Key developments since May 2003: A national Landmine Impact Survey
was completed in June 2003 and published in December 2003. It found that 18 of
the 65 districts in Azerbaijan are contaminated by landmines and UXO. In 2003,
the two national demining NGOs and ANAMA continued clearance operations, with
the NGOs reporting clearance of some 1.3 million square meters of land.
According to ANAMA, 2,367 people received mine risk education training in 2003.
In May 2004, the Azerbaijan Landmine Victims Association was established to
provide social support to landmine survivors.
Key developments since 1999: In 2000, the civilian Azerbaijan
National Agency for Mine Action developed a National Mine Action Plan, initiated
a National Mine Database, purchased equipment and trained deminers. Demining
operations started in July 2000. A limited Level One Survey was completed in
the Fizuli region in 2000. Two national demining NGOs were established in 2000.
With UNDP assistance, an Azeri National Strategic Plan for mine action was
adopted in October 2001. A national Landmine Impact Survey was initiated in
September 2002 and completed in June 2003. At least 153,000 people attended
mine risk education sessions held between 1999 and 2002. The LIS identified a
total of 1,215 mine/UXO casualties. From 1999 to July 2004, ANAMA recorded 172
new mine/UXO casualties.
Mine Ban Policy
Azerbaijan has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In January 2004, a
Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told national ban campaigners that the
issue of joining the Mine Ban Treaty is not on the government’s
agenda.[1] The long-held reason
given by the government for not joining is the need to resolve the ongoing
territorial conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia.[2] In May 2003, the
Director of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), Nazim
Ismayilov, said the government is also reluctant to join the treaty until border
countries such as Iran and Russia have
joined.[3]
Azerbaijan participated only marginally in the Ottawa Process that led to the
Mine Ban Treaty. In 1996, it voted in support of the first pro-mine ban UN
General Assembly resolution, urging states to pursue vigorously an international
agreement banning antipersonnel landmines. But since then, it has been one of
the small number of countries to abstain from voting on every annual UNGA
resolution calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. The 2002 and
2003 abstentions came despite a commitment made in November 2002 to ban
campaigners by Araz Azimov, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, that the
government would support future pro-ban UNGA
resolutions.[4]
Azerbaijan has participated as an observer in two of the five annual Meetings
of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty (in 2000 and in 2002), as well as a few
of the treaty’s intersessional Standing Committee meetings (in May 2002
and February 2004). Regionally, Azerbaijan has attended landmines meetings held
in Kyrgyzstan (November 2003) (the officials did not participate) and Georgia
(December 1999).[5] Government
representatives participated in a seminar on the Mine Ban Treaty held in Baku on
27 February 2004.[6] The mine
action agency ANAMA has convened several briefing for donors that government
officials have also attended, most recently on 10 March
2004.[7]
The Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines (AzCBL) undertook a variety of
activities in 2003 and 2004 in support of the landmine ban. It organized
several media briefings and met with government officials, members of the
Parliament, NGOs, and others; issued monthly bulletins; published appeals for
the 2003 presidential candidates to support the Mine Ban Treaty; and encouraged
joint accession to the Mine Ban Treaty by Azerbaijan and Armenia as a confidence
building measure, following the positive example of Greece and Turkey. AzCBL
organized a landmines seminar on 1 June 2004 attended by governmental officials,
the Ombudsman’s office, ANAMA, and other
NGOs.[8]
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use
Azerbaijan does not produce or export antipersonnel mines and does not permit
the transfer of mines through territory under its
control.[9] Azerbaijan’s
landmine stockpile is a legacy of the Soviet era, but the number and types of
landmines held is not known.[10]
Landmines were used by all sides during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and
sporadically after the signing of the armistice in May
1994.[11] The majority of the
mines used were of Soviet origin, although Italian mines were also
deployed.[12] Landmine Monitor
has not recorded any substantiated reports of new antipersonnel mine use since
it started reporting in 1999.
