Summary: State Party Iraq ratified the convention on 14 May 2013. Iraq has participated in all of the convention’s annual meetings and voted in favor of a UN resolution on the convention in December 2015. In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in June 2014, Iraq confirmed that it no longer uses, produces, transfers, or stockpiles cluster munitions. It is not retaining any cluster munitions for research or training.

Policy

The Republic of Iraq signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 12 November 2009, ratified on 14 May 2013, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 November 2013.

Iraq has reported its 2012 ratification law under national implementation measures for the convention.[1] It has also reported disability rights laws and a September 2014 law approving ratification of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). It is not known if specific implementation legislation will be undertaken to enforce the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Iraq submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the convention in June 2014 and provided annual updated reports on 29 April 2015 and 10 June 2016.[2]

Iraq participated in some meetings of the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but attended both the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008 and the Oslo Signing Conference in December 2008 as an observer.[3] At the Oslo Signing Conference, Iraq pledged to sign the convention as soon as possible after completing national and constitutional processes.[4] It subsequently signed the convention at the UN in New York in November 2009.

Iraq participated in the convention’s First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015. In an address to the high-level segment of the meeting, Iraq reaffirmed its commitment to fully implement the convention.[5] It said that “the security situation” and operational response to Daesh (IS) non-state armed groups has affected its ability to clear areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants and appealed for international support and assistance.

Iraq has attended every Meeting of States Parties of the convention as well as intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2011–2015.

On 7 December 2015, Iraq voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which urges states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[6]

The Iraqi Alliance for Disability and other civil society groups continue to campaign in support of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Iraq is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Production and transfer

In its initial Article 7 report provided on 27 June 2014, Iraq declared that it does not produce cluster munitions.[7] Previously, in 2011, Iraq informed the Monitor that “There are no facilities that produce cluster munitions in Iraq.”[8] Prior to 2003, Iraq produced two types of cluster bombs: the NAAMAN-250 and NAAMAN-500.[9] It was also involved in joint development of the M87 Orkan cluster munition rocket (known in Iraq as Ababil) with Yugoslavia.[10] In the past, Iraq imported ASTROS cluster munition rockets from Brazil.[11] In 1996, Jane’s Information Group listed Iraq as possessing KMG-U dispensers (which deploy submunitions) and CB-470, RBK-250, RBK-250-275, and RBK-500 cluster bombs.[12] A type of rocket-delivered dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunition of Chinese origin, called Type-81, was cleared in Iraq in 2003 by American deminers and the United States (US) military’s unexploded ordnance identification guide lists the Chinese 250kg Type-2 dispenser as present in Iraq.[13]

Use

Iraq may have used cluster munitions in the past. According to one source, Iraq used air-dropped cluster bombs against Iranian troops in 1984.[14]

Coalition forces used large numbers of cluster munitions in Iraq in 1991 and 2003. The US, France, and the United Kingdom (UK) dropped 61,000 cluster bombs containing some 20 million submunitions on Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. The number of cluster munitions delivered by surface-launched artillery and rocket systems is not known, but an estimated 30 million or more DPICM submunitions were used in the 1991 conflict.[15] During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the US and UK used nearly 13,000 cluster munitions containing an estimated 1.8 million to 2 million submunitions.[16]

Stockpiling and destruction

In its Article 7 reports, Iraq has declared that it does not stockpile cluster munitions.[17]

Photographs published by the official media office in Kirkuk in January 2015 show forces of the Islamic State (IS) unearthing at least 34 BKF cartridges containing AO-2.5RT submunitions that had been buried in the ground.[18] The exact date, location, and circumstances of this discovery are unclear, but it indicates that burial was used a method to dispose of stocks in Iraq in the past.

Iraq is not retaining any cluster munitions for research or training purposes. It has previously reported a small quantity of 25 inert submunitions with no explosive content.[19] In its June 2016 Article 7 report, it no longer reported the inert submunitions, but instead wrote “not applicable.”[20]

Policy

The Republic of Iraq acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 15 August 2007, becoming a State Party on 1 February 2008.

Iraq has not enacted legislation to implement the Mine Ban Treaty, but a government official said in 2012 that draft legislation was being prepared.[1] Iraq had not previously indicated if national implementation legislation to enforce the treaty’s prohibitions domestically was being pursued or if existing laws were considered adequate.[2]

In 2015, Iraq submitted its eighth Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report covering calendar year 2013.

Since the Second Review Conference in 2009, Iraq has attended almost every meeting of the Mine Ban Treaty.[3] It participated in the convention’s Third Review Conference in Maputo, Mozambique in June 2014, where it made statements on clearance and during the high-level segment.[4] Iraq attended the Mine Ban Treaty Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2013, where it made a statement on victim assistance.[5] At the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2015, Iraq provided an update on the status of its mine action program in the face of further conflict.

Iraq is a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Iraq ratified the Convention on Conventional Weapons and all its protocols on 24 September 2014.

