Eritrea

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 14 August 2022

Summary

Non-signatory Eritrea has expressed interest in the humanitarian objectives of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but has not taken any steps towards accession. Eritrea last participated in a meeting of the convention in 2015. Eritrea voted in favor of the key annual United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2021.

Eritrea has not produced cluster munitions and denies stockpiling them, but used cluster munitions during the 1998–2000 war with Ethiopia. There is evidence that cluster bombs were used in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region during the first half of 2021, but the user and circumstances of use are not known.

Policy

The State of Eritrea has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Eritrea has acknowledged the convention’s humanitarian rationale, but has not taken any steps to join it.[1] Eritrea stated in 2008 that as a country contaminated by cluster munition remnants, it understands the problems caused by these weapons and therefore supports their prohibition.[2]

Eritrea did not participate in the international meetings of the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but attended two African regional meetings, where it supported a comprehensive ban.[3]

Eritrea participated as an observer at the convention’s meetings of States Parties in 2011–2014 and the First Review Conference in 2015, but has not attended a meeting of the convention since then. Eritrea has participated in regional workshops on the convention.

In December 2021, Eritrea voted in favor of the key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution urging states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[4] Eritrea has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

Eritrea is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Eritrea stated in 2013 that it does not use or stockpile cluster munitions.[5] Previously, a government official said in 2010 that Eritrea has not produced cluster munitions and possesses no stocks.[6]

However, Eritrea reportedly inheritedChilean-manufactured CB-500 cluster bombs when it achieved independence from Ethiopia in 1991.[7] It also possesses Grad 122mm surface-to-surface rockets, but it is not known if these include versions with submunition payloads.[8]

Use

Eritrea has used cluster munitions in the past. It is unclear if the Eritrean Air Force used cluster bombs in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region during the first half of 2021.

Media reports, as well as accounts and images shared on social media, indicate that several types of Soviet or Russian-made RBK-series cluster bombs may have been used in attacks on Gijet and Samre, southwest of the city of Mekelle, on 20–25 February 2021, and on Guyya and Menji near the town of Abi-Adi Tembien on 13 June 2021.[9] The air-delivered cluster munitions reportedly used included RBK-250, PTAB-2.5M, and RBK-250-275 AO-1SCh bombs. RBK-250 ZAB-2.5 incendiary weapons may also have been used.

The Eritrean Air Force possesses aircraft capable of delivering Soviet-made RBK-series cluster bombs. As of 31 May 2022, Eritrea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs had not responded to a 2021 request from Human Rights Watch (HRW) to confirm or deny the Eritrean Defense Force’s use of cluster munitions during the outbreak of hostilities in Tigray in 2020–2021.[10]

Previous use

Eritrean and Ethiopian armed forces both used cluster munitions during their 1998–2000 war.[11]

Eritrean aircraft attacked the Mekele airport in Ethiopia with cluster bombs in 1998.[12] In 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.”[13]

Although Ethiopia has denied it, there is ample evidence that it also used cluster munitions during the war, to attack several parts of Eritrea.



[1] In 2010, Eritrea told States Parties that it supported the convention and saw benefits in joining. Statement of Eritrea, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Meeting of States Parties, Vientiane, 9 November 2010. Notes by the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). In May 2013, a representative said that the ratification process had been delayed by other priorities. Statement of Eritrea, Lomé Regional Seminar on the Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lomé, Togo, 23 May 2013. In 2012, a government official said a committee assigned to study the convention would provide recommendations on accession. CMC meeting with Ghebremedhin-Mehari Tesfamichael, Finance and Administrative Officer, Eritrean Mission to the UN in Geneva, Geneva, 18 April 2012. Notes by the CMC.

[2] CMC, “Report on the Kampala Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” September 2008.

[3] For details on Eritrea’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 199.

[4]Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 76/47, 6 December 2021.

