Key developments since May 2004: A national mine action law was
drafted. In September 2004, the government established a committee to deal with
destruction of antipersonnel mine stockpiles and other ERW issues. A nationwide
inventory of antipersonnel mine stockpiles was started and a destruction plan
approved. From March 2003 to 30 April 2005, a total of 28,893 stockpiled mines
were destroyed in cooperation with demining NGOs. In April 2005, Afghanistan
retained 1,076 mines for training mine detection dogs. In December 2004,
Afghanistan became co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance
and Socio-Economic Reintegration. Media reports indicated possible new use of
mines by opposition forces. Use of improvised explosive devices by opposition
forces appeared to increase in 2004 and 2005. The Landmine Impact Survey
conducted November 2003-November 2004 reduced the area of estimated
contamination from 1,350 square kilometers to 715 square kilometers. In 2004,
over 33 square kilometers of mined areas and nearly 70 square kilometers of
battle areas were cleared, destroying over 5,000 antipersonnel mines, 500
antivehicle mines and one million other explosives. Some 65 square kilometers
of mined areas and former battlefields were also surveyed. An estimated US$91.8
million was dedicated to mine action in 2004, a large increase from 2003.
UNMACA reported funding of $97.2 million in its fiscal year 2004-2005. In 2005,
for the first time, Afghanistan made a significant donation to mine action ($1.6
million). Mine risk education was received by over two million Afghans in
2004-2005. Only 27 percent of mine-impacted communities reported some form of
MRE in the previous two years. Significant decreases in new casualties from
landmines, UXO and cluster munitions were recorded in 2004 compared with 2003.
Casualties included at least one deminer killed and 13 injured. Afghanistan was
identified at the First Review Conference to the Mine Ban Treaty as one of 24
States Parties with the greatest need and responsibility to provide survivor
assistance.
Mine Ban Policy
On 11 September 2002, the Transitional Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty and it entered into force on 1 March 2003.
Afghanistan has stated that the new constitution adopted in January 2004
requires the country to respect all international treaties it has
signed.[1 ]The Ministry of Defense
instructed all military forces to respect the comprehensive ban on antipersonnel
landmines and the prohibition on use in any situation by militaries or
individuals.[2 ]
The Mine Action Task Force completed a final draft of a new national mine
action law in November 2004.[3 ]It
does not appear the law constitutes comprehensive implementation legislation,
including penal sanctions for violations. Afghanistan reports that the law
“lays out the roles and responsibilities of the national mine action
institutions, including a new National Mine Action
Agency.”[4 ]The Ministry of
Justice was expected to forward the bill to the Council of Ministries in June
2005 for approval.[5 ]
Afghanistan submitted its third Article 7 report on 30 April 2005, covering
the period 1 May 2004-30 April 2005.[6 ]The third report included, for the first time, the voluntary Form J giving
details about victim assistance issues.
Afghanistan attended the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty held
in Nairobi in November-December 2004 with a delegation that included its Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Minister of Justice. A statement by
President Hamid Karzai was delivered to the conference, saying,
“Antipersonnel mines are weapons of war that cannot be justified....The
real importance of this gathering is to acknowledge the fact that the
international community has studied the global mine problem, and we know that it
is one we can solve, if we commit ourselves to the task....The challenge that
lies before is simple: No More Mines - No More Victims....Our Convention
deadline for clearing all mined areas is 2013. With the support of donors, the
United Nations, and the rest of the international community, we can meet this
challenge.”[7 ]At the First
Review Conference, Afghanistan became co-rapporteur of the intersessional
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration.
Afghanistan participated in the intersessional meetings held in Geneva in
June 2005, and made statements to three of the standing committees. Afghanistan
has not yet made known its views on matters of interpretation and implementation
related to Articles 1, 2 and 3, and in particular issues related to joint
military operations with non-States Parties, foreign stockpiling and transit of
antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling
devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.
During the 8th International Meeting of Mine Action Programme Directors and
UN Advisors in September 2005, the Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister said that
“Afghanistan has also included mine action considerations in our broader
strategic planning. For instance just recently on 11 September 2005 our
Government approved a decision to list our Ottawa Convention deadlines for
clearing all emplaced antipersonnel mines (by 2013) and destroying antipersonnel
mine stockpiles (by 2007) as indicators for Afghanistan’s achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals. We believe that none of the MDGs can be
achieved without a human security approach and we further believe that mines
represent a continuing threat to human security in Afghanistan; this is why the
mines problem is featured in a special security chapter in Afghanistan’s
first MDG progress
report.”[8]
On 3 November 2004, Afghanistan attended the inaugural meeting in New York
of the Forum of Mine-Affected Countries (FOMAC), a group of high-level
representatives from mine-affected countries. FOMAC was formed to
encourage cooperation between mine-affected
countries.[9]
In 2004, the Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines continued to raise public
awareness of the mine ban issue, by holding regional meetings on treaty
implementation and helping to sponsor the Afghan mine action and awareness
month. On 21 November 2004, campaign representatives, the government, demining
and victim assistance groups convened in Kabul for a briefing on the major
findings of Landmine Monitor Report 2004.
Production and Transfer
Afghanistan has never been a landmine producing
country.[10 ]In the past, large
numbers of mines from numerous sources were sent to Afghanistan during the many
years of fighting. Most recently, Landmine Monitor reported that in 2002,
demining organizations discovered Iranian mines produced in 1999 and 2000, and
apparently supplied to the Northern
Alliance.[11 ]In 2003, Pakistani
authorities seized antipersonnel mines and other weapons that they claimed were
being smuggled by non-state actors from Afghanistan into
Pakistan.[12 ]
Use
Landmine Monitor is not aware of any allegations of use of antipersonnel
mines by Afghan government forces since Afghanistan decided to join the Mine Ban
Treaty. There has been only one specific report of the use of antipersonnel
mines in this reporting period. In November 2004, it was reported that farmers
had planted mines in their fields to stop the efforts of Dyncorp, a private
company that had been hired by the US government to undertake poppy
eradication.[13 ]
Local and international media have continued to report incidents that may
involve new use of mines by Taliban or other opposition forces. It is difficult
to determine if an incident is the result of new use or results from mines laid
during the previous conflicts. At least 10 mine incidents resulting in
casualties were reported in 2004, which may include new use of mines; seven
incidents appeared to involve antivehicle mines, two antipersonnel mines and one
unknown. More such incidents have been reported in
2005.[14 ]
Improvised Explosive Devices
Instances involving use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), especially
in the form of remote-controlled roadside bombs, by Taliban and other opposition
forces against government soldiers, coalition forces, deminers and other
civilians, appeared to increase in 2004 and
2005.[15 ]On 11 June 2005, after
Afghan police arrested two individuals reportedly possessing a detonation device
and explosives as well as Taliban-related documents, a US spokesperson noted
that in the 40-day period since 1 May 2005, there had been “more than 60
incidents involving the detonation or discovery of IEDs, making their
construction and detonation one of the most dangerous aspects of life in
Afghanistan.”[16]
Demining operations in southern Afghanistan were suspended in June 2005
after a roadside bomb killed two deminers and injured five
others.[17 ]
Stockpiling and Destruction
The precise size, location and composition of antipersonnel mine stockpiles
in Afghanistan remains to be established. In June 2004, the Ministry of Defense
estimated that there were 250 major ammunition storage points in Afghanistan
containing at least 130,000 stockpiled antipersonnel
mines.[18 ]
In December 2004, the Ministry of Defense started a nationwide survey of
explosive remnants of war (ERW), including stockpiled antipersonnel mines. By
the end of April 2005, the survey had identified 2,438 stockpiled antipersonnel
mines—of 13 different types made in at least five countries—in six
provinces (Kabul, Balkh, Parwan, Herat, Kapisa and Nangarhar). Further survey
work was to be undertaken in those six and the other 28
provinces.[19 ]
Afghanistan’s treaty-mandated deadline for completing destruction of
its stockpiled antipersonnel mines is 1 March 2007. In June 2005,
Afghanistan’s representative told the Standing Committee on Stockpile
Destruction that a nationwide project to identify and secure stocks was
underway, and that Afghanistan was confident it would meet its destruction
deadline. He noted that antipersonnel mines are often stored with other much
more unstable and dangerous devices needing destruction, and that Afghanistan
needs financial and in-kind support to deal with its bigger problem of explosive
remnants of war.[20]
Afghanistan’s April 2005 Article 7 report provides detailed
information on 28,907 stockpiled mines destroyed after entry into force in
various parts of the country by mine action NGOs between 1 March 2003 and 30
April 2005.[21 ]Some of the mines
listed appear to be antivehicle mines (217 TM 57 and 224 M19), some are
booby-traps/fuzes (two MS-3), while others are unknown to Landmine Monitor (40
LO-6 and 6 RPM-2). It is also noteworthy that 144 PFM-1/S mines are listed, as
these have presented serious destruction challenges in other countries.
Following the Draft Strategic Plan for the National Destruction of
Anti-personnel Mines, issued in March 2004, the government established an
Ammunition Steering Committee chaired by the Ministry of Defense in September
2004. The committee, which includes representatives from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Security Department, UN
and donor countries, was established to address the issue of ERW. Antipersonnel
mine destruction will be part of the broader ERW destruction
plan.[22 ]
From December 2003 to February 2004, the Ministry of Defense, with United
Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA) and International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), carried out a stockpile destruction pilot project. A
total of 1,362 antipersonnel mines were recovered from eight storage points
around Kabul and destroyed on 12 February
2004.[23 ]
Mines Retained for Training and Development
Afghanistan reports that it “has yet to develop a formal policy on the
number of APMs to be retained for development and training purposes. The
Government on a case-by-case basis approves the number and type of APMs retained
by UNMACA....”[24 ]
As of April 2005, Afghanistan retained a total of 1,076 mines to be used for
the accreditation and training of mine detection dogs; all have had their
detonators removed.[25 ]
Landmine and ERW Problem
Afghanistan is one of the world’s most mine-affected countries. It is
also contaminated with huge quantities of explosive remnants of war (ERW), both
abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The Landmine
Impact Survey (LIS), which completed fieldwork in November 2004, identified
2,368 mine- and ERW-impacted communities in 259 of the 329 districts of
Afghanistan. The LIS also identified 4,514 suspected hazard areas totaling 715
square kilometers of contamination, although for security reasons it was not
possible to survey every area of the
country.[26]
The first landmines were laid in Afghanistan more than 25 years ago. Since
then tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or disabled by mines or
UXO. Most of the mines were laid during the Soviet occupation of the country
(1979-1989), but significant contamination was also caused by the civil war of
1992-1996 and during the Taliban regime (1996-2001). The US-led coalition's
intervention in late 2001 added considerable quantities of UXO to the problem
and was followed by further landmine use by non-coalition forces.
Despite a large mine action program, the mine and ERW problem continues to
pose a considerable challenge to the country’s socioeconomic well-being,
impacting on issues such as food security, refugee return and national
reconstruction. In 2003, there were over 1,000 casualties from mines and ERW;
in 2004, nearly 900 new mine/UXP casualties were recorded, of which about 37
percent were caused by landmines. (See Landmine and ERW Casualties
section.)
Mine Action Program
There is no national mine action authority in Afghanistan. A draft national
mine action law of November 2004 was reported to lay out “the roles and
responsibilities of the national mine action institutions, including a new
National Mine Action Agency.”[27 ]The draft was submitted to the Department of Law at the Ministry of
Justice, to be forwarded to the Council of Ministries (the Government Cabinet)
for approval and signature by the
President.[28 ]As of September
2005, the new law had not been forwarded to the Council of Ministries for
approval.
The government’s Department for Disaster Preparedness has a Department
for Mine Clearance, which has been in charge of policy-making, coordination and
liaison with the UN and the Mine Action Programme in Afghanistan (MAPA). From
the creation of MAPA in 1989 until June 2002, it was administered by the UN
Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan. Since then,
MAPA has been the responsibility of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), with
technical support from UNOPS (UN Office of Project
Services).[29]
MAPA is implemented by 16 partner agencies, mostly Afghan NGOs. At the
intersesssional meetings in Geneva in June 2005, Afghanistan's representative
noted that MAPA was an “8,700-person
effort.”[30 ]MAPA's
activities include: survey of contamination (general and technical surveys);
clearance of mined areas and battle areas; mine risk education and training;
monitoring and evaluation of mine action
practitioners.[31 ]
MAPA supports the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)
process in Afghanistan through the Mine Action for Peace (MAP) project, which is
designed to train ex-combatants in community-based demining, mine risk education
and permanent marking of dangerous
areas.[32 ]Since 2003 the DDR
program has collected almost all heavy weapons, disarming 58,000 ex-combatants
in the process. In the second phase, starting in May 2005, the collection of
small arms was also included.[33 ]The DDR program was initiated by the Ministry of Defense and the
government, with the support of the UN and financial assistance from donor
countries.
To employ former militia members and reintegrate them into society, several
hundred of them have been trained in mine clearance and mine risk
education.[34 ]They were paid by
MAP and supervised by UNMACA until 31 April 2005. From May 2005, the project
shifted to the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA), and they were paid
by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) under the Afghan New Beginning
Project.[35]
The Mine Action Consultative Group (MACG), which is chaired by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, brings together ministries concerned with mine action,
donors, UN agencies and mine action implementing partners. MACG has two
standing sub-entities:
The Mine Action Task Force (MATF), which is in charge of planning for the
full nationalization of mine action coordination, met regularly in 2004; it
drafted the new mine action law. MATF is made up of representatives from
relevant ministries, mine action implementing partners, donors and the UN. The
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) have provided legal advisory services to MATF.
