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Table of Contents
Country Reports
El Salvador, Landmine Monitor Report 2004

El Salvador

Key developments since May 2003: Legislation drafted in 2002 to implement the Mine Ban Treaty domestically has still not been enacted. A contingent of 360 Salvadoran soldiers deployed to Iraq in February 2004 included a team specially trained in landmine and UXO disposal.

Key developments since 1999: El Salvador ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 27 January 1999, and the treaty entered into force on 1 July 1999. El Salvador has not enacted national legislative measures to implement the treaty. El Salvador submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report, due on 27 December 1999, on 31 August 2001. On 20 February 2003, El Salvador completed destruction of its stockpiled antipersonnel mines, ahead of its treaty-mandated deadline of 1 July 2003. In November 2001, an interagency committee on the Mine Ban Treaty was established, with responsibility for liaising with national and international organizations on demining and mine survivor rehabilitation. Although El Salvador has declared itself mine-free, during field research in September 2002, the International Demining Group identified 33 sites suspected of being affected by unexploded ordnance.

Mine Ban Policy

El Salvador signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 27 January 1999, and the treaty entered into force for the country on 1 July 1999. In February 2002, the Foreign Minister reported that the Interagency Committee on International Humanitarian Law (CIDIH-ES, Comité Interinstitucional de Derecho Internacional Humanitario de El Salvador), coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had developed draft legislation that would penalize violations of the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] More than a year later, in May 2003, the Foreign Minister told the ICBL that CIDIH-ES had prepared a proposal for reforms of national legal measures that would include sanctions to prevent and suppress activities prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty.[2] On 15 April 2004, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told Landmine Monitor that the draft legislation had not been passed by the Legislative Assembly and there was no expected date for when this would take place. He stressed that El Salvador is committed to meeting its responsibilities and promoting the goals of the Mine Ban Treaty.[3]

El Salvador’s support for the antipersonnel mine ban dates back to September 1996, when its Foreign Minister endorsed a call to make Central America mine-free. El Salvador actively participated in the Ottawa Process and has subsequently attended every annual meeting of the States Parties, as well most meetings of the intersessional Standing Committees, including in 2004. It has voted in support of every annual pro-ban resolution by the United Nations General Assembly since 1996.

El Salvador submitted its initial Article 7 report on 31 August 2001, more than one and a half years after the treaty deadline of 27 December 1999. It has submitted three annual updates, including on 20 April 2004.[4] In February 2002, Landmine Monitor received an eight-page letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commenting on the El Salvador entry in Landmine Monitor Report 2001.[5]

El Salvador 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, it has not made known its views on the issues of 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.

While El Salvador is a State Party to Amended Protocol II (Landmines) of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), it did not attend the Fifth Annual Conference of States Parties held in November 2003.

Production, Transfer and Use

El Salvador reports that it has not produced antipersonnel mines and it has no production facilities.[6] El Salvador is not known to have exported antipersonnel mines, but in the past it imported antipersonnel mines, including M-14 mines, M-26 mines, and M18A1 Claymore mines, all manufactured by the United States.[7]

The guerrillas of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) made significant numbers of homemade antipersonnel mines or improvised explosive devices during the 1980-1992 armed conflict. FMLN produced minas abanicos [fan mines], similar to command-detonated Claymore mines; minas de chuchitos [clothespin mines] and minas de pateos [foot remover mines].[8]

Both the government and FMLN forces made extensive use of antipersonnel landmines throughout the conflict. In the mid-1980s the FMLN began to heavily rely on landmines in order to deter counterinsurgency sweeps through guerrilla-held territory. It is estimated that at the end of the war in 1992, there were 20,000 landmines in 425 mine fields that covered 436 square kilometers.[9]

Stockpiling and Destruction

El Salvador completed destruction of its stockpile of 6,539 antipersonnel mines on 20 February 2003, six months ahead of its treaty-mandated deadline of 1 July 2003.

