Key developments since May 2003: “Operation Emirates
Solidarity,” the United Arab Emirates-funded mine clearance project in
South Lebanon, was completed in June 2004. The project cleared about 5 million
square meters of contaminated land in South Lebanon and destroyed 62,490
landmines. The Lebanese Army reported demining 1.6 million square meters of
land in 2003, and destroying 2,200 antipersonnel mines, 250 antivehicle mines,
and 8,000 UXO. NGOs, commercial companies and foreign armies cleared additional
land. Between May 2003 and March 2004, mine risk education activities reached
nearly 1 million citizens, including 200,000 students.
Key developments since 1999: Israel withdrew its forces from South
Lebanon in May 2000, leaving behind a significant mine and UXO problem. In May
2001, the United Arab Emirates announced a contribution of up to $50 million to
redevelop South Lebanon, including an unknown sum for demining, survey and mine
risk education activities; “Operation Emirates Solidarity” began in
October 2001 and was completed in June 2004 with clearance of about 5 million
square meters of land. Between 1999 and 2003, 1,555,644 people received mine
risk education. A nationwide Landmine Impact Survey was conducted from March
2002 to August 2003. The Mine Action Coordination Center for South Lebanon was
established in early 2002. In 2001, the National Demining Office established a
National Mine Victim Assistance Committee. Between 2000 and June 2004,
landmines and UXO caused 291 casualties. Casualties have steadily declined from
119 in 2000, to 93 in 2001, 49 in 2002, and 26 in 2003.
Mine Ban Policy
Lebanon has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In a September 2003
interview, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor that
Lebanon is unable to join the treaty due to the continuing conflict with Israel,
a long-held view.[1]
Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva provided the same
reason in a statement made to the intersessional Standing Committee on the
General Status and Operation of the Convention in February
2004.[2] Since Israel’s
withdrawal from South Lebanon in May 2000, many governments have urged Lebanon
to join the Mine Ban Treaty.
Lebanon did not participate in the Ottawa Process, but was present at the
December 1997 treaty signing as an observer. Lebanon has attended one annual
meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty (in 2002). After coming for
the first time in May 2001, Lebanon participated in all the 2003 and 2004
sessions of the treaty’s intersessional Standing Committees. Lebanon
voted in support of the annual pro-mine ban resolutions in the United Nations
General Assembly in 1996, 1997, and 1998. However, Lebanon became the first and
only country to ever vote against a pro-ban resolution on 1 December 1999 when
it voted against UNGA Resolution 54/54B, calling for universalization of the
Mine Ban Treaty. It has since abstained from voting on the annual resolution,
including in December 2003.
One of the first conferences on landmines in the Middle East took place in
Beirut from 11-12 February 1999, hosted by the NGO Landmines Resource Center in
cooperation with the National Army. On 11-12 January 2001, Landmine Monitor
researchers from the region met in Beirut to prepare their 2001 report. Another
two-day regional conference on landmines was held in Beirut in December
2003.[3] In April 2004, Lebanon
attended a regional seminar on military and humanitarian issues surrounding the
treaty in Amman, Jordan.
Lebanon is not a member of the Convention on Conventional Weapons or its
Amended Protocol II, but it attended the Fifth Annual Conference of States
Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2003 as an observer. In an April
2004 letter to the UN Secretary General, Lebanon’s president, General
Emile Lahoud, stated that the government would have no objection to joining
Amended Protocol II if Israel would adhere to it, adding that Israel still
refuses to provide Lebanon with maps to the minefields left behind after its
occupation of South Lebanon.[4]
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Use
Lebanon is not known to have ever produced or exported antipersonnel mines.
The Lebanese Army stockpiles an unknown number of antipersonnel mines.
There were no confirmed reports of antipersonnel mine use by any party,
including non-state actors, in Lebanon in 2003 or the first half of 2004. The
last known use of antipersonnel mines in Lebanon was by Israel and armed
non-state actors, likely Hezbollah, in occupied South Lebanon in 1999 and prior
to the May 2000 Israeli withdrawal. In March 2000, a Hezbollah spokesman stated
that they generally do not classify themselves as landmine
users.[5] Between 1975 and
2000, forces reported to have used landmines in Lebanon included the Lebanese
Army, local militia groups, the Syrian Army, various armed Palestinian groups,
Israel Defense Forces, and the South Lebanon
Army.[6]
The National Demining Office (NDO) of the Lebanese Army facilitates the
acquisition by commercial demining companies working in South Lebanon of mines
and explosive devices for training in mine clearance
operations.[7] These companies
also neutralize some mines found in South Lebanon for training in mine
operations.[8]
Landmine Problem
Lebanon’s nationwide Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) was completed by the
Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in August 2003, but the official report has still not
been released—due in part to delays in the UN certification of the
survey.[9] Preliminary results
of the survey indicate that 22 of 24 districts, covering 137 square kilometers,
are affected to some degree by landmines and/or unexploded ordnance (UXO). The
survey identified 306 affected communities, with a total of 1,087,249 people, or
approximately 30 percent of the population of
Lebanon.[10] According to the
LIS, there are 28 highly impacted communities and more than 250 communities with
medium or less impact.[11] The
socio-economic impact of mines/UXO remains significant, especially in areas
where it impedes the return of displaced people, such as in the provinces of
Nabatieh, South Lebanon and Mount Lebanon. Mines and UXO also continue to
contaminate certain areas of shoreline in Beirut, Tabarja, Tripoli, and the
province of South Lebanon.
