Tajikistan

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 25 August 2022

Summary

Non-signatory Tajikistan has expressed interest in the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but has not taken any steps to join it. Tajikistan last participated in a meeting of the convention in 2014. It abstained from the vote on a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2021.

Tajikistan claims to be in de facto compliance with the convention and says it has never used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions. Tajikistan is contaminated by the remnants of cluster munitions used in the 1990s during its civil war.  

Policy

The Republic of Tajikistan has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Tajikistan has not taken any steps to accede to the convention, aside from holding stakeholder consultations in 2010–2012.[1] FTajikistan last expressed interest in the convention in 2014, when it told States Parties that it was considering joining it.[2]

Tajikistan participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and endorsed the Oslo Declaration in February 2007, which committed to conclude an international instrument banning cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. In February 2008, Tajikistan endorsed the Wellington Declaration, committing to negotiate a new international treaty to prohibit cluster munitions. Yet Tajikistan did not participate in the Dublin negotiations in May 2008, and was absent from the convention’s Oslo Signing Conference in December 2008.[3]

In December 2021, Tajikistan abstained from the vote on a key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution urging states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[4] Tajikistan has not explained why it has abstained from voting on the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

Tajikistan attended all of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties as an observer until 2014, but has not attended since then. Tajikistan participated virtually in the convention’s intersessional meetings in May 2022.

Tajikistan is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Production, transfer, use, and stockpiling

Tajikistan has stated several times that it has not used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[5] The Ministry of Defense reiterated in 2011 that Tajik forces had never used cluster munitions, and said that an inventory of weapons depots and storage facilities conducted after the convention’s adoption found that Tajikistan had no stockpiled cluster munitions.[6]

Cluster munitions were used in Tajikistan in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but the forces responsible for that use have never been conclusively identified.[7] A representative of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Interior said that Uzbek forces used cluster munitions in Rasht Valley and Ramit Valley in the 1990s, adding that Tajik forces had no capacity to use cluster munitions.[8]



[1] Statement of Tajikistan, International Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Santiago, 8 June 2010; statement of Tajikistan, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 14 September 2011; and statement of Tajikistan, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 11 September 2012. In May 2011, a Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) delegation visited Tajikistan and met with government officials from the Office of the President, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, and the Ministry of Interior. ICBL-CMC, Report on Advocacy Mission to Tajikistan, 23–27 May 2011.

[2] Statement of Tajikistan by Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, Director, Tajikistan National Mine Action Center (TNMAC), Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 3 September 2014. The representative said that Tajikistan was considering submitting a voluntary Article 7 transparency report for the convention, but none had been received by the UN as of July 2019.

[3] For details on Tajikistan’s cluster munition policy and practice through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 244–245.

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

[5] Statement of Tajikistan, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 3 September 2014; statement of Tajikistan, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 11 September 2012; statement of Tajikistan, Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings, Geneva, 18 April 2012; statement of Tajikistan, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 13 September 2011; statement of Tajikistan, International Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Santiago, 8 June 2010. Notes by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) and HRW; and Letter No. 10-3 (5027) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand, 22 April 2008.

[6] CMC meeting with Maj.-Gen. Abdukakhor Sattorov, Ministry of Defense, Dushanbe, 25 May 2011.

[7] Unexploded ShOAB-0.5 and AO-2.5RT submunitions have been found in the town of Gharm in the Rasht valley. TNMAC, “Cluster munitions in Gharm,” undated, but reporting on an April 2007 assessment.

[8] CMC meeting with Col. Mahmad Shoev Khurshed Izatullovich, Commander of Special Militia AMON (SWAT) Antiterrorist Unit, Ministry of Interior, Dushanbe, 26 May 2011.


