Key developments since May 2002:
Tajikistan began participating in Mine Ban Treaty-related meetings in September
2002. It submitted an initial transparency measures report on 3 February 2003,
which declared a stockpile of 3,339 antipersonnel mines under the control of its
forces and 18,200 mines under the control of Russian forces. Tajikistan began
destroying its stockpiled mines in August 2002. Russian and Uzbek forces laid
mines inside Tajikistan as late as 2001. Tajikistan has provided detailed
information on areas that contain mines and areas suspected of containing mines.
In May 2003, the first internationally-funded mine action program began. As of
June 2003, an Executive Mine Action Cell was being formed.
Mine Ban Policy
Tajikistan acceded to
the Mine Ban Treaty on 12 October 1999 and the treaty entered into force for the
country on 1 April 2000. Officials characterized earlier confusion about
whether Tajikistan had suspended its participation in the treaty as a
“procedural misunderstanding” and stressed that Tajikistan is now
taking all necessary steps to comply with the Mine Ban
Treaty.[1]
For national implementation measures, Tajikistan cited Articles 195, 196,
198, and 199 of its 1998 Criminal Code that impose penalties for activities
related to trafficking in weapons and explosive material, including illegal
acquisition, manufacture, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of
explosive materials or devices. Penalties for violations range from three to
twenty years of imprisonment.[2]
Tajikistan’s Commission on the Implementation of International
Humanitarian Law established a Working Group on 18 April 2002 to collect
information on the country’s landmine problem, educate the public and
cooperate with executive bodies on mine
awareness.[3]
For the first time, Tajikistan participated in Mine Ban Treaty-related
meetings. Tajikistan attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September
2002 and actively participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings
in February and May 2003. At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, the Tajik
delegation stated, “Our government is aware of the seriousness of
prohibiting the use of antipersonnel mines, and attaches great importance to
this problem.”[4]
Tajikistan submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 3 February
2003. It had been due on 28 September 2000. The 42-page report covers calendar
year 2002 and includes voluntary form J discussing treatment and rehabilitation
of mine victims.
On 22 November 2002, Tajikistan was the only State Party to abstain from
voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, promoting universalization and
effective implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. Landmine Monitor was told that
the vote had been an
error.[5]
Tajikistan is member of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its
Amended Protocol II on landmines, but it did not participate in the Fourth
Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II.
Production, Transfer, Use
Tajikistan reports that it has never produced or
exported antipersonnel mines.[6]
The country’s 1996 Law on Armaments expressly regulates all issues related
to the registration, shipment, transport, acquisition, transfer, and storage of
armaments and munitions on the territory of the
Tajikistan.[7] However, the
civil war brought an influx of armaments and munitions, which were dispersed
among and used by the general population. Periodic media reports detail the
seizure or discovery of hidden depots of firearms, explosives, and munitions by
Tajik forces. In December 2002, Russian border guards in Tajikistan on the
Afghan border found and destroyed seven hidden weapons dumps with more than 420
various types of mines.[8]
Mine use in Tajikistan occurred as recently as the year 2001, when Russian
and Uzbek forces placed mines at various locations inside Tajikistan at border
locations. The last time Tajik authorities were formally informed by Russian
authorities of mine use by Russian forces in Tajikistan was in late
2001.[9] Officials of Tajikistan
state that their Armed Forces would refuse orders by Russia to lay mines and
said that Tajik forces are under separate command and control structures
[10]
Stockpiles and Foreign Stockpiles
Tajikistan inherited its stockpile of
antipersonnel mines from the Soviet Union. It has reported a stockpile of 3,339
antipersonnel mines of the following types: POMZ-2M (1,691), PMN (683), OZM-72
(486), MON-100 (474), and MON-200 (five). Tajikistan also provided details on
the lot numbers, production locations, and manufacturing dates of the
mines.[11]
On 4 August 2002, Tajikistan’s Engineering Corps destroyed 55
stockpiled antipersonnel mines (ten PMN, forty POMZ-2, five OZM-72) and 688
“other explosive devices” by open detonation at an area five
kilometers west of Lyaur in the Leninsky
region.[12] More mines were
slated for transfer and demolition, but progress was halted for lack of
sufficient financial and material resources. Destruction of the remaining
stockpile of 3,029 antipersonnel mines was scheduled to resume in March 2003
depending on funding.[13] In
June 2003, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) reported that it intends to
provide advice and assistance with stockpile destruction in
Tajikistan.[14] The
treaty-mandated deadline for completion of stockpile destruction is 1 April
2004.