The Iraqi Alliance for Disability Organizations (IADO) has continued to promote a landmine ban and organized an event together with the government of Iraq in April 2015 to celebrate the Mine Ban Treaty’s achievements and to consider implementation challenges as part of the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.[6]

Production and transfer

Iraq produced antipersonnel mines in the past, including in the period leading up to the 2003 conflict. All mine production facilities were apparently destroyed in the coalition bombing campaign in 2003.[7] Iraq reported that it has no intention to reconstruct its production capacity.[8]

There have been no reports or allegations of landmine transfers from Iraq since the 1990s.

Use

For the fourth year in a row, there were not any confirmed reports of new use of antipersonnel mines by government forces, but the so-called Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and possibly other forces fighting the government of Iraq have used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive booby-traps extensively since 2014.[9] The extent to which the IEDs are command-detonated or victim-activated is not clear.

In October 2014, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that as many as 3,000 IEDs were left in the town of Jurf al-Sakhr in Babil governorate by a retreating ISIS forces.[10]

In October 2015, Iraq called for further assistance to address its humanitarian problem with uncleared landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) including cluster munition remnants, which it said has been “further compounded by terrorist groups, notably ISIS planting landmines and explosive devices to prevent the return of Iraqi forces to the areas.”[11] Iraq has blamed terrorist armed groups and Daesh (ISIS), fighting government forces since 2014, for “a dramatic increase the number of mines, UXOs [unexploded ordinance] and IEDs” in the country, as well as for the increasing number of displaced persons.[12] In May 2015, Reuters reported that Islamic State fighters laid landmines in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s western desert province of Anbar.[13] Research organization Conflict Armament Research said in April 2015 that Islamic State forces are producing and deploying IEDs on an industrial scale.[14]

In an April 2015 statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “extremely concerned by the extensive use of improvised explosive devices by armed groups in Iraq, which poses a major threat to civilians.”[15]

Stockpiling and destruction

Iraq’s treaty deadline for destruction of its stockpiles of antipersonnel mines was 1 February 2012.[16] In June 2011, Iraq stated that it destroyed 645 out of 690 antipersonnel mines stockpiled in the Kurdistan region, retaining 45 mines for training purposes.[17] In its Article 7 report for calendar year 2011, Iraq reported that an additional 50 stockpiled antipersonnel mines were destroyed in the Kurdistan region.[18]

The manner in which Iraq has reported on the number of mines it retains for training and research purposes has been inconsistent and confusing. It appears that at least 45 mines were retained in the Kurdistan region for training purposes since the end of the stockpile destruction programs. Adding to this confusion is a claim in its most recent Article 7 report wherein Iraq states that 793 mines were retained for training after the mines were recovered during clearance operations.[19] The Monitor cannot sufficiently assess the manner by which Iraq implements Article 3 based solely on the information provided by Iraq in its annual transparency reports.

In previous Monitor reports, substantial but decreasing numbers of antipersonnel mines were recovered by foreign and Iraqi forces from caches. The Monitor has not found any information regarding seizures during the current reporting period. Iraq also reported that it destroyed 4,295 antipersonnel mines from mined areas in 2011.[20] The Iraqi government had not previously reported on recovered mines or their destruction in its Article 7 reports.

Contaminated by: landmines (massive contamination), cluster munition remnants (heavy contamination), improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO). 

Article 5 deadline: 1 February 2018
(Not on track to meet deadline) 

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 November 2023
(Not on target to meet deadline) 

In 2015, mine action operations were overshadowed by conflict.

Landmines: Total landmine contamination at the end of 2015 was 1,522km² of suspected and confirmed contaminated areas, of which 182km² were confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) containing only antipersonnel mines. This figure does not include contamination by IEDs. 50.58km² was reported to be released in 2015, with 25.4km² canceled and 24.18km² cleared.

Cluster munition remnants: CHAs covered a total of 200km² in central and southern Iraq as of May 2016, 95% of which is in three governorates: Basra, Muthanna, and Thi-Qar. There are also 2.42km² of suspected and confirmed hazardous areas in the northern Kurdish region. Survey identified 4.5km² of suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) and confirmed 42km² of CHAs in the center and south. In total across the country, 8.78km² of land was cleared of cluster munition remnants, and 2,867 submunitions were destroyed.

Recommendations for action

• The Republic of Iraq should strengthen the mandate, management, personnel, and resources of the Department of Mine Action (DMA).
• The DMA and the Iraq Kurdistan Mine Action Authority (IKMAA) should formulate multi-year plans setting out policy, priorities, and objectives for mine clearance.
• The DMA should streamline registration and accreditation procedures and take action to facilitate the import of demining equipment.
• Iraq should draw up a strategic plan for the clearance of cluster munition remnants, setting out operational priorities, clarifying institutional responsibilities, identifying and allocating available resources, and setting timelines for implementation.
• Iraq should introduce national standards for cluster munition remnants survey and clearance, and develop the capacity of national operators to meet them.
• The DMA should draw on international assistance to enable it to fulfil its Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 5 clearance obligations.