Impact

Last updated: 21 April 2021

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

Country summary

Mine contamination in Tajikistan is the consequence of different conflicts. In the 1990s, Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan was mined by Russian forces, and the Central Region of Tajikistan was contaminated as a result of the civil war; while the border with Uzbekistan was mined by Uzbek forces in the early 2000s.[1] Most of the contamination is located along the borders in restricted military security zones. The remaining contamination has less direct impact on local communities and development, but security issues and lack of access to these zones has impacted on Tajikistan’s ability to meet its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline.

Tajikistan submitted its second extension request on 31 March 2019, for an additional six years until 2025. Tajikistan’s ability to meet the new deadline will rest on the agreement of border clearance with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and the conduct of survey to establish a more accurate baseline of the remaining contamination.

The Tajikistan National Mine Action Centre (TNMAC) is responsible for coordinating risk education activities. TNMAC staff, the Union of Sappers of Tajikistan (UST) and volunteers from the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST) are the primary risk education operators, delivering risk education messaging to communities and target groups in affected areas.[2]

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty

State Party

Article 5 clearance deadline: 1 April 2025

Convention on Cluster Munitions

Non-signatory

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Signatory

Tajikistan submitted its second Article 5 deadline extension request in March 2019. The request is for an additional six years until 2025. The reasons given for not meeting its previous 2020 deadline included insecurity along its border with Afghanistan and lack of permission to conduct demining in some of the western districts. Tajikistan also reported that survey work along the Tajik-Afghan border between 2010 and 2018 had identified an additional 41 mined areas, covering a total of 10.48km², which had impeded progress towards the achievement of its Article 5 clearance commitments.[3]

The preliminary estimated cost for the six-year extension until 2025 was $30 million, excluding a $480,000 contribution from the Tajikistan state budget.[4]

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview

Mine action commenced

2003

National mine action management actors

  • Commission for the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (CIIHL) acts as Tajikistan’s national mine action authority
  • Tajikistan National Mine Action Center (TNMAC), established in January 2014 (previously TMAC since 2003)
  • Ministry of Defense

United Nations agencies

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), since 2003

Mine action legislation

Law on Humanitarian Mine Action (No. 1338) ratified by parliament on 23 July 2016

Mine action strategic and operational plans

  • National Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan on Humanitarian Mine Action 2017–2020
  • Medium-term National Strategy for Mine Action 2021–2025 was under development as of July 2020
  • Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan Co-operation Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2018–2023,

Mine action standards

Tajikistan’s National Mine Action Standards (TNMAS), approved in April 2017

 

Coordination

The Commission for the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (CIIHL) is Tajikistan’s national mine action authority, responsible for mainstreaming mine action in the government’s socio-economic development policies.[5] It is an interministerial committee located in the office of the President.

TNMAC acts as the secretariat for the CIIHL, to which it reports. It is responsible for coordinating and monitoring mine action activities, for developing the national mine action plan and standards, and operational tasking.[6] The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Support to Tajikistan Mine Action Program (STMAP) has supported the building of sustainable national structures and TNMAC’s technical capacity since 2003. UNDP support concluded in May 2019.[7]

The final evaluation of UNDP support project found that significant challenges remained, despite the creation of a national mine action center and capacity. Retention of staff with professional skills was considered to be an ongoing challenge for TNMAC. The transfer of assets from UNDP to STMAP was not completed and by the end of the project, STMAP staff had left.[8]

Strategies and policies

The National Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan on Humanitarian Mine Action 2017–2020 was expected to be replaced by the new medium-term National Strategy for Mine Action 2021–2025, which was under development in 2020.[9]

On 3 October 2019, with the financial support of the United States (US) Department of State, TNMAC organized a Mine Action Forum which aimed to bring together partners for regional cooperation and discussion on the status of Tajikistan’s national mine action program. This included the donor community, mine action operators, and other stakeholders.[10]

Information Management

TNMAC has upgraded from the Information Management System for Mine Action New Generation (ISMA-NG) to IMSMA Core.[11]

Gender and diversity

TNMAC has a national gender strategy in place, although the majority of those serving in the military and in mine action are men. In its 2019 Article 5 deadline extension request, Tajikistan noted that it would seek to fill positions such as paramedics and quality assessment and quality control officers with women candidates and seek to increase women civilian capacity in coordination with its implementing partners.[12]

