Key developments since May 2004: As of May 2005, the DRC was still
unable to report on the number and types of antipersonnel mines stockpiled in
the country. Its deadline for completion of stockpile destruction is 1 November
2006. Some antipersonnel mines from former opposition forces are being
destroyed as part of the demobilization process, and some Army-held mines have
also been destroyed. Landmine Monitor has not received any serious allegations
or reports of use of antipersonnel mines by non-state armed groups since June
2004. By 16 June 2005, 828 dangerous areas had been registered by the UN Mine
Action Coordination Center in Kinshasa. An advance mission for a national
landmine impact survey was conducted in March 2005; another advance assessment,
in 2004, led to a survey in one province starting in April 2005. DRC’s
Article 7 report for 2004 did not report any mine clearance conducted during the
year. However, several NGOs reported data on clearance activities in 2004-2005,
as well as mine risk education programs. Over US$4.4 million was donated for
mine action in the DRC in 2004. A significant decrease in mine/UXO casualties
was recorded in 2004. At the First Review Conference, the DRC was identified as
one of 24 States Parties with the greatest needs and responsibility to provide
adequate survivor assistance.
Mine Ban Policy
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 2
May 2002 and the treaty entered into force for the country on 1 November
2002.
In February 2002, a commission was created within the Ministry of Justice to
prepare national legislation to implement the Mine Ban
Treaty.[1] In June 2004, the DRC
reported that the text of the law had been approved by the relevant
ministries.[2] In May 2005, it
reported that the text had been approved by the Presidency and sent to the
governmental Commission on Politics, Defense, and Security for submission to the
Council of Ministers.[3] The DRC has
cited some existing implementation measures, including a 15 March 2003 directive
from the Minister of Defense regarding cessation of use of antipersonnel mines
by military forces.[4]
A National Commission to Fight Antipersonnel Mines was created on 6 May
2002.[5] A member of the commission
and a Foreign Ministry official both expressed concerns to Landmine Monitor in
2005 that the commission has insufficient means to function
properly.[6] The DRC reported in May
2005 that experts in the Cabinet of the Head of State had been designated to be
in charge of the landmine issue.[7]
The DRC submitted its third Article 7 report on 2 May 2005 for calendar year
2004, including a voluntary Form
J.[8]
The Vice-President of the DRC, Z'Ahidi Ngoma, led the country’s
delegation to the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Nairobi in
November-December 2004. In a statement to the high level segment, Ngoma said,
“The decision to join the treaty, in 2002, at a sorrowful time in our
history, is a strong indication of our will to permanently ban the use of this
weapon. Despite a context that remains difficult, that is our Transition toward
democracy...we are here to assure you of the determination of the Government of
National Union to meet its obligations according to the
Convention.”[9]
The DRC participated in a regional conference on landmines held in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia on 17 September 2004, and also attended a workshop on mine
victim assistance held in Nairobi from 31 May to 2 June 2005. The DRC was
absent from the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2005 in
Geneva. The DRC was also absent from the 3 December 2004 vote on UN General
Assembly Resolution 59/84 supporting universalization and implementation of the
Mine Ban Treaty; it has been absent from the vote on similar resolutions every
year since 2000.
The DRC is a signatory to the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control
and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region of the
Horn of Africa. The protocol includes mines in the definition of small
arms.[10] As of September 2005, the
DRC had not ratified the protocol. The DRC participated in the First Summit of
Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on Peace,
Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region, held in
Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, 19-20 November 2004. In the declaration it committed
itself to “promote common policies to put an end to the proliferation of
illicit small arms and light weapons, as well as antipersonnel mines and...
ensure the implementation of existing agreements and
mechanisms.”[11] At the First
Meeting of the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee (RIMC), in Kigali on 17-18
February 2005, the DRC and other RIMC members agreed that the proliferation and
circulation of illicit small arms and light weapons, including antipersonnel
mines, is a priority for peace and
security.[12]
The Congolese Campaign to Ban Landmines, established March 2002, participated
in the First Review Conference in Nairobi, and conducted several public
awareness events in 2004 and 2005. The Church of Christ in Congo, with support
from DanChurchAid and the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, organized a
national colloquium on antipersonnel mines in Kinshasa from 2-7 March 2005.
Non-State Armed Groups
Landmine Monitor is not aware of any non-state armed groups in the DRC that
have committed to a prohibition on antipersonnel mines. In May 2002, a
representative of the armed opposition group Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma
(RCD-Goma) said, “We adhere to the principles of the Mine Ban Treaty and
we are going to try to respect it in the best way we
can.”[13] However, there were
credible allegations of continued antipersonnel mine use by RCD-Goma in joint
combat operations with the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and Hema militias
until at least March 2003.[14]
Production and Transfer
The DRC is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. In
the past, both the government and rebels have acquired mines from a variety of
sources.[15]
In July 2003, an arms embargo was imposed by the UN Security Council on the
Ituri district and the provinces of North and South Kivu. In a January 2005
report, the UN Group of Experts monitoring the arms embargo said it was
investigating several apparent cases of weapons, including landmines, being
delivered to Ituri through Uganda in violation of Security Council resolution
1552 (2004). The report said, “For example, a former FAPC/UCPD soldier
who had recently been demobilized informed the Group that arms had been supplied
to the FAPC/UCPD camp in Mahagi from the Arua UPDF [Uganda People’s
Defence Forces] military camp. This soldier, who was responsible for the
logistics of the operation, noted that the arms comprised 26 82-mm mortar
shells, 10 mines and 22 cases of ammunition for AK-47s. The description of the
arms was also confirmed by MONUC [United Nations Mission in the Democratic
Republic of Congo] in
Mahagi.”[16] The report did
not specify if the mines were antipersonnel or antivehicle. The government of
Uganda has strongly denied the allegations contained in the report. (See the
Uganda report in this edition of Landmine Monitor.)