Landmine Problem and Survey
Azerbaijan’s landmine problem is largely a result of the conflict with
Armenia from 1988-1994, but abandoned Soviet-era munition dumps and unexploded
ordnance (UXO) also pose a significant
threat.[13] A Landmine Impact
Survey (LIS) by the Survey Action Center (SAC) and the International Euroasia
Trust Fund (IEPF) indicated that 18 of 65 districts in Azerbaijan were
contaminated by landmines and
UXO.[14] More than half of the
affected communities were located in Fizuli region in the west of Azerbaijan
near Nagorno-Karabakh and in the region of Aghstafa in the northwest, where a
Soviet army base was formerly located. The survey did not cover the occupied
territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Nakhchivan region, or small areas denied
access by the military.
The survey found that 643 communities were affected: 480 were found to be
mine-impacted and another 163 were affected by both mines and UXO from former
Soviet military bases.[15] The
survey identified 11 communities as high-impact, with at least one casualty in
the past two years, 101 as medium-impact, and 368 as low-impact. The LIS
identified 51 casualties from the two-year period prior to the survey. The
contaminated areas are believed to affect an estimated 514,000 inhabitants.
The Landmine Impact Survey was carried out between September 2002 and June
2003, and published in December
2003.[16] The International
Eurasia Press Fund acted as the implementing agency, while a SAC team based in
Baku provided oversight and monitoring, and trained IEPF staff to plan and
conduct the survey in the Azeri language. The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), and ANAMA provided logistical
and technical support, while the European Commission (EC) funded the
survey.[17] In a hand-over
ceremony held on 29 September 2003, SAC provided ANAMA with approximately
$320,000 worth of equipment used to conduct the survey, including vehicles,
metal detectors, medical supplies, and
computers.[18]
Previously, in 1998, BACTEC
International[19] and the AZBCL
conducted surveys of the mine problem in the Fizuli region. In 2001, the
International Eurasia Press Fund carried out a limited level one (general)
survey on the territory of 11
districts.[20]
Mine Action Coordination, Planning, and Funding
The civilian-led governmental Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action was
established 18 July 1998, initially under the name of the Azerbaijan National
Agency for Demining, and took over responsibility for mine clearance in the
country from the Ministry of
Defense.[21] In 2003 and 2004,
ANAMA continued to serve as the national agency responsible for coordinating all
aspects of mine action within Azerbaijan. The UN planned to hand over the
management of mine action operations to ANAMA by the end of
2003,[22] but by September 2004
the transfer had not yet taken place.
An Azeri National Strategic Plan adopted in October 2001 creates a basic mine
action capacity for dealing with the problem in accessible areas, while ANAMA
also uses an annual work plan, in which clearance priorities are
set.[23] The results of the
Landmine Impact Survey are currently being analyzed and incorporated into the
National Strategic Plan.[24]
Only ANAMA has access to the Information Management System for Mine Action
(IMSMA).[25]
According to ANAMA, in 2003, mine action funding for Azerbaijan totaled
approximately $5.5 million, including $203,417 from the government of Azerbaijan
and $155,000 from UNDP.[26]
Other donations reported by ANAMA were from the European Community (€1.35
million), the United Kingdom ($250,000), and Italy ($400,000). ANAMA reported
mine action funding of $3.2 million in 2002, including at least $259,000 from
the government.[27]
According to information they provided to Landmine Monitor, four donors
provided about $5.6 million to mine action in Azerbaijan in
2003.[28] The United States
contributed almost $3.2 million to Azerbaijan in its fiscal year 2003 ($1.6
million from the State Department and $1.59 million from the Defense
Department). Others included: the European Community (€1.35 million, or
$1.53 million), the Netherlands ($650,000), and Italy ((€200,000, or
$226,300). Canada provided US$9,998 to the Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban
Landmines.
Between 1999 and 2003, approximately $19.9 million was donated to mine action
activities in Azerbaijan, including $1,236,000 for the Landmine Impact Survey.
According to information in previous Landmine Monitor reports, mine action
funding totaled about $2.3 million in 1999-2000, $5.5 million in 2001, and $6.5
million in 2002.
Mine Clearance
In 2003, two national NGOs, Relief Azerbaijan and the International Eurasia
Press Fund, continued to conduct mine survey and clearance in Agjabedi, Agstafa,
Fizuli, and Khanlar regions. Both were established in 2000. ANAMA also
conducted demining.
