Key developments since May 2003: In 2003, a total of 41.7 million
square meters of land was cleared, including 60,626 antipersonnel mines, 1,096
antivehicle mines and 118,307 UXO. This was 20 percent more land cleared than
in 2002, and the largest annual total ever. Mine risk education was provided to
at least 600,000 people. Cambodia has served as the co-chair of the Standing
Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies
since September 2003. A national workshop, “Mine/UXO Risk Reduction in
Cambodia: The Way Forward,” was held in June 2003. Cambodia adopted
landmine clearance as a Millennium Development Goal. An additional 9,207
stockpiled antipersonnel mines were reported found and destroyed in 2003.
Cambodia has developed a strategic plan for victim assistance for the period
2004-2009. In 2003, 772 new landmine and UXO casualties were reported in
Cambodia, including 115 killed and 657 injured. In the first six months of
2004, there were 671 new mine/UXO casualties recorded, showing the first upward
trend in many years.
Key developments since 1999: Cambodia ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on
28 July 1999 and it entered into force on 1 January 2000. Treaty implementation
legislation took effect 28 May 1999; the new law created the National Demining
Regulatory Authority to coordinate activities related to the mine problem. In
September 2000, a new coordinating body, the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim
Assistance Authority, was established. Although Cambodia declared in 1999 that
it had destroyed all of its 71,991 stockpiled antipersonnel mines, thousands of
stockpiled mines are newly discovered and destroyed each year.
Cambodia served as co-chair of the Standing Committee of Experts on
Technologies for Mine Clearance from May 1999 to September 2001, and as
co-rapporteur and then co-chair of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance,
Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies from September 2002 to December
2004. Cambodia hosted a regional seminar “Building a Co-operative Future
for Mine Action in South East Asia” in March 2003.
The Cambodia Landmine Impact Survey was completed in April 2002 and revealed
that nearly half of all villages are either known or suspected to be
contaminated by mines or UXO. Nearly 252 million square meters of land were
cleared from 1992 to 2003, and more than 146 million square meters from 1999 to
2003. The Land Use Planning Unit was established in May 1999. The Cambodian
Mine Action Center faced a funding crisis that resulted in the lay-off of most
CMAC employees and the temporary closure of the bulk of demining operations in
October 2000. Between 1999 and 2002, about 2.1 million people attended Mine
Risk Education sessions.
Since 1999, more than 28,000 prostheses were produced and fitted—the
majority for mine survivors. New programs to address the socio-economic
reintegration of mine survivors and their families have been implemented.
However, the number of physical rehabilitation centers declined from 15 in 1999
to eleven in 2004. Between 1999 and August 2004, 5,128 new mine/UXO casualties
have been recorded in Cambodia. The mine/UXO casualty rate declined from an
average of 12 new casualties a day in 1996, to three a day in 1999, to two a day
from 2000 through 2003. However, in the first eight months of 2004 the rate
increased again to an average of almost three casualties a day.
Mine Ban Policy
Cambodia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 28
July 1999. It entered into force for Cambodia on 1 January 2000. Domestic
implementation legislation—the Law to Prohibit the Use of Anti-Personnel
Mines—entered into force on 28 May
1999.[1] The law provided for
the creation of the National Demining Regulatory Authority to coordinate
activities related to the mine problem. Cambodia was one of the earlier
supporters of a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel landmines and was an active
participant in the Ottawa process since the beginning. Cambodia has voted in
favor of every UN General Assembly resolution promoting a mine ban since 1996.
Cambodia has participated in all annual Meetings of States Parties to the
Mine Ban Treaty, and all intersessional meetings. At the Fifth Meeting of
States Parties in September 2003 Cambodia, along with Japan, became co-chair of
the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, having served as co-rapporteur the previous year. In its role of
co-chair, Cambodia has supported the development of the “4Ps
approach” (Problems, Plans, Progress, and Priorities), aimed at measuring
mine action progress and assessing challenges remaining for full implementation
of Article 5 (mine clearance) of the Mine Ban Treaty. With the assistance of the
Implementation Support Unit, background information on more than 40
mine-affected States Parties has been
compiled.[2] Cambodia was
co-chair of the Standing Committee on Technologies for Mine Clearance from May
1999 until September 2000.
Cambodia participated in the Bangkok Regional Action Group (BRAG), which was
formed by States Parties from the Asia-Pacific region in September 2002 with the
aim of promoting landmine ban initiatives in the region in the lead up to the
Fifth Meeting of States Parties in Bangkok. Cambodia hosted a regional seminar
on “Building a Co-operative Future for Mine Action in South East
Asia” in Phnom Penh from 26-28 March 2003. Representatives from South East
Asia, China, Timor-Leste, and Sri Lanka, as well as donor countries,
participated in the seminar.
Cambodia submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report on 30 April 2004,
for calendar year 2003. The report includes voluntary Form J reporting on mine
and unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties and landmine survivors rehabilitation.
This is its fifth Article 7
report.[3]
Cambodia has not engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties
have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1,
2, and 3. Thus, Cambodia has not made known its views on issues related to
joint military operations with non-States Parties, antivehicle mines with
sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines
retained for training.
Cambodia is a State Party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on
Conventional Weapons (CCW) since 27 March 1997 and participated in the Fifth
Annual Conference of States Parties on 26 November 2003.
In February 2004, the Royal Government of Cambodia adopted landmine clearance
as an additional Millennium Development Goal for Cambodia—a new ninth goal
in addition to the eight goals adopted by the United
Nations.[4] At the National
Conference on Mine Action Achievements of CMAA (Cambodian Mine Action and Victim
Assistance Authority), Prime Minister Hun Sen stated, “Landmines not only
limit our access to natural resources, especially land, but landmines also cause
the rural people to abandon their homelands and resettle in the urban areas.
Such migration has worsened the problem of overpopulation, social and
environmental degradation, especially in the urban areas. The poor and
vulnerable people are often left with no option but risking their lives by
working the mined areas. Indeed, the issue of mine clearance relates not
only to social security, but also to economic growth and development in general,
since it relates to land distribution and the provision of safety nets for poor
farmer-households in the remote rural
areas.”[5]
The Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines (CCBL) has been an active advocate of
the Mine Ban Treaty goals and the mine survivors needs. In 2003 and 2004, the
CCBL continued to promote campaign initiatives at the regional and at the
international level. During the year the CCBL hosted journalists, filmmakers,
organizations and campaigners from other countries, including Singapore, that
were interested in promoting the treaty goals. For the Fifth Meeting of the
States Parties, a delegation of Cambodian campaigners, including ten survivors,
traveled to Bangkok and on their way they rallied in support of the Mine Ban
Treaty and released the Landmine Monitor Report 2003 in various provincial
towns.
ICBL Ambassador Tun Channareth and Greg Priyadi visited Indonesia twice, and
held meetings with top officials of government and the military who promised to
ratify the treaty. Youth Ambassador Song Kosal promoted youth campaign
initiatives in various countries.
From 26-29 April 2004, a Cambodian ICBL delegate participated in the Mine
Action Conference in Kumning, China organized by China and the Australian
Network of the ICBL, and called on China to come to the Nairobi Review
Conference as a State Party.
Production, Transfer and Use
Since 1999, there have been no specific allegations of use, production or
transfer of antipersonnel mines by government forces or any opposition forces.
Cambodia reported that it does not have any antipersonnel mine production
facilities.[6] The Cambodian
government manufactured one type of antipersonnel landmine, the KN-10
Claymore-type mine, in the 1970s and various forces manufactured homemade mines
in the past. Over the years, many landmines crossed the borders of Cambodia,
though it is difficult to know which mines were imported by the Cambodian
government, by opposition forces, and which were simply brought to Cambodia by
foreign armies. Since October 1994, Cambodia has maintained a formal position
against the import and export of antipersonnel mines. The Cambodian government
is not known to have exported antipersonnel mines in the
past.[7]
Landmines were first laid in Cambodia in the mid-1960s, as Cambodia began to
be drawn into the Indochina War. During the Democratic Kampuchea regime from
1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge used landmines extensively both for military
purposes and as an instrument of control over the civilian population. Use of
mines intensified during the civil war that followed the overthrow of the Khmer
Rouge, and continued well into the 1990s. There were reports and allegations of
use of mines by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and the Khmer Rouge up to 1998.
The northwestern provinces became the main battlefield in Cambodia. Mines were
often laid in the same area by different factions, resulting in densely mined
fields with little form or order. In late 1984, in an attempt to seal the
border, a 700-kilometer mine belt known as K5 was laid, with an estimated two to
three million mines, running from the southwestern coast of Cambodia up to the
Thai border with Laos.
Stockpiling and Destruction
The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) destroyed 71,991 stockpiled
antipersonnel mines in the period from 1994 to 1998. In February 1999 the RCAF
Deputy Commander in Chief formally stated that the RCAF no longer had stockpiles
of antipersonnel landmines.[8]
In 2000, Cambodia reported a stockpile of 2,034 antipersonnel mines held by the
National Police.[9] Cambodia
has subsequently declared that there have been no antipersonnel stockpiles in
the country since 2001.[10]
However, police and military units find caches of weapons including
antipersonnel mines regularly throughout
Cambodia.[11] Newly discovered
antipersonnel mine stocks are to be reported to CMAA and handed over to the
Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) for destruction.
In its April 2004 Article 7 report, Cambodia reported that from 2000 to 2003,
a total of 74,544 antipersonnel mines were discovered and destroyed, including
9,207 in 2003.[12] This was a
dramatic increase in the numbers previously reported—the April 2003
Article 7 report indicated a total of 15,567 had been destroyed from 2000-2002.
When asked about this surprising revelation, CMAA said that the 74,544 figure
was likely a mistake, and may include destruction of some mines from mined
areas.[13] Subsequently, CMAA
provided revised totals to Landmine Monitor: a total of 38,812 stockpiled
antipersonnel mines discovered and destroyed from 2000-2003, including 8,739 in
2000; 7,357 in 2001; 13,509 in 2002; and, 9,207 in
2003.[14]
The discovery and destruction of antipersonnel mines has not been
consistently or completely reported in previous Article 7 reports. The June
2000 Article 7 report noted CMAC’s destruction of 13,407 mines from 1997
to 2000, but did not distinguish between antipersonnel and antivehicle
mines.[15] The June 2001 report
said CMAC destroyed 11,417 newly discovered mines in
2000.[16] The April 2002 report
said 533 newly discovered mines were destroyed in 2001, and another 3,165 in
January 2002.[17] In its April
2003 report, Cambodia stated that since the formal completion of stockpile
destruction in 1998, Cambodia had found an additional 17,100 antipersonnel
mines; 15,567 of those had been destroyed and 1,533 had been used in
training.[18]
Village demining contributes to the large number of newly discovered stocks
of mines, as does the scrap metal trade. A metal trader in Kampong Thom
province told Landmine Monitor that in 2003 he bought 200 tons of old weapons,
including obsolescent mines. In turn, he traded with Poipet dealers who sold
the metal to Thailand. In some cases the collectors and traders are injured or
killed.
In response to the allegation that good quality antipersonnel mines are still
kept in military regional
stores,[19] CMAA checked with
the regional command of the RCAF in Military Region 5 (Battambang) and received
confirmation that no antipersonnel mines are stocked in the Regional 5
Storehouse.[20] Landmine
Monitor has asked CMAA to visit all regional military storehouses before the
Nairobi Review conference to verify the absence of any stockpiled antipersonnel
mines. In February 2002, the Prime Minister said, “We have to take those
mines, not only the ones that are uncovered in the field but that are stored in
warehouses of both the military and the police to be destroyed by
CMAC.”[21]
Mines Retained for Training
In all five of its Article 7 reports, Cambodia has indicated that it has no
antipersonnel mines retained for training or development purposes, as permitted
under Article 3. However, it has also reported transfer of mines for training
and development purposes to the CMAC Training Center in 1998 (236 mines), 1999
(818 mines), 2000 (52 mines), 2001 (423 mines), 2002 (240), and 2003
(366).[22] It appears each year
some mines are sent to the CMAC Training Center—mines removed from the
ground by deminers or mines from newly discovered caches—and consumed
shortly thereafter.