A total of 5,248 mines were destroyed on 20 February 2003 (4,759 M-14 mines and 489 M-18 mines) in an event at La Hacienda El Ángel II, Tapalhuaca, in the department of La Paz.[10] General Álvaro Rivera Alemán, the Vice-Minister of Defense, General Héctor Gutiérrez of the Chiefs of Staff, and other high-ranking officials and members of the media witnessed the event.[11] It appears that the stockpile destroyed consisted of mines that had been cleared after the peace accords.[12] At the destruction ceremony, the Army reportedly stated that the mines were obtained from mine clearance operations by the Belgian company International Danger Disaster Assistance (IDAS) between March 1993 and January 1994.[13]

Another 1,291 antipersonnel mines were destroyed between June 2000 and August 2001, including 64 M-14 mines and a previously unreported 1,227 M-18 Claymore mines.[14]

El Salvador had previously reported that in the period from March 1993 through 1994, the Division of Arms and Explosives (DAE, División de Armas y Explosivos) of the National Civilian Police (PNC, Policía Nacional Civil) had destroyed all remaining antipersonnel mines stockpiled by the Armed Forces of El Salvador. It reported this destruction to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) in April 1997.

In May 2001, however, Landmine Monitor received a detailed response from the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Salvadoran Armed Forces which reported that El Salvador had a stockpile of 5,657 antipersonnel landmines, including 4,937 M-14 and 720 M-26 antipersonnel mines, stockpiled in different parts of the country.[15]

In March 2003, El Salvador reported that it would retain 96 antipersonnel mines (50 M-14 and 46 M-26 mines) for training and development, as permitted by Article 3 of the treaty.[16] These mines were transferred from the Logistics Support Command to the Armed Forces Engineer Command.[17]

In the past concerns have been expressed that some stockpiled mines could exist outside of government control, in the hands of bandits or in abandoned weapons cachés, called tatús.[18] Following a May 2000 explosion at a munitions storage site at the Special Brigade of Military Security (BESM) in a residential zone of the capital San Salvador, military spokesmen told media that the arsenal at BESM included landmines.

Landmine and UXO Problem

Since 1994, Salvadoran representatives have repeatedly stated that the country is “mine-free.” At Standing Committee meetings held in February 2003, El Salvador stated, “We celebrate the news that Costa Rica has been declared mine-free, and thus joins El Salvador as a mine-free country in the Central American region. I remind you that my country was declared and certified as mine-free in 1994 by the UN, following completion of the National Demining Plan carried out by the Armed Forces, FMLN, ONUSAL, UNICEF, with the services of the Belgian company IDAS. Though there have been some isolated accidents since 1994, these have involved UXO, many of them homemade.”[19]

At an OAS Special Security Conference in México in October 2003, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs restated that El Salvador had both received OAS certification for national demining and destroyed its stockpiles in accordance with the Mine Ban Treaty.[20]

In its Article 7 reports submitted in 2003 and 2004, El Salvador states that it was declared “97 percent” mine-free following the completion of the National Demining Plan in 1994.[21]

Questions about El Salvador’s mine free status arose in 2001, when a UK-based mine clearance group, the International Demining Group (IDG), and its Salvadoran NGO partner, the Foundation for Cooperation and Community Development of El Salvador (CORDES, Fundación para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Comunal de El Salvador), identified approximately 150 square kilometers of land for consideration for survey and/or demining operations in the departments of Chalatenango, Cabañas, Cuscatlán and Usulután. This included 53 previously unknown or unrecorded mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) locations.[22] In May 2001, a national media report on the issue noted that several departments were still at risk from landmines and UXO, including San Salvador, Cabañas, San Vicente, Usulatán, Morazán, and Chalatenango.[23]

In May 2001, the Chief of the Arms and Explosives Division of the PNC, Sub-Commissioner Hugo Salinas, told media that while he was convinced that the country was mine-free, he accepted there were isolated cases of antipersonnel mines and UXO found. The DAE kept a list of landmines and UXO reported and destroyed. In 2000, reportedly 575 UXO were gathered, of which 177 were destroyed and 298 deposited in stockpiles for future destruction.[24]

The IDG described the UXO problem in rural areas as a significant issue.[25] IDG believes the March 1993-January 1994 clearance operation lacked accurate information on the number and configuration of mined areas. In addition, Hurricane Mitch in late 1998 and the severe earthquakes in January and February 2001 may have caused the dispersal and dislodgment of UXO and landmines.[26] IDG carried out further field research in September 2002, in cooperation with local authorities.[27] It identified 33 suspected UXO-affected sites in the department of Chalatenango, in the Guazapa Volcano area (department of San Salvador), and in the Cinquera region (department of Cabañas).[28] The majority of UXO found were fragmentation hand grenades, 51mm and 88mm grenades, and M79 grenades.[29]

