Key developments since May 2002: Data
collection for the national Landmine Impact Survey started in September 2002 and
was completed in April 2003. In 2002, the Army reported demining 1.7 million
square meters of land, destroying 7,973 antipersonnel mines, 139 antivehicle
mines, and 8,109 UXO. As part of the $50 million United Arab Emirates
“Operation Emirates Solidarity,” two commercial companies cleared
3.9 million square meters of land, removing and destroying 30,904 antipersonnel
mines, 1,476 antivehicle mines, and 1,400 UXO in South Lebanon between May 2002
and May 2003. Between 1 May 2002 and 1 June 2003, mine risk education
activities reached about 95,000 out of 180,000 students in South Lebanon, and as
many as 500,000 people total. In 2002, 42 new landmine/UXO casualties were
recorded in Lebanon, a significant decrease from the previous year.
Mine Ban Policy
Lebanon has not acceded to the 1997 Mine Ban
Treaty. On 22 November 2002, Lebanon was one of 23 countries that abstained
from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, supporting universalization
of the Mine Ban Treaty. On 25 November 2002, the Lebanese Minister of Foreign
Affairs said the country could not join the treaty because Israel, who laid the
largest number of mines in Lebanon, had not yet
joined.[1]
Lebanon attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty
in September 2002 and participated in the February and May 2003 meetings of the
intersessional Standing Committees. Lebanon is not a member of the Convention
on Conventional Weapons or its Amended Protocol II (Landmines), but attended the
Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December
2002.
Lebanon is not known to have ever produced or exported antipersonnel mines.
The Lebanese Army stockpiles an unknown number of antipersonnel mines. There
were no confirmed reports of antipersonnel mine use by any party, including
non-state actors, in Lebanon in 2002 or early 2003. The National Demining
Office (NDO) of the Lebanese Army provides commercial demining companies working
in South Lebanon with mines and explosive devices for training in mine clearance
operations.[2]
Landmine Problem
Lebanon’s first national Landmine Impact
Survey, scheduled for release in mid-September 2003, will provide the best
information on the number, size and impact of mined areas in Lebanon.
Preliminary results of the nationwide survey indicate that 22 out of 24
districts are affected to some degree by landmines and/or unexploded ordnance
(UXO). The survey identified 289 affected communities, with a total population
of 1,045,249.
Each year, the National Demining Office (NDO) of the Lebanese Army provides
Landmine Monitor with a list of mined areas in Lebanon, sorted by province
(mohafazat) and district (cadaa). As of February 2002, the Army
counted 445 cleared areas and 2,146 uncleared
areas.[3] As of 1 March 2003,
the Army counted 1,233 cleared areas and 2,180 uncleared areas. It appears that
more areas are cleared due to increased demining activity, but at the same time
more uncleared areas are identified due to expanded and better survey and
information-gathering activities.
The Lebanese Army has estimated that there are about 406,000 landmines laid
throughout the country, with South Lebanon the most heavily contaminated
area.[4] The UN has stated that
the majority of the mined areas in the south are found in border minefields
proximate to the UN-drawn “blue-line” between Lebanon and Israel.
Border minefields are located from the coast at Naquora all the way to Kfar
Chouba in the east.[5] Israeli
maps report a total number of 1,869 minefields along the border, containing an
estimated 246,012 antipersonnel mines and 10,666 antivehicle
mines.[6]
The Lebanese Army has told Landmine Monitor that the Israeli maps provide
information on less than 80 percent of the minefields and that fieldwork has
shown the maps are about 60 percent
accurate.[7] According to the
commander of the UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon, as of June 2002, Israel
had handed over maps detailing the locations of approximately 400,000 landmines.
The first batch of maps received in June 2000 covered 77,000 mines mainly around
former Israeli outposts and 288 booby-trapped explosive devices. A second batch
received in December 2001 detailed the presence of some 300,000 mines along the
UN-delineated Blue Line. In April 2002, UNIFIL received information on 13,600
landmines along the border south of Alma Shaab. But almost no information had
been received on mines planted in the “Jezzine corridor,” the
mountainous extension of Israel’s old occupation zone that ran from the
Litani River up to Jezzine.[8]
New minefields and dangerous areas are still being discovered and tasked for
clearance as the demining progresses in South Lebanon. Marking and fencing of
dangerous areas improved in 2002, as the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the
Lebanese Army started to assessmarking and fencing requirements as part
of MAG’s technical survey in Hasbayya district and Marjeyoun district of
South Lebanon.[9]
Landmines are not the only threat to residents of South Lebanon. Unexploded
ordnance (UXO) is scattered around former battlefields and front-line areas.
