Table of Contents

Country Reports

LM Report 2004

Chad

Key developments since May 2003: In August 2003 Chad destroyed 207 newly discovered stockpiled antipersonnel mines. The German NGO HELP and the Chadian Army continued mine clearance operations. The UXO problem at the border with Sudan is increasing due to the conflict in the Darfur region. In April-May 2004 a mission was conducted to educate Sudanese refugees and the local population living on the border with Sudan about the danger of mines and UXO; 500 mine risk education facilitators were trained, who then reportedly provided mine risk education to more than 200,000 people. In 2003 and 2004, the HCND was restructured, and a new department for victim assistance was created; however, no concrete plans have been developed. In 2004, the HCND hired a Mine Risk Education Director.

Key developments since 1999: Chad became a State Party on 1 November 1999. It has no domestic implementation legislation in place. Chad destroyed its stockpile of 4,490 mines between October 2002 and January 2003, and retained none for training purposes. It destroyed another 207 newly discovered stockpiled mines in August 2003. A Landmine Impact Survey was conducted in 1999-2001. The High Committee for National Demining was created in 1998 and restructured in 2003. In June 2002, Chad developed a “National Strategic Plan to Fight Mines and UXO: 2002-2015.” According to the HCND, from September 2000 to March 2004, 1,069,402 square meters of mined land and 1,890,681 square meters of battle areas were cleared, destroying 4,902 antipersonnel mines, 3,753 antivehicle mines, and 59,423 pieces of UXO. Until 2004, mine risk education was only conducted occasionally with clearance activities. Chad has no systematic casualty data collection system and has no concrete survivor assistance programs.

Mine Ban Policy

Chad signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 6 July 1998 and ratified it on 6 May 1999. The treaty entered into force on 1 November 1999. Chad did not participate in the Ottawa Process, although it did endorse the pro-treaty Brussels Declaration of June 1997. Chad has not enacted national implementation legislation.^[1] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is supporting Chad’s drafting of the law.^[2]

Chad has attended all of the annual Meetings of States Parties, except in 2000, but has only participated occasionally in the intersessional meetings. It did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in February, but did in June 2004. Chad has attended regional landmine meetings in Burkina Faso (January 2004), Mali (February 2001), and Nigeria (October 2001).

On 27 May 2004, Chad submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report.^[3] It submitted three reports previously. Its initial report was due 29 April 2000, but was not provided until 12 December 2001 ^[4]

Except in 1999, when it voted in favor, Chad has been absent during the votes on all the UN General Assembly resolutions supporting the universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, including the vote on UNGA Resolution 58/53 on 8 December 2003.

Chad is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Production, Transfer and Use

Chad is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. An official from the Central African Republic (CAR) said that landmines had been brought into the CAR from Chad during a coup attempt in October 2002.^[5] There has been no independent confirmation of this allegation. Chad has not officially reacted to the allegation and has not conducted an investigation.

There have been no allegations of mine use in 2003 or 2004, other than one border incident. According to local soldiers, Sudanese fighting in the Darfur region laid mines around a crashed helicopter close to the village of Béssa (Guéréda).^[6] Two Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams from Chad together with the German NGO Help found no mines on the track leading to the helicopter when they were clearing UXO along Chad’s border with Sudan.^[7] Three incidents involving use of antivehicle mines in Chad were reported in the media in 2002. The government and the opposition Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT) accused each other of having laid the mines.^[8] There have been other unconfirmed allegations of mine use in recent years which Chad has denied.^[9]

Stockpiling and Destruction

Chad declared that it completed destruction of its antipersonnel mine stockpile in January 2003, in advance of its November 2003 treaty deadline. It destroyed a total of 4,490 mines between October 2002 and January 2003, which was 1,687 more than previously reported as inventoried in its April 2002 Article 7 report.^[10] In August 2003, 207 PMA3 antipersonnel mines, newly discovered in a container abandoned by the Libyan army, were destroyed in Wadi Doum.^[11] Chad retains no mines for training purposes.

