LM Report 2004

Djibouti

Key developments since May 2003: Djibouti declared itself "mine-safe" on 29 January 2004. Djibouti hosted a landmine workshop on 4-5 February 2004. In March 2004, Djibouti stated that it has drafted domestic implementation legislation.

Key developments since 1999: Djibouti became a State Party on 1 March 1999. It declared itself "mine-safe" on 29 January 2004, after a total of 40,081 square meters of land had been cleared. The Djibouti Mine Action Center, a unit of the Djiboutian military, was inaugurated in February 2001. Djibouti submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report in January 2003, nearly three and one-half years late. Djibouti destroyed its stockpile of 1,118 antipersonnel mines on 2 March 2003, one day after its treaty-mandated deadline, keeping 2,996 mines for training purposes. In March 2004, Djibouti stated that it has drafted domestic implementation legislation. Djibouti has been active regionally, and hosted landmine meetings in November 2000 and February 2004, but has not attended any of the Meetings of States Parties, and few of the intersessional meetings.

Mine Ban Policy

Although Djibouti did not participate in the Ottawa Process, it signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 18 May 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. Djibouti has not enacted domestic implementation measures as required by Article 9 of the treaty. At a February 2004 landmine workshop in Djibouti, a working group proposed draft legislation, including penal sanctions, and the creation of a National Commission to Ban Landmines.^[1] At a regional workshop in Kenya in March 2004, Djibouti stated that it had, “undertaken, with assistance of the ICRC, a first draft of the implementing legislation, which should be finalised before submission to the Ministers Council and subsequently to the Parliament. The law is expected to be adopted before the Review Conference.”^[2]

Djibouti submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report, which had been due by 27 August 1999, on 16 January 2003, and an update on 6 February 2004.^[3]

Djibouti has not attended any of the five annual Meetings of States Parties. It did not participate in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in February 2004, but did attend the June meetings. It has participated in intersessional Standing Committee meetings only sporadically since their inception in 1999.

Djibouti has been active regionally on landmines, hosting two activities. On 4-5 February 2004, it held a landmine workshop, “The Workshop on the Ottawa Convention and Mine Action in the Republic of Djibouti,” organized by a local NGO, ASSOVIM^[4] (Association Victimes de Mines), in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and with the support of Canada. Previously, in November 2000, Djibouti hosted an international conference on landmines for the Horn of Africa and Gulf of Aden States.^[5] It also attended a workshop on Landmines in East Africa, the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2-4 March 2004, as well as an earlier regional landmine meeting in Bamako, Mali, in February 2001.

On 12-13 March 2004, Djibouti participated in an International Colloquium of the National Structures in Charge of the Mine Issue, organized by France’s CNEMA (Commission Nationale pour l'Elimination des Mines Antipersonnel), and held in Paris.

Djibouti 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, Djibouti has not made known its views on issues related to joint military operations with non-States Parties, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.

On 8 December 2003, Djibouti voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 58/53 supporting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. It has voted in favor of all pro-ban UNGA resolutions since 1996.

Djibouti is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, but not to either the original or Amended Protocol II.

Use, Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Destruction

During the 1991-1994 civil war between the government and the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD), both sides used landmines around military positions and on access roads.^[6] There is no evidence that Djibouti's army used mines since the country signed the Mine Ban Treaty.^[7]

In its first Article 7 report of 16 January 2003, Djibouti officially reported that it had not produced antipersonnel mines.^[8] It is not known to have ever exported mines.^[9]

On 2 March 2003, one day after its treaty-mandated deadline, the country destroyed its stockpile of 1,118 antipersonnel mines.^[10] It is retaining a larger quantity, 2,996 mines, for training and development purposes.^[11] As of June 2004, none of those mines had been consumed.^[12]

The French military based in Djibouti destroyed their own stockpile of 2,444 antipersonnel mines on 2-4 November 1999.^[13]