Mine Contamination

Iraq ranks among the world’s most heavily mine-affected countries, much of it a legacy of the 1980–1988 war with Iran, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion by the United States (US)-led Coalition. The already serious contamination left from these conflicts has been made significantly worse by the present fighting in Iraq and enormous quantities of IEDs in areas recaptured from Islamic State (IS), including many pressure-plate devices that are prohibited as antipersonnel mines by the Mine Ban Treaty. 

Estimates by the DMA and IKMAA put Iraq’s total mine contamination at the end of 2015 at 1,522km² compared with 1,604km² at the end of the previous year, but these year-end totals, although similar, do not include IED contamination (see below) and also mask some significant shifts in regional estimates of contamination. Suspected and confirmed mined areas in central and southern Iraq remained largely unchanged at 1,286km² (see table below). 

Central and Southern Iraq contamination by device end-2015[1]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle. 

Antipersonnel mine contamination in central and south governorates at end 2015

In the northern governorates under the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the estimate of overall contamination dropped by one quarter in 2015 to 218km², with confirmed mined area containing antipersonnel mines nearly 30% lower at almost 126km² after big reductions were recorded in Sulimaniya and Garmian governorates.[2] In the absence of significant survey or clearance activity, these reductions appeared to be a result of data revisions and corrections. 

KRG mine contamination by device at end 2015[3]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle. 

KRG antipersonnel mine contamination

A key concern emerging for Iraq in 2015 was use of IEDs “on an industrial scale” by IS, posing not only a threat to Iraqi security forces but a major obstacle to resettlement of more than a million people displaced by conflict. Iraq experienced 11,500 IED explosions causing nearly 35,000 casualties in 2015, according to US Defense Department estimates cited by Foreign Affairs. This put Iraq ahead of Afghanistan in terms of the number of IED casualties.[4] (See the Casualties and Victim Assistance country profile for further details.) 

The DMA reported new contamination in conflict areas in 2015 that consisted primarily of IEDs and affected 997km² (see table below). It reported that Diyala governorate’s Khanaqin district alone accounted for 568 km².[5]

Estimated IED contamination in conflict areas at end-2015

Cluster Munition Contamination

Cluster munition remnants contaminate significant areas of central and southern Iraq, a legacy of the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Iraq reports that cluster munition remnants in CHAs cover a total of 200km² across nine central and southern governorates: 95% is in just the three governorates of Basra, Muthanna, and Thi-Qar.[6] A small amount of cluster munition contamination also remains in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region, the result of air strikes conducted under former President Saddam Hussein.

The highway between Kuwait and Basrah was heavily targeted by cluster bomb strikes in the 1991 Gulf War[7] and cluster munitions were also used extensively during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, particularly around Basra, Nasiriyah, and the approaches to Baghdad.

Cluster munition contamination in central and southern Iraq as of May 2016[8]

The northern governorates under the KRG confirmed cluster munition contamination totaling 1.18km² in two areas: the northern district of Dohuk close to the border with Turkey and the Garmiyan area south of Sulimaniya.[9]

KRG cluster munition contamination as of May 2016[10]

Program Management

Mine action in Iraq is managed along regional lines. Mine action in Iraq’s northern governorates under the KRG is managed by IKMAA. The DMA, which falls under the Ministry of Environment in Baghdad, coordinates and manages the sector in central and southern Iraq.[11] The DMA and IKMAA agreed in September 2015 to share operations in a so-called Gray Zone, an area of about 69,000km² overlapping their respective operating areas. A Joint Operations Centre in Erbil managed by iMMAP coordinates operations in the zone.[12] 

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) established a presence in Iraq in mid-2015 to assess the extent of the threat of explosive weapons, including IEDs, in areas retaken from IS, and to help authorities develop and coordinate an emergency response, facilitating the return of displaced people. Under this program, UNMAS is training and mentoring selected security service and mine action personnel in how to organize an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) response and develop standards and procedures for IED clearance. By 2016, UNMAS had offices in Erbil with 12 national staff, and in Baghdad with four national staff, and expected to expand its capacity in 2017. UNMAS requested US$100 million to fund the program in 2016, and as of September had secured only one-quarter of that amount.[13]

iMMAP provided information management technical support to IKMAA in Erbil and the DMA in Baghdad and Basrah.[14] 

Iraqi Kurdistan region

IKMAA coordinates four directorates in Dohuk, Erbil, Garmian, and Sulimaniya (Slemani). It also operates 27 12-strong manual demining teams, seven mechanical teams, five EOD teams, and 35 quality assurance (QA) teams responsible for accreditation and monitoring the work of all operators.[15]

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) remains the biggest of the international humanitarian operators in Iraq with a total staff of 255, including 169 deminers organized in 10 mine action and seven multi-task teams, along with two mechanical teams, two mine detection dog (MDD) teams, and an EOD team.[16] IKMAA reported that MAG conducted cluster munition clearance.[17] The only other humanitarian NGO active in 2015 was Mines and UXO Impact Relief (MIR). Commercial operators included Ararat, ASA, Chamy Razan, EODT, General Safety, Khabat, RONCO, Sardal Company for Demining, Shanica, and Valmara. 