Landmine Problem, Survey and Assessment

Decades of internal conflict and the 1973 Libyan invasion have left Chad with a landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem. Between December 1999 and May 2001, a Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) was conducted in Chad that identified 249 mine-affected communities in 23 of the 28 departments surveyed, with 417 different areas contaminated by mines and UXO, affecting a total of 1,081 square kilometers of land.^[12] The northern region of the country contains 91 mine-affected communities, 37 of which are highly impacted. The eastern region has 51 affected communities, 10 of which are highly impacted.^[13]

It was, and still is, impossible to survey the twenty-ninth department, Tibesti in the north, because of security concerns.^[14] The LIS reports however, that Tibesti is probably the region most heavily contaminated with both mines and UXO.^[15] Since the survey, new mined areas have been discovered, particularly in the Lake region and the regions of Borkou and Ennedi.^[16]

The LIS found the contamination directly interferes with the livelihood and safety of at least 284,435 persons.^[17] The most affected land is pasture and agricultural land, roads and trails, as well as water resources and housing. Pastureland is an important economic resource in Chad, a nation of many nomadic tribes where livestock outnumber people. Suitable land is limited, especially in the north.^[18] Some mine-affected areas are fenced or marked, but in other areas, local authorities have been asked to inform the population of the dangers of unmarked minefields.^[19]

The LIS also discovered six active military firing ranges that constitute a threat to 12 communities with 11,045 inhabitants, as well as information on 25 abandoned ammunition depots that are no longer in use or under control of the authorities and are a constant danger for the surrounding communities.^[20]

The number of people exposed to the danger of mines and UXO in the east of the country is increasing on a daily base with the flood of Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict in the Darfur region. The mine/UXO problem has been aggravated by militias from neighboring Sudan crossing the border since mid-2003.

From 3-20 January 2004, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Chad’s High Committee for National Demining (HCND) carried out a joint mission to collect information on mines and UXO in the refugee settlement areas along the border with Sudan (Farchana, Birak, Tiné, Iriba and Guéréda). They interviewed the local population and administrative and military personnel. Bombs had reportedly been dropped from Sudanese aircraft, and the mission saw an unexploded 500-kilogram bomb close to the village of Béssa (Guéréda); local soldiers claimed that the Sudanese laid mines around a crashed helicopter in that same area. Numerous shells were discovered less than two kilometers from the town of Tiné. In Bahaï a girl was injured by an antipersonnel mine she was playing with. An area around Saran, between Tiné and Iriba, is suspected to be mined since several livestock were killed in the area by antipersonnel mines in 2003. The villagers of Koulbé (Iriba) tried to remove an unexploded 500-kilogram bomb dropped by a Libyan aircraft in 1981. In January 2004, a UXO injured a seven-year-old child when he threw it into a fire.^[21]

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) carried out an assessment mission in May 2004. In September 2004, it was scheduled to start a technical survey and mine clearance project, focusing on water access and cache impacts, which will be supported by the US Department of State.^[22]

Coordination and Planning

The High Committee for National Demining (HCND) was created in 1998. A decision to restructure the HCND was made in 2003 and carried out by early 2004. It is under the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Cooperation.^[23] It has regional offices in Fada, Bardaï, and a newly created one in Wadi Doum, and a logistical center in Faya.^[24] The HCND’s role is to prioritize, coordinate, and plan mine action activities, and assure quality control.^[25]

In June 2002, after the Landmine Impact Survey was completed, Chad developed a “National Strategic Plan to Fight Mines and UXO: 2002-2015,” to be implemented through Annual Action Plans, with the goal of freeing the country of the impact of mines and UXO before the end of 2015.^[26] It was updated on 21 January 2003.^[27] Chad’s treaty-mandated deadline for destruction of all antipersonnel mines in mined areas is November 2009.

The National Strategic Plan is tentative as there is no mine-related information on the Tibesti region and because the information from the LIS needs to be verified by a technical survey. Since February 2003, it has been integrated in the broader “National Strategy to Reduce Poverty: 2001-2015.”^[28]

The objectives for the first phase of the national plan (2002-2005), called the “transitory phase,” are capacity building to define mine policy, a technical survey and marking of mine-affected areas, mine clearance of the highly impacted areas, mine risk education in those areas and victim assistance. This phase also targets the reopening of the most important corridors in the Tibesti region and carrying out a Landmine Impact Survey in that region.^[29] So far this has not been possible for security reasons.^[30]

Since June 1998, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has provided technical assistance and capacity building to government and HCND staff responsible for the implementation of the National Strategic Plan.^[31] Since August 2002, the HCND has been assisted by a senior technical advisor of the UNDP/UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) humanitarian demining project.^[32] The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), has been operational again since January 2003.^[33] It contains information gathered during the 1999-2001 LIS, as well as from later field missions. However, numerous departments have not been revisited and according to HCND’s senior technical advisor, the data collected by the LIS will become obsolete if no systematic update is carried out.^[34]

Mine Clearance

The results of the LIS were used to determine Chad's priorities for mine clearance, in areas classified as “highly impacted.”^[35] However, Wadi Doum, where 2003-2004 clearance activities have been focused, is only sparsely inhabited.