The UN peacekeeping force commander has described dud cluster submunitions in
South Lebanon as perhaps the most dangerous UXO, including the air-dropped
BLU-63/B and Mk.-118 Rockeye submunitions and the artillery-delivered M43E1
submunition.[10]
Survey and Assessment
The Mines Advisory Group, in collaboration with
the NDO, started a nationwide Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) in Lebanon in March
2002. The Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) is providing technical
support and advice. The European Commission is funding the survey with
€1.6 million ($1.52 million).
From March to August 2002, MAG established an office, and recruited and
trained staff. Data collection started in September 2002 and ended in April
2003. A presentation of the preliminary results took place on 12 May 2003 at
the UN House in Beirut. The report is due for release in mid-September 2003,
following feedback from the
government.[11]
The survey data has been fed to the Information Management System for Mine
Action (IMSMA) installed at the National Demining Office and at the Mine Action
Coordination Center for South Lebanon (MACC SL). The NDO’s IMSMA database
covers the entire country, while MACC SL’s is only for South Lebanon. A
system of data exchange between the NDO and MACC SL has been established. In
February and March 2002, DanChurchAid, a Danish NGO, provided NDO with training
in IMSMA.[12]
The Landmines Resource Center (LMRC) of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the
University of Balamand maintains a landmine casualty database in cooperationwith the NDO. LMRC has provided both NDO and MACC SL with landmine casualty
data. In collaboration with concerned NGOs from the National Victim Assistance
Committee, LMRC completed a new phase of landmine casualty data collection
between July and December 2002.
Coordination and Planning
The National Demining Office of the Lebanese Army
is the official body in charge of the national mine action plan and undertakes
all coordination and planning efforts. The NDO has established two committees,
one for mine risk education and the other for survivor assistance, which meet
regularly to coordinate their activities. Bilateral contacts between the NDO,
the Ministry of Defense and major stakeholders and donor countries continued in
2002. A delegation from the NDO visited the United States in July 2002, Jordan
in September 2002 and Norway in March
2003.[13]
The NDO cooperates with the Mine Action Coordination Center for South Lebanon
that was established in Tyre in early 2002. The MACC SL manages the United Arab
Emirates-funded demining project in South Lebanon called “Operation
Emirates Solidarity.” MACC SL has components from the United Nations
Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Arab Emirates Army. MACC SL
has held weekly coordination meetings for the demining organizations working in
the south since January 2002. Meetings of the donor group, the International
Support Group for Mine Action in Lebanon (ISG), took place on 28 May 2002, 20
January 2003 and 27 May 2003.
On 21 May 2001, the NDO launched its six-year strategic plan. The Army
Engineering Corps has developed a set of prioritization criteria for mine
clearance, taking into consideration the needs of local
communities.[14] The NDO plans
to use the results of the Landmine Impact Survey to plan any new demining
operations, starting with Mount
Lebanon.[15]
Under “Operation Emirates Solidarity,” the LMRC has carried out a
community liaison project linking the demining companies and the communities
targeted by the demining operations, enabling the communities to express their
needs and to report dangerous areas for verification and
clearance.[16]
South Lebanon and West Bekaa remain the focus of mine action efforts in
Lebanon. This has led to numerous formal requests and complaints by
municipalities and communities in the rest of the
country.[17]
In 2001, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pledged up
to $50 million to clear mines in formerly occupied parts of South Lebanon. It
is not known how much of that total the UAE contributed in 2002.
According to information supplied to Landmine Monitor by donors, mine action
funding for Lebanon in 2002 included: Norway $1.58 million; United States $1.3
million; Greece $840,000; Canada US$399,000; France $89,000; and Germany
$26,000.[19]
The United States provided Lebanon with $1.3 million in mine action
assistance in its fiscal year
2002.[20] These funds helped
Lebanon implement its mine detecting dog program and provided logistical
demining training services to the NDO.