The Stockpile Destruction Working Group, set up in April 2004 to advise the
Ministry of Defense on issues related to the destruction of antipersonnel mine
stockpiles. The working group was replaced by the Ammunition Steering Group in
September 2004.[36 ]
At the June 2004 intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Afghanistan
announced that the draft plan for transition to national management of mine
action, initiated in February 2004, would be submitted to MACG. As of September
2005, this had not happened.
Program activities are coordinated by the UN Mine Action Center for
Afghanistan. UNMACA's coordination activities include updating strategic and
operational mine action plans and policies, developing the national operational
workplan, providing technical assistance to help Afghanistan meet its treaty
obligations, coordinating the monitoring of mine risk education, maintaining the
mine action database, resource mobilization, support to and coordination of
implementing partners, oversight of national mine action standards, and
assistance in developing a comprehensive antipersonnel mine stockpile
destruction strategy.[37 ]
UNMACA has seven Area Mine Action Centers, which are tasked to coordinate,
oversee and monitor demining activities at regional and provincial levels.
Regional coordination meetings are held once a week. National coordination
meetings are held every one or two months. Afghanistan uses a decentralized
data entry system, which operates in the seven area centers. The centers report
to UNMACA, which is responsible for quality control, updating of information and
sending these updates to the area centers, so that each has data for all
Afghanistan. The advantage of this decentralized system, according to MAPA, is
that the centers have to check the data on the activities of demining NGOs
working in their areas for accuracy and completeness, to eliminate discrepancies
between the UNMACA database and demining
agencies.[38]
The International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) have been translated into
both national languages (Dari and Pashtu), and national standards have been
drafted. They were being translated in June 2005, prior to government approval.
There is an accreditation process for demining organizations. The main
demining operators in Afghanistan are: Afghan Technical Consultants, Demining
Agency for Afghanistan, Community Based Mine Clearance Program (implemented by
the Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan, AREA),
Danish Demining Group, HALO Trust, Mine Detection and Dog Center, Organization
for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation, and Mine Clearance and Planning
Agency.
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Training Agency (META) is primarily
responsible for quality assurance of clearance activities. It has been an
integral part of MAPA since 1989. META responsibilities include: mine action
technical and management training courses; monitoring and evaluation of demining
operations; investigating mine-related accidents; conducting trials; producing
technical and reference materials. It also provides and monitors mine risk
education for MAPA demining partners. META was previously named the Monitoring,
Evaluation and Training Project (METP). In 2004, it received $1.5 million and
employed 241 staff (188 were operational
staff).[39]
The strategic plan adopted in 2003 remained in force as of mid-2005, but was
under revision in view of the Landmine Impact Survey. The 2003 strategic plan
sought to clear the estimated remaining 850 square kilometers of mined areas and
500 square kilometers of battlefield areas over a ten-year
period.[40 ]The targets for 2004
were:
Battle area clearance (BAC): 16,600,000 square meters;
Mine clearance in support of reconstruction: 9,227,600 square meters;
Minefield survey: 22,500,000 square meters;
BAC survey: 34,020,000 square meters;
Permanent marking: 23,040,000 square meters;
Minefield survey for reconstruction: 11,340,000 square meters.
These targets were exceeded. In 2004 and to January 2005, MAPA surveyed
almost 31 square kilometers of mined areas and over 39 square kilometers of
former battlefields. In 2004, demining agencies cleared 30.6 square kilometers
of mined areas and 69.2 square kilometers of battle areas. In the process,
11,459 antipersonnel mines, 621 antivehicle mines and 1,584,465 UXO (including
cluster bomblets) were
destroyed.[41 ]
The National Operational Work Plan for 2005-2006 (1 April 2005-31 March
2006, corresponding to Afghan Shamsi Year 1384) focuses on clearance in support
of infrastructure projects, reconstruction and other measures to aid the return
of refugees and internally displaced persons. The MAPA plan for 2005-2006 aims
to clear 13.8 square kilometers of mine-impacted communities, 16.1 square
kilometers of contaminated land for reconstruction projects, and 42.5 square
kilometers of ERW-impacted
communities.[42 ]
Planned clearance activities were prioritized on the basis of the Landmine
Impact Survey (LIS). Priority one included LIS high impact communities,
suspected hazardous areas with mine/ERW casualties in the 24 months prior to LIS
community interviews, and where repatriation is planned. Priority two included
LIS medium impact communities, suspected hazardous areas with mine/ERW
casualties more than two years previously, and with rehabilitation and
development projects and planned repatriation. Priority three included all low
impact communities, other rehabilitation/development, repatriation and requests
where clearance would contribute to economic development and physical
well-being. Priority four included all clearance requests not covered in the
above priorities.[43 ]
Evaluation of Mine Action
Two major evaluations of mine action in Afghanistan have been performed in
recent years, the first by the Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA), and the
second by UNDP and the World Bank.[44 ]Both found significant economic benefits from mine action in the country,
although they differed as to the type of land that generates the greatest
benefit from clearance.
The MCPA study found that 70 percent of total benefits came from clearance
of grazing land, with a further 25 percent from clearance of roads. The
UNDP/World Bank study found that 65 percent of benefits came from clearance of
agricultural land and 19 percent from clearance for irrigation, with only
negligible benefits from clearance of grazing land. It estimated that clearing
34.2 square kilometers of agricultural land in Afghanistan in 1999 reduced the
direct annual death toll by 340, generated annual benefits of $740,000 per year,
and renewed access to land and structures valued at $38 million. The cost of
clearance was estimated as $26 million. The average rate of return on mine
action projects was virtually double the World Bank’s global average for
other sectors.[45 ]MAPA claims to
have implemented some of the recommendations of both
studies.[46 ]
In 2004, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining conducted
a multi-country study of capacity development in mine action, which included
Afghanistan; as of mid-2005, the results had not been published.
Survey and Assessment
Surveying of mine- and ERW-affected areas and their impact is an integral
part of the Mine Action Programme in Afghanistan. Since mine action started in
Afghanistan, two mine action organizations, MCPA and HALO, have been primarily
responsible for conducting surveys. HALO has carried out surveys only for its
own use, whereas MCPA conducts surveys for all the other demining partners of
MAPA. MCPA has undertaken surveys since 1990, including general, technical,
battle area and socioeconomic impact surveys. Since HALO started to work in
Afghanistan in 1988, it has conducted general and technical surveys in its
mandated areas in the center and north of Afghanistan. In addition, Danish
Demining Group informed Landmine Monitor that it has conducted general and
technical survey since September
2004.[47]
In total, during 2004, MCPA and HALO conducted surveys on nearly 28 square
kilometers of mined area (including 13 square kilometers for reconstruction
activities) and more than 39 square kilometers of battlefield
area.[48 ]
General and Technical Survey in 2004 and January 2005 (square
meters)[49]
Battlefield areas
Mined areas
Mined areas designated for reconstruction
Total (mined areas and mined reconstruction areas)
2004
39,126,776
14,804,821
13,066,985
27,871,806
January 2005
185,896
1,106,721
1,828,843
2,935,564
Total
39,312,672
15,911,542
14,895,828
30,807,370
In 2004, MCPA surveyed, mapped and marked 3,488,578 square meters of
agricultural land, 1,743,381 square meters of road, 165,024 square meters of
irrigation canal, 4,531,411 square meters of grazing land and 1,472,831 square
meters of housing areas.[50 ]
Some three square kilometers of permanent marking was planned for 2004 by
the MAP project.[51 ]From 1 April
2004 to 31 March 2005, a smaller area (42,765 square kilometers) was marked, as
resources were shifted to
clearance.[52]
In 2004 and the first quarter of 2005, HALO surveyed 25,634,638 square
meters of former battle areas and 1,350,822 square meters of minefields. It
cleared ERW from 51,229,166 square meters of former battlefield areas and
2,063,171 square meters of landmines. In 2004 and through March 2005, as part
of both clearance and survey activities, HALO destroyed 3,790 antipersonnel
mines, 325 antivehicle mines and 491,818
ERW.[53 ]
In November 2004, 12 months of fieldwork for the Landmine Impact Survey was
completed, and in May 2005 the first results were distributed to mine action
program stakeholders for comment.[54 ]The report was finalized in September for certification by
UNMAS.[55 ]The LIS covered almost
98 percent of the 329 districts of
Afghanistan.[56 ]The Survey Action
Center (SAC) was the executing agency and MCPA was the implementing agency.
Financial assistance was provided by the European Commission, Germany and
Canada; the “final cost estimate” was
$2,977,849.[57 ]
The LIS identified 2,368 mine- and ERW-impacted communities in 259 of the
329 districts of Afghanistan. It identified 4,514 suspected hazard areas in the
affected communities, contaminating 715 square kilometers of territory. This
estimate is substantially lower than the previous estimates on which mine action
planning has been based; it is said to be the first time a LIS has lowered the
estimate for affected areas in a
country.[58 ]The new, lower
estimate of mine/ERW contamination in Afghanistan has been achieved because the
LIS incorporated existing technical survey and clearance data from the UNMACA
database into its survey, and systematically checked all previous data. The
previous estimate, using general surveys conducted in 1993, was 1,300 square
kilometers of mine/ERW contamination. This estimate had not been updated
regularly and UNMACA had little confidence in
it.[59 ]
Of the 4,514 suspected hazard areas identified, 844 are associated with
mine/ERW casualties. From the total of 2,368 impacted communities, 281 (12
percent) were assessed as high impact, 480 (20 percent) as medium impact, and
1,607 (68 percent) as low impact. Some 4.2 million people (15 percent of the
population) are living in impacted communities, with 1.6 million of them in
high- or medium-impacted communities. The 2,368 impacted communities represent
seven percent of Afghanistan’s 33,134
communities.[60]
The LIS identified 2,245 mine/ERW casualties in the 24 months prior to
survey interviews. These casualties are in 664 of 2,368 impacted communities.
No less than 45 percent of all recent casualties are in Kabul, Parwan and Takhar
provinces, with 20 percent in Kabul province alone. At least 60 percent of all
recent casualties are males aged up to 29 years (with 19 percent up to age 15,
and 41 percent from 15-29 years of age). According to SAC, this is an
extraordinarily high number of victims for a young age group, compared to other
countries where a LIS has been
conducted.[61 ]It may be that the
many decades of conflict in Afghanistan, resulting in tens of thousands of
orphans and widows, led to many children becoming breadwinners for the family,
collecting water, fuel, firewood, food and scraps. Thus, children in
Afghanistan may be more exposed to mine/ERW risks than in other countries.
Children are also often responsible for with tending animals, which leads them
to enter dangerous areas, knowingly or unknowingly.
In 2005-2006, MAPA plans to continue with survey activities, including LIS
of districts not visited or surveyed due to inaccessibility or insecurity, and
ongoing assessment to validate and update the data gathered during the LIS.
MAPA also plans: to conduct a technical survey and marking of 15.7 square
kilometers of suspected mined areas, 13.4 square kilometers of minefield for
reconstruction activities, and 31 square kilometers of battlefield area; to mark
6.9 million square meters, using stones and concrete as permanent
marking.[62]
There are plans to conduct post-clearance land use surveys in Afghanistan.
After validation and updating of data gathered during the LIS, a post-demining
impact assessment will be carried out at least six months after demining
operations are completed. This will check if the demining has achieved its
purpose, and re-examine the socioeconomic impact of mine action in Afghanistan.
Fieldwork was due to start in the second half of 2005, organized and implemented
by MAPA.
Landmine and ERW Clearance
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Afghanistan must destroy all
antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as
possible, but not later than 1 March 2013.
In 2004, MAPA cleared 102,053,236 square meters (33,332,821 square meters of
mined areas and 68,720,415 square meters of former battlefields); 5,244
antipersonnel mines, 528 antivehicle mines and 1,017,566 ERW were destroyed
during demining activities.[63 ]This is a significant increase on the 89,551,188 square meters cleared in
2003 (30,048,843 square meters of mined areas and 59,502,345 square meters of
battlefield area).[64 ]
Mined and Battle Area Clearance by Organization in 2004 (square
meters)[65]
Organization
Mined areas
Battle areas
Antipersonnel mines
Antivehicle mines
ERW
AREA
353,062
0
9
2
76
ATC
4,111,515
8,227,657
509
27
96,338
DAFA
2,038,036
11,507,722
206
12
406,868
DDG
119,308
803,378
876
48
24,900
HALO
2,195,311
47,109,581
2,054
203
279,046
MDC
9,924,072
0
36
213
3,470
OMAR
13,528,650
1,072,077
1,553
22
206,864
MCPA
1,062,867
0
1
1
4
Total
33,332,821
68,720,415
5,244
528
1,017,566
In the first months of 2005, demining organizations cleared a further
3,071,241 square meters of mined land and 9,193,231 square meters of battlefield
area, destroying 1,148 antipersonnel mines, 348 antivehicle mines and 130,063
ERW.[66]
Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan:
The Afghan NGO AREA continued its community-based mine clearance program,
which aims to provide local inhabitants with the capacity to clear their own
land. It employed 388 personnel, of whom 320 were operational. The program
received more than $1.25 million in funding. From February 2004 to March 2005,
AREA managed and supervised a DDR project in Paghman district of Kabul province,
funded by UNDP. An external evaluation in 2004, conducted at the request of
donors, revealed financial discrepancies. Clearance activities were adversely
affected (353,062 square meters cleared in 2004, compared with over one million
square meters in 2003), but continued under ATC supervision. Three demining
teams were suspended from 1 April 2004 to 31 January 2005 due to a lack of
funds; they resumed their activities on 1 February
2005.[67 ]
Afghan Technical Consultants: ATC is one of the largest Afghan
humanitarian and reconstruction mine clearance organizations. It implements
mine clearance projects in all regions of Afghanistan. In 2004, ATC cleared a
similar amount of mined land as in 2003 (when 4,149,000 square meters were
cleared) and cleared more battle area than in 2003 (6,424,000 square meters).