The German NGO HELP, in Chad since 2000, is still the only implementing partner carrying out mine clearance programs.^[36] The Chadian Army conducts battle area clearance.^[37] Quality control is provided by UNOPS.^[38]

According to the HCND, from 26 September 2000 to 31 March 2004, 1,069,402 square meters of mined land and 1,890,681 square meters of battle areas were cleared, destroying 4,902 antipersonnel mines, 3,753 antivehicle mines, and 59,423 pieces of UXO. More than 70 percent of the cleared mined land and 60 percent of the cleared battle areas were in Faya and Wadi Doum.^[39]

Chad has not provided mine clearance information specific for calendar year 2003. One HCND report states that in 2002, 43,019 square meters of land were demined.^[40] Another HCND report indicates that between 26 September 2000 and 1 June 2002, 645,663 square meters of land were demined, destroying 2,228 antipersonnel mines, 2,112 antivehicle mines and 28,781 UXO.^[41]

Clearance Activities Between 26 September 2000 and 31 March 2004^[42]

	m2 cleared	m2 Battle area clearing	m2 quality control	Number APM	Number AVM	Number UXO
Faya	407,250	423,432	451,482	26	31	10,623
N'djamena Moito Massenya	54,910	12,600	10,500	0	5	1,126
Ounianga	173,858	41,400	158,823	1,982	2,018	8,794
Fada	108,525	308,451	65,694	374	266	12,246
Iriba-Guéréda-Tiné-Kalait	1,820	279,998	1,999	1	11	8,738
Wadi Doum	323,039	717,800	495,000	2,519	1,422	17,896
Total	1,069,402	1,890,681	1,183,498	4,902	3,753	59,423

On 13 November 2003, at the base at Wadi Doum, six Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists were killed, including a French deminer from the HELP, during destruction of a stockpile of nine tons of UXO, using thirty antivehicle mines as explosives.^[43] On 9 March 2004, another accident occurred in Wadi Doum, injuring two EOD specialists. One was collecting fuzes and detonators and placing them in a bucket with sand, which was being carried by the second.^[44] Investigations of both incidents concluded they were unfortunate accidents. On 21 June 2004, a deminer lost his right hand and left foot and his face was paralyzed when he stepped on a mine during mine detection activities in Wadi Doum.^[45]

Between 3 November and 12 December 2003, two military were trained in demining techniques at the regional mine clearance training center for ECOWAS member states in Ouidah, Benin.^[46]

In May 2004, Handicap International conducted an exploratory mission to Chad to study the feasibility of a mine action project.^[47]

Mine Risk Education

No large-scale mine risk education (MRE) activities had taken place in Chad before April 2004. In the two years prior to the Landmine Impact Survey, only five out of the 249 mine-contaminated communities surveyed were reported to have benefited from any kind of mine risk education.^[48] The LIS reported that many people sustain injuries as a result of tampering with weapons, especially UXO, and concluded that there was a need for a focused risk education program to reduce tampering with munitions, and a targeted effort to destroy highly concentrated UXO “caches.”^[49]

With the restructuring of the HCND, an MRE Director was hired at the beginning of 2004. With the support of UNICEF a three-week mission was conducted in April-May 2004 to educate Sudanese refugees and the local population living on the border with Sudan about the danger of mines and UXO. MRE leaflets were designed, field-tested, adjusted and produced in large numbers. Results of the field test indicate that the leaflets were generally accepted, but not always understood by refugees and communities. Five hundred MRE facilitators were trained among refugee committees, traditional leaders, NGO staff, policemen and teachers. Facilitators were then provided with a kit including leaflets, guidelines and a T-shirt. They reportedly distributed leaflets and provided mine risk education to more than 200,000 people.^[50]

Following a needs assessment in 2000, UNICEF developed an MRE program in 2001, for which it received funding in 2004.^[51] A consultant arrived in Chad in April 2004 for a period of two months.^[52] The report of his mission to eastern Chad indicates that "even though the risk is relatively low for refugees in the camps, this risk should increase in the coming months as refugees are going to move out of the camps when looking for wood, new pasture land and cultivation land in relation to the rainy season."^[53]

