The
Menace of Landmines in the Horn of Africa
Proceedings
of a workshop held in Hargeisa
November 23-24, 1999

The
Institute for Practical Research and Training
Table
of Contents
List of Participants
2-4
Welcoming Remarks, Sheikh
Ibrahim Sheikh Yusuf
Chairman of the Guurti
5
Opening Remarks
Ahmed Mohamed Adan, Speaker of the House of
Representatives
6
Bashir Haji Hassan Geileh, Vice Minister, MRR&R
7
The International Campaign
to Ban Landmines, Ahmed H. Esa
The Institute for Practical Research and Training
8-10
Assitance to Mine-Affected
Comunities in the Light of Bad
Honnef Guidelines, Abdilkadir Jirdeh, Deputy Speaker of
The House of Representatives
11-13
Landmines
in the Horn of Africa
Landmines in Djibouti, Dahir Osman Omar, L’Association
De Soutien Aux Victimes de Mines (ASSOVIM/Djibouti)
14-16
Landmines in the Sudan, Hagir Mohamed Kheir Mussa,
Sudan Campaign to Ban Landmines
17-18
Landmines in Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mohamoud Issa
Somali Campaign to Ban Landmines
19-28
Presentation by
International NGOs Involved in Mine Clearance in
Somaliland
Care International, Jonathan Karanja
29-32
Danish Demining Group, Mohamed Ali Ismail
33-36
HALO TRUST, Matthew Hovell
37
Victim Assistance
SOYAAL Mine Victim Assistance Program
38-40
Handicap
International/Action Nord Sud
41-42
HAVAYOCO
Mine Awareness Program
43
Mine
Awareness in Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamed Madar, SORRA
44-45
The
Socioeconomic Impact of Landmines, Mohamed Abdi Dhimbil,
Consortium of Somaliland NGOs
46-48
Working
Group Proceedings
Group 1: Press Release of the working group on cooperation among
49-50
Horn of Africa campaigns
Group 2: The proceedings of the working group on mine action
coordination
in Somaliland
51-56
Annex:
Resolution of the House of Representatives on landmines
Passed
on March 1, 1999
57-58
List
of Participants
Hagir
Mohamed Kheir Mussa
Sudan
Campaign to Ban Landmines
Ahmed
Mohamed Adan
Speaker
of the House of Represenatatives
Abdikadir
Jirdeh Ali
Deputy
Speaker, House of Representatives
Somaliland
Campaign to Ban Landmines
Ed
Malcik
Deputy
Chief of Mission
US
Embassy Djibouti
Mohamed
Abdi Dhinbil
COSONGO
NGO umbrella, Somaliland Campaign to Ban Landmines
Ahmed
Mohamed Madar
The
Somali Relief and Rehabilitation Association
Somaliland
Campaign to Ban Landmines
Saed
Shukri
Chairman,
SOOYAAL, The Somaliland War
Veterans
Association, and the Somaliland Campaign to Ban Landmines
Ali
Jama
Action
Nord Sud / Handicap International
Hargeisa
Karen
Perrin
Action
Nord Sud / Handicap International
Florence
Thun
Action
Nord Sud/Handicap International
Horn
of Africa Regional Officer, Lyons, France
Mohamed
Ali Ismail
Danish
Demining Group
Hargeisa
Greenfields
Associates
Bo
Bischoff
Danish
Demining Group
Copenhagen,
Denmark
Erik
Willandsen
Danish
Demining Group
Hargeisa
Jonathan
Karanja
Care
International
Nairobi
Mohamed
Nuh
Care
International and
The
Somaliland Campaign to Ban Landmines
Hargeisa
Mohamed
Abdilahi Gardaf
Care
International
Hargeisa
Bashir
H. Hassan Geileh
Vice
Minister, MRR&R
Abdillahi
Omar Hassan
Director
General, MRR&R
Ismail
Hashi Madar
Director,
NDA, MRR&R
Ahmed
Ali Kahin
Legal
Advisor, House of Representatives and Consultant to MRR&R on
Landmine Policy
Hussein
Abdilahi Dualeh
Consultant,
MRR&R on Landmine Policy
Matthew
Hovell
HALO
Trust
Hargeisa
Abdirahman
Mohamed Sh. Ibrahim
HALO
TRUST
Hargeisa
Nick
Bateman
HALO
TRUST
UK
Mohamed
Osman
HALO
Trust
Hargeisa
Mohamed
Hassan (Jidhif)
SMAC
Mohamud
Issa
Santa
Barbara Foundation
Somali
Campaign to Ban Landmines
Dr.