Every year, the NDO of the Lebanese Army provides Landmine Monitor with a
list of mined areas in Lebanon, sorted by mohafazat (province) and cadaa
(district). As of 1 March 2003, the Army counted 1,233 cleared areas and 2,180
uncleared areas. As of 28 May 2004, the Army counted 900 additional cleared
areas, with a total of 25 million square meters of land. Despite the increased
demining activity, the Army counted approximately 2,500 uncleared areas, a
bigger total than in the past. More uncleared areas have been identified as a
result of expanded and better survey and information-gathering activities. The
uncleared areas total 115 million square meters, their locations are as follows:
108 in Tripoli and Batroun district; 15 in Beirut; 326 in Mount Lebanon
province; 77 in West Bekaa district; 632 in the South; and 1,028 along the
southern border, the “blue-line”
zone.[12]
The Lebanese Army has estimated that there are about 550,000 landmines laid
throughout the country, with South Lebanon being the most heavily contaminated
area, containing approximately 400,000
mines.[13] The UN has stated
that the majority of the mined areas in the south are found in border minefields
along the UN-drawn “blue-line” between Lebanon and Israel/Occupied
Territories of Palestine. Border minefields are located from the coast at
Naquora all the way to Kfar Chouba in the
east.[14] Israeli maps report a
total number of 1,869 minefields along the border, containing an estimated
246,012 antipersonnel mines and 10,666 antivehicle
mines.[15] The mines there were
mostly planted by Israel and its Lebanese militia allies, as well as by Lebanese
armed groups, although mine clearance teams have also found ordnance from
conflicts in the 1920s and World War
II.[16]
The Lebanese Army has told Landmine Monitor that the Israeli maps provide
information on less than 80 percent of the minefields and that fieldwork has
shown the maps are about 60 percent
accurate.[17] The UN Interim
Force in Lebanon reportedly stated that Israel had provided maps for only 40
percent of the minefields.[18]
Israel would not disclose information regarding minefields in the area north of
the Litani River up to
Jezzine.[19] On 30 January
2004, Lebanon obtained some of Israel’s South Lebanon minefield maps
during a Hezbollah prisoner exchange with
Israel.[20]
New minefields and dangerous areas are still being discovered. In June 2003,
a new minefield belt was discovered around the outside perimeter of the town of
Marjayoun.[21]
Survey and Assessment
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG), in collaboration with the NDO, began a
nationwide Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) in March 2002 and completed it in August
2003. The report was due for release in mid-2004. The Vietnam Veterans of
America Foundation (VVAF) provided technical support and advice to the LIS. The
UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) certified the report in September 2004 and it has
been sent to MAG for
distribution.[22] The European
Commission funded the survey with €1.6 million.
The survey data has been fed into the IMSMA databases installed at the NDO
and at the Mine Action Coordination Center for South Lebanon (MACC SL). The
NDO’s IMSMA database covers the entire country, while MACC SL’s is
for South Lebanon only. A system of data exchange between the NDO and MACC SL
has been established. In March 2004, a real time IMSMA read-only terminal was
installed in the Demining Coordination Cell (DCC) at the UN Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL), allowing DCC staff to obtain updates from the IMSMA database
as new information is
entered.[23]
Post-clearance surveys began as a joint task of the MACC SL and the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) Socio-economic Development Project in December 2003
with initial reports expected in early
2004.[24]
Coordination and Planning
The National Demining Office of the Lebanese Army is the official body in
charge of the national mine action plan and undertakes all coordination and
planning efforts. The NDO has established two committees, one for mine risk
education and the other for survivor assistance, which meet regularly to
coordinate their activities. Bilateral contacts between the NDO, the Ministry
of Defense, and major stakeholders and donor countries continued in 2003 and
2004.[25]
The NDO coordinates its activities with the Mine Action Coordination Center
for South Lebanon, which was established in Tyre in early 2002. The MACC SL
manages the United Arab Emirates-funded “Operation Emirates
Solidarity” demining project in South Lebanon. MACC SL includes
components from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the
United Arab Emirates Army, and the Lebanese Armed Forces
(LAF).[26] MACC SL continued to
hold its weekly coordination meetings for the demining organizations working in
the south. The last meeting of the donor group, the International Support Group
for Mine Action in Lebanon (ISG), took place on 16 December 2003.
In May 2001, the NDO launched a five-year strategic plan. In September 2003,
with the assistance of UNDP, the NDO began a strategic review to evaluate past
activities and planning, and “establish an End State Strategy that is both
realistic and supported by all
stakeholders.”[27] As of
August 2004, the Minister of Defense, who heads the project, was examining the
review.[28]
The Army Engineering Corps has developed a set of prioritization criteria for
mine clearance, taking into consideration the needs of local
communities.”[29] The NDO
has begun using the results of the LIS to plan demining operations.
Under Operation Emirates Solidarity, the Landmines Resource Center has
carried out a community liaison project linking the demining companies and the
communities targeted by the demining operations, enabling the communities to
express their needs and to report dangerous areas for verification and
clearance.[30]
Mine Action Funding
There is no one source available for mine action funding in Lebanon and with
several actors engaged in these activities, funding is difficult to track. In
2001, the UAE pledged up to $50 million to support re-development and mine
action in South Lebanon. Its project, Operation Emirates Solidarity, concluded
in June 2004. It is not known how much of the UAE pledge was spent on mine
action in 2003.
