Ethiopia

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 01 August 2017

Summary: Non-signatory Ethiopia has expressed interest in the convention, but has not taken any steps to join it. Ethiopia has attended meetings of the convention, most recently in 2013, and voted in favor of a key UN resolution on the convention in December 2016. Ethiopia states that it has never produced cluster munitions and denies that it has stockpiled or used cluster munitions, despite evidence to the contrary.

Policy

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In August 2016, Ethiopian officials told the Cluster Munition Coalition that the government is still considering accession to the convention.[1] Government representatives previously said that Ethiopia is considering acceding to the convention.[2] In late 2008, an official said it was not a question of whether Ethiopia would sign, but rather when.[3]

In December 2016, Ethiopia voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that calls on states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[4] It voted in favor of the first UNGA resolution on the convention in December 2015.[5]

Ethiopia attended a few meetings of the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but participated only as an observer in the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008.[6]

Ethiopia has participated as an observer in one Meeting of States Parties to the convention in 2013, in addition to intersessional meetings in 2012–2014. It has also attended regional workshops on the convention, most recently in Addis Ababa in August 2016.[7]

Ethiopia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Ethiopia stated in April 2013 that it has never produced or used cluster munitions.[8] In a June 2012 letter to the Monitor, Ethiopia stated that it “does not possess cluster bombs and did not possess them during the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict.”[9]

Ethiopia and Eritrea both used cluster munitions during their 1998–2000 border war. Although Ethiopia has denied it, there is ample evidence that it attacked several parts of Eritrea with cluster munitions. The Mine Action Coordination Center of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea has identified approximately 30–40 cluster munition strikes inside Eritrea.[10] There have also been reports of Ethiopia using cluster bombs in other areas in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[11]

In the 2012 letter, Ethiopia claimed, “cluster munitions from the former military regime era were left at the former Ethiopian Air Force base in Asmara, Eritrea. The Eritrean regime used some of these cluster bombs to attack an elementary school in Ayder, Tigray National Regional State on 5 June 1998 during the Ethio-Eritrean conflict. The remnants of these cluster munitions are still found in the area, some of which were presented as evidence to the Ethiopia-Eritrea Claims Commission in The Hague.”[12]

Cluster munition remnants including PTAB-2.5M and AO-1SCh submunitions have been found near Somalia’s border with Ethiopia, near the Somali border town of Dolow.[13] The contamination is believed to date from the 1977–1978 Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia, but it is unclear who was responsible for the use.[14]

The Monitor and others have consistently reported that Ethiopia is still believed to possess cluster munition stockpiles, including UK-made BL755 cluster bombs, Soviet-era RBK series cluster bombs containing PTAB submunitions, and Chilean CB-500 cluster bombs.[15] Ethiopia also possesses Grad 122mm surface-to-surface rockets, but it is not known if these include versions with submunition payloads.[16]

[1] ICBL-CMC meeting with Assefa Chemere Kinde, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yahwehnsi Fikru, Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Defense, and Tesfaye Daba Wakjira, Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Standing Committee of Ethiopia’s Parliament, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 5 August 2016.

[2] Telephone interview with Fortuna Dibaco, Director, Specialized Agencies and Intergovernmental Organizations Affairs Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 February 2011; and CMC meeting with Fortuna Dibaco, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New York, 21 October 2010.

[3] CMC, “CMC Newsletter, October 2008,” Issue 4, 17 November 2008.

[4] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 71/45, 5 December 2016.

[5] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 70/54, 7 December 2015.

[6] For details on Ethiopia’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 201–202.

[7] “The Addis Ababa Commitment on Universalization and Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” Africa Regional Workshop on the Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, 5 August 2016.

[8] Statement of Ethiopia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 16 April 2013.

[9] Letter 066/2012-A from the Permanent Mission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the UN in Geneva, 13 June 2012.

[10] For additional information, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 201.

[11] Africa Watch, “Ethiopia: ‘Mengistu has Decided to Burn Us like Wood,’ Bombing of Civilians and Civilian Targets by the Air Force,” News from Africa Watch, 24 July 1990, pp. 16–17; and Africa Watch, “Evil Days: 30 Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia,” September 1991, pp. 241–242.

[12] Letter 066/2012-A from the Permanent Mission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the UN in Geneva, 13 June 2012. In April 2009, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission in The Hague awarded Ethiopia US$2.5 million “in respect of deaths and injuries, medical expenses and property damage resulting from the dropping of cluster bombs in the vicinity of the Ayder School in Mekele.” See, Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, “Ethiopia’s Damages Claims between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the State of Eritrea,” The Hague, 17 August 2009. According to the report, “Ethiopia’s claim in the present case is based…upon the fact that Eritrean aircraft also dropped cluster bombs that killed and wounded civilians and damaged property in the vicinity of the Ayder School and the surrounding neighborhood in Mekele town. Ethiopia states that those bombs killed 53 civilians, including 12 school children, and wounded 185 civilians, including 42 school children.” Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, “Partial Award–Central Front–Ethiopia’s Claim 2, between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the State of Eritrea,” The Hague, 28 April 2004, p. 24.

[13] Interview with Mohammed A. Ahmed, Director, Somalia Mine Action Authority, in Geneva, 16 April 2013.

[14] Email from Mohammed A. Ahmed, Somalia Mine Action Authority, 17 April 2013. Photographs of the cluster munition remnants are available here. It is not possible to determine definitively who was responsible for this cluster munition use. The Soviet Union supplied weapons and munitions to both sides in the Ogaden War, and foreign military forces known to have cluster munitions fought in support of Ethiopia, including the Soviet Union and Cuba.

[15] The types listed are based on the unexploded submunitions identified by clearance organizations at cluster munition strike sites in Eritrea. See, Mines Action Canada and Landmine Action, Explosive remnants of war and mines other than anti-personnel mines: Global Survey 2003–2004 (London: Landmine Action, 2005), pp. 60 and 64–65; Landmine Action,Explosive remnants of war: Unexploded ordnance and post-conflict communities (London: Landmine Action, 2002), pp. 50–53; and Rae McGrath, Cluster Bombs: The Military Effectiveness and Impact on Civilians of Cluster Munitions (London: Landmine Action, 2000), p. 38.