IKMAA does not have a strategic plan but reported in 2016 it was in the process of drafting one. IKMAA’s priorities in drawing up annual plans include clearing agricultural land and infrastructure, tackling CHAs close to populated areas and areas reporting most mine incidents and casualties.[18]

Central and southern Iraq

The DMA implements policy set by a Higher Council for Mine Action (HCMA) created by, and reporting to the prime minister, in which the ministries of defense, interior, and oil are major actors. The HCMA is supported by a Technical Committee, functioning as its secretariat.[19]

The DMA oversees four regional mine action centers (RMACs) for the north (covering the governorates of Anbar, Mosul, Saladin, and Kirkuk); the center (for Baghdad, Diyala, and Wassit); an area identified as “ME” (for Babylon, Karbala, Najaf, and Qadisiyah); and the south (for Basrah, Missan, Muthanna, and Thi-Qar).[20] The extent to which the RMACs were active in 2015 was unclear and appeared to vary. However, the DMA reported it has formed a committee to draw up a strategic plan for the sector for 2017−2022.[21] 

However, the DMA’s role has been weakened in recent years by the lack of any legislation or regulatory framework establishing its mandate. Mine action stakeholders continued to report obstacles to management and regulation of the sector arising from division of responsibilities between different government institutions; poor communication and coordination between ministries; lack of transparency; and convoluted bureaucracy. Operators cite a litany of obstacles to working in Iraq from accreditation to importing and registering vehicles and equipment, access to reliable or consolidated data, demolitions, and obtaining official sign-offs for land release.[22]

The DMA reported mine clearance by nine organizations in 2015, including the army and civil defense. NPA was the only international humanitarian organization actively demining in 2015. The other organizations included Arabian Gulf Company, BACTEC, Green Land, Kanary Mine Action, Peace Land Company, and Al Khibra Al Faniya for Mine Action & ERW.

The army and the civil defense, along with two humanitarian operators, NPA and Iraq Mine Clearance Organization (IMCO), were engaged in survey and/or clearance of cluster munition remnants. IMCO, the biggest humanitarian NGO, closed operations at the end of June 2015 after failing to resolve long-running issues with the DMA over registration and accreditation requirements.[23]

The army and civil defense were also active conducting EOD and battle area clearance (BAC).[24]

DDG closed its operations in Basrah towards the end of 2014 and although it received funding to resume operations in the north in October, long drawn out negotiations over equipment meant it was unable to begin work in that year.[25] IMCO was unable to resolve long-running issues over registration and accreditation with the DMA. As a result, in May 2015, it received a grant termination order from the US, its key donor, and ceased operating at the end of June 2015.[26]

Deminer safety 

In May 2016, an international technical adviser working for the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) was killed while trying to defuse a single-switch, victim-activated IED in Daquq district.[27] 

Land Release (mines)

Iraq’s two mine action authorities, IKMAA and the DMA, reported release of a total of 50.6km² in 2015 through a combination of cancelation (only in the KRG-controlled areas) and clearance. Available data did not cover the activities of commercial companies clearing ERW from oilfields under contract to the Ministry of Oil. 

Survey in 2015 (mines)

IKMAA canceled 25.4km² in 2015 and confirmed 228 mined areas covering 7.96km².[28] The DMA did not cancel any land through non-technical survey (NTS) in 2015, but confirmed 57 hazardous areas covering 211km².[29]

Clearance in 2015

The amount of mined area released in the KRG-controlled areas through clearance fell sharply in 2015 to 2km² (see table below), little more than half the area released the previous year, although data provided by NGOs suggested a higher total. IKMAA, which cleared 1.45km² in 2015 compared with 2.92km² in 2014, attributed the drop partly to funding constraints resulting from the drop in oil prices, but a key factor was the new threats resulting from occupation of large areas of Iraq by IS.[30] 

MAG, the biggest and longest-established humanitarian operator, was not immune to funding constraints, reducing the number of mine action teams by two to finish the year with 10. This resulted in lower clearance rates. MAG reported release of 1.62km² of mined area, triple the amount recorded by IKMAA, but still less than half the 3.58km² it reported clearing in 2014. In mid-2015, MAG was able to increase the number of multi-task teams from three to seven to deal with increasing emergency requirements, particularly for support to the needs of people displaced by conflict; the teams became fully operational in the last quarter of the year. MAG increased the area covered by operations in 2015 deploying manual deminers, mechanical assets, and community liaison teams in five governorates.[31]