According to a July 2005 report by Amnesty International, Rwanda supplied
weapons, including landmines, to
RCD-Goma.[17] Rwanda has denied the
allegation.[18] Landmine Monitor
cited many allegations in 2003 and 2004 that Rwanda provided weapons, including
antipersonnel mines, directly to the Union of Congolese Patriots, and indirectly
through RCD-Goma.[19] Rwanda is
also accused of having supported the insurgent Colonel Jules Mutebutsi, who
allegedly used mines in his takeover of Bukavu near the Rwandan border in
May-June 2004. (See below). Rwanda denies any
involvement.[20]
Stockpiling and Destruction
The DRC’s treaty-mandated deadline for completion of antipersonnel mine
stockpile destruction is 1 November 2006. In May 2005, the DRC reported that an
inventory of antipersonnel mines stockpiled by its Armed Forces was ongoing and
that it expects to be able to provide a total stockpile number in its next
transparency report, due 30 April
2006.[21] The only mines recorded
thus far were seven Z1 Claymore-type directional fragmentation
mines.[22] The DRC noted that the
nature of the conflicts taking place on Congolese territory and the diversity of
the belligerents complicates the identification of uncontrolled stockpiles that
could still be held by armed
groups.[23] The serious
difficulties that the DRC has had in identifying and reporting on its stockpile
of antipersonnel mines were detailed in Landmine Monitor Report
2004.[24]
The NGO Handicap International (HI) reported that on 3 December 2004 the
Army’s 9th Division handed over about 100 antipersonnel mines in Kandangba
for destruction.[25] HI destroyed
additional mines received from the same division in
2005.[26]
Some antipersonnel mines are being destroyed as part of the Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process. The DRC reported that a total
of 128 antipersonnel mines received from militias were destroyed at the end of
2004. On 29 November 2004, the MONUC-contracted South African company Mechem
destroyed 120 mines that had been turned in by militias in Kwandroma, Ituri
district, Oriental Province.[27] On
3 December 2004, seven Z1 mines were destroyed in
Kinshasa.[28] On 4 December 2004, a
TS-50 antipersonnel mine turned in by a militia group was destroyed in Kasenyi,
Ituri District, Oriental
Province.[29] In June 2005, the UN
reported that Mechem had destroyed thousands of mines and items of ordnance as
part of DDR activities.[30]
According to the Coordinator of the Training Center for Community Development
(Centre de Formation pour le Développement Communautaire, CEFODECO) in
Ituri, the Front Nationaliste et Integrationniste (FRPI) handed over its
stockpiled mines to MONUC in December 2004, and the former rebel group Forces
Armées du Peuple Congolais turned in its stockpiled mines to MONUC in
March 2005 as part of the demobilization
process.[31]
Use
Landmine Monitor has not received any serious allegations or reports of use
of antipersonnel mines by non-state armed groups since June 2004. A number of
rebel groups have used antipersonnel mines in the past, including the Congolese
Rally for Democracy (RCD).[32]
In June 2004, the Army accused the insurgent troops of Colonel Jules
Mutebutsi and General Laurent Nkunda, both former RCD rebel leaders and
reportedly backed by Rwanda, of new mine use when their forces took the town of
Bukavu, in South Kivu, close to the border with Rwanda, at the end of May and
beginning of June 2004.[33] When
the Army expelled the insurgents, they fled to Kamanyola, a town some 40
kilometers south of Bukavu, where they reportedly mined the
road.[34] A MONUC demining team was
shot at while on a mine presence verification mission in Kamanyola on 20 June
2004.[35]
Landmine Monitor has not received any allegations of use of antipersonnel
mines by government forces in the past four
years.[36]
Landmine/ERW Problem
The landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) problem in the DRC is the
result of armed conflict since 1996. The UN Mine Action Coordination Center
(UNMACC) stated that “mine warfare has been a feature of conflict in the
country. It appears certain that most of the belligerents, including
international allies, have laid mines extensively, especially along the
successive confrontation lines. In addition, unexploded ordnance (UXO) is
scattered in many places where fighting took
place.”[37]
According to the Survey Action Center (SAC), “The landmine problem in
the DRC extends diagonally from the northwest corner of Equateur province across
the center of country through Kasai, generally following the frontline from the
1994-2002 conflict, to the southeast in Katanga province and then north along
Lake Tanganyika up to Ituri district along the border with
Uganda.”[38] The exact scope
and nature of the problem, however, remain unknown since gathering information
on mine contamination in the DRC has remained very
difficult.[39]
According to the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC (MONUC) and HI, the UXO
problem is more widespread than the landmine
problem.[40] There are also reports
of abandoned stockpiles of weapons and
ammunition.[41]
By 16 June 2005, 828 dangerous areas had been registered by
UNMACC,[42] compared to the 366
reported in the DRC’s 2004 Article 7 report and to the 165 in its initial
2003 report.[43] Of the dangerous
areas registered by UNMACC, 615 are suspected to be mined and 213 contain UXO;
290 dangerous areas are located in Katanga, 193 in Equateur, 111 in Oriental
province, 56 in South Kivu, 46 in North Kivu, 44 in East Kasai, 35 in Maniema,
29 in West Kasai, 15 in Bas-Congo, five in Bandundu, and four in the capital,
Kinshasa. The majority of recorded casualties occurred in Equateur province,
followed by South Kivu, Katanga, North Kivu and Oriental
province.[44]
According to SAC, all mine action stakeholders in the DRC recognize that the
UNMACC database does not provide a complete picture of the overall mine/UXO
problem and cannot be the basis for countrywide analysis or strategic mine
action planning.[45] According to
Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), estimation of the impact of
landmines/ERW upon the population is difficult because areas in the southeast
have been isolated for the last three years, largely due to the ERW threat.
NGOs have often reported the difficulties encountered when attempting to access
remote areas of DRC. In some areas the very limited infrastructure is either
blocked, or is believed to be blocked, by
ERW.[46]
Mine Action Program
The National Commission to Fight Antipersonnel Mines was created on 6 May
2002, with responsibility for coordinating mine action at the governmental
level, developing a mine action plan, writing Article 7 transparency reports,
promoting the Mine Ban Treaty, mobilizing international assistance and
expertise, and educating the public on the danger of
mines.[47] As of July 2005, the
National Commission included representatives of the ministries of defense and
national security, health, justice, interior, social affairs, the National
Information Agency, parliamentary defense and security committee, and local
humanitarian NGOs.[48] DRC’s
Article 7 report submitted in May 2005 stated that a national mine action plan
was being developed in 2004 and would be presented to the treaty intersessional
meetings in June 2005; no such mine action plan was
presented.[49]
The UN Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMACC) has had de facto
responsibility for planning, management and oversight of all mine action
activities. It also carries out all emergency operations in support of MONUC
deployment.[50] In May 2005, the
DRC reported that experts in the Cabinet of the Head of State had been
designated to be in charge of the mine issue, notably the implementation of the
Mine Ban Treaty.[51]
According to the UN, its mine action efforts in the DRC have been focused on
reinforcement of the mine action center in order to provide coordination and
leadership among demining partners, and support to MONUC, through the
supervision of demining of key airports and roads vital for the deployment of
MONUC and the multinational force, most recently in
Bunia.[52]
MONUC was mandated by Security Council Resolution 1291 (2000) to
“deploy mine action experts to assess the scope of the mine and unexploded
ordnance problems, coordinate the initiation of mine action activities, develop
a mine action plan, and carry out emergency mine action activities....”