On 25 July 2002, Norway donated mechanical demining equipment (MineCat),
including spare parts and training, valued at $800,000 to the Lebanese Army.
Norway is also funding the technical surveys conducted by MAG in South Lebanon
(Aramta, Saydoun and Jezzine). In March 2003, Norway provided funding to NPA in
Lebanon in support of its mine risk education and victim assistance
programs.
On 30 October 2002, the International Mine Initiative (IMI), a Greek NGO,
signed a memorandum of understanding with the NDO for a demining project in
South Lebanon. Work has started in the Nabatieh area, with funding of
€884,000 ($840,000) from the government of
Greece.[21]
On 26 October 2002, Switzerland provided five vehicles to the Landmines
Resource Center, which totaled $142,000 and included maintenance costs. In
January 2003, Canada awarded $13,000 to the LMRC in support of its mine risk
education program. In March 2003, UNOPS granted LMRC $39,978 in support of its
community liaison project in South Lebanon.
On 30 July 2002, Lebanon received 20 mine detectors from Germany. In
November 2002, China donated to the Lebanese Army 50 mine detectors and 100
protective suits, and will provide a training program. The Czech Republic
provided two KMT-6 mine clearance ploughs valued at CZK310,000 (approx. $11,000)
to the government of
Lebanon.[22] A five-year
training program by France for experts from the Lebanese Army continued in
2002.
Donor countries are participating in a “Tree for Mine” project
led by the UN, in which embassies provide bilateral assistance to municipalities
to plant trees in cleared minefields. Switzerland is helping to plant trees in
Shamaa, the Netherlands in Meiss El Jebel, and Sweden in Bayt Yahun.
A variety of actors are engaged in mine clearance
in Lebanon including the military, commercial operators, NGOs, and peacekeeping
forces. There is no consolidated set of statistics for mine clearance in
Lebanon for 2002 available to Landmine Monitor.
In 2003, three Lebanese Army companies are conducting mine clearance in West
Bekaa, Jezzine, Nabatieh, Abbassiyya and Markaba. A fourth company is divided
between Batroun (North Lebanon) and Souk El Gharb (Mount Lebanon). There are a
total of 280 deminers in the four companies. The Army also deploys a 25-person
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team. In addition, the US-funded mine
detecting dog program has two platoons of nine dogs each working in clearance
and quality assurance.[24] The
Lebanese Army uses a mechanical mine clearance vehicle, the Armtrac 100,
provided by the US State Department. It also has 250 mine detectors with
protective suits, visors and helmets. The Syrian Army deploys 146 deminers in
Lebanon to work jointly with the Lebanese Army.
In 2002, the Army reported demining 1.7 million square meters of land, 70
percent of which will allow the construction of new housing for returnees, as
well as use of infrastructure and roads. In 2002, the Army reported clearing
7,973 antipersonnel mines, 139 antivehicle mines, and 8,109 UXO.
In 2003, up to 16 May, the Army reported clearing 642 antipersonnel mines,
160 antivehicle mines, and 14,031 bombs and other UXO. From 1998 to 2001, the
Army reported clearing 2.2 million square meters of land. The Army reports
clearing 38,002 antipersonnel mines, 5,465 antivehicle mines and 56,170 UXO
since November 1990.
The Mines Advisory Group has deployed three 18-person national teams to
Aramta, Saidoun of Jezzine district (South Lebanon). MAG cleared 27,785 square
meters between 18 March 2002 and 1 March 2003, destroying 69 antipersonnel
mines, 17 antivehicle mines, and 143 UXO. MAG conducted a technical survey in
Bint Jbeil district between March and December 2002, which was initially funded
by Norway and UNMAS, then
UNOPS.[25] On 18 January 2003,
MAG started another technical survey in the districts of Hasbayya and Marjayoun
of South Lebanon. It was expected to be completed in August 2003, with the
report issued in July 2003. Canada and Japan have contributed to funding this
survey.[26]
The International Mine Initiative (IMI) came to Lebanon on 1 November 2002
and started operating on 1 December 2002. It has deployed a 13-person manual
demining team, two mine detecting dog teams, and a mechanical clearance team in
the Nabatieh area. Between 1 December 2002 and 1 March 2003, IMI cleared 117,265
square meters destroying 90 antipersonnel mines and 74 UXO.