KRG mine clearance in 2015[32]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

Clearance operations in central and southern Iraq released 23.18km² of mined in 2015, 77% more than the previous year, according to DMA data, resulting in the destruction of 463 antipersonnel mines. The increase was attributed mainly to the work of civil defense teams that accounted for close to 70% of the total. Release of cleared land continued to be hampered by delays in demolitions. These can only be conducted by the army, which was heavily preoccupied with campaigns to take back control of areas occupied by IS, and the threat from IEDs.[34] 

DMA data also attributed mine clearance to NPA, which reported working only on survey and BAC in 2015.[35] 

Mine clearance in central and southern Iraq in 2015[36]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

Progress in 2016

FSD set up operations in the KRG-controlled area in late 2015, and started operating in March 2016 with three international staff and 24 national operations staff in Kirkuk governorate clearing IEDs from recaptured areas.

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants) 

Cluster munition contamination was not a priority, and survey and clearance slowed in 2015 compared to the previous year, although data deficiencies hinder an accurate determination of progress.

Survey in 2015 (cluster munition remnants)

NTS and technical survey in parts of central and southern Iraq continued to define cluster munition contamination, but national survey standards have yet to be introduced.

In central and southern Iraq, the DMA reported that in 2015 NTS had identified 34 SHAs totaling 4.5km2 in three governorates: Basra (3.37km2), Karbala (0.22km2), and Missan (0.87km2).[37] The DMA also reported that operators confirmed 101 hazardous areas affecting 42km2, nearly three-quarters of which was accounted for by Iraq’s Civil Defense.[38] 

Survey of cluster munition-contaminated areas in central and southern Iraq in 2015[39]

The DMA’s record of activities undertaken by NPA was of significant variance from the operator’s own figures. NPA said it confirmed 10 hazardous areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants covering almost 7.4km², mostly in Missan governorate.[40]

IKMAA did not record any survey of cluster munition-affected areas in the KRG-controlled area in 2015.[41]

NPA also reported canceling 301km2 of area suspected to be contaminated by unexploded ordnance in nine areas by NTS in Missan governorate.[42] 

Clearance in 2015 (cluster munition remnants) 

Most clearance in central and southern Iraq was undertaken by Civil Defense units, which the DMA said cleared more 6.3km² of cluster munition-affected area in 2015, more than three times the amount reported in 2014. However, mine action sources said Civil Defense struggled with financial constraints and equipment shortages. 

NPA accelerated the pace of clearance with the arrival of long-awaited large-loop detectors and the addition of two BAC and two survey teams in October 2015, bringing its operations staff to 52.[43] NPA reported figures different to that of the DMA, saying that it had actually cleared seven areas containing cluster munition remnants totaling 2,276,588m2, destroying 1,157 submunitions, 79 antipersonnel mines, 22 antivehicle mines, and 183 items of UXO.[44]

IKMAA reported that cluster munition clearance in the KRG-controlled area was conducted by MAG, which cleared 0.5km2.[45]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2015[46]

Note: AVM = Antivehicle mines.

The figures provided by the DMA in the table above for the center and south differ slightly from the figures presented in Iraq’s Article 7 report for 2015, which reported 8,065,903m² cleared and 2,646 submunitions destroyed during clearance and 672 during survey operations.[47] 

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Iraq is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 February 2018.

Incomplete reporting on mine clearance makes it impossible to quantify accurately the extent of Iraq’s progress towards fulfilling its treaty obligations, but officials have said since 2012 that it would not fulfil its treaty obligations by 2018.[48] The conflict of the last two years with IS has presented further obstacles by diverting resources from mine clearance and adding massive additional explosive contamination at a point when low oil prices have reduced national funding available for the sector. The DMA reports it has set up a committee to prepare an extension request.[49]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 Compliance 

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Iraq is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 November 2023. 

The likelihood of Iraq meeting its deadline looks remote in view of military conflict, political instability, financial constraints, and competing security and humanitarian priorities. 

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.

In 2015, nine donors contributed a total of US$36.6 million for mine action activities to the Republic of Iraq.[1] The United States (US) contributed $18 million, or half of the total international assistance.

Only Germany and the Netherlands supported victim assistance activities, with a combined total of $1.9 million (5% of total funding).

As in previous years, the government of Iraq, the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency, the Regional Mine Action Center in Basra, and the General Directorate of Mine Action did not report making any financial contributions to Iraq’s mine action program in 2015.

In July 2016, Canada, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, and the US co-hosted a pledging conference in support of Iraq; among the issues addressed during the conference were funding requirements for demining. Over $80 million in new support was pledged by Australia ($3.8 million), Canada ($3.1 million), Egypt (technical support), Finland ($5.5 million), Germany ($16.5 million), the Netherlands ($11.1 million), Spain (technical support), and the US ($45 million).[2]

International contributions: 2015[3]

Note: N/A=not applicable

Since 2011, international assistance toward mine action activities in Iraq has been relatively consistent with more than $170 million received, which represents an average of $34.2 million per year.