Tajikistan intends to retain 255 antipersonnel mines for training purposes,
in the absence of inert drill mines, through 2010, when the shelf-life of the
mines expires.[15]
Tajikistan is the first State Party to report details on antipersonnel mines
stockpiled by a non-State Party on its territory. It reported that
approximately 18,200 antipersonnel mines of various types are held by Russian
Ministry of Defense units deployed in
Tajikistan.[16] These
stockpiles are not under the jurisdiction or control of
Tajikistan.[17]
Intergovernmental talks were underway to clarify and complete data collection
regarding these Russian
mines.[18]
It is likely possible that other stocks of mines remain outside government
control; since 1996 over 20 weapons caches have been discovered, hidden by the
warring factions during the civil wars of the
1990s.[19]
Landmine Problem
An estimated 16,000
mines, demolition charges, and explosive devices remain deployed in Tajikistan,
requiring demining of nearly 2,500 square kilometers of agricultural land and
some 700 kilometers of roads and
paths.[20] These minefields are
scattered throughout Tajikistan and were mainly emplaced during the 1993-1997
civil war, but some minefields were emplaced by neighboring countries in
1999-2001 on Tajik territory near the borders with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to
prevent incursions and smuggling.
Tajikistan is currently engaged in talks with Russia to obtain the technical
records and logs for the minefields emplaced by Russian
Forces.[21] In a statement read
at a 3 April 2003 meeting in Dushanbe, Russian Foreign Ministry officials
promised to cooperate and assist with the clearance of mines in areas of
Tajikistan under their
control.[22]
While Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have settled almost 86 percent of their 1,283
kilometer border, Uzbekistan continues to rely on mines to prevent drug
trafficking and cross-border agitation by the extremist Islamic Revival of
Uzbekistan.[23]
The details provided by Tajikistan on known mined areas include map
references, geographic coordinates, and explanatory notes. Declared mined areas
include:[24]
Three sectors in the Tavildara region containing 18 minefields laid by Tajik
forces between 1993-1997. These minefields contain 389 antipersonnel mines
mostly of the PMN and POMZ-2 types. The records of these minefields are
maintained by the Engineering Forces of the Ministry of Defense of
Tajikistan.
Six minefields in the Rushan region of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous
Oblast emplaced by Russian forces in 1995. The number of mines used is not
known, but includes the following types: PMN-2, PFM-1, OZM-72, MON-50, MON-100,
and ML-7 (a booby-trap mine).
Seven minefields in the Vanch region and eight minefields in the Darvoz
region emplaced by Russian forces in 1995. The number of mines used is not
known, but includes the following types: PMN-2, PFM-1, OZM-72, and MON-200.
In the Sugd Oblast, eleven minefields in the Asht region, ten minefields in
the Kanibadam and Isfara regions, and five minefields in the Shakhristan region
emplaced by Uzbek forces in 1999-2000. The number of mines used is not known,
but includes the following types: PMN, OZM-72, and POMZ-2. According to the
Tajik side, these minefields are neither marked nor protected.