Landmine Problem
Cambodia is one of the worst landmine and UXO affected countries in the world
due to almost three decades of conflict. In 2003, 97 percent of casualties were
civilian. Most mine incidents are associated with livelihood activities being
undertaken in forests and
fields.[23] The threat of UXO
and mines impedes mobility, security, economic activity, and development in
several provinces, particularly in the north and northwest of the country. In
the forests of Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Oddar Meanchey, and Pailin, the
most affected provinces, people still have their limbs blown off as they search
for a way to feed their families. Mine and UXO contamination restricts access
to home, agricultural land, pasture land, water sources, forests, schools, dams,
canals markets, business activities, health centers, pagodas, bridges, and
neighboring villages.
Up to 2000, CMAC reported 664 square kilometers of known mined land, and
another 1,400 square kilometers of suspected mined land. In 2001, CMAC
identified 2,900 square kilometers of mined land.
Organized mine clearance operations in Cambodia began in 1992 and since then
a surface area of about 252 square kilometers has been
cleared.[24] Mine clearance by
civilians, known as village demining, has been conducted for a much longer
period. The most commonly found antipersonnel mines in Cambodia are PMN, PMN2,
PMD-6, MN79, Type 69, DH10, MON 66/50, POMZ-2M, Type 72A and Type
72B.[25]
Many mined areas are still not marked or fenced. In 2003, CMAC marked 675
minefields in 136,947,222 square
meters.[26] Yet, in January
2004, 98 percent of the monthly reported casualties (86 out of 88) said that
there were no signs in the place of the
accident.[27]
Surveys and Assessment
Quantifying the scale of the landmine problem in Cambodia remains difficult.
Before the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS), also known as the Level One Survey,)
started in early 2000, there had been no systematic survey of the mine problem
in Cambodia, although numerous smaller technical surveys had been conducted in
various communities on request from the local population living in suspected
areas, and a good deal of data had been gathered in the CMAC database.
The LIS, issued in May 2002, identified 3,037 areas suspected to be affected
by mines, UXO and cluster munitions. The survey estimated that 5.18 million
people in 6,422 villages were at risk. It found that about 1,640 villages,
approximately 12 percent of all villages, have a high contamination of landmines
and UXO.[28] The LIS was
conducted by Geospatial International Inc. (GeoSpatial/GST) and was funded by
the Canadian government with US$1.1 million.
An analysis of the current state of survey and mapping was presented to the
Mine Action Forum in Phnom Penh on 9 March 2004. According to this analysis the
Landmine Impact Survey did not utilize the technical survey reports accumulated
over a decade by mine action operators and consequently missed many areas that
the operators had correctly identified as
contaminated.[29]
The Cambodia Mine Action Authority reported that the National Work Plan for
2003, compiling all mine clearance planned by the four demining agencies working
in Cambodia, has shown that more than 15 percent of the surface area to be
cleared in 2003 was not recorded in the
LIS.[30] These areas are
located either in a village without reference in the LIS (6.3 percent), or in a
village cited as not contaminated by the LIS (9.2 percent). The same
observation has been made for the 2004 National Work Plan, where 20 percent of
the surface to be cleared is not recorded in the LIS: 11 percent without
reference in the LIS and 9 percent not contaminated according to the LIS.The
Cambodia Mine Action Authority established the National Mine Action Database
(NMAD) in 2002, as a continuation of the Landmine Impact Survey. The database
includes information from the LIS, Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System
(CIMVIS), US Air Force bombing records from 1965 to 1973, technical surveys,
topographic maps, and satellite and aerial imagery. In September 2003, the
government of Canada extended its long-term support to the NMAD and provided
renewed funding for equipment, four database staff and one
specialist.[31]
In January 2004, the NMAD Unit produced the National Assessment of
Contamination of Cambodia, which complies all major mine action data sets from
all operators, and represents them on a single series of maps. The NMAD
produced an analysis of mine victim incidents over the last three years and
compared it with work plans of mine clearance operators.
The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) was installed at
CMAA in January 2003. Concerns about the effectiveness of IMSMA were raised at
the Mine Action Forum in March 2004. One participant described IMSMA as
“inflexible, not open and too complicated.” He said it transfers
ownership of data away from the operators, and cannot prioritize minefield
clearance correctly. He also pointed out that CMAC and HALO already have
existing databases that are becoming more and more sophisticated, and that MAG,
with a simpler tasking process, has a less sophisticated but adequate database
capability.[32]
CMAC has collected information and reports of suspected mined areas and
recorded them in a database since 1992. The CMAC database manages information
on CMAC mine clearance, survey, explosive ordnance disposal, mine awareness,
clearance monitoring, and socio-economic factors both pre- and post-clearance.
The database serves CMAC operations and provides additional information to the
CMAA national database.[33]
As of February 2004, HALO Trust had established a computer database of all
clearance work undertaken, and a near complete set of aerial images giving it
the capacity to overlay clearance information onto photographic images to get an
exact representation of what work has been
undertaken.[34]
The Casualty Analysis Survey produced by the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim
Information System has been used by all operators to help prioritize clearance
tasks. CMVIS was established in 1994 by the Cambodian Red Cross and HI to
provide continuous and systematic collection and dissemination of information
about mine and UXO casualties. It started gathering data in six provinces, and
in 2001 expanded to 24 provinces and
municipalities.[35] In 2003, it
was funded by Finland and UNICEF.
Coordination and Planning of Mine Action
Cambodia has set the goal of moving toward zero impact from landmines and UXO
by 2012, and plans to accomplish this by clearing all high-impact mined areas
and developing more extensive mine risk education programs. The longer-term
vision is to free Cambodia from all humanitarian and socio-economic impacts of
landmines and UXO.[36]
However, Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty commits Cambodia to have completed
the clearance of all mined areas under its jurisdiction and control by January
2010, ten years after entry into force of the treaty. Moreover, Cambodia has
not clearly defined what constitutes “zero impact,” or what it
implies in terms of future socio-economic impediments and accident risks from
mines.
The Royal Government of Cambodia established the Cambodian Mine Action and
Victim Assistance Authority in September 2000. The CMAA has the responsibility
of coordination of all mine action activities in Cambodia. It assists the
government in policy formulation and the regulatory framework for mine action
management and ensures that mine action programs contribute to poverty reduction
policies and priorities.[37]
The CMAA was formed to respond to the need to separate the functions of a
regulatory authority and supervision of mine action from the government’s
implementing agency for mine
action.[38]
During the first half of 2003 CMAA prepared the National Mine Action Strategy
and the Five Year Mine Action Plan 2003-2007 (FYMAP). FYMAP’s goals
included strengthening national mine action coordination, improving
socio-economic management of mine clearance, expanding mine action achievements
and developing preventive and curative responses in terms of mine risk education
and survivor assistance. In May 2003, CMAA issued the first National Work Plan
by compiling the work plans of the demining agencies.
In October/November 2003, with the support of UNDP and funding from the
United Kingdom, CMAA established a quality management unit for monitoring and
evaluation.[39] Based on
international mine action standards, CMAA completed a draft of the
Cambodia’s National Mine Action Standards (CMAS). The CMAS was scheduled
be introduced in mid-2004, but were reported to be in the final stages of
government approval at the end of September 2004. According to HALO, leading
operators had expressed strong reservations with regard to the appropriateness
of some of the proposed standards which do not reflect what have proved to be
acceptable practices over the last ten
years.[40]
In recent meetings, both HALO and MAG called for a review of the standard for
clearance to be adopted for low threat areas and have proposed that trials with
flails and other tools go ahead to find a way to do something to reduce the risk
to an acceptable level, without resorting to the more meticulous approach that
remains necessary for more densely mined
areas.[41]
Part of the planning and coordination process has been conducted through the
establishment of Land Use Planning Units (LUPUs). In May 1999, a LUPU and a
Provincial Sub-Committee for Land Use in Mined Areas were established in
Battambang to address concerns about equitable allocation and ownership of
demined land. Since June 2001, Handicap International has been providing
financial and technical assistance to two provincial LUPUs in Banteay Meanchey
and Oddar Meanchey with the financial support of the European Commission, and to
a third LUPU in Preah Vihear since April 2002, with funding from France. The aim
of the Land Use Planning Units is to determine, with all relevant stakeholders,
the areas of land in the province that should have priority for mine clearance,
and to have the issues of distribution and ownership settled in advance.
An evaluation of the achievements of LUPUs conducted in September 2003
identified both problems and
opportunities.[42] According to
the evaluation, the process of the identification and selection of minefields is
still often being led by the demining operators and NGOs, although significant
responsibility is also delegated to village chiefs for task identification and
beneficiary selection. However, villagers are often poorly informed of what has
being decided in their name. Some demining operators feel they are slowed down
by the inexperience and working practices of the LUPUs. Almost all the
concerned parties agreed that land disputes have been significantly reduced as a
result of the detailed field investigation that takes place prior to clearance.
The LUPUs also play an effective role in bringing demining agencies together to
work more cooperatively, so that overlapping of demining in a locality is much
reduced or eliminated. However, if a dispute over land proposed for clearance is
identified prior to demining, the task is simply not included in the plans, so
that the disputes tend not to be resolved but rather frozen.
CMAA reported that up to now the LUPU process has been an essential tool to
prioritize mined land for clearance according to local socio-economic needs; but
it also cited drawbacks, such as “no common composition/regulations, no
similar support or no sustainable funding.” Furthermore, the LUPU process
has not taken into account the responsibilities of the CMAA or of the Ministry
of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, which has established
mechanisms for the resolution of land disputes. Since November 2003, three
LUPUs have lost their funding
support.[43]
Between August and December 2003, the CMAA drafted a Sub-Decree entitled
“Socio Economic Management of Mine Clearance Operations” which
establishes a new framework for the Provincial Authority/LUPU
mechanism.[44] After
consultations with all stakeholders, the sub-decree was passed at a full meeting
of the Council of Ministers on 17 September 2004.
Every three months, NGOs engaged in mine action in Cambodia come together for
a Mine Action Forum. One was held on 9 March 2004.
Mine Clearance
During 2003, the four demining operators, CMAC, HALO, MAG and the Royal
Cambodian Armed Forces/Engineering Command Force, cleared a total of 41,746,541
square meters of land, destroying 60,626 antipersonnel mines, 1,096 antivehicle
mines and 118,307 UXO. This is the highest total ever, and a very significant
increase of 7 million square meters, or 20 percent, over 2002. Nearly 252
million square meters of land have been cleared since operations began in 1992,
and more than 146 million square meters over the past five years, since
1999.
The totals in the chart are based on reports directly from the four
operators. Cambodia’s April 2004 Article 7 report has somewhat different
numbers for HALO and MAG. It states that HALO cleared 4.82 square kilometers
and MAG cleared 2.808 square kilometers, destroying 5,387 antipersonnel mines.
According to HALO, CMAA has failed to include ground cleared by HALO with
mechanical clearance
units.[46]
Proper humanitarian mine clearance started in 1992, initiated by the United
Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). Since then, CMAC, HALO, MAG
and mine clearance operators that are no longer involved in clearance in
Cambodia have cleared a total surface area of almost 252 square
kilometers.[47]
The totals in the chart come from the CMAA. However, Cambodia’s April
2004 Article 7 report again has somewhat different numbers for HALO and MAG. It
states that HALO cleared 25.49 million square meters and destroyed 42,332 mines,
while MAG cleared 10.59 million square meters and destroyed 18,949 mines.
After getting mine clearance operations up and running in 1992 and 1993, the
rate of clearance annually remained fairly steady from 1994 to 1999, averaging
18.1 million square meters per year. The totals are up sharply since then, with
the exception of 2001, due to the CMAC mismanagement and funding crisis. From
2000 to 2003, an average of 32.7 million square meters has been cleared each
year.