With an annual budget of just over $10 million, ATC activities include manual
and mechanical mine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), battle area
clearance and mine risk education (as an integral part of ATC clearance
activities). In 2004, ATC employed more personnel (1,929, of whom 1,450 were
operational/field staff) than in
2003.[68 ]
ATC sustained the most casualties in mine clearance operations in 2004, with
six demining staff injured and one killed. Over time, ATC deminers have
experienced the most mine accidents of all demining NGOs in Afghanistan; from
1989 to 2004, 31 ATC deminers have been killed and around 290 injured in
demining accidents.[69]
Demining Agency for Afghanistan: DAFA started its activities in June
1990, and plans to continue demining until the end of 2012. It carries out
mine/UXO clearance and MRE. The agency operates mainly in western and southern
regions (Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Urozgan and Nimroz provinces). In 2004, DAFA
cleared considerably more mined and battle area than 2003 (when 412,000 square
meters and 8,614,000 square meters, respectively, were cleared). The budget was
$5.4 million in 2004, and 1,346 personnel (849 operational) were employed in
2004.[70 ]Three DAFA demining staff
were injured in two mine accidents in 2004, and five were injured in the first
quarter of 2005.
Danish Demining Group: DDG cleared less mined area in 2004, compared
with 2003 (when 540,000 square meters were cleared), and carried out battle area
clearance in 2004 (none in 2003). The reduction was due mainly to a shift from
clearance of rural areas in 2003 to clearance of urban areas in 2004, according
to DDG.[71 ]Since DDG started
technical survey in September 2004, 1,100 square meters of mined area have been
cleared.[72 ]DDG integrates
clearance with MRE, training community liaison volunteers who provide MRE to
local people and liaise between the local community and DDG clearance teams. In
2004, DDG employed 310 people (280 operational staff) and received funding of $3
million. It established a demining program in Afghanistan in 1998 and started
cooperation with the MAPA in 2001. DDG also provides training on types of
ordnance that were unknown in Afghanistan before the conflict against Al Qaeda
and the Taliban regime.[73 ]One DDG
deminer was injured in a mine accident in 2004.
HALO: HALO reports that it cleared 2,529,724 square meters of mined
area, 51,351,002 square meters of battle area, 4,257 antipersonnel mines, 197
antivehicle mines and 1,144,366 ERW in 2004, in contrast to the data reported by
UNMACA.[74 ]
Mine Detection and Dog Center: MDC was responsible for clearance of
substantially more mined land in 2004 than in 2003 (when 2,910,000 square meters
were cleared). It has 33 mine dog groups and 47 mine dog sets. In 2004, MDC
had a budget of $8.9 million. Its target for 2005 is to clear 18 square
kilometers of mine/UXO contaminated land; in the first quarter, MDC cleared 3.8
square kilometers of mined area. In 2005, MDC employed 1,570 staff (1,411
operational). MDC has a head office in Kabul, five site offices in Kabul,
Kandahar, Herat, Jalalabad and Mazar, and a project office in Ghazni
province.[75 ]
Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation: The
Afghan NGO OMAR cleared much more mined land in 2004 than in 2003 (when 459,000
square meters were cleared), and a similar amount of battle area. It employed
1,035 staff (940 operational) in 2004. Operational staff comprised 13 mine
clearance teams, six mine dog units and two EOD teams. OMAR has four regional
sub-offices and its headquarters in Kabul. The budget for 2004 was $5.4
million.[76 ]In 2004, one deminer
from OMAR was injured in a mine accident.
Mine Clearance Planning Agency: MCPA is primarily engaged in
landmine surveys, but also undertakes clearance as part of minefield boundary
marking and reduction of suspected mined areas. In 2004, it cleared a similar
amount of mined area as in 2003.
The UNMACA database reports that from the inception of mine action in
Afghanistan in 1989 to January 2005, about 328 square kilometers of mined land
and over 623 square kilometers of ERW contaminated land were cleared. In the
same period, more than 300,000 antipersonnel mines, 22,000 antivehicle mines and
nearly seven million ERW were destroyed.
In 2004 and through January 2005, there were 18 accidents (15 involving
mines, three involving UXO) while demining personnel were engaged in clearance
activities conducted by ATC, DAFA, DDG and HALO; 23 demining staff were injured
and two were killed.[77 ]Between
1990 and 2004 almost all demining NGOs experienced mine/UXO accidents.
Investigations by META in previous years found that 75 percent of accidents
occurred during prodding.[78 ]All
deminers are insured in Afghanistan. The level of coverage depends on the
degree of injury or disability sustained; loss of life coverage is
$15,000.[79]
Mine Risk Education
Afghanistan reported on mine risk education (MRE) activities in its Article
7 report submitted on 30 April 2005. In 2004, activities included
community-based education, mass media public information materials and emergency
response, combined with activities targeting returnees, internally displaced
persons and aid workers.[80 ]
Afghanistan reported that MRE was provided by teachers to schoolchildren
through a program supported by the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, Save the
Children US (SC US), and META. This program began in late 2002, when SC US and
META participated in training-of-trainers with the Ministry of Education. Since
early 2003, these trainers have trained 73,000 teachers, promoting participatory
and child-focused approaches. During 2004, MRE was conducted by primary school
teachers throughout the country under the supervision of the Ministry of
Education. Some 6,800 community-based, non-formal teachers were trained and
provided with MRE materials for use with their
students.[81 ]All schoolchildren
aged six to 12 years are said to be targeted for MRE, through the use of
participatory child-focused methodologies. Frequency of sessions varies between
schools; it depends on the mine/ERW risk in the area and issues such as
frequency of local casualties. The school program was due to be evaluated in
2005.[82]
Mine action organizations involved in MRE in 2004 included the Afghan Red
Crescent Society (with assistance from the ICRC), ATC, the BBC Afghan Education
Project, DAFA, DDG, Handicap International, HALO, META, OMAR, UNICEF and UNMACA.
There is no accreditation process for MRE organizations, many of which have been
working for years prior to the new Afghan government. However, MAPA partners
are required to work according to mutually agreed standards and in consultation
with UNMACA/UNICEF staff. IMAS for MRE have been translated into the two
national languages, and are being used by the implementing
NGOs.[83]
The MAPA MRE strategy was developed in anticipation of Landmine Impact
Survey data that would better target resources on impacted communities. Kuchi
nomads, internally displaced persons, returning refugees and children are
considered the most vulnerable groups, and are targeted by MRE organizations.
The MAPA MRE strategy also reflected a desire to provide stronger community
linkages to the mine action program and thereby to facilitate an ongoing
information exchange with communities, encouraging the reporting of suspicious
items, suspect areas and mine/UXO
casualties.[84 ]
UNMACA and UNICEF, with government focal points (notably the Ministry of
Education), coordinate MRE implementing organizations. A key objective is,
“To reduce injuries and casualties related to mines and UXO in Afghanistan
by raising awareness about mines/UXO amongst all sectors of Afghan society with
a special emphasis on women, children and youth and to promote safe behavior for
affected communities.” MAPA reports that in 2003 it began to focus more
on community-based activities, assessing risk behaviors and ways to change
them.[85 ]This approach aims to
integrate MRE into community structures such as local government bodies, and
education, health and religious
institutions.[86]
In 2004, over two million people (approximately 12 percent of the
population) attended MRE sessions across the country; some 40 percent were
female.
Civilians attending MRE sessions, by Implementing Organization in
2004[87]
Organization
Civilians
Foreigners/ Other NGOs
Total
Men
Women
Children
ARCS/ICRC
40,149
78,382
146,483
28
265,042
AREA/CBMAP
7,258
7,190
32,127
0
46,575
DDG
1,016
600
2,332
0
3,948
ATC
542
0
1,448
0
1,990
DAFA
2,965
226
5,685
0
8,876
HALO
47,581
52,873
0
58
100,512
HI Belgium
151,134
35,363
346,138
917
533,552
OMAR
308,322
145,290
680,361
333
1,134,306
Total
558,967
319,924
1,214,574
1,336
2,094,801
During LIS community interviews, from November 2003 to November 2004, the
teams recorded whether the community had received MRE recently. Only 638 (27
percent) of the 2,368 impacted communities in 32 provinces of Afghanistan
reported some form of MRE within the previous 24 months; 31 percent of impacted
communities with recent casualties reported some form of MRE. Six provinces
with recent casualties reported no MRE activities: Khost, Nuristan, Paktia,
Jawzjan, Kunar and Nimroz.[88 ]
Of those impacted communities that had received some MRE, the LIS found that
the most commonly used methodology was community meetings (55 percent), followed
by posters and signs (49 percent).
UNICEF joined MAPA in 2002, taking responsibility for the coordination and
management of MRE. It provides two staff, based within UNMACA, to support MRE
and victim assistance activities. UNICEF also supports the standardization and
enhancement of MRE teaching and training methodologies, and has an extensive
materials development program. UNICEF provides mass media MRE materials, and
coordinates radio programming through the BBC and local broadcast networks. It
supports the integration of MRE with other mine action activities, community
networks and health sector programs. The organization also reports that it
oversees and supports the training of MAPA partners in MRE methods, and
monitoring and evaluation activities to ensure high
standards.[89 ]
Of the organizations undertaking MRE, four—Handicap International,
OMAR, Afghan Red Crescent Society and ICRC—focus on community-based
methods in an attempt to promote sustainability. They seek to identify and
train interested community liaison volunteers who provide MRE to their
communities and also collect data on mine/UXO incidents. MRE teams go
house-to-house and provide education through community meetings.
AREA includes an MRE program as part of its community-based mine clearance
program. AREA operates in Herat, Badghis, Farah and Ghor provinces in the
western region of the country, in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces in the eastern
region, and in Paghman districts of Kabul province. Nangarhar Kunar and Herat
are border provinces, with a high rate of casualties from mines and ERW, and a
substantial returning refugee population. AREA uses community lectures,
child-focused sessions, question and answer sessions, posters, models of mines
and audio-visual
presentations.[90 ]
Handicap International (HI) operates a large community-based MRE program in
six southern and western provinces. The program is managed from Herat. HI uses
55, usually community-based, staff to undertake direct MRE and to establish and
train mine committees, whose members will function as village-based volunteers
to reiterate MRE messages. The village committees also collect information on
abandoned or unexploded ordnance, new or previously unidentified minefields, and
mine injury data. EOD reports are forwarded for spot clearance tasking by
clearance agencies. The community-based mine clearance program operates with an
HI EOD clearance capacity, but operations in Zabul, Ghazni and Kandahar were
extremely limited during 2004 due to security reasons.
From April 2004 to March 2005, 125,292 people (101,982 villagers, 9,483
nomads and 13,827 internally displaced persons) were trained by 55 local mine
risk educators in 6,377 training
sessions.[91 ]From June to December
2004 a further 340 volunteer mine committees were established among Kuchi,
internally displaced and settled communities. A total of 2,854 mine committees
have been trained, which have provided MRE to over three million people. In
June-December 2004, 18 unknown mined area reports were collected and passed to
area mine action centers, 52 mine/UXO casualties were reported, and 305 people
with disabilities were referred to HI rehabilitation centers in Kandahar, to the
Comprehensive Disabled Afghans Program in Ghazni, and to the ICRC in Herat
province. In 2005, the project aimed to complete the creation of volunteer mine
committees, develop new materials, and start an evaluation of the
project.[92 ]Since January 2005,
direct training by MRE educators has ceased, and there is a new focus on
creation, training and support to volunteer mine committees in the high-priority
mine/UXO impacted
communities.[93]
ICRC has assisted the Afghan Red Crescent Society MRE teams with financial
and technical support and training since 1995, and continued this program in
2004. Through its 52 MRE staff in 17 provinces, the society conducted 5,268
sessions in 3,251 locations and provided MRE to 183,774 civilians (10 percent
men, 33 percent women and 57 percent children) in
2004.[94 ]
ICRC also hired and trained its own MRE teams to cover northern and eastern
regions, combining MRE and data gathering activities. This data is complemented
by information from 490 healthcare facilities. This information, accounting for
90 percent of all data available on new injuries, is shared with MAPA and mine
action NGOs.[95 ]In 2004, 14 staff
were deployed in the provinces of Kabul, Parwan and Balkh, and in Jalalabad,
where they delivered 1,607 MRE sessions in 1,158 locations to a total of 26,149
civilians (20 percent men, 17 percent women, 63 percent children).
To promote sustainable mine action at the village level, ICRC identified
volunteers from NGOs and villages to conduct MRE. In 2004, 98 volunteers worked
in their localities in 10 provinces. They conducted 2,420 sessions in 526
places for 55,091 individuals (16,320 men, 13,107 women and 25,664 children).