According to information supplied to Landmine Monitor by donors, mine action
funding for Lebanon in 2003 from six major donors totaled $5.9 million,
including Greece ($2.02 million), the United States ($1.96 million), Norway
($1.17 million), European Union ($570,626), Switzerland ($130,000), and Japan
($53,462).[31]
European Commission provided €504,309 ($570,626) for mine action in
south Lebanon
Greece provided €1,784,596 ($2,019,270) to International Mine
Initiative (IMI) for mine clearance
Japan provided $53,462 to MAG for its Mine Detection Dog program
Norway provided a total of NOK8,292,000 ($1.17 million) in 2003, consisting
of $714,286 (NOK5,000,000) to MAG for mechanical demining, $428,571
(NOK3,000,000) to NPA for mine victim rehabilitation, and $41,714 (NOK292,000)
to UNDP for the Trees Instead of Mines project
Switzerland provided $130,000 for MRE training by UNMAS
The United States provided $1,964,475 to mine action in
Lebanon
The NDO also reported the following: the United Arab Emirates contributed
$2,466,431 for MAC SL; UNIFIL/DPKO provided $1,526,848 for coordination between
2001 and 2003; and the UN Voluntary Trust TF provided $717,087 in unearmarked
contributions for coordination in
2002-2003.[32]
On 27 February 2004, the US provided the Lebanese Army with a grant of
$500,000 to remove underwater mines and for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD).
The US trained the Lebanese Army for this project and in addition supplied the
Engineering Regiment with enough demining material and suits to equip fifty
deminers. In July 2003, US experts completed a $4.5 million program in Lebanon
to train army personnel and dogs to clear
landmines.[33] The US also
donated five ambulances and four other vehicles for detecting mines and treating
injuries.
A five-year demining training program (2000-2005) by France for experts from
the Lebanese Army continued in 2003.
In December 2003, Humanitarian Concern International contributed $10,000
towards a conference on landmine victims organized by the National Committee for
Victim Assistance at the NDO. The conference was also supported by the World
Rehabilitation Fund (WRF) and Norwegian People's Aid. In September 2003, the
Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) donated $5,000 towards a camp for landmine
survivors from the Arab world organized in Lebanon. WRF and NPA also supported
the camp.
Mine Clearance
A variety of actors engaged in mine clearance in Lebanon in 2003 including
the national armies of Lebanon, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates; commercial
operators such as BACTEC and Minetech; Ukrainian peacekeepers; and NGOs
International Mine Initiative (IMI) and Mines Advisory Group.
In 2003, three Lebanese Army demining companies are conducted mine clearance
in Abbassiyya and Markaba. A fourth company is divided between Batroun (North
Lebanon) and Souk El Gharb (Mount Lebanon). The Army deployed four humanitarian
demining companies with 75 deminers in each and eighteen mine detection
dogs.[34] The Army uses a
mechanical mine clearance flail, the Armtrac 100, provided by the US State
Department. In 2003 and 2004, the Syrian Army provided 146 deminers to support
the Lebanese Army’s demining work in West Bekaa and Jezzine.
The Lebanese Army reported demining 1.6 million square meters of land in
2003, and destroyed 2,200 antipersonnel mines, 250 antivehicle mines, and 8,000
UXO from 70 minefields and dangerous
areas.[35] In 2002, the Army
reported demining 1.7 million square meters of land and destroyed 7,973
antipersonnel mines, 139 antivehicle mines, and 8,109 UXO. From 1 January 1990
through 31 December 2003, the Lebanese Army cleared 20 million square meters of
land and destroyed 40,000 antipersonnel mines, 5,500 antivehicle mines, and
60,000 UXO.
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the
NDO in October 2000 to conduct mine clearance in Lebanon, which was renewed in
2002. MAG has recruited locally and trained approximately 70 deminers for
deployment in two Mine Action Teams (MATs), as well as establishing the
infrastructure and capacity required to implement a nationwide LIS. In 2003, a
new mine detecting dog capacity augmented the technical survey work and a
midi-flail system was introduced to work alongside the demining teams. Between
12 January and 31 August 2003, MAG was contracted by UNOPS to conduct surveys in
Marjayoun.[36] On 13 October
2003 MAG began mine clearance in the village of Aarab El Louaizh, located within
UNFIL area of operations near the “blue line,” and by December 2003
it had cleared 140 antipersonnel
mines.[37] By February 2004,
MAG had relocated to an area further north, near Beiteddine in Mount Lebanon,
due to heightened tensions, where it has been working in coordination with the
NDO.[38] MAG also sent a team
to eastern Sidon in February 2004. In 2002–2003, MAG’s operating
budget in Lebanon was
$2,462,593.[39]
In 2003, with its survey, MDD and clearance teams, MAG cleared a total of
105,534 square meters, and destroyed 753 antipersonnel mines, 27 antivehicle
mines and 862 UXO, including eight cluster
bomblets).[40] From January
2004 to September 2004, MAG cleared 76,000 square meters and destroyed 106
antipersonnel mines, an antivehicle mine, two bomblets and 60 other UXO.
The International Mine Initiative (IMI), a Greek NGO, came to Lebanon on 1
November 2002 and started operations on 1 December 2002. It deployed a
13-person manual demining team, two mine detecting dog teams, and a mechanical
clearance team. In June 2004 it completed demining on the outskirts of Arnoun
in Nabatieh district.[41]
According to IMI, the organization cleared 47,000 square meters containing
approximately 213 antipersonnel mines, 4 antivehicle mines, and 9 UXO over an
80-day period in 2003.
BACTEC, a British commercial demining company, conducted clearance in 2003
and 2004 in South Lebanon as part of Operation Emirates Solidarity. It employs
over 280 staff and fourteen mine detecting dogs. Its tools include four
Bozena-3 flails, an Armtrac 100 flail, two bulldozers, and two vegetation
cutters. MineTech, a commercial demining company from Zimbabwe, conducted
demining as a part of OES until it completed operations in August 2003.
MineTech employed 84 staff, including 53 expatriates, as well as 20 mine
detecting dogs, and it used an Armtrac 325 flail.
