LM Report 2004

Armenia

Key developments since May 2003: In July 2004, Armenia signed an agreement with the UN Development Programme for a four-year mine action program, including a Landmine Impact Survey funded by the European Commission. The first demining operations got underway in May 2003. Between May and November 2003, deminers cleared 100,000 square meters in five communities in Syunik province. An Armenian NGO conducted mine risk education activities for children living in 17 villages near the border areas.

Key developments since 1999: The National Center for Humanitarian Mine Action was officially opened in March 2002. The US trained and equipped 178 Armenian deminers and other personnel in 2001 and 2002. The first survey activities began in October 2002 in the Tavush region, and the first demining operations got underway in May 2003 in Syunik province. Armenia has voted in favor of every annual UN General Assembly resolution calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. An international seminar on banning antipersonnel landmines was held in Yerevan in October 2002.

Mine Ban Policy

Armenia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It continues to state its long-held view that it will not join until neighboring countries do and until the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is resolved. In December 2003, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative said, “Armenia supports wholeheartedly all landmine ban processes unfolding in the world,” but the government “does not find it possible to accede to the Treaty in the foreseeable future, given the country’s security issues and the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has yet to be resolved. Armenia stipulates her accession to the Treaty on simultaneous signing of the Treaty by all countries of the region. Nevertheless, Armenia is ready to discuss individual aspects of the issue and to act within the framework of the international law.”^[1]

At the opening of an international seminar on banning antipersonnel landmines held in Yerevan in October 2002, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Tatul Markarian, stated, “Notwithstanding Armenia's security considerations and the defensive value of the anti-personnel landmines, we nevertheless believe that the human and social costs of landmines far outweigh their military significance. Armenia's full participation in the Convention is contingent upon a similar level of political commitment by other parties in the region to adhere to the Treaty and comply with its regime.”^[2]

Armenia has voted in favor of every annual UN General Assembly resolution supporting a ban on antipersonnel mines since 1996, including UNGA Resolution 58/53 in December 2003, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Armenia participated in some of the meetings of the Ottawa Process in 1997 that led to the Mine Ban Treaty. It has since attended one of the Mine Ban Treaty’s annual Meetings of States Parties (in 2002) and a few of the meetings of the treaty’s intersessional Standing Committees (May 2002 and February 2004). The government has said its participation is limited by financial constraints. Regionally, Armenian embassy representatives participated in a conference held on 5 November 2003 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.^[3]

Armenia is not a member of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) or its Amended Protocol II on landmines, but it reports that it is considering acceding to Amended Protocol II.^[4]

The Armenian National Committee of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, established January 1999, continued its activities in support of the antipersonnel mine ban and mine action, as well as providing research for the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor. On 18 December 2003, the committee hosted a roundtable and press conference that several government officials attended.^[5] In November 2001, the committee hosted the annual, regional Landmine Monitor meeting.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Use

Officials state that Armenia has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.^[6] It inherited a stockpile from the Soviet Union, but its size and composition is not known.

Armenia acknowledges that numerous parties used mines in border and adjacent territories without recording or marking the mined areas during the 1988-1994 conflict with Azerbaijan.^[7] Armenia used Soviet landmines, primarily PMN, MON, PMD, and OZM-type mines. The mines along the border are still viewed as essential to Armenia’s defense, and officials state that they will not be removed until peace is established with Azerbaijan.^[8] Known minefields along the international border are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense, which monitors and maintains them and provides fencing and warning signs.^[9] In February 2004, the Commander of the Engineering Corps told Landmine Monitor that no new antipersonnel mines have been emplaced since 1994 and that the existing minefields do not represent any danger to the civilian population.^[10] All of the minefields are guarded and have registration numbers and documentation.

Landmine Problem

The 900-kilometer line dividing the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and large adjoining areas are affected by antipersonnel mines. After the 1994 cease-fire, Army engineers surveyed approximately 1,000 square kilometers of border territories where warfare was waged to record areas affected by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The military units also used all available documentation and information provided by local residents and other participants to the conflict.^[11] Most of the minefields are located along the border with Azerbaijan in the five provinces of Ararat, Gegharkunik, Syunik, Tavush, and Vayots Dzor.