Representatives of local NGOs and municipal government have told Landmine Monitor that UXO contamination in rural areas remains a problem, but that the civilian population is at relatively “low risk.”[30] In May 2004, Oscar Chavez Valiente, the Secretary General of the National Civilian Police provided detailed information about some of the regions that are affected by UXO and about recent UXO accidents.[31]

A considerable and growing problem is related to gang members fabricating or aquiring grenades and other explosive devices and using them in both gang-related incidents and in crimes against the public. The increased use of military weapons in gang warfare is creating new UXO problems in El Salvador.[32]

Mine Action Coordination, Planning, and Clearance

In November 2001, an Interagency Committee on the Ottawa Convention [Comité Nacional Intersectorial para el seguimiento de la Convención de Ottawa] was established, with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and the National Civilian Police.[33] The Salvadoran Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled [ISRI, Instituto Salvadoreño de Rehabilitación de Inválidos] was added to the committee in 2002.[34] According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the committee is the official body charged with liaising with national and international organizations on demining and mine survivor rehabilitation.[35]

The Ministry of Defense and the Division of Arms and Explosives of the National Civilian Police are the authorized national institutions responsible for clearance of any mines and UXO.[36] According to Oscar Chavez Valiente, the PNC has five teams, trained to respond to calls from the public to clear UXO and other explosives, one for each region.[37]

In November 2001 , an Army representative told Landmine Monitor that after the war the Army had cleared all mines from around military bases and vital economic centers, destroying a total of 8,590 mines.[38] In February 2002 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maria Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila provided Landmine Monitor with detailed information on the March 1993-January 1994 clearance operation, information that had not been previously available.[39]

In October 2001, the Army carried out clearance operations in Cuscatlán following reports by Doctors Without Borders that local inhabitants could not use the land because of the presence of mines. The Army cleared an area of 30 blocks (manzanas) over a two-month period, but did not find mines or UXO.[40]

Since 1997, El Salvador has contributed 20 military mine action supervisors to the MARMINCA mine clearance efforts by the OAS in Central America, including four supervisors in 2002, and four more in 2003, to Honduras and Nicaragua. El Salvador also provided two military personnel to the UN mission in Kuwait (UNIKOM).[41]

In December 2001, El Salvador presented a list of 21 mine clearance experts from the Armed Forces to the UN Department of Disarmament Affairs in response to a request from the UN Secretary General regarding Article 8 (9) of the Mine Ban Treaty. These are individuals that could participate in any future fact-finding mission carried out under Article 8 (Facilitation and Clarification of Compliance).[42]

A contingent of 360 Salvadoran soldiers from the Cuscatlán Battalion served with the Spanish-led “Plus Ultra” Brigade at Camp Baker in Nayaf, in southern Iraq from August 2003 to February 2004. They were then replaced by a second contingent of 380 troops. The first contingent had little involvement with humanitarian demining, while the second contingent included a team specially trained in landmines and UXO disposal.[43]

Mine/UXO Risk Education

In 2003, the National Civilian Police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that there is no need for risk education campaigns in El Salvador because the country is considered 97 percent free of mines.[44] In its 2003 Article 7 report, El Salvador again stated, “not applicable” with respect to measures adopted to warn the population.[45] While no formal programs currently exist, the National Civilian Police is mandated to provide risk education programs.[46] In July 2003, IDG stated that risk education was “an urgent requirement.”[47] A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official acknowledged to Landmine Monitor that the local population was not informed or qualified to take action upon coming into contact with UXO.[48] In April 2004, the official restated that it is important to develop risk education programming in areas that may be affected by UXO.[49]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2003, El Salvador reported no new landmine casualties. The last confirmed report of mine casualties was in 1994.[50] However, Landmine Monitor was told that landmines or UXO caused 25 casualties in 2000, and mine/UXO incidents, though seen as isolated cases, were in fact frequent.[51] El Salvador continues to have a problem with UXO with several casualties reported since 1999.[52]

Although there are no confirmed reports of recent casualties, El Salvador does reportedly have a significant number of mine survivors as a result of the armed conflict in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986, landmines caused between 64 and 125 military and 19 to 25 civilian casualties per month. The San Salvador hospital alone reported treating 1,006 military mine casualties in the first eight months of 1986.[53] In 1992, at least 576 people were injured by landmines and UXO, in 107 separate incidents.[54]

In February 2003, Salvadoran representative Dr. Martínez Panameño, told Landmine Monitor there were approximately 3,700 landmine survivors in El Salvador, including amputees, and blind and deaf persons.[55] In February 2004, El Salvador reported that there could be over 9,700 landmine casualties from the conflict, and these individuals are now in the economically-productive age group of between 25 and 40.[56] Landmine Monitor has not been able to confirm these numbers.