ICRC provided the MRE materials. During 2004, 45,000 leaflets were distributed
by ICRC MRE staff, 250,000 by Red Crescent teams, and 35,000 by
volunteers.[96]
OMAR started MRE in 1990 in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan; in 2004 it
operated throughout Afghanistan. OMAR employs 21 MRE teams composed of both men
and women. In 2004, OMAR provided MRE to 1,134,306 civilians, including 333
foreigners, mainly from NGOs; 13 percent were adult females and 60 percent were
children. The budget for 2004 was $450,000. OMAR provides MRE through
community presentations, leaflets, posters and
signboards.[97]
Since 1994, the BBC Afghan Education Project has been broadcasting MRE
dramas three times a week in Dari/Persian and three times a week in Pashtu
languages, as part of the New Home, New Life soap opera. The BBC magazine
New Home, New Life includes MRE messages, and there is another magazine
dedicated to promoting awareness of the danger of mines. A monthly cartoon
journal has been published that includes MRE stories. A BBC radio program
Village Voice includes mine risk issues. Children’s programs such
as Our World, Our Future included MRE
issues.[98 ]
The Italian NGO Intersos has assisted META's coordination and implementation
of MRE activities since March 2003. It has helped to monitor and evaluate MRE
in Afghanistan, in particular community-based
MRE.[99 ]MRE is also provided by
clearance and survey organizations, including ATC, MCPA and
HALO.[100 ]
Evaluation of Mine Risk Education
An evaluation report released in July 2002 stated that “MRE agencies
are omitting to measure the impact of their work among their target groups in a
systematic and regular manner. There is therefore little indication whether
their projects are having the desired impact or not and no relevant information
to inform adaptations or new project design.” The evaluation called on
META to “develop expertise and capacity to conduct impact
assessments.” But there “will still be a need for external
evaluators for MRE in
Afghanistan.”[101 ]As a
result, in 2004 MRE implementing partners were trained by MAPA in the use of
monitoring and evaluation tools. One training team and four quality assurance
teams were deployed by UNMACA in 2004 to evaluate
MRE.[102 ]
At the end of 2004, a Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey was
conducted by META, interviewing 600 participants in five of the eight regions of
Afghanistan, to determine the effectiveness and impact of MRE within communities
living near minefields or known dangerous areas. Survey data was entered into
IMSMA; it was expected that analysis of results would be completed in October.
In 2005, a KAP survey was planned for all eight regions of
Afghanistan.[103]
Funding and Assistance
Reports by donors indicate that 16 countries and the European Commission
(EC) provided US$91,759,797 for mine action in Afghanistan in 2004. This
represents a substantial increase from the $75.2 million reported by UNMACA for
2003.[104 ]Funding reported by
donors in 2004 included:[105]
Austria: €615,730 ($765,845), consisting of €605,686 ($753,352)
for demining, and €10,044 ($12,493) for technical support to
OMAR;[106]
Canada: C$10,171,159 ($7,813,750), consisting of C$10 million ($7,682,261)
to UNDP for MACA, C$124,350 ($95,529) to UNICEF for victim assistance, and
C$46,809 ($35,960) to
NAMSA;[108]
Denmark: DKK19,879,414 ($3,319,321), consisting of DKK14,879,414
($2,484,457) to DDG for mine action and DKK5 million ($834,864) to
UNMAS;[109]
EC: €15 million ($18,657,000) for including mine/UXO clearance and
MACA support;[110]
Finland: €1 million ($1,243,800) to UNMAS for mine
clearance;[111]
France €44,310 ($55,113), consisting of €4,310 ($5,361) to HI
for national disability survey, and €40,000 ($49,752) to HI for victim
assistance;[112]
Germany: €2,898,084 ($3,604,637), consisting of €1,781,342
($2,215,633) to MDC, €600,029 ($746,316) to OMAR for demining and medical
teams, €121,713 ($151,387) to HI for a demining advisor to MDC,
€125,000 ($155,475) to SAC to complete the LIS, and €270,000
($335,826) for clearance and technical survey
teams;[113]
Italy: €84,000 ($104,479) to UNDP for metal
detectors;[115]
Japan: ¥1,612,900,000 ($14,913,546), consisting of ¥626,900,00
($5,796,579) to UNOPS for mine clearance, ¥388,200,000 ($3,589,459) to MACA
for mine clearance, and ¥597,800,000 ($5,527,508) to
UNDP;[116]
Netherlands: €1,345,038 ($1,672,958), consisting of €499,500
($621,278) to UNMAS for mine clearance, and €845,538 ($1,051,680) to HALO
for clearance;[117]
Norway: NOK7,230,000 ($1,072,716) consisting of NOK6,300,000 ($934,732) to
HALO for mine clearance, and NOK930,000 ($137,984) Trauma Care Foundation for
victim assistance;[118]
Slovakia: SK21,346,628 ($736,091) in-kind (demining by Slovak Armed Forces
component of NATO ISAF);[119]
Spain: €282,200 ($351,000) for demining for
ISAF;[120]
Sweden: SEK4,050,000 ($551,170) to DDG for quality
assurance;[121]
Switzerland: CHF235,575 ($174,500), consisting of CHF49,950 ($37,000) to
the Rehabilitation Center Kandahar, CHF185,625 ($137,500) in-kind to
UNOPS;[122 ]
UK: £651,020 ($1,193,320) to HALO for
demining;[123]
US: $34,870,841, consisting of $20,866,967 from USAID to UNDP for demining,
$12,603,874 from the Department of State and $1 million for victim assistance
through the Leahy War Victims
Fund.[124 ]
UNDP also reported mine action funding for 2004: US$100,000 from the
UK.[125 ]
In 2004, UNMACA reported funding of $97.2 million in its fiscal year
April–March,[126 ]in
contrast to the UNMACA funding of $75.2 million for January–December 2003
previously reported by Landmine Monitor. UNMACA reports that 60.5 percent
($77,102,312) of total mine action expenditure in 2004-2005 was on mine/UXO
clearance, 18 percent ($17,825,615) on survey activities, 8 percent ($7,624,614)
on training and capacity-building, 6.5 percent ($6,051,319) on coordination, 5
percent ($4,334,922) on MAPA, and 2 percent ($2,117,109) on mine risk
education.[127 ]
Donor information collected by Landmine Monitor, indicated that from 1991 to
the end of March 2005, more than $435 million has been invested in mine action
in Afghanistan.
The 2003 strategic plan for mine action in Afghanistan indicated that $500
million was required to clear, over a 10-year period, what was estimated at the
time to be 850 square kilometers of mined areas and 500 square kilometers of
battlefield areas.[128 ]The
Landmine Impact Survey resulted in the lower estimate of 715 square kilometers
of mine/ERW contaminated land.[129 ]The revised cost of clearing this reduced area has not been reported.
At the Standing Committee meetings in June 2005, Afghan’s
representative noted that, for the first time, Afghanistan made a significant
cash contribution to the mine action program, some $1.6 million in support of
road reconstruction.[130 ]
Landmine and ERW Casualties
In 2004, UNMACA recorded 878 new casualties from landmines, UXO and cluster
munitions, of which 106 people were killed and 772 injured; at least 22 were
female.[131 ]In comparison, ICRC
recorded 895 mine/UXO casualties (128 killed and 767 injured) for the same
period, including 449 children and 39 women; 837 were
civilians.[132 ]This represents a
12 percent decrease from the 1,018 mine/UXO casualties (216 killed and 802
injured) recorded by UNMACA in
2003.[133 ]
The collection of comprehensive landmine casualty data in Afghanistan
remains problematic, due in part to communication constraints and the time
needed to centralize information. Key actors in mine action estimate that there
are 100 new mine/UXO casualties each month, which is a significant reduction
from earlier years.[134 ]However,
many mine casualties are believed to die before reaching medical assistance and
are therefore not recorded.
The Landmine Impact Survey data on mine/UXO casualties between 2001 and 2004
indicates that 922 (41 percent) of the 2,245 casualties recorded died from their
injuries.[135 ]In comparison,
ICRC and UNMACA data of recorded casualties in 2004 indicates that only 14
percent and 12 percent respectively are killed in mine/UXO incidents.
ICRC is the principal source of mine casualty data, providing the UNMACA
with about 95 percent of its information on new casualties. ICRC carries out
community-based data gathering in all mine-affected areas, except the Kandahar
region where Handicap International does this (HI recorded 30 new mine/UXO
casualties in Kandahar region in
2004).[136 ]Mine casualty data is
provided by 490 health facilities supported by several agencies and
organizations.[137 ]
Analysis of ICRC casualty data reveals that, in 2004, activities at the time
of the incident included tampering (23 percent), tending animals (20 percent),
traveling by vehicle (four percent), playing or recreation (13 percent),
collecting wood, fuel or scrap metal (eight percent), farming (eight percent),
traveling on foot (three percent), military activity (four percent), incidental
passing (six percent), demining (two percent), other activities or unknown (nine
percent).
In 2004, children under 18 years of age accounted for 449 new casualties (50
percent). Of the total 895 new casualties, 39 (four percent) were women and 837
(94 percent) were civilians. Antipersonnel mines were responsible for 292 new
casualties (33 percent), antivehicle mines 36 (four percent), UXO 379 (42
percent), cluster munitions 26 (three percent), fuzes 58 (six percent),
booby-traps 16 (two percent), and the cause of 88 casualties (ten percent) was
“other” or unknown. New mine/UXO casualties were reported in all 34
provinces in Afghanistan. The highest number of casualties was recorded in the
provinces of Kabul (14 percent), Herat (11 percent), Parwan (ten percent),
Kandahar (ten percent), and Nangarhar (ten percent). About 12 percent of
casualties reported having received MRE before the incident occurred, and about
86 percent were unaware that they were in a contaminated area. Of those injured
in 2004, about 53 percent required an amputation and seven percent suffered eye
injuries.[138]
According to ICRC data, one deminer was killed and another 13 injured during
mine clearance activities in 2004.[139 ]Another report said two deminers were killed and another 21 were injured
in 2004.[140 ]On 6 January 2005,
five deminers were injured in an accident involving an antivehicle
mine.[141 ]On 18 July 2005, two
Zimbabweans were killed and one was seriously injured during a mine clearance
operation.[142 ]The ICRC reported
25 demining casualties between January and June 2005.
At least 10 soldiers and peacekeepers were killed and another 22 injured in
mine incidents in 2004, during mine clearance operations, on patrol or
otherwise. Reported incidents include one US soldier killed and nine others
injured when their vehicle hit an antivehicle mine in Ghazni province in
February; in a separate incident, another US soldier was injured after his
vehicle hit a mine near Kunar.[143 ]In March, three US soldiers were injured when their vehicle hit a mine
near Ghazni; in a separate incident, two US soldiers were injured by a landmine
at Bagram airfield.[144 ]In May,
three US soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a mine in
Kandahar.[145 ]In June, four US
soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a mine in Zabul province; in a
separate incident, two French peacekeepers were injured after one of the
soldiers stepped on a mine north of
Kabul.[146 ]In July, a US soldier
lost part of his foot in a mine explosion while on patrol in
Bagram.[147 ]In August, a US
soldier suffered burns and lacerations when his Humvee hit a
mine.[148 ]On 16 October, two US
soldiers were killed and three others injured when their vehicle struck a mine
in Uruzgan province.[149 ]
In 2004, ICRC recorded six Afghan military personnel killed and 28 injured
in mine/UXO incidents.[150]
Mine casualties continues in 2005. The ICRC recorded 491 new mine/UXO
casualties to the end of June 2005, including 83 people killed and 408
injured.
From January to July 2005, at least eight soldiers were killed and eight
soldiers were injured, in landmine incidents. On 16 March, one US soldier was
killed and four others were injured when their vehicle struck a mine in the
western province of Herat; five Afghan civilians died when their truck hit a
mine in the same area just hours later. On 26 March, four US soldiers were
killed, when their vehicle struck a landmine in Logar province, 40 kilometers
south of Kabul.[151 ]On 5 April,
a US soldier, who had only been in Afghanistan for two weeks, lost part of his
foot when he stepped on a landmine; in a separate April incident, another US
soldier was injured when a landmine exploded while he was burning
garbage.[152 ]On 26 April, one
Romanian soldier was killed and two others injured in a mine explosion in
Kandahar.[153 ]On 20 July 2005,
two government soldiers were killed when their truck struck a
landmine.[154 ]
From January to the end of March 2005, ICRC recorded two Afghan military
personnel killed and 23 injured in mine/UXO
incidents.[155]
It is not possible at this time to determine the exact number of landmine
casualties or mine survivors in Afghanistan. It is estimated that there are as
many as 100,000 mine/UXO
survivors.[156 ]As of March
2005, the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled had collected data on 86,354 persons
with disabilities in 33 provinces; however, the information available on the
cause of disability was limited. In February 2004, it was reported that 18
percent of persons with disabilities that had been recorded by the Ministry were
mine survivors.[157 ]
As of June 2005, the ICRC database contained information on 9,931 mine/UXO
casualties (1,673 killed and 8,258 injured) between 1998 and 2005: 491 in 2005;
895 in 2004; 958 in 2003; 1,577 in 2002; 1,740 in 2001; 1,583 in 2000; 1,532 in
1999; 1,155 in 1998. The database also contains information on more than 3,441
casualties recorded between 1980 and 1997. Data collection is an ongoing
process and statistics are continually updated as new casualties, and those from
previous periods, are identified.
At the end of May 2005, the UNMACA database contained information on 15,333
mine/UXO casualties since 1988, including 2,688 people killed and 12,645
injured; 990 were female.[158 ]The information provides an indication of the trends in reported mine
casualties but does not provide a precise representation of the true number of
casualties over time.
