Key developments since May 2003: Sudan ratified the Mine Ban Treaty
on 13 October 2003 and the treaty entered into force on 1 April 2004. There
continue to be allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by militia associated
with the government of Sudan in southern Sudan. It appears that landmine use is
not among the atrocities being committed in Darfur. In the Nuba Mountains, a
total of 444,449 square meters of land was cleared in 2003, a significant
expansion from 2002, when 50,000 square meters were cleared. Sudan reported
that 131,381 people received mine risk education in 2003-2004. A number of
survey and assessment initiatives have taken place, in government and SPLM/A
areas. In June 2003, an orthopedic workshop opened in Kassala. According to
donor reports, funding for mine action in Sudan increased from $5.1 million in
2002 to $9.5 million in 2003. In May 2004, the SPLM/A announced the formation
of a “New Sudan Authority on Landmines” to coordinate mine action in
its areas. In August 2004, the government and SPLM/A reached agreement on a
mine action strategy for all of Sudan, with UN support, pending a future peace
agreement. The peace process, including agreements not to use landmines, is
seriously threatened by the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Darfur. In
2003, the NMAO recorded 79 new mine/UXO casualties.
Key developments since 1999: Every year since 1999 Landmine Monitor
has reported serious allegations about use of antipersonnel mines by government
forces, the SPLM/A and other rebel groups. The government has consistently
denied any use, while SPLM/A has acknowledged some use. In October 2001, the
SPLM/A signed the Geneva Call “Deed of Commitment” banning
antipersonnel mines. Cease-fire agreements signed in January and October 2002
prohibit the use of landmines. Sudan ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 13 October
2003. The Nuba Mountains cease-fire agreement has been considered a model of
cross-line mine action in Sudan. The Sudan Landmine Information and Response
Initiative was formed in 2001. The UN established a National Mine Action Center
in Khartoum in September 2002 and a Southern Sudan Mine Action Coordination
Office in Rumbek in February 2003. Mine clearance and mine risk education
activities expanded in 2002 and 2003, in the wake of the cease-fire agreements.
A number of surveys and assessments have been carried out in both government and
rebel areas. According to donor information, funding for mine action in Sudan
has increased from a few hundred thousand dollars in 1999 and 2000, to $2.2
million in 2001, $5.1 million in 2002, and $9.5 million in 2003. In April 2003,
the NMAO recruited a Victim Assistance Associate to develop a plan of action for
victim assistance. NMAO has received incident reports on more than 2,667
mine/UXO casualties.
Background
Sudan has been engulfed in a civil conflict in southern Sudan since 1983,
with some 20 of 26 states affected by war. As part of the peace process
underway since 2002, the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed the Nuba Mountains Cease-fire agreement
in January 2002. They have renewed it every six months, most recently in July
2004, while attempting to reach a comprehensive peace agreement. Further peace
talks, held in Kenya, resulted in the signing in October 2002 of the Machakos
Memorandum of Understanding on Cessation of Hostilities, which was renewed most
recently for another three months on 1 September 2004. Both agreements prohibit
the government of Sudan and the SPLM/A from using landmines. The Nuba
Mountains agreement has been considered a model of cross-line mine action in
Sudan, which could be replicated in other places in the
country.[1]
On 26 May 2004, the government and the SPLM/A reached an agreement on three
remaining protocols of a series of six that together constitute a framework for
negotiations for a comprehensive peace agreement. However, discussions on a
formal cease-fire broke down in July and the outcome of the entire north-south
peace process has been put into doubt with the conflict and humanitarian crisis
now engulfing the Darfur region on Sudan’s western border with Chad.
There have been allegations of violations of the cease-fire agreements by both
sides in the conflict.
The Darfur conflict has historical roots but escalated in early 2003, with
expanded military operations by two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation
Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). In response,
government-supported “Janjaweed” militia in Darfur began attacking
civilian populations from which the rebel groups had come. Tens of thousands of
Sudanese have already died at the hands of the Janjaweed militia and hundreds of
thousands more are at risk from both the fighting and starvation and disease.
More than 1.2 million are internally displaced in Darfur and an additional
200,000 are refugees in neighboring Chad. Despite its denials, the government
of Sudan is widely seen as not only supporting, but also directing the attacks
by the militias that they are said to have
formed.[2] In its Resolution
1556 of 30 July 2004, the UN Security Council demanded that the
“Government of Sudan fulfill its commitments to disarm the Janjaweed
militias....”[3] A
humanitarian cease-fire for Darfur signed in Chad in April 2004 (but scarcely
respected) also prohibits the use of mines by all parties to the conflict. Only
one mine incident has been reported in Darfur.
In addition to the civil war in southern Sudan and the Darfur crisis, there
is military activity on the Sudan/Uganda border, where Ugandan Lord’s
Resistance Army (LRA) rebels fight on both sides of the border. The LRA is a
known user of landmines. There are also reports of cross-border military
activity along the Sudan/Ethiopia border; last year Landmine Monitor cited
reports of mine use around the border town of Akobo, in Upper
Nile.[4]
Mine Ban Policy
After participating fully in the Ottawa Process, Sudan signed the Mine Ban
Treaty on 4 December 1997. However, it did not ratify until 13 October 2003.
The treaty entered into force for Sudan on 1 April 2004. In explaining the
delay in ratification, Sudan had said, “War in the country is the main
obstacle,” noting that ongoing use of mines by rebels made it “very
difficult for the Government to achieve success in fulfilling its
obligations” under the
treaty.[5]
On 23 May 2004, the National Mine Action Office (NMAO) convened a workshop in
Khartoum to discuss implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. At the June 2004
intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Sudanese officials told Landmine
Monitor that plans were already underway for the incorporation of implementation
measures as required by the Mine Ban Treaty in Sudan’s new constitution
and laws.[6] Sudan’s
initial Article 7 transparency report is due by 28 September 2004 and Sudanese
officials indicated in June that work on the report had already started, with
help from the UNMAS, UNDP and UNICEF.
At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties held in Bangkok, Thailand in September
2003, Sudan reiterated the country’s ongoing commitment to the ban treaty,
and commended the support from donors to mine action in the country, noting with
appreciation the partnership between government, civil society and the
UN.[7] Sudan attended all four
previous annual Meetings of States Parties, and has also participated in all
intersessional Standing Committee meetings since their inception in 1999. Sudan
has voted in favor of every pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996,
including UNGA Resolution 58/53 in December 2003.
Sudan has been active regionally on the landmine issue, participating in
workshops on landmines held in Kenya (March 2004), Mali (February 2001), and
Djibouti (November 2000).
Sudan is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Non-State Actor Ban Policy
In an official ceremony in Geneva, SPLM/A signed the Geneva Call “Deed
of Commitment” to ban antipersonnel landmines and cooperate in mine
action, on 4 October 2001.[8]
At a Mine Ban Workshop held in Natinga, South Sudan, 29 September-1 October
2003, SPLM/A reiterated its commitment with a resolution further clarifying its
position: “One of the main points raised was the need to be clear about
what we are talking about. We are talking about the need to stop use in all
situations, the use of antipersonnel mines and victim activated improvised
explosive devices. This means that no victim activated explosive devices are to
be used or produced or transferred. It means no antipersonnel mines are kept
for use and, and it should be recognized that only antipersonnel mines rendered
inoperable are to be used for training in mine clearance or other activities.
While the SPLM/A and the people of South Sudan are no longer using antipersonnel
mines, it does not mean they can give these mines to others to use. All
antipersonnel mines and victim activated improvised explosive devices are to be
destroyed.”[9]
At the workshop, Commander Aleu Ayieny Aleu also noted, “As freedom
fighters, we first considered mines as good weapons because we did not know the
consequences of their use. Then we started to realize that mines are not of
strategic or tactical importance. As an active commander, I saw what they did
to my own soldiers.” Aleu challenged other fighters at the meeting,
“I do not think any one of you here can tell me of a single objective
denied to the government forces by landmines. Not
one.”[10]
The workshop also developed recommendations for practical implementation of
the ban policy by the military, including that direct orders should be given to
commanders and soldiers that under no circumstances are mines to be used, that a
mine ban curriculum should be introduced in training courses at the SPLM/A
Institute of Strategic Studies, and that a training manual for the military
should be developed to include guidelines for implementing the SPLM/A
obligations to ban antipersonnel mines, as well as abstracts on International
Humanitarian Law. At the civilian level it was recommended that ban laws,
including penal sanctions for both civilian and military violations, be
introduced by the National Liberation Council.