[5] Statement of Eritrea, Lomé Regional Seminar on the Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lomé, Togo, 23 May 2013; and interview with Filmon Mihretab Kifle, Director for Regional Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Lomé, 22 May 2013.

[6] CMC meeting with Elsa Haile, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New York, 20 October 2010. Notes by the CMC.

[7] Rae McGrath, Cluster Bombs: The Military Effectiveness and Impact on Civilians of Cluster Munitions (London: Landmine Action, August 2000), p. 38.

[8] International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), The Military Balance 2011 (London: Routledge, 2011), p. 423.

[9] For an example of the claims, see, Hiwot, Kindeya G. (ProfKindeya), “These are the bombs that jets of Abiy Ahmed @AbiyAhmedAli are dropping in #Tigray against civilians everytime his forces lose battles. Some of these images seem to suggest the probable use of gas cannisters than ordinary bombs. #tigraygenocide #Tigraywillprevail @antonioguterres.” 21 June 2021, 06:32 UTC, Tweet; and Martin Plaut, “Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 168 – 14 June 2021,” 14 June 2021.

[10] Letter from Mary Wareham, Advocacy Director, Arms Division, Human Rights Watch, to H.E. Osman Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, 21 June 2021.

[11] The UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia’s Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMEE-MACC) reported that in 2007, unexploded PTAB 2.5 and BL755 submunitions were found in Eritrea. See, UNMEE-MACC, “Annual Report 2008,” undated draft, p. 1, provided by email from Anthony Blythen, Programme Officer, United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), 7 April 2009. Additionally, a UN team in the area of Melhadega in Eritrea identified and destroyed an unexploded M20G DPICM-type submunition of Greek origin in October 2004, but it is not known who used the weapon. UNMEE-MACC, “Weekly Update,” Asmara, 4 October 2004, p. 4.

[12] 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] 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.


Impact

Last updated: 20 April 2021

Jump to a specific section of the chapter:

Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

 

Country summary

The State of Eritrea is affected by mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) dating back to World War II, but largely as the result of the struggle for independence in 1962–1991 and its armed conflict with Ethiopia in 1998–2000.

Since 2005, Eritrea has not allowed any international demining operators to conduct survey or clearance in the country.While Eritrea appeared to be making some progress in clearance of contaminated areas between 2007 and 2013, there has been no indication of any progress in mine action since the end of 2013. Eritrea has not submitted a Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report since 2014. Eritrea’s second Article 5 clearance deadline extension request, submitted in 2014, sought a further five years to continue clearance and complete re-survey of suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) but not to fulfil its clearance obligations under the treaty.

In November 2019, Eritrea submitted a third request to extend its mine clearance deadline, which was granted with a new deadline set for 31 December 2020.[1] Eritrea failed to fulfill its Article 5 obligations within its deadline and to submit a fourth extension request. Eritrea has been in a state of non-compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty since the end of 2020.

The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that in 2019 the risk of landmines and ERW is a continuing threat to many communities, particularly in the border areas and that continuous school-based mine risk education was required.[2]

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty

State Party

Article 5 clearance deadline: 31 December 2020 (third extension)

Convention on Cluster Munitions

Non-signatory

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Non-signatory

 

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview[3]

Mine action commenced

2000

National mine action management actors

Eritrea Demining Agency (EDA)

Established in 2000, under the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE-MACC), the Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC) was responsible for all mine action activities within the temporary security zone. Its mandate ended when UNMEE left Eritrea in 2008.

The Eritrean Demining Agency (EDA), established in July 2002, is responsible for policy development, regulation of mine action, and the conduct of mine clearance operations. The EDA reports directly to the Office of the President. The Eritrea mine action program is entirely nationally managed.

Information management

It is not clear what information management systems are used by Eritrea.

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview

Government focal points

Ministry of Education for risk education in schools.