The Resolution also mandated UNMACC, which was established in Kinshasa in
February 2002 under MONUC auspices. In 2004, MONUC had a mine action liaison
officer in the office of the Deputy Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General.[53] In early
2005, the position was cancelled and the UNMACC Program Manager began reporting
directly to the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in
MONUC.[54]
UNMACC uses the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) for
storage of mine action information. On 16 November 2004, the General Chief of
Staff of the DRC Army provided UNMACC with a list of zones that are mined or
suspected to be mined, which has been entered into the IMSMA database. However,
no report on actual mine-laying
exists.[55]
For 2005, UNMACC’s primary objectives were: to develop and maintain a
reliable mine/UXO information system based on IMSMA; to define and help
implement a landmine impact survey as the key element needed to develop a
national mine-action plan; to implement emergency mine action; to provide mine
action expertise to MONUC, international and national agencies; to assist UNICEF
and other organizations in developing a nationwide mine risk education
campaign.[56]
Survey and Assessment
There has been no nationwide general or landmine impact survey in the DRC.
The country’s size, the inaccessibility of some areas due to natural
conditions such as vegetation and abundant rainfall, poor roads and
communication difficulties, and precarious safety conditions, have prevented
comprehensive and thorough survey
activity.[57] The DRC government,
however, has stressed the urgent need for a national impact survey in order to
develop a realistic and efficient action plan and to set
priorities.[58]
From 7-17 March 2005, SAC conducted an advance survey mission to the DRC at
the request of the US Department of State, which funded it in cooperation with
UNMACC in Kinshasa. UNMACC provided logistical support. Its purpose was to
determine whether a Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) was needed in the country, and
if so, how it could be conducted, and if not, what other alternatives were
possible in order to improve information on the landmine
problem.[59] Based on the
mission’s results, SAC planned to conduct preliminary opinion collection
at the sub-district level in all 11
provinces.[60] This was due to last
for eight months, but the start date was dependent on
funding.[61]
Between March and May 2004, VVAF conducted a survey/assessment advance
mission that examined the prospects for either a modified impact survey or
emergency-style survey. VVAF notes that national authorities and international
relief and development actors encouraged the conduct of such a survey in support
of national elections scheduled for
2005.[62] The survey was delayed
due to funding and logistical
constraints.[63] However, VVAF and
MAG jointly started an Abandoned Ordnance and Hazardous Ordnance Site Survey in
one province in April 2005, funded by the US Department of State, which was
scheduled to be completed in August 2005. By September 2005, VVAF had secured
additional funding from UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to extend this project
into at least one other
province.[64]
Since 2002, NGOs including HI, Mines Advisory Group, DanChurchAid and the
Swiss Foundation for Mine Action have conducted localized
surveys.[65] DanChurchAid conducts
an integrated mine action and HIV/AIDS program for internally displaced persons
and war-affected communities in Tanganyika district in northern Katanga with
funds from Denmark, Germany and DanChurchAid itself. Between 1 April 2004 and
30 March 2005, it surveyed approximately 20,396 square kilometers, registering
136 areas with UXO and 83 areas with
mines.[66]
Commercial companies have also been involved in survey and clearance in the
DRC. A local NGO, Gapic Antimines Center, reported conducting limited survey
activities in Katanga and Maniema provinces from August 2004 to March 2005,
identifying 30 dangerous areas and 156 mine casualties, although it acknowledges
difficulties in the quality of the
work.[67]
Mine and ERW Clearance
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, the DRC must destroy all
antipersonnel mines from mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon
as possible, but not later than 1 November 2012.
For calendar year 2004, the DRC did not report on mine clearance activities
in its annual Article 7
report.[68]
In December 2004, under contract from UNMAS, the Mechem company completed
verification and clearance of the Bunia-Beni road in Ituri district. A total of
600,000 square meters of suspected areas were verified. Mechem conducted
reconnaissance and clearing of sites near Bunia-Beni road in direct support of
the population and humanitarian actors. Mechem also conducted clearance in
support of MONUC on a deployment site and access road at Mbangwalu. It
destroyed “thousands of mines and UXO” in the framework of the DDR
program.[69] Mechem uses
steel-wheeled vehicles, mine detection dogs and manual
deminers.[70]
Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has been present in the DRC since July 2004, with
a national office in Lubumbashi, Katanga province and, since January 2005, a
liaison office in Kinshasa. It also has an operational base in Pweto in
northeastern Katanga where it trained demobilized ex-combatants as deminers,
medical staff, community liaison officers and administrative workers. Since
November 2004, MAG operated a rapid deployment international mine action team,
based in Kinshasa. By June 2005, it had carried out three high priority tasks
in Ikela, Bolomba and Gbadolite in Equateur province in the north. It also
conducted evaluation missions to Bomongo (Equateur) and Moba (Katanga). By June
2005, MAG had two 16-person mine action teams and one four-person community
liaison team. In partnership with VVAF, it also conducted a rapid survey
methodology development project, consisting of a small community liaison unit
and an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD)
team.[71]
From March 2005 to July 2005, MAG teams removed and destroyed more than 8,750
UXO (including small arms ammunition), releasing over 9,500 square meters of
land to local communities.[72]
The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) emergency response teams conducted
battle area clearance in early 2004 to prepare for the return of displaced
persons. The FSD teams then moved to Baraka, South Kivu, to assess the
situation. FSD states that despite its “persistent requests to the UNMACC
to reorient intervention places and duties, the quality of the assignment orders
given to FSD teams has continued considerably to fall short of their real
capacity.” In response, UNMAS notes that UNMACC “would have
preferred FSD to conduct survey activities, which FSD was unable to carry
out.”[73]
FSD has also declared that “in general UNMACC had consistently failed
to provide the FSD program with the required minimum support to succeed with
operations or to raise the necessary
funds....”[74] FSD stated
that, having not succeeded in raising money from donors, it was forced to
suspend its program at the end of June 2005. According to UNMAS, “UNMACC
has done its best to get logistical support from MONUC to FSD as well as to any
other mine action operator, bearing in mind that MONUC logistical assets are
permanently
overstretched....”[75] As of
September 2005, FSD was maintaining a contact in Kinshasa and had submitted a
project proposal for the 2006 Mine Action
Portfolio.[76]
Handicap International, which has been present in Kisangani since 2001,
conducted a program in 2004-2005 to “support communities regarding the
mine/UXO problem in Kisangani.” It has four components: impact analysis,
community support, survivor assistance, and MINEX (mine clearance, EOD, marking
and stockpile destruction). Some 1.2 million people live in the area covered
(Kisangani and the surrounding areas up to 80 kilometers away), of whom between
20,000 and 50,000 are in mine- or UXO-affected
areas.[77]
In 2004, HI conducted more EOD operations than systematic mine clearance,
with 70 EOD interventions in a four-month period. HI states that EOD
interventions restore more land to the population than does mine clearance.