The IEPF employed 66 persons in 2003, including 40 field staff and 26
administrative staff.[29] IEPF
reported that in 2003 it cleared 560,349 square meters of land, including
360,283 square meters manually, destroying 24 antipersonnel mines and 126 UXO,
and 200,066 square meters through Mine Detection Dog operations, destroying
seven antipersonnel mines and eleven
UXO.[30]
Relief Azerbaijan reported clearing 735,117 square meters of land in 2003,
(343,788 square meters manually and 391,329 square meters using mine detecting
dogs) destroying 15 antipersonnel mines, two antivehicle mines and 57 UXO.
Relief Azerbaijan surveyed 1,326,825 square meters of affected land in the
Fizuli, Agstafa, Agjabedi
regions.[31]
Clearance statistics reported by and attributed to ANAMA vary wildly. In a
March 2004 briefing for donors, ANAMA indicated it had cleared more than 1
million square meters, including 70,000 square meters for power lines, 200,000
square meters containing water channels and water supply systems, 5,200 square
meters of roads, and 778,000 square meters of residential property, directly
benefiting more than 100,000
people.[32] Yet, media articles
state that ANAMA reported clearing 4 million square meters of land in
2003,[33] and 7.3 million
square meters between 2000 and January
2004.[34] These statistics may
refer to battle area clearance of unexploded ordnance as opposed to minefield
clearance. In 2003, measures were taken to improve casualty evacuation and
first aid procedures, and ANAMA staff also received training for the Information
Management System for Mine Action
(IMSMA).[35]
As of April 2004, ANAMA employed 107 deminers and 15 mine detecting
dogs.[36] From January to
February 2004, ANAMA reportedly demined 516,670 square meters of land, finding
one antipersonnel mine, two antivehicle mines, and 580
UXO.[37] It was reported that
in April 2004, ANAMA deminers cleared 280,088 square meters of land containing
304 mines and UXO. The team consisted of ten mine detection dogs, 82 deminers,
fifteen operators, eight physicians, and nearly 40 auxiliary
workers.[38]
Mine Risk Education
In 2003 and 2004, ANAMA and IEPF conducted mine risk education (MRE) in
Azerbaijan. According to ANAMA’s MRE team leader, 2,367 people received
MRE training in 2003.[39] At
least 150,633 people attended MRE sessions held between 1999 and
2002.[40]
In July and August 2003, ANAMA implemented an MRE project financed and in
cooperation with the U.S. European Command in 13 villages in the Fizuli,
Agjabedi, Agdam, Terter, Goranboy, Khanlar, Tovuz, Agstafa, Gazakh and Barda
regions.[41] A total of 360
locals, including municipal heads, executive representatives, and school
headmasters, were trained in MRE and they subsequently coordinated training
programs for an additional 32,658 persons. The project distributed posters,
brochures, T-shirts, and
notebooks.[42]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) conducted mine risk
education in Azerbaijan from October 1996 until March 2000, when it handed over
its program to ANAMA, donating about 4,000 MRE materials produced in
1997-1998.[43] In September
2003, MRE team members from ANAMA took part in an IMSMA-related training
conducted by the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian
Demining.[44] In addition, in
July-August 2004, the MRE Team Leader participated in a one-month Senior Mine
Action Managers Course, organized by Cranfield University
(UK).[45] ANAMA continues its
effort to integrate MRE into the secondary school curriculum of the frontline
districts.[46]
In 2003, the IEPF conducted mine risk education seminars for 300 families in
Gushgara village and 155 families in Sevinj settlement, both of which are
located near the mine clearance operation in Khanlar
district.[47] At the end of the
training sessions, IEPF staff distributed MRE brochures and booklets.