Coordination mechanisms

None reported

Risk education strategy

None reported

Risk education standards

None reported

 

In 2019 UNICEF worked with the Ministry of Education in the implementation of school-based risk education in Eritrea.[4]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[5]

Government focal points

The Department of Social Security (SSD) of the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare (MoHLW) is responsible for the coordination of services for all persons with disabilities, including mine survivors

Coordination mechanisms

Unknown

Coordination regularity and outcomes

Unknown

Plans/strategies

Unknown

Disability sector integration

 

Disability rights implementation coordinated by MoHLW

Survivor inclusion and participation

It was not reported specifically how mine/ERW survivors were included in planning and coordination or implementation of victim assistance of services, however the Eritrean National War-Disabled Veterans Association (ENWVA) implemented numerous assistance projects in coordination with the relevant authorities.

 

Laws and policies

Eritrea announced the development of a national disability policy in 2011.[6] A review of the draft policy was conducted in 2015.[7] The draft policy aimed to improve the coordination and implementation of social security of persons with disabilities.[8]

The Transitional Civil Code includes protections for the legal rights of persons with disabilities. The Martyr’s Survivors Benefit Scheme, under the Hidri Trust Fund, provides a social protection program for families with a monthly allowance and additional grant and credit schemes.[9]

Eritrea has a Strategic Partnership Cooperation Framework (SPCF) 2017–2021 agreement with the UN to support cooperation between the government, UNICEF, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The SPCF continued efforts made under the previous agreement between Eritrea and the UN agencies, which include support for the national community-based rehabilitation (CBR) program.[10]

Social security in Eritrea covers health, education, and social inclusion. Rehabilitation is a main mandate of the Department of Social Security (SSD) of the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare (MoHLW), including rehabilitation activities for people affected by war.[11]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview (as of December 2019)

Landmines*

33.43km2

Extent of contamination: Large

Cluster munition remnants

None

Other ERW contamination

Unknown

*Eritrea has not provided any new updates on the extent of contamination since 2013 (its most recent Article 5 deadline extension request of 11 November 2019 reports the same contamination estimate).

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

 

Landmine contamination

Eritrea is affected by mines and ERW dating back to World War II, but largely as the result of the struggle for independence in 1962–1991 and its armed conflict with Ethiopia in 1998–2000.

The last estimate of mine contamination in Eritrea dates back to the end of 2013, when Eritrea reported that 434 mined areas remained over an estimated 33.43km2.[12] This was a two-thirds reduction on the earlier estimate of 99km2 of June 2011,[13] and significantly lower than the 129km2 identified by the 2004 landmine impact survey.[14] Eritrea reiterated these estimates in its extension request submitted in November 2019.[15]

Antipersonnel mines and ERW are reported to negatively affect socio-economic conditions in Eritrea, blocking access to agricultural and pastoral land vital to farmers and animal herders, and preventing the implementation of construction and development projects, including of roads, schools, and clinics.[16]

Casualties

Casualties overview[17]

All known mine/ERW casualties (as of end 2019)

5,299 (2,522 killed and 2,777 injured)

Note: ERW=explosive remnant of war.

 

Casualties: details

The Monitor has not recorded any landmine/ERW casualties in Eritrea since 2012. There is no systematic, reliable available data collection in Eritrea with respect to mine/ERW casualties. Eritrea has not provided any casualty data since 2013. There is reason, however, to believe that casualties occurred since then.[18] For 2016, UNICEF reported seven landmine/ERW accidents, a decrease from the 22 incidents identified by UNICEF in 2015. However, statistics on casualties caused by the incidents were not reported.[19]

The total known number of mine/ERW casualties in Eritrea is 5,299 (2,522 killed; 2,777 injured).[20] The EDA recorded 802 casualties (206 killed, 596 injured) between 2000 and the end of 2012, including 365 from 2005–2011 (86 killed, 279 injured).[21] The Eritrea Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) remains the most extensive source of cumulative casualty data, identifying 4,934 mine/ERW casualties up to June 2004 (2,436 killed, 2,498 injured).[22] Previous estimates of tens of thousands of mine casualties in Eritrea in total remain unconfirmed.[23] However, the LIS data collection was limited to communities that reported mine contamination.[24] Therefore, it is likely that the LIS does not record veterans injured and killed by mines from urban localities.