Landmine Problem and Mine Action

Djibouti’s landmine problem resulted from its 1991-1994 internal conflict. Its northern plateau contained most of the suspected minefields or mined routes, particularly in the districts of Obok and Tadjourah, north of the capital.^[14] In 2002, it was reported that a small threat from unexploded ordnance (UXO) still existed.^[15]

On 15 February 2001, the Djibouti Mine Action Center (DMAC), a unit of the Djiboutian military and located at Camp Lemonier, was inaugurated. The US commercial company RONCO served as technical adviser. DMAC reportedly carried out a level one survey under the supervision of RONCO, although no report on the results has ever been made available.^[16]

On 29 January 2004, Djibouti declared itself “mine-safe,” after a total of 40,080.7 square meters of land had been cleared.^[17] Of that total, 13,986 square meters were cleared in the region of Obock, 14,794.7 square meters in the Tadjourah region, and 11,300 in the region of Dikhill. A total of 509 mines and 40 UXO were destroyed.^[18] According to the government, Djibouti's mine clearance program has allowed the population to return to a normal life, and to construct houses, schools and roads.^[19] It also contributed to the stability necessary for economic development.^[20] However, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Djibouti has to “continue its efforts to become ‘mine-free’ by 1 March 2009.”^[21] Djibouti’s treaty-mandated deadline to destroy all mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control is 1 March 2009.

The French Army had a munitions depot at La Doudah, protected by antipersonnel mines, a few kilometers away from the town center. Heavy rainfall and floods in 1989 resulted in the movement of some mines beyond the barbed wire fence that enclosed the minefields, and some 700 mines have not been found.^[22] The US wants to use the site for a military base and has discovered some antipersonnel mines. According to a French official in February 2004, “Classical mine clearance attempts have failed because of the type of pollution and the nature of the terrain and the high pyrotechnic risk for the environment. A survey was conducted in September 2002 and concluded that local capacity was not sufficient."^[23] In October 2003, France sent a mission to survey the situation, which determined that about 700 mines endanger the area. In its May 2004 Article 7 report, France stated, “The results of the survey will be published shortly, together with the clearance modalities.”^[24]

At a February 2003 Standing Committee meeting, the Djibouti delegate recalled the mandate given to DMAC in the Final Declaration of the first Regional Conference of the Countries of the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden, held in Djibouti in November 2000, to become a regional center for research and mine action.^[25] Steps have reportedly been taken toward that goal, with the support of the Executive Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development and the technical support of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), but no details are available.^[26]

Between 10 March and 18 April 2003, three of Djibouti’s soldiers were trained in demining techniques at the regional mine clearance training center for ECOWAS member states in Ouidah, Benin.^[27] In 1998, 30 local deminers were trained by the French military, and another thirty-five by the US in 2001.^[28]

In 2003, no mine risk education took place in Djibouti, although a limited amount has been carried out in the past. In mid-April 2002, a series of mine risk education activities were organized by ASSOVIM in collaboration with DMAC, in two primary schools located in the northern communities of Andol and Alitou Dada regions, reaching 20 children in each school.^[29]

Mine Action Funding

The US Department of State has been the main funder of DMAC. It ended its support in December 2003 and RONCO left the country in early 2004.^[30] During its fiscal years 2000-2003, the United States provided $2.88 million, including: $846,000 in FY2000;^[31] $1.18 million in FY2001; $404,000 in FY2002; and $449,588 in FY2003.^[32] DMAC also received technical assistance from the French military in the past.

Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance

Landmine Monitor identified 81 mine casualties since 1999, including 23 people killed, and 51 injured; the status of seven is unknown. All appeared to be caused by antivehicle mines. The last reported incident occurred in 2001.^[33] The number of mine casualties among nomads in the border areas is unknown. According to military sources, between 1997 and 2000, 31 people were killed and 90 injured in mine incidents; the majority of casualties were military personnel.^[34]