The National Work Plan for 2004, which compiles work plans from the four main
operators, set a target of 29,640,000 square meters to be
cleared.[50] The socio-economic
objectives of CMAC, HALO and MAG are to clear 13,670,000 square meters for
resettlement and agriculture and to benefit an estimated 15,000 families for
direct use of the land cleared, and almost 86,000 families for indirect use.
Mine clearance will involve 119 communes and 239 villages, including 80 of the
149 most contaminated communes, according the Landmine Impact
Survey.[51]
According to CMAA, since 2001, “the total surface area cleared for
resettlement, agriculture, housing or, more generally, for casualty reduction
has been around 1,000 hectares [10,000,000 square meters] each” for the
mine action operators. It is not possible to give accurate socio-economic
impact figures in earlier years, prior to the Landmine Impact
Survey.[52]
The Cambodian Mine Action Center was established in 1992 and took over
demining activities from UNTAC in November 1993. CMAC is a national institution
whose mandate is to carry out humanitarian demining activities. In February
1995, a royal decree gave CMAC the authority to coordinate and execute all mine
action programs. In 1999, CMAC faced a stream of allegations of financial
impropriety, nepotism, corruption and mismanagement, and as a result in 2000
donor contributions were withheld, forcing the downsizing of field
operations.[54] A strategy for
reform and restructuring was developed and by the middle of 2001 CMAC’s
situation stabilized, allowing the rebuilding of a consistent capacity.
In 2003, CMAC cleared and released to communities a total of 9,708,686 square
meters of land. CMAC destroyed 22,160 antipersonnel mines, 503 antivehicle
mines and 76,642 UXO. The land cleared by CMAC was used for resettlement,
agriculture, roads, pagodas, health centers, wells, ponds, commune offices,
irrigation canals with roads, and schools. A total of 2,018 families benefited
directly and 53,267 families indirectly from CMAC activities in
2003.[55] In addition to
demining, in 2003 CMAC Mine Marking Teams marked 675 minefields containing
136,947,222 square meters of land to be
cleared.[56]
CMAC employs around 2,400 staff. By end of 2003, CMAC mine action resources
included 23 Normal Platoons (30 persons per platoon), 24 Mobile Platoons (33
persons per platoon), 18 EOD Teams (three persons per team), 19 Mine Marking
Teams (five persons per team), 14 Community Mine Marking Teams (five persons per
team), six Mine Awareness Teams (four persons per team), 13 Community-Based Risk
Reduction District Focal Points (one person per district), five Mine Detection
Dog Teams (18 persons per team), 12 Brush Cutter Teams (two persons per team),
two Technical Survey Teams (10 persons per team) and four Mine Risk Reduction
Teams (17 persons per team).[57]
A total of 395 CMAC staff undertook training courses on a range of mine action
activities at the CMAC Training Center. The Center also conducts trials and
evaluation of new demining techniques and equipment.
Initiatives to improve response time to community requests for clearance
include the formation of Mine Risk Reduction teams (in 2002) and Technical
Survey Teams (in 2003), and the transformation of Site Structure Platoons to
Mobile Platoons (in 2003), as well as the use of eight new brush cutters donated
by Japan.[58]
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) continues to provide support to CMAC. In 2003,
NPA provided a Technical Advisor within Planning, Operations and Quality
Management; it funded and monitored CMAC DU1; and it addressed specific needs of
local mine-affected communities in the Northwest related to priority settings
and land rights.[59]
The HALO Trust came to Cambodia in 1991 and took part in the initial national
survey carried out by UNTAC. It then began mine clearance operations in March
1992. By the end of 2003, HALO had cleared 25,565,563 square meters of land,
with 72 percent of the total demined between 1999 and 2003.
In 2003, HALO conducted activities in five provinces and fielded 101 manual
demining sections, 14 mechanical clearance units, two Explosive Ordnance
Disposal teams and a Mine Risk Education team. In total, the demining operators
cleared 5,007,019 square meters of suspect ground, including 8,455 antipersonnel
mines, 224 antivehicle mines, and 18,698 UXO. The land cleared by HALO in 2003
has been used for resettlement (44 percent), road and access (35 percent),
agriculture (12 percent), schools (6 percent) and other purposes (3
percent).
The 8,455 antipersonnel mines found by manual deminers in 2003 was a
significant increase from 4,485 in 2002. HALO reported that this came about as
a result of a policy to clear mines in the border area wherever the K5 belt
encroaches on human activity. In order to reduce casualty levels HALO believes
the clearance of border areas where civilians forage or transit should be made a
priority; according to HALO, over half of all mine casualties in Cambodia now
occur in the border areas, most of them on the K5 mine
belt.[61]
At the start of the 2003, HALO had 943 Khmer staff (846 in operations and 97
in support activities), and three expatriate staff members. By the end of the
year, with the establishment of a new operating base in Kamrieng in Battambang,
HALO had expanded to 1,074 Khmer staff, (966 in operations and 108 in support
activities).
In 2003, HALO deployed three medium-wheeled loaders (two Volvo, one Muir
Hill), Light Crawler tractors (Fiat Allis) and a D6 bulldozer. The machines
have continued to provide mechanical support in those areas where metal
contamination is high. Throughout the year HALO deployed eight rear-mounted
vegetation cutting tractors and two front-mounted cutters.
HALO deploys a semi-permanent marking system to warn of the continued danger
in areas outside of cleared zones. Concrete marking posts are now being
inserted at 50-meter intervals along the boundaries of cleared ground. These
serve as an indicator of the limit of cleared ground.
The Mines Advisory Group, a UK-based NGO, began operations in Cambodia in
November 1992. From 1992 to 2003, MAG cleared 10.36 million square meters of
land. In 2003, MAG cleared 2,682,172 square meters of land, including 4,170
antipersonnel mines, 62 antivehicle mines and 1,873 UXOs. In addition, MAG
conducted 905 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) tasks, destroying 630 mines and
3,195 UXO, and its Rapid Response Team cleared 3,047 square meters in 350 tasks,
destroying 480 mines and 3,050 UXO.
The land cleared in 2003 has been used for resettlement of displaced
population, road construction, canal/irrigation, agriculture, schools, health
centers, water wells, pagodas, sluice, water ponds, and bridges. Clearance
benefited 11,992 families, with a total of 30,307 people.
MAG reported that in 2003 its productivity in Cambodia increased 52 percent
compared to 2002. It attributes the increase in productivity is attributed to
enhanced clearance techniques, the procurement of new detectors, and improved
working practices.
In 2003, MAG employed 500 national staff and three expatriate staff for its
program in Cambodia. Personnel included 100 women deminers, including the first
all-woman mine action team, and about 70 amputee deminers. It deployed 23
multi-skilled Mine Action Teams (MATs), three Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams,
seven Community Liaison Teams (CL) and five Tempest mini-flail machines. Mine
Action Teams are permanently deployed in four provinces: Battambang, Pursat,
Kompong Thom and Preah Vihear. The EOD teams deployed to cover nine provinces.
MAG established a Rapid Response Team (RRT) in Preah Vihear province in
December 2002 due to the high incident rates in Choam Ksan district. The team
worked closely with Community Liaison teams to prioritize community needs. MAG
reports that casualties have fallen in Preah Vihear by 45 percent since the
inception of the RRT.
MAG runs a wide community liaison and data-gathering network. The Community
Liaison teams provide an interface between affected communities and the
responses available to them. These teams are involved with communities from the
first contact, right through the demining process and beyond into the measuring
of benefit years after the clearance process is completed. Community Liaison
Teams also offer villagers a referral service whereby MAG staff contact other
organizations outside of the Humanitarian Mine Action sphere that may be able to
help with specific problems. In this regard, MAG practices a policy of
partnership in mine action and development, collaborating and co-operating with
other agencies such as local development NGO Wathnakpheap, Church World Service,
Lutheran World Federation, and World Vision.
RCAF became involved in mine action clearance for non-military purposes after
the collapse of the last Khmer Rouge remnants in 1998. RCAF reports that in
2003 it cleared 24,348,664 square meters of land, and destroyed 25,841
antipersonnel mines and 307 antivehicle mines. Land cleared was checked and
cleared to guarantee the safety of national and international leaders traveling
to events (2,240,000 square meters), to facilitate construction of garrisons and
guard posts for the Army (3,600,000 square meters), for bridges and roads
(7,616,082 square meters), for development of a hydrology system (6,742,582
square meters) and for land for new development (4,150,000 square meters). From
1999 to 2003, RCAF cleared about 68 million square meters of mine and UXO
affected land.
RCAF has 830 demining personnel, including 691 in a Mine Clearance and UXO
Task Force unit, 121 instructors and management officers, and 18 Explosive
Ordnance Disposal personnel.
For 2004, RCAF aims to have one company of experts on a demining operation in
each provincial-municipality sub-division, and has set a goal to clear an area
of 10 million square meters. For this, a budget proposal of US$3 million has
been submitted to the Royal Government.
A study issued in June 2003 by the Geneva International Center for
Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) reported concerns about RCAF mine clearance
expressed by donors and the civilian mine action community in
Cambodia.[64] Among the
concerns were: 1) RCAF reports of high clearance rates and claims of zero
casualties during mine clearance are considered unreliable; 2) RCAF describes
its work as humanitarian, but engages in road clearance and construction either
in response to government directives or on a commercial basis; and 3) lack of
transparency and
accountability.[65] The study
noted that the government has reported that the armed forces will play an
increased role in mine clearance activities in the future and that RCAF capacity
needs to be improved.
Village Demining
Demining by villagers outside of the approved humanitarian demining program
continues, although it is not officially allowed. Some individuals clear land
for farming and to ensure the physical and economic security of their
families.[66] Others hire a
village deminer to clear the land for
them.[67] Landmine Monitor
researchers have met former members of clearance agencies who are now engaged as
individuals in village clearance activities.
Village mine clearance activities have occurred on a relatively large scale
throughout Cambodia even after the arrival of mine action organizations. CMAC
reported that from 1993 to 1999, villagers cleared 69,780,000 square meters of
land, more than any of the professional operators in that
time.[68]
The debate on how to address mine clearance activities by villagers has gone
on since early 1990s and it remains unresolved. According to a study released
in September 2003 by the International Peace Research Institute (PRIO), HI, and
UNICEF,[69] a major reason why
village demining still exists in Cambodia is that, “The mine action sector
is simply not meeting the needs of the people for access to land and resources
in mine-contaminated areas. For many villagers, the risk of not being able to
provide for a family is greater than taking the risk of clearing mines by
themselves and reducing the overall risk in contaminated land to a tolerable
level.” The mine action sector is seen as providing a top-quality
service, but for a very limited number of beneficiaries, while the majority of
affected communities continue to cope alone with their mine-affected
environment. The study suggests the mine action community should balance the
focus on eradicating the absolute risk of mines with strategies that enable more
land and resources to be freed up for villagers, so as to reduce the need to
enter high-risk areas.
The study noted, “The village deminers in Cambodia have demonstrated
that there are local-level capabilities that are being utilized by people at the
village level to deal with the environment in which they live. These
capabilities should not be ignored because they contradict the dominant
justification for mine action. Instead, they should serve to inform mine action
practitioners of the strengths and weaknesses of the recipient communities, and
of the strengths and weaknesses of the intervention itself.”
In October 2003, MAG and local authorities started a pilot project in
Kamreang and Phnom Preuk districts, Battambang, aimed at training people living
in mine-affected communities to become deminers. Forty people were trained from
January to August 2004 in a project carried out in cooperation with Lutheran
World Federation. [70] MAG has
completed trials of this new approach called “Locality Demining
Teams.” The results of these trials will be available in late
2004.[71]
When village demining was discussed by the Mine Action Forum on 9 March 2004,
HALO noted it had found very little evidence of village demining in areas that
HALO proposes to clear, but it appears to be more widespread in areas which, on
account of their very low threat, are never likely to be cleared by mainstream
operators.[72]
Mine Risk Education
Organizations working in mine risk education (MRE) in Cambodia have included
CMAC, the Cambodian Red Cross, HALO, HI, the Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sports (MoEYS), MAG, UNICEF, World Education and World Vision. According to
UNICEF, in 2003 these organizations provided MRE to at least 600,000
people.[73] The statistics
provided to Landmine Monitor identify about 350,000 MRE recipients. Between
1999 and 2002, about 2.1 million people attended MRE sessions.