In Phase Two of Operation Emirates Solidarity, conducted between May 2002 and
22 August 2003, BACTEC and MineTech cleared over 4 million square meters of land
and destroyed 34,862 antipersonnel mines, 1,533 antivehicle mines, and 3,261
UXO.[42] In Phase Three of OES,
between 28 June 2003 and November 2003, BACTEC cleared 500,000 square meters of
contaminated land[43] and
destroyed 19,866 antipersonnel mines, 40 antivehicle mines, and 682
UXO.[44]
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon has deployed the Ukrainian Army’s Third
Engineer Battalion (UKRBATT) to carry out mine action activities since January
2001. In 2003 and 2004, UKRBATT conducted surveys of minefields along the
“blue line” and other border areas working under the direction of
the MACC SL. The survey data was then entered into the IMSMA at MACC
SL.[45]
Operation Emirates Solidarity formally closed on 6 June 2004. According to
MACC SL, under OES a total of 4,936,004 square meters of contaminated land was
cleared and 62,490 landmines
destroyed.[46] In 2004, a
program began to plant trees in the cleared areas. By April 2004, 47,000 trees
had been planted, with a goal to reach
170,000.[47] Six teams of
soldiers from the UAE Engineer Regiment were deployed on three-month tours of
duty in Lebanon until May 2004, when the UAE completed its
mission.[48]
The MACC SL quality assurance team is comprised of a UN component and a
Lebanon Armed Forces/NDO component. UNOPS has contracted Armor Group, a British
company, and the Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) to provide quality
assurance services on BACTEC and
LAF.[49] In January 2004, Armor
Group and LAF completed a review of National Technical Standards and Guidelines
(TSGs), evaluating operational methodology and altering it where
needed.[50] SRSA supported
MACC SL by providing it with a Mine Detection Dog
specialist.[51] The Lebanon
Armed Forces Sampling Team continues to conduct Technical Survey operations and
UXO and EOD response tasks allocated by MACC
SL.[52]
Between 19 January 2004 and on 29 May 2004, BACTEC conducted a “Sweep
Through” post-clearance review to check suspected mined areas in locations
cleared under OES in 2003, visiting more than 200 sites by May
2004.[53] It concentrated
mainly near the town of Marjayoun, close to the Al Qlaiaz minefield belt, where
new minefields had been
discovered.[54] At the
conclusion of the “Sweep Through” project, MACC SL declared it had
achieved “a mine safe/impact free environment” throughout the areas
cleared under OES.[55]
The remaining mine/UXO threat within the former Israeli occupied area is now
located in the Jezzine/Nabatyre/Hasbyre area, between the Litani and Awali
Rivers, and along the “blue
line.”[56]
The National Demining Office has provided the following statistics on mine
clearance in 2003 and 2004. In many cases, they vary significantly from the
information provided by the mine action operators themselves or by MACC SL.
NDO Statistics on Mine Clearance in Lebanon: January-December
2003[57]
Operation Emirates Solidarity
IMI
MAG
LAF Sampling Teams/MACC SL
UN-Ukraine
Survey
Clearance
AP Mines
56,000
313
372
479
14
1,900
AT Mines
1,600
490
15
33
2
73
UXO
4,007
86
18
360
18
510,000
Area m2
5,100,000
240,000
12,500
150,000
7,200
483,000
NDO Statistics on Mine Clearance in Lebanon: 1 January 2004-April
2004[58]
OES Project
IMI
MAG
LAF Sampling Teams/MACC SL
UN-Ukraine
Survey
Clearance
AP Mines
0
82
0
72
2
558
AT Mines
0
5
0
1
1
3
UXO
0
4
0
33
21
0
Area m2
0
45,620
0
7,000
800
5,500
Mine Risk Education
In 2003 and 2004, members of the National Mine Risk Education Committee
continued to implement mine risk education (MRE) programs in
Lebanon.[59] The committee,
established in April 2002,[60]
is headed by the officer in charge of the MRE section at the NDO. This
Committee replaced the Mine Awareness Steering Committee based at the Landmines
Resource Center (LMRC) that was established in
1999.[61]
The NDO reports that between 1 May 2003 and 16 March 2004 mine risk education
activities reached approximately 1 million citizens in 603 towns (130 towns and
villages in the South and West Bekaa), including 200,000 students in 584 schools
(93,000 students in 200 schools in
Beirut).[62] This represents an
increase in comparison to the 500,000 people reported in the previous
period.[63] Between 1999 and
2003, 1,555,644 people received
MRE.[64]
In May 2003, the National MRE Committee launched a MRE campaign in Mount
Lebanon province and in Batroun district of the north. In July and August 2003,
LMRC was appointed by the National MRE Committee and the NDO to conduct a mine
risk education needs assessment in Mount Lebanon and Batroun. Its results were
used to plan interventions in these areas. LMRC, supported by the World
Rehabilitation Fund, also conducted a training workshop in July 2003 for mine
risk education volunteers from Mount Lebanon and Batroun. In August 2003, in
collaboration with the NDO, an American team from the Humanitarian Demining
Training Center conducted a child-to-child training workshop on MRE for 13
teachers in Nabatieh.