It was expected that the medium-term strategy for mine action for 2021–2025 would include age, disability, and gender provisions.[13]

National and global goals

Mine action is integrated into operational plans for development and reduction of poverty in the country.[14]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview[15]

Government focal points

TNMAC coordinates risk education activities in accordance with the annual mine action work plan

Coordination mechanisms

Formal risk education coordination mechanisms are not reported

Risk education standards

Unknown

Coordination

Throughout 2019 there were efforts to further integrate risk education activities with wider humanitarian, development, protection, education programs, and strategies alongside ongoing mine action activities.[16]

UNDP assists with coordination and implementation of risk education for schoolchildren.[17]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[18]

Government focal points

TNMAC

Coordination mechanisms

Disability Support Unit (DSU)

Coordination regularity and outcomes

  • TNMAC organized coordination meetings of the technical working group (TWG) on victim assistance and assistance to persons with disabilities
  • Quarterly regional victim assistance meetings are held in the capital and relevant regions with participation of representatives of relevant ministries, ICRC MoveAbility Foundation, Tajikistan Red Crescent Society, local organization Hukumat, department of social protection, disabled people’s organizations, and survivors
  • In 2020, two TWG meetings organized: in Bokhtar city, Khatlon region, and in Khujand city, Sugd region

Plans/strategies

  • National Mine Action Strategy 2016–2020 includes a victim assistance component developed through consultative process agreed with all relevant ministries, TNMAC, and landmine survivors
  • National Development Strategy (2016–2030) and its action plan reflect disability rights

Disability sector integration

 

National Program on Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities 2017–2020 has been described as “comprehensive, covering both physical rehabilitation services and social inclusion and protection”

Survivor inclusion and participation

Inclusion of survivors and persons with disabilities organizations and networks in national and local government coordinating groups

 

Laws and policies

TNMAC has the victim assistance pillar as its mandate, and is the governmental body with legal responsibilities for thecoordination and implementation of victim assistance activities. A Law on Humanitarian Mine Action (No. 1338) was signed by the president of Tajikistan on 23 July 2016. This law specifically refers to victim assistance in its Article 12.[19] At the end of 2019, the final evaluation of the UNDP mine action support program recommended that TNMAC convene a meeting with victim assistance actors and partners that support persons with disabilities “to clarify its role, develop referral pathways based on what assistance is available and to identify gaps and funding needs so that a resource mobilization and advocacy strategy can be developed.”[20]

The December 2010 Law on Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities, which includes standards similar to those of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD),[21] guarantees the physical accessibility of infrastructure for social life and to public transportation. Any planning, construction, or reconstruction that does not follow the law is prohibited and penalties can be applied.[22]

The National Program on Rehabilitation Persons with Disabilities for 2017–2020, the first document on disability issues for Tajikistan, addresses the rights of persons with disabilities in the sphere of health, rehabilitation, education, livelihoods, social protection, culture, access, and justice.[23]

The primary outcome of the International Disability Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MHSPP) in October 2019, was the adoption of the Dushanbe Declaration on Disability Issues, which represents the basis for the development of the follow-up to the National Program on Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities. Landmine survivors and their representative organizations participated in the forum. [24]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview (as of December 2019)[25]

Landmines

10.26km2(CHA: 9.32km2, SHA: 0.94km2)

Extent of contamination: Medium

Cluster munition remnants

1.55km2 (CHA)

Extent of contamination: Small

Other ERW contamination

 

11 contaminated areas

Extent of contamination: Small

Note: CHA=confirmed hazardous area; ERW=explosive remnants of war; and SHA=suspected hazardous area.

