development Program (UNDP)/UN
Office of Project Services (UNOPS)
agreement.[17] In February
2003, the two ENPC teams began to carry out a level one and two survey in one of
the most affected areas in the north of Bissau. Seventeen suspected minefield
and UXO sites have been so far identified in the capital Bissau. After
completing the suspected areas in Bissau, the survey will continue in the
immediate outskirts of the capital. In 2004, priorities for clearance of mined
areas in other regions of the country will be
set.[18]
Regarding the mine problem along the border with Senegal, which has no
markings except a few posts, CAAMI said, “We don’t really know what
kind of problem we’ll encounter there, but according to unofficial
sources, we have the indication that we’ll find a great quantity of
mines.”[19] CAAMI’s
Mine Risk Education (MRE) Assistant said, “The security is insufficient
for the deminers to work there [North of the Cacheu
River].”[20]
Guinea-Bissau is also contaminated with unexploded ordnance, particularly at
an Army arsenal in Brá that blew up during the last war. On 10 April
2002, a demining technical coordination team from Handicap International (HI)
visited this site and reported various types of munitions “strewn over a
radius of 5 kilometers around the
epicenter.”[21] A January
2003 field visit by Landmine Monitor revealed that the military zone is still
insufficiently marked and remains unfenced. Local inhabitants wander through the
area to recover metal from the
munitions.[22]
The National Mine Action Plan 2001/2004 (PAAMI, Programa Nacional
Humanitário da Acção Anti-Minas na Guiné Bissau)
also states there is a “serious problem with UXO, particularly air-dropped
bombs in Buba, Falacunda and Tite [Southern Guinea-Bissau – Quinará
region], some dating back to the colonial wars and others from the last
conflict, which have not been cleared yet.” It also notes “in Biombo
region...bomb deposits and UXO scattered in Quinhamel and
Ilondé.”[23] The
latter is a cashew growing region, and UXO have a significant impact on the
harvesting of cashew
nuts.”[24] According to
the PAAMI document, “Numerous UXO are stockpiled in the island of Bubaque
(Bolama region),” which is Guinea-Bissau’s major tourist
resort.[25]
Guinea-Bissau reported that 32 different types of mines (24 types of
antipersonnel mines and eight types of antitank mines) from seven countries
(former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, former Soviet Union, Belgium, Portugal, the
United States and Guinea-Bissau) had been found or reported in the
country.[26] The report also
included a list of the five most frequently found antipersonnel mines: PMD-6,
PMN and POMZ-2 (Soviet Union); M969 (Portugal); and PRB M409 (Belgium). It also
listed the five most frequently encountered antitank mines: TM-46, TMD-44, and
TMD-B (Soviet Union); Expal C3A and M453
(Portugal).[27]
Mine Action Funding
CAAMI reports contributions for 2002 totaling
$891,155: the United Kingdom donated $245,138, and the Netherlands donated
$646,017 (for the period November 2001 to September 2002).
[28]
However, the Netherlands itself reports providing $500,000 for 2002. The
United Kingdom reports a contribution of about $172,000 in its fiscal year
2000/2001, but nothing in 2001/2002 or
2002/2003.[29]
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has requested an additional $455,000 to
strengthen the national mine action program capacity for 2003, and $123,000 had
been pledged, as of 1 May
2003.[30]
Mine Action Coordination
The National Mine Action Center (CAAMI, Centro
Nacional de Coordenação da Acção Anti-Minas) was
established in March 2001, and a draft National Humanitarian Mine Action Program
(PAAMI) was prepared in early 2001. On 10 September 2001, Decree 55/001 formally
created the National Commission for Humanitarian Demining (CNDH), which works as
the steering committee appointed by the government. UNDP and other UN agencies
are full members of CNDH. UNDP support for the first year and a half of the
national program was devoted to strengthening CAAMI’s management
capabilities through senior mine action management courses at Cranfield
University; the Operations Manager later attended the middle management course
in Mozambique.[31]
UNDP has supported PAAMI in a number of ways: in the development of a level