In the period from 1994 to 1998, CMAC, which was responsible for MRE
coordination, reported that 1.1 people received mine risk education from three
main providers: CMAC, MAG and World
Vision.[74] In 1999, CMAC, MAG
and World Vision provided MRE to 497,198 people. In 2000, CMAC provided MRE to
627,244 people. In 2001, World Vision provided MRE to 6,367 people and World
Education trained more than 2,000 teachers to use MRE in the school curriculum,
and then gave MRE to more than 90,000 primary school children and 20,000
out-of-school children. CMAC did not carry out MRE activities in 2001 due to
financial difficulties.[75] In
2002, mine risk education was provided to more than 224,557 people by CMAC, the
Cambodia Red Cross, HALO, World Education and World Vision. In addition, they
trained 2,440 MRE trainers, including teachers, community representatives and
volunteers.[76]
CMAA organized a national workshop, “Mine/UXO Risk Reduction in
Cambodia: The Way Forward,” in Battambang on 12 June 2003.
Recommendations for prevention of mine and UXO incidents in Cambodia included:
more attention to the awareness of danger caused by UXO, a strict prohibition of
small business transactions of UXO, enforcement of the law banning landmines and
other relevant laws, expanding mine clearance by small mobile teams in order to
respond to urgent needs, more involvement of community leaders in mine/UXO
awareness projects, and more job opportunities for vulnerable groups living in
contaminated areas so they are not compelled to go into mined areas or tamper
with UXO.[77]
Following the workshop, UNICEF agreed to fund a full time Mine Risk Education
Focal Point Coordinator within CMAA, in order to strengthen linkages between
mine action organizations and the
government.[78]
In 2003, 4,204 teachers from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
(MoYS) provided MRE to 265,300 primary school pupils. In addition 4,202 trained
students provided MRE to 41,923 out-of-school children. These activities were
conducted in the 30 most affected districts. 206 school directors received
training and conducted 167 monitoring
visits.[79]
In 2003, CMAC conducted MRE activities through a Mass Media campaign, Mobile
Mine Awareness Teams, Mine Risk Reduction Teams (MRT) and the Community-Based
Mine Risk Reduction (CBMRR) District Focal
Points.[80] The Mass Media
campaign included spots aired 449 times on national television and 1,200 times
on national radio; the installation of 25 new billboards in areas with high
casualty rates such as Pailin Municipality; the production of audio and video
tapes; and field surveys on the impact of billboards and televisions and radios
spots.[81] Mobile mine awareness
teams, besides delivering MRE training to mine affected communities, carried out
basic assessments of the needs of populations living in the contaminated areas,
thus enabling the better development of future strategies.
In 2003, mobile mine awareness teams visited 762 villages (95 percent of the
overall work plan) and met 95,364 households, delivering 706 courses with a
total number of beneficiaries from mine awareness presentations of 137,603,
including 32,353 men, 35,260 women and 75,122
children.[82]
CMAC reported that in the period from 1994 to February 2004 mobile mine
awareness teams visited 8,119 villages and reached 1,801,618 people. As a result
a total of 8,990 antipersonnel mines and 30,971 UXO were reported to CMAC for
clearance.[83]
Launched in November 2002 by HI and CMAC, the Mine Risk Reduction Teams aim
to prevent mine and UXO accidents through a multi-skilled approach combining
limited clearance, long-term marking, UXO disposal, MRE and community liaison.
Each team consists of 17
people.[84] In 2003, MRE
systematically took place during MRT’s village assessments and an average
of two people in each family were provided
MRE.[85] Between January and
November 2003, the four MRTs provided mine risk education to a total of 12,982
people.
The Community-Based Mine Risk Reduction program started as a pilot project in
October 2001 and received assistance from HI and UNICEF. In 2003, the CBMRR
program was expanded to target seven new highly contaminated districts in
Battambang and four districts in Banteay
Meanchey.[86] In 2003, 304
local mine/UXO committees received training in MRE, village mapping and mine
action task prioritization. As a result, 43 small-scale clearance tasks were
requested, 283,996 square meters were cleared, and 3,611 mines and 6,587 UXO
were destroyed.[87] In May
2003, a Monitoring Committee was established to monitor and evaluate the
implementation and effectiveness of the CBMRR project in Battambang and Pailin,
especially to identify the areas needing improvement. An evaluation of the
program was conducted in
2002.[88]
The Cambodian Red Cross established a Community Based Landmine Awareness
Project in 2002. During 2003, 183 Red Cross volunteers provided MRE to 90,148
people in six provinces (Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin,
Preah Vihear, and Pursat). In addition, 89 Red Cross Youth received MRE training
and then provided MRE to 3,115 school
students.[89] The project is
supported by the Finnish Red
Cross.[90]
In February 2003, HALO established a three-man Mine Risk Education team. The
team delivers MRE presentations to school children and adults in villages where
HALO is conducting clearance. In 2003, HALO presentations were attended by a
total of 27,311
villagers.[91]
In 2003, MAG had seven Community Liaison teams and one Rapid Response Team
working alongside its other teams. The Rapid Response Team’s mine risk
reduction education presentations were attended by 1,994 people (930 children
and 1,064 adults) in 2003.[92]
MAG, together with HI and NPA, is conducting a study on the deliberate handling
and usage of live ordnance. The study aims to develop a better understanding of
who is involved in the deliberate handling and usage of live ordnance and what
factors are contributing to the continuation of such behavior. It is
anticipated that the results from the study will help identify improvements that
can be made to current mine risk reduction and casualty mitigation
interventions.[93]
World Vision’s Mine Awareness/Action Teams have conducted MRE
activities aimed at integrating mine action and community development
structures. In 2003, the teams were active in four districts of Battambang and
Phreahvihear provinces. Four staff members provided MRE to 4,484 villagers,
including 1,047 in Rattanakmondul, 44 in Samlot, 2,193 in Rovieng, and 1,200 in
Tbeng Meanchey.[94]
Landmine Awareness Day was celebrated on 24 February 2004 in Oddar Meanchey,
Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, northern Siem Reap, and on the border of Oddar
Meanchey and Ponhear Leu. Children injured by mines in 2003 spoke to their
peers. The day was promoted by CARE, Arrupe Centre, CMAC, Jesuit Refugee
Service and other organizations.
Mine Action Funding
In June 2004, Cambodia reported to other States Parties that the current
costs of mine clearance were approximately US$20 million per
year.[95] In April 2004, CMAA
estimated that the total costs for demining operations, including technical
assistance and in-kind contributions, were approximately $30 million per
year.[96]
According to information submitted to or gathered by Landmine Monitor, 15
donor governments and the European Commission provided approximately US$17
million in mine action funding for Cambodia in
2003.[97] This compares to
about $27.3 million in 2002 and $21 million in 2001. Donations for mine action
in Cambodia are estimated to exceed $190 million from 1994 through 2003,
including $114 million for 1999-2003.
Contributions in 2003 included: Australia A$1.6 million (US$1,043,200);
Belgium €960,471 ($1,086,773); Canada C$1,632,533 (US$1,188,485); European
Commission €449,539 ($508,653); Finland €1,686,061 ($1,907,778);
France €465,000 ($526,148); Germany €555,266 ($628,283); Ireland
€385,000 ($435,628); Japan ¥389,000,000 ($3,188,000); Netherlands
$675,489; New Zealand US$209,000; Norway NOK1,600,000 ($225,928); Spain
€75,398 ($85,313); Sweden SEK 16,000,000 ($1,980,000); United Kingdom
£271,250 ($443,250); and, United States $ 2,922,808.
In addition to the donor governments, mine action operators have received
funds from private and charitable sources, as well as the Royal Government of
Cambodia. The Royal Government reported in April 2004 that it supports the
CMAA, CMAC and the RCAF with $800,000 per
year.[98] In 2003, CMAC reported
receiving $500,000 and HALO reported receiving $73,000. From 1993 to 1998, the
Royal Government donated approximately $1 million to CMAC; it has also granted
CMAC tax-free status, which has an estimated value of at least $2
million.[99]
Three of the four main mine action operators, CMAC, HALO and MAG, report
expenditures of about $17.5 million in 2003. The cost of RCAF mine clearance
activities in 2003 has not been provided to Landmine Monitor. RCAF has budgeted
demining and UXO operations at $3 million in 2004.
For mine action operations conducted in 2003, CMAC reports that it received a
total of US$10,733,555 from nine donors: UNDP Trust Fund ($4,897,559), United
States ($1,572,185), Japan ($1,784,599), Germany ($829,430), NPA ($850,672),
Royal Government of Cambodia ($500,000), HI ($189,739), Japan Mine Action
Service ($61,600) and CARE International
($47,771).[100] CMAC received
approximately $8.6 million in 1999, $7.6 million in 2000, $7.5 million in 2001,
and $10.8 million in 2002.[101]
HALO Trust reported a total project income for 2003 of $3,746,087.
HALO’s donors included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland
(€670,000 or
$800,000),[102] United States
Department of State ($762,500), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
($675,489), Embassy of Japan ($546,234), Tokyo Broadcasting System ($362,500),
Australia’s AusAid ($238,448), ECHO ($177,917), Rotary International
District 2580 ($80,000), Royal Cambodian Government ($73,000), Freedom Fields
USA ($16,667), and Rotary International District 5030
($13,333).[103] HALO’s
operations in Cambodia cost about $4 million in 1999, $2.5 million in 2000, $4.5
million in 2001, and $3.6 million in 2002.
In 2003, MAG received approximately $3 million for 16 projects in Cambodia
from 12 donors including the US Department of State, Japan, ECHO, Church World
Service, World Vision, Julia Burk Foundation, Co-op Bank-UK, Roots of Peace,
Lutheran World Service, Guernsey Overseas Aid, and the Churches of Mann. For
2004 MAG seeks to maintain its annual budget of around $3
million.[104] MAG received $3.9
million in 1999, $4 million in 2000, $3.5 million in 2001, and an estimated $3
million in 2002.
CMAA has received financial and in-kind assistance from different donors
since its establishment in late 2000, including funds from the Royal Government
since mid-2002. Australia, Canada, Norway, UNDP, European Commission, UNICEF,
and Japan helped CMAA organize a national workshop and an international seminar.
In September 2003, Canada renewed funding for the National Mine Action Database.
The United Kingdom through UNDP has provided support for socio-economic planning
and monitoring starting in late 2003. The European Commission provided
assistance for refurbishing the building of the Secretariat until August 2002.
Since 2002, UNDP and France have been providing in-kind assistance for planning
and socio-economic matters. From September 2001 to March 2002, the German
Foreign Ministry provided technical assistance to establish the Database Center.
MAG provided equipment and a Technical Specialist as well as a translator for
one year (2001-2002). GICHD, UNMAS, and UNICEF have provided in-kind technical
support to strengthen the IMSMA system, and technical assistance in other
fields, including mine risk
education.[105]
Landmine Casualties
In 2003, 772 new landmine and UXO casualties were reported in Cambodia: 115
people were killed and 657 injured; 442 were men, 46 were women and 284 were
children; 751 were
civilians.[106] Of the total
casualties, 152 people (20 percent) required an amputation. Landmines caused
362 casualties (47 percent), while 410 casualties (53 percent) were caused by
UXO; however, 80 percent of the children were killed or injured by UXO. In
1999, 63 percent of casualties were caused by
landmines.[107] Casualties
continue to be reported in 2004; 671 new mine/UXO casualties were recorded to
the end of August.[108]
Since 1999, 5,128 new mine/UXO casualties have been recorded in Cambodia.
The mine/UXO casualty rate declined from 12 new casualties a day in 1996 to
three a day in 1999 and to an average of two casualties a day in 2003; a rate
that has remained constant since 2000. However, in the first eight months of
2004 the rate increased again to an average of almost three casualties a
day.
Information on mine/UXO casualties is collected from all provinces by a
network of Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) field staff; the data is then entered into
the Cambodia Mine UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS), implemented by the CRC
and HI.