 

Landmine contamination

Mine contamination in Tajikistan is the consequence of different conflicts. Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan was mined by Russian forces in 1992–1998; the border with Uzbekistan was mined by Uzbek forces in 2000–2001; and the Central Region of Tajikistan was contaminated as a result of the 1992–1997 civil war.[26] Mines were laid in and around military positions on hilltops overlooking the Panj river valley.[27]

Mountains cover more than 90% of Tajikistan’s territory, and so productive land that can be used is extremely important to local communities. Mine contamination in Tajikistan is said to constrain development, limit access to grazing and agricultural land, and affect farming, wood and herb gathering, and grazing activities related to rural life, especially in the Central Region.[28] Most of the contamination is located along the borders, with a lesser direct impact on local communities and development, as they are restricted military security zones. However, district authorities and local communities do still use these areas and cross-border trade and security is affected.[29]

In 2019, non-technical survey (NTS) teams identified more than 2km2 of previously unknown mined areas.[30] At the end of 2019, Tajikistan had just over 10km2 of mine contamination (9.32km2 of confirmed contamination and 0.94km2 of suspected mined areas). As of December 2020, 145 confirmed minefields remained to be cleared: 121 of these are in the south-western Khatlon region which borders Afghanistan, 23 in Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Regio, and one in Central region. A further 84 suspected minefields, 22 in Khatlon region, 54 in Sughd region, six in Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region and two in Central region remain.[31]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

Cluster munitions were used during Tajikistan’s civil war in the 1990s, though it is not known who dropped them. TNMAC reported that cluster munition contamination consists of: RBK-250 and RBK-500 carriers, with AO-2.5, SHOAB, and AO-2.5 RT submunitions.[32] During 2019, 89 cluster munition remnants of the RBK-500 carrier and AO-2.5 submunition-type were identified and cleared from one battlefield. Additional cluster munition remnants were also found in a different battle area during clearance operations.[33] Contamination by cluster munition remnants is found in the Central provinces.

As of end 2019, there remains 1.55km² of confirmed cluster munition contamination in Tajikistan.[34]

ERW contamination

ERW contamination is primarily a problem in the Darvaz, Rasht, and Tavildara districts of the central region as a result of the civil war in the 1990s. The entire length of the Tajik-Afghan border is also contaminated with ERW due to the use of infantry fragmentation ammunition.[35]

TNMAC reports that in the past few years, ERW have been found in gardens, roads, roofs of residential buildings, agricultural land, schools, and remote areas. ERW are often found by civilians while they are grazing livestock, collecting firewood, performing agricultural activities such as ploughing and haymaking, and other livelihood activities. Ongoing cases of ERW being detonated by people and animals demonstrate that the risk posed by ERW in Tajikistan remains high.[36]

Casualties

Casualties overview[37]

Casualties

All known casualties (between 1992 and 2019)

879 (349 killed; 530 injured)

 

Casualties in 2019

Annual total

3 (increase from 2 in 2018)

Survival outcome

1 injured; 2 killed

Device type causing casualties

3 antipersonnel mine

Civilian status

3 civilians

Age and gender

2 adult (men)

1 child (boy)

 

Casualties in 2019: details

Tajikistan recorded three antipersonnel mine casualties in 2019.[38] From 2013 to 2019, less than 10 casualties were recorded annually in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan recorded 879 mine/ERW casualties (349 killed and 530 injured) for the period between 1992 and the end of 2019.[39]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 164 casualties from unexploded submunitions were reported in Tajikistan through 2007. Most incidents occurred in the Rasht valley area. The exact timeline of incidents is not known.[40] No casualties from cluster munition remnants have been reported in Tajikistan since 2007.

Addressing the impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

National

Ministry of Defense Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU)

Union of Sappers of Tajikistan (UST), since 2015

International

Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), since 2002

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), since 2009

 

Clearance

Land release overview[41]

Landmine land release in 2019

Cleared: 0.54km2

Cancelled through NTS: 0.88km2

Reduced through TS: 0.30km2

Total land released: 1.72km²

Cluster munition remnant clearance in 2019

0.52km²

Ordnance destroyed in 2019

Antipersonnel mines: 5,219

Cluster munition remnants: 89

ERW: 196*

Landmine clearance in 2015–2019

2015: 0.25 km²

2016: 0.50 km²

2017: 0.62 km²

2018: 0.59 km²

2019: 0.54 km2

Total: 2.5km2

Progress

Annual projected clearance target for 2020–2025 was an average of 1.3km² (more than double the clearance level achieved in 2019), and would require the number of deminers to be increased

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war; and NTS=non-technical survey.

