LM Report 2003

Jordan

Key developments since May 2002: Jordan completed the destruction of its stockpile of 92,342 antipersonnel mines on 23 April 2003. The Jordanian Army Engineering Corps cleared 20 minefields in 2002, which allowed the implementation of one of Jordan’s important national irrigation projects to proceed. Jordanian deminers were deployed to Afghanistan in December 2002 to clear mines at Bagram and Kandahar.

Mine Ban Policy

Jordan signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 11 August 1998, ratified on 13 November 1998, and the treaty entered into force for it on 1 May 1999. Jordan’s Law of Explosive Materials (1953) serves as the legal mechanism to enforce the treaty. Jordan attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002, and Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003. Jordan submitted four updates to its annual Article 7 transparency measures report in 2002 and 2003, which provided new information about the status of the stockpile destruction program.^[1]

Jordan is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It did not attend the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2002, nor did it submit an Article 13 national annual report.

Jordan never produced or exported antipersonnel mines and last used them in 1978.^[2]

Stockpile Destruction

On 23 April 2003, Jordan completed the destruction of its stockpile of 92,342 antipersonnel mines. It thereby complied with its Mine Ban Treaty obligation to destroy all stockpiled antipersonnel mines by 1 May 2003. Members of the Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) and the media attended the final destruction event. Jordan’s King Abdullah II received LSN’s director Jerry White and the head of the organization’s local chapter Adnan Al-Aboudi at a ceremony held at Armed Forces Headquarters where the King pledged to support elimination of antipersonnel mines and rehabilitation of victims.^[3]

Stockpile destruction in Jordan began in September 1999, and was carried out over ten separate events, with a total cost of approximately $184,684 ($2 per mine).^[4] The stockpile was destroyed by open detonation/burning. Ninety-eight percent of the antipersonnel mines in Jordan’s stockpile were of US manufacture, while the remainder was of Belgian, British, Egyptian, Russian, and Syrian origin. Jordan included Claymore mines in its stockpile destruction.

Jordan will retain 1,000 antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes, but has not reported on the intended purposes and use of these mines in its transparency reports.

Landmine Problem

There were an estimated 309,927 landmines emplaced in Jordan, mainly along its borders. According to the head of the Engineering Corps, “The Jordanian Armed Forces planted up to 236,774 mines among which 85,665 are antitank and 151,009 antipersonnel in Aqaba region, Jordan valley and the Jordanian-Syrian borders, while Israel planted up to 73,153 mines among which 8,323 are antitank and 64,802 are antipersonnel in the Jordan valley and Al Baqoura.”^[5] All minefields are fenced with metal pillars and barbed wire and marked with warning signs. Engineering battalions maintain the marking and fencing on a regular basis.^[6]

Mine Action and Funding

The civilian-led National Demining and Rehabilitation Committee (NDRC), headed by retired General Muhammad al-Malkawi, is the focal point for all mine action in Jordan. The NDRC’s duty is to insure continuity of annual funding and support for demining operations and rehabilitation projects.

In 2002, donors to mine action in Jordan included Canada, Norway, and the United States. The US provided $850,000 in its fiscal year 2002 for the purchase of equipment and spare parts; it has provided Jordan with $8.8 million in demining assistance since 1996.^[7] Canada contributed C$194,600 (US$131,355) in 2002, and Norway donated NOK 600,000 (US$75,000). In June 2002, the UK-based NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) completed a three-month training course on the maintenance and deployment of the Minecat 230 mini-flail, using funds provided by Norway.