In 2002 and 2003, some MRE was conducted by mine clearance teams, focusing on the sites where clearance was taking place.^[54] On 17-18 September 2003, an MRE workshop was organized by the UNDP for UN agency staff.^[55]

Two initiatives started in 2002, although not yet evaluated, are noteworthy. The regional HCND offices have volunteers as focal points in the mine-affected communities, who pass on messages regarding the danger of mines, as well as reporting information on mines or UXO to the offices.^[56] The International Committee of the Red Cross broadcasts messages on Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne to stress the importance of mine survivors reporting themselves so they can receive treatment. It is believed that the campaign contributed to the registration of 84 new amputees in 2003.^[57]

Mine Action Funding

As in the past, information on mine action funding for Chad is conflicting and incomplete. The country’s "National Strategic Plan to Fight Mines and UXO 2002-2015" gives a total estimated budget of US$76 million, which anticipates all mine action-related needs and includes landmine survivor assistance.^[58]

On 23 January 2003, the government announced its decision to finance fifty percent of its National Strategic Plan to Fight Mines and UXO.^[59] Chad has reported providing the following sums to mine action: $293,334 in 1999; $539,667 in 2000; $958,333 in 2001; $1,066,667 in 2002; and, $1,000,000 in 2003.^[60]

Three donors have reported providing $1,188,334 in mine action funding to Chad in 2003. The United States contributed $661,335 (with $500,000 from the State Department and the balance from the Defense Department).^[61] Canada donated US$281,999, including $38,949 through CIDC for protective demining equipment and $243,050 for development of a mine risk education strategy.^[62] Switzerland provided $245,000 for advisors to the HCND.^[63]

HCND reported a contribution in 2003 from the UN Development Programme of $404,765 for the National Mine Action Plan. HCND also reported the following contributions in 2003 from three governments, although none of these governments include this funding in their own reports: Switzerland - $428,672 for mine clearance in Kakait and FADA; Italy – $198,911 for mine clearance in Wadi Doum; and, United Kingdom - $160,915 for mine clearance.^[64]

In 2002, according to HCND’s reporting, mine action funding totalled $1,445,660, including Chad’s national contribution. But funding information provided to Landmine Monitor by other sources totalled $1.33 million for 2002, not counting the national contribution.^[65]

Landmine Monitor has reported international donations to Chad totalling approximately $16.1 million from 1999 to 2002 (1999: $4.866 million, 2000: $7.995 million, 2001: $1.915 million, 2002: $1.33 million).

In 2003, a number of deminers resigned because their salary had not been paid for over three months.^[66] In February 2004, the HCND was four months late in paying its personnel.^[67] The base pay for a deminer is CFA70,000 ($120); those assigned to field operations receive CFA200,000 ($340) per month.^[68]

Landmine Casualties

In 2003, comprehensive data on new mine/UXO casualties is not available. Following the completion of the Landmine Impact Survey in May 2001, no on-going data collection system has been initiated. HCND occasionally receives reports of new casualties, but lacks resources to set up and maintain a database.^[69]

On 6 March 2003, four people were injured in a mine explosion, and on 7 March, six people were killed, including four men, a woman and a baby, and two others were injured when their car hit an antivehicle mine.^[70] In November 2003, six EOD specialists were killed, including one from HELP, during stockpile destruction for UNOPS.^[71]

In January 2004, a joint HCND-UNHCR mission collected information on mine/UXO casualties in the refugee settlements along the border with Sudan (Farchana, Birak, Tiné, Iriba and Guéréda). In one mine and one UXO incident, two children were injured.^[72] Also in 2004, five children were injured in two UXO incidents near the Sudanese border. Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) has treated two mine/UXO casualties, one person died, since arriving at the Sudanese border at the end of 2003.^[73] In March 2004, two EOD specialists were injured in an explosion while collecting fuzes and detonators.^[74] In June 2004, a deminer lost his right hand and left foot and sustained facial injuries after stepping on a mine during clearance activities in Wadi Doum.^[75]

In 2002, HCND recorded 20 new mine casualties (one person killed and 19 injured).^[76] However, the Military Hospital in N'Djamena registered 200 new mine casualties in 2002, including 53 killed, 131 injured and another 16 military personnel evacuated to Egypt or Sudan. The casualties included 180 men, 13 women, and seven children; 146 were military personnel. Antipersonnel mines caused 91 civilian casualties and 20 military, antivehicle mines caused 77 military casualties, and 12 civilian casualties were the result of UXO.^[77] Landmine Monitor was unable to obtain mine casualty statistics from the hospital for 2003. According to the ICRC in 2002 and 2003, the Faya Largeau Hospital treats a “significant number” of mine casualties.^[78]