* Tajikistan’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report cites 189 items of explosive ordinance destroyed during 2019 (with cluster munitions presumably included in this number), while its Amended Protocol II Report for the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons cites 285 unexploded ordnance (UXO) destroyed during 2019 (Form B).

 

Land release

Landmines

In 2019, Land was clearance in the districts of Darvoz, Jaykhun, Khovaling, Sangvor, and Shohin.[42]

The General Land Release Operational Plan for 2020 was introduced during 2019.[43] Throughout 2019, TNMAC and the National Center of Tajikistan for Mine Issues formulated a prioritization plan by taking into consideration requests for clearance from local authorities, law enforcement agencies, and the local population. All clearance operators follow this plan.[44]

In its 2019 Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension request, Tajikistan reports 41 SHAs, covering some 0.94km²,still to be surveyed, and an additional 30 areas, totaling approximately 2,77km², to be re-surveyed.[45] It stated that the number of survey teams would be increased from three to five teams in 2020, and that they would be multi-task teams capable of conducting both non-technical survey (NTS) and technical survey.[46]

The clearance projection for the extension period 2020–2025 is for the release of a total of approximately 12km² of land and requires US$31.3 million, of which US$12.4 million is required to support the needed increase in demining capacity (from 90 to 180 deminers).[47] The annual clearance projection of 1.3km² is more than double the clearance level achieved in 2019.

Cluster munition remnants

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) conducted survey and clearance of cluster munition remnants in 2019, clearing a total of 0.52km².

Border clearance

Following an agreement between the presidents of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in March 2018, clearance of the Uzbek-Tajik border progressed in 2019.[48]

Risk education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators[49]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

TNMAC

Coordinated a risk education program including risk education integrated with mine action activities (particularly at the survey stage) and in the school curriculum

National

Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST)

Primary risk education actors in the country; delivery of community-based risk education sessions and training of community representatives on risk education delivery

Union of Sappers of Tajikistan (UST)

Risk education integrated with survey

International

UNDP

Assists with coordination and implementation of risk education for children

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)

Assisted with the delivery of some risk education events during 2019

 

Beneficiary numbers

Beneficiaries of risk education in 2019[50]

Risk education operator

Men

Boys

Women

Girls

RCST

8,062

10,770

5,817

9,343

 

Implementation

Target groups

Men, women, children, tourists, shepherds, nomads, border guards, activists, and volunteers were all specifically targeted for risk education in 2019.[51] TNMAC reported that communities in the vicinity of military training areas had become a new target group for risk education due to a number of accidents resulting from ERW contamination.[52]

Delivery methods

Risk education in Tajikistan is conducted in accordance with the National Strategy for Mine Action.[53] NTS and technical survey teams are required to conduct risk education sessions with affected communities before survey operations begin. Casualty and information data is used to inform risk education programming in terms of location and target groups.[54]

Volunteers from the RCST deliver risk education in cooperation with local executive authorities in mine and ERW affected areas.[55]

Risk education sessions conducted by survey staff and the RCST were conducted by face-to-face sessions with the use of posters and leaflets. The RCST volunteers also train community representatives on the delivery of risk education to their neighborhoods.

Risk education is provided in schools through presentations, drawing competitions, and mobile puppet theatres. UNDP assists with coordination and implementation of risk education for schoolchildren.[56] UNDP and TNMAC created two cartoons containing key risk education messages in 2019. These were distributed to secondary schools in affected areas.[57] Risk education messaging is integrated into the school curriculum in affected regions of Tajikistan.[58]

TNMAC also broadcast risk education messaging through TV and radio channels.