Areas suspected of containing mines in Tajikistan were reported to include
seven minefields in nine areas in the Tavildara region emplaced between 1994 and
1996, containing PMN and POMZ-2 antipersonnel mines. Additionally, there are
nine suspected minefields in “regions subordined (sic) to the central
government” that were emplaced in 2000 by Russian forces using PMN, PMN-2,
POMZ-2, and OZM-72 antipersonnel
mines.[25]
Before 1997, the only marked and fenced minefields were those in the areas
bordering the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. These minefields were
perimeter-marked with warning signs. Minefields located near populated areas
(particularly in the Rushan and the Vanch regions) were surrounded with barbed
wire and monitored. However, the minefields in the Tavildara region were
neither fenced off nor monitored, resulting in frequent human and animal
casualties. Tajikistan states that this problem stemmed largely from a lack of
financial and material resources necessary to produce large quantities of signs
and perimeter markers, and to monitor the
minefields.[26]
Mine Action
Tajikistan’s February 2003 Article 7 report
indicates that the State Mine Clearance Program (SMCP) “has been drafted
and submitted for consideration to the
Government.”[27]
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002, Tajikistan
explained that the SMCP was created to establish a comprehensive and coordinated
plan for demining, with three stages of implementation. Step one, to be
implemented by May 2003, called for the establishment of demining units from the
existing Tajik forces, who would be provided with equipment and training. Step
two, to be implemented by 2004, calls for continued demining operations and
increasing the number of demining units to five. Step three sets 2010 as the
target date for the completion of demining in
Tajikistan.[28]
Implementation of the SMCP was estimated to cost $12.7 million and efforts
were being made to attract foreign donors. This cost estimate did not include
destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines or social reintegration of mine
victims. Provisions for such were to be identified and included in a revised
draft SMCP.[29]
A Tajik official told Landmine Monitor in May 2003 that the UNDP is providing
seed money in 2003 for the establishment of a mine action center-like structure
in Tajikistan.[30] UNDP
reported in June 2003 that the Commission on the Implementation of International
Humanitarian Law was in the process of forming an Executive Mine Action Cell
that will be responsible for: developing mine action policies, identifying
priorities, managing data collection, mapping, recording, clearance, mine risk
education, victim data collection, and mobilizing resources. UNDP
“intends to provide advice and assistance regarding implementation of the
Government’s obligations” under the Mine Ban
Treaty.[31]
Between 1997 and 2002, Tajik military engineers cleared 1.1 square kilometers
of land and 56 kilometers of roads. Three engineers were injured in mine
accidents during these operations. The Tajik Defense Ministry estimates that
10,000 mines were destroyed between 1994 and January
2003.[32] Tajik forces
destroyed 179 mines from 15 May 2001 to 26 June 2001 on roads in Pshikharv,
another 165 mines in the Vanch region, and another 144 mines on the road to
Shpad.[33] Russian military
engineers stationed in Tajikistan from the 201st Motor Rifle Division
assisted Tajik forces in the clearance of some
roads.[34] Between 28 May 1998
and 19 June 1998, Tajik and Russian forces destroyed 2,088 mines of various
types on the Kulyab-Kalaykhumb road.
On 30 May 2003, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) announced the commencement
of the first internationally funded mine action project in Tajikistan. The
project will equip, train, and sustain two twelve-person survey teams to locate
and mark minefields. The project will also provide insurance costs for the
local personnel and fund one international technical advisor. Funding for this
project totals €500,000 and was provided by the OSCE, Canada
(€100,000), the Canton of Geneva (€180,000), the Karl Popper
Foundation and private Swiss
donors.[35]
In 2003, Canada donated 25 Minelab detectors and sets of personal protective
equipment for deminers, and the United Kingdom provided US$250,000 for mine
action capacity building and field operations. In April 2003, the Geneva
International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) did an assessment mission
to evaluate the need for an Information Management System for Mine Action
(IMSMA).[36]
Mine Risk Education
The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, with the
support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), continued its
mine risk education (MRE) work with the affected communities, in coordination
with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense. These activities
