Contaminated by: landmines (massive contamination), cluster munitions (extent of contamination unclear), and other unexploded ordnance.

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline: 1 June 2020
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 September 2023
(Unclear whether on target to meet deadline) 

The Republic of Chad has at least 103.5km² of mined areas. In 2015, approximately 0.26km² of mined area was cleared and 1.2km² of suspected hazardous area (SHA) confirmed as contaminated with antipersonnel mines. The extent of cluster munition contamination is unknown. 

Recommendations for action 

• Chad should take the necessary measures to strengthen the effectiveness of its national mine action center.
• Chad needs to urgently elaborate a resource mobilization strategy to secure funding and attract international technical and operational support in order to avoid further interruption in demining operations.
• Chad should complete its nationwide survey, as soon as security allows, to enable it to provide a comprehensive estimate of its mine and cluster munition contamination, and revise its mine action strategy accordingly.

Chad’s contamination is the result of the 1973 Libyan invasion and 30 years of internal conflict.

Mine Contamination

In December 2015, Chad reported that it had identified 123 mined areas based on a partial nationwide survey.[1] However, it was anticipated that more contaminated areas could be identified as survey was still required in four regions (Borkou, Ennedi, Moyen Chari, and Tibesti).

In May 2014, Chad had 113 areas confirmed to contain mines with a total size of 103.5km². Five of Chad’s 22 regions contained confirmed mined areas, as set out in the table below. Borkou, Ennedi, and Tibesti are located in northern Chad at the border with Libya; Sila is located at the border with Sudan; and Moyen-Chari is in southern Chad at the border with the Central African Republic.

Antipersonnel mine contamination by province as of May 2014[2]

Note: *100m²

In December 2015, Chad stated that demining by Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the National Demining Center (Centre National de Déminage, CND) had released a further four areas of antipersonnel mine contamination with a total size of 317,998m² in the Tibesti region to the north and in Sarh Kyabé, Moyen-Chari region in the south. It also reported that while “it was not possible to provide precise figures,” non-technical survey (NTS) activities by MAG and Handicap International (HI) in Tibesti and in the south had identified 14 previously unrecorded mined areas,[3] bringing the total number of mined areas remaining to 123.

Other Explosive Remnants of War

Chad’s mine action plan for 2014–2019 indicated that, based on a national technical survey conducted in 2010–2012 and information available as of May 2014, it faced 664 explosive remnants of war (ERW)-contaminated areas across nine regions (covering 1,132km²). Chad reported that it had already addressed 443 ERW-contaminated areas.[4] 

Cluster Munition Contamination 

The extent of contamination by cluster munition remnants in Chad is unknown. Following the end of armed conflict with Libya in 1987, unexploded submunitions and cluster munition containers were found in the three northern provinces; in the Biltine department in Wadi Fira region (northeastern Chad); and east of the capital, N’Djamena.[5] MAG found unexploded Soviet antivehicle PTAB-1.5 submunitions during survey in an area close to Faya Largeau.[6]

Three cluster munition remnants were reportedly discovered and destroyed in 2015, including two empty RBK-250-275 cluster bomb containers in the Tibesti region and an AO-1SCh submunition in the Borkou region.[7] In its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 transparency report for 2015, Chad stated that four children (three girls and one boy) aged six and seven were injured in January 2015 after handling a submunition in Faya Largeau.[8]

In September 2012, Chad stated that while the extent of cluster munition contamination was not precisely known, it was clear the weapons had been used in the Fada region and there was a strong likelihood of their use in other parts of the north. Chad said that the Tibesti region in the northwest was being surveyed to determine the extent of the contamination.[9]

In 2014, Chad reported that, after Libyan troops withdrew in 1987, members of the French Sixth Engineers Regiment discovered and subsequently destroyed cluster munition remnants around Libyan positions, prior to the building of the national mine action center. It reiterated its suspicion of additional contamination in the Tibesti region.[10] 

Socio-economic impact 

Mines and ERW are obstacles to safe access to housing, roads, pastures, water points, and mining, especially in northern Chad.[11] In 2015, mine action operators reported that contamination is an ongoing threat to local populations and impedes socio-economic development, especially in the Borkou, Ennedi, and Tibesti regions.[12] In the south, east, and western regions, the impact of mines is thought to be relatively low, with the primary threat coming from ERW, including both UXO and abandoned explosive ordnance.[13]

In 2015, Chad reported registering two antipersonnel mine casualties, a significant decrease from the number recorded in 2014.[14] Furthermore, incidents caused by “landmines” and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by Boko Haram have been reported in Chad in 2015 and 2016. (See Casualties and Victim Assistance country profile for further details.)

Program Management

The national mine action program is managed by a national mine action authority, the National High Commission for Demining (Haut Commissariat National de Déminage, HCND) and the CND. 