Survivor Assistance

In El Salvador, persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors, are treated within the regular healthcare system.[57] However, the national healthcare system reportedly does not have the infrastructure or resources to adequately address the needs of persons with disabilities.[58] In poor urban areas, and particularly in rural areas, access to medical care and rehabilitation is limited. Only four departments in El Salvador (San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana and La Libertad) have rehabilitation facilities for people with disabilities. In rural areas access to rehabilitation programs is almost non-existent.[59] In addition, there is a lack of psychological support services to address the needs of war-affected people.[60]

El Salvador has initiated a program of decentralization of health services, establishing 28 centers of integrated basic healthcare services (SIBASIS, Servicios Básicos de Salud Integral). With the support of the Canada-México-PAHO tripartite project, rehabilitation services are available at six of the 28 SIBASIS. In May 2003, it was reported that a technology transfer and decentralization of rehabilitation services agreement was sought with Canada, in order to bring services to an additional two SIBASIS.[61]

The Center for Professional Rehabilitation of the Armed Forces (CERPROFA, Centro de Rehabilitación Profesional de la Fuerza Armada) assists military and former Salvadoran army personnel. CERPROFA assists about 400 people annually with the production of prostheses and orthoses, and provides clinical care and skills training.[62]

The Salvadoran Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (ISRI) provides rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities in eleven healthcare centers with specialized medical and technical personnel.[63]

The Association of the Organization of Disabled of El Salvador (PODES, Asociación Promotora de la Organización de Discapacitados de El Salvador) has been producing prosthetic and orthotic devices since 1993. Between 1993 and April 2004, PODES assisted 1,909 people, including 658 landmine survivors, with 2,050 prostheses or orthoses and 2,962 repairs; 282 were assisted in 2003, and 67 in early 2004. In 2003, PODES also assisted 100 war-injured from Guatemala, with the financial assistance of the Guatemalan NGO Transiciones. PODES has five small rehabilitation workshops across the country but does not have funding to maintain these services. PODES is supported by Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) and Medico International. VVAF also provides technical support and training.[64]

In 2003, a new orthopedic workshop was constructed at the Santiago de María Hospital, with assistance from the Reconstruction after the Earthquakes Project (El Proyecto de Reconstrucción después de los Terremotos - RETOS/GTZ El Salvador).[65]

The Association of War Wounded of El Salvador (ALGES, Asociación de Lisiados de Guerra de El Salvador), formed in 1997, has 5,823 members and works in all 14 departments of El Salvador. ALGES has 120 employees, including 20 community health workers and eight physiotherapists and social workers. In 2003, ALGES provided capacity building for local representatives, medical care and rehabilitation in ALGES health centers, and assisted 114 people with vocational training and the development of 21 small businesses.[66]

Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) began work in El Salvador in June 2001. LSN has four community-based outreach workers in San Salvador and one in La Libertad department; all are mine survivors. LSN works with individual survivors to assess their needs, offer psychological and social support, educates families about the effects of limb loss, and facilitates access to medical rehabilitation and vocational training, and other assistance. If none exist, in some cases LSN provides direct assistance including covering the cost of prostheses, house repairs or emergency food aid. LSN assisted 165 people in 2003, including 115 landmine survivors: 100 were assisted in 2002 (60 mine survivors); 46 in 2001 (19 mine survivors); and 55 (33 mine survivors) to March 2004. LSN facilitated 31 vocational training sessions, assisted 34 survivors with small businesses, and provided in-kind assistance, in the form of materials and tools, for starting small businesses and home repairs. LSN also establishes social support groups tracks survivors’ progress toward recovery and reintegration. LSN also developed a national services directory used to link survivors to rehabilitation services.[67]

The Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology (CESTA, Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnología Apropiada) raises awareness on disability issues, provides micro-enterprise development support, operates a bicycle repair workshop run by people with disabilities, and maintains a workshop with the capacity to build specialized bicycles and wheelchairs for persons with disabilities.[68]