[16] International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2011 (London: Routledge, 2011), p. 424.

Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 02 November 2011

Commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty

Mine Ban Treaty status	State Party
National implementation measures	Has not drafted new implementation measures
Transparency reporting	March 2011

Policy

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 17 December 2004, becoming a State Party on 1 June 2005.

Ethiopia has submitted four Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports, most recently in March 2011.[1]

Ethiopia has not reported on measures to enact specific legislation to enforce the Mine Ban Treaty, but it has listed three laws that it states are “consistent with Article 9.”[2]

Ethiopia is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Production, stockpiling, transfer, and use

Ethiopia has stated that it has not produced antipersonnel mines, and has not imported the weapon since the 1991 overthrow of the Mengistu regime.[3]

The Mine Ban Treaty required that Ethiopia destroy all of its stockpiled antipersonnel mines by 1 June 2009. In a July 2008 report, Ethiopia reported that 39,759 items described as stockpiled antipersonnel mines were destroyed between 2004 and 2007. Of the declared items, only 5,867 appear to be antipersonnel mines.[4] In November 2008, Ethiopia reported that, as a result of inventories carried out by the Ministry of Defense during 2008, it concluded its original stockpile to be 55,569 antipersonnel mines, of which 40,189 had already been destroyed.[5] In April 2009, Ethiopia stated that 54,455 antipersonnel mines had been destroyed, fulfilling the Article 4 stockpile destruction obligation on 2 April 2009.[6]

In March 2011, Ethiopia reported that it has retained a total of 303 mines for training by the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO), the same number as reported in the Article 7 reports submitted since 2008. Ethiopia indicated the mines are used in mine detection dog training programs.[7]

The UN Monitoring Group on Somalia has alleged transfer of antipersonnel mines from Ethiopia to Somalia, most recently in 2006.[8] In 2007, Ethiopia described the allegations as “without foundation…unsubstantiated…[and] false.”[9] Attempts by two Presidents of Meetings of States Parties of the Mine Ban Treaty to clarify and seek further information from the UN Monitoring Group about its reports of mine transfers have gone unanswered.[10]

There have been no reports of new use of antipersonnel mines since the end of the 1998–2000 war with Eritrea.[11] Between 2003 and 2008 there were incidents caused by newly laid antivehicle mines in the Temporary Security Zone separating Eritrea and Ethiopia, according to news reports and the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC).[12]

^{^[1]} Ethiopia submitted reports on 31 March 2011, April 2010, 30 April 2009, and 5 July 2008.

^{^[2]} Certain sub-articles of Ethiopia’s Constitution, Regulation No. 70/2001 establishing the EMAO, and Ethiopia’s Penal Code specifically Articles 500, 499, 497, and 481. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2009; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, April 2010; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 31 March 2011.

^{^[3]} Ethiopia first made this statement in 1997. Statement by Amb. Dr. Fecadu Gadarmu, Embassy of Ethiopia to Canada, Mine Ban Treaty Signing Ceremony, Ottawa, 3 December 1997, p. 2.

^{^[4]} Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form G, 5 July 2008. Antipersonnel mines declared destroyed are as follows: PMD-6M (111), PMN (4,227), TS-50 (one), M2A3B (two), M3 (620), M14 (306), M16 (21), POMZ-2M (361), V-5 (two), M69 (151), M35 (10), M21 (14), GOYYATA (29), “Egypt antipersonnel mine” (two), and antipersonnel mines of unknown type (10). The remaining items included detonators, blocks of explosives, practice mines, signal mines, fuzes, and booby-traps.

^{^[5]} Ethiopia stated its intention of destroying a further 14,266 mines (54,455 in total) before its June 2009 deadline, with the remaining 1,114 mines to be retained for training purposes. Statement of Ethiopia, Ninth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 26 November 2008.

^{^[6]} Ethiopia indicated that 40,189 mines had been destroyed in 2008 and another 14,266 mines in 2009, again providing a list, which included many items that do not appear to be antipersonnel mines. Of the 54,455 items listed, it appears that 32,650 were antipersonnel mines. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form F, 30 April 2009. The 32,650 mines include: PMN (14,318), M16 (7,023), PMD-6M (6,178), POMZ-2M (3,471), M3 (503), M14 (390), M69 (318), MD-9 (182), Goyyatta (132), MK-1 (30), PPMI (29), V5 (23), M2A3 (17), GOYTA (13), M35 (nine), unknown (eight), NR490 (three), and MON-50 (three). The other items include detonators, fuses, strikers, detonating cord, blasting caps, TNT, and plastic explosives. In its 2010 and 2011 Article 7 reports, Ethiopia reaffirmed that 54,455 antipersonnel mines of different types had been destroyed.

^{^[7]} This included PMD (76), PMN (60), M14 (58), POMZ (43), M16 (43), M3 (13), and Type 69 (10). Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 31 March 2011.

^{^[8]} In 2006, the UN Monitoring Group reported that in September 2006 the Ethiopian military transferred 180 antipersonnel mines and other unspecified mines to Puntland and Qeybdiid militias. “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia pursuant to Security Council resolution 1676 (2006),” S/2006/913, 22 November 2006, pp. 19–22. It also reported transfers of antivehicle mines and unspecified mines to other Somali entities.

^{^[9]} It stated that “Ethiopia is in full compliance of its obligations under the Convention.…[T]here has never been any transfer of antipersonnel mines to any third party including in Somalia.” Letter from Amb. Samuel Assefa, Embassy of Ethiopia to the United States, 11 July 2007.

^{^[10]} For details of statements and actions by the two Presidents relating to the UN Monitoring Group reports, see Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 373.

^{^[11]} While not openly acknowledging the use of antipersonnel mines during the border conflict with Eritrea from 1998–2000, in April 2002 Ethiopia provided the UN with detailed maps of mines laid by Ethiopian forces in Eritrea during the conflict. Email from Phil Lewis, Chief Technical Advisor, UNMEE MACC, 23 April 2002.

^{^[12]} See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 374.

Mine Action

Last updated: 13 December 2017

Contaminated by: landmines (extent of contamination unclear) and other explosive remnants of war (ERW).