No deminers were reported killed or injured in mine accidents in 2002 or 2001.^[79]

The Landmine Impact Survey provides the most comprehensive information on mine casualties in Chad. Between January 1998 and May 2001, 339 mine/UXO casualties (122 killed and 217 injured) were recorded, including 295 men and 44 women: 104 in 1998; 148 in 1999, 76 in 2000; and ten casualties from two incidents in 2001. Of the total casualties, 330 (97 percent) were civilians; 110 (32 percent) were children. The age group most affected was 5-29 year-olds, recording 260 casualties.^[80] Of the 339 recent casualties, 39 were as a result of incidents involving abandoned munitions/UXO on military firing ranges.^[81] The LIS also recorded 1,349 casualties of “less recent date” (703 killed and 646 injured).^[82] The data does not include any mine/UXO casualties from the Tibesti region in the north.

Survivor Assistance

In Chad, medical care and rehabilitation services for mine casualties remain rudimentary. According to the HCND, “more than half of the casualties injured by mines die due to the precariousness of the health system.”^[83] In 2002, it was reported that due to a lack of resources, insufficient effort had been made to address the needs of landmine survivors for physical and psychosocial rehabilitation and economic reintegration, and that international assistance and expertise was needed for infrastructure, capacity building and rehabilitation programs.^[84] One of the objectives of the National Strategic Plan to Fight Landmines and UXO is to improve mine victim assistance. In 2003, a new department for victim assistance was created within the HCND; however, no concrete plans have been developed.^[85]

According to the Landmine Impact Survey, of recent casualties not killed immediately in the incident, 181 received some form of emergency care; however, no survivors reported receiving physical rehabilitation or vocational training. Eighteen survivors reported receiving no care. As a result of their injuries, 45 survivors had an amputation of the upper limbs and 17 of the lower limbs. Sixteen survivors lost their sight and another ten lost partial sight. Another 119 sustained other types of injuries, mostly burns or fractures, with a few cases of paralysis reported. Only six survivors were permanently incapacitated by their injuries, however, a significant number reported being unable to earn an income due to their injuries.^[86]

The HCND has an ambulance to evacuate mine casualties to the hospital in Faya Largeau. However, under an informal agreement, all Chadian and French planes are obliged to transport landmine casualties free of charge. US funding for Chad’s mine action program includes funds to support medical evacuation by air. The French army operates a surgical unit at the military hospital in N’Djamena with the capacity to assist mine casualties. The military hospital also provides continuing medical care for mine survivors. Other hospitals and health centers reportedly do not have the capacity to do so.^[87] With the escalation of the conflict in the Darfur region of neighboring Sudan and the massive refugee influx across the border into Chad, a number of emergency, medical and humanitarian NGOs are now present in the east of the country.

The ICRC supports hospitals and health centers with emergency medical supplies and training, including the main hospitals in N'Djamena, Faya Largeau, and Sarh. Since 2001, training has been provided in first aid and war surgery techniques to improve the skills of civilian and military medical personnel. In April 2002, the ICRC assessed surgical facilities in N’Djamena and Faya Largeau and made recommendations including ICRC training for medical staff to restore the surgical capacity of Faya Largeau, which treats many mine casualties.^[88]

Since 1982, the ICRC has provided financial, material and technical support to the Kabalaye Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Center in the capital, N’Djamena. The center is run by Secours Catholique pour le Développement (SECADEV), a Catholic development organization. In 2001, the ICRC and SECADEV signed a cooperation agreement for the treatment of mine/UXO survivors. The ICRC also funded the renovation of the center. In 2003, the center provided 197 prostheses (99 for mine survivors) and 172 orthoses (three for mine survivors) and distributed two wheelchairs and 470 crutches; 90 mine survivors were assisted in 2002, and 94 in 2001. In 2002, a radio campaign was launched by the ICRC to raise awareness in the provinces outside N’Djamena of the services available at the center. It is believed that the campaign contributed to the center registering 84 new amputees in 2003. The ICRC works in partnership with the HCND to identify beneficiaries for its amputee assistance program.^[89] In the first three months of 2004, 14 mine survivors were fitted with prostheses.^[90]

The Association for Mutual Aid of Physically Disabled of Chad (Association d'Entraide des Handicappés Physiques du Tchad - AEHPT) supports persons with disabilities, mainly in N'djamena. The AEHPT has 2,240 members; 118 are mine survivors.^[91]

Two mine survivors from Chad participated in the Raising the Voices training program in 2002.