• The province of Gegharkunik has a 140-kilometer-long common border with Azerbaijan, with a 500-meter-wide demilitarized zone that civilians have been prohibited from entering. Several have already been killed by landmines in the area.^[12] In the provincial district of Chambarak, community leaders told Landmine Monitor they estimate that 64.6 hectares of private farmland is mined, while 900 hectares of land in Agberg community are also suspected of being mined.^[13]
• In Syunik province, an estimated 1,699 hectares of land in the ten frontier rural communities are believed to be mined, and residents contend the border sub-districts of Meghri and Sissian are also mined.^[14]
• In Tavush province, 9,409 hectares of privatized land are believed to be mined and the inhabitants of 42 villages bordering Azerbaijan are fearful of farming due to their proximity to the mined areas.^[15]
• In Vayots Dzor province 6,790 hectares of reserved government land and 562 hectares of private land are believed to be mined.^[16]
• A total of 300 hectares of privatized plough-lands are mined in Ararat province.^[17]

In 2000, the government estimated that there were 50,000 to 80,000 emplaced landmines in the country.^[18] American specialists in Armenia estimated in November 2003 that approximately 80,000 mines covering 11,108 hectares (111,080,000 square meters) of land remained to be cleared.^[19]

On 6 November 2001, the Armenian National Assembly discussed the issue of the land tax that thousands are required to pay even though their land is mined.^[20] In December 2001, an inter-ministerial commission was established to study mined agricultural areas and in August and September 2002, similar regional commissions were established in the border areas. The commissions identified areas that need to be cleared of landmines for further use by civilian populations and identified mined land parcels that the government subsequently exempted from land tax.^[21]

Mine Action Coordination and Funding

The Armenian Inter-Ministerial Commission on Mine Clearance determines demining priorities, taking into consideration the viewpoints of the regional administrations and the Ministry of Defense.^[22] On 6 March 2002, the National Center for Humanitarian Mine Action was officially opened in Echmiadzin, 25 kilometers from the capital of Yerevan. In 2001 and 2002, 178 deminers, medics, dog handlers and staff personnel were trained and equipped. The center is equipped with modern detection devices and has 18 mine detecting dogs. It also now has the capacity to train specialists from neighboring countries in mine clearance. In December 2003, the center purchased an ML-1 vehicle from Slovenia for $140,000, which it plans to use in clearance activities in Syunik.^[23]

The United States has been the major donor to mine action activities in Armenia. In July 2003, the US State Department reported that it had provided a total of $8.59 million for demining in Armenia.^[24] This included $250,000 in its fiscal year 2003; $4.52 million in FY 2002; and $850,000 in FY 2001. In 2003, the US temporarily suspended its support to the Armenian demining program and then decreased the funding allocation by two-thirds. According to Armenian officials, the reason was that the former head of the State Department’s implementing agency, commercial contractor RONCO, had questioned the seriousness of the mine problem in Armenia. While the State Department contract with RONCO was scheduled to expire in October 2004, discussions were underway to extend the contract until 2005 and it is expected that the RONCO dog trainers will remain at the Center until June 2005.^[25]

On 29 July 2004, the Minister of Defense, Serge Sargsyan, and the UN Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative in Armenia, Lise Grande, signed an implementation agreement for a four-year mine action program consisting of four components: 1) a Landmine Impact Survey, 2) a pilot technical survey in Syunik province, 3) mine risk education in affected areas and 4) a victim assistance program. According to UNDP, a separate UNDP office will be established within the national demining center at Echmiadzin. In August 2003, the European Union pledged up to €1.4 million for the program.^[26]

On 13 November 2003, Armenian authorities allocated 15 million Armenian Dram (AMD), about US$27,000, for mine clearance in Tavush and Syunik provinces, less than the 50 million AMD originally budgeted.^[27]

Mine Clearance

In April 2004, the director of the Armenian Humanitarian Demining Program said that more international funding was required before large-scale mine clearance could be carried out.^[28] Demining operations got underway in 2003, but have been limited to date.

In 2004, the Armenian National Center for Humanitarian Demining surveyed and cleared approximately 12,000 square meters of affected land near the community of Yeghvard in Syunik province, where two locals were killed in a mine incident in August 2003.

Between May and November 2003, ANMAC deminers cleared 100,000 square meters in five different communities in Syunik province, near David Bek.^[29] In 2003, they also conducted survey and clearance activities in Tavush province.^[30]

In October 2002, 58 deminers surveyed 40 hectares near Idjevan in Tavush province, primarily around the former village of Soghlu that was populated mainly by Azeris prior to the conflict. They found no mines, but a large number of UXO were destroyed.