In 2003, Norwegian People’s Aid helped local partners to: 1) conduct a
follow-up mine risk education campaign in 160 villages in South Lebanon and West
Bekaa, 2) carry out awareness activities in 50 villages in Mount Lebanon, 3)
conduct a MRE campaign in 100 villages in Mount Lebanon and Batroun, 4) design
and produce MRE materials, including posters, booklets and signs, and 5) produce
an audio cassette of a children’s song on
MRE.[65]
In January 2004, at the request of the MRE Committee and the NDO director,
UNICEF completed an external evaluation of all MRE products and campaigns
implemented in South Lebanon and West Bekaa since the Israeli Forces withdrawal
in May 2000, to help the NDO assess and select the best adapted activities and
products for future MRE.[66]
The evaluation showed that a major proportion of target communities and school
children identified with the work of the committee. They remembered messages
and methods and found them appropriate. They called for MRE to be more focused
on schools through trained
teachers.[67]
In 2003, the MRE Committee launched a reminder MRE campaign in the South and
West Bekaa. In April 2004, the MRE Committee began a new MRE campaign in the
North. The US Agency for International Aid conducted a program in Jezzine to
promote awareness and
prevention.[68]
In August 2004, the NDO signed an agreement with the International Mine
Initiative (IMI) to launch an MRE campaign in 100 towns and villages in North
Lebanon and Mount Lebanon. In September 2004, the NDO is planning to launch
special awareness training workshops for 600 teachers all over Lebanon supported
by US European Command, WRF and
NPA.[69] In 2003-2004, the
following MRE products were produced by the MRE national committee: a coloring
book for children (UNICEF funding), a song for children (NPA and WRF funding),
and an MRE facilitators handbook.
When MRE began in Lebanon in 1996, it was generally provided through lectures
by a combination of military officers and NGO staff. By 2004, MRE is provided
by about 250 trained youth activists during summer and scout camps, at schools,
with clubs, in villages and communities. Messages and materials are being
developed on the basis of the characteristics of the target audience, taking
into consideration vulnerability, age and literacy levels. No material is
produced and printed without validation from its target, meaning pre-test,
post-test and evaluation of impact. The involvement of the military is now
limited to monitoring and
supervision.[70]
MRE operators in Lebanon do not generate clearance
requests.[71] However,
organizations such as MAG and the LMRC conduct community
liaison.[72]
In 2003, 26 new landmine/UXO/cluster bomb casualties were recorded, including
three people killed and 24 injured; all were
males.[74] This represents a
significant decrease from the 49 new casualties reported in 2002, 93 casualties
in 2001, and 119 in 2000. The decline in mine casualties is believed to be the
result of humanitarian mine clearance activities undertaken since 1998 and an
extensive mine risk education campaign. Casualties in 2003 include a
43-year-old man who lost his leg on 22 July after stepping on a landmine in the
area of Meiss el Jebel, near the “blue
line,”[75] and a mine
incident on 21 October that injured a 57-year-old man while gathering firewood
near the border.[76] On 22
November, two children suffered injuries to their hands and chests as a result
of an explosion occurring while they played near a school in
Houla.[77]
The majority of casualties in 2003 were inhabitants of South Lebanon, but
incidents were also recorded in other parts of the country. Incidents occurred
in areas that were already known or suspected to be dangerous, but that were not
fenced or marked. The injuries were caused by antipersonnel mines, cluster
bomblets, and in one case, an unidentified object. People are often aware of
the landmine problem, but enter suspected areas for economic reasons. Five
casualties in 2003 were under 18 years.
New landmine/UXO casualties continue to be reported in 2004, with four adults
injured as of June 2004, including a man who lost his finger when a mine
exploded near Sarda, on 22
March,[78] and another man who
lost his foot when he stepped on a landmine in the area of Hounin on 4
April.[79]
Since 2001, 39 deminers have been killed or injured during mine clearance
operations: seven in 2003; 12 in 2002; and 20 in
2001.[80] In December 2003, two
Syrian military personnel were seriously injured during mine clearance
operations.[81] A British
deminer lost his leg in a landmine accident on 20 July
2002.[82] In September 2002, a
Zimbabwean deminer lost his hand in a mine
accident.[83] In May 2002, a
Mozambican peacekeeper serving with the United Nations force in South Lebanon
(UNIFIL) was seriously injured in an accident during mine clearance operations.
According to Lebanese Police, he was the third Mozambican peacekeeper to be
injured during clearance operations that
month.[84]
The Landmines Resource Center of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the
University of Balamand maintains a landmine casualty database in cooperation
with the NDO. LMRC provides both the NDO and MACC SL with casualty data. LMRC
began data collection in August 1998 and records landmine casualties in Lebanon
through its network of NGO contacts and focal points in the villages of the
south. In collaboration with concerned NGOs from the National Victim Assistance
Committee, LMRC completed a new phase of landmine casualty data collection
between July and December 2002 in the South and West Bekaa. In March 2004, LMRC
started another phase of landmine casualty data collection in Chouf and Aley,
the two most mine-affected districts of Mount Lebanon province. This data
collection cycle is partially funded by NPA. Data collection is taking place
under the supervision of the NDO and in collaboration with the National Victim
Assistance Committee.
From 2000 to June 2004, 291 landmine/UXO/cluster bomb casualties were
recorded (35 killed and 254 injured). As of 31 December 2003, the database
contained information on a total of 3,846 landmine/UXO casualties in Lebanon,
including 1,719 people killed and 2,127 injured.
Survivor Assistance
On 21 October 2001, the NDO established a National Mine Victim Assistance
Committee that includes the major actors in survivor assistance in
Lebanon.[85]
In the South, the existing first aid structure is used for the evacuation of
landmine casualties, including ambulances and first aid care provided by the
Lebanese Red Cross, the Islamic Health Council and the Al-Rissala First Aid
Service. The Lebanese Red Cross has a network of 38 centers and 2,000
volunteers. Landmine casualties are taken to the nearest emergency room,
usually hospitals in Saida, as the four other hospitals in the South are unable
to provide the necessary assistance. The government normally pays for initial
hospital care, either through the Ministry of Health, the National Social
Security Fund, the Council of the South, or the Military Hospital (for military
personnel only), while funding for long-term hospital care is not available. In
certain cases, landmine survivors are obliged to leave the
hospital.[86]
In addition to services provided by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of
Social Affairs, rehabilitation services are also provided through NGOs.