In May 2004, the SPLM/A announced the formation of a New Sudan Authority on
Landmines (NSAL), under the office of the SPLM/A
chairman.[11] It is to develop
“national policies on landmines,” develop technical guidelines and
memoranda of understanding with international partners, promote national and
international support of mine action, carry out cross-conflict coordination and
negotiations on issues related to landmines, prioritize mine action, and
supervise the “SPLM Mine Action Directorate (NSMAD).” Among its
tasks, NSMAD is to develop “New Sudan’s” mine action capacity,
raise funds for mine action, supervise adherence to mine action policies and
programs, and implement tasks and programs developed by NSAL. The executive
director of the NSMAD is Cdr. Aleu Ayieny Aleu.
Production, Trade and Stockpiling
Sudan has repeatedly stated that it does not produce, import, or export
antipersonnel mines, or possess stockpiles—except for a small stock for
training and demonstration purposes. It has also said that all mines collected
during demining and those taken from rebel forces are
destroyed.[12] The assertion of
no stockpiles is at odds with allegations of use of antipersonnel landmines as
reported in this and all previous editions of Landmine Monitor Report.
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel movement, is reported
to stockpile landmines inside Sudan. In 2002, Uganda and Sudan signed a
protocol to allow the Ugandan army to pursue LRA units within Sudanese
territory.” The Ugandan government later claimed it had seized weapons,
including landmines, in operations inside
Sudan.[13] In a 2003 interview,
a captured LRA fighter, bodyguard to a senior officer, alleged that
“weapons given to LRA by Khartoum include: B-10, SPG-9, Milan for
destroying tanks,107mm anti-aircraft guns, anti-personnel and anti-tank
mines.”[14]
Use
Antipersonnel mines have been used extensively in Sudan’s two-decade
long civil conflict with the SPLM/A in southern Sudan and in the three so-called
conflict areas in northern Sudan: the Nuba Mountains, Abyei and Blue Nile.
Mines have also allegedly been used in recent years along Sudan’s borders
with Chad, Eritrea, Libya and
Uganda.[15]
All past issues of Landmine Monitor have cited serious allegations of mine
use by all forces fighting in
Sudan.[16] The warring parties
have generally denied use and accused others of laying mines, although on
several occasions, SPLA officials have admitted, implicitly or explicitly, to
some use of mines.[17]
Observers have noted that the problem is compounded by militias and proxy forces
who use mines, and who may not feel obligated to abide by the formal agreements
signed by Khartoum or the
SPLA.[18]
During this reporting period, the military stand down and cease-fires have
resulted in little direct fighting between SPLA and Sudanese government forces,
thus little reason for mine warfare. None of the international and regional
parties monitoring the cease-fires and memoranda of understanding in Sudan have
publicly reported any use of antipersonnel
mines.[19] These include: the
Joint Military Commission (JMC) in the Nuba Mountains; the US-sponsored Civilian
Protection Monitoring Group, based in Rumbek; the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD), the East African regional body sponsoring current peace
talks; and its Verification and Monitoring Team (VMT). Landmine Monitor has
found that few are willing to speak openly about possible on-going use of
landmines in light of the fragile peace process, and the various mine-related
agreements. The 2002 Memorandum on Mine Action explicitly prohibits exchange of
information prior to the signature of a comprehensive ceasefire agreement.
However, Landmine Monitor has received allegations in 2004 of continuing use
of antipersonnel mines by government-supported militias in Upper Nile. In April
2004, the head of the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SRRC) told
Landmine Monitor that mines were still being used to defend the oil fields south
of Bentiu in Western Upper Nile. He also alleged that mines were used in the
latest fighting in the Shilluk kingdom around Malakal in Upper
Nile.[20] The fighting in the
Shilluk kingdom follows the re-defection of the former Sudanese government
Transport Minister, Lam Akol, to the SPLA in October 2003. Troops of the South
Sudan Defense Force (SSDF) loyal to the government under the command of Gabriel
Tanginya have been trying to regain control of the
area.[21] Following a raid by
these forces on the SPLA headquarters in Popwojo on 6 March 2004, SPLA reported
finding 36 Chinese-made Type 72 antipersonnel mines planted outside the
headquarters.[22] Senior relief
officials warned relief workers that the nearby airstrip was reportedly mined,
and reported this incident to the VMT cease-fire monitoring team in
Leer.[23]
There are also concerns about possible mine use by the SSDF militias and
unknown parties in the conflict in Darfur that began in February 2003. This
area has been largely cut off from international observers. Refugees have not
reported the use of mines among the numerous atrocities taking place in Darfur,
but various agencies and monitoring teams have privately expressed concerns
about mine use. These observers are constrained from speaking publicly out of
security concerns.[24] Only one
mine incident has been reported in Darfur. In February 2004, a driver for Save
the Children-UK lost a leg and another person was slightly injured when their
vehicle hit a mine in north
Darfur.[25]
An SLA commander in North Darfur told Human Rights Watch that the SLA had
captured a Sudanese government cache of landmines when it overran a government
army position in early 2004. The SLA said it buried the landmines deep in the
ground in a remote area of North Darfur to prevent their use. It reported that
there had been no deaths or injuries of people or animals in North Darfur on
account of landmines as of the date of the interview in
mid-2004.[26] At the May 2004
workshop in Khartoum on Mine Ban Treaty implementation, a military official
stated that “the Army did not use any type of landmines in Darfur
while...Eritrea has trained the Darfur rebel groups on the use of
landmines.”[27]
Sudanese officials continue to deny use of landmines anywhere in the country.
At the June 2004 intersessional Standing Committee meetings, a Sudanese delegate
strongly denied any new mine use either by the government or the SPLA. He said
antipersonnel mines had been planted long before 1997 to protect government
facilities, and insisted the SPLA had not used mines since signing of the Geneva
Call Deed of Commitment in October
2001.[28] However, in a July
2003 response to Landmine Monitor, the government stated that, despite signing
the Deed of Commitment, “it didn’t stop rebel factions from planting
mines in rural areas and along main
roads.”[29] In January
2003, the Sudanese Army reported in a press release that the SPLA planted
landmines in the road between Rubkona and Leer in the Western Upper Nile oil
field area.[30]
Sudan could be at risk of violating the Mine Ban Treaty by virtue of close
military cooperation with militia of the SSDF, the ‘Janjaweed,’ or
other forces that use antipersonnel mines. The Mine Ban Treaty prohibits not
just use of antipersonnel mines, but assistance in any way with the use of
antipersonnel mines. Under Article 1 of the Mine Ban Treaty, a State Party may
not “under any circumstance...assist, encourage or induce, in any way,
anyone to engage in any activity that is prohibited to a State Party under this
Convention.” Moreover, since Sudan has become a State Party to the Mine
Ban Treaty, it has a legal obligation to prevent and suppress any activity
prohibited by the treaty.
Landmine Problem, Survey and Assessment
According to a June 2003 UN Landmine and UXO (unexploded ordnance) safety
leaflet for Sudan: “Landmines have been an integral part of the conflict
and it is apparent that the GoS [Government of Sudan], SPLA and others have all
laid significant quantities of mines in the past ... As a result of this
conflict, landmines have affected Bahr al-Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei,
Lakes and Western Equatoria in southern Sudan. The country’s borders with
Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and Uganda are also
considered to have a serious threat from mines. In this type of fast-moving
warfare, records are rarely kept, and those that may exist are often inaccurate
or out of date. It is therefore impossible at this stage to objectively and
accurately determine the extent of the mine-contaminated area in Sudan and its
impact on the local
population.”[31]
At the June 2004 intersessional Standing Committee meetings, the Sudan
delegation stated that 21 of 26 states are contaminated by mines and unexploded
ordnance. Eleven of those contaminated comprise arable land. “Landmines
have left nearly 10 million hectares [100,000 square kilometers] of arable land
out of use by the population. Roads have been abandoned and railways carriages
halted.”[32] It is
believed that there are almost four million internally displaced persons (IDPs)
and half a million refugees who will be returning to areas that are highly
infected with mines.[33]
The landmine situation in Sudan has not been comprehensively surveyed,
including rebel-controlled parts of southern Sudan and other areas such as the
Nuba Mountains, southern Blue Nile and the Red Sea
Hills.[34] Previous Landmine
Monitor reports provided details on some initial assessments carried out in the
Nuba Mountains following the January 2002
cease-fire.[35] During this
reporting period, a number of survey and assessment initiatives have taken
place.