Mine Risk Education

In 2003, the Armenian Center of the International Association of Puppeteers conducted mine risk education activities for children in 17 villages near the border areas of Armenia and Artsakh through the use of theater shows.^[31] A representative of the group stated that, “We thought that a people having gone through war must be aware of the threat of mines, but it turned out they were not.”^[32] The programs were supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Landmine Casualties

In August 2003, two civilians were killed and two others injured when their car hit a landmine in the David Bek locality in Syunik province. There are no official statistics available on the number of landmine casualties in Armenia, and the Ministry of Defense does not provide information on landmine casualties among military personnel. The director of the Armenian Humanitarian Demining Program indicated that servicemen from the Engineering Corps had been killed or injured by landmines in 2003, but no details were provided.^[33] There are reportedly two to three mine incidents in the Armenian Army every three months, and after each incident the Army conducts an investigation and takes measures to prevent future incidents.^[34]

In March 2004, three Armenians were killed and six others injured when their jeep hit a landmine in Nagorno-Karabakh.^[35]

The total number of landmine casualties in Armenia is not known. However, the Armenian National Committee of the ICBL is compiling and verifying a database on landmine survivors; 60 mine survivors have been identified in incidents occurring since 1999. As of May 2004, the database contained information on 370 survivors, including both soldiers and civilians injured in landmine incidents in 11 provinces of Armenia since 1990; at least ten survivors are children and six are women. The data suggests that the number of casualties peaked in 1994, during the conflict with Azerbaijan. The overwhelming majority of individuals injured by landmines in the past few years are men drafted into military service.^[36]

Survivor Assistance

Armenia has a wide network of healthcare facilities,^[37] many of which the government is in the process of privatizing or merging into larger complexes in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In general, Armenia has an adequate material-technical base and qualified personnel for specialized medical assistance, including for producing prosthetics, and for rehabilitating and reintegrating landmine survivors. Military mine casualties have greater access to medical and rehabilitative facilities than civilian casualties, as the former are sent to the Armenian Defense Ministry Central Clinical Military Hospital in Yerevan,^[38] whereas civilians receive aid in regional hospitals that often have poorer quality medical care.

In 2003, the government succeeded in paying off its debts to the healthcare and social security systems, as well as ensuring timely funding to allow for uninterrupted operation of services. In January 2002, the Yerevan Prosthetic-Orthopedic Enterprise (POE) stopped providing assistance because of a lack of state funding, which was a repeat of the situation reported in the previous year when the POE closed between October 2000 and February 2001.^[39]

Medical services are provided free to persons with disabilities within the framework of existing laws, but in reality access to quality care for civilians is problematic. The desperate socioeconomic situation of the country has resulted in the growing inaccessibility of medical services for a majority of the population, including persons with disabilities.

There are also several NGOs in Armenia that provide assistance to persons with disabilities, although none focus exclusively on landmine survivors.^[40] According to the Armenian National Committee of the ICBL, one of the main problems that landmine survivors are facing is the lack of psychosocial support and reintegration programs.

Disability Policy and Practice

Armenia’s “Law on Social Protection of the Disabled in Armenia” protects the rights of civilians with disabilities, including landmine survivors. The rights of military landmine survivors and their family members are covered by “On social security system for military personnel and their family members.”^[41] At the national level the coordination of disability issues is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Security, and the social security division of the Ministry of Defense.

On 2 March 2004, Armenia amended the law protecting disabled military serviceman so that each serviceman now receives a monthly provision of 3,000 AMD (about US$5).^[42] According to the Armenian National Committee of the ICBL, this amount is still not enough to provide a minimum standard of living. Civilians receive smaller pensions than military servicemen.

