Key developments since May 2003: In March 004, a Libyan official
stated for the first time that the country has never produced or exported
antipersonnel mines, and claimed that it has no stockpile of antipersonnel
mines. A new NGO called Anti-mines Organization was established in early 2004.
Key developments since 1999: Libya has abstained from voting on every
annual pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1998, but it has
participated in most Mine Ban Treaty meetings. There is no national budget or
coordination body for mine action in Libya, but reportedly some mine clearance
is carried out every year by the civil defense authority and the Army. In 2002,
Italy initially allocated €2.5 million to Libya for mine clearance
operations, but Italy reports the money was reallocated when Libya did not meet
the deadline to provide information on how the money would be used.
Mine Ban Policy
Libya Arab Jamahiriya (Libya) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In
April 2004, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated the
government’s long-held position that Libya encourages those countries that
can join the treaty to do so, but it cannot at this time because the treaty does
not take into consideration the financial and technical difficulty of mine
clearance for developing countries, nor does it consider the security concerns
of countries with large border areas that do not have other means of
protection.[1] He added that
there is an urgent need to ensure that the primary responsibility of mine
clearance falls on the groups who have laid the landmines, rather than on the
countries that are contaminated with
mines.[2]
Libya has abstained from voting on every annual pro-ban UN General Assembly
resolution since 1998, including UNGA Resolution 58/53 on 8 December 2003. It
was absent from the votes in 1996 and 1997. In explaining its abstention in
1999, a Libyan representative stated that Libya “opposed the production,
stockpiling, transfer and use of landmines, but viewed the Ottawa Convention as
only a first step.”[3]
Still, Libya has taken an active interest in the Mine Ban Treaty. Libya
participated in the Ottawa Process leading to the Mine Ban Treaty as an observer
and has since attended every annual meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban
Treaty, with the exception of 2001. It has also attended most sessions of the
intersessional Standing Committees, including in February 2004. In April 2004,
Libya attended a regional seminar on military and humanitarian issues
surrounding the treaty in Amman, Jordan. In January 2002, it participated in a
regional landmines meeting held in Tunisia. The ICBL, Canada, and others
continue to urge Libya to accede to the Mine Ban
Treaty.[4]
Libya is not a member of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) or its
Amended Protocol II on landmines, but it views this agreement as more
appropriate than the Mine Ban Treaty and attended the Fifth Annual Conference of
States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November
2003.[5]
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Use
In March 2004, a Libyan official stated for the first time that the country
has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines, and that it currently has no
stockpile of antipersonnel
mines.[6] Landmine Monitor has
reported in the past that Libya was not known to have produced or exported
antipersonnel mines, but was assumed to have a stockpile. Libya is known to
have imported mines from the former Soviet Union, including POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M
antipersonnel fragmentation
mines.[7] Libya has not made
available any information about possible destruction of those mines. In January
2002, Libyan officials told Landmine Monitor that possessing, using, or
transferring explosives, including antipersonnel mines, is forbidden by and
punishable under the Libyan penal
code.[8]
Libya planted mines during its 1977 war with Egypt and from 1977 to 1987
during its border conflict with Chad. It has laid landmines around both
economically important sites and military bases. Libya has stated that its mine
problem results from World War II, and is “not due to internal or civil
wars.”[9]
Landmine Problem and Mine Action
According to the Ministry of Defense, the areas most affected by mines and
unexploded ordnance (UXO) are Bir Hakim in the south and Toubrouk, El Ghazala,
Agdabiah, Al’Ougilaa, and Benghazi in the
north.[10] According to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, landmines and UXO have negatively affected
development projects in Toubrouk and elsewhere, raised the costs of petroleum
discovery and production expenses because of the clearance costs, and also
affected the planning for infrastructure, grazing, and industrial
projects.[11] Officials
estimate that there are between 1.5 million and 3 million landmines emplaced in
Libya, but there have been no surveys of the mine
problem.[12] Most of the
minefields are not marked.[13]
Antipersonnel mines remaining from World War II hostilities are believed to be
those manufactured and used by Germany (S-Type bounding fragmentation mine),
Italy (B-5 mine), and the United Kingdom (Mk.2
mine).[14]
There is no national budget or coordination body for mine action in Libya.