Cluster munition casualties

At least 172 cluster munition casualties have been reported in Eritrea; 163 of which were reported as occurring during cluster munition attacks, all in 2000 or earlier. Another nine casualties of unexploded cluster submunitions were also recorded.[25] No further information on whether there had been casualties caused by cluster munition remnants was available

Addressing the impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

National

Eritrean Defense Forces under the supervision of EDA

International

No international operators since 2005

Clearance

Landmines

No progress in mine clearance or land release was reported since 2016.

Eritrea provided few updates on its mine action program in its Article 5 extension request submitted in 2019. It noted it was in the process of restructuring the EDA, which had presented obstacles to Eritrea submitting its extension request and a workplan for the period beyond the deadline of February 2020 agreed in response to its 2014 extension request.[26]

An extension of its clearance deadline, until 31 December 2020, was requested so that Eritrea could present a detailed extension request including an update on contamination, progress made, and a workplan for implementation.[27] The “interim” extension was granted at the Mine Ban Treaty Fourth Review Conference in December 2019. It was decided that Eritrea and the States Parties could benefit from a cooperative exchange on the request process in order to prepare another extension request.

However, during 2020 the treaty’s Committee on Article 5 Implementation reached out to Eritrea on several occasions to discuss matters related to its clearance deadline and its requirement to submit an extension request, with no progress. In 2020, the committee stated that Eritrea’s failure to request an extension for its clearance deadline “represents a matter of serious concern, which will unfortunately lead to Eritrea falling into a state of non-compliance by its upcoming deadline of 31 December 2020.”[28]

In 2014, Eritrea projected that costs for the extension period through to 2019 would amount to more than US$7 million, all to be raised nationally.[29] In 2011–2013, Eritrea managed to raise only $257,000 annually. Mine action donors did not report any international assistance to Eritrea since 2011. In December 2013, Eritrea stated that progress in clearing mines would be slow because it “had limited resources and capacity of one small poor nation.”[30] It remained unclear how Eritrea intended to raise the finances necessary for its survey and clearance activities, given the absence of engagement with international support.

Risk education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

International

UNICEF

School-based risk education

 

Beneficiary numbers

In 2019, an estimated 92,000 school children were reached (49% girls) with risk education messages in primary and junior schools.[31] UNICEF also trained 100 community-based rehabilitation volunteers in risk education.[32]

Implementation

Posters are used in classrooms to provide information on how to recognize mines, the dangers of mines/ERW, and to avoid contaminated areas.[33]

In 2019, in order to support the delivery of integrated mine risk education and violence prevention, UNICEF and Eritrea’s Ministry of Education jointly developed an information, education, and communication flipchart on injury, violence, and disability prevention and control in schools.[34]

Target groups

UNICEF reported that children face heightened risk from landmines and ERW and that continuous mine risk education in schools was needed.[35]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance providers and activities

Victim assistance operators[36]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

The Rehabilitation and Integration Division of the Social Welfare Department within the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare (MoLHW)

Physical rehabilitation; referral services; psychosocial support; socio-economic reintegration and other services for persons with disabilities, such as social inclusion and vocational training

Ministry of Health

Medical treatment; physiotherapy; and psychological support

National

ENWVA

Mobility devices; loans; small business opportunities; counseling; workshops; and training

International

UNICEF

Psychosocial support to children affected by mines/ERW, especially in remote rural areas; and increased access to education for children with disabilities

 

Needs assessment

The community-based rehabilitation (CBR) network collects data on persons with disabilities at the community level, but no specific assessment of survivor needs was conducted.[37]