one impact survey in Bissau and other areas of the country which began in
February 2003; in further developing a national mine action NGO (LUTCAM); in
providing training in humanitarian mine action standards; in capacity building
in mine risk education and victim assistance; and in implementing an integrated
quality control monitoring and post clearance assessment
program.[32] Another priority
for UNDP in Guinea-Bissau has been to develop a national mine action database
using the Information Management System for Mine Action
(IMSMA).[33] However, due to the
need to translate the new IMSMA into Portuguese, its implementation in
Guinea-Bissau was delayed. CAAMI now expects to implement the system in
2003.[34]
There are two domestic mine action NGOs operating in Guinea-Bissau: HUMAID,
operating since 2000, and a newly-formed organization, LUTCAM, which began
operations in mid-2002. After some initial difficulties with coordination,
CAAMI reported that the situation has improved; HUMAID has adopted the same
demining site structure as LUTCAM and the two NGOs are
cooperating.[35]
Mine Clearance
The goal of the National Mine Action Plan is to
eliminate the impact of landmines and UXO in Bissau by the end of 2004 and in
the southern and eastern regions of the country by the beginning of
2005.[36] During the third
meeting of the CNDH in December 2002, CAAMI’s Director stated that the
criteria for setting clearance priorities would depend on the results of the
survey, and be based upon the socio-economic impact of mines in the different
areas.[37] Current mine
clearance priorities are defined in conjunction with the city council and the
government and are related to economic
priorities.[38]
In assessing mine action in the country, Manuel Gonzal, HI’s Demining
Technical Coordinator, has stated that Guinea-Bissau could serve as an example
to Africa of what can be done to eliminate the threat of landmines, including
being the first African country to be declared
mine-free.[39] Gerard Chagniot,
a UNDP technical adviser, said that Guinea-Bissau’s speedy mine
elimination process could mean that the African nation rids itself of landmines
by 2005.[40]
Guinea-Bissau’s Secretary of State Nhassé Na Mã agreed with
this assessment, adding that Guinea-Bissau hopes to make its demining
specialists available to other countries once the border with Senegal is
cleared.[41]
During 2002, HUMAID’s personnel numbered sixty-four. Fifty-five were
in the field and nine were support
personnel.[42] HUMAID did not
receive new funding during 2002, but worked with the remainder of a grant
provided during 2001 by the US. Its expenses in 2002 totaled approximately
$373,000. During the year, most funds went to operating costs; it also purchased
one vehicle to serve as an ambulance and to transport personnel, as well as some
new detectors and protective
equipment.[43] In 2002, it
concentrated its clearance efforts in
Bissau.[44]
Trying to determine exact clearance data from 2000 to 2002 and for 2002 alone
is difficult. In June 2003 CAAMI reported that a total of 2,400 antipersonnel
mines, 15,800 UXO, 56 antitank mines and more than 800 small-caliber munitions
have been cleared and destroyed from an area of 390,000 square meters in five
neighborhoods of Bissau since the start of HUMAID’s clearance operations
in early 2000.[45] UNDP
reported in May 2003 that between November 2000 and February 2003, HUMAID had
cleared 333,240 square meters of land, removing and destroying 2,511 landmines
and 15,870 UXO from the north of Bissau and immediate
surroundings.[46] According to
the annual Article 7 report, in the reporting period of 30 April 2002 to 30
April 2003, 2,455 antipersonnel mines were cleared and
destroyed.[47] Last year,
HUMAID reported the clearance of 136,477 square meters of land in the period
between 1 June 2001 and 31 May 2002. However, HUMAID now reports that the totals
from January 2000 to the end of 2002 were 85,750 square meters of land cleared,
including 2,419 antipersonnel mines, 65 antitank mines, and 5,742
UXO.[48]
LUTCAM launched field operations on 1 February 2003, and was contracted by
UNOPS for survey and clearance
projects.[49] As of 1 May 2003,
working in the Plaque 1 neighborhood together with HUMAID, LUTCAM had cleared
45,750 square meters of land, removing and destroying 9 landmines, 12 UXO and
875 small ammunition.