Mine/UXO Casualties in Cambodia
Year
(unknown)
No. of
Casualties
Per month
Per day
Military
Civilian
Unknown
1996
4,320
360
12
2,577
1,743
1997
2,299
191
6
998
1,300
1
1998
2,153
179
6
834
1,310
9
1999
1,154
96
3
163
987
4
2000
858
72
2+
62
796
1
2001
826
69
2+
41
785
2002
847
71
2+
17
830
2003
772
63
2
21
751
2004 (8 mths)
671
84
3
26
645
The vast majority of mine casualties were engaged in daily livelihood
activities such as farming, herding, clearing new land, fishing, and collecting
food and wood (51 percent) or traveling (31 percent) at the time of the
incident; whereas 63 percent of the UXO casualties were caused by tampering.
Mine/UXO casualties were reported in 20 of 24 provinces in 2003; 78 percent
of the total casualties were reported in seven provinces, with most in the
province of Battambang with 169 casualties (22 percent), followed by Banteay
Meanchey with 121 (16 percent) and Oddar Meanchey 97 (13 percent).
Discussions are ongoing within the mine action community on the “lack
of progress” in reducing the number of mine and UXO casualties. Some of
the hypotheses put forward include: poor funding levels for mine risk education;
population growth and new settlements of internally displaced persons and
returning refugees; fluidity of population and socio-economic situation in the
affected areas; and the need for a greater emphasis on the danger of UXO as the
leading cause of mine action-related injuries in
Cambodia.[109]
An external evaluation of the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System
(CMVIS) reported that the system is “unique in the world in terms of
coverage and detail.”[110]
As of December 2003, the database contained records on 59,153 mine/UXO
casualties since 1979: 18,673 people were killed and 40,480 injured (including
8,018 amputations); 33,841 were civilians.
CMAC reported eight deminers injured during clearance operations in 2003, and
six injured in the first three months of
2004.[111] HALO reported three
deminers injured in 2003.[112]
Mine/UXO Casualties: 1979 to December 2003
Province
Mine
UXO
Total
Battambang
11,137
2,443
14,104
Banteay Meanchey
6,655
1,623
8,278
Siem Reap
6,865
1,026
7,891
Oddar Meanchey
3,889
594
4,483
Pursat
3,122
614
3,736
Preah Vihear
2,159
489
2,648
Kampong Speu
1,987
448
2,435
Kampong Cham
1,490
781
2,271
Svay Rieng
1,586
532
2,118
Kampot
1,780
310
2,090
Kampong Thom
1,190
633
1,823
Takeo
1,346
364
1,710
Krong Pailin
893
124
1,017
Kampong Chhnang
774
170
944
Kandal
753
145
898
Kracheh
493
224
717
Kaoh Kong
433
208
641
Krong Preah Sihanuok
305
98
403
Rottanak Kiri
96
133
229
Krong Kaeb
203
16
219
Mondol Kiri
122
79
201
Prey Vaeng
79
43
122
Stueng Traeng
78
28
106
Phnom Penh
35
34
69
Total
47,994
11,159
59,153
Survivor Assistance
The majority of persons with disabilities in Cambodia are among the very
poorest in a very poor country. About 43 percent of the rural population lives
below the poverty line. In Cambodia, physically challenged mine survivors live
in villages scattered throughout the country or cluster in groups in tourist
areas, or big towns, where they struggle to earn a living. Assisting survivors,
after basic rehabilitation needs have been met, requires long journeys on bad
roads. Healthcare services are available, but are often economically
inaccessible. Health costs for landmine injuries can completely bankrupt the
family. Most assistance to mine survivors is provided by their families,
although international and local NGOs provide some specialized and community
services. Survivor assistance services in Cambodia are carried out in a
post-war context.[113]
According to CMAA, there are more than 30 organizations (international and
local), which have been active in Cambodia—many for a decade or
more—working to rehabilitate mine survivors. NGOs are the main
implementers, providing physical rehabilitation and other support such as
vocational training, employment, and small enterprise
development.[114] NGOs in
Cambodia make no distinction between assistance available to landmine survivors
and assistance to people disabled by other causes.
First aid is available in government health centers at commune, district and
sometimes village level, but many injuries require specialized treatment
including surgery. These health services are controlled by the Ministry of
Health and are available at government hospitals and some hospitals run by NGOs.
Incidents frequently occur in villages or forests remote from health centers,
and emergency first aid is provided by any available villager.
The Norwegian NGO, Trauma Care Foundation (TCF), in collaboration with the
Catholic Relief Service, provides training in emergency first aid and life
support techniques to villagers and health staff at the commune, district and
hospital level. TCF training has different stages, including: Village First
Helpers (VFH) who are trained in basic first aid; Village Health Volunteers
(VHV) who are trained in emergency care and life saving practices; and Mine
Medics, the key link in the chain of survival, who are government medical staff
at health clinics or referral hospitals trained in life support techniques over
a longer period of time. Mine Medics are equipped with a backpack containing
basic, essential equipment to stabilize mine casualties and prepare them for
transport to the referral hospital if necessary. The final stage is the
training of surgeons at referral hospitals. In 2003, TCF in cooperation with
the Tromsoe Mine Victim Resource Center (TMC) Norway trained twelve surgeons
from six referral hospitals; 150 people with trauma-related injuries were
assisted, including injuries caused by landmines. TCF is active in the
provinces of Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Pailin, Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey and
Preah Vihear.[115] In 2002, the
training manual, “Save Lives, Save Limbs,” was distributed in the
Khmer language.[116]
As part of its Integrated Demining Development Project, CARE has trained two
Village Health Volunteers in each village to respond to medical emergencies such
as mine incidents.[117]
Some organizations, including Emergency, CMAC, HALO, MAG, Jesuit Services
Cambodia and Cambodia Family Development Services, provide ambulances or
transport to hospital. The Cambodian Red Cross informs agencies about the
special needs of mine casualties in hospitals. In Banteay Meanchey, the CRC
refers mine survivors requiring food assistance in hospital to JS, and the
Cambodian Association for Assistance to Family and Widows provides money for
surgery.
Surgery for new mine casualties and for landmine survivors requiring
additional surgery is provided free-of-charge at the Emergency Surgical Center
in Battambang, and by the Sihanuok Hospital Center of Hope in Phnom Penh. The
Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, the government provincial and city
hospitals and the Preah Ket Malea hospital, formerly for military casualties,
also provide surgery.[118]
However, many families cannot afford to pay for surgery at government hospitals.
During the course of research for this report, Landmine Monitor saw new mine
casualties at the Emergency Surgical Center, Mongkol Borei Hospital in Banteay
Meanchey, Samrong Hospital in Oddar Meanchey, and Calmette Hospital in Phnom
Penh.
In 2003, the Mongkol Borei provincial hospital in Banteay Meanchey assisted
42 mine casualties; 78 mine casualties and 32 UXO casualties were assisted in
2002. In January and February 2004, seven mine casualties were
admitted.[119] When Landmine
Monitor visited the hospital on 2 April 2004, eleven mine casualties were
hospitalized.
The Italian NGO Emergency opened the “Ilaria Alpi” Surgical
Center in Battambang in July 1998 to provide surgical assistance to the victims
of war, especially mine casualties, and other reconstructive and general
surgery. Emergency also supports five First Aid posts in the Samlot area and
operates an ambulance service from Samlot. In 2003, Emergency treated 2,379
people, including 160 with war-related injuries; 104 were mine casualties and 37
UXO casualties. Emergency also provided corrective surgery for 78 mine
survivors. The mine casualties assisted in 2003 reportedly had more severe
injuries than in previous years requiring higher amputations and longer periods
of hospitalization. Trauma casualties were admitted from 13 districts in
Battambang, and from the provinces of Pailin, Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, Takeo,
Siem Reap, Poipet, Oddar Meanchey, Kompong Thom and Phnom Penh. In the first
few months of 2004, another 69 new mine/UXO casualties were admitted. Since
July 1998, the Emergency Surgical Center has assisted 967 new mine/UXO
casualties and 552 mine/UXO survivors requiring additional surgery: 69 in 2004;
219 in 2003; 255 in 2002; 236 in 2001; 271 in 2000; 316 in 1999; and 153 in
1998.[120]
Specialist surgery for landmine casualties in 2003 included that provided by
Spanish surgeons on limbs, and Australian and French surgeons on ears, in
collaboration with the National Pediatric Hospital, Disability Action Council,
JS, Emergency, and Christian Blind
Mission.[121]
Physical rehabilitation services for landmine survivors are generally well
organized and of a good quality in Cambodia, particularly for amputees, even
though the needs remain immense. Since 1999, the number of physical
rehabilitation centers and orthopedic workshops covering 24 provinces in
Cambodia increased from 15 to 16, reduced to 14 in early 2003 and to eleven in
2004. According to service providers, the principal reason for the decrease in
the number of centers is decreased funding, but each closure was analyzed to
minimize the impact on survivors needing assistance. Improved infrastructure
throughout Cambodia reportedly allows amputees from areas near closed centers to
travel to the closest remaining center. Other reasons for the closures include
cost, quality control, and
sustainability.[122] Five
international organizations including the ICRC, American Red Cross (ARC),
Cambodia Trust (CT), HI, and Veterans International (VI) supported the centers,
in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training
and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSALVY). MOSALVY has no operational budget for
physical rehabilitation and is therefore dependent on international agencies.
Rehabilitation centers currently assisting mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities are located in the provinces of Battambang (ICRC), Kompong Speu
(ARC), Siem Reap (HI), Kompong Cham (HI), Kratie (VI), Sihanoukville (CT), Prey
Veng (VI), Takeo (HI), Kompong Chhnang (CT), and two in Phnom Penh (CT and
VI).[123] Since 2001,
rehabilitation centers have closed in Banteay Meanchey (HI – closed
November 2003), Kampot (HI – closed September 2001), Kompong Thom (HI
– closed June 2004), Preah Vihear (VI – closed October 2004) and
Pursat (HI – closed November
2001).[124]
The International Committee of the Red Cross physical rehabilitation program,
run in agreement with MoSALVY, started in October 1991 and has two components:
the Regional Physical Rehabilitation Center in Battambang and the Orthopedic
Component Factory in Phnom Penh. In April 2001, the rehabilitation center was
promoted by the government to a regional level center and now services the
provinces of Battambang, Pailin, Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey and Pursat
(north/northwest Cambodia). The ICRC provides physiotherapy,
prosthetic/orthotic devices, walking aids, wheelchairs, accommodation and meals
free-of-charge, and reimburses between 80 and 100 percent of travel costs to the
center. On-the-job training is provided to physiotherapists and orthopedic
technicians. Six prosthetists/orthotists were sponsored to attend the Cambodian
School of Prosthetics and Orthotics in Phnom Penh to undertake a three-year
training course. The center also operates a mobile clinic which travels from
Battambang to the other provinces to carry out on-the-spot repairs and follow-up
of amputees. In 2003, 21 outreach visits were conducted; 1,790 people were
assessed and 1,055 prostheses, 15 orthoses and 64 wheelchairs were
repaired.[125] Since 1999, the
Regional Rehabilitation center produced 6,529 prostheses (6,089 for mine
survivors), 3,115 orthoses (at least eleven for mine survivors) and distributed
18,404 crutches and 568 wheelchairs, including 1,283 prostheses (1,189 for mine
survivors), 809 orthoses (four for mine survivors), 2,368 crutches, and 196
wheelchairs in 2003.[126]
In 2003, the ICRC Orthopedic Component Factory in Phnom Penh provided
components and walking aids free-of-charge to 14 orthopedic centers nationwide:
ICRC in Battambang and centers run by American Red Cross, Cambodia Trust, HI,
and Veterans International. Components and walking aids produced include feet,
hands, knees, alignment systems, orthotic joints, elbow joints, hooks, and
crutches. In 2003, the factory produced all the components necessary to make
over 5,000 prostheses; in 2002, components were produced for 5,500 prostheses
and 4,500 pairs of crutches were distributed to rehabilitation centers.
