Policy

Afghanistan acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 11 September 2002, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2003. The country has been renamed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

The Taliban has pledged not to use landmines on several occasions. In October 1998, its then-supreme leader, Mullah Muhammed Omer, proclaimed a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel mines. He described use of landmines as an “un-Islamic and anti-human act,” which the Taliban “strongly condemns.” The statement explicitly endorsed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and declared a national “ban on the production, trade, stockpiling and use of landmines.”[1]

Over the past 20 years, the Monitor and others have reported on the use of mostly improvised antipersonnel mines by the Taliban and non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Afghanistan. The ICBL has called on the Taliban to adhere to its pledge not to use landmines and has reiterated that call to the new government of Afghanistan.[2]

A national law enacted in September 2018 prohibits the “production, importation, transportation, export, preservation, using, and destruction of anti-personnel mines.”[3]

Afghanistan has submitted its annual Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report covering its implementation activities during 2020.

Afghanistan did not participate in the 1996–1997 Ottawa Process to create the Mine Ban Treaty, in part due to lack of clarity over the status of its representation at the United Nations (UN). Since 2003, Afghanistan has participated in every meeting of the treaty, most recently the Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually on 16–20 November 2020, as well as the intersessional meetings in June 2021.[4]

Use

Government forces of the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan are not known to have used antipersonnel mines since the country became a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty in 2003.

Non-state armed groups

NSAGs in Afghanistan have used antipersonnel mines extensively for decades, including in 2020 and 2021. Victim-activated explosive devices are prohibited under the Mine Ban Treaty regardless of whether they are assembled in a factory or improvised from locally available materials. Landmines are explicitly prohibited if assembled and used in a manner intended to be detonated by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person. Most of the pressure-plate improvised mines found in Afghanistan are detonated by the weight of a human being, making them antipersonnel landmines.[5]

In June 2021, Afghanistan told States Parties that “improvised mines are still used by antigovernment elements as a weapon of choice” and said that almost two-thirds of all civilian casualties over the previous 12 months were caused by mines.[6] In February 2021, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) attributed antipersonnel mines used during 2020 “almost exclusively” to Taliban forces.[7]

The Taliban has been accused by former vice president Amrullah Saleh of using civilians to clear landmines.[8]

In February 2021, UNAMA appealed to the Taliban to “ban the use of pressure-plate IEDs and recalls previous commitments the Taliban made in this respect. These devices, as used in Afghanistan, are victim-operated and inherently indiscriminate, and function as anti-personnel landmines. The use of such weapons violates international human rights law and international humanitarian law.”[9] UNAMA has reported conducting extensive advocacy with regard to NSAGs on civilian casualties caused by pressure-plate improvised mines.[10]

Taliban media outlets claim responsibility for many attacks against military personnel and vehicles using improvised explosive devices (IEDs).[11] However, the Taliban has repeatedly denied using prohibited antipersonnel mines.[12] In September 2019, the Taliban told the Monitor that it uses command-detonated mines and not mines banned under the Mine Ban Treaty.[13] In a 2019 response to UNAMA, the Taliban stated that it uses IEDs only against military targets.[14] UNAMA reported in early 2021 that children continue to be recruited by anti-government groups to transport and emplace explosives.[15]

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in Baghlan province on 8 June 2021 which killed ten mine action personnel and wounded 16 others.[16] The attack was condemned by the UN Security Council, the president of the Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, the ICBL, and others.[17]

The United States (US) reported in 2014 that its forces had used a single antipersonnel mine in Afghanistan, in 2002.[18]

Production and transfer

Afghanistan is not known to have ever produced or exported antipersonnel mines. Throughout many years of armed conflict, numerous sources transferred landmines to various forces fighting in Afghanistan.

Stockpile destruction and discovered mines

Afghanistan reported completion of its Mine Ban Treaty stockpile destruction obligation in October 2007, almost eight months after its deadline of 1 March 2007.[19] A total of 525,504 stockpiled antipersonnel mines were destroyed between 2003 and 2007.[20]

Since Afghanistan’s stockpile destruction declaration, it has reported the discovery and destruction of a further 85,326 antipersonnel mines, from stocks either recovered during military operations, surrendered to authorities during disarmament programs, or from arms caches found by civilians.[21] Afghanistan reported the discovery and destruction of 251 antipersonnel mines during 2020.[22]

Mines retained for training and development

Afghanistan does not retain any live mines for training in mine detection, clearance, or destruction techniques. It has trained with inert mines which have had their fuzes removed and destroyed, and are no longer capable of being used.[23]