Disability Policy and Practice

There is no legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Chad. The Ministry of Social Action and Family is responsible for issues relating to disabled persons, and has developed a national program.^[92] A National Day for the Disabled, on 7 February each year, is organized under Decree n° 136/PR/MCFAS/94, to promote the development of persons with disabilities and their reintegration into society.^[93] However, it is acknowledged that persons with disabilities, including mine survivors, are stigmatized both at the private and public level.^[94]

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[1] Interview with Col. Mahamoud Adam Béchir, Coordinator, High Committee for National Demining (HCND), N'djamena, 21 April 2004.
[2] Email from Kathleen Lawand, Legal Adviser, ICRC Mines-Arms Unit, Geneva, 30 April 2004.
[3] The report, dated 30 April 2004, was submitted on 27 May 2004 and covers the period 1 May 2003-30 April 2004. It includes voluntary Form J with information on mine action, but not victim assistance.
[4] See Article 7 reports submitted: 12 December 2001, but originally due by 29 April 2000 (for an unspecified period); 29 April 2002 (for an unspecified period); 30 April 2003 (for 1 May 2002-30 April 2003).
[5] Telephone interview with Col. Nassin Niçaise, Officer in Charge of Security Matters, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Central African Republic, 4 February 2003. The mines were reportedly used by forces loyal to General Bozize, who subsequently seized power in March 2003. A very small number of antivehicle mines have been found. See the Central African Republic report in Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp. 156-157.
[6] Fadoul Ahmat and Abdoulaye Arabi, “Rapport de la mission conjointe HCR-HCND du 3 au 20 janvier 2004,” January 2004.
[7] Email to Landmine Monitor (Marielle Hallez) from Michel Destemberg, Senior Technical Advisor to HCND, UNOPS, 26 September 2004.
[8] Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 158.
[9] Landmine Monitor Report 2001 noted allegations that Chad had re-laid a handful of mines that it had cleared in the north of the country, and that it had signed contracts to buy new mines; Landmine Monitor Report 2000 mentioned reports it had received on use of antipersonnel mines by Chadian forces fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 201, Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 63-64, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 163.
[10] The High Committee for National Demining (HCND) destroyed 4,204 antipersonnel mines and the Army, with the support of two French military, destroyed another 286; email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004; HCND, Document number 002/MPDC/HCND/BND/OPS/03, signed by Tadjadine Douda Asskanit, 6 February 2003; UNOPS, “Report of the Technical Advisor for Operations, HCND, Antipersonnel Mine Stockpile Destruction December 2002-January 2003,” February 2003, p. 3; Article 7 Report, Form G1, 30 April 2003; Article 7 Report, Form B, 29 April 2002. See also, Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 164 and footnote 11, regarding addition error on Form B. See also, Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 158-159.
[11] Article 7 Report, Form G1, 27 May 2004; email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004.
[12] For more details see Article 7 Report, Form C and Annex II, 12 December 2001; Article 7 Report, Form C, 29 April 2002.
[13] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” p. 30. For more information on affected areas, see various Article 7 reports.
[14] Interview with Col. Mahamoud Adam Béchir, HCND, 21 April 2004.
[15] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” pp. 13-19, 37-40.
[16] HCND, “National Strategic Plan to Fight Mines and UXO: 2002-2015,” 21 January 2003, p. 4.
[17] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” pp. 13-19, 37-40.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Article 7 Report, Form I, 12 December 2001. As reported in its Article 7 report, 27 May 2004, antipersonnel mines found in Chad include the Belgian PRBM35, NR109, NR409, NR413, and NR442; the German PPM2; the US M14 and M18A1; the Yugoslav PMA3; the Soviet PMD6 and PMN; the Bulgarian PSM1; and the French APID51, APMB51/55, and the French “enlightening” mines 50 and CB58. Antivehicle mines found in Chad, include the Belgian PRBM3 and PRBM3A1; the Italian TC6; the Yugoslav TMA3, TMA4 and TMA5; the Soviet TMD-B, TM46, and TM57; the Czech PTMIBAIII; the US M7A2 and M19; and the French ACID51.