Once clearance in Plaque I neighborhood is completed, CAAMI has defined the
next priorities within Bissau as the Bolanha de Cuntum Madina and Antula-Bono,
where both mine clearance NGOs will work. These zones were chosen due to
socio-economic impact affecting the bolanhas (rice fields), and for the latter,
also the extraction of salt. After that, the next planned priority is located
outside Bissau, in Falacunda. According to CAAMI, both HUMAID and LUTCAM employ
former combatants who have knowledge of where landmines are located; whereas in
the east and north of the country it will be much more difficult, and a survey
will have to be done first.[50]
CAAMI has yet to establish a quality control group in order to declare
cleared minefields as officially
mine-free.[51] Landmine Monitor
noticed several signs indicating: “Zone cleared by HUMAID; Quality control
remains to be done.” However, the population is already using many of
those fields for crops, or to build
houses.[52] CAAMI is to take
two persons from each NGO, who would remain under CAAMI’s authority, to
carry out quality control.[53]
In 2001-2002, the Accelerated Demining Program provided complete training for
78 surveyors, deminers, a team leader, paramedics (including fifteen women), and
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) for LUTCAM, as well as refresher courses for
52 deminers and team leaders of
HUMAID.[54] Under CAAMI’s
coordination, ADP will continue to support LUTCAM in 2003, providing additional
on-site training in Guinea-Bissau, as well as refresher training for
HUMAID.[55]
In addition to clearance, minefield marking is also a priority in
Guinea-Bissau. As previously noted, while some marking was carried out in 2000,
it did not meet international standards. Between 1 June 2001 and 31 May 2002,
marking activities were limited to replacing signs that had been stolen or
otherwise removed from
minefields.[56]
In June 2002, an HI Technical Coordination Mission noted that local
populations did not respect the marking of the mined zones, and continued to
work in the suspected areas planting rice crops and collecting salt. The
disrespect for the marking was due in part to the fact that minefield clearance
operations warning signs were not always removed after the end of demining work
at a site. The marking was also partial (25 percent - meaning that only one side
of the field was marked and the other three were not) or insufficient. UXO were
strewn on the edges of the roads without any specific marking of the area.
Rockets were used as boundary-markers for the
fields.[57]
In January 2003, the only place being marked was in Plaque I
neighborhood.[58] During a
January 2003 field trip, Landmine Monitor observed that marking seemed to be
insufficient or inappropriate. For instance, the path leading to the demining
site did not have advanced warning signs and other sides of the minefield,
except for along the roadside, were not marked. People coming from the fields
were not warned about the demining site. On the other hand, a few kilometers
from the clearance site, old warning signs emplaced by UNICEF in front of a rice
field currently being cultivated seem to indicate danger even though the closest
minefield is at least three to four kilometers from the warning signs. Old
signs wrongly emplaced undermine people’s confidence in the marking of
minefields.[59] UNDP’s
Counselor to CAAMI recognized that some of these old signs needed to be
removed.[60]
There are discussions underway between the principals for joint demining
operations on the border with Senegal, in the event of an agreement between
Senegal, the MFDC rebels, and
Guinea-Bissau.[61]
Mine Risk Education
UNICEF and other actors formed the Mine Awareness
Committee (COAM) that has met regularly since April 1999 to plan and coordinate
mine risk education (MRE).[62]
The Education Program to Prevent Accidents involving Mines (PEPAM) in
Guinea-Bissau was launched in November
2000.[63] CAAMI coordinates MRE
activities at the national and regional level and provides MRE training to
primary school teachers. The government of Canada, UNICEF and World Food Program
have provided financial support to PEPAM, with UNDP assisting with capacity
building for local NGOs.[64]
CAAMI, with the support of UNICEF and other agencies, also prepared Mine
Awareness Education
Guidelines.[65]
Since mid-2001, CAAMI, with support from the above agencies, has trained 112
MRE activists among nine national NGOs for critical emergency mine/UXO risk
education in the high-risk areas of Bissau capital and
elsewhere.[66] Ninety MRE