The Sudan Landmine Information and Response Initiative (SLIRI) was created in
2001 with funds from the European Commission contracted through Oxfam Great
Britain, to initiate cross-lines information gathering and develop plans for
mine action. Since then, SLIRI has established fifteen Sector Operation Centers
(SOCs) with special software for data collection and analysis. This includes
seven in government-controlled areas in Kadugli, Malakal, Juba, Wau, Tokar,
Damazin and Kassala, and eight in SPLM-controlled areas in southern Sudan in
Chukdum, Panyagor, Rumbek, Tombura, Yambio, Yei, in Kauda in the Nuba Mountains,
and Kurmuk, in Southern Blue Nile. With the completion of phase one in November
2003, Oxfam handed SLIRI over to Landmine Action (another UK-based NGO) to
manage the second phase of the
initiative.[36]
Landmine Action began working in the Nuba Mountains in March 2002 with an
assessment of the scale of the likely mine and UXO problem in the region. This
initial technical assessment was carried out by MAG. Landmine Action
established a deminer training facility in Tillo (near Kadugli) in late 2002 and
had trained the first 26 deminers by February 2003. As part of its
prioritization process, Landmine Action visited 48 villages in order to verify
SLIRI’s mine incident data, in a three-stage process called the
Accelerated Village Data Confirmation
program.[37] SLIRI states that
the resulting information from the 48 villages is the first comprehensive body
of verified information on the scale of the landmine problem in the Nuba
Mountains. Only seven of the villages were not directly affected by landmines,
and even those suffered indirect effects, largely economic, such as lack of
trade access.
Since SLIRI was created, more than 2,500 mine incidents have been reported
and entered into the SLIRI
database.[38] The Mine Action
Coordination Office in Kadugli is using the Information Management System for
Mine Action (IMSMA) to collate and analyze data and produce Mine Threat
Assessment mapping of areas suspected to contain mines.
The Swiss Federation for Mine Action (FSD) route survey teams began
operational work in January 2004 and by July 2004 had surveyed more than 1,000
kilometers in southern Sudan, and identified a total of 81 dangerous areas
(equivalent to 425 kilometers of road). Between January and March 2004, FSD
route survey teams, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) and
UNMAS, assessed routes of humanitarian priority as part of the road
reconstruction process. FSD found that more than 500 kilometers of roads
previously suspected of mine contamination could safely be used for humanitarian
relief transportation. The survey is ongoing and FSD has been contracted to
increase its survey capacity by an additional four teams, as well as to expand
its activities into northern
Sudan.[39]
FSD also won a tender for the survey part of the clearance of the road from
Lokichokio, the UN base camp in northern Kenya to Juba in Sudan. The survey
began in March 2004 and identified 120 dangerous areas in SPLA-controlled areas
near the main towns of Yei, Kapoeta and Torit of Western and Eastern Equatoria.
Mechem, a South African company, will do the clearance
work.[40]
Mechem, under contract with UN Operational Services, began surveying the
route being upgraded between Lokichoggio and Rumbek in March
2004.[41]
In its report for the first quarter of 2004, the Sudan Emergency Mine Action
Programme reported that as of 15 March 2004, survey and assessment information
entered into the IMSMA system indicated 155 communities affected by mines, and
276 dangerous areas covering 4,270 square kilometers of
land.[42] The report states
that it does not include information on contamination in other areas in southern
Sudan or in Darfur, Kassala, and Blue Nile. The report notes that one problem
encountered during the quarter included, “The seemingly restraining and
reluctance to cooperate attitude of HAC [GoS Humanitarian Action Center] to
allow access to NMAO staff to conduct assessments and investigations in various
GoS controlled areas.”
Contaminated Areas Identified as of 15 March
2004[43]
Province/State
Number of Communities Contaminated
Number of Dangerous Areas
Estimated Size of Dangerous Areas (SqKm)
Bahr El Ghazal
29
47
1,774
Equatoria
27
57
1,079
Upper Nile
34
34
277
South Kordofan
62
135
1,079
West Kordofan
3
3
61
Total
155
276
4,270
In June 2004, following two assessment missions, the US-based Survey Action
Center submitted a proposal for a pilot Landmine Impact Survey in two states
considered relatively stable in terms of population movement and security. This
would represent the first stage of a comprehensive LIS, to be expanded to other
states in Sudan.[44]
DanChurchAid (DCA) conducted a Mine Risk Education (MRE) needs assessment in
the Nuba Mountains for UNICEF from November 2003 to March 2004. It targeted
children, adolescents, adults and mine/UXO survivors. One of the major findings
of this assessment was that 17 percent of the casualties in the Nuba Mountains
are caused by antipersonnel landmines, compared to 45 percent for UXO and 38
percent for antivehicle
mines.[45]
Save the Children–USA conducted another MRE assessment in the Nuba
Mountains area in November
2003.[46]
Coordination and Planning
In September 2002, the Sudanese government established the National Mine
Action Office (NMAO) in Khartoum, with assistance from the UN Mine Action
Service (UNMAS). A regional mine action office was set up in mid-2003 at
Kadugli in the Nuba Mountains. In February 2003, SPLM together with UNMAS
established a Southern Sudan Mine Action Coordination Office in
Rumbek.[47] UNICEF has
supported NMAO with mine risk education experts, and a new MRE advisor joined
NMAO in April 2004.
As of March 2003, NMAO had installed the IMSMA database in Khartoum, and in
sub-offices in Kadugli and Rumbek. NMAO has also installed an IMSMA read-only
version for the Sudanese Red Crescent in Kassala, SLIRI in Kadugli and Yei, and
Norwegian People's Aid in
Yei.[48] The slow pace of peace
negotiations has affected the pace of information gathering. There has been
little coordination between the national NMAO in Khartoum and the sub-offices in
Rumbeck and Kadugli.[49]
The Humanitarian Aid Commission, under the auspices of the Ministry of
Humanitarian Affairs, is the government focal point for mine action coordination
and is represented on NMAO. A proposal for the establishment of a National
Authority to deal with landmines has been submitted to the Council of
Ministers.[50]
On 9 May 2004, the SPLM passed a decree creating the New Sudan Authority on
Landmines (NSAL) and the New Sudan Mine Action Directorate (NSMAD). The New
Sudan Authority on Landmines works under the Office of the SPLM/A Chairman, and
is comprised of 17 commissioners and directors in charge of various secretariats
and departments concerned with, among other issues, landmine policies,
cross-conflict coordination and negotiations. The New Sudan Mine Action
Directorate is the implementing arm of the
NSAL.[51] The SPLM
representative on the National Mine Action Office is the Executive Director of
the NSMAD.
The UN Development Programme has established a mine action capacity building
program, targeting both the government and SPLM, to complement the efforts of
UNMAS, which is the lead UN mine action agency in Sudan. The UNDP program is
aimed at the development of a sustainable mine action structure, and a national
mine action strategy that will support national development
plans.[52]
The Sudan Campaign to Ban Landmines (Sudan CBL) is the civil society network
responsible for the coordination of mine action in government-controlled areas
of Sudan.[53] There were 33
national and international NGOs in the Sudan CBL as of March 2004, an increase
of six groups since the last reporting period. The Sudan CBL convened a
workshop in Khartoum in December 2003 to address planning for the
post-ratification and post-peace period in Sudan. Participants included
officials from HAC, the Army, UN and NMAO. DanChurchAid is playing a role in
coordinating and capacity building, as well as cross-line mine action.
At a January 2004 meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, the Sudanese government, the
SPLM and the United Nations reached agreement on a policy framework for mine
action in Sudan. This followed from a process facilitated by the Memorandum of
Understanding, signed in Geneva in September 2002 by the government, SPLM and
UNMAS, regarding UN mine action support to Sudan. Central to the policy
framework is a “one country” approach, with a National Mine Action
Authority having a special mandate for policy and legislation on
landmines.[54]
In August 2004, UNDP and UNMAS hosted a series of meetings involving various
mine action stakeholders to formulate the “Mine Action Strategic Framework
for Sudan.” Participants at the meetings included representatives from
the National Mine Action Authority, National Mine Action Office, the Southern
Sudan Mine Action Authority, Southern Sudan Mine Action Directorate, Sudanese
civil society, international and local NGOs, international institutions, United
Nations agencies and international donors. In its summary of the goals of the
meetings, the UN stated, “The current mine action strategy for Sudan is
dated January 2003 and it was also drafted with limited stakeholder
participation. The rapidly changing political environment and developments
within the mine action programme have overtaken the original strategy and it is
recommended that it is revised as a matter of urgency. This will also
facilitate the formulation of feasible project proposals linked to a realistic
national mine action strategy and work plan and increase donor interest as
well.”[55] On 27 August
2003, it was announced that agreement had been reached on a strategy to clear
Sudan’s landmines, with UN support, pending a comprehensive peace
agreement.[56]
Sudan prepared a mine action matrix for the June 2004 intersessional meetings
in Geneva, which indicated six government agencies, four international
institutions, five international NGOs, 12 local NGOs and eight demining agencies
actively involved in mine action operations and
programs.[57]
Mine Clearance
In 2003 and 2004, mine clearance activities in Sudan have been concentrated
in the Nuba Mountains. The Nuba Mountains Cease-fire Agreement of January 2002
provided the platform needed to encourage concerted mine
clearance.[58] Progress in mine
clearance in the Nuba Mountains has been significant. The Sudan Emergency Mine
Action Programme reported that the amount of land cleared had gone from
virtually nothing in 2000, to 50,000 square meters in 2002, to almost 450,000
square meters cleared in
2003.[59]
In June 2004, Sudan reported vastly larger statistics for mine clearance in
the country, citing 3,112,521 square meters of land cleared and 15,171,400
reduced in 2003. It also cited 608,332 square meters cleared, and 2,184,025
reduced, as of June in
2004.[60]
The Joint Monitoring Mission/Joint Military Commission (JMM/JMC) of the Nuba
Mountains organized a celebration in May 2003 in recognition of combined
demining efforts, and to announce the clearance of the road between Mirri Barra
and Farig Eldorop (more than 13
kilometers).[61] Direct
benefits from this clearance activity included the return of 45 families and the
installation of hand pumps for safe drinking
water.[62]
DanChurchAid has been working in the Nuba Mountains with two national NGO
partners, the Sudan Association for Combating Landmines (JASMAR) on the
government side and Operation Save Innocent Lives (OSIL) on the SPLM/A side.
