Key developments since May 2002: Pending
formal approval in September 2003, Kenya will host the First Review Conference
of the Mine Ban Treaty at UN facilities in Nairobi from 29 November–3
December 2004. Kenya has served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Mine
Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies since September
2002. In April 2003, Kenya’s Department of Defense confirmed plans for
destruction of its antipersonnel mine stockpile in 2003. In response to demands
from the local population, the Kenyan military has begun some risk education in
areas contaminated with unexploded ordnance.
Mine Ban Policy
Kenya signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 5 December
1997, ratified it on 23 January 2001, and it entered into force on 1 July 2001.
Kenya has not yet enacted national implementation measures as required by
Article 9, but has expressed its intention to do
so.[1] Kenya has indicated that
it submitted its annual updated Article 7 transparency report to the United
Nations on 7 February 2003.[2]
As of July, that report was not posted to the UN
website.[3] Kenya has submitted
two previous Article 7
reports.[4]
Kenya attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002 and the
intersessional Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003. During the
Fourth Meeting of States Parties, the Kenya delegation stated, “Kenya
remains fully committed to fulfilling her obligations as a State Party to the
Convention. In the last year, Kenya actively participated in all areas of the
convention’s activities including at the intersessional meetings where we
played the role of co-rapporteur to the Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine
Awareness, and Mine Action Technologies. We believe this active participation
has and continues to encourage others to work towards the fulfillment of the
objectives of the
Convention.”[5] Kenya
also welcomed the Landmine Monitor Report 2002 for its documentation of
the progressive steps of the international community toward embracing the new
international humanitarian norm of rejecting antipersonnel mines.
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Kenya became co-chair, with Belgium,
of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies. At the May 2003 intersessional meetings, States Parties agreed to
accept Kenya’s offer to host the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban
Treaty at UN facilities in Nairobi from 29 November–3 December 2004,
pending formal approval at the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in Bangkok,
Thailand in September
2003.[6]
In November 2002, Kenya voted in support of UN General Assembly Resolution
57/74, promoting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, and Destruction
Kenya has never produced or exported landmines.
The government reported a stockpile of 38,774 antipersonnel mines of British,
Belgian and Israeli origin, of which 3,000 will be retained for training and
development as permitted under Article 3 of the Mine Ban
Treaty.[7] Kenya clarified in
February 2003 that it does not possess Claymore-type directional fragmentation
mines.[8]
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Kenya noted that a “large
number of developing countries including Kenya are experiencing difficulties in
fulfilling their obligations particularly in the technical and financial
areas” and urged “those who are able to provide such assistance to
increase their
support.”[9] While
attending the official launch of the Landmine Monitor Report 2002 in
Nairobi in September 2002, the British Deputy High Commissioner said,
“United Kingdom is willing to assist the Kenyan authorities in the task of
safely destroying Kenya’s stockpile of landmines, a process due to start
in 2003, and which must be completed by
2005.”[10]
In April 2003, Kenya’s Department of Defense confirmed it “has
finalized arrangements for the destruction of its stockpile in 2003. Details on
the destruction program will be made available to all parties in time to allow
for the attendance of the media and public to [the] destruction
event.”[11] Kenya’s
treaty-mandated deadline for completion of stockpile destruction is 1 July
2005.
UXO Problem and Clearance
Kenya does not have a landmine problem, but is
contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO), especially in the pastoral north of
the country where annual military drills by Kenyan and foreign military forces
are carried out, and in areas where the 1950s Mau Mau rebellion was
intense.[12] The British
military has carried out live-fire training in Kenya for several months each
year since 1945.[13]
These annual military drills are carried out around the Archer’s Post
and Dol Dol areas of Samburu district and expose more than 600,000 people and
their livestock to potential
danger.[14] A case lodged
against the UK Ministry of Defence for damages to the affected population was
settled out of court in July
2002.[15]
The British Army, in conjunction with Kenyan authorities, started clearance
operations in the Archer’s Post area in April
2001.[16] In 2002, UXO
clearance continued in Archer’s Post Sector Two, in 15 training sectors
covering 1,500 square
kilometers.[17] Some 300 square
kilometers of contaminated areas have been cleared. During operations, clearance
teams found on average four to five pieces of ammunition per square
kilometer.[18]
British forces train Kenyan military in clearance techniques and provide some
of the equipment needed to conduct clearance
operations.[19] At the regional
level, Kenya has remained involved in demining along the Eritrea/Ethiopia border
as part of the UN peacekeeping
mission.[20] Kenya’s
Department of Defense confirmed that the demining team abroad has not suffered
any casualties, nor have there been casualties in Kenya since the start of the
UXO clearing exercise in April
2001.[21]
Mine/UXO Risk Education
There is minimal mine/UXO risk education in Kenya,
despite the presence of victims in UXO-contaminated areas and in camps for
refugees from mine-affected neighboring countries. An estimated 600,000 people
in UXO-contaminated areas and in refugee camps stand to benefit from mine/UXO
risk education.[22]
The Kenyan military has begun to carry out mine/UXO risk education in Samburu
district following demands from the population
there.[23] The military visits
schools and manyattas[24]
in the district, giving lectures and staging demonstrations on the harmful
effects of UXO.