Article 5 Deadline: 1 June 2020
(Not on track to meet deadline)

In June 2017, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia reported that nearly 7.2km² of confirmed mined areas still remained in the country, along with more than 1,180km² of suspected mined areas. No survey or systematic clearance was reported for 2016 and the first half of 2017. Thirty items of ordnance (no antipersonnel mines) were destroyed following reports from the local population.

Recommendations for action

Ethiopia should significantly improve the quality and frequency of its reporting both at Mine Ban Treaty meetings and through Article 7 transparency reports.
Ethiopia should develop a resource mobilization plan and clarify how financial resources will be used to fulfil its extension request targets.

Contamination

In June 2017, Ethiopia reported that nearly 7.2km² of confirmed mined area remained, along with more than 1,180km² of suspected hazardous areas (SHAs), of which it expected about only about 3% would contain mines.[1]

Since 2015, Ethiopia’s reporting on the number and size of areas suspected or confirmed to be mined has been inconsistent between its 2015 Article 5 extension request, its response to subsequent requests for clarification, statements at Mine Ban Treaty meetings, and its latest Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency report on contamination as of 30 April 2017. It would appear, however, that as of June 2017, 45 confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) remained, covering a total area of just under 7.2km², along with 269 SHAs with a size of nearly 1,186km².

According to its latest Article 7 report, submitted in 2017, and information in its extension request, CHAs and SHAs remained across six regions (Afar, Benishangul, Gambela, Oromia, Somali, and Tigray), as set out in the table below. The Somali region is believed to be by far the most heavily affected.

CHAs and SHAs by region (as of April 2017)[2]

Region	SHAs	Area (km²)	CHAs	Area (km²)
Afar	14	3.70	6	1.76
Benishangul	2*	0.05	2*	0.05
Gambela	20	0.80	0	0
Oromia	13	1.05	8	0.10
Somali	262	1,186.90	27	3.81
Tigray	3	0.70	2	1.46
Total	314	1,193.2	45	7.18

* The two SHAs and CHAs may be double counting the same areas.

The large number of SHAs that require re-surveying result from the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) conducted in 2001–2004, which was believed to overestimate the scale of contamination.[3]

It is not possible to definitively reconcile Ethiopia’s statements in 2017 on its progress in implementing its Article 5 obligations with that of information provided in its 2015 extension request and other previously reported information. In addition, Ethiopia did not report on progress to meet the projected milestones contained in its extension request for 2015–2017. Ethiopia has been asked by States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty to clarify its estimates of contamination and to present accurate information on the number and estimated size of CHAs and SHAs.[4]

Ethiopia has also noted that estimates of contamination do not include the area along the Ethiopia-Eritrea confrontation line where no survey has been carried out and the border has not been demarcated. The area was previously under the control of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). When asked what efforts it had made to address this contamination, Ethiopia replied that it had carried out clearance behind its own defensive lines, but it was not possible to enter or clear the area between the two countries’ defensive lines due to security concerns, and clearance would have to wait until the demarcation has been completed.[5]

Ethiopia’s mine problem is a result of internal and international armed conflicts dating back to 1935, including the Italian occupation and subsequent East Africa campaigns (1935–1941), a border war with Sudan (1980), the Ogaden War with Somalia (1997–1998), internal conflict (1974–2000), and the Ethiopian-Eritrean war (1998–2000).

Mines and ERW are reported to continue to cause socio-economic harm, including through: denying access to agricultural and pasture land, which contributes to food insecurity and serious economic hardship for certain communities; blocking access to water for communities and particularly for nomadic pastoralists; and blocking secondary and tertiary roads important to local communities.[6]

Program Management

In 2001, following the end of the conflict with Eritrea, Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers established the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO) as an autonomous civilian body responsible for mine clearance and mine risk education.[7] EMAO developed its operational capacities with technical assistance from Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).[8] In 2011, however, EMAO’s governing board decided that the Ministry of Defense was better suited to clear the remaining mines because Ethiopia had made significant progress in meeting its Mine Ban Treaty clearance obligations and the remaining threat did not warrant a structure and organization the size of EMAO. It has further asserted on numerous occasions that a civilian entity such as EMAO would have difficulty accessing the unstable Somali region.[9]

In response to the decision to close EMAO and transfer demining responsibility to the army’s Combat Engineers Division, NPA ended its direct funding support[10] and had completed the transfer of its remaining 49 mine detection dogs (MDDs) to EMAO by the end of April 2012;[11] some MDD handlers and support staff were transferred to the federal police.[12] The Combat Engineers Division took over management of the MDD Training Center at Entoto, where it conducted training in demining in early 2012.

The transition of EMAO to the Ministry of Defense appeared to be in limbo until September 2015, when Ethiopia reported that oversight of national mine action activities had been re-established as “one Independent Mine Action Office” under the Combat Engineers Main Department.[13] This office was to include a number of sub-departments, including for operations, risk education, information management, quality assurance, and training. Ethiopia claimed that a demining company, technical survey and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, and a mechanical demining team had been formed.[14]

In December 2016, Ethiopia informed States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty that the mine action training center had been fully transferred to the “Office in charge of Mine Action.” It reported, though, that resource constraints were impeding the construction of the Demining Training Center started by the former EMAO, and noted that demining equipment was nearing the end of its operational life.[15]

Under its extension request, Ethiopia stated that from 1 December 2015 to the end of May 2020, it would deploy four demining companies and four survey and rapid-response teams.[16] In April 2017, Ethiopia reported that using its own resources, 412 personnel attended a basic demining course. In addition, 23 deminers completed a month-long EOD Level 2 training course conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in March 2017, and a further 20 participated in an improvised explosive device (IED) training run by the United States.[17] It did not report, however, that any demining had begun.