Activities included clearance of one path in Kisangani and destroying one
antipersonnel mine; this allowed people to avoid a detour of six
kilometers.[78]
There were confidential reports of a program in which a national NGO
exchanged bicycles for firearms in Kongolo in early 2005; local program staff
reportedly also accepted UXO, until instructed to stop by the program’s
management, but local people continued to collect items of
UXO.[79]
Mine Risk Education
Organizations providing mine risk education (MRE) in 2004 and 2005 through
May include MAG, DanChurchAid, HI, Mines Awareness Trust and
UNICEF.[80]
Since January 2005, MAG has provided integrated MRE through its community
liaison team in Petwo (northeastern Katanga province). The MRE team is composed
of four demobilized ex-combatants trained by MAG. Between January and March
2005, 3,642 adults are reported to have participated in MRE sessions at village
meetings, market places, military bases and churches. In addition, an estimated
1,100 pupils and 30 teachers have attended MRE sessions organized at primary
schools.[81]
DanChurchAid, with its local partner Church of Christ in Congo, runs a
combined mine action and HIV/AIDS program for internally displaced persons and
war-affected communities in the Tanganyika district in northern Katanga.
Between 1 April 2004 and 30 March 2005, it conducted more than 240 MRE sessions
reaching an estimated 17,000 people in camps for internally displaced people and
villages in the Kalemie area. MRE sessions were undertaken in schools, churches
and market places. Survey activities for mine clearance were also accompanied
by MRE sessions. DanChurchAid also used radio for MRE campaigns; the national
station broadcast 15 MRE programs, Tanganyika regional radio broadcast 25
programs, and Radio Kalemie also broadcast MRE messages. UN military observers
requested DanChurchAid to provide MRE to its
personnel.[82]
HI provides MRE in Kisangani and within a 122-kilometer radius. In 2004,
8,323 persons, including 1,760 women and 4,773 children, attended MRE
sessions.[83] Locations were chosen
for their proximity to combat zones, military bases and camps, and areas where
mine or UXO incidents had taken place or that were suspected of being mined.
Between May and June 2004, Mines Awareness Trust undertook MRE refresher
training for Angolan refugees in southern DRC. It seconded a MRE technical
advisor to UNICEF, who designed a national MRE curriculum and materials for use
in the DRC.[84]
In May 2004, UNICEF trained 18 staff from local NGOs working in the provinces
of North and South Kivu as MRE trainers. From November 2004 to March 2005, some
8,000 inhabitants of four localities in South Kivu received MRE through churches
and schools. Fifteen actors of the Kinshasa-based
Atelier-Théâtr’Actions were trained in MRE on 21-22 June
2004, with a view to preparing a drama to be performed in four main
languages.[85]
The UN Landmine and UXO Safety project produced a country-specific leaflet
(in French) for the DRC in 2004.[86]
A number of national NGOs active in mine action or assistance to internally
displaced persons and refugees have expressed concern regarding MRE programming.
They state that MRE needs to be reinforced, capacities strengthened and
capacity-building measures put in place. They also raised concerns about
erratic funding limiting program
effectiveness.[87]
Funding and Assistance
International donors reported contributing $4,459,118 to mine action in DRC
in 2004, an increase from $3.79 million donated in
2003.[88] Donors reporting
contribution in 2004 include:
Belgium: €1 million ($1,243,800) to HI for demining, advocacy and MRE
in Kisangani;[89]
Canada: C$451,848 ($347,121), consisting of C$280,000($215,103) to UNMAS for
emergency impact assessment, and C$171,848 ($132,018) for
assessments;[90]
Denmark: DKK3,300,000 ($551,001) to DanChurchAid for mine
action;[91]
European Commission: €1,410,000 ($1,753,758) for mine
action;[92]
Netherlands: €252,000 ($313,438) to UNMAS for mine
clearance;[93]
FSD reported that its expenditure of CHF908,139 ($672,696) in 2004 was funded
mainly by the UN Voluntary Trust Fund and
Switzerland.[95] MAG reported
starting its first project in the DRC in 2004, financed by EuropeAid; the
project extended to the end of October 2005, with a total budget of almost
€1 million ($1.2 million). A second MAG project financed by ECHO was
implemented from 1 November 2004 to 30 June 2005, with a budget of about
€460,000 ($572,148) for the eight-month
period.[96] These amounts are not
included in the Landmine Monitor estimate of donor funding in 2004.
Landmine Casualties
In 2004, UNMACC recorded 50 new landmine/UXO casualties, including 11 people
killed (two children), 37 injured (11 children) and two people who did not
sustain any physical injuries; at least 20 casualties were
female.[97] This represents a
significant decrease from the 233 mine/UXO casualties recorded in
2003.[98] Of the 50 casualties in
2004, 41 were caused by landmines and nine by
UXO.[99] However, casualty
figures are believed to be understated as the DRC has no nationwide data
collection mechanism. Instability within the country and limited capacity to
collect data make comprehensive information on landmine/UXO casualties difficult
to obtain.[100] UNMACC currently
collects information on mine casualties from 24 organizations, including MONUC,
hospitals, NGOs and the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC).[101]
On 19 February 2004, one casualty was reported during mine clearance
operations by the local association of ex-combatants,
Zanga-Zanga.[102]
Casualties continued in 2005 with 21 new mine casualties recorded by UNMACC
to August, including five people killed (two children) and 16 injured (seven
children); three casualties were
female.[103]
The total number of mine/UXO casualties in the DRC is not known. According
to an official of MONUC, there have been about 2,585 mine casualties
recorded.[104] As of 6 September
2005, the UNMACC IMSMA database contained records on 1,681 mine/UXO casualties
since 1964, including 732 people killed and 943 injured, with the status of six
unknown; 1,017 are male, 414 are female (25 percent), and the gender of 250 is
unknown. At least 188 casualties (11 percent) were children under the age of 15
years. Antipersonnel mines were the cause of at least 589 casualties (35
percent), 63 were caused by antivehicle mines (four percent), and 637 by various
UXO (38 percent); the device involved for 392 casualties is unknown (23
percent). The vast majority of casualties (66 percent) occurred between 2000
and 2003. Casualties were reported in all 11 provinces, with most recorded in
six provinces: Equateur 478 casualties (28 percent), South Kivu 322 casualties
(19 percent), Katanga 246 casualties (15 percent), North Kivu 218 casualties (13
percent), Oriental province 161 (11 percent), and Maniema 150 casualties (nine
percent). The database is continually being updated as new information is found
on both new mine casualties and casualties from earlier years; overall, this was
a significant increase over what was reported in Landmine Monitor Report
2004.[105]
DanChurchAid and its local partner Église du Christ au Congo conducted
a socioeconomic impact survey between 1 April 2004 and 30 March 2005 in the
Tanganyika district in northern Katanga, which identified 139 mine/UXO
casualties: 51 percent were killed; and of the total, 65 percent were men, 35
percent were women, and 42 percent were children under the age of 18.