[127]
The American Red Cross has been active in Cambodia since 1991 providing
physiotherapy, prosthetic and orthotic devices, crutches and wheelchairs for
mine survivors and other persons with disabilities at the Kompong Speu
Rehabilitation Center. The ARC also provided on-the-job training to Cambodian
staff and an outreach service to people living in remote areas. This Center
covers 33 percent of the needs in Cambodia (80 percent of beneficiaries are mine
survivors), and the ICRC is currently taking over responsibility of the Center
so that it can continue its operations. Since 1999, the ARC fitted 3,176
prostheses, including 709 in 2003 for mine survivors. About 40 percent of people
receiving rehabilitation services at the center are mine/UXO survivors. In
2003, the center also produced 939 orthoses, and distributed 972 crutches and
122 wheelchairs. The ARC also collaborates with the National Center of Disabled
Persons on projects that include community-based rehabilitation, psychosocial
support, job training and
referrals.[128]
The Cambodia Trust opened its first clinic in 1992 and now provides physical
rehabilitation services at centers in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Kompong
Chhnang. The centers provide physiotherapy services, make and fit artificial
limbs and orthoses, and distribute wheelchairs. Since 1999, the three centers
fitted 5,278 prostheses, including 885 in 2003, for mine/UXO survivors. In
2003, the center also produced 1,226 orthoses, and distributed 706 crutches and
86 wheelchairs. CT also operates an outreach program to reach persons with
disabilities in remote areas, providing referrals for medical and surgical
services, community-based rehabilitation, and raising awareness on disability
issues. In 2003, CT paid for surgery for 99 mine survivors, and 23 self-help
community groups were established. In 1999, CT commenced an Outreach Training
Project to facilitate access to training, education, employment opportunities,
and provides small grants and access to micro-credit loan programs to establish
small businesses. CT employs 104 staff in Cambodia; about 22 percent are persons
with a disability.[129]
The CT rehabilitation center in Phnom Penh is also a teaching clinic for the
Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO), set up by CT in 1994, to
provide technical training in prosthetics/orthotics for Cambodia and the region.
Each year twelve new students start a three-year training program, including
students from Afghanistan, Burma, Laos, Sri Lanka and Timor Leste. More than 80
students have graduated since the school opened. CSPO encourages women trainees
to improve available services for women with disabilities. In 1999, CSPO was
accredited by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO),
and is one of only four Category II training centers in the
world.[130] Physiotherapists are
trained at the Technical School of Medical Care, with specialized training also
provided by the physical rehabilitation
centers.[131]
Handicap International began working in Cambodia in 1991 with programs in
physical rehabilitation, socio-economic reintegration, data collection,
capacity-building and raising awareness on the rights and needs of persons with
disabilities. In 2003, HI supported rehabilitation centers in Banteay Meanchey,
Kompong Cham, Kompong Thom, Siem Reap, and Takeo providing physiotherapy
services, prosthetics and other assistive devices, an outreach program, and
on-the job-training for technicians and physiotherapists. In 2003, HI assisted
6,248 people, including 3,007 mine survivors. Since 1999, HI-supported centers
produced 7,686 prostheses, including 1,271 in 2003. The centers also
distributed 1,364 crutches, 214 wheelchairs and 160 tricycles in 2003. The
Banteay Meanchey and Kompong Thom centers have now closed following a
rationalization of services and a greater focus on quality-control and
sustainability. HI’s community-based rehabilitation programs focus on
medical follow-up, psychosocial support, alleviating poverty, and the
socio-economic reintegration of persons with disabilities through self-help
groups, referrals to vocational training programs, and a small grants program.
HI also supports two sports clubs for persons with disabilities in Battambang
and Siem Reap, and runs the Para-Tetra Rehabilitation Center, a spinal cord
injury rehabilitation unit, in
Battambang.[132]
Veterans International, in Cambodia since 1991, operates three rehabilitation
centers, including the Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Center in Phnom
Penh, and centers in the provinces of Kratie (opened in 2000) and Prey Veng; a
small center in Preah Vihear closed in October 2004. The centers provide
physiotherapy services, production and fitting of prosthetic and orthotic
devices, and wheelchairs and other assistive devices. The program includes
community-based rehabilitation, outreach teams and referrals to other services.
Since 1999, VI has fitted 5,333 prostheses, including 875 in 2003. VI also
produced 1,960 orthoses and 429 crutches in 2003. Since 1999, VI produced and
distributed 2,268 wheelchairs, including 480 in 2003. In March 2004, VI
partnered with the Development Technology Workshop (DTW) to move the wheelchair
production unit to a DTW Business Incubation Park, with the aim of transitioning
production into the private sector within the next two years. VI will continue
to manage the workshop during the transition. VI reports that it will turn its
wheelchair program over to Development Technology Workshop in March 2004. VI
also supports the “Sports for Life” program for persons with
disabilities.[133] This project
is being privatized at the end of 2004 with the expectation that it will
continue as a successful Small Medium Enterprise. VI also supported the Sports
For Life volleyball project, which is now operating as a local NGO with its own
funding.[134]
Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR) established the Wheelchair
Production Service in Phnom Penh in 1994. Since 1999, AAR produced and
distributed 1,524 wheelchairs, including 254 in 2003; 18 were for mine
survivors.[135] AAR opened the
Kien Khleang Vocational Training Center in Phnom Penh in 1993. The center
provides one-year training programs for people with disabilities in Phnom Penh
and nine surrounding provinces. Training is provided in basic literacy,
TV/radio repair, motorcycle repair, and sewing. In 2003, 40 people received
training, including 14 mine
survivors.[136]
Jesuit Services Cambodia has produced 5,009 wheelchairs since 1999 that are
specially designed for local conditions, including 1,046 in 2003. JS
wheelchairs are distributed by ARC, ICRC, HI and CT; JS distributed 245 in 2003.
JS also provides vocational training at Banteay Prieb (Center of the Dove)
residential school. Before joining courses, many students spent three months
gaining literacy skills. Several instructors are former students, including mine
survivors. In 2003, 145 students with disabilities undertook one-year courses in
agriculture, sculpture, carpentry, electronic repair, machine repair, weaving,
tailoring and literacy. Since 1999, more than 700 students have received
training. JS also works with mine-affected communities in Rottanak Mondol,
Battambang, O Chrov and Thmar Puok in Banteay Meanchey, in Siem Reap, some areas
in Oddar Meanchey and in the old Khmer Rouge areas of Kandal. Metta Karuna
teams, which include several mine survivors, provide psychosocial support to
villagers and assist them in planning programs for their health and well-being.
The program includes housing, water access, emergency food, schooling assistance
for children, and access to health services and markets through bridges and
roads. In some communities where JS operates mine survivors are village
leaders, teachers, development workers, and health workers.
The National Center of Disabled Persons (NCDP) operates a community-based
rehabilitation program providing home-based rehabilitation, psychosocial support
through peer groups, and facilities access to services and socio-economic
opportunities. The NCDP also provides education and accommodation for children
with disabilities.[137]
In January 2003, a new local NGO Disability Development Services Pursat
(DDSP) was launched in Pursat province with the aim of improving the quality of
life of persons with disabilities in the area. DDSP provides physical
rehabilitation services, including physiotherapy, wheelchairs and other
assistive devices, and referral to other services. DDSP also provides
psychosocial support, facilitates access to education for children and
vocational training, and raises awareness on disability issues. In 2003, DDSP
referred seven landmine survivors for hospital care and about 70 people
benefited from the community-based program; about one-third are mine
survivors.[138]
The Cambodian War Amputees Rehabilitation Society program offers landmine
survivors and other persons with disabilities training in income generating
trades and services. Graduates of the program are assisted to establish their
own micro-enterprise business, enabling them to achieve self-confidence and
independence. In 2002, 543 persons with disabilities received
training.[139]
In 2000, the Cambodian Handicraft Association for Landmine and Polio Disabled
was established to provide skills and business training for the production and
sale of traditional handicrafts, including wallets, purses, silk scarves,
greeting cards, and home accessories. Since 2000, 77 people with a disability,
including 67 mine survivors, have benefited from the program; 29 people,
including 13 mine survivors were trained in 2003. The association lacks funding
to expand the program, or to offer small start up loans for graduates of the
training.[140]
In 2001, Clear Path International, in partnership with Cambodian Volunteers
for Community Development, started a vocational training program in Phnom Penh
and at a dedicated training center in Kampong Cham province for mine survivors
or family members. Training is offered in marketable skills such as English
literacy, computer data entry, computer repairs, garment design and sewing,
electronics, appliance repair, and small-engine repair. In 2003, about 90
people received training, including 50 landmine survivors. Since the program
started 150 people, including 100 mine survivors, have benefited; about 80
percent are now engaged in income generation activities. The director of the
Stoeung Trung Training Center is a mine
survivor.[141]
The Development Technology Workshop (DTW) helped to establish the Cambodian
Demining Workshop, a small Khmer-run business, which employs about 20 staff with
a physical disability, to produce a range of demining equipment. DTW also
manufactures and exports the Tempest, a small remote-controlled, vegetation and
tripwire clearance vehicle.[142]
In 1999, the World Rehabilitation Fund implemented a three-year program, in
partnership with UNDP, to promote the socio-economic reintegration of mine
survivors. The program was successful in establishing the Artisans Association
of Cambodia in collaboration with Children Affected by Mines, Marynoll, NCDP,
RehabCraft, and VI. The Business Advisory Council was also established to
implement a program to develop jobs for mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities.[143]
World Vision provides agricultural and trade training in Battambang and has
assumed responsibility for the former Maryknoll vocational training program in
Wat Than, Phnom Penh; 237 students benefited in
2003.[144]
The Disability Action Council lists many other organizations assisting mine
survivors and other persons with disabilities through self-help groups,
community-based assistance, referral systems, education, counseling, vocational
training and outreach. American Friends Service Committee provides physical
therapy and referral services to persons with disabilities and their families; a
small percentage of beneficiaries are mine
survivors.[145] Caritas
Cambodia (CC) facilitated eye surgery for four survivors blinded by mines, and
rehabilitation services for 18 others in Kandal, Takeo, Kompong Speu and Kompot
provinces. CC also assisted the families of 12 blind
survivors.[146] The NGO,
Children Affected by Mines, assists child mine survivors to access medical care,
rehabilitation and psychosocial support; 26 were assisted in 2002 and 184 in
2001.[147] Others include
Action for Disability and Development, Arrupe Center Battambang, Cambodian
Disabled Peoples Association, Operation Enfants de Battambang, Servants, Krousar
Thmey, Marist Mission Australia, Help Age International, and Social Services of
Cambodia.[148]
Another approach to survivor assistance in Cambodia is the “Development
Approach” which focuses on the mine-affected community, including mine
survivors. Often these communities are frontier territory where people relocate
to start a new life. The aim of the development approach is to provide land for
the planting of crops, roads, bridges, wells for water, a school, a healthcare
facility, and some income generating assistance after mine clearance activities.
Mine survivors are assisted along with other members of the community in this
integrated development approach. Agencies working in this integrated approach
include CARE, AUSTCARE, World Vision, Lutheran World Federation and JS.
Data collected by Jesuit Services Cambodia as part of its outreach program in
1999 and 2000 in the provinces of Battambang, Oddar Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey,
Siem Reap, and areas surrounding Kampong Speu revealed that of 1,663 survivors
interviewed: 71 percent did not have adequate housing; seven percent had no
house at all; 45 percent had to travel more than five minutes to get water for
drinking and washing; 89 percent reported food insecurity; 32 percent had no
land for housing or cultivation; 28 percent received a government pension; 50
percent had a “job” (including rice farming); and the children of at
least 46 percent did not go to
school.[149] Based on these
findings, mine survivors developed a 12-point plan that identifies their needs
and those of their communities. Their priorities include adequate shelter,
enough food to eat, and water; a job, or the possibility to generate an income;
access to healthcare, rehabilitation and assistive devices they can afford; a
school for their children, and a chance for adults to learn new skills. JS is
currently undertaking a follow-up survey to determine if the situation for mine
survivors has improved in the past four years. Early results from the survey
indicate that in the areas where the 12-point plan was implemented, many
survivors who had received assistance reported a happier quality of life but
many more survivors are still awaiting assistance.