Marking

More than 4,500 billboards and warning signs have been erected near known hazardous areas by demining teams in coordination with TNMAC.[59] This is seen to be particularly important in the border areas, and warning signs are in the language of the local populations.[60]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance providers and activities

Victim assistance operators

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

TNMAC

Coordination; economic-inclusion projects; advocacy; and psychosocial support, including summer rehabilitation camps; awareness-raising; resource mobilization

National Research Institute for Rehabilitation of Disabled People

Rehabilitation assistance for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors

State Enterprise Prosthetic-Orthopedic Plant

Physical rehabilitation services; and free transportation, accommodation, and meals and repairs at satellite workshops in Khorugh, Khujand, and Kulob

National University

Psychological support and social inclusion

National

National Union of Disabled Persons (NUDP)

Economic reintegration; social inclusion; advocacy

Tajikistan Campaign to Ban Landmines & Cluster Munitions

Advocacy; economic inclusion; awareness-raising and peer support

Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST)

Economic reintegration projects and first-aid training

Takdir

Survivor run: awareness-raising on rights of persons with disabilities; provision of support to mine survivors

International

ICRC MoveAbility Foundation

Support to the national rehabilitation center

Polus Center

Support to the national rehabilitation center and TNMAC summer rehabilitation camp

 

Needs assessment

TNMAC continued gathering detailed information on mine/ERW casualties and service provision.

Medical care and rehabilitation

Tajikistan reported that all mine/ERW survivors have access to “effective and efficient free first aid in the medical institutions located in mine-affected communities, as well as other medical emergency services,” and ongoing medical care.[61] However, Tajikistan has been faced with serious healthcare provision issues. Healthcare was proclaimed free of charge for persons with disabilities in state facilities, but these centers are generally located in urban areas. The situation is especially challenging for persons with disabilities from low-income families in rural areas.[62]

A significant number of mine/ERW survivors live in rural areas, where they face several obstacles such as inaccessibility of specialized medical centers and institutions, insufficient number of medical institutions, and the lack of qualified specialists working with people with disabilities at the local level. Mine/ERW survivors received emergency medical care in MHSPP-run medical institutions. Despite the general improvement in the quality of diagnosis and treatment of mine/ERW survivors, a shortage of experienced specialists, modern medical and diagnostic equipment, and training remained a challenge. Further training for health personnel on delivering disability inclusive services was needed.[63]

The MHSPP provides free physical rehabilitation services at the main center in Dushanbe (the State Enterprise Prosthetic-Orthopedic Plant),[64] the only fully-functional rehabilitation center capable of providing prosthetics services in the entire country. There are satellite branches of the center in the cities of Khorog, Khujand, and Kulyab. The satellite center of Khujand only made repairs on existing devices. Remoteness and poor road conditions mean that some regions, including Sugd and Gorno-Badakhshan, are isolated for several months during the winter.[65]

Tajikistan reported that all mine/ERW survivors have access to comprehensive rehabilitation services, including outreach services, where necessary, while paying particular attention to the most vulnerable. Tajikistan reported that this included the provision of assistive devices, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and peer-to-peer support programs.[66] However, an average of 20 mine/ERW survivors who have prosthetic and orthopedic needs required these services annually.However, the Dushanbe center continued to face logistical problems. The center was still reported to be unable to purchase the products required for those people in need, even after many years of support from various international organizations, including the ICRC MoveAbility Foundation (formerly known as the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Polus Center. Consequently, in 2019, only seven of the 24 mine survivors with amputations who applied to the Dushanbe center received prostheses.[67] In 2016, MoveAbility reported that the conditions at the national rehabilitation center were not yet adequate for conducting beneficiary-satisfaction surveys.[68] No improvement was noted in subsequent reporting.