A local NGO, Organization for the Survival of Il-Laikipiak Indigenous Maasai
Group Initiative (OSILIGI), conducts some risk education discussion sessions
within the manyattas and also carries out random evaluation checks on the
progress being made in the clearance
operations.[25]
The Nairobi Rotary Club, through its local program the Jaipur Foot Project,
carries out limited mine/UXO risk education in Samburu district and in some
parts of Masailand. The program entails the production of videos, media outreach
and interactive sessions. The Rotary Club also conducts risk education in
conjunction with other organizations such as the Kenya Boy Scouts movement, the
National Council of Churches and the Association of Physically Disabled
Persons.[26]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
In 2002, thirteen people were injured in reported
UXO-related incidents.[27] Ten
incidents were in Samburu district, one in Narok and two in Isiolo district. It
is reported that more than 500 people may have been killed by UXO since the
military drills began in 1945. Many more have been injured by unexploded
ordnance left behind by the
soldiers.[28]
In 2001, seven people were injured in reported UXO-related
incidents.[29] It is believed
there could be more UXO casualties that go unreported in remote areas of
northern Kenya, which are used for the annual military drills.
Casualties continue to be reported in 2003. In June 2003, a police
reservist was killed and eight people seriously injured when their vehicle
reportedly hit a landmine in the Moyale
area.[30]
Survivor Assistance
Public health facilities in Kenya are believed to
be adequate, ranging from rural health centers to national referral hospitals
ready to provide first aid and advanced medical care to
patients.[31]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hospital at Lopiding, on
the Kenya-Sudan border, continues to provide physical rehabilitation to mine
survivors and other persons with disabilities coming across the border from
rebel-held areas of southern Sudan. In addition to providing first aid and
surgical services to landmine survivors, the hospital also extends follow up
assessment, nursing care and physiotherapy to patients. In 2002, Lopiding
Hospital treated ten landmine survivors, all from southern
Sudan.[32] The hospital’s
orthopedic workshop fitted 380 prostheses, of which 78 were for mine survivors,
produced 194 orthoses, of which one was for a mine survivor, and also produced
1,576 crutches and distributed 25
wheelchairs.[33]
The Nairobi-based Jaipur Foot Project manufactures orthopedic appliances for
all persons with disabilities. In 2002, 465 mobility devices were produced and
150 wheelchairs distributed. In 2001, 483 patients were fitted with prostheses;
seven were mine/UXO survivors. The project also provides crutches, surgical
shoes, continuing medical care and a repair service using volunteer doctors and
counselors. The Jaipur Foot project also provides limbs to other countries in
the sub-region such as Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda. In November
2002, 100 wheelchairs worth Ksh150, 000 (US$2,000) were donated by the Rotary
Club and distributed by the Jaipur Foot Project in various parts of the
country.[34]
In July 2002, Britain agreed to pay more than US$7 million to more than 200
Kenyans killed or injured by mines and explosives left in military training
fields by the British Army in northern Kenya. Most of the casualties were
children who accidentally detonated unexploded ordnance while herding
livestock.[35]
In 2002, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) opened an office
in Nairobi as part of a new project called the Omega Initiative. The program
provides technical and financial assistance to victims of war, and other persons
with disabilities, in sub-Saharan Africa. Funded by the US government’s
Leahy War Victims’ Fund, the program offers services ranging from capacity
building and sustainability, employment and economic integration, physical
rehabilitation, prostheses and assistive devices, to psychological and social
support.[36] These services,
however, were not available in Kenya as of mid-2003.