[20] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” pp. 13-19, 37-40.
[21] “Rapport de la mission conjointe HCR-HCND,” January 2004.
[22] Tim Carstairs, Director for Policy, Mines Advisory Group, 4 October 2004.
[23] It is made up of five departments (strategy, tactics, administration-finances-logistics, sensitization, and survivor assistance), each with a director, under the supervision of a coordination team, and assisted by an expatriate Senior Technical Adviser.
[24] Article 7 Report, Annex, 27 May 2004.
[25] HCND, “Annual Activity Report 2002,” (no date), p. 3.
[26] HCND, “National Strategic Plan,” 21 January 2003, p. 6; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 166.
[27] Article 7 Report, Form J, 27 May 2004.
[28] HCND, “National Strategic Plan,” 21 January 2003, pp. 4-5.
[29] Ibid, p. 7.
[30] Interview with Mahamoud Adam Béchir, HCND, and Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, N'djamena, 21 April 2004.
[31] Ministry of Economic Promotion and UNDP, “Support for the Implementation of the National Strategic Plan to Fight Mines and UXO: 2002-2015, Project Document.”
[32] Mine Action Support Group, Newsletter, October 2002, p. 13.
[33] Interview with Michel Verrault, Senior Technical Advisor at HCND, UNDP/UNOPS, 14 January 2003. For a period, there was no qualified staff to use IMSMA.
[34] Email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004.
[35] Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2003 and 27 May 2004.
[36] In early 2003, HELP employed 70 local deminers and one international supervisor. Interview with Peter Willers, Demining Program Coordinator, HELP, N'djamena, 25 January 2003.
[37] HCND, “Bilan des chantiers de déminage et de dépollution réalisés entre le 26 septembre 2000 et le 31 mars 2004,” undated, email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004. Between 2001 and 2003 the Chadian Army conducted battle area clearance on 107,000 square meters of land, destroying 284 antipersonnel mines, 63 antivehicle mines, and 14,746 UXO.
[38] Email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004.
[39] HCND document emailed from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004. For prior information on mine clearance, see also Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 161 and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 167.
[40] HCND, “Annual Activity Report 2002,” p. 5.
[41] HCND, “Results of the Mine Clearance Operations in Chad between 26 September 2000 and 1 June 2002.” In the report, another 765,284 square meters of land are listed as “Superficie depolluee,” and an additional 988,066 square meters are listed as “Superficie controlee.”
[42] HCND document emailed from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004.
[43] An investigation was conducted, but all persons directly involved died, and a second EOD team was too far away to be able to see what happened. The investigation commission concluded it was an unfortunate accident. HCND, “Report of investigation commission,” N'djamena, 15 November 2003. See also, “A stockpile of landmines awaiting destruction exploded in northern Chad, killing six mine clearers,” The Canadian Press, 16 November 2003; “Mine clearers die,” Scottish Daily Record, 17 November 2003.
[44] HCND, “Report of investigation commission,” N'djamena, 10 March 2004.
[45] Interview with Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, Geneva, 25 June 2004.
[46] Information document on the Benin Mine Clearance Training Center, provided to Landmine Monitor by Thomas Adoumasse, Deputy Director, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva, February 2004.
[47] Bénédicte Hossenlop, “Mission exploratoire au Tchad- PEPAM et déminage,” 4-19 May 2004.
[48] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” p. 42.
[49] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad, Executive summary,” pp. 3-4, 7.
[50] Statement by Amrichtene Alnadjib Senoussi, MRE Director, HCND, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 21-25 June 2004; Hugues Laurenge, “Education au Risque des Mines dans l'Est du Tchad - Enquête de situation rapide du 5 au 12 avril 2004,” UNICEF Chad, April 2004, p.11-12.
[51] Article 7 Report, Form J, 27 May 2004.
[52] HCND, “Activity Report 2003,” p. 2.
[53] UNICEF Chad, “Education au Risque des Mines dans l'Est du Tchad,” April 2004, p.10.
[54] Article 7 Reports, Form J, 30 April 2003 and 27 May 2004.
[55] “Le Tchad et le Burundi se débarrassent de leurs mines” (Chad and Burundi get rid of their mines), Le Temps, nr. 363, 15-21 October 2003, p. 6.
[56] Interview with M. Kebbir, Information Officer, HCND Faya Regional Center, Faya, 24 January 2003.