activists were trained in Bissau and 22 activists were trained for other regions
of the country. According to the annual Article 7 report, these MRE activists
“can rely on youth and/or women’s associations, religious chiefs,
traditional chiefs and elders to take part in MRE meetings and spread the
message further.”[67] The
activists have trained 140 community liaison agents in Bissau and a further 120
in the regions; in turn these agents provided education and awareness to 10,000
people in the regions and 20,000 in
Bissau.[68] CAAMI also produced
forms to report mine incidents which are used by MRE
activists.[69]
In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, 81 school teachers (40 in
Bissau, and 41 in the regions) have received MRE training. Some MRE is already
part of some public school programs, and should be formally integrated to the
school curriculum for the school years
2002-2003/2003-2004.[70]
According to the April 2003 Article 7 report, in the last two years, 2,600
primary school students have been informed and educated on MRE (1,400 in Bissau,
and 1,200 in the other
regions).[71]
The government reports that MRE materials produced include schoolbooks, mine
risk banners, leaflets and comic books that were sent to affected or suspected
regions.[72] However,
HI’s 2002 report stated that the production of MRE materials was
“still not a
reality.”[73] The NGO
ANDES reported a serious lack of PEPAM/MRE materials and noted that most
bicycles (for activists) are ruined, and posters, books, comic books are
insufficient.[74]
Most of the national NGOs working on MRE carry out activities in
mine-affected outskirts of
Bissau.[75] AAFI works in the
South, Quinará, on agriculture, fisheries, education and
sanitation.[76] ACESA works in
Bambadinca and Bissau.[77] The
mine-affected outskirts of Bissau in which MRE activists were working as of
January 2003 included Enterramento, Brá, Bissaque, Bôr, Bairro
Militar, Cuntum Madina, Plaque I and II, and Bolanha de
Bandim.[78] In 2002, HI also
supported a mine risk education PEPAM theater in Buba (Southern
region).[79] HUMAID personnel
also brief residents near the minefields about the dangers posed by mines and
UXO, and in radio and TV interviews, explain the dangers and urge people not to
enter the areas marked with warning
signs.[80]
With the support of Rädda Barnen, ANDES organized MRE vacation camps for
396 children of the most mine-affected neighborhoods of Bissau, with activities
such as singing, drawing, sports and MRE theater. In 2002, the camps were
established in the Bôr and Antula neighborhoods. ANDES also prepares MRE
programs that are broadcast by various radio stations in mine-affected
areas.[81]
Landmine Casualties
The mine/UXO casualty rate for the period 2001-2002
is reportedly around two to three per
month.[82] However, according
to CAAMI’s Technical Advisor, the rate increases to about four to five
casualties a month during the cashew-harvesting
season.[83] In 2002, 33 new
landmine/UXO casualties were reported, of which 25 people were killed and eight
injured. At least five casualties were caused by landmines. In 2001, there
were at least eight new mine/UXO
casualties.[84]
Reported casualties in 2002 included a twelve-year-old girl injured in
January by a grenade blast while lighting a fire in the Enterramento area. In
February, another UXO explosion in Enterramento seriously injured two children
who were burning household garbage. In March, a soldier was injured by a
grenade in São Domingos, near the Senegalese
border,[85] and in a separate
incident, another man was killed in a UXO explosion. In April, a man lost his
leg after stepping on a landmine in the Bôr area, and in another incident
a Waters and Electricity of Guinea-Bissau employee stepped on a mine and lost a
leg below the knee.[86] On 31
May residents of Santo Antonio neighborhood were evacuated after one person was
killed in a landmine
explosion.[87] HUMAID reports
that in July a woman in the Manuel-Agua area struck a landmine while clearing
garbage on cultivated land, following torrential rains, and lost an eye after a
piece of debris hit her in the
forehead.[88] CAAMI reports
that in April, a young man was killed while trying to deactivate a grenade, in
May, a woman lost an eye and one leg after a mine explosion while cultivating
vegetables, and in July, 15 people were killed in several UXO explosions in a
village near Lof in the Biombo region, in the sector of
Ilondé.[89] ANDES
reports that in the northern region near São Domingos, seven children
were killed when a UXO they were handling