In 2002, BACTEC, a British commercial demining company, conducted demining in
South Lebanon as part of “Operation Emirates Solidarity,” funded by
the United Arab Emirates. In Lebanon, BACTEC employs 233 staff, including 116
expatriates. It uses four Bozena-3 flails, an Armtrac 100 flail, two
bulldozers, two vegetation cutters, and fourteen mine detecting dogs. BACTEC
has had five demining casualties since it started operating in Lebanon. During
phase one of Operation Emirates Solidarity, from 18 December 2001 to 8 May 2002,
BACTEC removed and destroyed 58 antipersonnel mines, eight antivehicle mines and
240 UXO from 299 locations.[27]
MineTech, a commercial demining company from Zimbabwe, employs 84 staff,
including 53 expatriates, in Lebanon. MineTech deploys an Armtrac 325 flail, and
20 mine detecting dogs. MineTech has had six demining casualties since it
started operating in Lebanon in May
2002.[28]
BACTEC and MineTech were awarded the contract for phase two of Operation
Emirates Solidarity, which began in May 2002. Between 6 May 2002 and 27 May
2003, BACTEC and MineTech cleared 3,911,057 square meters of land, removing and
destroying 30,904 antipersonnel mines, 1,476 antivehicle mines, and 1,400 UXO.
A total of 60 percent of the effort was aimed at clearing infrastructure and
areas for the construction of new housing. The remaining 40 percent of the
effort cleared agricultural areas near those
areas.[29]
ArmorGroup was contracted to provide quality assurance services on behalf of
the MACC SL on BACTEC and MineTech between April 2002 and December 2003.
ArmorGroup employed six internationals and five Lebanese nationals. In
mid-2002, ArmorGroup was also responsible for training and supervising a
Lebanese Army 10-man Sampling
Team.[30]
Since January 2001, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon has deployed the
Ukrainian Army’s Third Engineer Battalion to carry out mine action
activities in South Lebanon. In April 2003, the Commander of the Battalion
reported that they had detected and destroyed over 2,259 mines and UXO since
their operation began, and had surveyed, marked, and fenced 359,428 square
meters of mined land. In December 2002, the emphasis of the Battalion’s
efforts changed from demining to marking and surveying hazardous
areas.[31]
The Faculty of Engineering of the American University of Beirut has initiated
a research and development program to evaluate and implement applicable landmine
detection technologies. Another project is under development by a team from
COSMOS, a Lebanese aeronautic company, on the use of a special species of
fluorescent bacteria to detect landmines.
In 2002, members of the National Mine Risk
Education Committee continued to implement mine risk education (MRE) programs in
Lebanon.[33] The committee is
headed by the officer in charge of the MRE section at the NDO. The committee
reports that between 1 May 2002 and 1 June 2003 mine risk education activities
were conducted in 542 schools in South Lebanon (out of a total of 548 schools)
reaching approximately 95,000 (out of 180,000) students in 212 villages (out of
602) in South Lebanon. In total, MRE activities reached as many as 500,000
people out of the 800,000 current inhabitants. UNICEF Lebanon, NPA, World
Rehabilitation Fund (WRF) and ICRC funded these activities.
UNICEF Lebanon recruited a Mine Risk Education Project Officer for the period
July 2002 to February 2003. MRE activities during the year included school
presentations, games, drawing contests, songs and plays, in addition to
community-based activities where villagers were involved in different local
activities. A billboard campaign took place between September and December 2002
in South Lebanon and West Bekaa, and in two districts of Mount Lebanon. Two new
MRE products were produced: a book for farmers including MRE messages and the
agricultural calendar, and a game for children. In addition, ICRC assisted the
Lebanese Red Cross in producing a new poster and a new leaflet. Training for new
MRE activists in Mount Lebanon took place 1-3 November 2002.
The World Rehabilitation Fund provided funding to MRE programs and activities
in several areas of Lebanon, especially in South Lebanon and West Bekaa. In
2002, this included production of two children’s awareness games, a
student pocket calendar, a children's song emphasizing appropriate behavior in
risk areas, a landmine awareness children comic book, four issues of the
quarterly newsletter "Khotwa" (Arabic for Step) that specializes in landmine
issues, and support to seven MRE sessions for children during summer
camps.[34]
MRE operators do not generate clearance requests or collect data on suspect
areas in Lebanon. A systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of MRE programs
is being planned. The NDO has already approved the idea. The NDO has also
started developing national guidelines for MRE.