The recently completed Landmine Impact Survey recorded a total of 2,245
recent casualties (922 killed and 1,323 injured); 143 (six percent) were female.
Of the total recent casualties: 416 (19 percent) were aged under 15 years; 924
(41 percent) were aged between 15 and 29; 1,336 (60 percent) were engaged in
tending animals, farming, collecting food, water and fuel, or household duties
at the time of the incident; only 63 (three percent) reported tampering with the
device at the time of the
incident.[159]
Survivor Assistance
At the First Review Conference in Nairobi in November-December 2004,
Afghanistan was identified as one of 24 States Parties with significant numbers
of mine survivors and “the greatest responsibility to act, but also the
greatest needs and expectations for assistance” in providing adequate
assistance for the care, rehabilitation and reintegration of
survivors.[160 ]Four mine
survivors from Afghanistan took part in the conference. Also at the First
Review Conference, Afghanistan became co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on
Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration.
Afghanistan submitted the voluntary Form J with its Article 7 report to
report on victim assistance
issues.[161 ]The draft mine
action strategy includes the goals of embedding victim assistance “in
national entities that are responsible for social welfare, health, education and
employment,” and coordinating it with “the other mine action pillars
and with the broader disability assistance
function.”[162 ]
In 2004, the Landmine Impact Survey found that only 10 percent of
mine-impacted communities had healthcare facilities of any
kind.[163 ]The government
acknowledges that healthcare services and rehabilitation are limited, and that
even where services are available many mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities cannot access them.[164 ]Healthcare in Afghanistan has been severely affected by decades of
conflict. Health infrastructure is damaged and poorly maintained, lacks trained
staff, resources and supplies, and is unable to meet the basic health needs of
the population in general, and the needs of persons with disabilities in
particular; 65 percent of Afghans reportedly do not have access to health
facilities. As a result, many mine casualties may die before reaching a medical
facility, due to the lack of emergency medical care or an adequate
evacuation/transport system to a suitably equipped health
facility.[165 ]
The rehabilitation and reintegration needs of mine survivors and other
persons with disabilities are also not being met. For every one person with a
disability receiving assistance, 100 more reportedly do not receive
assistance.[166 ]Disability
services exist in only 20 of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan: physiotherapy
services (19 provinces); orthopedic workshops (10 provinces); economic
reintegration activities (13 provinces); community-based rehabilitation (12
provinces).[167 ]
The Landmine Impact Survey found that of 1,323 mine survivors: 852 received
some form of emergency medical care (64 percent); 184 received rehabilitation
(14 percent); only 29 had received vocational training (two percent) since the
incident; 43 survivors reported receiving no care (three percent). The care
received by 197 survivors was unknown (15
percent).[168 ]
National and international NGOs and agencies continue to play an important
role in the delivery of assistance to landmine survivors and other persons with
disabilities in Afghanistan, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public
Health, Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled, Ministry of Education, and the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Emergency and Continuing Medical Care
Healthcare services are provided through the Afghan hospital network and
international NGOs and agencies.[169 ]Hospitals in the Afghan healthcare network assisting mine casualties/
survivors include the Indira Ghandhi Child Health Institute, the Paraplegic
Hospital and the Armed Forces Academy of Medical Sciences. The 600-bed Armed
Forces Academy, the only public hospital for emergency trauma cases in Kabul,
accepts all emergency cases, including military personnel and civilians. It
lacks equipment and has only limited supplies to treat emergency cases. On
average, 10 new mine casualties are admitted each
month.[170 ]
The Indira Ghandhi Child Health Institute in Kabul, one of the main
hospitals for children, treated seven mine casualties (four boys and three
girls) in its orthopedic/surgery ward during
2004.[171 ]The hospital has
experienced doctors but lacks resources; children admitted are often too poorly
nourished to respond well to
treatment.[172 ]ICRC supports
physical rehabilitation at the
hospital.[173]
The Paraplegic Hospital in Kabul assisted 689 in-patients in 2004, including
mine survivors. It also assesses the degree of disability of patients who are
then referred to the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled for assistance and
employment support; 7,062 people with disabilities, including 4,200 mine
survivors, were assessed in
2004.[174]
In addition, the International Security Assistance Force hospital in Kabul
accepts up to about 10 of the most seriously injured mine casualties each month.
Facilities are of a very high standard and well-equipped to handle trauma
cases.[175 ]
ICRC supports hospitals, clinics and first aid posts in Afghanistan,
providing medicines, medical and surgical supplies, training, and repair and
renovation of facilities. In 2004, the ICRC supported nine hospitals in Kabul,
Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif, Shiberghan, Samangan, Taloqan and Ghazni.
Support is also provided to the ambulance services in Kabul. ICRC-supported
hospitals surgically treated 2,951 war-injured, including 327 mine casualties in
2004.[176 ]
Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) announced the closure of its
programs in Afghanistan on 28 July 2004, because of security concerns after the
killing of five of its international staff in June. It handed over its programs
to the Ministry of Public Health and other organizations. MSF was providing
essential medical aid to hundreds of thousands of Afghans, including mine
casualties, in 13 provinces throughout Afghanistan, with a team of 80 expatriate
staff and over 1,400 Afghan
staff.[177]
In 2004, the Italian NGO Emergency assisted more than 222,874 people,
performing 4,873 surgical operations (including 290 for landmine casualties),
and providing more than 40,000 physiotherapy treatments. Emergency operates: a
general hospital providing emergency surgery, internal medicine and pediatrics
in Anabah-Panshir Valley; a surgical hospital in Kabul which is becoming the
main trauma center for all the country, as it has the only intensive care unit
for civilians in Afghanistan; 23 first aid/public health centers providing
emergency medical care, surgery, physical rehabilitation, psychological support,
social reintegration programs and transportation to the hospitals. A new
surgical center opened in Lashkargah in Helmand region in September
2004.[178 ]
The Mobile Medical Emergency Center (MMC) trains doctors and nurses at rural
clinics in emergency procedures to treat landmine and other trauma injuries
based on simple, low-tech and inexpensive methods. The doctors and nurses then
train village first-aid helpers who provide the emergency response needed to
increase the chances of survival for mine casualties. The program operates in
the provinces of Baghdis, Ghor, Herat, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar and Nuristan,
and in Jalalabad, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health. MMC is
supported by the Norwegian Trauma Care
Foundation.[179 ]
International Medical Corps is also involved in providing assistance to mine
survivors in Afghanistan.[180]
Rehabilitation and Socioeconomic Reintegration
Until August 2004, the UNOPS/Comprehensive Disabled Afghans Program (CDAP)
served as the national coordinating body for rehabilitation services provided by
NGOs, and operated a community-based rehabilitation program for persons with
disabilities in Afghanistan, in cooperation with relevant ministries. Following
a 2003 external evaluation, the UNDP took over responsibility for CDAP in
September 2004 and developed a new project, the National Program for Action on
Disability (NPAD), in consultation and with inputs from key line ministries and
other disability stakeholders. Direct service provision ceased, and efforts
focused on working directly with government on coordination, capacity-building,
policy and program development, and with representatives of disabled
people’s organizations.
In 2004 before the re-structuring, CDAP provided services in education,
economic activities and rehabilitation to 1,500 persons with disabilities.
CDAP: facilitated development of a new national priority program and awareness
raising on disability; gave technical support for the expansion of sign language
training for teachers of the deaf and implementation of a national physiotherapy
upgrading program. It also facilitated the inclusion of persons with
disabilities in the electoral process. Due to the restructuring, expenditure in
2004 was $1.9 million out of a planned $3.8 million; the excess will be used by
the new NPAD program in 2005. Donors in 2004 were Canada, France, Germany,
Japan, Sweden, UNDP and
USAID.[181]
ICRC is the principal service provider to mine survivors in Afghanistan,
with orthopedic centers in Kabul, Mazar, Herat, Jalalabad, Gulbahar and
Faizabad. The centers fit upper and lower limb prostheses and orthoses, and
provide free medical care, physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support,
vocational training, micro-credit for small business, and public awareness
services related to government rules and programs. All services are free of
charge. ICRC’s orthopedic centers employ six expatriates and 450 Afghans,
including 50 women; about 85 percent have a disability.
In 2004, ICRC assisted more than 13,000 people with rehabilitation services.
The centers fitted or provided 4,365 prostheses (3,132 for mine survivors),
8,364 orthoses (23 for mine survivors), 9,177 crutches, 873 wheelchairs and
131,337 physical therapy treatments. The ICRC orthopedic component factory in
Kabul provided 802 prosthetic knees and 1,065 prosthetic alignment systems to
Swedish Committee for Afghanistan centers in Ghazni and Taloqan, the Guardians
center in Kandahar, and the International Assistance Mission center in Maimana.
The ICRC operates a home-based program for paraplegics, providing medical,
economic and psychosocial support; 874 paraplegics were assisted in 2004.
During 2004, 21 prosthetic/orthotic students were enrolled in the
ICRC-supported, nine-month upgrade training program for prosthetics and
orthotics in Kabul, Mazar, Herat and Jalalabad. The ICRC also supports
specialized training for
physiotherapists.[182 ]
ICRC’s Social Reintegration program assisted 1,535 people with a
disability in 2004 with: vocational training (303 people); special education
(604); job placement (63); setting up or improving small businesses (565).
Vocational training is available for 15-30 year
olds.[183 ]
The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan implements the Rehabilitation of
Afghans with Disabilities (RAD) Program in more than 1,400 villages in 32
districts in 10 provinces (in the regions of Ghazni, Taloqan and
Mazar-i-Sharif). RAD’s main focus areas are medical rehabilitation and
community-based activities. Activities included: three orthopedic workshops; 44
physiotherapy clinics; special education, employment support and micro-credit,
including training in carpet making, tailoring and how to set up a small
business; community mobilization; awareness and advocacy. RAD employs about 360
people, as well as community volunteers and self-help groups of disabled people.
The RAD program assists all persons with disabilities, including mine
survivors. In 2004, the orthopedic workshops provided 407 prostheses, 1,458
orthoses, 114 wheelchairs and 3,373 other assistive devices, and repaired 2,337
aids. The physiotherapy clinics and home-based services assisted 8,258 people
with disabilities and recruited 18 trainees for a six-month introductory
physiotherapy course. As well, 774 disabled children received special education
in their homes or at community-based rehabilitation centers; 586 disabled
children were integrated into ordinary schools; 484 people benefited from a
revolving loan fund; 385 participated in a trainee program; 40 participated in
group vocational training; 120 benefited from direct job placements. RAD is
funded by Swedish donors, including SIDA and Forum Syd, and the UNDP and
European Commission.[184]
Sandy Gall’s Afghanistan Appeal operates orthopedic and physiotherapy
services, disability awareness and health education in Kabul and Jalalabad, and
physiotherapy centers in Kunar and Laghman provinces. Services are free of
charge for persons with disabilities. In 2004, the orthopedic workshops
produced 443 prostheses for mine survivors, and 1,365 orthoses, 316 wheelchairs,
1,600 crutches and 1,548 other walking aids. The first group of 20 students
graduated from Appeal’s two-year physiotherapy course in Jalalabad in
February 2004. Training seminars were also organized for physiotherapists and
orthopedic technicians. In 2004, the program was supported by private donors in
the UK and by UNDP.[185 ]
The Kabul Orthopedic Organization (KOO), formerly the Kabul Orthopedic
Center, provides physical rehabilitation and orthopedic devices for mine
survivors and other persons with disabilities. In 2004, it assisted 4,862
people with disabilities; 60 percent of beneficiaries were women and 10 percent
were children. Of the total assisted, 3,430 received physiotherapy, 502
received prosthetic assistance and 930 received orthotic assistance. The
organization also produced 2,347 orthopedic devices, and distributed 67
wheelchairs, 90 crutches and more than 1,000 other assistive devices. Funding
is provided by USAID through Management Sciences for
Health.[186 ]
Handicap International provides physical rehabilitation and prostheses
through its orthopedic center in Kandahar, and collects information on persons
with disabilities in the Helmand, Zabul, Farah, Ghazni and Herat provinces,
through a network of community volunteers. HI cooperates closely with the
Afghan NGO Guardians in Kandahar. In 2004, the Kandahar center assisted 4,500
people (1,200 landmine survivors), produced 170 prostheses, and distributed
2,770 crutches, 159 wheelchairs and 128 other assistive devices. Through the HI
Community-based Mine Action Program (CBMAP) program, between June and December
2004, 305 people with disabilities were referred to the rehabilitation centers
of HI in Kandahar, CDAP in Ghazni and ICRC in Herat. HI is funded by IrishAID,
Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR) and the Voluntary Trust
Fund.[187 ]
HI’s program to support mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities in Herat and Badghis includes upgrading physiotherapy centers,
through training, materials and technical support to physiotherapy services. HI
is cooperating closely with CDAP and the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled.
Between 15 February and 31 December 2004, HI’s Community Center for
Disabled assisted a total of 260 people: 23 people in vocational training or
trainee programs; 65 in computer training courses; 80 in English language
training; 12 in literacy training; 40 in other skills training activities; 40
referred to other organizations for
assistance.[188 ]
The International Assistance Mission operates physical and ophthalmic
rehabilitation and psychosocial support programs. In 2004, working with the
Visually Impaired Services for Disabled People, the mission assisted 12 people
with vocational training, 25 with education activities, and eight with a music
program. Between July and December 2004, the orthopedic workshop and
physiotherapy services in Faryab province assisted 862 people with physiotherapy
services, and provided 36 prostheses and 240 orthotic
devices.[189 ]
The Technical Orthopedic Center (TOC) provides orthotic and prosthetic
assistance with support from the Ministry of Public Health. In 2004, it
assisted 328 people, including 218 landmine survivors; six survivors were women.