Activities at the time of the mine/UXO incidents include traveling to
neighboring villages (22 percent), collecting firewood (16 percent), farming (17
percent), hunting (seven percent) and fishing (five percent). According to
DanChurchAid, 99 percent of mine/UXO casualties in Tanganyika district are
civilians.[106]
Survivor Assistance
At the First Review Conference to the Mine Ban Treaty in Nairobi in
November-December 2004, the DRC was identified as one of 24 States Parties with
significant numbers of mine survivors, and with “the greatest
responsibility to act, but also the greatest needs and expectations for
assistance,” in providing adequate services for the care, rehabilitation
and reintegration of
survivors.[107] The DRC
participated in the workshop on Advancing Landmine Victim Assistance in Africa
in Nairobi on 31 May-2 June 2005, which was hosted by the co-chairs of the
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, to
assist States Parties to develop plans of action to meet the aims of the Nairobi
Action Plan in relation to mine victim assistance.
As part of its commitment to the Nairobi Action Plan, the DRC has identified
some of its objectives for the period 2005-2009 to address the needs of mine
survivors which include: establishing a database and collection mechanism in
each province; improving capacities in first aid and emergency transport;
enhancing the capacity of referral hospitals to treat mine casualties through
training and the provision of equipment and supplies; strengthening capacities
for psychosocial support; reinforcing national coordination of the
rehabilitation sector; training and capacity-building of rehabilitation
specialists; improving access to income generation opportunities in
mine-affected areas through vocational training and micro credit; strengthening
the capacity of disabled persons organizations; improving and implementing legal
provisions to protect the rights of mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities.[108]
In February-March 2005, UNMAS conducted a survivor assistance-focused
assessment mission to the DRC, with the aim of obtaining detailed information on
mine casualties and developing a plan of action. As a result of the visit,
UNMAS recommended the identification of a focal point on survivor assistance,
preferably within the Ministry of Social Affairs, and collaboration between
UNMACC and the government in drafting a national survivor assistance strategy.
Several international and national NGOs indicated their interest in becoming
more involved in survivor assistance
activities.[109]
The armed conflict in the DRC has seriously damaged the healthcare system,
with hospitals, medical centers and health posts destroyed, and a lack of
medical and paramedical personnel, equipment and medicines. Some health workers
have reportedly not received a state salary for more than a decade. The cost of
medicines and healthcare is prohibitive for many Congolese, and the existing
referral hospitals are often far from mine-affected areas. Many mine casualties
are believed to die before reaching appropriate medical assistance, and the
capacity for emergency surgical procedures is very
limited.[110]
ICRC, working with the Red Cross Society of the DRC (RCSDRC), continues to
assist hospitals and health centers, including five hospitals and 15 health
centers in 2004, providing surgical instruments and supplies, equipment and
medicines to treat the war-wounded including mine casualties, and rehabilitating
facilities. In 2004, ICRC-assisted hospitals treated 264 war-wounded people.
ICRC also conducted two month-long training sessions on operating techniques for
war injuries for local
surgeons.[111]
In January 2004, MONUC, through Rapid Impact Projects (QUIPS), renovated the
surgery unit at the general referral hospital in Goma, and in June 2005, started
the renovation of the referral hospital in
Mbandaka.[112]
The number of specialized rehabilitation centers in the DRC is reportedly
inadequate to meet the needs of mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities. There are three main centers available to mine survivors: the
Rehabilitation Center for Physically Disabled (Centre de Réadaptation
pour Handicapée Physique, CRHP) and Kalembe-Lembe Physical Rehabilitation
Center in Kinshasa, and Saint Jean-Baptiste hospital in Mbuji-Mayi. The Yamak
Center in Lubumbashi ceased its activities in early
2004.[113]
CRHP is the national rehabilitation center and provides physiotherapy
services, prostheses, tricycles and other assistive devices. In 2004, CRHP
assisted 5,456 people, including 1,942 people visiting the center for the first
time, and produced 13 prostheses, 30 tricycles, 84 crutches and 20
canes.[114]
In 2004, ICRC facilitated access for people with war-related disabilities to
the CRHP, Kalembe-Lembe Physical Rehabilitation Center and Saint Jean-Baptiste
hospital. ICRC supplied the three centers with raw materials and reimbursed the
costs of assessment, prostheses and orthoses, and physiotherapy services for
about 500 war-injured people, and monitored the quality of the devices produced.
In 2004, the centers produced 408 prostheses, 88 orthoses, seven wheelchairs and
682 crutches; 81 prostheses and 22 orthoses were for mine survivors. Almost 93
percent of amputees and 100 percent of those fitted with orthoses were assisted
for the first time in
2004.[115]
In Mbuji-Mayi, the Saint Jean-Baptiste Hospital rehabilitation center
assisted 279 people, and produced 84 prostheses and 67 orthoses in 2004.
Handicap International support to the center ended in February
2004.[116]
In 2004, HI operated a community-based rehabilitation project for persons
with disabilities in Kinshasa. Activities include the ongoing training of about
150 volunteers from six different areas of Kinshasa in the identification of
persons in need of rehabilitation services and their referral to appropriate
centers and resources. The project also provided training and small grants to
more than 149 persons with disabilities to start income generating activities.
HI also provides technical support to CRHP in Kinshasa with the objective of
strengthening the capacity of the center, improving the quality of treatment
through training of physiotherapists and orthopedic technicians, and improved
management. The technical support to the center ended in July
2005.[117]
Other centers assisting persons with disabilities include the Simama
Rehabilitation Center in Kisangani, which offers integrated services for persons
with disabilities, including specialized healthcare, physiotherapy, prostheses
and vocational training; and in Goma, the Shirika la Umoja center provides
physical rehabilitation and socioeconomic reintegration support for persons with
disabilities, including landmine
survivors.[118]
In 2004, five mine survivors from the DRC (two from Uvira, one from Bukavu,
one from Baraka and one from Kalémie), were fitted with prostheses at the
Jaipur Foot Center in Bujumbura,
Burundi.[119]
On 11 August 2004, the UNDP Support to War-Wounded Ex-Combatants project, in
partnership with the Congolese Social Fund and military and civilian
authorities, celebrated the official opening of a new transit center for
disabled ex-combatants in the CETA military hospital, outside Kinshasa. Japan
provided $1 million for the reintegration component of the project; 27 disabled
ex-combatants were part of a pilot project to facilitate their reintegration
into civilian life.[120]
At the local level, other organizations assisting persons with disabilities
include: the Kinshasa-based NGO Social Action for Persons Living with
Disabilities and Support to Children and Adolescent with Adaptation Problems
(Œuvre Sociale pour Personnes Vivant avec un Handicap, Encadrement des
Enfants et Adolescent Inadaptés), which runs a socioeconomic integration
program; National Center of Professional Training for the Physically Disabled
(Centre National d’Apprentissage Professionnel pour Handicapés et
Invalides Physiques); National Institute for the Blind (Institut National pour
les Aveugles); Institute for the Deaf and Mute (Institut pour les Sourds-Muets);
Women’s Center for Professional Training (Centre d’Apprentissage
Professionnel); Kikesa Center, which provides vocational training and income
generating activities; Congolese Federation for Persons with Disabilities
(Fédération Congolaise des Personnes Handicapées).