[57] Statement of Paul-Henri Arni, Head of Mission, ICRC Chad, Donor Committee Meeting, N'djamena, 23 January 2003; ICRC Special Reports, “Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, July 2004, p. 21. See also, “Mine Action 2002,” July 2003, p. 20; “Mine Action 2001,” July 2002, p. 17.
[58] HCND, “National Strategic Plan to fight Mines and UXO 2002-2015.”
[59] Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2003.
[60] 2003 figure: Email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 17 July 2004. 1999-2002 figures: Resource Mobilization Contact Group, “A review of resources to achieve the Convention's aims,” p. 7, presented by Norway at the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 25 June 2004.
[61] US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, “Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Program of the Department of Defense for Fiscal Year 2003,” Report to Congress submitted on 1 March 2004, pp. 4-6; US Department of State, “Congressional Budget Justifications: Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2005, Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs (NADR) appropriation,” 10 February 2004, pp. 154-158.
[62] Mine Action Investments database, accessed on 30 July 2004.
[63] Funding data taken from country reports in this edition of Landmine Monitor Report.
[64] Email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 17 July 2004.
[65] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp. 159-160.
[66] “Les démineurs de Faya grongent” (The deminers of Faya grumble), Le Progrès, nr.1281, 18 July 2003, p. 3.
[67] HCND, “Activity Report 2003.”
[68] “The deminers of Faya grumble,” Le Progrès, 18 July 2003.
[69] Email from Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 5 July 2004; interview with Lt. Col. Mahamoud Adam Bechir, Coordinator, HCND, Geneva, 29 May 2002.
[70] Reports from HCND regional office in Faya Largeau to HCND Head Office in N'Djamena, 13 March 2003 and 2 April 2003.
[71] HCND, “Investigation Commission Report,” N'djamena, 15 November 2003; “A stockpile of landmines awaiting destruction exploded in northern Chad, killing six mine clearers,” The Canadian Press, 16 November 2003; “Mine clearers die,” Scottish Daily Record, 17 November 2003.
[72] “Rapport de la mission conjointe HCR-HCND,” January 2004.
[73] Bénédicte Hossenlop, “Mission exploratoire au Tchad–PEPAM et déminage,” 4-19 May 2004.
[74] HCND, “Investigation Commission Report,” N'djamena, 10 March 2004.
[75] Interview with Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, 25 June 2004.
[76] HCND, “Annual Activity Report 2002.”
[77] Statistics from the Military Hospital, N'djamena, provided to Landmine Monitor on 3 February 2003.
[78] ICRC Special Report, “Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, August 2004, p. 21; ICRC, “Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003, p. 139.
[79] Interview with Peter Willers, HELP, 25 January 2003; interview with Lt. Col. Mahamoud Adam Bechir, HCND, 29 May 2002.
[80] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” pp. 31-34; Landmine Monitor analysis of Landmine Impact Survey “Recent Victims” data.
[81] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” p. 25.
[82] Ibid, p. 31.
[83] HCND, “National Strategic Plan,” 21 January 2003, p. 6.
[84] Interview with Lt. Col. Mahamoud Adam Bechir, HCND, Geneva, 29 May 2002.
[85] Interviews with Michel Destemberg, UNOPS, and Mahamoud Adam Béchir, HCND, Geneva, 23 and 25 June 2004; HCND, “National Strategic Plan,” 21 January 2003; Article 7 Report, 27 May 2004.
[86] “Landmine Impact Survey, Republic of Chad,” p. 34.
[87] Information provided by Moussa Ali Sountali, Program Officer, and Tahir Togou Djmet, HCND, on the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration Questionnaire on Landmine Victim Assistance, 31 May 2002; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 169.
[88] ICRC Special Reports, “Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, August 2004, p. 21; “Mine Action 2002,” July 2003, p. 20; “Mine Action 2001,” July 2002, p. 17.
[89] Ibid.
[90] SECADEV,“Statistiques Orthopédiques 2003,” 28 April 2004.
[91] Interview with Abdoulaye Ad Djedid, Secretary General, AEHPT, Ati (Batha), 27 January 2003.
[92] Handicap International, “Landmine Victim Assistance: World Report 2002,” Lyon, December 2002, p. 72.
[93] Article 3 of Decree n°136/PR/MCFAS/94.
[94] Information provided by Moussa Ali Sountali, Program Officer, and Tahir Togou Djmet, HCND, to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration Questionnaire on Landmine Victim Assistance, 31 May 2002.