Public health services in Djibouti have remained heavily impaired since the end of the civil conflict and facilities for mine survivors are inadequate. The only hospital with the capacity to treat trauma injuries, Peltier Hospital, is in the capital. Regional health centers are only capable of providing first aid. Health facilities suffer from a lack of equipment and resources. There are reportedly difficulties in transporting casualties from the place of the incident to appropriate medical care. In 1994, the government assumed responsibility for the rehabilitation center at the Peltier Hospital, which provides physiotherapy and prosthetic services; however the orthopedic workshop is no longer operational. The government provides no other services for persons with disabilities.^[35]

The ICRC also runs a small program that funds the travel and costs of amputees to the Prosthetic/Orthotic Center in Addis Ababa every two years for the replacement of prostheses. Since 1999, 71 mine survivors have benefited from the program: 25 in 2002; 22 in 2001; and 25 in 1999. In 1999, the ICRC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, also facilitated the treatment of six civilian mine casualties at the Peltier Hospital.^[36]

The local association, Assistance to the Handicapped (AAPDH), implements the Ministry of Employment and Solidarity Program for Reinsertion of Ex-Combatants at the orthopedic center in the Peltier Hospital. AAPDH assists about 50 war amputees.^[37]

Vocational training for disabled war veterans, including mine survivors, is available in carpentry and electrical trades.^[38]

The national plan of action for assistance to mine survivors, proposed by the Ministry of Health in November 2000, has not been implemented due to a lack of resources.^[39] Recommendations were made to adapt the plan at the landmine workshop in Djibouti in February 2004.^[40] On 29 January 2004, at the declaration of Djibouti as “mine-safe,” officials stressed the need to assist mine survivors.^[41]