TOC employs 55
personnel.[190 ]
Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support for Afghanistan (PARSA) provides
physiotherapy services through its two clinics in Kabul. It also distributes
wheelchairs and walking aids, and refers amputees to the ICRC or Kabul
Orthopedic Organization. Between 15 November and 31 December 2004, PARSA
assisted 580 people with physiotherapy
services.[191]
Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR) provides physiotherapy services
through its clinics in Kalafgan and Khawjaghar districts of Takhar province, in
cooperation with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. In 2004, AAR assisted
1,060 people in the clinics, including two mine survivors. In addition to
clinical services, AAR conducts outreach services on a regular basis in order to
expand services to remote areas. The program is supported by the Government of
Japan, Mitsui-Sumitomo Bank and
Rotary.[192 ]
The Physical Therapy Institute (PTI) provides training of physiotherapists
for all other organizations. It is the only training center in the country and
works in coordination with the ICRC, Sandy Gall’s Afghanistan Appeal, HI,
Swedish Committee for Afghanistan and other organizations in the field of
survivor assistance. The institute is supported by the Ministry of Public
Health. In addition to theoretical and practical training, the PTI provides
treatment sessions; 1,283 treatment sessions were given in
2004.[193]
The NGO Help Handicapped International works in cooperation with the
Ministry of Public Health to fit Jaipur Foot prostheses for Afghan amputee mine
survivors in Kabul. The program consists of annual camps to fit prostheses. In
2004, a camp was held in September-October. In 2005, the Jaipur Team, as it is
known, brought another 700 prostheses for Afghan amputees, who were fitted from
13 April to 12 May at the Technical Orthopedic Center in Kabul. The Jaipur Team
plans to extend the program to other mine-affected
provinces.[194]
Afghan Amputee Bicyclists for Rehabilitation and Recreation (AABRAR) focuses
on the physical rehabilitation and socioeconomic integration of persons with
disabilities through physiotherapy, recreational rehabilitation, vocational
training and psychosocial support at its centers in Jalalabad and Kabul. Its
main activities include: a bicycle training program for disabled men and boys,
the Disabled Cycle Messenger Service; six-month vocational training programs in
carpet weaving, embroidery, ball making and tailoring, for disabled women and
girls. In 2004, it assisted 5,587 people (about 80 percent are mine/UXO
survivors), distributed 375 wheelchairs, and employed 62 people, including 13
with a disability. Donors in 2004 included CDAP, Trocaire Ireland, Caritas, DED
Germany and German Agency for Technical Cooperation
(GTZ).[195 ]Funding for some
activities has been only to June
2005.[196]
Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprises/Enabling and Mobilizing
Afghans with Disabilities provides psychosocial support and vocational training
for the sight and hearing impaired and physically disabled in Kabul, Parwan,
Kapisa, Laghman, Nangarhar and Konar
provinces.[197]
Humanitarian Community Development of Afghanistan (HCDA) provides
physiotherapy, vocational training and employment support, capacity-building,
awareness and advocacy for persons with disabilities in Kabul province. With
the support of CDAP, HCDA assisted a total of 876 people from 15 February to 31
December 2004: 292 with physiotherapy services; 185 with vocational training or
traineeships; 41 with other education activities; 358 with other community or
home-based support.[198]
In April 2004, LIFE Afghanistan completed the distribution of 5,000
wheelchairs, donated by “The Wheelchair Foundation,” to disabled
people in Afghanistan through the cooperation of the Ministry of Martyrs and
Disabled in each
province.[199 ]
In early 2004, the Afghan Disabled Union was founded by a mine survivor to
develop advocacy and awareness activities and research for people with
disabilities throughout Afghanistan. The union has a Rights, Disability
Awareness and Self Advocacy project for landmine survivors and other persons
with disabilities in the city of Kandahar. The project has trained 24 persons
with disabilities, including 12 women. Completed projects include a survey on
the problems of barrier-free access for people with disabilities in the city of
Kabul. Future plans include: continuing the rights and advocacy training for
mine survivors and other persons with disabilities in other regions of
Afghanistan; pressuring the government through collective advocacy to adopt
appropriate legislation for persons with disabilities; encouraging mine
survivors and other persons with disabilities to take part in the September
parliamentary election. Activities are limited by a lack of funding. The union
has more than 180
members.[200]
Disability Policy and Practice
The Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled is the focal point for all issues
relating to persons with disabilities, including mine survivor assistance.
Objectives include: collection of data on persons with disabilities, including
mine survivors from all provinces of Afghanistan, to facilitate access to
monthly pensions; advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities;
development of legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities;
facilitating access to vocational training courses. As of April 2005, eight
vocational training schools had been
established.[201]
In 2004, the National Vulnerability Program was established to
“promote security, employment, capacities and opportunities to the most
vulnerable citizens.” Persons with disabilities are identified as one of
the target groups to benefit from the
program.[202]
In September 2004, a new three-year National Program for Action on
Disability was implemented by UNDP, in cooperation with relevant ministries, UN
agencies, NGOs and organizations of disabled persons who are implementing
partners in the program. The main objective is “to raise awareness,
capacity and to develop governmental structures for policy development,
implementation and coordination of disability focused efforts in
Afghanistan” through the “delivery of a twin tracked approach to
disability, both by specific disability focused initiatives and through
inclusion in mainstream government and civil society strategies.”
[203]
The 2003 Comprehensive National Disability Policy is reportedly not well
understood and has not been formally adopted or implemented. However, the
National Program for Action on Disability has identified the need for a national
strategy on disability to be accepted and included in the national development
framework. The National Disability Commission, created in 2002, has not met
since 2003.[204 ]
In 2004, Handicap International started a national disability survey on the
prevalence, living conditions and needs in terms of rehabilitation, employment,
education and livelihoods of persons with disabilities in Afghanistan. The
survey aimed to interview 5,250 households from 175 randomly selected districts,
covering an estimated 40,000 people. Preliminary findings indicate that: 3.8
percent of the population has at least one form of disability; the disability
rate appears higher for men (4.2 percent), than women (3.3 percent); 69 percent
of people with disabilities have a physical disability; nearly 30 percent of
disabled people are under 15 years of age. The survey is due for completion by
December 2005.[205 ]
In December 2004, the first national celebration for the International Day
of Disabled Persons took place, with events in Kabul, Jalalabad, Mazar, Taloqan,
Ghazni, Kandahar and Herat. This coincided with a national radio and television
campaign to raise awareness on the rights and benefits of including disabled
people in all aspects of life.[206 ]
The government has the aim of mainstreaming disability through the
integration of persons with disabilities into schools, vocational training and
employment, and to fight discrimination through media campaigns and national
legislation.[207 ]Disability
rights are guaranteed by the 2004 Afghanistan
Constitution.[208 ]Legislation
approved in 1999 grants free medical care, a monthly pension and employment
opportunities.[209 ]Social
security benefit of 300 Afghanis a month (about $6) is paid to about 300,000
recipients, including mine survivors and other people disabled by the war and
the families of those killed in the
war.[210 ]The benefit is reported
to be insufficient to maintain a basic standard of living, and the bureaucratic
application procedure prevents many disabled people from receiving the
benefit.[211]
[1 ]Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2004, citing Constitution of Afghanistan, Ch. I, Article 7.
[2 ]Statement by Dr. M. Haider
Reza, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Standing Committee on Stockpile
Destruction, Geneva, 24 June 2004.
[3 ]Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2005. The Task Force was established in February 2004 as a special
subcommittee of the Mine Action Consultative Group.
[4 ]Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2005.
[5 ]Interview with Abdul Haq, Head
of the Department for Mine Clearance, Department for Disaster Preparedness
(DDP), Kabul, 16 April 2005.
[6 ]Previous Article 7 reports were
submitted on 30 April 2004 and 1 September 2003.
[7 ]“President Karzai
Remarks,” Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World (First Review Conference),
Nairobi, 3 December 2004.
[8]Presentation by Dr. Haider
Mohammed Reza, Deputy Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) 8th International Meeting of National Mine
Action Directors and UN Advisors, Geneva, 19-21 September 2005.
[9]United Nations,
“Countries stand united in the battle against landmines,” 4 November
2004, www.un.int/ angola/press_release_landmines.
[10 ]Article 7 Report, Form E, 30
April 2005.
[11 ]Information provided to
Landmine Monitor and ICBL by HALO Trust and Danish Demining Group, July
2002.
[12 ]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 69.
[13 ]“After the
Taliban,” Economist (Kabul and Lashkar Gah), 18 November 2004,
www.economist.com.
[14 ]See details in later section
Landmine/ERW Casualties. For use in 2003 and previous years, see Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, pp. 69-70.
[15 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Mohammad Shohab Hakimi, Chair, Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines
and Director of the Mine Detection and Dog Center (MDC), 16 April 2005.
[16]The US Combined Joint Task
Force 76 spokesperson also said “terrorists” often pay impoverished
Afghans to detonate these devices as “these criminals know they cannot
stand up to Afghan and coalition forces, so they are forced to resort to these
tactics.” “U.S. Soldiers Wounded; Troops Save Infant's Life,”
American Forces Press Service, Washington DC, 14 June 2005,
www.dod.mil/news.
[17 ]“UN Suspends Afghan
Mine Clearing,” Agence France-Presse (Kabul), 3 June 2005.
[18 ]Statement by Dr. M. Haider
Reza, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Standing Committee on Stockpile
Destruction, Geneva, 24 June 2004.
[19 ]Article 7 Report, Forms A
and B, 30 April 2005. Countries of origin included: the Soviet Union (90 MON-50
mines, 3 MON-200, 1 MON-100, 174 OZM4); Pakistan (117 P2, 1 P4); Italy (1
TS-50); China (29 Type-72); Iran (803 YM-1); 301 LU-6 of unknown origin. The
survey was carried out under the aegis of the Ammunition Steering Committee, in
cooperation with UNMACA, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
and other partners.
[20]Statement by Afghanistan,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 15 June 2005. Notes taken
by HRW. The statement noted that some 1.8 million devices had been found in
eight provinces, and that the majority had already been destroyed.
[21 ]Article 7 Report, Form G, 30
April 2005. NGOs destroying mines included Afghan Technical Consultants,
Demining Agency For Afghanistan, HALO Trust, Handicap International,
Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation, and RONCO. Mines
destroyed include: 38 Type 69 (China); 158 Type-72 (China); 318 PP-MI-SR
(Czechoslovakia); 224 M19 (Iran) [AT mine?]; 13 No.4 (Iran); 242 YM1
(Iran); 5 YM-2 (Iran); 61 TS-50 (Italy); 79 Valmara (Italy); 8 P2 (Pakistan);
200 P2MK2 (Pakistan); 1,028 P4 MK2 (Pakistan); 1 M2 (USA/Iran); 20 M16A2
(USA/other); 1,619 MON50 (USSR); 3 MON100 (USSR); 103 MON200 (USSR); 2
MS-3 (USSR) [booby-trap]; 784 OZM-3 (USSR); 811 OZM-4 (USSR); 792 OZM72 (USSR);
144 PFM 1/S (USSR); 1,291 PMD6 (USSR); 7,324 PMN (USSR); 522 PMN2 (USSR); 12,737
POMZ2 (USSR); 217 TM57 (USSR) [AT mine?]; 40 LO-6 (unknown); 6 RPM-2 (unknown);
117 Various AP (unknown).
[22 ]Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2005. The Ammunition Steering Committee replaces the Stockpile
Destruction Working Group, established 11 April 2004.
[23 ]“Anti Personnel Mines
Stockpile Destruction Pilot Project Completion Report,” submitted to the
Mine Action Consultative Group on 28 February 2004. In addition, 2,490 POMZ-2M
metal body casings were recovered and melted and recast into manhole covers and
iron grills for wood-burning stoves.
[24 ]Article 7 Report, Form D, 30
April 2005.
[25 ]Article 7 Report, Form D, 30
April 2005. Mines retained include: 2 Type 69 (China); 4 Type 72 (China); 110
M-19 (Iran); 40 No. 4 (Iran); 129 YM1 (Iran); 1 YM3 (Iran); 3 YM11 (Iran); 7 TC
2.4 (Italy); 72 TC-6 (Italy); 22 P2 MK1 and 2 (Pakistan); 4 P2 MK3 (Pakistan);
24 P3 MK1 (Pakistan); 5 P3 MK3 (Pakistan); 16 MK 7 (UK); 28 MON 50 (USSR); 2 MON
200 (USSR); 1 MS3 (USSR); 20 OZM 3 (USSR); 10 OZM 4 (USSR); 23 OZM 72 (USSR);
264 PMN (USSR); 6 PMN 2 (USSR); 30 POMZ-2M (USSR); 42 TM-46 (USSR); 70 TM-57
(USSR); 140 TM-62 (USSR); 1 MORSAD 3 (unknown origin). Many of the mines listed
appear to be antivehicle mines (M-19, TC-2, TC-6, MK-7, TM-46, TM-57,
TM-62).
[26]Survey Action Center (SAC),
“Landmine Impact Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[27 ]Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2005.
[28 ]Statement by Afghanistan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 22 June 2004; Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2005.
Interview with Abdul Haq, DDP, Kabul, 16 April 2005.
[29]Information provided by
Patrick Fruchet, External Relations Officer, UNMACA, Kabul, 17 April 2005.
[30 ]Statement by Afghanistan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 13 June 2005.