International NGOs and other agencies supporting mine survivors in the course of
their other activities, include CARITAS, International Rescue Committee,
Médecins Sans Frontières, MERLIN, World Health Organization and
UNICEF.[121]
The 2005 UNMAS Portfolio of Mine Action Projects included two proposals for
survivor assistance activities in the DRC: support for the production of
orthopedic devices and supply of radiology equipment to the Kalembe-Lembe
Rehabilitation Center, and capacity building in victim assistance for the
Ministry of Health National Program for Community-Based
Rehabilitation.[122]
The DRC submitted the voluntary Form J with its Article 7 report in 2004 and
called on the international community to provide training and equipment in order
to ensure adequate assistance to mine survivors, but used the Form J in 2005 to
report on other issues.[123]
Disability Policy and Practice
The DRC has no specific legislation for mine survivors, but acknowledges its
obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty to provide assistance, and reportedly
seeks legal advice to draft appropriate legislation. The Coordination
Department of Rehabilitation Activities for People with Disabilities (Direction
de Coordination des activités de réadaptation des personnes
handicapées), under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the
Family, is responsible for all issues relating to persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Defense is responsible for issues relating to disabled military
personnel.[124]
Law no.04/028 of 24 December 2004 on the Identification and Enrolment of
Electors in DRC (Loi portant sur l’Identification et
l’enrôlement des électeurs en RD Congo), includes a provision
for persons with
disabilities.[125]
[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2003.
[2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 21
June 2004. The report lists ministries of defense, justice, interior, health,
social affairs, human rights and foreign affairs.
[3] Article 7 Report, Form A, 2 May
2005.
[4] Ministerial Note
MDN/CAB/11/903/2003; Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2003.
[5] Commission Nationale de lutte
contre les mines antipersonnel. Ministerial Decree No. 0001, 6 May 2002;
Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2003.
[6] Interview with Blaise Baise
Balomba, Member of the National Commission to Fight Antipersonnel Mines,
Kisangani, 15 March 2005. Telephone interview with Emery Zulu Kilo Abi,
Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 April 2005.
[7] Article 7 Report, Forms A and
J, 2 May 2005. It cited letters dated 21 October 2004 and 13 April 2005. The
areas of responsibility and levels of authority between the National Commission
and the Cabinet experts are not clear.
[8] Previous Article 7 reports were
submitted on 30 April 2003 and 21 June 2004.
[9] Statement by Vice-President
of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World (First
Review Conference), Nairobi, 3 December 2004. Translation by Landmine
Monitor.
[10] “The Nairobi Protocol
for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in The
Great Lakes Region of the Horn of Africa,” 21 April 2004, p. 3.
[11] “Dar-Es-Salaam
Declaration on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes
Region,” First Summit of Heads of State and Government, International
Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes
Region, Dar-Es-Salaam, 19-20 November 2004, p. 4.
[12] “Report, Meeting of
the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee, Kigali, 17-18 February 2005,” p.
4. The RIMC meeting was the second phase of the International Conference of the
Great Lakes Region.
[13] Comments by Commander Ngizo
S.T. Louis, RCD Representative to the Joint Military Commission, at the Workshop
on the Ottawa Convention and Mine Action in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Kinshasa, 3 May 2002. The following day, a daily newspaper reported that the
RCD “promised to respect the provisions of the Ottawa Convention that bans
antipersonnel mines, a convention signed by the government against which the
rebel group is fighting.” See, “Révélations sur
l’arrivée d’un émissaire du RCD/Goma à
Kinshasa,” Le Palmarès, 4 May 2002. This position was
reiterated to Landmine Monitor in interviews with Col. Ngizo in Kinshasa in
December 2002, and with Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga, Spokesman, RCD-Goma, Goma, 25
December 2002. The Joint Military Commission was set up to oversee the
implementation of the DRC Ceasefire Agreement.
[14] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 341.
[15] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 196.
[16] U.N. Security Council,
“Letter dated 25 January 2005 from the Chairman of the Security Council
Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the
Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the President of the Security
Council,”S/2005/30, para 138, 25 January 2005, p. 34. FAPC/UCPD
is the Forces Armées du Peuple Congolais/Union de Congolais pour la Paix
et la Democratie.
[17] Amnesty International,
“Democratic Republic of Congo: Arming the East,” Section 7.1, 5 July
2005, http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR620062005.
Amnesty did not specify antipersonnel or antivehicle mines, and did not specify
when the alleged mine transfers took place.
[18] “Great Lakes: Kampala,
Kigali refute Amnesty arms traffic report,” IRIN, 7 July 2005.
[19]See Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, p. 345. In a January 2004 interview, a high level
official of the UPC told Landmine Monitor that his movement had received
important military support from Rwanda, including antipersonnel mines, as
recently as August 2003. Interview with UPC official, Bunia, 27 January 2004.
[20] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 345.
[21] Article 7 Report, Form F, 2
May 2005.
[22] Article 7 Report, Form B, 2
May 2005.
[23] Article 7 Report, Form J, 2
May 2005.
[24] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 342-343.
[25] HI, “Army Hands Over
Landmines to HI in DRC,” Ban Mines Newsletter, No. 15, January
2005, p. 10; interview with Rodolphe Liebeschitz, Senior Technical Advisor, HI
program in Kisangani, Brussels, 11 May 2005; interview with General Command,
9th Division, Kisangani, 25 April 2005.
[26] Interview with General
Command, 9th Division, Kisangani, 25 April 2005.
[27] This included eight TS-50
mines, 32 PRB-M35 mines and 80 Z1 mines. Article 7 Report, Forms F and G, 2 May
2005. Italy produced the TS-50, Belgium the PRB-M35 and Zimbabwe the Z1.
[28] Article 7 Report, Form G, 2
May 2005, indicates these mines were turned in by militias. However, Form F of
the same report states they were held by the Congolese government.