In 2002, 42 new landmine/UXO/cluster bomb
casualties were recorded in Lebanon (four killed and 38 injured). All the
casualties were male, except one female who was injured. This represents a
significant decrease from the 85 new casualties reported in 2001 (14 killed and
71 injured). Included in the total reported new casualties was a British
deminer who lost his leg in a landmine accident on 20 July 2002 in southern
Lebanon.[36] Eleven other
deminers were also injured in separate
accidents.[37]
The majority of casualties in 2002 were inhabitants of South Lebanon, but
incidents were also recorded in other parts of the country. Incidents occurred
in areas that were already known to be dangerous or suspected, but were not
fenced or marked. Of the 42 new casualties, 25 were caused by landmines
(including an antivehicle mine), five by grenades, four by cluster bomblets,
five by UXO, one by a booby-trap, and two by unidentified objects. Thirteen
children, between 3 and 18 years, were injured, many while playing. Adults were
injured while engaged in agricultural work or while traveling in a vehicle.
New landmine/UXO casualties continue to be reported in 2003, with five people
injured as of March 2003. Landmine incidents also killed a large number of
animals, mainly cows and goats, in 2002.
The LMRC continued to record landmine casualties in Lebanon through its
network of NGO contacts and focal points in the villages of the south. As of 31
December 2002, the database contained information on a total of 2,784
casualties, including 1,117 people killed and another 1,667 injured. Of the
total, 1,388 casualties were reported in South Lebanon and Nabatieh districts.
The LMRC has re-visited all landmine survivors and the families of those
killed in the South and West Bekaa, in collaboration with the NDO and the
National Victim Assistance Committee. The aim is to upgrade the existing LMRC
landmine casualties’ database. By April 2003, a total of 1,950 families
had been visited, including 1,096 mine survivors.
Survivor Assistance
On 21 October 2001, the NDO established a National
Mine Victim Assistance Committee that which includes the major actors in
survivor assistance in
Lebanon.[38]
Emergency care is not coordinated by a central system and depends mainly on
volunteers. The Lebanese Red Cross, the Islamic Health Council and the Al
Risala First Aid Service are the main service providers. The Lebanese Red Cross
alone hasa network of 38 centers and 2,000 volunteers, for the
evacuation of landmine casualties, who are taken to the nearest emergency
facility. The government normally pays for initial hospital care, either through
the Ministry of Health, the National Social Security Fund, the Council of the
South, or the Military Hospital (for military personnel only), while funding for
long-term hospital care is not available. In certain cases, landmine survivors
are obliged to leave the
hospital.[39]
Although the Ministry of Health, or the Council of the South, covers the cost
of prosthetics, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, the services are not available
in government hospitals. NGOs provide the services and are later reimbursed for
the costs. However, there are reportedly long delays in repayment of costs to
the orthopedic workshops. Amputees requiring a prosthetic device must first be
measured at an NGO workshop and then travel to Beirut to obtain approval from
the government committee before the device can be fitted. There is reportedly
no coordination between the Ministry of Health and the Council of the
South.[40]
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), in cooperation with the NDO, the National
Steering Committee on the Land Mine Victims, and the National Steering Committee
on Mine Risk Education, continues to provide assistance to landmine survivors in
the South and in the Western Bekaa, in addition to awareness activities to the
people living in these areas. The program includes several components: emergency
and first aid, psychosocial support, prosthetic and orthopedic workshops,
physical therapy, and rehabilitation. In 2002, NPA's mine survivor assistance
activities included supporting seven First Aid courses; provision of 64
prostheses, 40 silicon sockets, three artificial eyes, 23 wheelchairs, 55
crutches, and five hearing aids; the repair of seven prostheses; 13 home
adaptions; supporting 25 income generating projects; equipping a computer
training center in Jawayya; and providing two orthopedic workshops with machines
and raw materials for the production of prostheses. The budget for the program
in 2002 was NOK 2.5 million. For 2003 it has been increased to NOK 3 million.