The Ministries of Defense and Justice and the Libyan Jihad Center have
responsibility for various aspects of the mine
issue.[15] A new NGO called
Anti-mines Organization was established in early 2004. It is part of the
Gadhafi foundation for charity
organizations.[16]
According to a military official, some mine clearance is carried out every
year by the civil defense authority and the engineering corps of the Army, but
the results of this demining are not made
public.[17] In 1999, Libya
stated that it provides mine awareness and training programs to warn people of
the dangers of mines, but no further information is
available.[18]
In 2002, Italy allocated €2.5 million to Libya for mine clearance
operations. The money was reallocated to Angola and Bosnia, however, when Libya
did not meet the deadline to provide information on how the money would be
used.[19]
In March 2004, Libyan officials met with Virgin Group, a British company, to
discuss plans to invest up to $36 million in the company’s project,
coordinated by the Mineseeker Foundation, to build airships that can locate
landmines.[20] The airships
would reportedly be able to survey 100 square meters of land per
second.[21]
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
A Foreign Ministry official told Landmine Monitor that there have been mine
and UXO casualties in Libya, but that there is no mechanism in place to collect
data.[22] According to reports
compiled by the Libyan police, 11,845 landmine casualties were recorded between
1940 and 1995, including 6,749 people killed and 5,096
injured.[23]
Libya offers medical care in public hospitals free of charge to all its
citizens. All persons with disabilities, including mine and UXO survivors,
receive medical care and rehabilitation in specialized hospitals, access to
social support facilities, and assistance in accessing employment
opportunities.[24] In 2000, it
was reported that Italy had agreed in 1998 to provide several types of
assistance, including the construction of a mine injury hospital in Libya, in
cooperation with the Italian Red Cross and the Libyan Red Cross, and to provide
treatment for mine survivors in Italy when
necessary.[25] However, despite
extensive enquiries by Landmine Monitor in Italy no further information is
available.
[1] Statement by Libya, Amman Seminar on
Military and Humanitarian Issues Surrounding the Ottawa Convention, Amman, 20
April 2004. See also interview with Almabrouk Mohamed Milad, Director of
International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 12 February
2004. [2] In particular, Libya has
stated that Italy should pay compensation for the injuries its landmines have
caused to Libyan citizens. See “Libyan parliament issues statement on
WMD, terrorism, Europe, insults to Libya,” Jana News Agency (Libya), 7
March 2004; Salah Serrar, “UPDATE 2-Berlusconi to mediate between Bush and
Gaddafi,” Reuters, 10 February
2004. [3] Explanation of vote by
Libya, UNGA First Committee, Press Release GA/DIS/3162, 8 November
1999. [4] Interview with Almabrouk
Mohamed Milad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12 February
2004. [5] Ibid, 15 May
2003. [6] Interview with Col. Ali
Alahrash, Ministry of Defense, Geneva, 16 March
2004. [7] Jane’s Mines and Mine
Clearance, Third Edition 1998-99, Jane’s Information Group, p.
603. [8] Interview with members of
Libyan delegation to Tunis regional seminar, 16 January
2002. [9] UNGA Press Release
(GA/9833), 28 November 2000, p.
10. [10] Interview with Col. Ali
Alahrash, Ministry of Defense, 16 March
2004. [11] Interview with Mabrouk
Mohamed Milad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 May
2003. [12] Ibid, 12 February
2004. [13] Interview with Col. Ali
Alahrash, Ministry of Defense, 16 March
2004. [14] Socialist People’s
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, The White Book, “Some Examples of the Damages
Caused by the Belligerents of the World War II to the People of the
Jamahiriya.” [15] Interview with
Mabrouk Mohamed Milad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 May
2003. [16] Email from Hakim Amri,
Assistant Director of Anti-mines Organization, 18 June
2004. [17] Interview with Col. Ali
Alahrash, Ministry of Defense, 16 March
2004. [18] Statement by the Libya, UN
General Assembly, 18 November
1999. [19] Interview with Paolo
Cuculi, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, February
2004. [20] “Libya to invest in
Virgin deal over locating landmines,” Agence France-Presse, 27 March 2004;
Andrew Pierce, “Libya puts Pounds 20m into Branson landmine
clearance,” The Times, 27 March
2004. [21] “Funding is needed to
start saving lives,” Newsquest Media Group (Malvern), 2 April
2004. [22] Interview with Col. Ali
Alahrash, Ministry of Defense, 16 March
2004. [23] See Landmine Monitor Report
2000, p. 953. [24] Interview with Col.
Ali Alahrash, Ministry of Defense, 16 March
2004. [25] Landmine Monitor Report
2000, p. 953.