DCA has provided training to demining teams from these NGOs, and deployed them
for demining and mine risk education needs assessment activities in their
respective areas. JASMAR has two teams in operation ¾ one with 14 members trained in 2003 and a second
with 20 members which completed training in February
2004.[63] JASMAR reported to
Landmine Monitor that its teams had cleared 14,940 square meters of land and 96
antipersonnel landmines from June 2003 to March
2004.[64] According to NMAO,
the total area cleared by JASMAR and OSIL in 2004 (to the end of March) was
16,903 square meters.[65]
In its own annual report for the period April 2003–March 2004, OSIL
reported that it had “made safe an area totaling 906,675 square
meters,” removing 122 antipersonnel mines, 24 antivehicle mines and 6,726
UXO.[66] Areas cleared included
roads and pieces of land in Yei County, Western Equitoria, Magwi and Kapoeta
Counties in Eastern Equatoria, and the Nuba Mountains region. "No one knows how
many landmines remain uncleared from the ongoing conflicts. Similarly, the total
number of victims is difficult to assess with any degree of certainty. What is
certain is that landmines continue to claim human victims, livestock and
wildlife," OSIL noted.
In February 2004, SLIRI announced that the total area cleared with its local
partner Nuba Mountains Solidarity Abroad had reached 5,651 square
meters.[67] Landmine
Action–UK and SLIRI worked on a community-led minefield clearance
prioritization process in the 48 villages where SLIRI had recorded landmine
incidents (see above). In the process, a two-day workshop session was held with
the local community leaders to establish their top priorities for mine
clearance. According to Landmine Action, this is the first time such an approach
has been used in the Nuba Mountains, and possibly Sudan. In 2003, work began on
the first clearance task selected from the community leaders’ priority
list: the village of Korongo Abdullah and 4.26 miles of road leading from the
village to Tuma. By the end of December, approximately 6,000 square meters had
been cleared and by April 2004, over 10,000 square meters, including the
road.[68] UNMAS approved the
prioritization.
NMAO indicated that clearance of sections of the Loki Choggio−Juba road
(approximately 400 kilometers) started in March 2004, just before the onset of
rains severely hampered
operations.[69]
Mechem’s road survey work, which began in southern Sudan in March 2004,
includes clearance capacity. This South African-based group takes an integrated
approach to demining, using vehicle-mounted detection systems, dog teams and
manual deminers to remove ordnance found while
surveying.[70]
In March 2004, Norwegian People's Aid established a new mine action program
in southern Sudan, which complements its existing aid and development work. The
program is based in Yei. Clearing roads is NPA’s priority for mine action
in the region, to allow safe passage of refugees, IDPs, and truckloads of food
and supplies.[71] By 1 June
2004, NPA had trained a team of 45 manual deminers and two survey teams
consisting of 10 surveyors, but NPA was still awaiting accreditation from NSMAD,
so was not yet fully
operational.[72]
Before the peace negotiation process, in government-controlled areas the
Sudanese military only conducted mine clearance to meet military objectives.
Prior to 2002, OSIL was the main non-governmental agency involved in mine
clearance in Sudan. Between September 1997 and April 2003, according to a June
2003 media report, OSIL cleared 10.5 million square meters of land, destroying
3,512 antipersonnel landmines, 732 antivehicle mines and 116,930
UXO.[73] The UK-based Mines
Advisory Group has been instrumental in developing the capacity of, and
providing technical support to, OSIL staff since
1998.[74]
Mine Risk Education
Organizations working in mine risk education in Sudan have included DCA,
Friends of Peace and Development Organization (FPDO), HAC, the International
Save the Children Alliance, MAG, OSIL, JASMAR, Oxfam, Sudan Integrated Mine
Action Services (SIMAS), SLIRI, SPLA, Sudanese Red Crescent (SRC), UNICEF and
various members of Sudan CBL.
The GoS reported that MRE reached 131,381 people in
2003-2004,[75] a decrease in
comparison to the approximately 200,000 people reported in
2002.[76] UNICEF however reports
that a total 155,727 people attended MRE sessions between 1999 and
2004.[77] While some resources
have been redeployed to the Nuba Mountains where the cease-fire agreement is
theoretically stronger, MRE in southern Sudan came to a virtual standstill
during the reporting period. An SPLA official told Landmine Monitor in April
2004, “Whenever we go to the field we meet locals who talk about the need
for mine awareness. Around Kapoeta people have no idea, they drive their cattle
through minefields, the children play with UXOs. We’ve had numerous
workshops on MRE and we have trained trainers but there is no funding. No MRE
has been carried out since this town was captured in 2002. It’s
UNICEF’s global mandate to conduct mine awareness but for some reason they
haven’t been doing it in south
Sudan.”[78]
Since November 2002, UNICEF has been supporting the NMAO with MRE experts.
From 25 September to 4 October 2003, UNICEF conducted a workshop for 30
participants in order to develop a standard MRE curriculum for
Sudan.[79] A new UNICEF MRE
advisor joined the NMAO in April 2004. The Sudanese delegation at the June 2004
Standing Committee meetings in Geneva indicated that 251 people now work in MRE
in Sudan.[80]
In September 2004, MAG began a community focused MRE project in southern
Sudan to train two teams of Community Liaison Officers and Peer Educators and
operate around the towns of Yei and
Kapoete.[81] MAG works in Sudan
in support of local partners, notably JASMAR and OSIL and is working towards
providing country-wide support.
Prior to 2002, the organization most active in delivering MRE in southern
Sudan was OSIL. Since 1999, OSIL has been conducting MRE along with clearance
in areas including Yei and Nimule (Ugandan border), Kajo-Kaji, Kurmuk, Rumbek,
Torit, Magwi and Pageri, in southern Sudan and Kurmuk in Southern Blue Nile.
OSIL has received training, technical assistance and funding for this work from
a variety of international groups and
donors.[82]
In June 2004, the government reported that the Sudanese Red Crescent was
providing MRE for IDPs and refugees in Kassala Province, and for returnees and
the local community in the Nuba mountains; Friends of Peace and Development
Organization was conducting MRE in four IDP camps in Great Khartoum;
DanChurchAid was conducting MRE in support of its clearance teams in the Nuba
Mountains; and, the Humanitarian Aid Commission was providing MRE training to
government representatives and
NGOs.[83]
DCA has been conducting MRE training in the Nuba Mountains since May 2003,
working in partnership with JASMAR and OSIL. JASMAR and OSIL delivered MRE to
communities in Keiga Elkheil during the demining operation led by DCA, as part
of Mine Action Support Teams
(MAST).[84]
Save the Children-USA provided MRE ¾ using
radio, posters, T-shirts and drama ¾ to 39
villages in the Nuba Mountains, covering the localities of Kadugli, Talodi,
Rashad and Abu Gibeha. This project started in November 2003 and was due to
finish in August 2004.[85]
A number of MRE assessments also took place during the reporting period. At
the beginning of 2004, DCA conducted a cross-line MRE needs assessment in the
Nuba Mountains, in collaboration with JASMAR and OSIL. The assessment covered
240 villages[86] and involved
NGOs from other sectors.[87]
Adult men were found to be the most at risk, but some females admitted that they
had been to dangerous areas. Children in families fleeing the war had a higher
tendency for risk behavior. The assessment suggested four parallel curricula
targeting children, adults, IDPs/refugees, and NGO and UN
workers.[88]
The Sudanese Red Crescent conducted Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and
Behavior (KAPB) assessments in Kassala, Blue Nile, Upper Nile, Bahr Al Jabal in
southern Sudan and in the Nuba Mountains (Dilling and
Lagawa).[89] The assessments
took place in the later half of 2003. The reports should be ready by the end of
September 2004.[90]
Save the Children-USA commissioned a KAPB assessment in the Nuba Mountains.