Standards

Under its extension plan targets, Ethiopia stated in 2015 that its National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) would be “developed and updated” and that standing operating procedures (SOPs) for mine clearance and land release would be updated using the current International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[18]

Information management

Ethiopia reported that, prior to 2015, EMAO had installed and customized a new version of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database and had been working on capacity development to upgrade data processing. However, it stated that database challenges remained and until issues with the IMSMA system were resolved, the National Defense Force would “continue using alternative data processing packages together with IMSMA for planning, reporting, and analysis.” In its extension request, Ethiopia requested technical advisory and training support to make the IMSMA database fully functional.[19] In June 2017, Ethiopia reiterated its appeal for assistance for resources and skills training for personnel to operate the IMSMA database and for strategic planning projects.[20]

Land Release

Ethiopia did not report any survey or systematic clearance for 2016 or the first half of 2017. In its extension request, Ethiopia pledged that four demining teams and four technical survey and rapid-response teams would start clearance and survey in November 2015, and a further four technical survey and rapid-response teams would be deployed the following month, once training and refreshment courses had been held.[21] As of June 2017, Ethiopia had not, however, reported that any survey or clearance teams had been deployed. It reported, though, that in 2016 on the basis of reports from the local population, 10 antivehicle mines and 20 items of UXO had been destroyed by the mine action office.[22]

Previously, in April 2014, Ethiopia had informed States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty that in January–November 2013 its rapid-response teams had visited more than 10 ERW-impacted communities in “Amhar, Oromiya, south and Somalia regional states” clearing more than 100,000m² and destroying 10 antipersonnel mines and 176,000 items of UXO.[23] No details were given as to the exact location of the spot tasks. Historically, in 2002–2012, Ethiopia stated that almost 60km² of mined areas were cleared while nearly 1,200km² of SHAs were released by technical survey, with the destruction of 9,260 antipersonnel mines, 1,466 antivehicle mines, and 197,985 items of UXO.[24]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with a five-year extension granted by States Parties in 2015) Ethiopia is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 June 2020. It is not on track to meet this deadline.

Ethiopia’s original Article 5 deadline expired on 1 June 2015. In March 2015, Ethiopia submitted a request for an extension of five years until 1 June 2020 to complete survey and clearance of all remaining mined areas.[25] It failed, however, to submit an extension request with sufficient time to allow States Parties to consider extending the deadline prior to its expiry, thus placing Ethiopia in violation of the convention until the approval of the late request by the 14^th Meeting of States Parties on 4 December 2015.[26] In the request, Ethiopia provided the following intended yearly milestones and targets:

In 2015–2017, non-technical survey and technical survey would be carried out on all remaining 314 SHAs covering a total area of more than 1,193km². Of this, 22 SHAs with an area of almost 30km² would be addressed in 2015; 149 SHAs covering 516km² in 2016;[27] and a further 143 SHAs with a size of almost 648km² in 2017.[28]
It further projected that a total of 0.45km² would be cleared in 2015; 4.88km² in 2016; and 4.8km² in 2017: a total of 10.135km².
In 2018–2020, clearance would continue in the surveyed areas, mainly in the Somali region.[29] Ethiopia promised that an updated workplan would be submitted to States Parties by April 2017.[30]

As of June 2017, Ethiopia had not reported release of any area set out in the extension request.[31]

In December 2016, Ethiopia stated that the Ministry of Defense’s Combat Engineers Division planned to undertake “advanced technical survey” in six regions—Afar, Benishangul, Gambela, Oromia, Somali, and Tigray—and that from January 2017 to June 2020, four demining operators and four rapid-response teams would survey and clear contaminated areas.[32] It pledged to provide a workplan with a list of all areas known or suspected to contain antipersonnel mines along with annual projections to address the remaining areas.[33]

It failed, however, to submit a workplan by the required date of 30 April 2017. In June 2017, at the Mine Ban Treaty’s intersessional meetings, Ethiopia informed States Parties that the workplan had been developed and was awaiting approval by authorities, after which it would disseminate the plan to all stakeholders for input.[34]

In April 2017, for the first time since 2012, Ethiopia submitted an updated Article 7 report. However, it does not contain precise information on the location and size of contaminated areas. Its March 2015 extension request is also riddled with inconsistent figures and mathematical errors

Ethiopia has listed the following reasons for its inability to comply with its initial 2015 Article 5 deadline: insecurity in and around some mined areas; the lack of basic social services and infrastructure necessary for operations in rural areas; continuous redeployment of demining teams in scattered mined areas; lack of funding; the identification of additional hazardous areas; climate (such as a three-month rainy season); and a lack of precise information on the number and location of mined areas.[35] Previously, in 2010, Ethiopia said it would clear all mines by 2013 (two years ahead of its deadline) if sufficient funding were available.[36] In March 2013, however, following the closure of EMAO and transfer of responsibility for mine action to the Ministry of Defense, Ethiopia reported it was unlikely to meet its Article 5 deadline due to secondment of demining units to Sudan, and gaps in training, equipment, and funding.[37]

With no functioning mine action program as of the end of 2016 and little progress reported in clearance since September 2011 (see table below), Ethiopia is unlikely to meet its future extension request plan. The inconsistencies and errors throughout its extension request do not provide sufficient clarity on or confidence in the true extent of mine contamination remaining or a realistic estimate of when clearance could be completed.[38]

Mine clearance in 2012–2016[39]

Year	Area cleared (km²)
2016	N/R
2015	N/R
2014	N/R
2013	0.10
2012	N/R
Total	0.10

Note: N/R = not reported.

In its 2015 extension request, Ethiopia claimed it would cost a total of more than US$37 million to complete clearance by May 2020, an unexplained increase from the $10 million that EMAO reported was required to clear all remaining areas by 2012.[40] The request stated that Ethiopia would cover most of the mine action program’s administrative costs, including quality assurance, information management, and training to respond to residual contamination, but did not report the amount of its national contribution.[41]

Ethiopia has called on a number of occasions for technical and financial support from international NGOs to meet its mine clearance obligations.[42] In June 2015, Ethiopia requested other States Parties to provide mine detection and clearance equipment to assist in clearing mines and IEDs.[43] In June 2017, it requested assistance and training in information management and planning, stating it faced a shortage of resources and skilled manpower.[44]

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the mine action research in 2017, including on survey and clearance, and shared all its resulting landmine and cluster munition reports with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

[1] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form C. In its March 2015 Article 5 deadline extension request, Ethiopia stated that, based on past operational experience, after technical survey as little as 0.5% of the estimated area of SHAs would contain mines, which would amount to a total of less than 5.6km². At the same time, it also reported higher estimates that 2% or 3% of the total size of the SHAs could be expected to be confirmed. Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, pp. 7 and 42.