Romanus Mkerenga
Officer
in Charge, UNICEF
Abdi
Farah Elmi
UNICEF,
Focal person on landmines
Jab
Swart
UNDP
Somali Civil Protection Program
Sahra
Ibrahim Hussein
UNDP,
Somali Civil Protection Program
Dahir
Osman Omar
President,
Association de Soutien aux Victimes de Mines, Djibouti
Peter
Fuyane
Santa
Barbara Foundation
Hargeisa
Brian
Barnes
Saint
Barbara Foundation
Hargeisa
Joe
Anzuino
Terra
Nuova
Francis
Simba
Kenya
Rural Enterprises Programme (K-REP)
Mohamed
Ibrahim Odawa
Mine
Information and Social Awareness (MISA)
Abdikarim
Omar Odawa
Mine
Information and Social Awareness
Osman
Mohamed
Minsitry
of Interior
Nasir
Ahmed Ismail
Mine
Risk Education
Frank
Krause
UNHCT/HABITAT
Hargeisa
Patrick
Mwale
UNHCT/HABITAT
Abdikarim
Ahmed Mogeh
HAVOYOCO,
Hargeisa
Ahmed
Aw Gedi
HAVOYOCO,
Hargeisa
Ahmed
Yassin
Action
Nord Sud/ Handicap
Hargeisa
James
D. Megill
Canadian
Association for Mines and Unexploded Ordnance Security, Montreal, Canada
Ibrahim
Abdillahi Hassan
Ministry
of Interior
Hassan
Abdillahi Jama
Ministry
of Planning
Hassan
Adan Ali
UNICEF
Ali
Ahmed Ismail
FRANSO
IPR STAFF
Ahmed
H. Esa
Omar
Ali Abdi
Khadar
Ahmed
Welcoming Remarks: Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Yusuf Sheikh Madar, Chairman,
GUURTI (Upper House of Parliament)
First
of all, I would like to extend our thanks to you and welcome you to
Somaliland, especially those of you who came from far away countries
and traveled long distances.
Landmines
are among the most dangerous elements that confront human beings.
We, here in Somaliland are confronted with their danger every
day. We, therefore,
applaud your work and we affirm that our communities will work with
you in your efforts. On
behalf of the Somaliland communities, I would like to tell you that we
will cooperate with you in every way.
We
hope and expect also that you will do your work diligently and
responsibly. Thank you and I hope you will have a successful workshop.
Opening Remarks by Ahmed Mohamed Adan (Speaker of the House of
Representatives)
I
know all of you are dedicated to the eradication of landmines and the
horrible consequences of their
use. We in Somaliland welcome your efforts and applaud your important
achievements.
Many
of you here, citizens of Somaliland and friends from abroad, are
actively engaged in the dangerous activity of removing landmines,
demining. We are
especially thankful to you and your work.
Somaliland
is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
According to numbers compiled by our National Demining Agency,
more than 3000 people have been killed by landmines and many more have
been injured over the past 10 years.
Landmines still pose a daily problem. Just four days ago, a
young boy was severely injured by a landmine explosion at Hargeisa
airport.
Landmines
are particularly troublesome and dangerous for our nomadic society.
Pastorals who tend to their livestock in minefields have no
protection whatsoever. Moreover,
there are often many miles from the nearest urban center and their
mine casualties are often not cared for or recorded.
The
Somaliland parliament is very interested in the issue of landmines.
On the March 1, 1999, on the occasion of the entry into force
of the Ottawa Treaty, we passed unanimously a resolution supporting
the Ottawa Treaty. I
believe copies of that resolution has been given to the participants.
We will continue to be supportive of this process and will
endeavor to make sure that landmines are not used in future conflicts
not in Somaliland but in this region of the world.