exploded.[90]
Casualties continue to be reported in 2003. From January to the end of April
2003, four incidents were recorded, in which two people were killed and four
injured. All the injured were 18-years or under and one, a seventeen-year-old
girl, required an above-knee
amputation.[91] On 19 May 2003,
a UXO explosion in Cambeque, in the Cacini sector of Tombali region, killed two
people and injured three
others.[92]
During the period June 1998 to April 2002, CAAMI recorded 290 mine/UXO
casualties, of which 77 people were killed and 213 injured, including 74
children.[93] The UNDP reports
228 mine casualties for the period from the 1998/1999 conflict to April 2003,
including 95 people killed and 133 injured. Children account for 58 of the
total casualties, men 103, and women
67.[94]
The countrywide survey on mine/UXO casualties that was launched in December
2001 should be completed by
mid-2003.[95]
Survivor Assistance
Capacities for the care and rehabilitation of
mine/UXO casualties are severely limited in Guinea-Bissau as the health care
system was seriously affected by the 1998/1999 conflict. Guinea-Bissau is
divided into ten medical regions but there is only one national hospital, the
Simão Mendes Hospital in Bissau, and four regional hospitals, in
Canchungo, Bafatá, Gabu and Catio. There is one qualified trauma surgeon,
from Cuba, in the country, two general surgeons, and a rehabilitation
specialist; all are based at the Simão Mendes Hospital. There are eight
physiotherapists in the country, five at the Simão Mendes Hospital, two
working with ANDES, and one at the Military Hospital; most were trained in Cuba
as there is no physiotherapy training available in the
country.[96]
Generally landmine casualties are treated at either the Simão Mendes
Hospital in Bissau or the Military Hospital at the airport. Emergency and first
aid is almost non-existent in the country. Casualties arrive at the hospitals
through their own means or are sometimes brought by ambulance, however, only the
health care facilities in Bissau, Bafatá, Gabú, Catio, Tombali,
Biombo, Mansoa, Buba and Quinará have
ambulances.[97]
Since March 2002, the Simão Mendes Hospital has charged patients the
cost of most medications, as the State only covers the cost of the
infrastructure and the salaries of the medical staff. The family must pay most
of the hospital expenses, including food. Regional hospitals were expected to
adopt the same system from July 2002. There is no special treatment for mine
casualties.[98]
Mine survivors requiring rehabilitation and prostheses are referred to the
NGO ANDES’s Casa Amiga dos Deficientes Center (CAD, Friendly House for the
Disabled), the only prosthetic facility in
Guinea-Bissau.[99] The ANDES
center provides physiotherapy, orthopedic devices, and psycho-social support.
In 2002, the prosthetic/orthotic facilities assisted 139 people, and produced 28
prostheses, 26 orthoses, two orthopedic shoes, and 66 walking aids, and repaired
18 orthopedic devices. The physiotherapy facility assisted 192 people, of which
118 were under the age of
16.[100] The people assisted
with prosthetics and physiotherapy includes 25 mine survivors and 20 UXO
survivors. The ANDES prosthetic/orthotic program has two prosthetic technicians
(one is still receiving training), a cobbler for orthopedic shoes, and a
coordinator. Amputees are required to pay a portion of the costs of their
prosthesis according to their economic condition; however, less than ten percent
of patients have repaid
ANDES.[101] ANDES is supported
by HI with funding from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and
France.[102] The German Embassy
purchased an electric generator for the
center.[103]
Handicap International completed a study on the reintegration of disabled
soldiers for the Program of Demobilization, Reinsertion, and Reintegration
(PDRRI), which identified 1,687 disabled
soldiers.[104] On 19 September
2002, the Secretary of State for Ex-Combatants and ANDES signed an agreement to
provide medical and orthopedic assistance and physical rehabilitation to a total
of 399 disabled ex-combatants, some are mine survivors. The Secretary of State
will reimburse part of the costs to ANDES for these services. In 2002, ANDES
assisted 28 former combatants within the PDRRI
framework.[105] In late 2002,
under the PDRRI program, HI facilitated training by a French doctor for
rehabilitation doctors to assist in the evaluation of the level of disability,
which determines pension
entitlements.[106]
There is no national capacity in Guinea-Bissau to produce wheelchairs, which