[31 ]Information provided by
Patrick Fruchet, UNMACA, 17 April 2005.
[32 ]Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2005.
[33 ]Afghanistan National
Television roundtable, with participation of Masoom Stanekzai, Presidential
Advisor on Military Affairs, 26 June 2005.
[34 ]During 2004, 101 former
combatants were trained in Kuduz, 124 in Paghman district of Kabul Province, 113
in Parwan, 190 in Balkh and 240 in Kandahar province. The training and
employing process of former combatants continued in 2005. Mine Action for
Peace report, December 2004.
[35]Landmine Monitor interview
with Engineer Yakub, Coordinator, Mine Action for Peace (MAP) project, Kabul, 28
April 2005.
[36 ]Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2005.
[37 ]MAPA, Fact Sheet, April
2005; Afghanistan sections, UN Mine Action Portfolio 2004 and UN Mine Action
Portfolio 2005.
[38]Interview with Patrick
Fruchet, UNMACA, Kabul, 18 April 2005.
[39]Interview with Engineer
Mohammad Yusuf, Deputy Director, META, Kabul, 5 April 2005.
[40 ]MAPA Strategic Plan for
2003. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 75.
[41 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Patrick Fruchet, UNMACA, Kabul, 17 April 2005. These figures
differ somewhat from those in the tables below. The explanation given to the
Landmine Monitor researcher by UNMACA is that NGOs may issue their data before
they receive confirmation from UN Area Mine Action Centers.
[42 ]MAPA, “National
Operational Work Plan 2005-06.”
[43 ]MAPA, “National
Operational Work Plan 2005-06.”
[44 ]MCPA, “Socio-Economic
Impact Study,” Kabul, 1999; UNDP/World Bank, “Study of the
Socio-economic Impact of Mine Action in Afghanistan,” Kabul, revised draft
report, June 2001.
[45 ]UNDP/World Bank,
“Study of the Socio-economic Impact of Mine Action in Afghanistan,”
Kabul, revised draft report, June 2001.
[46 ]Email from Patrick Fruchet,
UNMACA, 27 September 2005.
[47]Email from Roger Fasth,
Operation Manager, Danish Demining Group, 29 September 2005.
[48 ]UNMACA/IMSMA information
received from Patrick Fruchet, UNMACA, April 2005.
[49]Information provided by
Management Information System section, UNMACA, 29 March 2005.
[50 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Amir Mohammad, Operations Coordinator, MCPA, 24 April 2005.
[51 ]Interview with Abdul
Ghaffar, Management Information System manager, UNMACA, Kabul, 18 July 2005.
[52]Email from Patrick Fruchet,
UNMACA, 26 September 2005;
[53 ]Information provided by
Management Information System section, UNMACA, 31 May 2005.
[54 ]SAC, “Landmine Impact
Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[55 ]Information provided by Mike
Kendellen, Director for Survey, SAC, Geneva, 19 September 2005.
[56 ]SAC, “Landmine Impact
Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[57 ]SAC, “Landmine Impact
Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[58 ]Information provided by Mike
Kendellen, SAC, in Geneva, 19 September 2005.
[59 ]SAC, “Landmine Impact
Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[60]SAC, “Landmine Impact
Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[61 ]SAC, “Landmine Impact
Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[62]MAPA, “National
Operational Work Plan 2005-06.”
[63 ]Email from Patrick Fruchet,
UNMACA, 26 September 2005; response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Patrick
Fruchet, UNMACA, 17 April 2005.
[64 ]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 75-76.
[65]Email from Patrick Fruchet,
UNMACA, 26 September 2005; response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Patrick
Fruchet, UNMACA, 17 April 2005. Organizations: Agency for Rehabilitation and
Energy Conservation in Afghanistan (AREA), Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC),
Demining Agency For Afghanistan (DAFA), Danish Demining Group (DDG), HALO Trust,
Mine Detection and Dog Center (MDC), HALO, Mine Detection and Dog Centre,
Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR), Mine Clearance
and Planning Agency (MCPA) and the Community Based Mine Clearance Program
(CBMCP) implemented AREA.
[66]Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Patrick Fruchet, UNMACA, 17 April 2005. Some organizations
reported on clearance in January 2005; others reported for January-March
2005.
[67 ]Email from Abdul Shakoor
Yusufi, CBMAP/AREA Manager, May 2005. For details of all demining organizations
and activities 1999-2003, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 77-80.
[68 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Mine Action Questionnaire by Shoaib Khaksar, Operations Officer, and Farid Elmi,
Deputy Director, ATC, 20 April 2005 and January 2004; Article 7 Report, Form G,
30 April 2005.
[69]Response to Landmine Monitor
Mine Action Questionnaire by Shoaib Khaksar and Farid Elmi, ATC, 20 April 2005;
see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 77.
[70 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Mine Action Questionnaire by DAFA, 13 April 2005.
[71 ]Email from Roger Fasth,
Operation Manager, DDG, 29 September 2005.
[72 ]Email from Roger Fasth, DDG,
29 September 2005.
[73 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Mine Action Questionnaire by A. Hakim Noorzai, Senior Operations Manager, DDG,
24 April 2005; email from Roger Fasth, Operation Manager, DDG, 29 September
2005.
[74 ]Email from Andrew Lyons,
Senior Operations Officer-Afghanistan, HALO, 11 October 2005. HALO activities
are reported in the earlier section, Survey and Assessment.
[75 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Mine Action Questionnaire by Shah Wali Ayubi, Operations Coordinator, MDC, 24
April 2005. Mine dog groups are used for clearance purposes, whereas mine dog
sets are used for survey activities.
[76 ]Response to Landmine Monitor
Mine Action Questionnaire by Zekria Payab, Deputy Operations, OMAR, 23 April
2005.
[77 ]Responses to Landmine
Monitor Mine Action Questionnaire completed by the relevant organizations, April
2005.
[78 ]Interview with Mohammad
Sediq Rashid, Operations Officer, and Ahmad Zaie, Assistant Operations Manager,
UNMACA, Kabul, 20 July 2005.
[79]Interview with Noorul Haq,
Deputy Director, MCPA, Kabul, 20 June 2005.
[80 ]Article 7 Report, Form I, 30
April 2005.
[81 ]Article 7 Report, Form I, 30
April 2005.
[82]Information provided by
Susan Helseth, MRE Coordinator, UNMACA, 25 May 2005.
[83]Landmine Monitor interview
with Sameem Hashemi, MRE Programme Manager, META, Kabul, 27 June 2005. The
translations were finalized at a meeting convened by META at the end of June
2005.
[84 ]Email from Abdul Shakoor
Yusufi, Manager, CBMAP/AREA, 27 April 2005.
[85 ]MAPA, “MAPA 2003
Annual Report,” Draft report, June 2004.
[86]MAPA “Mine Action
Program for Afghanistan Strategic Plan 2003–2012,”
www.reliefweb.int.
[87]Data from UNMACA database,
supplemented by data direct from demining NGOs; ICRC, “Afghanistan Mine
Action Program, Annual Report (January–December 2004),” 7 February
2005.
[88 ]SAC, “Landmine Impact
Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[89 ]Landmine Monitor interview
with Najibullah Nassery, UNICEF MRE consultant, Kabul, 27 June 2005; interview
with Sameem Hashemi, META, Kabul, 27 June 2005.
[90 ]Email from Abdul Shakoor
Yusufi, CBMAP/AREA, May 2005.
[91 ]Email from Aldo Alderson,
EOD Technical Advisor, HI, 7 April 2005; HI, “Community-based Mine Action
Program (CBMAP) Annual report 1st April 2004-31st March 2005,” p. 3.
[92 ]Email from Aldo Alderson,
HI, 7 April 2005; HI, “Community-based Mine Action Program (CBMAP) Annual
report 1st April 2004-31st March 2005,” p. 3.
[93]HI “Community-based
Mine Action Program (CBMAP) Annual report 1st April 2004 -1st March 2005”
p. 3.
[94 ]ICRC, “ICRC
Afghanistan Mine Action Program, Annual Report (January-December 2004),” 7
February 2005.
[95 ]ICRC, “ICRC Special
Report/ Mine Action 2004,” Geneva, 2005, p. 24.
[96]ICRC, “ICRC
Afghanistan Mine Action Program, Annual Report (January-December 2004),” 7
February 2005.
[97]Response to Landmine Monitor
MRE Questionnaire by Zekria Payab, Deputy Operations, OMAR, 20 April 2005; Chris
Horwood, “MRE Paper, UNICEF Capacity Strengthening: Strengthening
Monitoring and Evaluation capacities in MRE in Afghanistan, Initial
Mission,” Kabul, June 2002, p. 2.
[98 ]Interview with Naqibullah
Bayan, Editor, Media for Reconstruction, BBC Afghan Education Project, Kabul, 26
April 2005.
[99 ]Email from Pia Cantini,
Intersos, Rome, 16 July 2005.
[100 ]ATC, “An
Introduction to Afghan Technical Consultants: The Premier Humanitarian Mine/UXO
clearance NGO in Afghanistan,” Kabul, March 2004, p. 16; information
provided by Engineer Zabiullah, MCPA, 18 January 2004; HALO, “HALO
Portfolio of Humanitarian Mine Clearance & Small Arms Light Weapons
Destruction Projects 2004,” Dumfries, November 2003, p. 9.
[101 ]Chris Horwood,
“UNICEF Capacity Strengthening: Strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation
capacities in MRE in Afghanistan. Initial Mission,” Kabul, June 2002.
[102 ]Article 7 Report, Form I,
30 April 2005.
[103]Interview with Smeem
Hashemi, MRE Manager, META, Kabul, 27 June 2005.
[104 ]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 83-85
[105]Average exchange rates
for 2004: US$1= C$1.3017, US$1 = DKK5.989, €1 = US$1.2438, US$1 =
NOK6.7399, US$1 = SK29, US$1 = SEK7.438, £1 = US$1.83, ¥108.15 = US$1
used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates
(Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[106]Article 7 Report, Form J,
27 April 2005; email from Norbert Hack, Minister, Department of Disarmament,
Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1 August
2005.
[107]Article 7 Report, Form J,
2 May 2005.
[108]Mine Action Investments
database; emails from Elvan Isikozlu, Mine Action Team, Foreign Affairs Canada,
June-August 2005.
[109]Mine Action Investments
database; email from Hanne Elmelund Gam, Department of Humanitarian & NGO
Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 July 2005.
[110]EC, “Contribution
to the Landmine Monitor 2005,” by email from Nicola Marcel, RELEX Unit 3a
Security Policy, EC, 19 July 2005.
[111]Mine Action Investments
database; email from Teemu Sepponen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 13 July
2005.
[112]Emails from Amb. Gerard
Chesnel, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 30 June 2005, and from Anne Villeneuve,
HI, July-August 2005.
[113]Article 7 Report, Form J,
15 April 2005; email from Dirk Roland Haupt, Federal Foreign Office, Division
241, 25 July 2005.
[114]Article 7 Report, Form J,
14 June 2005; email from Department of Foreign Affairs, 4 August 2005 via Tony
D’Costa, Pax Christi Ireland.
[115]Mine Action Investments
database; email from Manfredo Capozza, Humanitarian Demining Adviser, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, June-July 2005.
[116]Email from Kitagawa Yasu,
Japanese International Campaign to Ban Landmines (JCBL), 10 August 2005, with
translation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs information sent to JCBL on 11 May
2005.
[117]Email from Freek Keppels,
Arms Control and Arms Export Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4
August 2005.
[118]Article 7 Report, Form J,
28 April 2005; emails from May-Elin Stener, Section for Humanitarian Affairs,
Department for Global Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April-May 2005.
[119]Email from Henrik Markus,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 17 August 2005.
[120]“Spanish
Contribution to Mine Action (2004),” document sent by Luis Gómez
Noguiera, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Landmine Monitor (MAC), 27 September
2005.
[121]Letter from Alf Eliasson,
SIDA,23 March 2005.
[122 ]Mine Action Investments
database; email from Janine Voigt, Diplomatic Collaborator, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 1 July 2005. Rate of exchange for 2004 according to fixed rate
specified by donor: US$1 = CHF1.35.
[123]Email from Andrew
Willson, Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department, Department for
International Development, 1 July 2005; email from Debbie Clements, Directorate
of Joint Commitments, Ministry of Defence, 10 August 2005;
[124 ]Email from H. Murphey
McCloy, Senior Demining Advisor, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US
Department of State, 30 September 2005. The Department of State funding was
allocated as follows: $4,376,527 to RONCO, DAFA and MCPA; $1,522,283 to MDC for
clearance; $2,643,710 to DAFA for clearance; $2,157,480 to MCPA for survey;
$1,085,000 to HALO for clearance; $617,467 to UNICEF for MRE; $201,407 to
Cranfield University for training.
[125 ]UNDP, “Funding
Update by Donors,” http://www.undp.org,
accessed 22 August 2005. This amount is included in Landmine Monitor estimate
of total funding. UNDP also reported receiving almost $21 million from the US;
this is assumed to be the funds which USAID donated to UNDP for demining.
[126 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Patrick Fruchet, UNMACA, 17 April 2005. UNMACA
previously reported funding on a January-December basis. See Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, pp. 83-85. The Afghan Calendar Year and Fiscal Year run
21 March–20 March, the UNMACA financial reporting period is April to
March.
[127 ]Information provided by
Patrick Fruchet, UNMACA, Kabul, 18 April 2005; email from Patrick Fruchet, 19
September 2005. UNMACA reported funding in US$.