This assessment stated that economically active adult males and children
constitute 49 percent of the people at risk of mines/UXO in that area. Farming
is reported to be the most dangerous activity in the
area.[91]
Mine Action Funding
According to information provided to Landmine Monitor, in 2003, eight donor
governments and the European Commission provided about US$9.5 million for mine
action in Sudan.[92] In
addition, the British NGO Landmine Action received about £360,000
(US$588,000) from private sources for its work in Sudan in 2003 and
2004.[93] Landmine Monitor
identified US$5.1 million in mine action funding in 2002.
to UNMAS US$800,800 for emergency mine clearance, $173,000 for development
of a cross-line partnership to support emergency mine action in Sudan, $100,000
for information management and coordination for emergency mine action, US$
72,800 for victims trauma training, $2,500 to Sudan Campaign to Ban
Landmines
Denmark
DKK 4,000,000
($607,900)
to DCA for survey, mine clearance and capacity building
European Commission
€3,546,261 ($4,012,600)
Including €2,000,000 for Landmine Information Response Initiative by
Landmine Action, €500,000 to UNMAS for a technical survey and
€1,046,261 for emergency mine action in Nuba Mountains
Germany
€400,000
($452,600)
€200,000 to UNMAS for the National Mine Action Office, and
€200,00 to UNMAS for technical survey teams
Italy
€102,285
($115,700)
via UNMAS for emergency mine action
Norway
NOK4,440,000 ($626,950)
NOK3 million to Danish Church Aid for mine action in Nuba Mountains, and
NOK1.44 million to NPA for mine action
UNICEF and DCA jointly funded the Mine Risk Education needs assessment in the
Nuba Mountains (US$83,000), while UNICEF provided US$10,000 to SRC, US$113,000
to SC-USA and US$57,000 to FDPO for mine risk
education.[96]
The UN is seeking US$30 million for 2004 through a consolidated appeal for
mine action in the north, south and Nuba Mountains region, with a focus on route
clearance projects.[97]
Prior to 2001, funding levels reflected the limited mine action activities
that existed in Sudan. Between 1997 and 2000, OSIL received US$299,000 start-up
funding for clearance and mine risk education from DCA, UNICEF and Christian
Aid. In addition, the Mines Advisory Group received US$120,000 through the
Basel Mission for training and equipping of OSIL teams. From 1999 to 2000, the
Sudanese Red Crescent received $75,000 from Oxfam, Save the Children-Sweden,
UNHCR and UNICEF for mine risk education.
According to information provided by donors, in 2001 six donors committed
US$2.2 million for mine action in Sudan. In 2002, at least 12 donors provided
US$5.1 million for mine
action.[98] A significant
commitment of funds occurred in 2001-2002 with the creation of the consortium
SLIRI. The EC pledged €1.5 million (US$1.75 million) to Oxfam GB for the
first year of the initiative. The EC also provided €1,052,985 (US$1.03
million) of “Rapid Response Mechanism” funding to Landmine Action in
2002-2003.[99]
Landmine Casualties
There is no comprehensive data collection mechanism in Sudan. The government
acknowledges that mine/UXO casualties are “vastly
underreported.”[100] In
2003, NMAO recorded 79 new mine/UXO casualties (28 killed, 49 injured and two
unknown); at least 13 casualties were children. The majority of casualties were
civilians (91 percent). Antivehicle mines caused 34 casualties (43 percent),
antipersonnel mines 16 (20 percent), UXO 19 (24 percent), and the cause of ten
casualties was unknown. In 2002, the ICRC reported 127 mine casualties from
southern Sudan treated at four ICRC-supported hospitals, while the NMAO database
records 46 new casualties for the same
period.[101]
In October 2003, eight people were killed and two others injured when their
vehicle hit a mine. Of those killed, five were women; one was a double amputee
from a mine incident in 1998. She had just returned to the Nuba Mountains from
the ICRC hospital in northern Kenya after re-amputation surgery and the fitting
of new limbs.[102]
Casualties continued to occur in 2004. NMAO registered nine new mine/UXO
casualties to 30 June; three people were killed and six
injured.[103] In February 2004,
a driver for Save the Children-UK lost a leg and another person was slightly
injured when their vehicle hit a mine in North Darfur. No other mine incidents
have been reported in
Darfur.[104]
The total number of mine casualties in Sudan is not known; although estimates
range as high as 10,000 mine/UXO
casualties.[105] NMAO in
Khartoum and the Southern Sudan Mine Action Coordination Office are collecting
and collating mine/UXO casualty data through the use of IMSMA, which became
operational in May 2003.[106]
By June 2003, NMAO had received incident reports on a total of 2,667 mine/UXO
casualties since 1998 from Khartoum, Kadugli, Juba, Malakal and
Kassala.[107] However, the
majority of these casualty reports have not been entered into the IMSMA system
due to incomplete information. The main sources for the casualty incident
reports were hospitals and health clinics; therefore most reports only contain
the name of the person killed or injured, and the injuries
sustained.[108] NMAO has
reportedly registered 1,090
casualties.[109] However,
statistics from the IMSMA database to 30 June 2004 report 895 mine/UXO
casualties, including 285 killed, 599 injured, and the status of 11 casualties
is unknown. Of the total recorded casualties, 304 occurred between 1998 and
June 2004.[110] In 2002, the
government reportedly stated that between 1989 and 2001, landmines caused 1,135
casualties in the Nuba
Mountains.[111]
In July 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health
conducted a health survey in five states: South Kordofan, Upper Nile, Blue Nile,
Bahr El Jabal and Kassala. As part of the survey, 500 IMSMA forms were
distributed in each state to gather information on mine
survivors.[112] The Sudanese
Red Crescent obtained information on 649 landmine/UXO casualties in the five
states.[113] An analysis of the
data indicates that 50 percent of the incidents occurred in the Nuba Mountains
and Juba area; 30 percent of casualties were killed; 84 percent of casualties
were male; only 65 percent were adults; eight percent of casualties were under
the age of ten; 16 children were involved in military activities at the time of
the incident; 60 percent of casualties were caused by antipersonnel mines; about
12 percent of incidents occurred near the village; 71 percent died at the site
of the incident, and 12 percent died on the way to a health facility; more than
20 percent of casualties took five hours or more to reach the first medical
facility; and more than half of the survivors either lost or changed
jobs.[114]
In 2002, SLIRI was established, in part, to create a comprehensive data
collection mechanism to register landmine casualties in
Sudan.[115] Since then, more
than 2,500 incidents have been entered into the SLIRI database, covering recent
and old incidents.[116] SLIRI
collects data in seven areas around their field office locations, including
Kadugli in Nuba Mountains, Malakal in Upper Nile, Juba in Bahr El Jabal, Wau in
Bahr El Ghazal, Tokar in Red Sea, Damazin in Southern Blue Nile, and Kassala in
Kassala State. SLIRI maintains a database separate from NMAO but has started to
exchange data and coordinate more
closely.[117] The Nuba Mountains
SLIRI team conducted a survey in 48 villages, where returnees have settled; it
indicated that between 1998 and 2003 there had been 387 mine/UXO casualties in
the area. In addition, 170 mine casualties were reported in the
government-controlled areas of Blue Nile, and some 434 incidents in the Bahr
Elghazal area.[118]
Survivor Assistance
Survivor assistance reportedly forms a core component of the mine action
strategy in Sudan. According to the government of Sudan, the aim is to develop
a sustainable national capacity to provide
assistance.[119] In April 2003,
the National Mine Action Office recruited a Victim Assistance Associate to
develop a plan of action for victim assistance. The VA Associate is working with
UN agencies and local NGOs to develop programs to assist mine survivors; 12
victim assistance related projects are listed in the 2004 UNMAS Portfolio of
Mine Action projects.[120]
Years of conflict seriously damaged the healthcare system in Sudan, and for
many people living in remote areas, the nearest medical facilities are long
distances away. In general, the assistance available for landmine casualties,
from both the government and NGOs, is irregular and not sufficient to address
the size of the problem. In the Nuba Mountains there is reportedly only one
doctor for every 300,000 people, and health workers are often insufficiently
trained or equipped to treat trauma
patients.[121] There is a lack
of emergency transport: many mine casualties are transported on animals, carts,
bicycles or homemade stretcheRs to the nearest public health facility. In
Kassala, 84 percent of registered casualties were transported more than 50
kilometers to the nearest facility. The government acknowledges that mine/UXO
survivors are vulnerable and one of the most neglected minorities, due in part
to a lack of information on the extent of the mine/UXO problem in Sudan, and a
lack of resources.[122]
Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains maintain only very basic healthcare
facilities mostly run by outside agencies including the ICRC, German Emergency
Doctors, Médecins Sans Frontières, Norwegian People’s Aid,
and Save the Children. However, all reportedly suffer shortages of doctors and
medical supplies.[123] In July
2002, WHO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, started a training