must be imported from
abroad.[107]
HI conducted a two-month feasibility study to develop a proposal for the
economic reintegration of persons with disability in the area of
peeling/processing cashew
nuts.[108] CAAMI is planning a
vocational training and socio-economic reintegration program in tailoring,
handcrafts, and blacksmithing for 32 mine survivors. Materials have been
purchased but a lack of some materials and a shortage of funds has delayed the
commencement of the
program.[109] The UNDP also
offered six computers to train mine
survivors.[110]
Guinea-Bissau reports that the implementation of a victim assistance program
is still in an “embryonic
phase.”[111] A
multisectorial body, coordinated by the Ministry of Health, is to be created
with representatives from CAAMI, national and international NGOs, UNDP, UNICEF,
WHO, the Red Cross, and survivors and their
families.[112] On 7 August
2002, CAAMI organized its first meeting to elaborate a national plan of action
to support mine survivors.[113]
Disability Policy and Practice
There are no laws or decrees to assist civilians
with disabilities in
Guinea-Bissau.[114] Ex-soldiers
in the liberation war against Portugal are entitled to medical and
pharmaceutical care in a special clinic and pharmacy. For others not injured
as a direct result of the liberation war, including the military serving in the
last war, there is no such entitlement. However, in January 2003 these
entitlements were reportedly either not being paid or were insufficient to
provide the basic needs of
survivors.[115]
[1] Guinea-Bissau submitted its initial
Article 7 Report, due by 30 April 2002, on 19 June 2002, covering the period 22
November 2001 to 30 April 2002. This initial report included voluntary Form J on
victim assistance, but the update did
not. [2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2003. [3] Interview with
César Lopes de Carvalho, Director, CAAMI, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [4] Interview with César
Lopes de Carvalho, Director, CAAMI, Geneva, 7 February
2003. [5] Article 7 Report, Form E, 30
April 2003. The 2002 Article 7 report mentions that one type of antitank mine
was produced in the country, the “Justado Vieira.” Article 7 Report,
Form H, 19 June 2002. In an interview on 14 January 2003, the Director of CAAMI
told Landmine Monitor that these were mines hand-made by national hero Justado
Vieira, but only four have been
found. [6] See Article 7 Report, Form B,
“Conclusões,” 19 June 2002, for details on the destruction,
including types of mines destroyed. [7]
Article 7 Report, Form B, 30 April 2003; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
286. [8] Article 7 Reports, Form B, 19
June 2002 and 30 April 2003. These included 3,744 PMD-6; 1,237 POMZ-2; 13 PMN;
2 M969; and 1 M409 mines. Of this total, 4,929 mines were active, while 68 were
inert (24 inert POMZ-2s and 44 inert
PMD-6s). [9] João Pereira da
Silva, “1000 landmines backdated to colonial war destroyed in remote
area,” 14 September 2002, RTP (radio), Lisbon; “Un millier de mines
détruites en Guiné Bissau,” Agence France Press, 13
September 2002; Article 7 Report, Form B, 30 April 2003. The mines destroyed
included 793 PMD-6s, 200 POMZ-2s, and 7
PMNs. [10] Article 7 Report, Form B, 30
April 2003. These include 2,951 PMD-6, 1,037 POMZ-2, 6 PMN, 2 M969, and 1 M409
mines. [11] Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 286. [12] Article 7 Report,
Form D, 30 April 2003. [13] Article 7
Report, Form C, 30 April 2003. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.287.
Landmine Monitor reported use of mines by all fighting forces in that conflict,
including by Guinea-Bissau and Senegal, although both denied
use. [14] Major Hervé Petetin,
“Mine Situation in Guinea-Bissau,” UNMAS, December 1998, p. 1;
Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April
2003. [15] Report by CAAMI,
2002. [16] E-mail from John Blacken,
Administrator, HUMAID, 3 November
2002. [17] Article 7 Report, Form C, 30
April 2003. [18]
Ibid. [19] Interview with César
Lopes de Carvalho, Director, CAAMI, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [20] Interview with Irene Laval,
PEPAM/MRE Assistant, CAAMI, 15 January
2003. [21] Handicap International (HI),
“Technical Mission Report, Handicap International in Guinea-Bissau,”
Lyon, April 2002; e-mail and telephone communications with Manuel Gonzal,
Technical Coordination Mission, HI, Lyon, 14-19 June
2002. [22] Landmine Monitor field visit
to the Brá site, accompanied by John Blacken, HUMAID, and Irene Laval,