The Victim Assistance Department of the CMAA’s Secretariat General has
developed a strategy for a medium- and long-term plan for the coordination of
mine victim assistance provided by national institutions, local and
international NGOs.[150]
CMAA’s strategic plan for victim assistance includes collecting
information from service providers and producing reports; developing a quick
response trauma care and transportation system for mine/UXO casualties; liaising
with the Ministry of Health to ensure the availability of appropriate hospital
care and follow-up for mine/UXO survivors; work with the Disability Action
Council Physical Rehabilitation Committee to contribute to a national plan on
mine survivor needs; assisting mine survivors to lead a normal productive life
by developing strategies and pilot programs that encourage access to mainstream
activities of poverty reduction and income generation programs; and developing
relevant databases to collect information that will assist NGOs, the government
and donors in planning appropriate mine victim assistance
programs.[151] On 10 March
2004, a meeting of NGOs and government ministries was held at CMAA to look at
CMAA’s role in coordinating victim assistance. The draft strategic plan
2004-2009 was presented for discussion.
The Cambodian Campaign to Ban Landmines has said that the challenge for the
Cambodian government is to address the rights and needs of mine survivors and
their affected communities through decentralized structures and the provision of
realistic budgets to meet the needs; international assistance is essential to
provide the resources needed for sustainable development that will facilitate
the socio-economic integration of mine survivors and their communities and for
their medical and rehabilitation
needs.[152]
Two landmine survivors from Cambodia participated in the Raising the Voices
training in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2003 and attended the Fifth Meeting of
States Parties in Bangkok in September 2003.
Since 2002, Cambodia has submitted the voluntary Form J attachment with its
annual Article 7 Report, providing information on mine/UXO casualties and
rehabilitation services to mine
survivors.[153]
Disability Policy and Practice
In 2000, a draft “Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”
was prepared under the coordination of the Disability Action Council. The final
draft was sent to the Minister of Social Affairs in 2002 for review and approval
before being submitted to the Council of Ministries, together with a concept
paper, describing the reasons and benefits of the proposed
law.[154] In June 2004, it was
announced that the review had been finalized and the legislation was ready to be
submitted to the Council of Ministries and then on to the National Assembly
“in due
course.”[155] However, it
would appear that as of September 2004 the legislation has not been submitted to
the Council of Ministries.
CMAA is responsible for the coordination and monitoring of mine victim
assistance; however, CMAA has delegated responsibility to the Ministry of Social
Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSALVY), and the
Disability Action
Council.[156]
The Disability Action Council was initiated in 1997 as a semi-autonomous
national coordinating body on disability and rehabilitation. DAC became fully
operational in September 1998 with funding support from the USAID’s Leahy
War Victims Fund. The government formally recognized the status of DAC under
MoSALVY Prakas No 308 dated 26 October
1999.[157] DAC has also
coordinated research activities to promote disability
issues.[158] The main role of
DAC is to facilitate and advise the government on the formulation of policies
affecting the rights, needs and well-being of people with disabilities and to
coordinate the development of a national plan of action. Following the
recommendations of a USAID-funded consultancy in February 2003 to restructure
the DAC, a new Governing Board was installed in February 2004. The new Board
includes three representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports, and MoSALVY, one from CMAA, two local NGO
representatives (Association of Blind Cambodians and Cambodian Disabled
Independent Living), two international NGO representatives (HI and CT), and a
representative from the business sector (TOTAL). An executive director is still
to be recruited.[159]
[1] The law bans the production, use,
possession, transfer, trade, sale, import and export of antipersonnel mines. It
provides for criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment for offences
committed by civilians or members of the police and the armed forces. It also
provides for the destruction of mine stockpiles.
[2] CMAA, ‘‘Mine Action
Achievements in the Kingdom of Cambodia 1992-2003,’’ 29 April 2004,
p. 37. [3] Previous Article 7 reports
were submitted on: 15 April 2003 (for calendar year 2002); 19 April 2002 (for
calendar year 2001); 30 June 2001 (for calendar year 2000); and 26 June 2000
(for the period from 1993 to 26 June
2000). [4] Statement by Prime Minister
Hun Sen, at the National Conference on Mine Action Achievements 2003 of the
CMAA, Phnom Penh, 19 February
2004. [5]
Ibid. [6] Article 7 Report, Form E, 15
April 2003. [7] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2000, pp. 382–383. [8]
See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 391, for annual destruction
totals. [9] Types included DH10,
M18A1, PMN, PNM2, OZM4, POMZ2, POMZ2M, K, MH, Type 72, Type 69, 652A, blast
mines and improvised mines. Article 7 Report, Form B, 26 June
2000. [10] Article 7 Report, Form F,
30 April 2004. [11] See, for example,
CMAA, “2002 Activities Report of CMAA,” 31 December 2002, p. 21;
Article 7 Report, Forms D and F, 15 April
2003. [12] Article 7 Report, Form G,
30 April 2004. [13] Email from
Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines, 5 October
2004. [14] Ibid, with revised Article
7 Report, Form G, provided by Prum Sophak Mongkul,
CMAA. [15] Article 7 Report, Form F,
26 June 2000. [16] Article 7 Report,
Forms B and F, 30 June 2001. The report indicated that 8,739 stockpiled
antipersonnel mines were found and destroyed by CMAC, another 1,078 by the Royal
Cambodian Armed Forces, and about 1,600 by the National Police in
2000. [17] Article 7 Report, Form F,
19 April 2002. [18] Article 7 Report,
Form D, 15 April 2003. [19] For
details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
439. [20] Interview with Sam Sotha,
Director General, Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority,
Kumning,30 April 2004. [21] Address by
Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, Rottank Mundul, 24 February
2002. [22] Article 7 Report, Form D,
30 April 2004; Article 7 Report, Form D, 19 April 2002. In 2001, 423 mines were
transferred from CMAC DU 6 (Siem Reap) to the CMAC Training Center and
“used for the training of Mine Detection Dog teams.” In 2002, the
Ministry of Interior handed over 240 mines for training. In 2003, the CMAC
Training Center received 366 antipersonnel mines from various demining
units. [23] Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim
Information System (CMVIS), “Monthly Mine/UXO Report,” January
2004. [24] See details in Mine
Clearance section below. [25] Article
7 Report, Form F, 30 April 2004. Other types found in Cambodia include KN-10,
M-62, M14, M16A1, M18A1, MBV-78-A1, MBV-78-A2, MD-82-B, MDH-10, MDH-2, MDH-3,
MDH-5, MDH-7, MIN, MN, MODEL, MON, NOMZ2B, OMZ-3, OMZ-4, OMZ-72, P-40 BALL,
PMA-2, PMA-3, POMZ-2, PPMI-SR, PPM-2, PSM-1, Type 66; US Department of Defense,
Mine Facts CD Rom, version 1.2. [26]
Article 7 Report, Form I, 30 April
2004. [27] CMVIS, “Monthly
Mine/UXO Victim Report: January
2004.” [28] Article 7 Report,
Form C, 30 April 2004. [29] Ian
Thomas, GIS & Database Specialist, CIDA, “Presentation on CMAA
database,” at Mine Action Forum meeting, Phnom Penh, 9 March 2004. Thomas
is a Technical Advisor for CMAA. [30]
CMAA, “Mine Action: 1992-2003,” 29 April 2004,
p.8. [31] Ibid,
p.18. [32] Ian Thomas, CIDA,
“Presentation on CMAA database,” 9 March 2004. This view was echoed
to Landmine Monitor by HALO which described IMSMA as being of little use to the
established operators who have developed their own more user friendly systems.
Email from Richard Boulter, Programme Manager, HALO Cambodia, 2 October
2004. [33] CMAC, “Six Month
Progress Report,” November 2003, p.
7. [34] HALO Trust, “Annual
Report 2003, for submission to the CMAA,” February
2004. [35] CMVIS “Mine and UXO
Casualties in Cambodia 2000,” Cambodia
2002. [36] Implementation Support
Unit, “Progress in implementing Article 5: An overview of the
mine-affected States Parties’ problems, plans, progress, and priorities
for assistance,” Geneva, 21 June
2004. [37] Response to Landmine
Monitor by Dominique Pierre Guéret, CMAA, Phnom Penh, 13 January
2004. [38] The National Demining
Regulatory Authority was established after the 1999 landmines legislation was
adopted. It served a coordinating role until CMAA was created. Previously CMAC
coordinated mine action
activities. [39] CMAA, “Mine
Action: 1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
19. [40] Email from Richard Boulter,
HALO, 2 October 2004. [41]
Ibid. [42] Michael F. Bolton, Praivan
Limpanboon and Chhim Vanak, “LUPU Project Evaluation,” October
2003. [43] CMAA, “Mine Action:
1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
20. [44] Ibid, p.
21. [45] Response to LM Questionnaire
by Khun Ratana, Chief Secretariat CMAC, 27 February 2004; MAG, “2003
Report submitted to CMAA,” February 2004; HALO Trust, “Annual report
2003 for submission to the CMAA,” February 2004; RCAF, “Demining
Assignment Task and Development of Nation Society,” February
2004. [46] Email from Richard Boulter,
HALO, 2 October 2004. [47] CMAA,
“Mine Action: 1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p. 22. Among past
operators, Compagnie Française d’Assistance
Spécialisée/Compagnie International de Dévelopment cleared
11.88 million square meters, UNTAC cleared 3.47 million square meters, and
Norwegian People’s Aid cleared 3.94 million square meters before
transferring its capacities to
CMAC. [48] Questionnaire Response by
CMAC, 27 February 2004; MAG, “2003 Report,” February 2004; HALO,
“Annual Report 2003,” February 2004; RCAF, “Demining
Assignment,” February 2004. [49]
The 2001 clearance figure for MAG does not match Cambodia’s 2002 Article 7
report total of 1,418,813. [50] CMAA,
“Mine Action: 1992-2003,” 29 April
2004. [51] CMAA, “Mine Action:
1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
31. [52] CMAA, “Mine Action:
1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
29. [53] Unless otherwise noted, CMAC
data is from: Questionnaire Response by CMAC, 27 February
2004. [54] Other problems identified
by the Director General of CMAA included too many technical advisors who did not
take responsibilities, the lack of a demining plan at the national level, the
fact that CMAC was at the same time an operator and regulator and coordinator,
and the limited involvement of the government in mine action. Presentation by
Sam Sotha, CMAA, to the Standing Committee of Mine Clearance, Mine Risk
Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 5 February
2003. [55]
Ibid. [56] Article 7 Report, Form I,
30 April 2004. [57] These mine action
resources were deployed within six Demining Units (DU) namely: DU1 at Bantey
Meanchey Province, DU2 at Battambang Province, DU3 at Pailin and Samlot district
of Battambang province, DU4 at Kampong Thom, Kampong Cham and Preah Vihear
provinces, DU5 at Pursat Province, and DU6 at Siem Reap and Odor Meanchey
Provinces. Questionnaire Response by CMAC, 27 February
2004. [58] CMAC, “Six month
progress report,” November 2003, pp.
46-47. [59] Email from Harald
Smedsrud, Advisor, NPA, Oslo, 14 June
2004. [60] Information in this
section, unless otherwise noted, is from HALO, “Annual Report 2003,”
February 2004. [61] Email from Richard
Boulter, HALO, 2 October 2004. [62]
Unless otherwise noted, MAG data is from: MAG, “2003 Report submitted to
CMAA,” February 2004; Email from Tim Carstairs, Director for Policy, Mines
Advisory Group, 5 October 2004. [63]
Unless otherwise noted, RCAF data is from RCAF, “Demining Assignment Task
and Development of Nation Society,” February 2004, p.