Researchers were unable to monitor the activities of medicine and health
employees and volunteers who participated in the MRE training
programs.[48] When questioned
about the effectiveness of the program after two mine accidents in an area that
had received MRE, ANAMA Chief Technical Consultant responded, “People do
not want to learn mine risk
education.”[49] An
external evaluation of ANAMA’s MRE program took place in September
2002.[50] Measures taken as a
result of the evaluation included the establishment of 47 community-based MRE
committees in targeted districts of Terter, Khanlar and Aghdam; the inclusion of
MRE in local mine action; and a Memorandum of Understanding between ANAMA,
UNICEF and the Ministry of Education signed on 11 May 2004, to allow 560
teachers to take responsibility for teaching
MRE.[51] ANAMA indicates that
it has never conducted any assessment of knowledge, attitudes, practices and
behaviors (KAPB).[52]
Landmine Casualties
There are conflicting reports on the number of new landmine casualties in
Azerbaijan in 2003. ANAMA recorded 28 new mine and UXO casualties, of which 14
people were killed and 14 injured; 26 were men and two were
children.[53] This represents
a significant increase from the 17 new mine/UXO casualties (nine killed and
eight injured) recorded by ANAMA in
2002.[54] The increase is
reportedly due to internally displaced persons returning to their homes and the
establishment of new
settlements.[55]
The AzCBL recorded 39 new mine and UXO casualties in 2003, of which 14 were
killed and 35 injured; at least 18 were military personnel, and two were
children. Casualties were reported in the regions of Agdam, Agjabedi, Agstafa,
Fizuli, Gadabay, Goranboy, Gazakh, Tovuz, Ter-Ter, and Murov
Mountain.[56] Casualties in
2003, include a resident of Afshar village in Agjabedi region killed on 18
September by an antitank mine while he was grazing
cattle,[57] and a man who lost
his foot on 7 December in a landmine incident in Shukurbeyli
village.[58]
According to the Committee of Soldiers’ Families, there were 18
landmine casualties among members of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces in
2003,[59] although only ten were
reported in the media. On 23 July 2003, two officers were killed and two
soldiers injured in a mine incident in Alibeyli village in the Tovuz
region.[60] On 5 August 2003,
two officers and three soldiers were killed by a landmine in the Goranboy region
near the border with Nagorno-Karabakh. Another soldier was killed by a mine on
6 August 2003 in Agdam
region.[61]
Casualties continue to be reported in 2004. ANAMA reported that landmines
had killed eleven people and injured twelve others to
July.[62] Casualties include
two boys aged 11 and 12 killed on 14 February by a landmine in the Fizuli region
while tending their sheep.[63]
On 30 March, three refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh were injured and another one
killed by a landmine in the Aghdam
region.[64] An antivehicle mine
exploded on 24 April, killing one person and injuring
another.[65] On 14 May, an
antivehicle mine killed four officers from the State Border Service in Fizuli
district and injured two
others.[66] On 11 June, a
soldier lost his arm in a landmine blast while weeding in the village of Qapanli
in Ter-Ter District.[67]
ANAMA reported that no deminers were killed or injured during
2003.[68] On 3 July 2001, a
deminer with Relief Azerbaijan lost two fingers of his right hand as a result of
a mine accident.[69] Only two
deminers with ANAMA have reportedly been injured since clearance operations
began.[70]
The total number of landmine casualties in Azerbaijan remains unclear. From
1999 to 2003, ANAMA reported 149 mine/UXO casualties (42 killed and 107
injured).[71] The Landmine
Impact Survey identified a total of 1,215 mine/UXO casualties (445 killed and
770 injured), including 1,164 mine/UXO casualties prior to 2000; of the 52
“recent” casualties (2000-2002), most were herders and
farmers.[72] In March 2004, a
government official stated that since the beginning of the war, 333 people had
been killed and 948 injured by
landmines.[73] Data from the
Karabakh Invalids’s Society indicates that more than 7,806 people were
disabled during the conflict; more than 70 percent are reportedly mine
survivors.[74]
There are also mine survivors in Azerbaijan from the war between the former
USSR and Afghanistan, although the total number is not known.