[2] In its Article 7 report for 2016, Ethiopia reported that these areas contained contamination of the following types: PMN, POMZ, PMD 6, M14, M16, and M35 (PRBM 35) mines, along with antivehicle mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The areas listed as CHAs are labelled both “suspended minefields” and as “areas that contain mines” in its September 2015 Article 5 Committee response for additional information. Ethiopia has also reported figures of 26 CHAs remaining in Somali region and three CHAs in Tigray region. See, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form C; Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, pp. 26 and 42; statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Standing Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 9 April 2014; “Response to Committee on Article 5 Implementation request for additional information on its Article 5 deadline Extension Request,” submitted 26 September 2015; and Analysis of Ethiopia’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 19 November 2015, p. 3.

[3] Interviews with Gebriel Lager, Deputy Director, EMAO, in Ljubljana, 14 April 2008, and in Geneva, 4 June 2008; and Pascal Simon, “Transitioning Mine Action Programmes to National Ownership: Ethiopia,” GICHD, p. 3. In its extension request, Ethiopia reported that of the 1,916 SHAs identified by the LIS, 259 areas were later released through “general survey,” and 1,207 areas released through technical survey. Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 7.  

[4] “Response to Committee on Article 5 Implementation request for additional information on its Article 5 deadline Extension Request,” submitted 26 September 2015; and Analysis of Ethiopia’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 19 November 2015, p. 3.

[5] “Response to Committee on Article 5 Implementation request for additional information on its Article 5 deadline Extension Request,” submitted 26 September 2015; and Analysis of Ethiopia’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 19 November 2015, p. 3.

[6] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 6.

[7] Council of Ministers, Regulation No. 70/2001, 5 February 2001.  

[8] A. Borchgrevink et al., “End Review of the Norwegian People’s Aid Mine Action Programme in Ethiopia 2005–2007: Final Evaluation,” Norad Collected Reviews 36/2008, June 2008, p. 5.  

[9] Statements of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 25 June 2015, April 2014, and 24 May 2012.

[10] Email from Aubrey Sutherland-Pillai, Programme Manager, NPA, 22 August 2012.

[11] Email from Kjell Ivar Breili, Programme Manager, NPA, Ethiopia, 25 May 2010; and Pascal Simon, “Transitioning Mine Action Programmes to National Ownership: Ethiopia,” GICHD, p. 11.

[12] Email from Aubrey Sutherland-Pillai, NPA, 22 August 2012.

[13] Statements of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 9 April 2014, and 25 June 2015; “Response to Committee on Article 5 Implementation request for additional information on its Article 5 deadline Extension Request,” submitted 26 September 2015; and Analysis of Ethiopia’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 19 November 2015, p. 3.

[14] “Response to Committee on Article 5 Implementation request for additional information on its Article 5 deadline Extension Request,” submitted 26 September 2015; and Analysis of Ethiopia’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 19 November 2015, p. 3. In its 2015 extension request, Ethiopia reiterated that the Ministry of Defense was better placed to hold responsibility for the national mine action program as, in addition to the military having better access to remaining mined areas, it would be better placed to budget for operations with limited funding, and would more effectively employ available mine action capacity, on the basis that Ethiopian forces participate widely in peacekeeping operations around the world.

[15] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty 15^th Meeting of States Parties, Santiago, Chile, 29 November 2016.

[16] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 44.

[17] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form J; and statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017.

[18] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 11.

[19] Ibid., p. 37.

[20] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017.

[21] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, pp. 11 and 44.

[22] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form G. At the intersessional meetings in June 2017, Ethiopia also reported that 109,000m² of contamination “which was not identified before” had been cleared. This appears to refer to the just over 100,000m²it reported had been cleared in 2013. See, statements of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 25 June 2015, and 9 April 2014.

[23] Statements of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 25 June 2015, and 9 April 2014.

[24] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 24; “Response to Committee on Article 5 Implementation request for additional information on its Article 5 deadline Extension Request,” submitted 26 September 2015; and Analysis of Ethiopia’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 19 November 2015, p. 2. Of the total 1,916 SHAs recorded, 259 were released by “general survey,” 1,207 were “confirmed mine free” through technical survey, and an additional 136 areas confirmed to contain mines. Ethiopia also included a table of munitions destroyed which reported the destruction of 9,363 antipersonnel mines, 1,373 antivehicle mines, and 141,112 items of UXO. It had previously reported slightly different figures of destroying 9,278 antipersonnel mines and 1,266 antivehicle mines. See Pascal Simon, “Transitioning Mine Action Programmes to National Ownership: Ethiopia,” GICHD, pp. 16–17.

[25] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 10.

[26] The request is dated 31 March 2015 but according to the Implementation Support Unit it was not received until 16 June 2015. See, Implementation Support Unit’s website.

[27] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 46. In the extension request Ethiopia appears to give different figures for the number and amount of SHAs to be addressed per year: in a separate table also on p. 46, it also reports that 12 SHAs covering 28.3km² would be surveyed in 2015. On p. 45, however, it reverses figures for clearance and survey and erroneously reports that over the course of 2015, 452,890m² would be addressed by non-technical and technical survey, while a total of 28.1km² would be cleared. It also reports a different figure of 160 SHAs with a size of more than 517.5km² to be surveyed in 2016 in the table on p. 46.

[28] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, pp. 45–46. However, these figures add up to 1,193,826,634m², which is greater than any of the four slightly different figures reported in the extension request as the total size of the remaining SHAs. Likewise, the alternate figures listed in the preceding footnote total 1,193,681,680m², which is also greater than any figure reported for the size of the total remaining SHAs. To add to the confusion, in its statement to the intersessional meetings in June 2015, Ethiopia reported that only 22 SHAs covering 647km² would be addressed in 2015–2017. Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 25 June 2015. 

[29] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 25 June 2015; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 47.  

[30] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 25 June 2015; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 45.  

[31] “Preliminary Observations of the Committee on Article 5 Implementation (Chile, Costa Rica, Switzerland, and Zambia),” Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 8–9 June 2017.

[32] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty 15^th Meeting of States Parties, Santiago, 29 November 2016.

[33] Ibid.

[34] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017.

[35] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, pp. 40–41.