Disability Policy and Practice
The Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social
Services is responsible for issues relating to persons with disabilities,
including mine/UXO survivors. There are no laws protecting the rights of
persons with disabilities, however, the Disabilities Bill 2002 has been drafted
and is awaiting enactment by the Kenya Parliament. The bill sets out the rights
of persons with disabilities, including rights relating to medical care,
rehabilitation, employment and education. When enacted, the bill will provide
for the establishment of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities,
which will be the focal point for all issues relating to persons with
disabilities.
[1] During the Fourth Meeting of States
Parties in Geneva in September 2002, Landmine Monitor organized a roundtable for
the delegations of Kenya, Uganda and South Africa to meet with the ICRC to
discuss the Article 9 requirements of the Mine Ban Treaty. At that meeting, the
Kenya delegation expressed its intention of seeking more information and
direction on the drafting of implementation legislation from the ICRC.
Apparently, it has yet to do so. Kenya’s two Article 7 reports state that
implementation measures will “follow in legislation.” Article 7
Reports, Form A, 27 December 2001 and 15 May
2002. [2] Report for Landmine Monitor,
prepared by Colonel Mohamed Hussein Ali, Department of Defense, Nairobi, April
2003. This was also stated by the Kenya delegation in a meeting during the May
2003 Standing Committee meetings. [3]
See Article 7 website,
http://disarmament.un.org/MineBan.nsf [4] Article 7 Report, 27 December 2001
(for the period 28 January 2001-28 December 2001); Article 7 Report, 15 May 2002
(for the period 29 December 2001-30 April
2002). [5] Statement by James Kihwaga,
Alternate Head of Delegation, to the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva,
17 September 2002. [6]
“President’s consultations on developing a process to prepare for
the First Review Conference of 2004,” prepared by President of the Fourth
Meeting of States Parties, Belgian Ambassador Jean Lint, for intersessional
Standing Committee meetings, 16 May
2003. [7] Article 7 Report, Form B, 27
December 2001. Identical numbers are contained in the updated report. For
information on types of mines retained, see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
323. [8] Oral remarks to Standing
Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February 2003 (Landmine
Monitor/HRW notes). [9] Statement by
James Kihwaga, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, 17 September
2002. [10] Remarks by Paul Harvey,
Deputy British High Commissioner, during the launch of Landmine Monitor Report
2002, Nairobi, 13 September 2002. [11]
Report for Landmine Monitor by Department of Defense, April 2003.
[12] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p. 323, and earlier editions. [13]
“Pastoralist compensation claim materializes,” IRIN (Nairobi), 22
August 2002; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
323. [14] Population estimate based on
figures obtained from local administrators responsible for the strand of
communities in northern Kenya, as reported in Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
324. [15] “Pastoralist
compensation,” IRIN, 22 August 2002; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
323. [16] Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p. 323. [17] Interview with Maj. Joseph
Alila, Isiolo, 4 December 2002. [18]
“Pastoralist compensation,” IRIN, 22 August 2002; Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 323. [19] Remarks by
Paul Harvey, Deputy British High Commissioner, 13 September
2002. [20] Statement by James Kihwaga,
Fourth Meeting of States Parties, 17 September
2002. [21] Report for Landmine Monitor
by Department of Defense, April 2003. The report said Kenya’s commitment
to the eradication of the landmine menace is underlined by its efforts to double
the personnel engaged in high risk demining activities at the Eritrean/Ethiopian
border. [22] Ibid.
[23] Interview with Maj. Joseph Alila,
Isiolo, 4 December 2002. [24] A manyatta
is a cluster of traditional Samburu/Masai huts, which can accommodate up to 300
people. [25] “Pastoralist
compensation,” IRIN, 22 August
2002. [26] Interview with Sunil Sinha,
Program Manager, Jaipur Foot Project, Nairobi, 30 October
2002. [27] Ibid; Interview with Sunil
Sinha, Jaipur Foot Project, Nairobi, 13 June
2003. [28] “Victims speak out on
UK’s 540m shillings payout offer for their suffering,” Daily Nation,
2 September 2002, p. 11. [29] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
324. [30] “Mine explosion kills
officer,” East African Standard, 11 June
2003. [31] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 324. [32] Interview with Sister
Engred Tjosflaat, Head Nurse, Lopiding Hospital, Lopiding, 17 December
2002. [33] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Programs, “Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June
2003. [34] Interviews with Sunil Sinha,
Jaipur Foot Project, 30 October 2002 and 13 June
2003. [35] “Britain to Pay Kenyans
Hurt by Explosions of Its Weapons,” Agence France Presse, 20 July
2002. [36] See VVAF website, at
http://vvaf.org/humanitarian/omega.shtml