include MRE training of community volunteers and teachers, as well as involving
children through the art competitions and theater. MRE posters and pamphlets
have been produced in Russian, Tajik and Uzbek
languages.[37] In June 2003,
the ICRC reported that 10,000 people had received MRE presentations, of which 60
percent were children.[38]
Landmine Casualties
Uzbek-laid antipersonnel mines continued to kill
and injure civilians and livestock in Tajikistan in 2002. Tajik authorities
reported that between 2000 and 2002, about 52 people and many animals had fallen
victim to landmines.[39] In
2002, at least six people were killed and three injured in reported landmine
incidents.[40] The majority of
landmine casualties are believed to be civilians who were killed or injured
while tending livestock, farming, hunting, collecting firewood, or trying to
cross the border to trade.[41]
In 2001, at least fifteen people were killed and another fourteen injured in
reported landmine incidents.[42]
Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and Practice
Tajikistan has historically been one of the
poorest republics in Central Asia. The health care system has few resources,
with run-down facilities, equipment in poor condition, and medicine and
materials in short supply. Health care is free-of-charge, but patients are
sometimes asked to pay for drugs and medicine, as there is a chronic shortage of
such products.[43] There are no
dedicated programs, or capacity, to assist mine survivors in
Tajikistan.[44]
The Teaching Hospital of the Research Institute for Disability Assessment and
Rehabilitation provides physical rehabilitation and medical care. In 2002, the
budget for these activities was 42,000 Somoni (approximately
$14,000).[45] The ICRC
discontinued supplying materials for surgical facilities in early 2002, due to a
reduction in demand.[46]
The Dushanbe Orthopedic Center, run jointly by the ICRC and the Ministry of
Labor and Social Protection (MLSP), under the management of the Canadian Red
Cross, is the only center producing prostheses in Tajikistan. In 2002, the
center provided physical rehabilitation services, produced 307 prostheses (29
were for mine survivors), repaired 46 prostheses, and distributed 395 crutches
and 28 wheelchairs. On-the-job training was provided to prosthetic/orthotic
technicians and physiotherapists. There are also orthopedic satellite centers in
Khojent (in the north), Kuliab (in the center), and Khorog (in the south) run by
the MLSP.[47] In 2002,
Tajikistan’s budget allocated 176,600 Somoni (approximately $54,000) for
the physical rehabilitation of mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities.[48]
In November 2002, a Tripartite Cooperation Agreement was signed between the
MLSP, the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, and the ICRC. The Agreement is
intended to raise awareness of the Orthopedic Center’s activities and to
foster greater financial
independence.[49]
Occupational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities is carried out in a
special residential school in Dushanbe. In addition, the Center for Training
and Reintegration of Former Military Personnel was established in 2002 to
promote economic
reintegration.[50]
Tajikistan enacted the Law of Social Protection Reform in 1998, entitling
mine survivors and other persons with disabilities to medical care and physical
rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration. The 1993 Law on Pension
Support governs the provision of pensions for persons with disabilities. The
1991 Law on Social Protection of Disabled Persons also protects the rights of
persons with disabilities. The 1994 Law on Military Pensions protects the
rights of former military personnel who are mine
survivors.[51]
[1] Statement by Colonel Abdukahor
Sattorov, Head of Engineering Troops Directorate, Ministry of Defense, made at a
regional conference on Landmines and the Explosive Remnants of War hosted by the
ICRC, Moscow, 4 November 2002 (notes by Landmine
Monitor/HRW). [2] Article 7 Report, Form
A, 3 February 2003. [3] Ibid. It is
referred to as the Working Group on Collecting Mine Hazard
Information. [4] Statement by
Tajikistan, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September
2002. [5] Meeting with Tajik delegation
to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 5 February
2003. [6] Article 7 Report, Forms E and
H, 3 February 2003. [7] Article 7
Report, Form A, 3 February 2003. [8]
“RIA Novosti” Information Agency, 28 December
2002. [9] Interview with Johnmahmad
Rajabov, Deputy Head of the Board of the Constitutional Guarantees of Citizens
Rights, Executive Board of the President, Geneva, 5 February
2003. [10] Interview with Johnmahmad
Rajabov, Executive Board of the President, Geneva, 13 May
2003. [11] MON-100 produced in 1969 at
USSR Factory 2516; POMZ-2M produced in 1971 at USSR Factory M; PMN were produced
in 1976 at USSR Factory 15; OZM-72 produced in 1985 at USSR Factory 912.
Article 7 Report, Form B, 3 February 2003.