Although the Ministry of Health, or the Council of the South, covers the cost of
prosthetics, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, the services are not available in
government hospitals. NGOs provide the services and are later reimbursed for
the costs. However, there are reportedly long delays in repayment of costs to
the orthopedic workshops. Amputees requiring a prosthetic device must first be
measured at an NGO workshop and then travel to Beirut to obtain approval from
the government committee before the device can be fitted. There is reportedly
no coordination between the Ministry of Health and the Council of the
South.[87]
Norwegian People’s Aid launched a new mine survivor assistance program
in the South, in cooperation with the NDO and the National Mine Victim
Assistance Committee, at the beginning of 2001. The program includes several
components, including emergency and first aid, psychosocial support, prosthetic
and orthopedic workshops, physical therapy and rehabilitation, and economic
reintegration. NPA works in cooperation with local partners to implement
activities. In 2003, NPA partners provided training in first aid and emergency
evacuations for approximately 80 people, equipped five rescue ambulances with
trauma kits and emergency medical equipment, provided rehabilitation services to
around 200 mine survivors, and adapted the homes of eight mine survivors. NPA
supported the first stage of the Mount Lebanon survey on mine survivors and
their needs, supported 30 mine survivors with income-generating projects,
trained NGOs in writing funding proposals and strategic planning, and sent
representatives to a regional landmine conference in Sharjah, UAE in December
2003. NPA also supported, with other donors, a conference for governmental
authorities, local and international NGOs, and mine survivors to meet and
discuss their needs. Funding for the program is provided by the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.[88]
In 2003, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supported
orthopedic centers in Beit Chebab and Sidon with the supply of materials and
components, technical support and financial assistance to cover the cost of
services for Palestinian refugees and destitute Lebanese with disabilities. The
two centers produced 58 prostheses, including three for mine survivors, in
2003.[89]
In September 2003, the Vision Association for Development and Rehabilitation
and Care in Lebanon, in cooperation with Landmine Survivors Network, held the
First Arab Summer Camp in Lebanon. Participants included landmine survivors
from Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, and Syria. The aim of the camp was to improve the
psychosocial recovery of survivors through peer support. NPA also provided
funding for the summer
camp.[90]
Most actors in survivor assistance in Lebanon agree that more attention is
needed on employment and economic reintegration
activities.[91]
In June 1998, the US-based World Rehabilitation Fund (WRF) launched a
comprehensive mine action program in Lebanon with funding from UNDP and the US
Leahy War Victims Fund. Activities are implemented in collaboration with the
NDO and local and international organizations and agencies. Components of the
program included: designing and implementing an approach to community based
rehabilitation that meets the needs of persons residing in mine-affected areas;
a project to address the problems of war-related stress among young women
through the development of a mentoring program; creating a mechanism in
cooperation with the Ministry of Health to standardize services for the
provision of prostheses and orthoses; and creating sustainable income-generating
activities. In February 2002, the “Development Cooperative in
Jezzine,” was established with support from WRF to enable mine survivors
to become productive members within their families and communities. In 2003,
124 mine survivors were members of the cooperative and were engaged in
beekeeping, raising poultry and herb cultivation to raise an income. WRF
continues to provide technical and material assistance in support of data
collection and management, advocacy and community mobilization, and capacity
building in survivor
assistance.[92]
In February 2004, the local NGO, Lebanese Welfare Association for the
Handicapped in Beirut, with support from NPA, started a program to provide
income generation loans for mine survivors. Six mine survivors received loans
to start small businesses, including beekeeping/honey production, a grocery
store, kiosks, milk production, and egg
production.[93]
In October 2002, the Welfare Association for the Handicapped in Nabatieh
received $10,000 from the Near East Foundation for a credit program to assist
landmine survivors.[94] The
Association is also implementing a loan/credit program with NPA funding.
Two mine survivors from Lebanon participated in the Raising the Voices
training program in Geneva in June 2004.
Disability Policy and Practice
On 25 May 2000, the “Access and Rights of the Disabled” law was
approved by the Parliament; however, the law is not yet effective, due to lack
of funding.[95] The law
established the National Disability Council, headed by the Minister of Social
Affairs, which aims to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to
their rights. In December 2003, the Ministry of Social Affairs reported that,
as part of the law, it had issued cards for medical and social benefits to
persons with
disabilities.[96]
[1] Interview with Amb. Antoine Chedid,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beirut, 4 September
2003. [2] Statement by Amb. Joubran
Soufan, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Lebanon to the UN, intersessional
Standing Committee meeting, Geneva, 13 February
2004. [3] Nada Raad, “Conference
outlines successes, challenges in de-mining work,” Daily Star, 2 December
2003. [4] Letter to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, from Gen. Emile Lahoud, President of Lebanon, 31
March 2004. Israel ratified Amended Protocol II in October
2000. [5] Interview conducted in South
Lebanon, March 2000. [6] James
Trevelyan, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Problem in Lebanon,”
February 2000. [7] Interview with
United Arab Emirates representative, South Lebanon, 31 March 2003. The UAE has
paid for the explosives, which it obtains from the Czech Republic and
Syria. [8] Information provided to
Landmine Monitor by Col. Kassem Jammoul, NDO, 28 May
2004. [9] Notes taken in a meeting
with UNMAS, NDO, MAC SL, and LMRC, Tyre (South Lebanon), 8 July
2004. [10] First Report of the
National Demining Office of the Lebanese Army, “Working for Future of our
Country, Report 1-2004: Mine Action in Lebanon 2003,” p. 3; see also
Norwegian People's Aid, “NPA Humanitarian Mine Action 2004:
Lebanon.” [11] NDO, “Mine
Action in Lebanon 2003,” p.