Our
government is also supportive of the Ottawa process.
We are not recognized internationally, but our President has
made it clear on the occasion of the signing of the Ottawa treaty that
we are willing to unilaterally abide by the requirements of the Ban
Treaty.
I
thank you all for your efforts and participation in this workshop and
wish you all the best.
Opening Remarks by Bashir Haji Hassan Geileh, Vice-Minister, Ministry of
Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (MRR&R).
Honorable
guests, dear ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and friends, good morning
and thank you for all being here, especially those of you who have
traveled from long distances just to participate in this workshop.
I would also like to thank and congratulate Dr. Ahmed Hussein Esa
of IPR and the Honorable Abdilkadir Jirdeh and their colleagues who have
contributed to this workshop and made it possible.
The
Ministry of Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (MRR&R)
is mandated by our government to formulate policy and guide mine action
in Somaliland. The ministry
has subsequently established a National Demining Agency with the
responsibility for all activities in Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA).
The
NDA’s responsibilities are as follows:
¨
to
implement policies guidelines formulated by the ministry
¨
coordinate
activities and setup strategic plans of action
¨
evaluate
and monitor the financial aspects of all HMA activities
The
Somaliland Mine Action Center (SMAC) was also established as a technical
organ to assist NDA in its role in coordination, evaluation and
monitoring, standardization and quality assurance.
SMAC is also hoped to provide in-puts relevant to the strategic
planning and to perform the following activities:
¨
support
activities of data collection and compilation
¨
Setting
up of a data center and HMA database including such elements as accident
statistics, survey and mapping data, mine awareness training and victim
assistance programs.
To
put these issues together and make it functional has been very difficult
for the ministry as the ministry currently has no resources and since
our government cannot at this stage provide financial or human resource
support. Therefore, we are kindly requesting from the international
communities, UN and international non-governmental organizations to
assist us with the provision of technical assistance, human resource
development and institutional strengthening.
For
your information, our previous experience with the UN or international
agencies on donor provided capacity building has been that those funds
were not properly utilized, and therefore, I hope in the future there
will be better transparency and accountability. Finally I would like to
say thank you for both helping us in the process of policy formulation
and assistance with the restructuring of NDA/SMAC.
I would also like to thank CARE International for their
assistance to us to cover the cost of technical assistance.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Overview:
Ahmed H. Esa, The Institute for Practical Research and Training
Throughout
human history war has been a constant.
Every civilization has witnessed war and man’s cruelty to
mankind. While waging war,
however, combatants have often recognized certain limitations on the
conduct of war. Today,
these limitations are rooted in customary humanitarian practices that
date to the medieval era.
The customary humanitarian principle that military requirements
must be counter balanced with humanitarian considerations was first
formalized in the St. Petersburg declaration of 1868, which stated
“that there are limits at which the necessities of war ought to yield
to the requirements of humanity.”
Under
Customary Law three principles are generally recognized:
·
Parties
in conflict are not unlimited in the way they conduct war.
·
Military
needs must yield to humanitarian considerations.
·
Combatants
must strive to protect civilians from the effects of hostilities, and
therefore, are required to employ means of combat that discriminate
between civilian and military targets.
In
the Geneva Convention of 1949, the need to protect civilians in times of
war was codified in international
treaty. Last year, the
world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Geneva
Convention with the reaffirmation that “EVEN WAR HAS LIMITS”.
In
subsequent protocols to the Geneva Convention (Protocol I and Protocol
II), protection of civilians in both international and non-international
conflicts and the principle of proportionality were re-emphasized.
In these additional protocols, the world affirmed “ the
principle of proportionality by prohibiting the employment of weapons
that cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or “methods of
combat” that do not distinguish military objectives and civilians”.
Well
before the Ottawa Convention and international efforts towards a total
ban of landmines, the world community had realized the special nature of
landmines and the havoc they pose in many parts of the world.
In 1980, Protocol II (the landmines protocol) was annexed to the
United Nations Convention on the Prohibition on the use of Certain
Conventional Weapons (CCW) which may be Deemed to be Excessively
Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects.
Protocol II of the CCW (Protocol on the Prohibition or
Restrictions of the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and other Devices) was
modified in 1996 to prohibit the use of mines in a way that “may be
expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians
which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military
advantage anticipated”.