The Association of War Wounded of the Armed Forces (ALFAES, Asociacion de Lisiados de la Fuerza Armada de El Salvador) provides rehabilitation and economic assistence to El Salvador army veterans; it has 1,700 members in 13 departments. In 2003, 216 members received financial credits to start small businesses and for home repairs. ALFAES has a small prosthetic workshop which, due to a lack of funding, is not operational.[69]

The four-year Canada-México-PAHO tripartite project “Care for victims of AP mines in Central America” concluded in El Salvador in March 2003. The project included training for community-based rehabilitation personnel including physiotherapists and prosthetic technicians, raised awareness on disability issues, and developed a plan of action and provided training on the socio-economic reintegration of persons with disabilities. At least 261 people received prosthetic or orthotic devices free-of-charge during the project.[70]

Other organizations providing services that have also benefited landmine survivors include: Handicap International; Telethon Foundation Pro-Rehabilitation (FUNTER) which provides an advisory service for small businesses; Nuevo Mundo and the governmental Division of Special Education which give scholarships to the disabled; the Centro de Orientación Familiar y Comunitaria (Family and Community Orientation Center) which offers micro-credits; the US Agency for International Development runs six micro-credit programs in El Salvador; and the Ministry of Labor in Santa Ana has employment programs that are open to persons with disabilities. Vocational training has been provided by various NGOs in a diverse range of areas, including carpentry, welding, electrical, computer skills, small business administration, organic agriculture, and tailoring.[71]

Several factors limit effective socio-economic reintegration initiatives including the lack of access to basic education; lack of appropriate transportation to facilities; lack of financial support; discrimination; lack of awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities; lack of access due to centralization of services; and limited support for income-generating activities for persons with disabilities.[72]

In June 2001, prosthetics technicians from El Salvador attended the First Regional Conference on Victim Assistance and Technologies organized by the OAS and the Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR), in Managua, Nicaragua. CIR developed a Lower Extremity Distance Learning program for prosthetic technicians in El Salvador which also includes a clinical component implemented by a qualified prosthetic technician who provides hands-on training.[73]

The Project for the Strengthening of Integral Rehabilitation through Technical Orthopedics in the Central American Region (Proyecto de Fortalecimiento de la Rehabilitación Integral a través de la Ortopedia Técnica en la Región Centroaméricana UDB-GTZ) provides a range of technical programs for training orthopedic technicians from El Salvador and the region, through the Don Bosco University in San Salvador. In 2003, at least 40 students benefited from various courses, including eleven from El Salvador.[74]

Disability Policy and Practice

The Law for Equal Rights and Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (Ley de equiparación de oportunidades para las personas con discapacidad), passed in 2000, regulates the rights of persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors, to medical and rehabilitation services, education, access to public places, transport, communications, and vocational training and economic reintegration.[75]

The Law for the Protection Fund of the Disabled and Wounded as a Result of the Armed Conflict (Ley del fondo de protección de lisiados y discapacitados a consecuencia del conflicto armado), passed in 1996, provides a variety of benefits including medical and rehabilitation services, pensions, subsidies and economic benefits, and vocational training and economic reintegration programs. The Law benefits both military and civilian victims of the conflict, including mine casualties. Landmine survivors and other war-wounded receive pensions according to the degree of their disability. The Fund is the governmental implementing agency for Law N° 416, the Law to Benefit the Protection of the War Wounded and Disabled of the Armed Conflict [Ley de Beneficio para la Protección de los Lisiados y Discapacitados a Consecuencia del Conflicto Armado], and contracts out vocational training to NGOs and private business.[76]

The National Council for the Integrated Care of the Disabled [CONAIPD, Consejo Nacional de Atención Integral a las Personas con Discapacidad] is the official body responsible for developing policies and coordinating and monitoring institutions and organizations working with people with disabilities in El Salvador. CONAIPD represents eight governmental and eight non governmental agencies, with a registry of 16,800 war-affected people. CONAIPD operates with an annual budget of $2 million provided by the government.[77]

El Salvador reportedly recognizes its responsibility in providing assistance and rehabilitation to landmine survivors, in the long term, including socio-economic reintegration;[78] however, its efforts are “insufficient because of a lack of resources for rehabilitation services, technical support, vocational training and productive integration.”[79]

It is widely believed that institutions in El Salvador are not adequately addressing the needs of persons with disabilities in the country, that discrimination remains a problem, and that there is a lack of political and societal will to address the issue. Reforms of existing legislation and greater participation of persons with disabilities in programming is reportedly needed to bring about change.[80]

A mine survivor from El Salvador participated in the Raising the Voices training program in 2001.