[1] Varuzhan Nersissian, Head, Department of Control over Conventional Armaments, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, at the press conference held in the UN House in Armenia, 18 December 2003. Armenia made a similar statement at the First Committee General Debate in October 2003, adding that Armenia has begun taking steps to eliminate landmines by establishing a Demining Center with the support of the US. Statement by Armen Martirosyan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations, UN General Assembly First Committee General Debate, New York, 15 October 2003.
[2] Notes taken by Landmine Monitor (HRW) of intervention by Tatul Markarian, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, to “Banning Antipersonnel Landmines: Cooperation and Capacity-Building” seminar, Yerevan, 1 October 2002.
[3] “International conference on landmines starts in Kyrgyzstan on 5 November,” Itar-Tass (Kyrgyzstan), 5 November 2003; “Issues of use of antipersonnel mines to be discussed in Bishkek,” Asia-Plus (Tajikistan), 5 November 2003.
[4] Armenia Response to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Questionnaire on Anti-Personnel Landmines, FSC.DEL/21/03, 3 February 2003, p. 1.
[5] The program was attended by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense Ministry, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia, the Armenian Government’s Department for Migration & Refugees, the Armenian National Center for Humanitarian De-mining, and also by the UN DPI Armenia Representative, representatives of the UNDP and UNICEF Armenia Offices, and reporters from leading mass media outlets and news agencies.
[6] Interview with Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, 25 February 2004; Armenia Response to OSCE Questionnaire, 3 February 2003, p. 2.
[7] Intervention by Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, 1 October 2002.
[8] Interview with Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, 25 February 2004.
[9] Ibid, Yerevan, 27 January 2003.
[10] Intervention by Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, 25 February 2004.
[11] Interview with Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, Yerevan, 27 January 2003.
[12] Interview with Hayk Lazarian, Mayor of the town of Chambarak, 13 May 2004.
[13] One hectare = 10,000 square meters.
[14] The ten communities are: David-Bek, Kaghnut, Ouzhanis, Yeghvard, Agarak, Nerkin Gand, Shikahogh, Srashen, Chakaten and Nerkin Khendzoresk. Department of Agriculture & Environment, Syunik Regional Governor’s Office.
[15] Data provided by the Tavush Regional Governor’s Office.
[16] Data provided by the Vayots Dzor Regional Governor’s Office.
[17] Data provided by the Ararat Regional Governor’s Office.
[18] Armenia Response to OSCE Questionnaire, FSC.DEL/92/00, 29 March 2000.
[19] “US experts say approximately 80,000 mines remain in Armenia,” Noyan Tapan (Armenia), 9 November 2003; “80,000 mines still left uncleared in Armenia,” ARMINFO News (Armenia), 8 November 2003. These figures contrast with a statement made in October 2002 by the Ministry of Defense indicating that approximately 6,000-8,000 antipersonnel mines were emplaced in approximately 840 million square meters of land during the conflict. Data provided by the Ministry of Defense at the “Banning Antipersonnel Landmines” seminar in Yerevan, 1 October 2002.
[20] “Questions & Answers in the National Assembly,” Armenian Public TV Program, 6 November 2001.
[21] Mined land was privatized and given to peasants; for a number of years local residents paid tax for the lands that were not used. For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 609.
[22] Interview with Rey Rowlands, Director, Armenian Humanitarian Demining Program implemented by RONCO Consulting Corporation, Echmiadzin, 28 April 2004.
[23] Intervention by Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, 25 February 2004; US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002, p. 34.
[24] US State Department, “Fact Sheet: U.S. Humanitarian Demining Programs in the Caucasus,” 2 July 2003.
[25] Interview with Rey Rowlands, Armenian Humanitarian Demining Program, 28 April 2004.
[26] European Commission, EuropeAid Co-operation Office, “Annual Work Programme 2003 for Grants,” Brussels, 25 August 2003.
[27] Data provided by the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.
[28] Interview with Rey Rowlands, Armenian Humanitarian Demining Program, 28 April 2004.
[29] Lieutenant Col. Arthur Baghdassarian, Head of the Armenian National Center for Humanitarian De-mining, and Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, press conference held in the UN House in Armenia, 18 December 2003.
[30] “US experts say approximately 80,000 mines remain in Armenia,” Noyan Tapan (Armenia), 9 November 2003.
[31] Ibid.
[32] “80,000 mines still left uncleared in Armenia,” ARMINFO News (Armenia), 8 November 2003.
[33] Interview with Rey Rowlands, Armenian Humanitarian Demining Program, 28 April 2004.
[34] Interview with Col. Vostanik Adoyan, Head of the Engineering Corps, 25 February 2004.
[35] “Three Armenians Killed In Mine Explosion,” Baku Today, 22 March 2004.
[36] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 552; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 611; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 853.
[37] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 611-612.
[38] Interview with surgeons at the Chambarak district hospital, Chambarak, 13 May 2004.
[39] Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 612.
[40] These organizations include: Union of the Disabled Persons Pyunik, Armenian Nationwide Association of the Disabled Persons, Charity Foundation Revival for Persons with Spinal Disability, Union for the Protection of the Disabled Persons, Haghtanak Foundation for Young Disabled, Astghik Union of Disabled Children, Bridge of Hope NGO, and the Union of War Veterans.
[41] For full details see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 798.
[42] The decree is entitled “On approving the procedure for granting and disbursing financial aid to disabled military servicemen and to family members of those military servicemen who were killed or who died.” It also provides for families of deceased servicemen to receive 5,000 AMD (less than US$10), unless the family has more than five members, in which case it receives an additional 1,000 AMD per person.