Since August 1991, there have been over 200 UXO casualties reported,
including 75 people killed, from explosions of UXO stored at former Soviet Army
ammunition depots.[75] The
largest depot is in Saloglu region in the northwest of the country, while other
sites are located in Agstafa, Gazakh, Khanlar, and Tovuz
regions.[76]
Survivor Assistance
Medical and surgical facilities in Azerbaijan are believed to be adequate to
treat mine casualties. Hospitals reportedly provide experienced physicians and
ambulance services. All medical and rehabilitation expenses for mine survivors
and other persons with disabilities are covered by the Ministry of Health and
the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection
(MOLASP).[77] In 2003, surgeons
from Azerbaijan participated in the ICRC’s annual war surgery seminar in
Moscow.[78]
The Landmine Impact Survey, completed in June 2003, found that of 43 recent
survivors, 38 (88 percent) received some form of emergency care at the time of
the incident, and ten (23 percent) received rehabilitation, usually in the form
of prostheses. Seven percent, or three survivors, reported receiving no
treatment or care. No survivors reported receiving vocational training since
the incident.[79]
The government-run Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center in Baku
has the capacity to assist 7,000-8,000 people each year, free-of-charge,
providing physical rehabilitation, prostheses, orthoses, and other assistive
devices. The center has about 15,000 patients on its register, including about
5,000 war-disabled. In 2003, the center produced 2,000 prostheses (830 for mine
survivors). In 2003, 151 people attended the center for the first time,
including 49 landmine survivors. In 2002, 111 people attended the center for
the first time, including 56 mine
survivors.[80]
The ICRC supports two orthopedic centers in Azerbaijan with equipment, tools,
components, technical advice and training for technicians; the Nakhchivan
orthopedic center (since 2002), and the Ganja branch of the Prosthetic and
Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center which opened on 15 February 2003 and employs
two ICRC-trained technicians. The ICRC also supported the Darnagul
Prosthetic-Orthotic Center in Baku until it closed on 31 December 2001. Between
1999 and 2001, the center produced 1,211 prostheses (186 for mine survivors).
In July 2001, seven technicians graduated from three-year ICRC-supported
training to become the first Azeri orthopedic technicians with internationally
recognized ISPO Category II
qualifications.[81] In 2003,
the Ganja Branch assisted 303 people and produced 115 prostheses, 174 orthoses,
and various other assistive devices. About one third of people visiting the
center are mine survivors.[82]
The MOLASP-supported Rehabilitation Center of Invalids of the Republic was
established in 1986 as the first comprehensive rehabilitation center in the
region providing medical and physical rehabilitation, diagnostics, and
psychosocial support. The center assists veterans from the Afghan and Karabakh
conflicts, and civilians. In a program funded by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) facilities have been upgraded and new equipment
supplied to improve rehabilitation services. The number of mine survivors coming
to the Center has reportedly increased over the last few years. In 2003,
approximately 200 out of the 589 people referred to the center were mine
survivors.[83]
On 27 March 2003, ANAMA organized the first meeting of the Mine Victim
Assistance Working Group which includes representatives of relevant government
ministries, and non-governmental and international organizations operating in
Azerbaijan. Meetings are now held every two to three months. The aim of the
working group is to develop a long-term mine victim assistance program. ANAMA
has a Mine Victims Assistance Specialist to coordinate activities. In August
2003, ANAMA launched a pilot survey in Fizuli to assess the needs of mine
survivors; 65 were interviewed. In May 2004, a five-month countrywide needs
assessment survey was started, with funding from the European Commission, to
determine priorities for future mine survivor assistance
projects.[84]
In May 2003, the AzCBL implemented a 13-month study in eight districts of
Azerbaijan, including Baku, Barda, Beylagan, Bilasuvar, Ganja, Saatli,
Sabirabad, and Sumgayit, to identify the needs of mine survivors in the country.
The project was funded by a grant from the International Trust Fund for Demining
and Mine Victims Assistance in Slovenia through Standing Tall Australia
(STAIRRSS). The project team included mine survivors who identified other mine
survivors and the families of those killed in mine incidents. As of the end of
April 2004, data was collected on 483 landmine survivors and on 127 families of
those killed in a landmine explosion. A total of 382 survivors completed the
survey questionnaire. Seminars were held in each district to inform mine
survivors of their rights and the assistance available; 339 people participated
in the seminars. On 1 June 2004, a seminar was held in Baku to present the
final results of the survey. More than 60 people attended, including
representatives from government ministries and political parties, Civil Defense,
ANAMA, international and local NGOs, and the
media.[85]
The study found that mine survivors in Azerbaijan are faced with many
problems which limit their socio-economic reintegration after a mine incident.