[1] “Recommendations of the Working Group on Article 9,” Workshop on the Ottawa Convention and Mine Action in the Republic of Djibouti, 5 February 2004.
[2] ICRC, Report on Workshop on Landmines in East Africa, the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa held in Nairobi, Kenya, 2-4 March 2004.
[3] The first report covered the period up to 1 October 2002. The update covered the period up to 31 December 2003.
[4] ASSOVIM has long been active on the landmine issue, launching the first organized campaign against landmines in Djibouti in 1999.
[5] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 72.
[6] The military used French and Italian mines and the rebels used Italian and Russian mines; see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 33-34. In spite of the 1994 peace agreement between the government and the FRUD, a splinter faction of the FRUD allegedly used antivehicle mines between 1999 and 7 February 2000, the day of a new reconciliation agreement; see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 52. On 18 March 1998, an opposition militia reportedly mined a section of the road leading south from the town of Ali Sahib to the border with Somaliland and Ethiopia. Two incidents killed a driver for the UNHCR and three soldiers. Fourteen antipersonnel mines were found in the vicinity of the antivehicle mine that exploded; see “Program Summary- Radio France Internationale,” Paris RFI, 21 March 1998 in Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 33.
[7] Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 52.
[8] Article 7 Report, Form E, 16 January 2003.
[9] Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 230. In 1998, Djibouti opposition groups claimed that at least one shipment of landmines had passed through the Djibouti port from Ethiopia. “Addis readies for war in the air,” Indian Ocean Newsletter, #842, pp. 8-9.
[10] Article 7 Report, Form G, 16 January 2003; Article 7 Report, Form G, Tableau Explicatif, 6 February 2004. Mines destroyed included: 279 French-Belgian M12; 132 French-Belgian M412; 267 Yemeni PPM2; 286 Chinese Type 72; and, 224 Egyptian MB. In 1998, the Djibouti military, with technical support of the French Foreign Legion, destroyed 350 kg of landmines and UXO; see Nation, 28 March 1998 and French military sources cited in Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 32.
[11] Mines retained include: 656 M12; 307 M412; 621 PPM2; 665 T72; 521 MB; 16 DV; 30 M961; 10 AV; 128 PPMISR; 12 MLE421; 18 M59; and 18 of unknown type and origin. Article 7 Report, Form D, 16 January 2003.
[12] Interview with Djibril Djama Elabé, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Geneva, 25 June 2004.
[13] Ministry of Defense, “La France détruit ses dernières mines antipersonnel,” Press file, 20 December 1999.
[14] For more detailed information on location of mined areas, see Article 7 Report, Form C, 16 January 2003; see also US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Washington, Fourth Edition, September 2002, p. 14.
[15] US DOS, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002, p. 14.
[16] Interview with Ray Getchell, RONCO Consulting Corporation, Camp Lemonier, 19 March 2003, in Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 231.
[17] Statement of Brig. Gen. Zakaria Cheick Ibrahim, Chef d'Etat-Major, Ministry of Defense, at the occasion marking the end of the mine clearance program of DMAC and the declaration of Djibouti as mine safe, 29 January 2004; Annex to Article 7 Report, 6 February 2004. See also, US DOS, “Djibouti: First Horn of Africa Country to Become Free from Impact of Mines,” Press Release, 29 January 2004, and US DOS, “To walk the earth in safety: de-mining slogan becomes reality in Djibouti,” 4 March 2004.
[18] Article 7 Report, Form G, 6 February 2004. The report states that 438 mines and 6 UXO were destroyed in Obock, 67 mines and 33 UXO in Tadjourah, and four mines and one UXO in Dikhill. No distinction is made between antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.
[19] Presentation of Abdoulkader Elmi Elabé, as member of the future National Commission to Ban Antipersonnel Mines, at the International Colloquium on National Structures in Charge of the Mine Issue, organized by CNEMA, Paris, France, 12-13 March 2004.
[20] Statement by Ali Abdi Farah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, at the Workshop on the Ottawa Convention and Mine Action in the Republic of Djibouti, Djibouti, 4 February 2004.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Interview with Col. Bertrand de Turkheim, Army Chief of Staff of French Armed Forces Stationed in Djibouti, 2 August 2004; France Article 7 Report, Form C, 11 May 2004.
[23] Letter from France’s Mine Action Ambassador Chesnel to Landmine Monitor, 17 February 2004.
[24] France Article 7 Report, Form C, 11 May 2004. Furthermore, the type of mine is problematic for clearance. It is the APDV59 mine (Mine Antipersonnel Détectable à Volonté, developed in 1959). These mines are supposed to contain a metal ring for detection, but some rings have become detached, making the mines undetectable.
[25] Statement by Djibril Djama Elabé, Standing Committee on General Status, Geneva, 3 February 2003.
[26] Ibid.
[27] “Benin Mine Clearance Training Center,” document provided by Thomas Adoumasse, Deputy Director, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, February 2004.
[28] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 34, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 233.
[29] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 231. Previously, the ICRC, the Red Crescent Society of Djibouti and ASSOVIM conducted some risk education through the local media, targeting civilians in the north of the country. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 73. UNHCR funded some mine risk education and mine clearance projects. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 34.
[30] Email from Larry Saiers, RONCO Consulting Cooperation, 9 July 2004; US DOS, “Budget proposal, Request by region: Africa, Djibouti,” February 2004, p. 238, available at www.state.gov/documents/organization/28975.pdf, accessed 5 October 2004.
[31] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 73.
[32] US DOS, “Budget proposal,” February 2004, p. 238.
[33] US DOS, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” September 2002, p. 14; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 73; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 53.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Presentation by Djibouti, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 13 May 2003.
[36] Interview with Moustapha Mohamed, Head of Office, ICRC, Djibouti, 28 February 2003; ICRC, “Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003, p. 130; ICRC Special Report, “Mine Action 2001,” Geneva, July 2002, p. 18; interview with Mustafa Barkhat, ICRC, Djibouti, 8 May 2000.
[37] Interview with Mohamed Chehem, AAPHD, Djibouti, 15 March 2003.
[38] Presentation by Djibouti, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 13 May 2003.
[39] Ibid; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 74.
[40] “Recommendations of the Working Group on Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,” to the landmine workshop organized by ASSOVIM and the government of Djibouti, Djibouti, 5 February 2004.
[41] Statement by Brig. Gen. Zakaria Cheick Ibrahim, Ministry of Defense, 29 January 2004; Annex to Article 7 Report, 6 February 2004.