[36] Statements of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Standing Committee on Mine Action, Geneva, 23 June 2010; and Mine Ban Treaty 10^th Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 2 December 2010.

[37] Presentation of Ethiopia, African Union/ICRC Weapon Contamination Workshop, Addis Ababa, 5 March 2013.  

[38] According to figures presented in the request, as of March 2015, 5.9km² of land was confirmed as mined and a further 35.8km² was expected to be confirmed to contain mines following survey, though Ethiopia’s extension request outlines the clearance of 10.1km² by 2020.

[39] Pascal Simon, “Transitioning Mine Action Programmes to National Ownership: Ethiopia,” GICHD, pp. 16–17; and statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Standing Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 9 April 2014.

[40] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Standing Committee on Mine Action, Geneva, 24 May 2012.

[41] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 48. Ethiopia also reported that the government had contributed a total of US$8 million to demining in 2001–2012. It reported that over the same period US$80 million of donor funding had been spent on demining in Ethiopia. Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, p. 33.

[42] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2015, pp. 48–49.

[43] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 25 June 2015.

[44] Ibid., 8 June 2017.

Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 07 October 2013

In 2012, the mine action program in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was transferred from the Ethiopia Mine Action Office (EMAO) to the Ministry of National Defense. At the same time, EMAO reported it needed US$10 million to clear the remaining mined areas, but with mine action transferred to the Ministry of National Defense,[1] funding was impeded because donors that support humanitarian demining through their foreign aid programs are generally constrained from providing funds to the army. The funding for clearance in 2012 went to Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), who have since closed its mine action program in Ethiopia.[2]

The United States (US) contribution through the Leahy War Victims Fund of the US Agency for International Development went to the ICRC to support rehabilitation centers in Ethiopia.[3]

International contributions: 2012[4]

Donor	Sector	National currency	Amount ($)
Norway	Clearance, victim assistance	NOK6,915,350	1,188,592
US	Victim assistance	$939,700	939,700
Austria	Victim assistance	€150,000	192,885
Netherlands	Clearance	€150,000	192,885
Total			2,514,062

Summary of international contributions: 2008–2012[5]

Year	Amount ($)
2012	2,514,062
2011	3,797,268
2010	10,780,398
2009	7,578,249
2008	9,463,549
Total	34,133,526

[1] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 24 May 2012.

[2] Email from Aubrey Sutherland-Pillai, Programme Manager, NPA, 22 August 2012.

[3] ICRC, “ICRC Annual Report 2012,” p.538.

[4] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Ingunn Vatne, Senior Advisor, Department for Human Rights, Democracy and Humanitarian Assistance, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 April 2013; ICRC “ICRC Annual Report 2012,” p.538; response to Monitor questionnaire by Robert Gerschner, Unit for Arms Control and Disarmament in the framework of the UN, Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Austria, 26 February 2013; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Fabienne Moust, Policy Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, 19 March 2013. Average exchange rate for 2012: NOK5.8181=US$1 and €1=US$1.2859. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2013.

[5] See Landmine Monitor reports 2008–2011; and ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Ethiopia: Support for Mine Action,” 26 August 2011.

Casualties

Last updated: 26 July 2017

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2016

16,849 (9,431 killed; 7,401 injured; 17 unknown)

No mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were reported in 2016.[1] The extent of contamination in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia suggests that casualties were likely in 2016, but have gone unreported.

The last identified (mine) casualties were in 2010, when two deminers were injured.[2]

There were at least 16,849 casualties (9,431 killed; 7,401 injured; and 17 for whom the outcome was unknown) through the end of 2013. Between 2004 and the end of 2014, the Monitor identified 233 casualties (90 killed; 126 injured; 17 unknown).[3] The most complete single data source remains the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) completed in 2004, which recorded 16,616 mine/ERW casualties (9,341 killed; 7,275 injured).[4]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 272 casualties occurred during the use of cluster munitions in Mekele and Adigrat, Ethiopia, in 1998.[5] No unexploded submunition casualties were recorded.

[1] Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire, Meried Mengesha Berhe, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA), 10 April 2017.

[2] Information provided to the Monitor in writing by the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO), Addis Ababa, 15 March 2011. In March 2011, EMAO was reported as saying that deminers had been injured during clearance, but that there were no known reports of civilian casualties. Henry Guyer, “The remnants of war: Ethiopia’s buried killers,” The Ethiopian Reporter, 26 March 2011.

[3] See previous editions of the Monitor available on the Monitor website.

[4] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2005.

[5] Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 52.

Victim Assistance

Last updated: 26 July 2017

Summary action points based on findings

Implement a casualty reporting system.
Identify a reliable supply—domestic or international—for the raw materials for prosthetic devices.

Victim assistance commitments

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is responsible for landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW). Ethiopia has made a commitment to victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

There are at least 7,401 known mine survivors in Ethiopia.[1] The total number of mine/ERW survivors is unknown as there is no centralized data collection; many survivors, particularly veterans, live in urban locations, including the capital, which were not surveyed by the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS).[2]

Victim assistance since 2015

Many survivors and other persons with disabilities continued to live in poverty and far from existing facilities, which prevented them from accessing assistance services.

Improvements in the quality and accessibility of physical rehabilitation services were reported for the period of the Cartagena Action Plan through 2015, but recent reductions in support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have meant that physical rehabilitation services, including the provision of prosthetics, have become more costly and less available.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) was responsible for the national coordination of the physical rehabilitation sector and for issues concerning persons with disabilities more broadly, while services were coordinated by the regional Bureaus of Labor and Social Affairs offices (BoLSA) with support from the ICRC. The National Plan of Action on Disability 2012–2021 was a tool for increasing progress in victim assistance and upholding the rights of persons with disabilities more generally.