[1] Maria Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila, Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, Report for El Salvador for 2002, 11 February 2002, p. 4. Hereinafter cited as, “Minister of Foreign Affairs Report, 11 February 2002.” This report was prepared in response to information in Landmine Monitor Report 2001.
[2] Letter to ICBL (Elizabeth Bernstein) from María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila, Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, Ref: DGPE/D.M./No. 560, 18 May 2003.
[3] Telephone interview with Francisco Gonzales, Department of Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 April 2004. In a telephone interview on 26 March 2004, Benito Lara, the Departmental Coordinator FMLN, stated that it is difficult to know when this legislation will be passed or if it will be passed at all.
[4] The April 2004 Report covers the period from April 2003 to April 2004 and includes information on the completion of stockpile destruction and a number of observations on other aspects of mine action in point form on a separate form. Previous reports were submitted on 4 March 2003 (for the period 1 April 2002 – 28 February 2003), 29 April 2002 (for the period 1 September 2001 – 31 March 2002), and 31 August 2001 (for the period 1 June 2000 – 31 August 2001).
[5] Minister of Foreign Affairs Report, 11 February 2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 241.
[6] Article 7 Report, Forms E and H, 4 March 2003.
[7] The US State Department reported that from 1982-1990, the US provided El Salvador 4,410 M-14s, 720 M-24s, and 47,244 M18A1s. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 242.
[8] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 245.
[9] For more information, see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 246.
[10] Jesús Corvera, “Destruyen más de 5 mil minas,” El Diario de Hoy (San Salvador), 21 February 2003; David Marroquín, “Destruyen 5 mil minas antipersonales,” La Prensa Gráfica (San Salvador), 21 February 2003; Article 7 Report, Form A, D and F, 4 March 2003; intervention by El Salvador, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 15 May 2003.
[11] “Destruyen más de 5 mil minas,” El Diario de Hoy, 21 February 2003.
[12] Presentation by Dr. José Rolando Martínez Panameño, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, 13 May 2003.
[13] “Destruyen más de 5 mil minas,” El Diario de Hoy, 21 February 2003. In an intervention at the May 2003 Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, the representative of El Salvador made a detailed presentation on the destruction process: “The mines were placed in metal barrels in pits 1.2 meters deep, and detonated using electronic initiators.” According to the March 2003 Article 7 report, rules established by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources were followed. Article 7 Report, Form F, 4 March 2003.
[14] Article 7 Report, Form D, 4 March 2003; “Informe Ejecutivo, Finalización del Plan de Destrucción de Minas en Arsenal por la Fuerza Armada de El Salvador,” undated document provided to Landmine Monitor in March 2003. In comparing numbers in the 2001, 2002, and 2003 Article 7 reports, it appears that El Salvador reported on the destruction of 64 M-14 mines twice, both in August 2001 and in April 2002.
[15] Response to Landmine Monitor Qestionnaire by Gen. Alvaro Antonio Calderón Hurtado, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Salvadoran Armed Forces, 8 May 2001. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 242, for details on discrepancies in stockpile reporting by El Salvador in August 2001 and April 2002.
[16] Article 7 Report, Form B and D, 4 March 2003.
[17] Article 7 Report, Form D, 4 March 2003.
[18] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 336-337.
[19] Intervention by El Salvador, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, 5 February 2003.
[20] Statement by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, OAS Special Security Conference, México, 28 October 2003.
[21] Article 7 Report, Form C, 4 March 2003. The report also states, “There are no minefields in El Salvador.” Article 7 Report, Forms F and G, 4 March 2003.