The provision of psychological support appears to be less well-developed than
medical or physical rehabilitation. Of the 382 mine survivors surveyed, only 78
(20 percent) received psychological support after the mine explosion; 354
survivors (93 percent) expressed a need for on-going psychosocial support.
Other problems identified include a lack of adequate housing, a lack of
employment opportunities, a lack of an adequate income to meet basic needs, and
poor access to medical care.[86]
As a direct result of the project, the Azerbaijan Landmine Victims
Association (ALVA) was established to provide on-going social support to
landmine survivors. As of the end of May 2004, ALVA had 23 members. Future
programs are dependent on donor
funding.[87]
One mine survivor from Azerbaijan participated in the Raising the Voices
training in Geneva in February 2004; he is now head of ALVA with support from
the AzCBL.
Disability Policy and Practice
The April 1997 Law of Prevention of Disability, Rehabilitation of Persons
with Disability and their Social Protection applies to all persons with
disabilities in Azerbaijan, including mine
survivors.[88] In 2003, the
government of Azerbaijan allocated a total of 24 billion Manat (US$5 million) to
the needs of persons with
disabilities.[89]
[1] Interview with Garay Muradov, Head of
Disarmament and Weapon Control Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 13
January 2004; Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines (AzCBL), “Information
Bulletin No.9,” 2003. [2] See
for example, Statement by Col. Ramazanov, Director, Legal Department, Ministry
of Defense, to a regional conference on Landmine and the Explosive Remnants of
War hosted by the ICRC, Moscow, 4 November 2002; Permanent Mission of the
Republic of Azerbaijan to the OSCE, “Response to the Questionnaire on
Anti-Personnel Landmines,” 20 December
2002. [3] Interview with Nazim
Ismayilov, Director, ANAMA, in Zerkalo (newspaper) in Russian. 9 May 2003; see
also AzCBL, “Information Bulletin No.4,”
2003. [4] Notes taken by Landmine
Monitor (AzCBL) during a meeting between Hon. Araz Azimov, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs, and ICBL representatives from the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), Baku, 9 November 2002. See also AzCBL, “Information
Bulletin No. 10,” 2002. [5]
“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. [6]
AzCBL, “Information Bulletin No.12,”
2004. [7] Ibid, 16 March
2004. [8] Email from the AzCBL, 2 June
2004. [9] Azerbaijan confirmed this
statement in January 2004. Interview with Garay Muradov, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 13 January 2004. [10]
Ibid. [11] Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 762-765; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
800. [12] The most commonly found
antipersonnel mines include the Soviet OZM-72 and PMN-2, as well as the Soviet
MON-50, MON-90, and PMN, and the Italian TS-50. AzCBL (Arif Yunusov and Khafiz
Safikhanov) interviews with Azeri soldiers in Nagorny-Karabakh, November 1998 -
January 1999. [13] For a description
of the conflict and resulting landmine problem, see Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 762-765; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
800. [14] “Landmine Impact
Survey: Republic of Azerbaijan,” implemented by the Survey Action Center
and the International Eurasia Press Fund, December 2003, p.
6. [15] Ibid, p.
5. [16] Ibid, p.
1. [17] Azernews (English-language
newspaper), 6 November 2002. [18] Mine
Action Support Group (MASG) Newsletter, October 2003. Another source reported
that the handover took place on 29 October 2003. See “European Commission
to hand over equipment to ANAMA,” (TIA) Information Agency, 29 September
2003. [19] UNMAS, “Joint
Assessment Mission Report: Azerbaijan,” 5 November 1998, p.
9. [20] Letter from the International
Eurasian Press Fund to AzCBL, Baku, 11 January
2001. [21] UNMAS, “Joint
Assessment Mission Report: Azerbaijan,” pp. 11, 14.
[22] UN, “Portfolio of
Mine-Related Projects 2003,” October 2002, p.
50. [23] Azerbaijan National Agency
for Mine Action, “Work Plan
2002-2003.” [24] MASG
Newsletter, February 2004. [25]
Telephone interview with Aziz Aliyev, Director, Information Department, ANAMA,
12 January 2004. [26] Email from ANAMA
to AzCBL, 25 February 2004. [27] Ibid.