CAAMI, 15 and 16 January 2003. [23]
“PAAMI – Programa Nacional Humanitário da Acção
Anti-Minas na Guiné Bissau –2001/2004,” April
2001. [24] Interview with José
Augusto Lopes, Administrator and MRE Trainer, ANDES, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [25] “PAAMI -
2001/2004,” April 2001. [26]
Article 7 Report, Form H, 19 June
2002. [27]
Ibid. [28] CNDH, “Conselho
Nacional de Desminagem Humanitária (CNDH), 13 de Dezembro de 2002,”
Bissau, 13 December 2002. The total amount of $891,155 is also reported by the
UNDP, however the funding periods differ: $145,138 from the UK for the period
July 2000 to July 2001; and $100,000 for the period November 2002 to March 2003;
for the Netherlands, $646,017 for the period July 2001 to March 2003. UNDP,
“Support to the Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme,” undated, but distributed at Standing Committee meetings, May
2003. [29] See the individual country
reports for Netherlands and UK in this Landmine Monitor Report
2003. [30] UNDP, “Support to the
Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme.” [31]
Ibid. [32] Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2003. [33] Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 288. [34] Interview with
Gérard Chagniot, UNDP Technical Advisor, CAAMI, Bissau, 17 January
2003. [35] Interview with César
Lopes de Carvalho, Director, CAAMI, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [36] UNDP, “Support to the
Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme.” [37] CAAMI,
“Acta da 3ª Reunião do CNDH” (Minutes of CNDH meeting)
No. 03/02, Bissau, 13 December
2002. [38] Telephone interview with
Gérard Chagniot, UNDP Technical Advisor, 5 December
2002. [39] “Country could serve as
landmine removal model,” Lusa (Portuguese news agency), 13 September
2002. [40] Ibid; email from Gerard
Chagniot, UNDP Technical Adviser, 16 September
2002. [41]
“Destruição de 7 milhões de minas em Angola
levará muito tempo,” Lusa, 23 September
2002. [42] Email from John Blacken,
HUMAID, 4 February 2003. [43]
Ibid. [44] More specific details on
clearance activities are available upon
request. [45] “Destruyen 2.400
minas antipersona, 15.800 cargas explosivas y 65 minas antitanques in
Guinea-Bissau,” EP/Agence France Presse (Bissau), 4 June 2003;
“Destruction de mines anti-personnels et d'engins explosifs à
Bissau,” Agence France Presse (Bissau), 4 June
2003. [46] UNDP, “UN Support to
the Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action Programme.”
[47] Article 7 Report, Form G, 30 April
2003. [48] Email from John Blacken,
HUMAID, 4 February 2003. [49] UNDP,
“UN Support to the Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme.” [50] Interview with
César Lopes de Carvalho, CAAMI, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [51]
Ibid. [52] Observations made during
Landmine Monitor field research, 14 to 17 January
2003. [53] Interview with César
Lopes de Carvalho, CAAMI, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [54] UNDP, “UN Support to
the Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme.” [55]
Ibid. [56] Email from John Blacken,
HUMAID, 19 June 2002. [57] Email from
and telephone interview with Manuel Gonzal, HI, 14-19 June 2002;
“Technical Mission Report,” April
2002. [58] Interview with Irene Laval,
PEPAM CAAMI Assistant, Bissau, 15 January
2003. [59] Landmine Monitor field visit,
along the road leading to the airport and Estrada de Volta, outskirts of Bissau,
15 and 16 January 2003. [60] Interview
with Gérard Chagniot, UNDP Technical Advisor, 17 January
2003. [61] Interview with Cesar Lopes de
Carvalho and Irene Laval, CAAMI, Geneva, 14 May
2003. [62] COAM is the Portuguese
acronym for Célula de Coordenação de
Operações Anti-Minas. [63]
According to Guinea-Bissau’s annual Article 7 report of April 2003, PEPAM
was officially launched in mid-2001. Article 7 Report, Form I, 30 April 2003.
PEPAM is the Portuguese acronym for Programa de Educação para a
Prevenção de Acidentes com
Minas. [64] Article 7 Report, Form I, 30
April 2003. [65] Ibid; UNDP,
“Support to the Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme.” [66] Ibid. The
following national NGOs are listed by UNICEF as implementing partners: ANDES,
ANAPRODEM, ASA, AJD, ACESA, LUTCAM, UNDEMO, AAFI, WHANA BISSIF, and
HUMAID. [67] Article 7 Report, Form I,
30 April 2003. [68]
Ibid. [69] Interview with Irene Laval,
CAAMI, 15 January 2003; interview with José Augusto Lopes, ANDES, 14
January 2003; interviews with several MRE activists in CAAMI Center, MRE
Meeting, 16 January 2003. [70] Article 7