Summary of contributions: 2011–2015[4]

Action points based on findings

• Further develop a sustainable mechanism to collect information on ongoing mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties and their needs in southern and central regions of the Republic of Iraq. It is certain that there were many more casualties in Iraq than those that are identified.
• Increase participation of survivors and their representative organizations in the planning and coordination of victim assistance and disability issues throughout all of Iraq.
• Ensure equal access to all services and benefits for both male and female mine/ERW survivors.

Victim assistance commitments

Iraq is responsible for significant numbers of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW who are in need. Iraq has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Iraq acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 20 March 2013.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

Details and trends

In 2015, the Monitor identified 58 mine/ERW casualties in Iraq. The majority of these (32) occurred in central and southern Iraq and were recorded by the data collection mechanism of the Directorate of Mine Action (DMA); the other 26 occurred in the Iraqi Kurdistan region in northern Iraq (Kurdistan).

It is certain that there were many more mine/ERW casualties in Iraq that were not identified. This is due to a combination of factors, including the capacity of the DMA’s casualty data collection mechanism, which was limited by increased conflict. Media coverage of casualties is also far from comprehensive in Iraq. The Monitor has requested disaggregated data on improvised explosive device (IED) casualties from relevant UN agencies, mine action centers, and iMMAP.

Due to ongoing conflict in Iraq, the number of mine/ERW casualties continued to be significantly under-recorded. In south and central Iraq, data for 2015 casualties were not disaggregated due to the difficulties caused by continuing military operations against the so-called Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL) preventing mine action casualty data recording coordination with relevant authorities in order to classify and complete the data.[1]

Although only 58 mine/ERW casualties were recorded in Iraq, as in past years, the number is thought to be much higher. A complete lack of disaggregation between command-detonated IEDs, including emplaced, body-borne, and vehicle-borne devices, and presumably improvised landmines (also called victim-activated IEDs), meant that the true number of mine casualties remained obscured in Iraq.[2] According to a UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) report, all types of IEDs collectively were reported to have caused 7,086 civilian casualties (1,717 killed and 5,369 injured) in Iraq during the period 1 May to 31 October 2015, but none of these casualties are included in Monitor reporting because they are not disaggregated by IED type.[3]

Similarly, iMMAP (an independent organization once part of the former Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation’s Information Management and Mine Action Programs) reported that IEDs killed 7,525 and injured 12,751 from January 2014 to January 2016, but improvised landmines were not disaggregated from other IED types in the data.[4]

The total number of casualties in Iraq remained unknown, though it was known that there were many thousands. By the end of 2015, 31,618 casualties were confirmed.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

By the end of 2015, 3,019 casualties from cluster munitions were recorded. Of these casualties, 388 occurred during strikes (128 killed; 260 injured).[6] Iraq’s survey of mine/ERW victims had identified 880 victims of cluster munitions (148 killed; 732 injured) in five provinces as of 31 March 2014.[7] Due to the level of contamination, it has been estimated that there have been between 5,500 and 8,000 casualties from cluster munitions since 1991 (including casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes) and that one quarter of these casualties were children.[8]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Iraq is estimated to be 48,000–68,000.[9] There were 15,173 survivors identified as of March 2013; 12,471 in central and southern Iraq and 2,702 in Kurdistan.[10]

Victim assistance during the Cartagena Action Plan 2010–2014 and Vientiane Action Plan 2011–2015

Many health and rehabilitation centers rebuilt after the 1991 war were then once again damaged or destroyed with the invasion by the United States (US)-led coalition in March 2003 and the related period of civil unrest. Continued armed violence prevented the rebuilding of services critical to survivors and contributed to the emigration of some 75% of qualified medical personnel; by 2008, healthcare had deteriorated and was considered to be in its worst shape in many years prior to the Cartagena Action Plan period.

The volatile security situation in many areas continued to prevent many survivors in southern and central Iraq from having access to needed services. Persistent efforts by international organizations, international and national NGOs, and government ministries (especially the Ministry of Health) sustained the limited advances achieved since 2009 in regards to medical care and physical rehabilitation. In 2012, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs began a program to link persons with disabilities with employment.

The first national victim assistance meeting was held in 2010. Iraq had no victim assistance plan throughout the period. In 2011, the second annual national victim assistance meeting resulted in a set of recommendations for improving victim assistance, but no further steps were taken to develop the recommendations into a plan or to monitor their implementation.