[22] Verification was accomplished by breaching the suspected areas, then detecting, neutralizing and recovering mines. According to IDG, during these investigations, antipersonnel mines, booby-traps, hand grenades, mortar rounds and a rocket were cleared. All of these were in operational or “live” condition. Within every location investigated, mines and UXO were recovered. International Demining Group, “El Salvador: This Hard Land,” London, May 2001, available at www.demininggroup.org . See also, Graeme Goldsworthy and Dr. Frank Faulkner, “This Hard Land: A Renewal of Humanitarian Mine Action in El Salvador,” in “Landmines in Central & South America,” Journal of Mine Action, Issue 5.2, Summer 2001, pp. 22-23.
[23] Ana Lidia Rivera, “La muerte a flor de tierra,” Vértice, El Diario de Hoy (San Salvador), 20 May 2001. The lengthy article appeared in the weekly magazine of the newspaper.
[24] Ibid.
[25] IDG, “El Salvador: This Hard Land,” May 2001.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Interview with Tania Góchez, IDG, San Salvador, 28 January 2003.
[28] IDG, “Pilot Program for a Level I and II Survey on Humanitarian Mine Action,” 2003, p. 7.
[29] Interview with Tania Góchez, IDG, 28 January 2003.
[30] Telephone interview with Ernesto Morales, Coordinator, CORDES Chalatanango, 26 March 2004; interview with José Leonidas Argueta Rolda, Executive Director, PODES, San Salvador, 29 March 2004.
[31] Interview with Oscar Chávez Valiente, Secretary General, PNC, San Salvador, 18 May 2004.
[32] Interview with Jesús Martínez, Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) El Salvador, 25 March 2004; Abbey Alvarenga, “Detonan granada en centro de menores ,” El Diario de Hoy, 20 January 2004; Abbey Alvarenga, “NC detiene a ex cabo por amenazas con explosivos,” El Diario de Hoy, 26 November 2003.
[33] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 241.
[34] Interview with Francisco Gonzales, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 January 2003.
[35] Minister of Foreign Affairs Report, 11 February 2002, p. 4.
[36] Ibid, p. 1.
[37] Interview with Oscar Chávez Valiente, Secretary General, PNC, San Salvador, 17 May 2004.
[38] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 339.
[39] Minister of Foreign Affairs Report, 11 February 2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 243-245.
[40] Minister of Foreign Affairs Report, 11 February 2002, p. 6.
[41] Telephone interview with Francisco Gonzales, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 March 2003.
[42] Minister of Foreign Affairs Report, 11 February 2002, p. 6.
[43] Jaime García, “Habrá 740 soldados destacados,” El Diario de Hoy, 19 December 2003.
[44] Interview with Luis Fernando Repreza Aguilar, Commissioner, Division of Arms and Explosives, San Salvador, 28 January 2003; telephone interview with Francisco Gonzales, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 March 2003.
[45] Article 7 Report, Form I, 4 March 2003.
[46] Interview with Luis Fernando Repreza Aguilar, Division of Arms and Explosives, 28 January 2003.
[47] Email from Graeme Goldsworthy, Director, IDG, 11 July 2003.
[48] Telephone interview with Francisco Gonzales, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 March 2003.
[49] Ibid, 15 April 2004.
[50] ICRC, “Antipersonnel Mines in Central America: Conflict and post-conflict,” Geneva, January 1996, p. 14.
[51] Interview with Deputy Pablo Parada Andino, Legislative Assembly, San Salvador, 28 May 2001; and email from Jesús Martínez, LSN El Salvador, 23 July 2001.
[52] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 340-341; and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 246.
[53] Americas Watch, “Landmines in El Salvador and Nicaragua: The Civilian Victims,” December 1986, pp. 22-23.
[54] UNICEF, “Clearing the Minefields: A Step Towards Peace,” May 1995, p. 13.
[55] Interview with Dr. José Rolando Martínez Panameño, Geneva, 6 February 2003.
[56] Mario Castro Grande, Minister Counselor, Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the UN in Geneva, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 12 February 2004.
[57] Telephone interview with Dr. José Rolando Martínez Panameño, Director, ISRI, 26 March 2004.
[58] “Al Tope,” ALGES, Publication #15, December 2003.
[59] Camila Calles, “Discapacitados rurales sin acceso a la salud,” La Prensa Gráfica (San Salvador), 5 December 2003; US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: El Salvador 2003,” Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Department of State, Washington, 25 February 2004; for more details see Landmine Survivors Rehabilitation Database – El Salvador, available at www.lsndatabase.org.