Last year, ANAMA reported 2002 funding totaled $2.7million. Telephone interview
with Aziz Aliyev, ANAMA, 6 June
2003. [28] Information comes from the
individual country reports in this edition of Landmine Monitor Report. In some
cases, the funding was for the country’s fiscal year, not calendar year
2003. Landmine Monitor has converted the currencies and rounded off numbers.
Figures provided by donors and by ANAMA may not match in part because funds
donors provide directly for mine action in Nagorno-Karabakh are not counted by
ANAMA. [29] International Eurasia
Press Fund, “Annual Report for 2003,” 25 January
2004. [30]
Ibid. [31] Fax to AzCBL from the
Relief NGO, 18 January 2004. [32]
ANAMA briefing for donors, 10 March
2004. [33] “ANAMA Plans Demining
6 Million Square Meters of Lands in 2004,” Turan Information Agency (TIA),
10 March 2004. [34] “ANAMA
De-mined Over 7 Thousand Square Meters of Land,” Azer-Press (Baku), 9
February 2004. [35] MASG Newsletter,
February 2004. [36] Zarema
Velikhanova, “Landmine threat haunts Azerbaijan,” CRS (Baku), 1
April 2004. [37] “ANAMA Cleaned
Over 516 Thousand Square Meters of Mines,” Azer-Press, 15 March
2004. [38] “6 Persons Killed in
Mine Explosions Since Beginning of 2004,” TIA, 5 May
2004. [39] The total population in
targeted villages was 325,500; including 123,926 schoolchildren. The total
number of people that attended MRE sessions in 2003 is unknown. Email to
Landmine Monitor (HI) from Musa Jalalov, MRE Team Leader, ANAMA, 3 September
2004. [40] Email from Musa Jalalov,
ANAMA, 1 September 2004. [41]
Interview with Vagif Sadigov, MRE Assistant, ANAMA 7 January
2004. [42] Ibid; Working Group meeting
of ANAMA, 28 November 2003. [43] Email
from Musa Jalalov, ANAMA, 1 September 2004; ICRC, Special Report Mine Action,
August 2004, p.39. [44] MASG
Newsletter, October 2003. [45] Email
from Musa Jalalov, ANAMA, 16 August
2004. [46] Musa Jalalov and Vagif
Sadigov, “Mine Risk Education: The Effective Way to Save Lives,”
Journal of Mine Action, Issue 7.3 2003, p.
68. [47] IEPF, “Annual Report
for 2003,” 25 January 2004. [48]
Email to AzCBL from Musa Jalalov, ANAMA, 6 February
2004. [49] Excerpt from the speech of
Lutvul Kabir, Chief Technical Consultant of ANAMA, on the third meeting of the
Mine Victim Assistance Working Group, 28 October 2003.
[50] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 556. [51] Email from Musa
Jalalov, ANAMA, 2 September 2004. [52]
Ibid, 1 September 2004. [53] Telephone
interview with Aziz Aliyev, Director, Information Department, ANAMA, 12 January
2004; ANAMA, “Annual Report 2003,” p. 3, available at www.anama.baku.az (accessed 18 September
2004). [54] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Aziz Aliyev, ANAMA, 12 July
2003. [55] Interview with Aziz Aliyev,
Information Department, and Rauf Mamedov, Mine Victims Assistance Specialist,
ANAMA, by Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research Coordinator, Baku, 17
March 2004. [56] Hafiz Safikhanov and
Sheree Bailey, “Addressing the Needs of Landmine Survivors in
Azerbaijan,” June 2004, p. 11; AzCBL, “Information Bulletin
No.11,” 2004. [57] Yeni
Musavat (newspaper), 20 September 2003; Echo (newspaper), 20 September
2003. [58] Olaylar (newspaper), 9
December 2003. [59] Interview with
Rosa Aligizi, Chairwoman, Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, Baku, 28 January
2004. [60] Hurriyyet (newspaper), 25
July 2003. [61] Space TV, 5 August
2003; Fax to AzCBL from Colonel Ramiz Melikov, Director of the Press Service,
Ministry of Defense, 7 August 2003; Echo, 7 August 2003; Yeni Musavat, 7 August
2003. [62] “Twenty-three Azeri
Citizens Suffered from Mine Incidents this Year,” Azer-Press, 10 July
2004. [63] Zarema Velikhanova,