Medical care and rehabilitation

CBR volunteers provide physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, referral to services, and protection of children, particularly survivors of landmines/ERW and children with disabilities. In 2019, with UNICEF support, some 40 CBR volunteers received training. However, this was far fewer than the annual target of 100 volunteers. The training was to improve protection and referral support capacity. By 2020, Eritrea had more than 3,000 CBR volunteers throughout the country, half of all had received training. In addition to rehabilitation, CBR prevention activities include those against social stigma, injury and disability, and violence against children.[38]

Under the SPCF, UNICEF reported, in partnership with the MoLSHW, providing psychosocial support and physical rehabilitation through the CBR program to more than 5,000 children with disabilities including landmine survivors.[39]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

ENWVA provided employment and socioeconomic inclusion opportunities.[40]

Through 2018, children with disabilities received donkeys for transport to schools through the long-running donkey for school program of the CBR project.[41]



[1] Eritrea Third Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 11 November 2019; and Mine Ban Treaty Committee on Article 5 Implementation’s remarks on Eritrea, Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16–20 November 2020.

[2] UNICEF, “Eritrea: Humanitarian Situation Report,” January 2020.

[3] Bob Kudyba, “Ethiopia and Eritrea Mine Action Coordination Center: UNMEE-MACC,” The Journal of Mine Action, Vol.6, Issue 1, Article 4, April 2002.

[4] Risk Education Strategic Monitoring Questions data for 2019, provided by Hugues Laurenge, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, 2 June 2020.

[5] Futsum Abbay, “Country report: Eritrea’ (2015) 3 African Disability Rights Yearbook,” 2015, pp. 163–182, para. 10.1; and “MHLW: Ensuring Social Security to All,” Shabait News (Eritrea’s Ministry of Information), 11 April 2018.

[6] Futsum Abbay, “Country report: Eritrea’ (2015) 3 African Disability Rights Yearbook,” 2015, pp. 163–182, para. 6.1; and response to Monitor questionnaire from Tedla Gebrehiwot, UNICEF Eritrea, 29 April 2017.

[7] Email from Tedla Gebrehiwot, UNICEF Eritrea, 25 May 2017.

[8]MHLW: Ensuring Social Security to All,” Shabait News, 11 April 2018.

[11]MHLW: Ensuring Social Security to All,” Shabait News, 11 April 2018.

[12] Eritrea Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 23 January 2014, p. 7. This was despite finding 49 previously unrecorded SHAs in five regions across an estimated area of 9km2 during non-technical survey (NTS) in 2013. Analysis of Eritrea’s Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, submitted by the President of the Mine Ban Treaty Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties on behalf of States Parties mandated to analyze requests for extensions, 20 June 2014, p. 2.

[13] Eritrea’s reply to questions from the Article 5 Analyzing Group about its Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 7 June 2011, p. 2. 


[14] Survey Action Center (SAC), “Landmine Impact Survey, Eritrea, Final Report,” May 2005, p. 7. 


[15] Eritrea Third Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 11 November 2019.

[16] Analysis of Eritrea’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 20 June 2014, p. 3.

[17] The total includes the casualties from the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) to June 2004 and casualties recorded by the Eritrean Demining Authority (EDA) for 2005–2010; data emailed from Habtom Seghid, EDA, 20 April 2013; and casualties for 2011–2013 reported in Eritrea’s Article 5 Extension Request.

[18] UNICEF-Eritrea, Mine Risk Education Picture Book, undated, p. 4.

[19] UNICEF, “UNICEF Annual Report 2016: Eritrea,” undated, p. 3.

[20] The total includes the casualties from the LIS to June 2004 and casualties recorded by the EDA for 2005–2010; data emailed from Habtom Seghid, EDA, 20 April 2013; and casualties for 2011–2013 reported in Eritrea’s Second Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Extension Request, January 2014.