3. [12] Information provided to
Landmine Monitor by Col. Kassem Jammoul, Operation Officer, NDO, 28 May
2004. [13] Report of the NDO operation
section, March 2004. There are conflicting reports regarding the number of
mines remaining. One press account stated that the United Nations agreed with
the estimate of 400,000 mines in the formerly occupied border zone: Jonathan
Fowler, “U.N. Lebanon peace program hinges on tree-planting,”
Associated Press, 29 April 2004. Another article stated that according to the
UN, there were 480,000 mines in Southern Lebanon with about half of those on
military territory and therefore “not a priority.”
“Lebanon’s tree-for-a-mine project could help Middle East
peace,” Agence France-Presse, 29 April 2004. The NDO website suggests
that 550,000 was the original number of mines in Lebanon, and that now the
number has been reduced to 400,000. See www.ndo-lb.org
. [14] MACC SL, “Annual Report
for 2003,” online version, p.
1. [15] Presentation by Lt. Col.
Kassem Jammoul, NDO, to a visiting delegation from US Department of State, 6 May
2003. [16] Jonathan Fowler,
“U.N. Lebanon peace program,” AP, 29 April
2004. [17] Interview with Gen.
Massaad, Director, National Demining Office, and other NDO personnel (Lt. Col.
Kassem Jammoul, Lt. Col. Takieddine Taneer, Maj. Khaled Alieh, and Maj. Marwan
Sakr), Hazmieh, 5 May 2003. [18]
“Lebanon fetes Hezbollah for securing Israeli minefield maps in prisoner
swap,” Agence France-Presse (Lebanon), 6 February
2004. [19] Samer Wehbe, “US
completes de-mining training,” Daily Star, 4 July
2003. [20] “Lebanon fetes
Hezbollah,” AFP, 6 February 2004; “Hezbollah hands over Israeli maps
of land-mines to Lebanese army,” TV Al-Manar (Lebanon), 6 February 2004;
Ileil Shahar, “Sharon Stands Behind POW Deal,” Maariv International
(Internet news source), 25 January 2004; interview by LM/HRW with members of the
Israeli delegation to the Eighth Session of the CCW Group of Government Experts,
Geneva, 8 July 2004. [21] MACC SL,
“Quarterly Report: July–September 2003, p. 5.
[22] Email from William Barron,
Operations Director, VVAF, 30 September
2004. [23] MACC SL,
“Newsletter,” March 2004, p.
2. [24] NDO, “Mine Action in
Lebanon 2003.” [25] Interview
with Gen. Massaad, NDO, 5 May
2003. [26] MACC SL, “Quarterly
Report: October–December 2003,” p. 1.
[27] Ibid, p. 2.
[28] Interview with Chip Bowness,
Chief Technical Advisor, NDO, Hazmieh, 11 August
2004. [29] Interview with General
Massaad, NDO, 5 May 2003. [30] LMRC
community liaison reports to UAE and UNOPS, May 2002-March
2003. [31] See individual country
reports in Landmine Monitor Report 2004. In some cases, funding is for
country’s fiscal year, not the calendar year. Landmine Monitor did
currency exchanges and rounded off
numbers. [32] Unless noted, this
section was taken from Landmine Monitor 2004 donor country reports or from First
Report of the National Demining Office of the Lebanese Army, “Working for
Future of our Country, Report 1-2004: Mine Action in Lebanon 2003,” p.
5. [33] Samer Wehbe, “US
completes de-mining training,” Daily Star, 4 July
2003. [34] NDO, “Mine Action in
Lebanon 2003.” p. 5. [35]
Ibid, p. 1, Annex B. [36] See
“MACC SL Clearance Organizations,” www.maccsl.org/clear_org.htm,
accessed 12 October 2004. [37] MACC
SL, “Quarterly Report: October–December 2003,” p.
7. [38] Report of the Mine Action
Co-ordination Center, South Lebanon, January and February 2004, p.
4. [39] MAG response to LM
Questionnaire, submitted 20 August
2004. [40] Email from Tim Carstairs,
Director for Policy, MAG, 7 October
2004. [41] Samer Wehbe, “Arnoun
demined after 80-day Greek operation,” Daily Star, 17 June
2004. [42] MACC SL, “Quarterly
Report: July–September 2003, p. 3. See www.maccsl.org/statistics.htm,
accessed 12 October 2004. [43] MACC
SL, “Quarterly Report: October–December 2003,” p.
3. [44] MACC SL, “Quarterly
Report: July–September 2003,” p.
3. [45] MACC SL, “Quarterly
Report: October–December 2003 and January–May
2004.” [46] See www.maccsl.org/statistics.htm.
These numbers include the survey work completed by MAG and LAF, in addition to
the clearance work conducted by BACTEC and
MineTech. [47] Jonathan Fowler,
“U.N. Lebanon peace program,” Associated Press, 29 April
2004. [48] “UAE team ends
demining mission in Lebanon,” Emirates New Agency, 22 May
2004. [49] MACC SL,
“Newsletter,” Issue 4, May 2004, p.
2. [50] MACC SL, “Report,”
January and February 2004, p. 4. [51]
MACC SL, “Newsletter,” Issue 4, May 2004, p.
10. [52] MACC SL,
“Report,” May 2004, p.
2. [53] MACC SL,
“Newsletter,” Issue 4, May 2004, p.
5. [54] Ibid, pp. 5, 12; MACC SL,
“Quarterly Report: July–September 2003,” p.
3. [55] MACC SL, “Report,”
May 2004, p. 1. [56]
Ibid. [57] NDO, “Mine Action in
Lebanon 2003,” Annex B, P.