Since 2008, Chad’s mine action program has suffered from a lack of international funding, poor equipment, weak government oversight, and mismanagement issues within the CND, resulting in little or no demining until October 2012, when the European Union (EU) provided funding to MAG.[15] In 2014, Chad acknowledged difficulties faced by its national mine action center and called for the resumption of technical and operational assistance.[16]

MAG continued its demining activities in 2015 as part of a two-year EU-funded project (Projet d’appui au secteur du déminage au Tchad, PADEMIN) to conduct clearance, especially in the northern regions of Borkou, Ennedi, and Tibesti.[17] It deployed three multi-task teams (MTTs) for manual demining and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) activities and one Armtrac mechanical support team.[18]

As part of the PADEMIN project, HI continued to support capacity-building of the CND, in particular for information and quality management, and carried out non-technical survey (NTS) in three southern regions of the country, in areas thought to be contaminated by mines and ERW.[19]

Strategic planning

Following a request of the Mine Ban Treaty Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties, the CND elaborated a national mine action plan for 2014–2019, with technical support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The plan notes that Chad adhered to the Convention on Cluster Munitions but does not detail plans to clear cluster munition remnants.[20] The plan gave details on the number, location, and size of remaining mined areas, and provided the following timeline: 

• In June 2015–June 2019, operations would be conducted in Borkou;
• In January 2015–April 2019, operations would be conducted in Ennedi;
• In May–December 2015, operations would be conducted in Moyen Chari;
• In September 2015–February 2016, operations would be conducted in Sila;
• In November 2014–November 2019, operations would be conducted in Tibesti.[21]

Standards 

HI reviewed Chad’s national mine action standards on land release and quality management in the beginning of 2016, with a new version expected to be produced in June 2016.[22]

Quality management 

HI continued providing technical support on quality management to the CND throughout 2015. It remained concerned, however, that considerable further efforts were still required to establish a fully functional quality management system with adequate capacity within the CND.[23] 

Information management

In 2015, HI provided technical support to the CND to build its information management capacity for two months, along with trainings for CND’s Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) team provided by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).[24]

HI reported that while progress on information management capacity had been made in 2015, the CND still lacked internet access, making it difficult for the IMSMA team to carry out their daily work. HI also highlighted that, despite some improvements, further efforts were needed to consolidate data checking, correction, and validation.[25] 

Land Release (Mines) 

Demining was conducted in the areas of Ogui, Zouar, and Zouarké, in Tibesti region, and Sahr Kyabé in Moyen-Chari region, resulting in clearance of approximately 0.26km² and the destruction of 39 antipersonnel mines and 1,033 antivehicle mines.[26] A total of more than 1.2km² of SHA was confirmed as contaminated with antipersonnel mines in the Tibesti, Moyen-Chari, and Chari Baguirmi regions (see table below).[27] Previously, in 2014, Chad reported the destruction of 21 mines (11 antipersonnel and 10 antivehicle mines) but did not report figures for survey or clearance of antipersonnel mines.[28]

Under the PADEMIN project, MAG began mine survey and clearance activities in the Tibesti region in February 2015.[29] During the year, MAG reported clearing 263,009m² and destroying 39 antipersonnel mines and 1,033 antivehicle mines. MAG began work on a huge Libyan military minefield in the Zouarké sector of Tibesti region with an estimated size of 14.2km² and completed clearance of a small minefield nearby with a size of 24,019m².[30]

HI did not conduct mine clearance in 2015, but carried out NTS in Chari Baguirmi, Mandoul, and Moyen-Chari provinces, confirming four SHAs with a total size of 7,200m² as contaminated with antipersonnel mines.[31]

Antipersonnel mine survey in 2015[32]

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants)

In 2015, during the mine survey and clearance in the Tibesti region, MAG reported that in September 2015, one of its MTTs found and destroyed two empty RBK-250-275 cluster munition containers in Zouar.[33] Chad stated in its 2015 Article 7 transparency report that an AO-1SCh submunition was found and destroyed by the CND in Faya Largeau in the Borkou region during the year.[34]

HI reported that it did not encounter any cluster munition remnants during its NTS activities.[35]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the six-year extension granted by States Parties in 2013), Chad is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 January 2020. Chad is highly unlikely to meet this deadline.

Chad’s Article 5 deadline has already been extended three times. Its latest extension request, granted in 2013, noted as circumstances impeding compliance with its Article 5 obligations: lack of financial support; the size of the country and poor road network; information management problems; mismanagement at the CND; and a lack of transparency in resources management, as well as security issues. 

In 2014, Chad submitted its mine action plan for the extension period, which provides a more precise idea of its remaining contamination covering 103.5km² and indicates a provisional and general timetable. However, the full extent of the challenge remains unknown, as further survey needs to be conducted. This, combined with the lack of a concrete plan to complete survey and intermittent clearance in previous years, makes it very difficult to believe that Chad is capable of meeting its 2020 deadline.

In May 2016, both HI and MAG confirmed that Chad will not meet this deadline unless funding for mine action significantly increases.[36] MAG stated that, under present circumstances, it would be impossible for Chad to carry out its strategic plan targets as EU funding for the PADEMIN project, now in its second phase, was set to expire in October 2016 and, as of August of that year, there were no indications of an international donor willing to provide future funding.[37] HI cited the remote distance of contamination in northern Chad and the difficult conditions, including the desert climate, high temperatures, sand, and wind, as significant challenges for logistics and human resources, alongside a lack of capacity and internal organization of the national mine action authorities.[38] 

Chad’s mine action plan for 2014–2019 foresees expenditure of US$61 million ($40 million for operations and technical assistance, $4.5 million for equipment, and $16.6 million for the CND’s running costs). (See Support for Mine Action Country Profile for further details.)

Cluster Munition Convention Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Chad is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 September 2023. It is unclear whether Chad is on track to meet this deadline. 

In its 2015 Article 7 report, Chad requested international cooperation and assistance in the form of two MTTs to carry out non-technical survey, risk education, and explosive ordnance disposal in relation to cluster munition remnants.[39] HI and MAG have highlighted the critical need for continued international funding for mine action and capacity building in Chad to address the remaining threat from mines and ERW.[40] MAG reported that the EU-funded PADEMIN project was set to expire in October 2016, and that, as of May, there were no indications of an international donor willing to provide future funding.[41] HI cautioned that without continued support, capacity-building efforts would be lost and progress in clearance halted.[42]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.