[21] Eritrea First Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request (revised), August 2011, p. 11; emails from Habtom Seghid, EDA, 30 March 2012 and 20 April 2013; and interview with Habtom Seghid, EDA, 25 May 2012; Article 5 Extension Request.

[22] Survey Action Center, “Landmine Impact Survey: Eritrea,” pp. 21 and 25–27.

[23] A disability study report in 2008 indicated that the total number of persons with disabilities was 75,212. The number of mine/ERW survivors was not reported. Email from Gbemi Akinboyo, Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF, 14 September 2009. In 2006, the MoLHW reported that there were 84,000 mine survivors in Eritrea from a total of 150,000 persons with disabilities. ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2006: Toward a Mine-Free World(Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: July 2006).

[24] Eritrea First Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2011, p. 11.

[25] On 22 April 1990, two cluster munitions were reported to have been used in an overcrowded street in the center of the port town of Massawa. Human Rights Watch (HRW), 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, p. 4; and Handicap International (HI), Fatal Footprint: The Global Human Impact of Cluster Munitions (Brussels: HI: November 2006), p. 18.

[26] Eritrea Third Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 11 November 2019, p. 3.; and Eritrea Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request Decision, 29 November 2019.

[27] Eritrea Third Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 11 November 2019, p.3.

[28] Mine Ban Treaty Committee on Article 5 Implementation’s remarks on Eritrea, Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16–20 November 2020.

[29] Eritrea Second Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 23 January 2014, p. 11.

[30] Statement of Eritrea, Mine Ban Treaty Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 6 December 2013.

[31] UNICEF, “Eritrea: Humanitarian Situation Report,” January 2020, p. 4

[32] Risk Education Strategic Monitoring Questions data for 2019, provided by Hugues Laurenge, Children Protection Specialist, UNICEF, 2 June 2020.

[33] UNICEF, “Eritrea: Humanitarian Situation Report,” January 2020, p. 4

[34] Ibid.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Makda Solomon, “People with disabilities are a great resource in nation building,” Shabait News, 4 July 2018,

[37] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Tedla Gebrehiwot, UNICEF Eritrea, 27 September 2018.

[38] UNICEF, “Eritrea: Humanitarian Situation Report,” January 2020, p. 4

[39] UNICEF Eritrea, “Eritrea: Humanitarian Situation Report,” January 2019, p. 4.

[40]Financial support to families of martyrs,” Shabait News, 1 February 2021; “Seminar on improving livelihoods of war disabled veterans,” Shabait News, 9 April 2019; and “Contribution in support of war disabled veterans,” Shabait News, 29 January 2019.

[41] UNICEF Eritrea, “Eritrea: Humanitarian Situation Report,” January 2019, p. 4.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 18 December 2019

Policy

The State of Eritrea acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 27 August 2001, becoming a State Party on 1 February 2002. Eritrea has not enacted domestic legislation or reported any new national measures to implement the Mine Ban Treaty, as required by Article 9.[1]

Eritrea previously attended meetings of the treaty semi-regularly until 2014, but has not attended a meeting of the treaty since the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. Eritrea also last submitted an Article 7 transparency report in 2014.

On 5 December 2018, Eritrea voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 73/61 promoting universalization and implementation of the convention, as it has in previous years.[2]

Eritrea is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, nor is it party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, stockpiling, retention, transfer, and use

Eritrea has stated that it has never produced antipersonnel mines, and that all the mines used in past conflicts were obtained from Ethiopian forces (either from minefields or storage facilities) during the 1962–1991 war of independence.[3]

In its Article 7 reports, Eritrea has indicated that it no longer has a stockpile of antipersonnel mines.[4] Eritrea’s treaty-mandated deadline for destroying any stocks of antipersonnel mines was 1 February 2006.

In 2010 and 2011, Eritrea reported that it is retaining 101 live antipersonnel mines for training purposes and 71 inert mines.[5] It has not reported on the intended purposes and actual uses of the live retained mines.