[128 ]MAPA Strategic Plan for
2003; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 83.
[129 ]SAC, “Landmine
Impact Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[130 ]Statement by Afghanistan,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 13 June 2005.
[131 ]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Chikako Kodama, External Relations, UNMACA, 18 August 2005.
[132 ]Unless otherwise noted,
all 2004 and 2005 casualty data is from ICRC Mine Action Program (MAP),
“Semi-Annual Report (January-June 2005),” 21 July 2005, and Annex to
ICRC Afghanistan Mine Action program (MAP), “Semi-Annual Report
(January-June 2005),” provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from
Zamanuddin Noori, ICRC, Kabul, 22 August 2005. ICRC data differs from UNMACA
data, but this is likely due to timing differences in updating data.
[133 ]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Chikako Kodama, External Relations, UNMACA, 18 August 2005.
Landmine Monitor Report 2004 reported 846 new mine/UXO casualties in
2003; however, the UNMACA and ICRC databases are being continually updated as
information of recent casualties and information on casualties from prior
periods becomes available.
[134 ]For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 86.
[135 ]Survey Action Center
(SAC), “Landmine Impact Survey Report Afghanistan,” 25 May 2005.
[136 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire, Aldo Alderson, EOD Technical Advisor, HI, 7 April
2005.
[137 ]ICRC Afghanistan MAP,
“Annual Report (January-December 2004),” 5 February 2005; for
organizations involved in data-gathering, see Landmine Monitor Report
2004, pp. 86-87.
[138]ICRC Afghanistan MAP,
“Annual Report (January-December 2004),” 5 February 2005; see also
ICRC Special Report, “Mine Action 2004,” Geneva, June 2005, p.
23.
[139 ]Data on mine casualties
provided to Landmine Monitor (HI) in email from Olivier Moeckli, ICRC
Communication delegate, 12 May 2005. The ICRC reports 14 deminers injured in
2004; however, ATC reports that one of their deminers died after a mine
accident. For more details, see also Mine Action section of this
report.
[140 ]Abdul Baseer Saeed,
“Government to Take Over Mine Clearance,” Institute for War and
Peace Reporting, ARR No. 161, 10 February 2005, www.iwpr.net/index.
[141 ]Data on mine casualties
provided to Landmine Monitor (HI) in email from Olivier Moeckli, ICRC
Communication delegate, 12 May 2005.
[142 ]“Zimbabweans killed
in landmine explosion,” Reuters (Harare), 18 July 2005.
[143 ]“US soldier injured
in east Afghanistan,” Xinhua, 18 February 2004; Radio Liberty
Praha, Kabul, 13 February 2004; “GI Killed By Mine In Afghanistan,”
Associated Press, 14 February 2004.
[144 ]Stephen Graham,
“Three U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan,” Associated Press
(Afghanistan), 8 March 2004; “US troops kill three, arrest 13 Taliban
after firefight in Afghanistan,” Agence France-Presse
(Afghanistan), 15 March 2004.
[145 ]“Three soldiers
killed in Afghanistan when vehicle hits land mine,” in The Military:
Casualty Report, www.diversityinbusiness.com.
[146 ]Caryle Murphy,
“Navy SEAL Dies in Afghanistan; Virginia Beach-Based Veteran Among 4
Killed in Blast,” Washington Post, 1 June 2004; “Two French
peacekeepers injured by landmine in Afghanistan,” Agence France-Presse
(Afghanistan), 29 June 2004.
[147 ]“Montana soldier
loses part of foot in Afghanistan,” Associated Press, 11 July
2004.
[148 ]“W.Va native
injured in Afghanistan,” Associated Press, 17 August 2004.
[149 ]“Two US soldiers
killed in Afghanistan,” Agence France-Presse (Kabul), 16 October
2004.
[150]Landmine Monitor analysis
of data on mine casualties provided to Landmine Monitor (HI) in email from
Olivier Moeckli, ICRC Communication delegate, 12 May 2005.
[151 ]“US soldier, five
Afghans die in Afghan landmine blasts,” Agence France-Presse
(Kabul), 16 March 2005; Daily Outlook Afghanistan (English newspaper,
Kabul), Vol. No. 17, 27 March 2005.
[152 ]“Soldier loses left
foot after mine explosion in Afghanistan,” Associated Press
(Anchorage), 15 April 2005; “National Guard soldier injured in
Afghanistan,” Associated Press (Winchester), 18 April 2005.
[153 ]“Romanian patrols
halted,” Agence France-Presse (Romania), 26 April 2005.
[154 ]“Six killed in
Afghanistan blasts,” Daily Times (Pakistan), 21 July 2005,
www.dailytimes.com.pk.
[155]Landmine Monitor analysis
of data on mine casualties provided to Landmine Monitor (HI) in email from
Olivier Moeckli, ICRC Communication delegate, 12 May 2005.
[156 ]Article 7 Report, Form J,
30 April 2005.
[157 ]Interview with Noor Ahmad
Nazary, President of Planning, Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled, Kabul, 10 April
2005; information provided by Noor Ahmad Nazari, 16 February 2004.
[158 ]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Chikako Kodama, External Relations, UNMACA, 18 August 2005.
[159]Final Draft,
“Landmine Impact Survey Report: Afghanistan,” Survey Action Center,
Washington, provided by Mike Kendellen, Director for Survey, SAC, 27 July 2005.
The term “recent” relates to an incident within the two years
preceding the survey (November 2003-November 2004). An LIS only captures
casualties recorded in the two years before the visit of a survey team to a
particular mine-affected community.
[160 ]United Nations,
“Final Report, First Review Conference of the States Parties to the
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer
of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction,” Nairobi, 29 November-3
December 2004, APLC/CONF/2004/5, 9 February 2005, p. 33.
[161 ]Article 7 Report, Form J,
30 April 2005.
[162 ]Government of
Afghanistan, “Mine Action in Afghanistan: The Way Ahead,” Working
Draft, April 2005, p. 6.
[163 ]Final Draft,
“Landmine Impact Survey Report: Afghanistan,” Survey Action Center,
Washington, provided by Mike Kendellen, SAC, 27 July 2005; see also Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, p. 89.
[164 ]Article 7 Report, Form J,
30 April 2005.
[165 ]ICRC Special Report,
“Annual Report 2003,” August 2004, pp. 29-30.
[166 ]Statement by Rahul
Chandran, Director, CDAP, to Asia-Pacific Landmine Monitor Researchers’
Meeting, Kabul, 27 March 2004.
[167 ]“Geographical
coverage of the Disability services in Afghanistan,” provided by Sarah
Dyer, Program Manager, UNDP/National Program for Action on Disability, Kabul, 5
May 2005.
[168 ]Final Draft,
“Landmine Impact Survey Report: Afghanistan,” Survey Action Center,
Washington, provided by Mike Kendellen, Director for Survey, Survey Action
Center, 27 July 2005. The term “some form of emergency medical
care” does not imply that there was an equipped health facility in close
proximity to the mine incident.
[169 ]For full details of
organizations and activities see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 89-96.
The current report is limited to changes since the previous report.
[170 ]Interview with Dr. Atiq
Shamin, Head Doctor, Armed Forces Academy of Medical Sciences, and observations
of Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research Coordinator, Kabul, 25 March
2004.
[171 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Ms. Saleha, Head of Statistics Department, Indira
Gandhi Child Health Institute, April 2005.
[172 ]Interview with Dr.
Zobaida, Deputy Director, Indira Ghandhi Child Health Institute, by Landmine
Monitor Victim Assistance Research Coordinator, Kabul, 23 March 2004.
[173]ICRC Physical
Rehabilitation Program, “Annual Report 2004,” July 2005, p. 23.
[174]Interview with Dr.
Mahmood Shah Darwish, Director, Paraplegic Hospital, Kabul, and response to
Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Head of Nursing Section, 18 April 2005.
[175 ]Interview with Dr. Abdul
Baseer, Executive Director, Afghan Amputee Bicyclists for Rehabilitation and
Recreation, Kabul, 30 March 2004.
[176 ]ICRC, “Annual
Report 2004,” p. 146.
[177]“MSF pulls out of
Afghanistan,” MSF, Kabul, 28 July 2004.
[178 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Alessandro Greblo, Desk Officer Afghanistan, Emergency,
Milan, 11 August 2005; interview with Dr. Mauro Dalla Torro, Surgeon, Emergency,
Kabul, 23 March 2004.
[179 ]Presentation by Dr.
Assaddullah Reha, Director, Mobile Emergency Medical Center, Standing Committee
on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 16 June 2005.
[180]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 89-96.
[181]CDAP, “Annual
Report 2004,” AFG/00/0018; for more details, see Disability Policy and
Practice section of this report. See also Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 92.
[182 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Alberto Cairo, Head of Orthopedic Program, ICRC, 29
April 2005; ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Program, “Annual Report
2004,” July 2005, pp. 23-24, 44; ICRC, “Annual Report 2004,”
Geneva, June 2005, p. 146; information sheet, “The ICRC Orthopedic Project
in Afghanistan,” provided to Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research
Coordinator, Kabul, 10 May 2005.
[183 ]ICRC, “Annual
Report 2004,” June 2005, p. 22; information sheet, “The ICRC
Orthopedic Project in Afghanistan,” provided to Landmine Monitor Victim
Assistance Research Coordinator, Kabul, 10 May 2005; see also Standing Tall
Australia and Mines Action Canada, “101 Great Ideas for the Socio-Economic
Reintegration of Mine Survivors,” June 2005, p. 11.
[184]Interview with Anne
Hertzberg, RAD Program Senior Technical Advisor, Swedish Committee for
Afghanistan, by Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research Coordinator, Kabul,
8 May 2005; “Description of RAD - Rehabilitation of Afghans with
Disabilities Program,” sent in email to Landmine Monitor (HI) by Anne
Hertzberg, SCA, 22 May 2005.
[185 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Fiona Gall, Project Consultant, SGAA, 20 May 2005;
“SGAA Activities in 2004,” www.sandygallsafghanistanappeal.org.
[186 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Makai Siawash, Director of Organization, KOO, 9 April
2005.
[187 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Aldo Alderson, EOD Technical Advisor, HI, 7 April 2005;
HI, “Community-based Mine Action Program (CBMAP) Annual report 1st April
2004-31st March 2005,” p. 3.
[188 ]CDAP, “Annual
Report 2004,” AFG/00/0018, Appendix 2; see also Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 94.
[189 ]CDAP, “Annual
Report 2004,” AFG/00/0018, Appendix 3 and 4; see also Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 94.
[190 ]Interview with Dr.
Noorulhaq Rokai, Head of Technical Orthopedic Center, Kabul, 12 April 2005.
[191]CDAP, “Annual
Report 2004,” AFG/00/0018, Appendix 6; “PARSA in Kabul,”
PARSA, Newsletter, Number 26, Spring 2004, p. 5.
[192 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Masato Tabe, Program Manager, AAR, 31 May 2005.
[193]Interview with Aziz
Ahmad Adel, Director, PTI, Kabul, 11 April 2005.
[194]Interview with Mr.
Khorana, Team Leader/Project Coordinator, and Nathu Singh, Technical Supervisor,
Jaipur Team, Kabul, April 2005; response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by
Mahendra Gafurchand Mehta, Trustee, Help Handicapped International, Mumbai, 20
August 2004.
[195 ]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Munirudeen, Administrator, AABRAR, 16 April 2005; see
also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 95; “101 Great Ideas for the
Socio-Economic Reintegration of Mine Survivors,” June 2005, pp. 6-9.
[196]Interview with Dr. Abdul
Baseer, Director, AABRAR, by Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research
Coordinator, Kabul, 8 May 2005.
[197]For more information see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 95.
[198]CDAP, “Annual
Report 2004,” AFG/00/0018, Appendix 1.
[199 ]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Vicki Robb, International Programs Director, Life for Relief and
Development, USA, 3 August 2005.
[200]Emails to Landmine
Monitor (HI) from Omara Khan, Director, Afghan Disabled Union, 8 July 2004, 12
May and 30 May 2005.
[201]Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Department of Planning, Ministry of Martyr and
Disabled, 10 April 2005; information provided by Noor Ahmad Nazari, Head of
Planning Department, Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled, 16 February 2004.
[202]CDAP, “Annual
Report 2004,” AFG/00/0018, pp. 7-8; UNDP, “National Program for
Action on Disability - NPAD,” March 2005, p. 7.
[203]UNDP, “National
Program for Action on Disability - NPAD,” March 2005, p. 1; interview with
Sarah Dyer, Program Manager, UNDP/NPAD, Kabul, 5 May 2005.
[204 ]UNDP, “National
Program for Action on Disability – NPAD,” March 2005, pp. 7, 26; for
more details, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 96-97.
[205 ]“National
Disability Survey in Afghanistan: Preliminary Trends,” April 2005,
provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HI) by Jean-François Trani, HI, 26
July 2005.
[206 ]CDAP, “Annual
Report 2004,” AFG/00/0018, pp. 17-18.
[207 ]Presentation by Dr. M
Haider Reza, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Standing Committee on Victim
Assistance and Socio-economic Reintegration, Geneva, 23 June 2004.
[208 ]Constitution of
Afghanistan, Year 1382 (2004), Article Fifty-Three, Ch. 2, Art. 31.
[209 ]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 96.
[210 ]UNDP, “National
Program for Action on Disability – NPAD,” March 2005, p. 6.
[211]Interviews with
Jean-François Trani, HI, and Dr. Abdul Baseer, AABRAR, Kabul, 30 March
2004.