[29] Article 7 Report, Form G, 2
May 2005.
[30] Mine Action Support Group,
“Update from UNMAS,” Newsletter, June 2005, p. 11.
[31] Information provided by
Bernard Mbula Lombhe, Coordinator, CEFODECO, Aru, 26 May 2005.
[32] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 344-345.
[33] Mine use was reported in:
“Mines, fighters impeding UN efforts to investigate new Congo
Fighting,” Associated Press (Kinshasa), 14 June 2004. In addition,
a local NGO said Mutebutsi’s troops laid mines on the premises of the
Alfajiri college in Bukavu. Email from Betu Kajigi, Campaign and Advocacy
Officer, Heritiers de la Justice, 22 September 2004. Rwandan support is
reported in “Rwanda-DR Congo border stays closed as fighting continues in
east DRC,” Agence France-Presse (Kigali), 21 June 2004.
[34] “UN looks into DR
Congo clashes,” BBC, 15 June 2004.
[35] “DRC: UN troops return
fire on dissident soldiers,” IRIN, 21 June 2004; “Rwanda-DR
Congo border stays closed as fighting continues in east DRC,” Agence
France-Presse (Kigali), 21 June 2004.
[36] The government has
acknowledged using antipersonnel mines in the past, before acceding to the Mine
Ban Treaty. Landmine Monitor has also cited credible allegations of use of
antipersonnel mines in the DRC in the past by forces of the governments of
Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004,
pp. 343-345.
[37] UN, “Country profile:
Democratic Republic of Congo,” www.mineaction.org, accessed 3 August
2005.
[38] SAC, “Advance Survey
Mission Report, Democratic Republic of Congo, 7-17 March 2005,” by email
from Mike Kendellen, Director for Survey, SAC, 8 July 2005.
[39] UN, “Country profile:
Democratic Republic of Congo,” www.mineaction.org , accessed 3 August
2005. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 347-348.
[40] Telephone interview with
Marco Kalbusch, Mine Action Liaison Officer, MONUC, 13 September 2004, and
interview with Rodolphe Liebeschitz, Senior Technical Advisor, HI Kisangani, in
Brussels, 11 May 2005.
[41] See for instance Swiss
Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), “Les équipes mobiles de la FSD en
RDC ont quitté Bunia pour Baraka au Sud-Kivu,” Press Release, 6
February 2005.
[42] UNMACC, “Statistiques
de la situation de mines/UXO en RDC (June 2005).” UNMACC collects
information through UN agencies, national and international NGOs, MONUC, and
during field missions. Email from Marcel Quirrion, Director, UNMACC, 16 June
2003.
[43] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 347.
[44] UNMACC, “Statistiques
de la situation de mines/UXO en RDC (June 2005).”
[45] Email from Mike Kendellen,
Director for Survey, SAC, 26 July 2005.
[46] Information from VVAF
survey/assessment advance mission report, 2004, by email from William Barron,
Director, Information Management and Mine Action Programs, VVAF, 26 September
2005.
[47] Ministerial Decree No. 0001
of 6 May 2002; Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2003.
[48] Interview with Dr. Musafiri
Masuga, Director, Rehabilitation Program, Ministry of Health, and Representative
of the Ministry on the National Commission to Fight Antipersonnel Mines,
Kinshasa, 14 July 2005.
[49] Article 7 Report, Form J, 2
May 2005.
[50] UN, “Country profile:
Democratic Republic of Congo,” www.mineaction.org, accessed 3 August
2005.
[51] Article 7 Report, Form A, 2
May 2005.
[52] UN, “Country profile:
Democratic Republic of Congo,” www.mineaction.org, accessed 3 August
2005.
[53] UN, “Country profile:
Democratic Republic of Congo”; telephone interview with Marco Kalbusch,
MONUC, 13 September 2004.
[54] Email from Patrick Tillet,
UNMAS, New York, 23 September 2005.
[55] Article 7 Report, Form C, 2
May 2005.
[56] UN, “Country profile:
Democratic Republic of Congo,” www.mineaction.org, accessed 3 August
2005.
[57] FSD, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 10-11; interview with Didier Leonard, Senior Technical Advisor,
HI Kisangani, 7 February 2004.
[58] Intervention by DRC,
Workshop on Landmines, Nairobi, 2-4 March 2004; Statement by Amb. Fabien-Emmery
Zulu Kilo-Abi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 14 May 2003.
[59] Email from Mike Kendellen,
SAC, 26 July 2005.
[60] There are 142 sub-districts
containing some 26,000 villages in the DRC. Email from Mike Kendellen, SAC, 26
July 2005.
[61] Interview with Mike
Kendellen, SAC, in Geneva, 19 September 2005.
[62] Email from William Barron,
VVAF, Washington DC, 26 September 2005.
[63] UNMAS, “2004 Annual
Report,” pp. 25-26, www.mineaction.org, accessed 14 September 2005, and
email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 23 September 2005. See also vvaf.org,
accessed 12 May 2005.
[64] Email from William Barron,
VVAF, 26 September 2005.
[65] FSD, “Report of
technical evaluation Ikela,” 21 April 2004; “DRC: Survey of
Landmines and UXO Urgently Needed, Swiss Group Says,” IRIN, 14
April 2004; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 346-347.
[66] DanChurchAid,
“Humanitarian Mine Action and HIV/AIDS Program in DR Congo, Annual Report,
1 April 2004-30 March 2005;” telephone interview with Mads Lindegaard,
Program Manager, DanChurchAid, 20 September 2005.
[67] Jean Mukatshung-Yav,
Managing Director, Gapic Antimines Center, “Rapport
d’activité relatif a la collecte des informations sur les victimes
des mines et sur les zones dangereuses au Maniema et au Katanga en
République Démocratique du Congo,” Kinshasa, 26 March 2005.
[68] Article 7 Report, Forms F
and G, 2 May 2005.
[69] Mine Action Support Group,
“Update from UNMAS,” Newsletter, June 2005, p. 11.
[70] Information from Mechem
website, www.mechemdemining.com,
accessed 1 September 2005.
[71] Email from Patrick Tillet,
UNMAS, 23 September 2005.
[72] Email from Doris Basler,
Country Program Manager, MAG, Kinshasa, 23 July 2005.
[73] Email from Patrick Tillet,
UNMAS, 23 September 2005.
[74] FSD, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 10. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 350.
[75] Email from Patrick Tillet,
UNMAS, 23 September 2005.
[76] Email from Christoph
Hebeisen, Deputy Director of Operations, FSD, Geneva, 15 September 2005.