The situation for survivors in Kurdistan has been significantly better than in the rest of Iraq. Victim assistance services were coordinated by the two mine action authorities previously operating in the Kurdistan region, together with the regional Ministry of Health: the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Authority (IKMAA) and the General Directorate for Mine Action (GDMA), which had merged into the IKMAA by 2012. Available services have been insufficient to address the needs of the many thousands of survivors in the Kurdistan region, a situation that has been exacerbated by the arrival of survivors from the south starting in 2009, as well as the influx of Syrian refugees beginning in 2012. In 2013, the national healthcare budget increased and the Iraqi and Kurdistan Ministries of Health assumed greater responsibility for the management and financing of physical rehabilitation. However, in 2014, the Iraqi High Commissioner for Human Rights (IHCHR) noted the “continued suffering” of persons with disabilities, particularly due to a lack of institutional infrastructure and a lack of rehabilitation programs as well as of access to health and employment opportunities. The IHCHR reported an increase in the number of persons with disabilities due to terrorist attacks and the “failure to allocate a special budget to help cover those needs.”[11]

Victim assistance in 2015 

Economic and political crises in Iraq hampered the delivery of medical and socioeconomic services, complicating the access for persons with disabilities and increasing their vulnerability, as well as that of the general population throughout the country. While Iraq suffered from a financial crisis, the focus of donors and international NGOs has been on the massive needs of internally displaced persons. This has diverted financial support away from victim assistance and minimized the scale of service provision to mine/ERW survivors across the country.

There is a need to ensure that programs supporting persons with disabilities who acquired impairment as a result of armed conflict are fully in line with the CRPD. In 2016, key UN agencies recommended that the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to visit Iraq, taking into account the standing invitation that the government of Iraq issued to all.[12] In 2015, a survivor’s representative from Iraq also expressed an interest in a visit by the Special Rapporteur.

Assessing victim assistance needs

No national needs assessments were reported.

In south and central Iraq, the DMA continued to conduct its ongoing mine victim survey.

UNAMI and OHCHR recommended that Iraq establish a system of data collection and analysis for persons with disabilities, disaggregated by age and sex, and respectful of privacy and confidentiality standards. They also suggested that Iraq include the Washington Group on Disability Statistics Short Set of Questions.[13]

Handicap International (HI) assessed the needs of persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, as part of its victim assistance activities, which included information about the person and their environment for technical rehabilitation and psychosocial assessment in order to provide appropriate services and referrals. HI’s survey also identified the impact on members of the beneficiaries’ families. In 2015, 12% of HI beneficiaries were survivors.[14]

Victim assistance coordination[15]

In October 2016, UNMAS held a three-week Risk Education and Victim Assistance Management training course for 15 senior staff from the IKMAA. The course, supported by Japan, included planning, implementing, and monitoring a victim assistance program in line with international standards. 

In 2014 and 2015, no victim assistance coordination meetings were held for central and southern Iraq. There were no regular victim assistance coordination meetings in the Kurdistan region. The situation of persons with disabilities is raised in the Health and Protection clusters and working groups. HI regularly gather actors involved in services for persons with disabilities through its development project and in December 2015 organized a multi-stakeholder meeting in Erbil.[16]

Iraq did not provide any updates on progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference in September 2015, but did make a statement at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in September 2016. Iraq provided an update on victim assistance at the Mine Ban Treaty Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2015, the intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2016, and the Fifteenth Meeting of States Parties in Santiago, Chile in 2016. Iraq reported casualty data and information about victim assistance services provided in central and southern Iraq and in Kurdistan, through form J of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report and form H of its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for 2015.[17]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Mine survivors participated in the two victim assistance meetings held in central and southern Iraq through the Iraqi Alliance for Disability (IADO).[18] In 2015, a mine survivor—who is a disability rights leader and head of IADO—participated on the delegation of Iraq to the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva in June.

There was a need to include persons with disabilities in decision making processes, “with a view to creating a conducive environment for their meaningful participation in society as dynamic, creative and effective agents of change.”[19]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities

Emergency and continuing medical care

At the end of 2015, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that “Iraq’s failing health system is struggling to meet the needs of its people while lack of sanitation, overcrowding in some areas, malnutrition and water contamination are contributing to the spread of disease.”[20] Although some healthcare services for persons with disabilities were available in Iraq, such services appeared to have decreased over time. Service providers were mostly located in larger urban centers, with beneficiaries having to travel long distances and pay for transportation.[21] Challenges included severely reduced supplies as well as reduced staff capacities as a result of salary reductions due to the economic crisis.[22]

The ICRC continued to strengthen the emergency response capacity of hospitals in violence-prone areas—such as Kirkuk and around Mosul in 2015. Heavily conflict-affected areas received specific additional support, including in Anbar province, which received 120 tons of medical supplies through the central health ministry and logistical support; repairs were made to one hospital to restore its water and electricity in Fallujah city, which was controlled by armed groups.[23]

Physical rehabilitation, including prosthetics

Within Kurdistan, access to appropriate rehabilitation services was significantly better than in the rest of Iraq and increased training for rehabilitation professionals was believed to have increased the quality of care.[24]