program for over 200 medical assistants, nurses, and first aid staff to treat
landmine casualties in the Nuba
Mountains.[124]
The ICRC’s medical assistance activities in Sudan since 1999 included
upgrading facilities, war-surgery seminars, clinical training, and first aid
training. It provided food, medical supplies, surgical instruments, medicines,
and comprehensive medical and surgical care to the war-wounded and other
surgical emergencies, including landmine casualties at its two referral
hospitals, the ICRC surgical hospital in Lopiding in northern Kenya, and the
government-run Juba Teaching Hospital in southern Sudan, and ad hoc support to
other hospitals and clinics. The ICRC airlifts emergency cases from Sudan to
the hospital in Lokichokio. Since 1999, ICRC-supported hospitals have treated
205 landmine casualties from southern Sudan: seven in 2003; 127 in 2002; 45 in
2001; 19 in 2000; and seven in
1999.[125] In January and
February 2004, three mine casualties were admitted to Lopiding
Hospital.[126]
In the government-controlled areas, there are three prosthetic/orthotic
workshops: the National Authority for Prosthetics and Orthotics (NAPO) in
Khartoum; the Norwegian Association for the Disabled Center in Juba; and a
workshop in Kassala which opened in June 2003. Access to rehabilitation
facilities is restricted due to long distances, poor roads, security concerns,
and poverty. There are no facilities in southern
Sudan.[127]
In 2003, the ICRC supported six physical rehabilitation centers and smaller
workshops in Sudan. Since 1999, the ICRC has provided assistance to NAPO in
Khartoum, and worked with the authorities to set up satellite centers in
Kassala, Dongola, Nyalla and Damazin. In addition to upgrading facilities,
improving the quality of services, covering the cost of transport, accommodation
and treatment, providing materials and components, and on-going training for
orthopedic technicians and physiotherapists, the ICRC also trains hospital staff
from Juba, Kassala and Dongola in physiotherapy for amputees. The ICRC also
provides training and materials to the Juba orthopedic center. Since 2000, the
orthopedic center has fitted 3,334 prostheses (at least 389 for mine survivors),
and produced 2,427 orthoses and more than 980 crutches; in 2003, 930 prostheses
were fitted (114 for mine survivors), and 683 orthoses (one for a mine survivor)
and 364 crutches were produced. Four technicians are currently undertaking a
three-year course in prosthetics and orthotics at the Tanzanian Training Center
for Orthopedic
Technologists.[128] From July
2003, the treatment is free-of-charge for mine/UXO survivors in all NAPO
branches;[129] previously
military personnel received free services and civilians were charged 50 percent.
To facilitate the physical rehabilitation of mine survivors and other persons
with disabilities in southern Sudan, the ICRC has provided transport to its
prosthetic/orthotic center at the Lopiding Hospital in Lokichokio, northern
Kenya, since 1992. All treatment is provided free-of-charge. Since 2000, the
orthopedic center has fitted 1,555 prostheses (370 for mine survivors), and
produced 697 orthoses (at least two for mine survivors) and more than 4,213
crutches, and distributed more than 96 wheelchairs; in 2003, 462 prostheses were
fitted (125 for mine survivors), 169 orthoses (one for a mine survivor) and
1,338 crutches produced, and 49 wheelchairs distributed. In addition, every
year up to ten Sudanese are trained to run small orthopedic repair workshops in
southern Sudan.[130]
In 2000, the NGO Help Handicapped International started the Jaipur Foot
Center in Khartoum, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health; more than 1,200
people have reportedly been
assisted.[131]
The Sudanese Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of War Victims
(ABRAR) supports landmine survivors as part of its program to assist war
victims. ABRAR provides physiotherapy, psychosocial support and legal aid. ABRAR
also advocates for a disability policy and legislation to support the victims of
war. In 2003, ABRAR provided health support to 200 survivors, distributed
mobility aids to 80 survivors at its rehabilitation center, organized social
activities for 115 families of mine survivors, and 340 benefited from computer
training and other vocational training, including electronics, mechanics and
sewing; 285 mine survivors were assisted in 2002. A sports program for mine/UXO
survivors has also been developed. The programs are supported by Canada, the
Japanese Embassy, a German NGO, People in Motion, and private donations from
within Sudan. Landmine Survivors Network (LSN), through its office in Jordan,
supports ABRAR by sharing experiences, knowledge and technical advice to
establish a peer support
program.[132]
There are limited opportunities for economic reintegration. Ten mine
survivors graduated from a course in computer maintenance at the Elaman Elmahadi
University, and the University of Sudan has agreed to provide five mine/UXO
survivors a year access to free courses. Plans are also being developed to
establish a vocational training center for mine/UXO survivors, and a
women’s development center for mine survivors and their families. The
National Vocational Training Institute offers training in various
skills;[133] however, it is not
clear if these programs are available to persons with disabilities.
Other organizations assisting persons with disabilities in Sudan include
Action on Disability and Development, Medical Care Doctors International, Peace
and Tolerance International Organization, and Sudan People Support
Association.[134]
A mine survivor from Sudan participated in the Raising the Voices training
program in 2002.
Disability Policy and Practice
Landmine survivors reportedly have access to free medical treatment in the
public and NGO hospitals in Sudan, and a Presidential decision protects the jobs
of government employees who are disabled by
landmines.[135] There are no
other laws that protect the rights of mine survivors in Sudan. The Ministry of
Welfare and Social Development is the focal point for issues relating to people
with disabilities.[136]
The VA office in NMAO is developing capacity in national NGOs through links
with international organizations, particularly through advocacy for the proposed
convention of the rights of persons with
disabilities.[137]
[1] Interview with Noel Mulliner, Deputy
Chief (Operations), UNMAS, Khartoum, 15 May 2003. The original model for
cross-line mine action was drawn up for the South, but moved to the Nuba
Mountains because of lack of progress in achieving a cease-fire in the
South. [2] For more information on the
Darfur crisis, see Human Rights Watch, “Darfur Destroyed: Ethnic Cleansing
by Government and Militia Forces in Western Sudan,” May 2004, available at
www.hrw.org/campaigns/darfur,
accessed 12 October 2004. HRW has said the government-supported Janjaweed
attacks constitute crimes against humanity. The US government on 9 September
2004 concluded that “genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the
government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility—and genocide may
still be occurring.” “U.S. Calls Killings in Sudan Genocide,”
Washington Post, 10 September 2004 (quoting Secretary of State Colin
Powell). [3] “Report of the
Secretary-General on the Sudan,” UNSC 1556 (2004), 30 July
2004. [4] Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 536. The situation in Sudan and the Horn of Africa is extremely
complicated, with frequently shifting alliances. In December 2003, Sudan,
Ethiopia and Yemen formed an “anti-terror axis” to fight against
“extremist elements” operating in the Horn of Africa, noting groups
in Somalia. See “Ethiopia: Horn anti-terror axis formed,” IRIN
(Addis Ababa), 29 December 2003. [5]
Statement by Sudan, Standing Committee of Experts on Victim Assistance and
Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 7 May 2001, pp.
3-4. [6] The delegation said following
a full peace agreement in the Sudan, a new constitution would be formulated and
new laws would be in force, including the incorporation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Interview with Sudan Delegation to intersessional Standing Committee meetings:
Elsadig Almagly, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brig. Isam Mahran, Ministry of
Defense, and Hasabu Mohamed Abdul-Rahman, Deputy Director, Humanitarian Aid
Commission, Geneva, 23 June 2004.
[7] Statement by Dr. Sulafadin Salih,
Commissioner, Humanitarian Aid Commission, Fifth Meeting of States Parties,
Bangkok, Thailand, 17 September
2003. [8] In 2002, Landmine Monitor
reported that SPLM/A had also signed the “Deed of Commitment” on 19
August 2001 in southern Sudan. Geneva Call has now told Landmine Monitor that
in August 2001 the SPLM/A expressed its intent to sign, but the only Deed
considered to be official is the one signed in October. Email from Geneva Call,
18 August 2004. [9]
“Recommendations of Workshop Discussions,” Mine Ban Education
Workshop in Southern Sudan, New Site, Kapoeta County, Southern Sudan, 29
September – 1 October 2003, available at: www.genevacall.org/resources/testi-referencematerials/testi-nsastates/sud01oct03(mbess).pdf,
accessed 12 October 2004. The workshop was jointly organized by Geneva Call and
the SPLM/A. [10] Comments by Cdr. Aleu
Ayieny Aleu, Executive Director, Operation Save Innocent Lives, to the Mine Ban
Education Workshop in Southern Sudan, 29 September – 1 October
2003. [11] “Formation of New
Sudan Authority on Landmines,” General Headquarters, Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement and Sudan People’s Liberation Army, Ref. No.