“Landmine threat haunts Azerbaijan,” CRS, 1 April 2004; S. Agayeva,
“Two Brothers Die in Mine in Fuzuli,” Trend News Agency
(Azerbaijan), 3 April 2004. [64]
Zarema Velikhanova, “Landmine threat haunts Azerbaijan,” CRS, 1
April 2004. [65] “6 Persons
Killed in Mine Explosions Since Beginning of 2004,” TIA, 5 May
2004. [66] Email from AzCBL, 17 May
2004. [67] “Azeri soldier maimed
by land mine in front line village,” ANS Radio (Azerbaijan), 12 June
2004. [68] ANAMA, “Annual Report
2003,” p. 13. [69] Zerkalo, 18
July 2001; Echo, 18 July 2001. [70]
Interview with Nazim Ismayilov, Director, ANAMA, by Komsomolskaya Pravda (Baku
Russian language newspaper), 7 August
2004. [71] Email from V. Sadigov, Mine
Risk Education Officer, ANAMA, 29 January
2004. [72] “Landmine Impact
Survey: Republic of Azerbaijan,” p. 7’ see also Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 616 for information on a survey conducted by the International
Eurasia Press Foundation in 2001. [73]
Notes taken by AzCBL during a statement by Abid Sharifov, Vice Premier Ministry
of Azerbaijan Republic, ANAMA Briefing for the donors, 10 March 2004; Zerkalo
(newspaper), 11 March 2004. [74]
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
859. [75] Zerkalo (newspaper), 26
April 2003. [76] Meeting with Nazim
Ismayilov, Director, ANAMA, and ICBL representatives from the CIS, Baku, 7
November 2002. [77] Interview with
Shahnaz Hashimova, Deputy Director, Department of Prevention, Ministry of
Health, Baku, 17 January 2003; interview with Dunya Khalilova, Press Secretary,
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Baku, 21 January
2003. [78] ICRC, “Annual Report
2003,” Geneva, June 2004, p.
219. [79] “Landmine Impact
Survey: Republic of Azerbaijan,” p.
26. [80] Interview with Shamsaddin
Hudaverdiyev, Director, Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center, Baku,
24 January 2004; Meeting with Shamsaddin Hudaverdiyev, Director, Prosthetic and
Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center, and ICBL representatives from the CIS, Baku, 6
November 2002; Interview with Shamsaddin Hudaverdiyev, Prosthetic and Orthopedic
Rehabilitation Center, 17 January
2003. [81] ICRC Physical
Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, March 2004,
p. 16; “Annual Report 2001,” Geneva, 14 April 2004; “Annual
Report 2000,” 31 March 2001; “Annual Report 1999,” Geneva, 31
March 2000, p. 11; Interview with Shamsaddin Hudaverdiyev, Prosthetic and
Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center, 17 January
2003. [82] Interview with Ilgar
Abdullayev, Director, Ganja Branch, Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation
Center, Ganja, 12 February 2004. [83]
Interview with Malahat Nahmatova, Assistant Head Physician, Rehabilitation
Center of Invalids of the Republic, Baku, 26 January 2004; Interview with
Huseynov Elcin Mammad, Head Physician, Rehabilitation Center of Invalids of the
Republic, by Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research Coordinator, Baku, 19
March 2004. [84] Interview with Aziz
Aliyev, Director, Information Department, and Rauf Mamedov, Mine Victims
Assistance Specialist, ANAMA, by Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research
Coordinator, Baku, 17 March 2004; ANAMA press release, “Overview of the
Progress,” 8 July 2004; ANAMA press release, “First Meeting of Mine
Victim Assistance Working Group,” 29 March 2003, available at www.anama.baku.az [85]
“Addressing the Needs of Landmine Survivors in Azerbaijan,” June
2004. [86] Ibid, p.
8. [87] Ibid, p.
7. [88] For details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 860. [89]
Echo, 3 December 2003.
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