More than 36,350 persons with disabilities, including 12,340 amputees, received physiotherapy and other services at nine state-run and one ICRC-managed physical rehabilitation centers in 2015. The state-run centers maintained or enhanced their services with ICRC-provided support and suppliesAuthorities were encouraged to develop long-term strategies to ensure the welfare of persons with disabilities. In 2015, centers provided 3,197 prostheses in total, including 744 for mine/ERW survivors.[25] That was a slight decrease from 2014, when 880 prostheses were provided for mine/ERW survivors from a total of 3,098.[26]

In 2015, with HI support, IADO began distributing assistive devices and providing physiotherapy for internally displaced persons in camps in Baghdad.[27] Disability Information Points, managed by local DPOs in each of the three governorates of the Kurdistan region, continued to provide information about available services, with the support of HI.[28]

Economic and social inclusion and psychological support

Economic inclusion activities continued to be carried out on a limited basis in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdistan region as well as Kirkuk seriously lacked vocational training opportunities for persons with disabilities including survivors. Additional vocational training was needed to help fill the gap faced by persons with disabilities who often have had only limited access to education. Furthermore, during the conflict, some institutions providing economic inclusion ceased to operate or exist and had not been reopened.[29]

The DMA referred mine/ERW victims (both survivors and family members of people killed by mines/ERW), along with other victims of armed conflict, for the provision of untaxed livelihood loans, free land, and adapted cars, and financed group marriages for mine/ERW victims (identified through the mine/ERW survey).[30] Also, as part of its program to support income-generating activities, thousands of female heads-of-households whose spouses were victims of conflict (including victims of landmines/ERW) continued to receive assistance from the ICRC to overcome government obstacles preventing women from registering for benefits and support for income-generating activities.[31]

Some patients from ICRC-supported rehabilitation centers received livelihood support and sports events were organized with local partners.[32]

While some hospitals had some capacity to provide psychological support to mine/ERW survivors immediately following a traumatic incident, Iraq lacked sufficiently-trained professionals to provide appropriate psychological support to mine survivors. Particularly since the conflict increased in 2015, the availability of psychological support and follow-up trauma care in Iraq, including for internally displaced persons, has been inadequate to meet needs.[33] A review of the situation for persons with disabilities in 2016 recommended that the state expand and improve specialized healthcare and psychosocial support.[34]

HI provided mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services. Provision of MHPSS was one of the main overall concerns due to the massive shortage of qualified staff and lack of support to the entire sector. Only two MHPSS sections with psychiatrists existed in the Iraq in 2016—there had been three prior to the conflict with IS, but the third one was in Mosul under IS control. Few universities train psychiatrists as psychiatry is not a priority field.[35]

Laws and policies

As noted above, increased conflict in Iraq severely effects the lives of persons with disabilities, including survivors. In 2015, it was reported that persons with disabilities in Iraq “face extensive discrimination in an environment and lack legislation protecting their rights…including services and facilities capable of meeting even basic medical or rehabilitative needs.”[36]

A review in 2016 recommended that Law 38 (2013) on the Care of Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs should be revised to ensure full compliance with the CRPD. It also noted that the widespread charity-based perception of disability in Iraq needed to change a rights-based approach to disability, in line with obligations of the CRPD.[37]

Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved a 3% public sector employment quota for persons with disabilities in 2013.[38] The government in the Kurdistan region was deliberately employing persons with disabilities.[39] Simplification of the procedures required to claim disability benefits was needed, together with widespread dissemination of the accessible procedures.[40]

An independent mechanism to oversee and monitor implementation of the CRPD, including mine survivors’ representative organization, AIDO, was established in 2015.

Women with disabilities in Iraq were reported to “suffer from flagrant and considerable discrimination” as reflected in their lack of access to education work, healthcare, rehabilitation, and integration into public life. It was recommended that the state enact legislation for the social protection of women with disabilities and increase the level of financial contributions.[41]

As of the end of 2016, Iraq was yet to implement the 2015 recommendation by the Committee on the Rights of the Child for Iraq to undertake effective inclusive education and awareness-raising programs to eliminate discrimination against children with disabilities and ensure their equal access to all social services and financial support.[42]

In 2015, it was reported that despite ratification of the CRPD, in Iraq and Kurdistan, persons with disabilities “are living in horrible conditions.”[43] In May 2015, representatives of DPOs from throughout Iraq received training on conducting a parallel (shadow) CRPD report. IADO is facilitating the process with HI support to finalize the report in 2017. From December 2015, representatives of DPOs and civil society organizations[44] participated in training of trainers sessions on disability-related issues in order to raise awareness among key stakeholders in their governorates.[45] Persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, protested indifference to the multiple forms of discrimination that affect them in front of state administration buildings in 2015.[46]

Implementation of the 2012 decree that all public buildings should be made accessible for persons with disabilities was incomplete, and access to buildings as well as to educational and work settings remained limited through to 2015.[47]