The Royal Jordanian Corps of Engineers deploys a total of 380 men in 20 demining teams; each team consists of 20 personnel, five mechanical mine clearance machines, and heavy equipment, such as excavators, vegetation clearers, and heavy trucks.^[8] The Commander of the Royal Jordanian Corps of Engineers, General Fayez Al–Dwairi, told Landmine Monitor, “The Corps of Engineers is focusing on the areas that are important for Jordan's economic development. These areas take longer to demine, but bring immediate positive impact to our people.”^[9]

In 2002, the Engineers Corps cleared 20 minefields, including eight minefields in Al Wihdah Damp, which allowed an important national irrigation project to proceed. Three minefields in the Aqaba Special Economical Area were also demined.^[10] The Royal Engineering Corps cleared a total of 2,631 mines of all types in 2002.^[11]

From the beginning of the national demining program in 1993 to April 2003, demining operations have cleared and destroyed 57,391 antipersonnel mines and 40,407 antivehicle mines from 10.953 square kilometers of land.^[12] Most of the demining to date has been in the Aqaba region and in the Jordan Valley.^[13] A total of 4.67 square kilometers of previously cleared minefields in eastern areas need rechecking.^[14]

A three-phase demining plan sets the goal of completion of mine clearance in Jordan by 2009.^[15] Harsh environmental factors like heat, erosion, and vegetation make demining in Jordan particularly challenging and costly.

The Royal Engineers Corps provides mine risk education programs in schools, remote villages, and in cities near affected areas, such as Irbid and Ramtha in the north, Shouneh in the Jordan Valley, and in Karaq, Tafileh, and Aqaba in the south. The Royal Engineers Corps assigns officers and deminers to carry out the programs, who use inert mines, posters, slides, and videotapes to illustrate the risks posed by mines and preventative measures.

Jordanian Mine Action Assistance

In December 2002, thirteen Royal Jordanian Engineers Corps deminers arrived in Afghanistan to begin mechanical demining operations at Bagram airbase using the Aardvark chain flail system. This is the first known deployment of Jordanian deminers in an international mine clearance operation. Jordanian deminers cleared 23,100 square meters of mine-affected land at Bagram. The deminers were then redeployed to Kandahar, where they cleared 278,000 square meters of mine-affected land, and destroyed 34 mines and 261 UXO.^[16] This clearance effort by Jordanian deminers in Afghanistan continued in 2003.

In October 2002, UNDP and the US Department of State sponsored a three-week course on the development of human resources by Cranfield University (UK) at Amman Private University for twenty MRE instructors from four countries (Azerbaijan, Jordan, Lebanon, and Somalia).^[17]

On 6 February 2003, the UNDP sponsored a management-training course by Cranfield University (UK) at Amman Private University for deminers from seven countries (Azerbaijan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Somalia, and Yemen) as well as Jordan.

Landmine Casualties

The government reported fifteen new mine casualties in 2002 (fourteen civilians and one soldier).^[18] Landmine Monitor obtained details on eight of the new mine casualties. Three were killed and five injured. All the casualties were male, and the injured included a deminer, a military officer, and an Iraqi civilian.^[19]

In 2001, three mine/UXO incidents were reported in which four people were killed and four injured; landmines caused two incidents.^[20]

Casualties continued in 2003. On 2 January, a military deminer was injured during clearance operations, resulting in a below-knee amputation.^[21] On 13 April, a landmine in Al-Mafraq injured a Syrian national.^[22]

According to the government, there have been 525 mine casualties in Jordan, including 225 killed.^[23] A September 2002 U.S. Department of State publication, however, cites the Jordanian Armed Forces Medical Services as reporting 636 mine casualties since 1967, of which 92 were killed; 370 were civilians.^[24] According to the database of the Hashemite Charitable Society for Soldiers with Special Needs, a Jordanian NGO that cares for disabled soldiers, of military personnel injured while on duty, 300 are amputees, mostly as a result of landmines.^[25]

Survivor Assistance

Landmine survivors are entitled to medical care and rehabilitation under the standard health care system in Jordan. There is, however, limited local outreach for rehabilitation services for mine survivors. In practice, more complex cases of mine injuries are transferred to the national institutions in Amman for prosthetics and rehabilitation services.^[26] In 2002, Canada provided survivor assistance funding, ambulance services, and computers to Jordan.^[27]

In October 2002, Landmine Survivors Network, in cooperation with the ICRC, hosted a workshop for surgeons from the Ministry of Health and the Hussein Medical Center. LSN also collaborated with the Jordan Medical Association (JMA) and the Jordan Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (JAPMR) in hosting seminars on amputation surgery.^[28] While hospitals and other medical facilities provide rehabilitation services, little provision exists for psychological support and counseling for mine survivors.