Funding is provided by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.[41]
The World Rehabilitation Fund supported activities including emergency care
and physical, social and economic rehabilitation for landmine survivors, and
other persons with disabilities. WRF provided support to six first aid and
emergency training workshops and encouraged the decentralization of services and
facilitated the provision of essential rehabilitation services to areas where
services were non-existent or inaccessible. Rehabilitation equipment and aids
were provided to two NGOs in 2002/2003. WRF also addressed the social and
economic needs of mine survivors by upgrading their skills and expanding their
income generating capacities through the creation of credible, viable and
sustainable employment opportunities. The “Development COOP in
Jezzine,” which was established in February 2002 with support from WRF,
works with 70 people with disabilities, including mine survivors, to enable them
to become productive members within their families and communities. In
addition, WRF expanded its small enterprise project by providing four landmine
survivors with a grant to launch small business projects; two kiosks, one
grocery shop, and one electrical accessories shop. UNDP, USAID and the US Leahy
War Victims Fund funded these
programs.[42]
In October 2002, the Welfare Association for the Handicapped in Nabatieh, a
local NGO, received $10,000 from the Near East Foundation for a credit program
to assist landmine survivors.
Most actors in survivor assistance in Lebanon agree that more attention is
needed on employment and economic reintegration
activities.[43] In March 2003,
UNICEF invited NGOs to organize vocational training programs for landmine
survivors aged between 14 and 18 years. The programs will be financed by funds
amounting to US$120,000 received from Canada in 2002 to support landmine victim
assistance in Lebanon.[44]
A $2.6 million proposal by the World Health Organization, developed in
collaboration with NGOs, to establish a comprehensive victim assistance program
has not been implemented due to lack of
funds.[45]
Disability Policy and Practice
On 25 May 2000, the “Access and Rights of
the Disabled” law was approved by the Parliament; however, the law is not
yet effective.[46] The law
established the National Disability Council, headed by the Minister of Social
Affairs, which aims to ensure that people with disability have access to their
rights.
[1] ANNAHAR (Lebanese newspaper), 26
November 2002; also other newspapers on the same day: Al Mustakbal, Al Anwar,
and Al Safir. This has been Lebanon’s position for a number of years.
See, Letter to Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan from Mahmoud
Hammoud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon, Ref: No 11/C.M, 22 January
2001. [2] Interview with United Arab
Emirates representative, South Lebanon, 31 March 2003. The UAE has paid for the
explosives, which it obtains from the Czech Republic and
Syria. [3] Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p. 704. [4] Interview with General
George Massaad, Director, National Demining Office (NDO), Beirut, 8 February
2002. [5] UN Mine Action Coordination
Cell South Lebanon, “Annual Report for 2002,” online version, p.
1. [6] Presentation by Lt. Col. Kassem
Jammoul, Operation Officer, NDO, to a visiting delegation from US Department of
State, 6 May 2003. [7] Interview with
General Massaad, Director, National Demining Office, and other NDO personnel
(Lt. Col. Kassem Jammoul, Lt. Col. Takieddine Taneer, Maj. Khaled Alieh, and
Maj. Marwan Sakr), Hazmieh, 5 May
2003. [8] Nicholas Blandford,
“Interview with the commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon Major
General Lalit Tewari,” Daily Star (Beirut English language daily
newspaper), 6 June 2002. [9] Interview
with Lt. Col. Kassem Jammoul, Operation Officer, NDO, Beirut, 14 November
2002. [10] Nicholas Blandford,
“Interview with ... Major General Lalit Tewari,” Daily Star, 6 June
2002. [11] Letter to the director of
the NDO from Kim Spurway, LIS Program Manager, MAG, 5 May 2003.
[12] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW)
from Lennart Skov-Hansen, DanChurchAid, 21 July
2003. [13] Interview with Gen. Massaad,
Director, NDO, 5 May 2003. [14]
Ibid. [15] Meeting with Gen. Massaad,
Director, NDO, 28 March 2003. [16]
LMRC community liaison reports to UAE and UNOPS, May 2002–March 2003.