Landmines,
unlike other weapons, lie dormant waiting for a vehicle, a person, or an
animal to explode it. They
cannot discriminate between the foot of the soldier in battle or that of
a small child wandering in the woods many years after the conflict has
passed. They kill and maim, and the mutilations they cause cannot be
corrected or masked by medical intervention.
The use of landmines violates international humanitarian law.
They are indiscriminate weapons.
In
spite of the international treaties and protocols designed to restrict
the use of landmines according to tenants of international humanitarian
law, landmines have been used widely throughout much of the world in the
past four decades. Today,
the world faces a landmine crisis.
There may be as many as 100 million unexploded mines buried in
countries around the world, including Angola, Mozambique, Cambodia,
Somaliland, Vietnam, Afqanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, parts of the former
Yugoslavia, El Salvador, and the Democratic Republic of the Gongo.
Mindful
that the landmine crisis cannot be addressed by measures short of a
total ban on the use of landmines, a handful of international NGOs
banded together in 1992 to lobby and actively work for a total ban.
The handful of NGOS that started the International Campaign to
Ban Landmines have now been joined by more than 1400 other NGOs
throughout the world, including the Somaliland Coalition against
Landmines. The work of the
ICBL was immensely advanced by several like- minded governments such as
Canada and. As you all may know, On Dec 2, 1997, 122 countries gathered
in Ottawa to sign the Mine Ban Treaty (Ottawa Convention) on the
Prohibition on the Use, Production, Stockpiling and Transfer of
Landmines. Today, 140 countries have signed the Ottawa Convention and 80
countries have ratified it through local legislation.
It entered into force on March 1, 1999, after 40 countries had
ratified it. In 1998, the
world honored the ICBL and its coordinator, Jody Williams, by awarding
them the Nobel Peace Price.
The
ban on landmines has been effective thus far.
A number of major countries, including the United Kingdom and
France, have already destroyed all their stockpiles of landmines.
Ukraine has started destroying some of its 11 million landmines.
Other countries, including non-signatories, have instituted
moratoria or total ban on transfer of mines to second parties.
The
Ban Treaty has certain deficiencies that must be addressed.
It does not ban anti-tank mines or anti-handling devices.
It does not bind non-state actors and some of the major landmine
producers such as China, the United States, Russia and Pakistan have not
joined the ban.
One
of the reasons that the Ban Treaty has been so successful has been the
conclusion by many military experts that landmines were not particularly
useful weapons. Studies by
the ICRC, which covered some 26 conflicts between 1940 and 1995,
concluded that use of landmines did not change the outcome of the
conflict.
Several studies commissioned by the US Defense Department also
came to the conclusion that landmines were only marginally useful.,
Landmines
are, however, extremely useful as weapons of terror.
In deed, the landmine crisis we face today is largely due to the
use of landmines as weapons to terrorize civilian populations.
They have been used in fields, around water reservoirs, inside
cities and villages, on farmland. In Somaliland, landmines were used by army of the regime of
Siyad Barre essentially to harm the local population. In 1991, refugees coming back to their homes after three
years in refugee camps found almost every house booby trapped and mined.
Casualties mounted quickly.
Between November 1990 and April 1991, two to three landmine
victims were being brought every day to Hargiesa Group Hospital alone.
The casualty rate has significantly diminished now, thanks in
part to some demining work, but primarily because people have learned to
live with landmines, knowing where to avoid.
The
problem is, however, far from over.
While we advocate for more funds for demining and mine action, we
ought to realize the importance of eradicating this “terror” once
and for all. The Somaliland
community must show the world that it is also willing to do its part by
joining the world and committing to the total non-use of landmines and
destruction of all stocks. It
is important to remember, that in the 1994-1995 civil conflict, it was
not an enemy force that planted landmines in the streets of Burao, but
members of our community.
It
is heartening that the government of Somaliland and the Somaliland
Parliament have both shown a willingness towards a sensible policy on
landmines and a willingness to join the world community in a total ban.