LSN continues to engage community-based outreach workers, who are also amputees, to work with individual survivors to assess their needs, offer psychological and social support, and educate families about the effects of limb loss, in five geographic areas; Irbed, Ramtha, Zarqa, Mafreq and Amman. In 2002, outreach workers conducted 2,774 home and hospital visits for a total of 427 persons with disabilities, of which fifty percent are landmine survivors. LSN successfully linked or referred 322 individual cases to local service providers who offered a variety of essential rehabilitation services. When necessary, LSN provides direct materials support. In 2002, LSN distributed 253 mobility devices, assisted 18 survivors with medical needs or medical tools, and provided material support for improving or adapting homes. LSN also supported mine survivors in accessing vocational training programs and setting up small businesses.^[29] LSN maintains a Rehabilitation Services Directory with information on 81 service providers in Jordan.^[30]

The 1993 law for the “Welfare of Disabled Persons” remains unchanged.^[31]

[1] See Article 7 Report, 1 May 2003 (for the period 1 May 2002-30 April 2003); and Article 7 reports submitted on 17 March 2003, 27 November 2002 and 1 May 2002 (all for an unspecified time period). See also Article 7 Report, 30 June 2000 (for the period 1 December 1999-30 June 2000); Article 7 Report, 9 August 1999 (for the period 1 May-1 September 1999).
[2] Article 7 Report, Form C, 1 May 2003. This is a new date for mine emplacement, which was reported as 1973 in the Landmine Monitor Report 2002.
[3] “Jordan dismantles remainder of its land mine stockpile,” Associated Press (Amman), 23 April 2003.
[4] Email from Brigadier General Fayez al-Dwairi, Director of the Royal Jordanian Corps of Engineers, 9 June 2003.
[5] “Jordan Mine Action,” presentation to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 5 February 2003. While these figures are different from those presented on Form C of the 1 May 2003 Article 7 Report, the Head of the Engineering Corps confirmed the February 2003 statistics in an email to Landmine Monitor on 9 June 2003.
[6] Article 7 Report, Form I, 1 May 2003.
[7] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002.
[8] Presentation to Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 5 February 2003.
[9] Interview with Brigadier General Fayez al-Dwairi, Director of the Royal Jordanian Corps of Engineers, Amman, 24 December 2002.
[10] “Royal Engineering Corps destroys 10,000 landmines east of Zarqa,” Al Rai Daily, 22 October 2002, p. 2.
[11] Email from Brigadier General Fayez al-Dwairi, Royal Jordanian Corps of Engineers, 9 June 2003.
[12] Article 7 Report, Form C and Form G, 1 May 2003.
[13] Presentation to Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 5 February 2003.
[14] Article 7 Report, Form C, 1 May 2003.
[15] Presentation to Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 5 February 2003.
[16] Email from Brigadier General Fayez al-Dwairi, Royal Jordanian Corps of Engineers, 9 June 2003.
[17] “Opening of a training course on Human Resources Development against landmines,” Al Dostour Daily, 21 October 2002, p. 27.
[18] Presentation to Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 5 February 2003.
[19] Emails to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Mona Abdeljawad, Landmine Survivors Network (Jordan), 10 July 2002 and 5 June 2003.
[20] Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 320.
[21] Interview with Khaled Al Batayneh, Social Worker, Hashemite Society, Amman, 22 February 2003.
[22] Email from Mona Abdeljawad, LSN, 5 June 2003.
[23] Interview with Brigadier General Fayez al-Dwairi, Director of the Royal Jordanian Corps of Engineers, 16 March 2003; Presentation to Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 5 February 2003.
[24] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002, p. 50.
[25] Interview with Khaled Al Batayneh, Social Worker, Hashemite Society, Amman, 22 February 2003.
[26] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 321.
[27] “RCE receives ambulances and computers from the Canadian Government,” Al Arab Yom Daily, 22 December 2002, p. 4.
[28] Information provided by Landmine Survivors Network (Jordan), 4 April 2003; email from Mona Abdeljawad, LSN, 5 June 2003.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Available at www.lsndatabase.org.
[31] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 900.