Psychosocial support and economic reintegration services, mostly operated by NGOs, remained limited and were inadequate to deal with the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities. Former Landmine Survivors Network staff members established the Survivors Recovery and Rehabilitation Organization (SRaRO) in 2014 to provide limited psychosocial, physical, and economic support to landmine survivors, amputees, and persons with disabilities from all causes.[3]

Victim assistance in 2016

Assessing victim assistance needs

No targeted assessment of landmine and ERW survivor needs was conducted in 2016, but the government of Ethiopia conducted a nationwide assessment of persons with disabilities in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[4]

Victim assistance coordination[5]

Government coordinating body/focal point	MoLSA: responsible for issues regarding persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, and for coordinating rehabilitation services
Coordinating mechanism	MoLSA and regional BoLSAs
Plan	National Plan of Action on Disability2012–2021 and Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP)

Ethiopia has reported that there is no specific victim assistance program and that the needs of mine/ERW survivors are addressed through programs for persons with disabilities more generally.[6]

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) is responsible for issues relating to persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, and is the international focal point for victim assistance. Within MoLSA, the Social Welfare Development Promotion Directorate serves as the focal point of contact for disability issues.[7] Bureaus of Labor and Social Affairs (BoLSAs) in each region of the country managed disability-related issues in a regional context using MoLSA policy framework.[8] BoLSAs are responsible for coordinating both public and private services for persons with disabilities in their respective regions. MoLSA developed national policies with the input of the BoLSAs.[9]

Other relevant ministries also have disability departments.[10] MoLSA is the focal point for implementation of the CRPD and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is tasked with the supervision of MoLSA’s implementation, just as the commission is responsible for supervision of other human rights treaties. To assist with implementation of the CRPD, MoLSA established a committee with representatives from relevant ministries and members of civil society. Ethiopia’s federal model of government has meant that each region of the country is also involved in implementation. In the South Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region, a region-specific task force of 14 government agencies and six disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) has been established. DPOs are also able to participate in the implementation process through the National Council of Persons with Disabilities in two ways. They can participate as individual organizations, as well as through the Federation of Ethiopian National Associations of People with Disabilities (FENAPD). FENAPD is an umbrella organization for six national associations: Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf (ENAD); Ethiopian National Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy (ENAPAL); Ethiopian National Association on Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ENAID); Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf-Blind (ENADB); Ethiopian National Association of the Blind (ENAB); and National Development Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities.[11]

The National Disability Forum is a government structure, comprised of representatives from relevant sector ministries and DPOs and is coordinated by MOLSA, and has as its main responsibility planning and evaluating the implementation of the CRPD. The structure of the National Disability Forum has been linked to the regions of Ethiopia for which there is also a Regional Disability Forum for following up on implementation at the local level.[12]

There are three national strategic plans relevant to victim assistance: the second Growth and Transformation Plan, 2015/16–2019/20; the National Plan of Action on Disability, 2012–2021; and a five-year National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy. The National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy was included in the National Social Welfare Policy in 2010, and a plan of action for the practical implementation of the National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy was drafted and under discussion in 2012.[13] Under the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), availability of physical rehabilitation services is expected to increase such that the number of people receiving services will triple by the conclusion of the plan.[14]

Ethiopia did not provide any updates on victim assistance within the national disability framework at the 15^th Meeting of States Parties in Santiago, Chile. Ethiopia has not reported on victim assistance in accordance with the Mine Ban Treaty’s Article 7 since 2009, but did submit its first Article 7 report in five years in 2017.[15]

Participation and inclusion in victim assistance

There was no participation of mine/ERW victims specifically in coordination mechanisms, but they are represented as persons with disabilities regardless of the cause of impairment. The six national associations of persons with disabilities that are members of FENAPD represent the interests of mine/ERW survivors based on the type of impairment according to the corresponding category of the national association.[16]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[17]

Name of organization	Type of organization	Type of activity	Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2016
BoLSAs	Government	Prosthetics, social services, social benefits, and feedback to MoLSA	Ongoing
Prosthetic Orthotic Center (POC) Addis Ababa	Government	Physical rehabilitation including physiotherapy, prosthetics, and production of assistive devices	Costs of prosthetics have increased and availability of devices has decreased
Cheshire Services Ethiopia (CSE)	National NGO	Physical rehabilitation, prosthetics for amputees, mostly mine/ERW survivors and for other persons with disabilities and their families; child-focused CBR network; economic inclusion services for family members of children with disabilities; support to students with disabilities; assembly of wheelchairs	Reduced geographic coverage to provide assistive devices for persons with disabilities through mobile outreach activities
Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD)	National NGO	Promotes inclusive development in mainstream government and NGO development projects, programs, and services; training and awareness-raising	Improvements in program quality and number of clients
Survivors Recovery and Rehabilitation Organization (SRaRO)	National NGO	Conduct peer support for trauma recovery; increase awareness on victim assistance; support victims in physical rehabilitation, economic and psycho- social reintegration and also increase their capacity; increase the awareness of the public on victim assistance; develops partnership and networking	Increased physical rehabilitation, psychological, and economic reintegration of survivors Increased the awareness of relevant stakeholders on assistance.
Tigray Disabled Veterans’ Association (TDVA)	National NGO	Rehabilitation, assistive and mobility devices	Ongoing
Handicap International (HI)	International NGO	Inclusive education programs, improving resilience of communities facing climate change	Increased number of children with disabilities benefitting from inclusive education, services in Gambella camps limited to children
ICRC	International organization	Support for seven physical rehabilitation centers; direct support to people by covering their fees at the centers; transportation and accommodation	Number of supported centers decreased; support for raw materials for prosthetics withdrawn
Federation of National Association People with Disabilities (FENAPD)	National Umbrella Organization	It is a membership organization of six national associations. FENAPD operated under the national plan for inclusive education, accessibility audit, and inclusion of disability in the national development agenda	Annual plan prepared, plan implementation evaluated; members’ capacity developed and survivors empowered economically through Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

Physical rehabilitation, including prosthetics

Availability of prosthetics in Ethiopia declined sharply in 2016. The ICRC stopped supporting the Mekele orthopedic center (operated by the TDVA), which in 2015 had the highest total number of beneficiaries and delivered the most prostheses.[18] The Mekele center did not experience a budget problem, but sourcing a supply of materials locally was a challenge. While trying to import some materials from abroad, it also diversified production to include other types of prostheses and assistive devices.[19]

Also, while the ICRC has begun to provide technical support to the Ethiopia Mine Action Office for landmine clearance activities, the ICRC stopped providing support to the Prosthetic and Orthotic Center in Addis Ababa[20] and no longer imported raw materials to Ethiopia for the manufacture of prosthetics and orthotics.[21]

MoLSA has started to source raw materials from within the country,[22] but the supply has not been sufficient to avoid a substantial increase in the price of prosthetics and orthotics, as well as a consequent limitation on who can receive them.[23]

Mekele University, in partnership with the TDVA, provided 26 motorized wheelchairs to veterans with disabilities.[24]

The human resource capacity to produce orthopedic devices continued to improve, with MoLSA and the ICRC graduating 15 new technicians from the Orthopaedic Vocational and Educational Training College.[25]

The availability and quality of physical therapy appears unchanged.