In a project spanning from 2018 to 2022, the US Agency for International Development and the WHO partnered with the MHSPP to support and extend disability and rehabilitation services in Tajikistan. The program contributed significantly to improving policy and promoting international standards for rehabilitation services.[69] However, rehabilitation services in Tajikistan remained inadequate to meet the needs of the population. There was a lack of trained rehabilitation professionals in hospitals and the assistive devices sector required strengthening.[70]

Research on the development of a national assistive products list in Tajikistan, in-line with WHO recommendation, highlighted creating a list as an important part of a rehabilitation policy, as well as establishing and strengthening networks and partnerships in rehabilitation, building on existing resources, incorporating rehabilitation and assistive technology in universal health coverage.[71] However, persons with disabilities in rural are principally affected by the existing lack of access to universal health coverage in Tajikistan.[72]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

In 2019, a two-week summer rehabilitation workshop for around 75 mine/ERW survivors was organized with cooperation the Polus Center with financial support from the US Department of State. This rehabilitation program for landmine/ERW survivors was organized in a new format with additional training sessions on assistive devices and stress management.[73]

A project established in 2014 to provide support and economic inclusion for mine/ERW survivors and family members through two local micro-credit funds, “Rushdi Sugd” and “Fayzi Surkhob,” continued through 2018 in accordance with a UNDP grant agreement.[74] Tajikistan did not report if these funds continued after the end of the UNDP project and no follow-up was reported.[75]

In 2018, professional certification training for doctors from mine-affected districts was organized in cooperation with the MHSPP, UNDP, and TNMAC. The training was for psychological first aid and psycho-social support.[76]



[1] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2009, p. 1; and TNMAC, “Scope of the Problem,” undated.

[2] Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Amended Protocol II Annual Report (for calendar year 2019), Form A.

[3] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2019, p. 37; and Additional Information, 3 August 2019, p. 1.

[4] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2019, pp. 9 and 23.

[5] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2009, p. 4.

[6] Rebecca Roberts, “Evaluation of UNDP Support to the Tajikistan Mine Action Programme,” January 2012, p. 12.

[7] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Deadline Extension Request, Additional Information, 3 August 2019, p. 7.

[10] Ibid., p. 13.

[11] GICHD, Annual Report 2019, p. 22.

[12] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, Additional Information, 3 August 2019, p. 6.

[14] Ibid., p11.

[15] Ibid., pp. 11–12.

[16] Ibid., p. 11.

[17] Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Amended Protocol II Annual Report (for the calendar year 2019), Form A.

[18] Statement of Tajikistan, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, Geneva, 8 June 2018; TNMAC, “Submission of information for the Convention’s website: Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Intersessional Meetings, 30 June–2 July 2020,” undated, p. 10; response to Monitor questionnaire by Reykhan Muminova, TMAC, 24 August 2016; and interview with Reykhan Muminova, in Vienna, 18 December 2017; ICRC MoveAbility Foundation, “Annual report 2016,” 2017, p. 4.

[19] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Reykhan Muminova, TMAC, 24 August 2016.

[21] Tajikistan, “Law on Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities,” December 2010.; and telephone interview with Esanboy Vohidov, Head, UNDP, 25 March 2011.

[22] Tajikistan, “Law on Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities,” Article 25, December 2010.

[24] Statement of Tajikistan, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings (virtual), June–July 2020.

[25] For landmine and cluster munition remnant contamination: Response to Monitor questionnaire by Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, Director, TNMAC, 25 April 2020; and Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D. In the response to the Monitor questionnaire, it was indicated that suspected mine contamination was 0.97km2, whereas in the Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, the total reported was 4.12km2. ERW contamination: Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol V Annual Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 5.

[26] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2009, p. 1; and TNMAC, “Scope of the Problem,” undated.

[27] Ibid.; and Statement of Tajikistan, Mine Ban Treaty Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, Vienna, 20 December 2017.

[28] Email from Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, TNMAC, 22 May 2017.

[29] Email from Aubrey Sutherland-Pillai, Country Director, NPA, 10 August 2016.