[17] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p. 705. According to the NDO, these requests are usually directed to the high
command office of the Lebanese Army through a bureaucratic channel of commands
that start at the Army base nearest to the community concerned; an effort is
underway to improve the process for filing assistance requests. Interview with
Gen. Massaad, Director, NDO, 5 May
2003. [18] Unless otherwise noted,
information in this section was provided by the
NDO. [19] See individual country reports
in Landmine Monitor Report 2003. In some cases, funding is for country’s
fiscal year, not the calendar year. Landmine Monitor did currency exchanges and
rounded off numbers. [20] US Department
of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September
2002. [21] Telephone interview by
Landmine Monitor/Europe with Dimitrios Skoutas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Greece, 25 July 2003; email from Dimitrios Skoutas, 28 July
2003. [22] Ibid; Czech Republic response
to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe questionnaire, 13
December 2002, p. 3. [23] Unless
otherwise noted, the National Demining Office provided the information in this
section. Much of the information is from a presentation by NDO given on 17
March 2003, and from Engineering Regiment data provided to Landmine Monitor by
NDO on 8 July 2003. [24] Email to
Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Kerei Ruru, Operations Officer, UNIFIL, 21 July
2003. This team consists of eight MDD Supervisors, two MDD Team Leaders, 18 MDD
Handlers and two MDD Handler
Trainers. [25] Coordination meeting at
MACC SL, Tyre, 4 January 2003. [26]
Interview with Gen. Massaad, NDO, 5 May 2003. Tasked by MACC SL, LMRC is
executing the community liaison work for MAG under the terms of this
survey. [27] Ibid; email from Kerei
Ruru, UNIFIL, 21 July 2003. [28]
Ibid. [29] Email from Kerei Ruru,
UNIFIL, 21 July 2003; Presentation by Lt. Col. Kassem Jammoul, NDO, 6 May
2003. [30] Email from Kerei Ruru,
UNIFIL, 21 July 2003. [31] Nicholas
Blandford, “Interview with ... Major General Lalit Tewari,” Daily
Star, 6 June 2002. In June and July 2002, Ukraine created a new demining unit,
trained at the demining center at Kamenets Podolsky. It deployed soon after as
the Mine Action Task Force (MATF) in UNIFIL. From July 2002–January 2003
the unit surveyed over 15,600 square meters of territory near Ad Duhayrah,
Yarin, and Blida in south Lebanon, clearing 30 mines and UXO. MATF Report,
January 2003. [32] The information in
this section was gathered for Landmine Monitor by the LMRC, NDO and the National
Mine Risk Education Committee. [33] The
committee includes the Landmines Resource Center, ICRC, Lebanese Red Cross,
UNICEF, World Rehabilitation Fund, Islamic Health Council, Islamic Al Rissala
Scouts Association, Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped, Lebanese
Welfare Association for the Injured and Disabled of War, Welfare Association for
the Handicap in Nabatieh, Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation and
Care in Bekaa, National Center for Development and Rehabilitation in Mount
Lebanon, NPA, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of
Education. [34] Letter from Suzanne
Halal Al Amine, World Rehabilitation Fund, 30 April
2003. [35] All information in this
section is taken from the Landmine Resource Center
database. [36] Rodeina Kenaan,
“British sapper loses leg in southern Lebanon landmine explosion,”
Associated Press, 20 July 2002. [37]
Email from Kerei Ruru, UNIFIL, 21 July
2003. [38] Committee members include:
WHO, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Council of the
South, LMRC, ICRC, the Lebanese Red Cross, UNICEF, WRF, the Islamic Health
Council, the Islamic Al Rissala Scouts Association, the Lebanese Welfare
Association for the Disabled, the Welfare Association for the Disabled in
Nabatieh, the Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation & Care in
Bekaa, the Welfare Association for the Care of the Injured and Disabled of War
in Lebanon and NPA. [39] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 710; see also Landmine Survivors Network (LSN),
“Victim Assistance Programs in Yemen and Lebanon – 2002: A guide to
organizations working with landmine survivors,” p.
13. [40] LSN, “Victim Assistance
Programs in Yemen and Lebanon,” pp.
13-14. [41] Email to Landmine Monitor
(NPA) from Desk Officer, Norwegian People's Aid, 19 June
2003. [42] Letter from Suzanne Halal Al
Amine, WRF, 30 April 2003; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp.
710-711. [43] LSN, “Victim
Assistance Programs in Yemen and Lebanon,” p.
15. [44] UNICEF, NDO, National Committee
Meeting, 28 March 2003. [45] For
details, see:
www.mineaction.org/countries/_projects.cfm?pro_ID=302&country_id=507. [46]
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 711.
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