8. [64] GICHD, “The Role of the
Military in Mine Action,”
2003. [65] Donors also cited
allegations that senior military figures have taken cleared land and that some
roads have been built or exploited by RCAF engineers for lucrative and illegal
logging. [66] For a more detailed
description see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
446. [67] The price for clearance in
Battambang district is $250 per hectare (10,000 square meters) in 2003, an
increase from $100 per hectare in previous years. Interview with a villager in
Battambang, April 2004. [68] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
389. [69] Ruth Botomley, Crossing the
Divide, Landmines, Villagers and Organisation, (Oslo: International Peace
Research Institute, 2003), p.130. [70]
MAG, “2003 Report,” February 2004, p.
8. [71] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG,
5 October 2004. [72] Email from
Richard Boulter, HALO, 2 October
2004. [73] Email from Plong Chhaya,
Assistant Project Officer, UNICEF Phnom Penh, 28 July
2004. [74] CMAC, “Socio Economic
Unit Report,” December
1998. [75] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, pp. 145-146. [76] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2003, pp. 143-144. Statistics for HALO Trust and World Vision in
2002 are not available. [77] CMAA,
“Mine Action: 1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
32. [78] Ibid; email from Sam Sotha,
CMAA, 15 January 2004. [79] Email from
Plong Chhaya, UNICEF, 28 July
2004. [80] Questionnaire Response by
CMAC, 27 February 2004. [81]
Information provided by CMAC to the CCBL and emailed to Landmine Monitor by Ny
Nhar, CCBL, 26 August 2004; email from Plong Chhaya, UNICEF, 28 July 2004; CMAC,
‘‘Six month progress report,’’ November 2003. p.
4. [82] Information provided by CMAC,
26 August 2004; CMAC, “Annual Report 2003,” p.
13. [83] Presentation by CMAC,
“Mine/UXO Risk Education Components,” at Humanitarian Mine/UXO
Clearance Technologies and Cooperation Workshop, Kunming, China, 26 – 28
April 2004. [84] Presentation by Tang
Sun Hao, MRT Field Project Manager, HI, January
2004. [85] HI, “Emergency Mine
& UXO Risk Reduction in North-West Cambodia,” Phnom Penh, February
2004, p.7. [86] Information provided
by CMAC to the CCBL, 26 August
2004. [87] Email from Plong Chhaya,
UNICEF, 28 July 2004. [88] Project
Development Group, “External Evaluation of the Pilot Project of
Community-Based Mine Risk Reduction (CBMRR),” undated. See Landmine
Monitor Report 2003, p.144. [89] Email
from Plong Chhaya, UNICEF, 28 July
2004. [90] ICRC, “Special Report
Mine Action,” sent to Landmine Monitor on 23 July 2004,
p.41. [91] HALO, “Annual Report
2003,” February 2004, p. 4. [92]
MAG, “2003 Report,” February 2004, p.
5. [93] “Terms of reference,
Study on the deliberate handling and usage of live ordnance,” Commissioned
by HI, MAG, and NPA, 30 November 2003, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, p.
5. [94] Chham Sokha, World Vision
Cambodia, report to Landmine Monitor, 28 July
2004. [95] GICHD Implementation
Support Unit, “Progress in implementing Article 5: An overview of the
mine-affected States Parties’ problems, plans, progress, and priorities
for assistance,” Geneva, 21 June
2004. [96] CMAA, “Mine Action:
1992-2003,” 29 April 2004. [97]
See 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 2002. Landmine Monitor has converted the currencies and rounded off
numbers. [98] CMAA, “Mine
Action: 1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
16. [99] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, p. 397. [100] Questionnaire
Response by CMAC, 27 February 2004.
[101] From December 1993 to April
2000, CMAC received a total of $53 million through the UNDP Trust Fund; this
does not include other contributions to CMAC such as in-kind donations,
equipment and bilateral funding. [102]
Exchange rate calculated by HALO
Trust. [103] HALO, “Annual
Report 2003,” February 2004, p.
7. [104] MAG, “2003
Report,” February 2004,
p.10. [105] CMAA, “Mine Action:
1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
16. [106] Unless otherwise stated,
information in this section was provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from
Chhiv Lim, Project Manager, CMVIS, 25 September 2004; and Cambodia Mine/UXO
Victim Information System, special report prepared for Landmine Monitor, 6
October 2004. [107] CMAA, “Mine
Action: 1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, pp.
12-13. [108] CMVIS, “Monthly
Mine/UXO Victim Report: June 2004.”
[109] UNDP Cambodia, “Support
to Mine Action Programs in Cambodia,” Project Progress Report for 2002,
January 2003. [110] Steven Mellor,
“External Evaluation of the CMVIS Database, Data-entry and reporting
systems,” Evaluation conducted on behalf of HI and the Cambodian Red
Cross, September 2002, p. 1. [111]
CMAC response to Landmine Monitor, 27 February
2004. [112] HALO, “Annual Report
2003,” February 2004, p.
6. [113] Presentation by Denise
Coghlan, CCBL, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, Geneva, 10 February
2004. [114] Statement by Sam Sotha,
Secretary-General, CMAA, to meeting on victim assistance, Phnom Penh, 10 March
2004. [115] Yan Vanheng, Manager, TCF,
response to LM Questionnaire, 10 February
2004 [116] Trauma Care Foundation,
“Tromsoe Mine Victim Resource Center: Annual Report 2002,” pp. 7-8;
Catholic Relief Service, response to Landmine Monitor Survivor Assistance
questionnaire, 7 February 2002. [117]
Email from John Levinson, Project Coordinator, IDDP3 CARE, Battambang, 2
February 2004. [118] DAC, “List
of Organizations helping landmine survivors in Cambodia,” February
2003. [119] Sok Eng, Metta Karuna
Sisophon, response to Landmine Monitor; Information from a comparative study on
landmine casualties at the Mongkol Hospital from January to August 1996-1997,
2002-2003. Email from Krisna Uk, NPA, 23 April
2004. [120] EMERGENCY Surgical Center
for War Victims, “Annual Report for 2003,” January 2004, p. 5;
Response to LM Questionnaire by Sonia Riccelli, Desk Officer for Cambodia,
Emergency, 28 February 2004. [121]
Adelphe Tran and Liz Cross, DAC response to Landmine Monitor, 20 June
2004. [122] Email from Larrie Warren,
Director, Post Conflict Rehabilitation VVAF, 16 September 2004; Response to LM
Questionnaire by Keo Phalla, ARC, Phnom Penh, 22 January 2004; interview with
Marc Hermant, Program Director, HI, Phnom Penh, 12 January
2004. [123] Response to Landmine
Monitor by Punya Droz, DAC, Phnom Penh, 7 April 2004; DAC, “Action for
Victim Assistance: Cambodia 2003,” September 2003, p. 11; Landmine Monitor
Report 1999, p. 406; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 451-452; Article 7
Report, Form J, 15 April 2003. [124]
Email from Larrie Warren, VVAF, 16 September 2004; Email from Edith van
Wijngaarden, Coordinator, Rehabilitation Department, HI Cambodia, 17 September
2004. [125] ICRC Physical
Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, 9 March 2004,
p. 11; ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Program in Cambodia,” May
2003, pp. 1-2. [126] Ibid, p. 26;
“Annual Report 2002,” June 2003; “Annual Report 2001,”
14 April 2002; “Annual Report 2000,” 31 March 2001; “Annual
Report 1999,” 31 March 2000, p.
11. [127] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” 9 March 2004, p. 11; ICRC,
“Physical Rehabilitation Program in Cambodia,” Briefing Paper, May
2003, p. 3. [128] Response to LM
Questionnaire by ARC; ARC, “Helping Cambodia’s Disabled,” 30
January 2003; DAC, “Country Profile: Study on Persons with Disabilities
(Cambodia),” February 2001, p. 45; see also previous editions of the
Landmine Monitor Report. [129]
Response to LM Questionnaire by Pith Sokra, CT, Phnom Penh, 27 January 2004; The
Cambodia Trust, “Annual Report 1999-2000,” p. 7; DAC, “Country
Profile: Study on Persons with Disabilities (Cambodia),” February 2001, p.
45; Cambodia Trust website, www.cambodiatrust.com ; see also
previous editions of the Landmine Monitor
Report. [130] DAC, “Cambodia
2003,” pp. 10-11; The Cambodia Trust, “Annual Report
2002-2003,” p. 9. [131] DAC,
“Cambodia 2003,”
pp.10-11. [132] Response to LM
Questionnaire by Edith van Wijngaarden, HI Cambodia, 25 March 2004; HI,
“Activity Report 2003,” Brussels, 15 July 2004, pp. 19-20; HI,
“Program Summary: Cambodia 2004,” 7 December 2003; interview with
Marc Hermant, HI, 12 January 2004; see also previous editions of the Landmine
Monitor Report. [133] DAC,
“Cambodia 2003,” p. 34. Veterans International is also known as
Vietnam Veterans of America
Foundation. [134] Email from Larrie
Warren, VVAF, 16 September 2004; DAC, “Cambodia 2003,” p. 34.
[135] Tith March, AAR Japan, response
to LM Questionnaire, 16 February
2004. [136] Daisuke Sagiya, Country
Representative, AAR, questionnaire submitted for “Portfolio of
Socio-Economic Reintegration Projects,” 31 August
2004. [137] DAC, “Cambodia
2003,” pp. 16, 27-28. [138]
Response to LM Questionnaire by Steve Harknett, Consultant, DDSP, 10 July 2004,
and email, 6 September 2004. [139]
Response to LM Questionnaire by Sam Oeurn Pok, Cambodian War Amputees
Rehabilitation Society, Phnom Penh, 14 February
2003. [140] Hay Kim Tha, Director,
CHA, questionnaire submitted for “Portfolio of Socio-Economic
Reintegration Projects,” 2 September
2004. [141] Imbert Matthee, President,
Clear Path International, questionnaire submitted for “Portfolio of
Socio-Economic Reintegration Projects,” 31 August 2004; Response to LM
Questionnaire by Sothea Aroun, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development,
Phnom Penh, 28 February 2003. [142]
DTW brochure from Guy Craft, Vol. 1, Issue 2, Phnom Penh, 22 October
2001. [143] For more details see WRF,
“The Socio-Economic Reintegration of Landmine Survivors: Lebanon,
Mozambique, Cambodia,” New York, 2003, pp. 4-7.
[144] Response to LM Questionnaire by
Sarah Bearuph, Mine Program Manager, World Vision, 12 February
2004 [145] Response from Roath
Leakhana, Country Representative, AFSC, 11 January
2002. [146] Response to LM
Questionnaire by Mu Socheat, CARITAS, 6 February
2004. [147] Response to LM
Questionnaire by Annd de Pasquat, DAC, Phnom Penh, February 2003; Response to LM
Questionnaire by Andrea Crossland, International Adviser, Children Affected by
Mines, 19 April 2002. [148] See DAC,
“Cambodia 2003,” pp. 10-11, 16 and
19. [149] Data collected during Jesuit
Services Outreach Program as of 31 March
2000. [150] CMAA, “Mine Action:
1992-2003,” 29 April 2004, p.
6. [151] Ibid, pp.
33-34. [152] Presentation by Denise
Coghlan, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 10 February
2004. [153] Article 7 Report, Form J,
30 April 2004; Article 7 Report, Form J, 15 April 2003; Article 7 Report, Form
J, 19 April 2002. [154] Response to LM
Questionnaire by Ouk Sisovann, DAC, 22 January 2003. The full text of the draft
legislation is available at www.dac.org.kh/legislation/list-laws/draft-disability-law.htm.
(accessed 3 September 2004). [155]
Presentation by Sam Sotha, CMAA, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and
Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 23 June
2004. [156] Ibid; Article 7 Report,
Form J, 30 April 2004. [157] CMAA,
2002 Work Plan, Phnom Penh, December 2001, p.
8. [158] For details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, pp.
453-454. [159] Steering Group meeting,
National Institute of Public Health, Phnom Penh, 27 February 2004. DAC released
a plan of action in February 2001, but it would appear that no real progress was
made due to the restructuring of DAC. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 451.
For more details see Disability
Action Council website at www.dac.org.kh.
About Us
Our Research Products