[60] Interview with Maricio Salazar Torres, Psychiatrist, Fondo de Protección de Lisiados y Discapacitados a Consecuencia del Conflicto Armado, 30 March 2004.
[61] Telephone interview with Francisco Gonzales, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2003; Presentation by Dr. Martínez Panameño, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 13 May 2003.
[62] Interview with Rebecca Chavarria, Administrative Coordinator, CERPROFA, San Salvador, 1 April 2004.
[63] Email from Dr. José Rolando Martínez Panameño, Director, ISRI, 6 June 2003.
[64] Interview with José Leonidas Argueta Rolda, PODES, 29 March 2004; email from José Leonidas Argueta Rolda, PODES, 30 March 2004; and email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from William Brown, Deputy for Administration, VVAF, 23 July, 2001.
[65] Año 3 - No. 5 – Mayo 2003,” Proyecto Regional de Ortopedia Técnica San Salvador, El Salvador.
[66] Interview Michael (Paco) Rleutgeus, Consultant, ALGES, San Salvador, 31 March 2004; and “Al Tope,” ALGES, Publication #15, December 2003.
[67] Interview with Jesús Martínez, LSN El Salvador, 25 March 2004; Response to LM Questionnaire by Jesús Martínez, LSN El Salvador, 27 February 2004; email from Michelle Hecker, Country Officer, LSN, 29 July 2003; Presentation by Jesús Martínez, Regional Seminar on Antipersonnel Landmine Victims, Bogotá, Colombia, 13 November 2003; email from Jesús Martínez, LSN El Salvador, 4 February 2003; Response to LM questionnaire by Berta Alicia Flores, Social Worker, LSN El Salvador, 13 March 2002.
[68] Interview with Silvia Quiroa Yada, Coordinator of Program Evaluation and Monitoring, CESTA, San Marcos, 1 April 2004.
[69] Interview with Juan Pablo Bonilla Rodríguez, Vice-President, ALFAES, 30 March 2004.
[70] Presentation by Dr. Martínez Panameño, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 13 May 2003; and “Seminario-Conferencia del Cierre de la Iniciative Tripartita México-Canada-OPS,” Memoria: Planificando para un Futuro Integrado, Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud, Managua, Nicaragua, 2003.
[71] Interview with Leonel Garcia Benitez, Mental Health and Productive Reintegration Coordinator, Fondo de Protección de Lisiados y Discapacitados a Consecuencia del Conflicto Armado, 30 March 2004.
[72] Interview with Jesús Martínez, LSN El Salvador, 25 March 2004; interview with Lourdes Barrera de Morales, Executive Secretary, CONAIPD, San Salvador, 31 March 2004; Margarita Sánchez, “Hay baja escolaridad entre discapacitados,” El Diario de Hoy, 29 November 2003; Presentation by Jesús Martínez, Bogotá, 13 November 2003.
[73] “Ayudarán más víctimas de minas antipersonales,” El Nuevo Diario (Managua), 19 June 2001; and ICBL, “Portfolio of Landmine Victim Assistance Programs,” available at www.landminevap.org.
[74] Año 3 - No. 5 – Mayo 2003 Proyecto Regional de Ortopedia Técnica San Salvador, El Salvador.
[75] Presentation by Dr. Martínez Panameño, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 4 February 2003.
[76] Interview with Maricio Salazar Torres, Psychiatrist, Fondo de Protección de Lisiados y Discapacitados a Consecuencia del Conflicto Armado, 30 March 2004; interview with Leonel Garcia Benitez, Mental Health and Productive Reintegration Coordinator, Fondo de Protección, 30 March 2004; Presentation by Dr. Martínez Panameño, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 4 February 2003.
[77] Interview with Lourdes Barrera de Morales, CONAIPD, 31 March 2004.
[78] Presentation by El Salvador, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, 15 May 2003.
[79] Presentation by Dr. Martínez Panameño, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 13 May 2003.
[80] Ena Rivas, “Día agridulce en honor de la persona con discapacidad,” La Prensa Gráfica, 4 December 2003; interview with José Leonidas Argueta Rolda, PODES, 29 March 2004; interview with Jesús Martínez, LSN El Salvador, 25 March 2004; interview with Lourdes Barrera de Morales, CONAIPD, 31 March 2004; interview with Jesús Avalos Escobar, Executive Secretary, ALGES, San Salvador, 31 March 2004; “Al Tope,” ALGES, Publication #16, March 2004; and US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: El Salvador 003,” Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Department of State, Washington, DC, 25 February 2004.