In 2006, the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia alleged the transfer of antipersonnel mines from Eritrea to non-state armed groups in Somalia.[6] Eritrea said that the allegations were “baseless and unfounded … Eritrea has never provided landmines or any other military support to any of the factions in Somalia.”[7] Eritrea did not respond to requests for information from two presidents of Mine Ban Treaty Meetings of States Parties for further information on this matter.[8]

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



[1] At a March 2004 regional mine workshop, Eritrea said it planned to “take all the necessary measures to adopt implementing legislation.” However, Eritrea has not reported on any national implementation measures, such as legislation, in its recent Article 7 reports.

[2] “Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction,” UNGA Resolution 73/61, 5 December 2018.

[3] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form B, 10 March 2008.

[4] See Form B of each Article 7 report. Eritrea maintains that all of the approximately 450,000 mines it obtained from Ethiopia during the 1962–1991 war were subsequently laid during the 1998–2000 border conflict, except for those that were unusable, which were disposed of or destroyed. In 2002, Eritrea claimed that 40,000 mines had been destroyed by the Eritrean Defense Forces following the end of the liberation war. UNMEE MACC could not confirm this. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 249. UNMEE MACC estimated that Eritrea laid about 240,000 mines during the 1998–2000 conflict. Interview with Phil Lewis, Program Manager, UNMEE MACC, Asmara, 18 January 2002.

[5] Eritrea is retaining 40 PMN, 40 POMZ-2, and 21 PMD-6 (up one from 20 in 2009) live mines, as well as 71 inert mines of each of the following types: 57 POMZ-2 (one in 2009), four M35 (one in 2009), three MON-100 (one in 2009), two M16, and one each of the PPM-2, PMN, PMD-6, M14, and MON-50 antipersonnel mines. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 10 April 2010; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 4 April 2011.

[6] The May 2006 report of the UN Monitoring Group stated that the government of Eritrea transferred 1,000 antipersonnel mines to “militant fundamentalists” in Somalia on or around 5 March 2006. The November 2006 report stated that the government of Eritrea transported antipersonnel mines and other weapons by cargo aircraft from Assab, Eritrea to Mogadishu, Somalia in July 2006. In addition, an October 2005 report alleged two shipments of unspecified mines (either antipersonnel or antivehicle) from Eritrea to Somalia. See “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1630 (2005),” S/2006/229, 4 May 2006, p. 12; “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia pursuant to Security Council resolution 1676 (2006),” S/2006/913, 22 November 2006, pp. 11–16; “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia pursuant to Security Council resolution 1587 (2005),” S/2005/625, 4 October 2005, p. 16; Landmine Monitor Report 2006, pp. 411–412; and Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 369–370.

[7] Letter A1/212/07 from Elsa Haile, Director, UN and Multilateral Organizations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6 July 2007.

[8] For details of statements and actions by the two Presidents relating to the UN Monitoring Group reports, see, Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 356.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 07 October 2013

Since 2008, the government of the State of Eritrea has supported the logistical and medical supplies for the demining teams operating under the Eritrean Demining Authority, as well as paying the salaries of two of the teams, a contribution valued at approximately US$257,000 per year.[1]

In 2012, donors did not report any international assistance to Eritrea for mine action. The government of Eritrea has persistently refused to accept the return of international demining NGOs since their expulsion in 2005.[2]

Summary of contributions: 2008–2012[3]

Year

National ($)

International ($)

Total budget ($)

2012

257,000

0

257,000

2011

257,000

121,253

378,253

2010

256,567

1,183,206

1,439,773

2009

256,569

354,535

611,104

2008

259,654

271,154

530,808

Total

1,286,790

1,930,148

3,216,938

 

 



[2] ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Eritrea: Mine Action,” 22 September 2011.

[3] See Landmine Monitor reports 2008–2011; and ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Eritrea: Support for Mine Action,” 19 September 2012.