[12] Article 7 Report, Form G, 3
February 2003. [13] Article 7 Report,
Form D, 3 February 2003. [14] Mine
Action Support Group, “UNDP Mine Action Update: Tajikistan” in
“Newsletter, June
2003.” [15] The number and types
of mines retained are POMZ-2M (100), PMN (50), OZM-72 (50), MON-100 (50),
MON-200 (5). Article 7 Report, Form C, 3 February
2003. [16] Article 7 Report, Form B, 3
February 2003. [17] Interview with
Johnmahmad Rajabov, Executive Board of the President, 5 February
2003. [18] Article 7 Report, Form B, 3
February 2003. [19] “Arms Cache
Found on Tajik-Uzbek Border,” Itar-Tass (Dushanbe), 4 May
2003. [20] Article 7 Report,
“General Situation,” 3 February
2003. [21] Article 7 Report, Form C, 3
February 2003. [22] Interview with
Johnmahmad Rajabov, Executive Board of the President, 13 May
2003. [23] “Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Agree to Define Borders,” Agence France Presse (Dushanbe), 6 October 2002;
“Fifty People Killed by Landmines in Tajikistan in Past Three
Years,” Interfax (Dushanbe), 18 May
2003. [24] Article 7 Report, Form C, 3
February 2003. [25]
Ibid. [26] Article 7 Report, Form I, 3
February 2003. [27] Article 7 Report,
Form A, 3 February 2003. [28] In 2002,
Tajikistan was unable to allocate from the state budget the $2.5-3 million
required in start-up costs. Statement of the Tajik Delegation at the Fourth
Meeting of States Parties, 16-20 September 2002.
[29] Article 7 Report, “General
Situation” and Form A, 3 February 2003. It has been reported that the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has offered to make
€200,000 available to Tajikistan for mine removal, and that Japan, Norway
and the United States are prepared to assist. “Fifty People Killed by
Landmines in Tajikistan in Past Three Years,” Interfax (Dushanbe), 18 May
2003. [30] Interview with Johnmahmad
Rajabov, Executive Board of the President, 13 May
2003. [31] MASG, “UNDP
Update” in “Newsletter, June
2003.” [32] “Fifty People
Killed by Landmines in Tajikistan in Past Three Years,” Interfax
(Dushanbe), 18 May 2003. [33] Article 7
Report, 3 Form G, February 2003. [34]
Statement by Colonel Abdukahor Sattorov, Ministry of Defense, 4 November
2002. [35] “Mine Clearance Under
Way,” IRIN (Islamabad), 30 May 2003; “OSCE Supports First
International Mine Clearance Project in Tajikistan,” Asia Plus (Dushanbe),
30 May 2003. [36] Mine Action Support
Group, “UNDP Mine Action Update: Tajikistan” in “Newsletter,
June 2003.” [37] Article 7 Report,
Form I, 3 February 2003. [38] ICRC,
“Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003, p.
195. [39] Article 7 Report,
“General Situation,” 3 February
2003. [40] Landmine Monitor analysis of
six media reports between January and December
2002. [41] “Tajikistan: Mine
awareness still needed,” IRIN, 15 July
2002. [42] Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p. 478. [43] Ibid, pp.
478-479. [44] Interview with Johnmahmad
Rajabov, Executive Board of the President, 5 February
2003. [45] Article 7 Report, Form J, 3
February 2003. The Somoni replaced the Tajikistan ruble on 1 January 2001, but
is not a traded currency and is not listed with most major currency exchange
bureaus. It was listed at 3.081 to the US dollar as of 29 May
2003. [46] ICRC, “Annual Report
2002,” p. 196. [47] ICRC Mission,
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, “Orthopaedic Project, Annual Report 2002" Submitted
by Markus Saufferer, Canadian Red Cross Orthopaedic Project Mamager, February
2003. The copy was provided to Landmine Monitor (MAC) by Leah Feuer, Project
Officer, Europe and Central Asia, Canadian Red Cross, 24 March
2003. [48] Article 7 Report, Form J, 3
February 2003. [49] ICRC Tajikistan,
“Orthopaedic Project, Annual Report 2002;” Article 7 Report, Form J,
3 February 2003. [50] Article 7 Report,
Form J, 3 February 2003. [51] Details on
legislation protecting the rights of the disabled including mine survivors
provided in Tajikistan’s Article 7 Report, Form J, 3 February 2003.
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