Report, Form I, 30 April 2003; UNDP, “Support to the Guinea-Bissau
National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme.” [71] Article 7 Report,
Form I, 30 April 2003. [72] Article 7
Report, Form I, 19 June 2002. [73] HI,
“Rapport d’activités du programme Handicap International en
Guinée Bissau,” Bissau, January to August
2002. [74] Interview with José
Augusto Lopes, ANDES, 14 January
2003. [75] The Landmine Monitor
researcher has gathered more detailed information on MRE, which is available
from Landmine Monitor upon request. [76]
Interview with Mr. Serifo, AAFI MRE activist, Bissau, 15 January
2003. [77] Interview with Onório
Augusto Lopes, ACESA MRE activist, 15 January
2003. [78] Interview with Irene Laval,
CAAMI, 15 January 2003. [79] HI,
“Rapport d’activités,” Bissau,
2002. [80] Email from John Blacken,
HUMAID, 19 June 2002. [81] Interview
with José Augusto Lopes, ANDES, 14 January
2003. [82] Article 7 Report, Form I, 30
April 2003. [83] Interview with
Gérard Chagniot, UNDP Technical Advisor, 17 January
2003. [84] Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
pp. 290-291. [85] HI, “Rapport
d’activités,” Bissau,
2002. [86] Telephone interview with
Gérard Chagniot, UNDP Technical Advisor, 17 June
2002. [87] “Residents around
Bissau evacuated for landmine clearance,” RTP International (Portuguese
International Television), 31 May
2002. [88] HUMAID Activity Report, 1-31
July 2002; Email from John Blacken, HUMAID, 5 November
2002. [89] Interview with Irene Laval,
CAAMI, 15 January 2003. [90] Interview
with José Augusto Lopes, ANDES, 14 January
2003. [91] Article 7 Report, Form I, 12
May 2003; interview with Cesar Lopes de Carvalho and Irene Laval, CAAMI, Geneva,
14 May 2003. [92] “2 killed and 3
injured in mortar ammunition explosion,” (2 Morts et 3 blésses dans
l’explosion d’un obus de mortier (radio nationale), Agence France
Presse, Bissau, 19 May 2003. [93] CAAMI,
“Accidents by region from June 98 to April 2002,” (Acidentes de
Minas por Regiões de Junho 98 até Abril 2002), undated, provided
to Landmine Monitor by Irene Laval, CAAMI, 15 January
2003. [94] UNDP, “UN Support to
the Guinea-Bissau National Humanitarian Mine Action
Programme.” [95]
Ibid. [96] Eric Debert,
“Information on the disability sector,” (Information sur le Secteur
du Handicap en Guinée Bissau), HI Guinea-Bissau, Bissau, August 2002;
interview with João Fernandes Mendes, Director, ANDES, CAD Center,
Bissau, 14 January 2003; interviews with Eric Debert, Program Director, Handicap
International (HI), Bissau, 13 and 16 January
2003. [97]
Ibid. [98] Interview with João
Fernandes Mendes, Director, ANDES, CAD Center, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [99] Guinea-Bissau’s initial
Article 7 report Form J, and previous Landmine Monitor Reports indicated that
there was also a government prosthetic center. However, that center was
destroyed in the last war, and is currently inoperative. ANDES has been offered
the facility but is unable to afford the costs of reconstruction. Interview
with Eric Debert, HI, 16 January 2003; interview with João Fernandes
Mendes, Director, ANDES, CAD Center, Bissau, 14 January 2003.
[100] Chart provided by HI/ANDES to
Landmine Monitor, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [101] Interviews with João
Fernandes Mendes, Director, and Djibril Ba, Rehabilitation Coordinator, ANDES,
CAD Center, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [102] Interview with João
Fernandes Mendes, ANDES, 14 January 2003; interview with Eric Debert, HI, 13
January 2003; see also the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, available at
www.theworkcontinues.org.
Prosthetics and rehabilitation services account for the majority of
ANDES’s budget. [103] Interview
with João Fernandes Mendes, ANDES, 14 January
2003. [104] Interview with Eric Debert,
HI, 16 January 2003; HI, “Annual report on Guinea-Bissau,” 22 March
2002. [105] Interview with João
Fernandes Mendes, ANDES, 14 January
2003. [106] Interview with Eric Debert,
HI, 13 January 2003; email communication, 29 January
2003. [107] Interviews with Eric Debert,
HI, 13 and 16 January 2003 [108]
Ibid. [109] Interviews with Irene Laval,
CAAMI, 14 January 2003 and 14 May
2003. [110] Article 7 Report, Form J, 19
June 2002. [111]
Ibid. [112] Ibid; interview with
Gérard Chagniot, UNDP Technical Advisor, 17 January
2003. [113] HI, “Rapport
d’activités,” Bissau,
2002. [114] Interview with César
Lopes de Carvalho, Director, CAAMI, Bissau, 14 January
2003. [115] Interview with Eric Debert,
HI, 13 January 2003; interview with João Fernandes Mendes, ANDES, 14
January 2003.