SPLM/SLMA/A-1, 9 May 2004. [12] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 223; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 575; and,
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 535. In June 2004, Sudanese officials said a
“small number” of mines exist for training, but that the number is
unknown as the mines are scattered around the country; the information is being
collected for the Article 7 report. Interview with Sudan Delegation, 23 June
2004. [13] Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 477; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
502. [14] “Kony: Is Sudan Being
Honest?,” New Vision (Kampala), 10 September 2003. See also,
“Ugandan president says Sudan tried to overthrow him with rebel
backing,” Agence France-Presse (Nairobi), 29 August
2004. [15] In January 2004, a joint
UNHCR−National High Commission for Demining mission to collect information
on mines/UXO in refugee settlement areas along the Chad−Sudan border were
told by local military that the Sudanese had allegedly laid mines around a
crashed helicopter in Chad. “Rapport de la mission conjointe HCR-HCND du
3 au 20 janvier 2004,” Fadoul Ahmat and Abdoulaye Arabi, January 2004.
See Chad report in this edition of Landmine
Monitor. [16] For descriptions of use
and denials of use see: Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp. 535-537; Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 576; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 224-227; Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, pp. 183-186; Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
172-173. [17] In a March 2003
interview with Landmine Monitor, a senior SPLA official conceded that there may
have been limited mine use by the SPLA, due to lack of dissemination of the ban
message, but also said they have not yet found anyone actually using mines. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 536. In March 2002, the SPLA provided Landmine
Monitor with sketch maps indicating some 49 known or suspected minefields in the
Nuba Mountains, alleging that the Sudanese Army laid all but three. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
576. [18] Interview with Telar Deng,
New Sudan Council of Churches, Nairobi, 29 January 2001; interview with Cdr.
Aleu Ayieny Aleu, Director, Operation Save Innocent Lives, Nairobi, 25 February
2001. [19] In October 2003, when an
antivehicle mine blew up a vehicle killing eight people, the SPLM/A accused the
government of planting mines in the road between Umsirdibba and Kauda in the
Nuba Mountains, and thus violating the Nuba Mountains Cease-fire agreement. The
government spokesman denied this allegation and referred the case to the JMC,
which investigated and declared it to have been an old mine. See, “SPLM
alleged the Government for the Explosion in Nuba Mountains,” Alayam (daily
newspaper), 8 October 2003. [20]
Interview with Thomas Dut, Secretary General, Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation
Commission, Old Fangak, Upper Nile, Sudan, 6 April 2004. SRRC represents a
merger between the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association and former rival
rebel umbrella group, Relief Organization of South Sudan. Landmine Monitor has
previously reported use of mines at the oil fields. See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, pp. 535-536. [21] Interview with
Cdr. Lam Akol, SLPM, Nairobi, 14 March 2004. The troops of Gabriel Tanginya are
part of the South Sudan Defense Forces, organized in 1997 of former southern
rebels pursuant to their peace agreement with the Sudanese government. See HRW,
Sudan, Oil and Human Rights,
2003. [22] Interview with Cdr. Aut
Jago, SPLA, Old Fangak, Upper Nile, Sudan, 29 March
2004. [23] Noted taken in Landmine
Monitor Upper Nile mission of interviews with Shilluk leader, Cdr. Lam Akol;
Cdr. Aut Jago; various relief and monitor workers, Old Fangak, 6 April
2004. [24] In August 2004, Amnesty
International denounced the Khartoum government for detaining people who
reportedly talked to foreign journalists and members of foreign government
delegations about the crisis in
Darfur. [25] Interview with Ismail
Adam, North Darfur Area Manager, Save the Children-UK, 27 May
2004. [26] Human Rights Watch
interview with SLA Commander, North Darfur, 24 July
2004. [27] Brig. Isam Mahran, Deputy
Chief, Army Corps of Engineering, presented a paper entitled, "The Position of
the Armed Forces from the Ottawa Convention and its Role in the Post-peace
period," at a workshop on implementing the Mine Ban Treaty, Khartoum, 23 May
2004. [28] Interview with Sudan
Delegation, 23 June 2004. [29]
Response to Landmine Monitor from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs,
Humanitarian Aid Commission, received by fax from the Embassy of the Republic of
Sudan, Washington, DC, 31 July 2003. Translation by Landmine
Monitor. [30] “The Peace
Advisory requests SPLA to return to the negotiations,” Alayam, 28 January
2003. [31] United Nations,
“Landmine and UXO Safety – Sudan,” handout, July
2003. [32] Statement by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Mine Action, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 22 June
2004. [33] Statement by Sudan, Fifth
Meeting of States Parties, 17 September
2003. [34] Landmine Monitor Report
1999 (pp. 171-172) provides details of the types of antipersonnel mines
identified in Sudan from Belgium, China, Egypt, Israel, Italy, United States and
the former Soviet Union. [35]
Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 173-175; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 186;
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 228; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 577-578;
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
537. [36] SLIRI Briefing for the
Members of the European Parliament, Khartoum, February
2004. [37] Email from Dylan Matthews,
Program Officer, Landmine Action, 18 June
2004. [38] Interview with Mohamed
Fawz, Program Coordinator, SLIRI, Khartoum, 21 April
2004. [39] FSD Statement, 18 March
2004. [40] Interview with Jim
Pansegrouw, Chief Technical Advisor, National Mine Action Office, Khartoum, 22
April 2004. [41] Interview with JP
Botha, Project Manager, Mechem, Kapoeta, April 2004.
[42] Emergency Mine Action
Programme-Sudan, “Quarterly Report: January–March
2004.” [43]
Ibid. [44] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June 2004, pp.
6-7. [45] Uliks Hasanaj and Rune
Hjarno Rasmussen, “MRE in the Nuba,” assessment report for UNICEF
and DCA, submitted in March 2004. [46]
Hadyat Eltayeb, Hagir Kheir and Nasser Eldin A. Mageed, “Knowledge,
Attitude, Practice and Behavior on Mine Risk Education,” Save the
Children–USA, March 2004. [47]
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp.
538-539. [48] Interview with Mohamed
Kabir, Information Management Officer, NMAO, Khartoum, 14 April
2004. [49] Interview with Malik Ruben,
Director, SLIRI South, Lokichoggio, 9 April
2004. [50] Interview with Gamal
Gorashi, Government Representative to NMAO, Khartoum, 10 April
2004. [51] “Formation of New
Sudan Authority on Landmines,” General Headquarters, Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement and Sudan People’s Liberation Army, Ref. No.
SPLM/SLMA/A-1, 9 May 2004, available at www.genevacall.org/resources/testi-referencematerials/testi-nsastates/sud09may04(na).pdf
, accessed 10 August 2004. [52] UNDP
update to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, February 2004;
interview with Jim Pansegrouw, NMAO, 22 April
2004. [53] Interview with Dr. Hussein
Elobeid, Coordinator for Sudan CBL, Khartoum, 28 March
2004. [54] Interview with Gamal
Gorashi, NMAO, 10 April 2004. [55]
UNDP Sudan and UNMAS Sudan, “National Mine Action Strategy (NMAS)
Process,” Nairobi, Kenya, 17-27 August
2004. [56] “Sudan agrees on
landmine clearance with southern rebels,” MENA (Nairobi), 27 August 2004.
See also, UNMAS, “Towards a New Mine Action Strategy for Sudan,”
Press Release, 18 August 2004. [57]
Presentation by Sudan, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June 2004, p.
16. [58] According to UNMAS in
August 2002, “The UN Technical Advisor (TA) has been actively working with
JMC, Government of Sudan and with SPLA to gather reliable information regarding
the presence of mines in the area. Many areas previously thought to contain a
mine hazard are now being discredited based on local knowledge and activity.
All such information is being recorded in IMSMA.” See, UN Emergency Mine
Action Programme, “Monthly Report: July-August
2002.” [59] Summary table of
mine action from 2000-2004, in Sudan Emergency Mine Action Program,
“Quarterly Report: January–March 2004, p.
11. [60] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June 2004, p. 12.