Economic and social inclusion

The Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD) and the Federation of Ethiopian National Associations of Persons with Disabilities (FENAPD) collaborated with the Federal Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) agency to increase vocational training opportunities for persons with disabilities. FENAPD also provided start-up capital and small business training to persons who had completed their vocational studies.[26] SRaRO provided small business trainings and economic support packages to some survivors.[27]

The ICRC continued supporting sports for persons with disabilities by expanding wheelchair basketball programs with donations of sport wheelchairs to the Ethiopian Basketball Federation (EBF).[28] In recognition of the annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the ICRC and EBF hosted a wheelchair basketball tournament.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) adopted a master plan for disability-inclusive education in 2016.[29] HI supported an inclusive education programming for children with disabilities in several regions in the country benefiting thousands of children with disability by mainstreaming them into primary schools.[30] SRaRO participated in a survey supported by the Civil Society Support Program to identify gaps in inclusive education opportunities in Addis Ababa.[31] Despite these efforts, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressed concern at the lack of inclusive education opportunities, especially for girls with disabilities.[32]

Psychological support

SRaRO remains one of the few providers of psychosocial support for landmine survivors in Ethiopia. Using the peer support model developed by Landmine Survivors Network, SRaRO reaches a modest beneficiary pool through hospital-based outreach and individualized follow-up.[33]

Laws and policies

Ethiopia ratified the CRPD on 7 July 2010. As the CRPD is implemented in Ethiopia, many new policies and guidelines have been issued to localize the provisions of the Convention. These policies include guidelines on disability mainstreaming in the national health service, the national social protection action plan, and a revision of the national action plan for persons with disabilities for the next decade to reflect the changes in government structures needed to implement the convention.[34]

[1] This includes the number of survivors identified in the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) and Monitor reporting for 2004–2011.

[2] Monitor field mission notes, Ethiopia, 11–18 May 2011; and statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 May 2012.

[3] Email from Bekele Gonfa, Co-founder, Survivors Rehabilitation and Recovery Organization (SRaRO), 25 May 2015.

[4] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Meried Mengesha Berhe, MoLSA, 10 April 2017.

[5] Emails from Zebiba Radiwan, MoLSA, 9 March 2015; and from Bekele Gonfa, SRaRO, 5 August 2016.

[6] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Twelfth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 4 December 2012.

[7] Interview with Mered Mengesha, MoLSA, 26 May 2017.

[8] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programme (PRP), “Annual Report 2012,” Geneva, September 2013, p. 34.

[9] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, August 2011, p. 25; and interview with Assefa Baleher, Advisor to State Minister, MoLSA, 13 May 2011.

[10] International Labour Organization/Irish Aid, “Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Ethiopia, Fact sheet,” January 2013, p. 3.

[11] Initial Report of Ethiopia to the Committee of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, paras. 143–145.

[12] Telephone interview with Assefa Baleher, MoLSA, 21 July 2017.

[13] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 34; statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 29 May 2013; statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Twelfth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 4 December 2012; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Fasil Ayele, Cheshire Services Ethiopia (CSE), Addis Ababa, 26 March 2013.

[14] Email from Assefa Baleher, MoLSA, 8 September 2016.

[15] Statement of Ethiopia, Mine Ban Treaty Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 3 December 2013; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (as of April 2009).

[16] Email from Bekele Gonfa, SRaRO, 21 July 2017.

[17] Responses to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Meried Mengesha Berhe, MoLSA, 10 April 2017; by Wondwosen Gatachew, Prosthetic and Orthotic Center, 24 April 2017; by Beleke Gonfa, SRaRO, 17 April 2017; by Melesse Zenebework, FENAPD, 28 April 2017; by Metassebia Negussu, Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD), 13 April 2017; and by Chernet Tasissa, CSE, 12 April 2017.

[18] Emails from the ICRC, “Services provided for mine victims in 8 ICRC supported centers in 2015,” undated; and “Services provided for mine victims in 5 ICRC supported centers in 2016,” undated.

[19] Telephone conversation with Girmay Gmeskel, Manager, Mekele POC, 21 July 2017.

[20] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Wondwosen Gatachew, POC, 24 April 2017.

[21] Responses to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Beleke Gonfa, SRaRO, 17 April 2017; and by Chernet Tasissa, CSE, 12 April 2017.

[22] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Meried Mengesha Berhe, MoLSA, 10 April 2017.

[23] Responses to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Beleke Gonfa, SRaRO, 17 April 2017; and by Wondwosen Gatachew, POC, 24 April 2017.

[24] Mekele University, “MU Handed Over Motorized Wheel Chairs for Disabled Veterans,” 31 July 2016.

[25] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Meried Mengesha Berhe, MoLSA, 10 April 2017; and ICRC, “Ethiopia: Training Future orthopaedic and physical rehabilitation experts,” 11 November 2016.

[26] Responses to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Metassebia Negussu, ECDD, 13 April 2017; and by Melesse Zenebework, FENAPD, 28 April 2017.

[27] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Beleke Gonfa, SRaRO, 17 April 2017.

[28] ICRC, “Ethiopia: Supporting social inclusion for persons with disabilities,” 23 March 2017.

[29] Ministry of Education, “A Master Plan for Special Needs Education/Inclusive Education in Ethiopia 2016-2025,” October 2016.

[30] Handicap International, “Ethiopia Country Card–2016,” undated.

[31] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Beleke Gonfa, SRaRO, 17 April 2017.

[32] Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Concluding observations on the initial report of Ethiopia,” 4 November 2016.

[33] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Beleke Gonfa, SRaRO, 17 April 2017.

[34] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Meried Mengesha Berhe, MOLSA, 10 April 2017.