2. [58]
Ibid. [59] The committee includes the
Landmines Resource Center, ICRC, Lebanese Red Cross, UNICEF, World
Rehabilitation Fund, Islamic Health Council, Islamic Al Rissala Scouts
Association, Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped, Lebanese Welfare
Association for the Injured and Disabled of War, Welfare Association for the
Handicap in Nabatieh, Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation and
Care in Bekaa, National Center for Development and Rehabilitation in Mount
Lebanon, NPA, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education.
See www.ndo-lb.org
. [60] Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p.709. [61] Landmine Monitor Report
2000, p.948. [62] Information provided
by Col. Taneer, Head of MRE section, NDO, 13 August
2004. [63] Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p.645. [64] Email to Landmine
Monitor (HI) from Habouba Aoun, Coordinator, Landmine Resource Center, 27
September 2004. [65] Information on
NPA’s activities was all provided by NPA Lebanon. Email from Firas Abi
Ali, Mine Action Program Officer, NPA Lebanon, 26 May
2004. [66] Email from Julie Myers,
Project Officer, UNICEF New York, 16 September
2004. [67] Email from Habouba Aoun,
LMRC, 27 September 2004. [68] Samer
Wehbe, “US completes de-mining training,” Daily Star, 4 July
2003. [69] Notes provided by Col.
Takiedine Taneer, Head of MRE section, NDO, 28 August
2004. [70] Email from Habouba Aoun,
LMRC, 27 September 2004. [71] Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p.709. [72]
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.642; information provided by Lydia Good, Project
Coordinator for Lebanon, MAG, 20 August
2004. [73] Unless otherwise stated,
the information on landmine casualties is taken from the Landmine Resource
Center (LMRC) database as of June 2004.
[74] The NDO website reports only 20
casualties for 2003. Lebanese Minister of Defense Mahmoud Hammoud reported in
December 2003 that landmines had killed 16 people, including 10 civilians, in
2003. “Lebanon clears quarter of landmines left by Israel –
minister,” AFP (Beirut), 16 December
2003. [75] MACC SL, “Quarterly
Report: July–September 2003,” p.
2. [76] Cynthia Johnston,
“Dangerous ground remains in Lebanon,” Reuters, 3 November
2003. [77] MACC SL, “Quarterly
Report: October–December 2003,” p. 2. The report classifies the
incident under “Recent Mine Strikes,” but notes that an
investigation could not confirm exactly what caused the explosion, but only that
it resulted from an unexploded item left from the occupation.
[78] MACC SL,
“Newsletter,” Issue 4, May 2004, p.
21. [79] MACC SL,
“Newsletter,” April 2004, p. 1; “Land mine explosion injures
villager in south Lebanon,” Associated Press (Beirut), 4 April
2004. [80] Casualties during mine
clearance activities are included in the LMRC database. See also NDO website,
www.ndo-lb.org, (accessed 10 September
2004); Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
645. [81] “Two Syrian Soldiers
Wounded by ‘Israeli’ Mine in S. Lebanon,” The Daily Star, 16
December 2003. [82] Rodeina Kenaan,
“British sapper loses leg in southern Lebanon landmine explosion,”
Associated Press, 20 July 2002. [83]
“African mine-clearer loses hand in explosion in south Lebanon,” AP,
21 September 2002. [84]
“Mozambican peacekeeper loses hands in Lebanon mine-clearing
accident,” AFP, 20 May
2002. [85] Committee members include:
WHO, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Council of the
South, LMRC, ICRC, the Lebanese Red Cross, UNICEF, World Rehabilitation Fund,
the Islamic Health Council, the Islamic Al Rissala Scouts Association, the
Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped, the Welfare Association for
the Handicapped in Nabatieh, the Vision Association for Development,
Rehabilitation & Care in Bekaa, the Welfare Association for the Care of the
Injured and Disabled of War in Lebanon and Norwegian People’s
Aid. [86] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 710; see also Landmine Survivors Network, “Victim Assistance
Programs in Yemen and Lebanon – 2002: A guide to organizations working
with landmine survivors,” p.
13. [87] LSN, “Victim Assistance
Programs in Yemen and Lebanon,” pp.
13-14. [88] Email from Firas Abi Ali,
NPA, 26 May 2004; email from Desk Officer, NPA, 19 June 2003. For details of
NPA activities in prior years see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 646 and
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
710. [89] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, 9 March 2004, pp. 17 and 26.
The ICRC physical rehabilitation program supported three centers in Lebanon
between 1982 and 1995. Between 1996 and 2002 the centers were supported by the
ICRC Special Fund for the
Disabled. [90] Email from Adnan Al
Aboudi, Director, Landmine Survivors Network (Jordan), 18 April 2004; email from
Firas Abi Ali, NPA, 26 May 2004. [91]
LSN, “Victim Assistance Programs in Yemen and Lebanon,” p.
15. [92] Email from Toufic Rizkallah,
Assistant Director, WRF Lebanon, 24 August 2004 and response to socio-economic
reintegration questionnaire; WRF, “The Socio-Economic Reintegration of
Landmine Survivors Program Report: Lebanon, Mozambique and Cambodia,” New
York, 2003, pp. 9-12; USAID, “Patrick J Leahy War Victims Fund: 2004
Portfolio Synopsis,” Washington DC, p. 46; Landmine Monitor Report 2003,
pp. 646-647; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp.
710-711. [93] Boutros Hobeika, Public
Relations Officer, LWAH, response to socio-economic reintegration questionnaire,
23 August 2004. [94] Landmine Monitor
Report 2003, p. 647. [95] Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 711. [96] Nada
Raad, “Conference outlines successes,” Daily Star, 2 December
2003.
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