[61] Brig. Gen. J. E. Wilhelmsen,
Chairman, JMC, addressing the medal parade, Nuba Mountains, 14 May
2003. [62] Landmine Monitor visit to
Farig Eldorop village, 14 May
2003. [63]
Ibid. [64] Interview with Abu Osama,
Director, JASMAR, Khartoum, 1 April
2004. [65] Interview with Mohamed
Kabir, NMAO, 14 April 2004. [66]
“Sudan: Joint Clearance of Landmines in the South,” IRIN, 10 August
2004. [67] SLIRI Briefing for the
Members of the European Parliament, Khartoum, February
2004. [68] Email from Dylan Mathews,
Landmine Action, 18 June 2004. [69]
Interview with Jim Pansegrouw, NMAO, 22 April
2004. [70] Landmine Monitor field
trip, Kapoeta, April 2004. [71] NPA
Statement, March 2004. [72] Sudan
update provided by Aksel Steen, Advisor, NPA, Oslo, 24 June
2004. [73] “The Foreseen
Arch-Enemy of a Post-War Sudan,” All Africa News Agency, Nairobi, 30 June
2003. [74] Landmine Monitor Report
1999, p. 177; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 187; Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 229; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
579. [75] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June
2004. [76] Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 542. [77] Email from Jennifer
Mason, MRE Coordinator, UNICEF Sudan, 20 September
2004. [78] Interview with Dor Abur,
Liaison Officer, SPLA, Kapoeta, 11 April
2004. [79] Interview with Khalid
Abdin, MRE Associate, NMAO, Khartoum, 14 April
2004. [80] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June
2004. [81] Email from Tin Carstairs,
Director for Policy, Mines Advisory Group, 5 October
2004. [82] Landmine Monitor Report
1999, p. 177; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 229-231; Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 580; Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
542. [83] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June
2004. [84] Interview with Abu Osama,
JASMAR, 1 April 2004. [85] Interview
with Seif Abdelrahman, Program Manager, Save the Children-USA, Khartoum, 5
November 2003. [86] Interview with
Khalid Abdin, NMAO, 14 April
2004. [87] “One step ahead:
Significant progress on the MRE Needs Assessment in Nuba Mountains,
Sudan,” DanChurchAid, available at: www.dca.dk, accessed on 7 April
2004. [88] “MRE in the
Nuba,” Report for UNICEF and DCA, March
2004. [89] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 22 June
2004. [90] Email from Jennifer Mason,
UNICEF, 16 August 2004. [91] Hadyat
Eltayeb, Hagir Kheir and Nasser Eldin A. Mageed, “Knowledge, Attitude,
Practice and Behavior on Mine Risk Education,” Save the Children-USA,
March 2004. [92] Unless otherwise
noted, information comes from the individual country reports in this edition of
Landmine Monitor Report. In some cases, the funding was for the country’s
fiscal year, not calendar year 2003. Landmine Monitor has converted the
currencies and rounded off
numbers. [93] Email from Dylan
Mathews, Landmine Action, 20 July 2004. For its demining work in the Nuba
Mountains for 2003–2004, Landmine Action received £250,000 from Comic
Relief (UK), £65,000 from Jersey Overseas Aid, and, £44,992 from the
Co-operative Bank. The Co-operative Bank funding came from its “Customers
who Care” cluster bombs and explosive remnants of war
campaign. [94] Mine Action Investment
Database, available at: www.mineaction.org, (accessed 5 May 2004).
Conversion to US dollars by Landmine Monitor at C$ =
US$1.374. [95] US Department of State,
“Congressional Budget Justifications: Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year
2005, Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related programs (NADR)
appropriation,” 10 February 2004, pp.
154-158. [96] Interview with Khalid
Abdin, NMAO, 14 April 2004. [97]
“U.N., Land Mine Action Groups Seek $30 Million For Sudan Programs Next
Year,” UN WIRE, 10/2003. [98]
Details of this funding can be found in Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 538.
Donors included Canada, Denmark, EC, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway,
Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA. [99]
Email from Dylan Mathews, Landmine Action, 20 July
2004. [100] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,
Geneva, 23 June 2004. [101] ICRC
Special Report, “Mine Action 2002,” Geneva, July 2002, pp. 25-26;
information provided to Landmine Monitor (HI) in email from Shaza Nagmeldin
Ahmed, Victim Assistance Associate, NMAO, 28 July
2004. [102] Email from Cdr. Aleu
Ayieny Aleu, OSIL, 8 October 2003; Angela Stephens, “Land Mine Accident
Indicates Lurking Dangers in Sudan,” UN Wire (Sudan), 15 October
2003. [103] Email from Shaza Nagmeldin
Ahmed, NMAO, 28 July 2004. [104]
Interview with Ismail Adam, Save the Children-UK, 27 May
2004. [105] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 23 June
2004. [106] UN Emergency Mine Action
Project in Sudan, “Quarterly Report: April to June 2002;” Shaza N.
Ahmed and Khalid Salih, “Victim assistance in Sudan: a new integrated
approach to mine action,” UNMAS Landmine Survivors & Victim Assistance
Newsletter, March 2004, p. 5. [107]
Interview with Shaza Nagmeldin Ahmed, NMAO, 3 July
2003. [108] Email from Shaza Nagmeldin
Ahmed, NMAO, 29 July 2004. [109]
Presentation by Sudan, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 23 June
2004. [110] Email from Shaza Nagmeldin
Ahmed, NMAO, 28 July 2004. [111]
“Sudan: Food deliveries vital for Nuba ceasefire,” IRIN, 27 May
2002. [112] Interview with Shaza
Nagmeldin Ahmed, NMAO, 14 April
2004. [113] Interview with Mohamed
Kabir, NMAO, 14 April 2004. [114]
Victim Data Analysis by Shaza Nagmeldin Ahmed, NMAO, March
2004. [115] UN Emergency Mine Action
Project in Sudan, “Quarterly Report: April to June
2002.” [116] Interview with
Mohamed Fawz, SLIRI, 21 April
2004. [117] Email from Mohamed Fawz,
SLIRI, 2 August 2004. It is not clear to Landmine Monitor if there is any
overlap in the data reported by the NMAO and
SLIRI. [118] SLIRI Newsletter, Issue
No. 2, March-May 2003. [119]
Presentation by Sudan, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 23 June
2004. [120] Interview with Chris
Clark, UNMAS, 2 April 2003; UN Emergency Mine Action Programme, “Monthly
Report: April 2003;” email from Shaza Nagmeldin Ahmed, NMAO, 28 July 2004.
[121] “The Key to Peace:
Unlocking the Human Potential of Sudan,” Interagency Paper, May 2002, p.
27, prepared by Save the Children, Christian Aid, Oxfam, CARE, IRC, and
TEARFUND; interview with Hasabo Mohamed Abdolrahman, Head of Peace
Administration, HAC, 17 March
2002. [122] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 23 June
2004. [123] Landmine Monitor field
work, March-April 2002; interview with Abdelaziz Adam el Helu, SPLA Nuba
Commander, 22 April 2002. [124]
“WHO trains health workers in Nuba Mountains,” Khartoum Monitor, 20
June 2002. [125] ICRC Special Reports,
“Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, August 2004, pp. 26-27; “Mine
Action 2002,” July 2002, pp. 25-26; “Mine Action 2001,” July
2002, p. 21; “Mine Action 1999,” August 2000, pp.
22-23. [126] Interview with Margaret
Staff, Head Nurse, ICRC Lopiding Hospital, 9 April
2004. [127] ICRC Special Report,
“Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, August 2004, p.
27. [128] ICRC Special Reports,
“Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, August 2004, p. 27; “Mine Action
2001,” July 2002, p. 21; “Mine Action 2000,” July 2001, p. 18;
ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva,
9 March 2004, p. 26; “Annual Report 2002,” June 2003, p.
10. [129] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 23 June
2004. [130] ICRC Special Reports,
“Mine Action 2003,” August 2004, p. 27; “Mine Action
2001,” July 2002, p. 21; “Mine Action 2000,” July 2001, p. 18;
ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” 9 March
2004, p. 26; “Annual Report 2002,” June 2003, p.
10. [131] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Mahendra Gafurchand Mehta, Trustee, Help Handicapped
International, Mumbai, 20 August
2004. [132] Report to Landmine Monitor
from ABRAR, 1 April 2004; report to Landmine Monitor from Najat Salih, Executive
Director, ABRAR, March 2003; presentation by Sudan, Standing Committee on Victim
Assistance, 23 June 2004. [133]
Presentation by Sudan, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 23 June
2004. [134]
Ibid. [135] Presentation by Sudan,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Socio-Economic Reintegration and Mine
Awareness, Geneva, 7 May 2001. [136]
Presentation by Sudan, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, 23 June
2004. [137] Email from Shaza Nagmeldin
Ahmed, NMAO, 28 July 2004.
About Us
Our Research Products