I know that Somaliland, as a country not recognized
diplomatically cannot sign the treaty, but are heartened by its
willingness to do so unilaterally as evidenced by a letter the President
of Somaliland wrote to Mr. Llyod Axoworthy, the Foreign Minister of
Canada, on November 26, 1997 on the eve of the Ottawa Convention signing
ceremony.
While
almost all the countries of the Horn of Africa face severe landmine
crisis, only Djibouti and Uganda have signed and ratified the treaty.
Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia have signed but not ratified the Ban
Treaty. There are
allegations of new use of landmines in a number of countries.
It is very important and critical for the Horn of Africa
communities to join the rest of the world community and work towards a
mine-free world. It is also
important for the ICBL to focus on the Horn of Africa, where more than
155 million people face the daily threat of landmine explosions.
Assistance to Mine-Affected Communities in the Light of Bad Honnef
Guidelines
Abdilkadir
Jirdeh, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and member of
SCAL
Bad Honnef guidelines
presented for aid progarmmes addressing the threat by mines are based on
the experience gathered by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at
project level. Until recently mine action has meant mine awareness,
surveying, marking and demining mine-infested areas.
Subsequently, this term was expanded to include mine victim
assistance and long-term development. Mine Action programmes, as they
are called here, consist of the following components:
¨
Mine
awareness, surveying marking and demining.
¨
First
aid and physical rehabilitation for the injured.
¨
Socio-economic
and psychological rehabilitation of individuals and families.
¨
Reconstruction
and development of mine-affected communities.
¨
Empowerment
and training of local workers to carry out the progammmes.
There
are three sets of issues that will have to he addressed first:
a)
The impact of
landmines on the community
b)
The community in the mine action process
c)
The organization of humanitarian mine
action
The Bad Honnef guidelines are based on the conviction that
improved assistance to mine-affected communities must start with a
deeper understanding of local responses to landmines.
Rather
than viewing people in those communities as passive victims it
acknowledges their importance as active subjects. The implications are
far reaching; lasting results are most likely to come form a combination
of outside assistance that is sensitive to local capacities with
empowerment of the mine affected in their relation with technical and
relief organizations.
A
The Community Impact of Landmines
While
there is general perception that landmines have a severe community
impact, this is not very well documented. Existing documentation based
on survey data establish individual level effects but do not examine how
landmines affect the social fabric of communities, although it is clear
that an understanding of the inter-related social dynamics would be
vital for any successful intervention. Similarly it is important to look
into the extent that mine clearance triggers local social and economic
development.
Communities
build their own capacities to cope with landmine problems, for example
by developing informal information channels to risks related to
landmines, through economic adaptation to the mined environment or even
undertaking their own mine action. Such local capacities should by no
means be seen as a justification for withholding external assistance,
and in some instance the self-help activities are so risky that they
should be discouraged. Nevertheless it remains imperative for the design
of intervention that community capacities are properly understood. It is
common knowledge from disaster research that the degree to which
external interventions build on local capacities is decisive for their
long-term success.
Living
with landmines means living with risk. This is the core concern for
landmines policy. Mine clearance progammes must seek to minimize the
risk to the civilian population in mined areas while ensuring local
involvement and responsibility. This is important because we know from
other disaster situations that the most effective coping mechanisms
develop locally.
Simultaneously,
it remains imperative that the best possible security conditions be
maintained for those engaged
professionally in mine- action.
The
aim to empower those who are “hosting” mine action progammes poses
new challenges for risk management as well as for technical and
humanitarian aid policy.
b)
The
community in the mine action process
The
slow pace of mine action is cause for increasing frustration among
donors, deminers and mine-affected communities .So far the search for
solutions has largely concentrated on more and more advanced technology.
However a different approach to increase mine action capacity has
entered the agenda. This explores the ways local communities can be
involved in the operation. One moderate form of community involvement,
currently applied is the use of local informants in the survey process.
A
far-reaching community involvement would, like in all other relief or
development projects, enhance sustainability.
There
have been instances, where demined communities in Southern Somalia laid
new mines, in order to attract another mine action exercises with all
its support functions. People who have spent years in war can develop a
large tolerance for arms and danger, perhaps their participation is one
way of preventing new mine use. The challenge is to propose ways in
w