[77] “Appui communautaire
autour de la problématique des mines/UXO dans la région de
Kisangani, 2003-2006, Rapport d’activités intermédiaire -
période du 1 novembre 2003 au 31 octobre 2004,” HI, April 2005, p.
20; interview with Rodolphe Liebeschitz, Senior Technical Advisor, HI Kisangani,
in Brussels, 11 May 2005.
[78] “Appui
communautaire... du 1 novembre 2003 au 31 octobre 2004,” HI, April 2005,
p. 20; interview with Rodolphe Liebeschitz, HI Kisangani, in Brussels, 11 May
2005.
[79] “Paix et
reconciliation du Congo” (PAREC), under the leadership of Pastor Mulunda
from Nouvelle Église Methodiste in Kinshasa.
[80] Article 7 Report, Form I, 2
May 2005.
[81] Email to Landmine Monitor
from Doris Basler, MAG, Kinshasa, 10 June 2005.
[82] DanChurchAid,
“Humanitarian Mine Action and HIV/AIDS Program in DR Congo, Annual Report
1 April 2004-30 March 2005,” pp. 7, 9-11.
[83] Article 7 Report, Form I, 2
May 2005.
[84] Email from Netsanet
Gebreyesus, Mines Awareness Trust, 15 July 2005.
[85] Mine Action Support Group,
Update from UNICEF, Newsletter, July 2004 and November 2004.
[86] Overview Safety Handbook
& Training Aids, September 2004, p. 2.
[87] Interviews with
representatives of several local NGOs active in mine action and/or assistance to
the internally displaced and refugees, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Ikela,
2004-2005.
[88]Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 351.
[89] Article 7 Report, Form J, 2
May 2005.
[90] Mine Action Investments
database; emails from Elvan Isikozlu, Mine Action Team, Foreign Affairs Canada,
June-August 2005. Average exchange rate for 2004: US$1 = C$1.3017. US Federal
Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[91] Mine Action Investments
database; email from Hanne Elmelund Gam, the Department of Humanitarian &
NGO Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 July 2005. Average exchange
rate for 2004: US$1 = DKK5.989. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange
Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[92] EC, “Contribution to
the Landmine Monitor 2005,” by email from Nicola Marcel, RELEX Unit 3a
Security Policy, European Commission, 19 July 2005. Average exchange rate for
2004: €1 = $1.2438, used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve,
“List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[93] Email from Freek Keppels,
Arms Control and Arms Export Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4
August 2005.
[94] Email from Patrick Tillet,
UNMAS, 23 September 2005.
[95] FSD, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 10-11. Switzerland did not report funding for DRC in 2004.
This amount is not included in the estimated total funding for 2004.
[96] Email from Doris Basler,
Country Program Manager, MAG, Kinshasa, 15 September 2005. These amounts are not
included in the estimated total funding for 2004.
[97] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Claude N. Mushid, IT Officer, UNMACC, 13 September 2005.
[98] Unless otherwise stated
information in this section is from UNMACC, “Update of Statistics on the
Mine/UXO Situation in DRC, September 2005,” (La mise à jour des
statistiques de la situation de mines/UXO en RDC (mois de septembre 2005), www.macc-drc.org, accessed 23 September
2005.
[99] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Claude N. Mushid, IT Officer, UNMACC, 19 September 2005.
[100] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 352.
[101] UNMAS Victim Assistance
Officer, “DRC Victim Assistance Mission Report 26 February-12 March
2005.”
[102] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 353.
[103] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Claude N. Mushid, UNMACC, 19 September 2005.
[104] “DR Congo has 2,585
landmine victims,” PANA, Kinshasa, 25 November 2004; see also DRC
presentation, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 2-3 December 2004.
[105] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 352-353.
[106] DanChurchAid,
“Humanitarian Mine Action and HIV/AIDS Program in DR Congo: Annual Report
1 April 2004-30 March 2005,” pp. 3, 4, 6 and 10.
[107] 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.
[108] DRC presentation,
Workshop on Advancing Landmine Victim Assistance in Africa, Nairobi, 31 May-2
June 2005.
[109] UNMAS Victim Assistance
Officer, “DRC Victim Assistance Mission Report: 26 February-12 March
2005.”
[110] World Health
Organization, “Health Action in Crisis: Democratic Republic of the
Congo,” updated April 2005, www.who.int,
accessed 17 August 2005; “Democratic Republic of Congo: arming the
east,” Amnesty International, 5 July 2005, http://web.amnesty.org, accessed 1 August
2005; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 353.
[111] ICRC, “Annual
Report 2004,” Geneva, June 2005, pp. 63-64.
[112] MONUC, Hebdo
Newsletter, No. 83, 29 January-4 February 2004; MONUC, Hebdo
Newsletter, No. 155, 28 July-5 August 2005, www.monuc.org,
[113] ICRC Special Report,
“Mine Action 2004,” Geneva, June 2005, p. 19; see also Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, p. 354.
[114] Emails to Landmine
Monitor from Romain Kombe, Assistant Project Manager, HI Kinshasa, 1 and 17
August 2005. It should be noted that these statistics are included in the total
provided by ICRC.
[115] ICRC Physical
Rehabilitation Program, “Annual Report 2004,” Geneva, July 2005, pp.
18, 44.
[116] Information provided by
Romain Kombe, HI Kinshasa, 3 August 2005. The information comes from an informal
source from the Saint Jean-Baptiste Hospital. These statistics are included in
the total provided by ICRC.
[117] Email to Landmine Monitor
from Floribert Kabeya, Assistant Project Manager, HI, Kinshasa, 25 July 2005;
email to Landmine Monitor from Romain Kombe, HI Kinshasa, 3 August 2005; see
also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 354-355.
[118] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 355; see also Simama, www.simama.org, accessed 7 July 2005.
[119] Interview by Landmine
Monitor (Burundi) with Fabiola Ntirushwubwenge, Project Manager, Jaipur Foot
Center, Bujumbura, 21 April 2005.
[120] UNDP, “Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration,” Newsletter, Edition 13,
September 2004, p. 4, www.cd.undp.org,
accessed 3 September 2005.
[121] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 355.
[122] UNMAS, “Portfolio
of Mine Action Projects 2005,” pp. 139, 146, www.mineaction.org.
[123] Article 7 Report, Form J,
21 June 2004; Article 7 Report, Form J, 2 May 2005.
[124] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 355-356.
[125] UNMAS Victim Assistance
Officer, “DRC Victim Assistance Mission Report: 26 February-12 March
2005”; “Law no.04/028 of 24 December 2004 on the Identification and
Enrolment of Electors in DRC” (Loi no 04/028 du 24 décembre 2004,
portant sur l’identification et l’enrôlement des
électeurs en RD Congo), Official Journal of the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Office of the President, Kinshasa, 27 December 2004.
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