[31] Ibid., p. 8; and Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form D, p.6.

[32] Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol V Annual Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 5.

[33] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D.

[34] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, Director, TNMAC, 25 April 2020.

[35] Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol V Annual Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 4.

[36] Ibid., p. 6.

[37] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, TNMAC, 25 April 2020.

[38] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019).

[39] Ibid.

[40] Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 90; and email from Reykhan Muminova, TMAC, 30 October 2012.

[41] For landmine clearance data: Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report 2020 (for calendar year 2019), Form D. The clearance and reduction figures provided in the Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report differ from those provided by TNMAC in their response to the Monitor questionnaire, in which they report 0.48km2 reduced by technical survey and 1.06km2 ‘released through clearance. The amount of area cancelled through NTS is the same in both documents. Additionally, in its statement at the 2020 Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, Tajikistan reported 1.54km2 cleared during 2019. For cluster munition remnant clearance data: response to Monitor questionnaire by Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, Director, TNMAC, 25 April 2020.

[43] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, Director, TNMAC, 25 April 2020.

[44] Ibid.; and Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol V Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 6.

[45] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, Additional Information, 3 August 2019, p. 3.

[46] Ibid.

[47] Ibid., p. 8.

[48] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2019, pp. 10–11; “Post-Karimov era: The Uzbek-Tajik border has been cleared of mines,” BBC Uzbek, 4 January 2020; and “Report: Tajik-Uzbek Border Cleared of Mines,” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 6 January 2020.

[49] Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Amended Protocol II Report (for calendar year 2019), Form A.

[50] Ibid.

[51] TNMAC, “Submission of information for the Convention’s website: Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Intersessional Meetings, 30 June–2 July 2020,” undated; Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Amended Protocol II Report (for calendar year 2019), Form A; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2019, p. 32.

[52] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2019, p. 32.

[53] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Muhabbat Ibrohimzoda, Director, TNMAC, 25 April 2020.

[55] Tajikistan Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Amended Protocol II Annual Report (for calendar year 2019), Form A.

[56] Ibid.

[57] Ibid.

[58] TNMAC, “Submission of information for the Convention’s website: Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Intersessional Meetings, 30 June–2 July 2020,” undated, p.11; Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D; and Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Amended Protocol II Report (for calendar year 2019), Form A.

[59] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2019, p. 7.

[60] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D.

[63] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports (for calendar years 2019, 2017, and 2016); Interview with Reykhan Muminova, TMAC, in Vienna, 18 December 2018.

[64] Also knowns as “State Unitary Enterprise Prosthetic and Orthopedic Plant of the city Dushanbe,” (GUPPOZ).

[65] ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD), “Annual Report 2014,” May 2015, pp. 23–24.

[67] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form F.

[68] ICRC MoveAbility Foundation, “Annual Report 2017,” pp. 30–31.

[69] Satish Mishra, Sharon DeMuth, Sanjeev Sabharwal, Hugh G. Watts, Kirsten (Kiki) L. Lentz, et al. (‎2018)‎, “Disability and rehabilitation in Tajikistan: development of a multisectoral national programme to leave no one behind,” Public health panorama, 04 (‎02), 202 - 209, WHO, Regional Office for Europe.

[70] USAID, “Disability and Rehabilitation Project,” last updated on 15 December 2020.

[71] Satish Mishra, Andrea Pupulin, Björn Ekman, Chapal Khasnabis, Michael Allen, and Manfred Huber, “National priority assistive product list development in low resource countries: lessons learned from Tajikistan,” in, Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 2 April 2020.

[73] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019).

[74] Statement of Tajikistan, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, Geneva, 8 June 2018; and Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.

[76] Tajikistan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 18 December 2019

Policy

The Republic of Tajikistan acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 12 October 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 April 2000. In late 2007, the Tajikistan Mine Action Center (TMAC) submitted three draft amendments to the national parliament aimed at harmonizing national laws with the requirements of the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] Tajikistan has not reported any progress since that time. In the past, the government said that new legislation to implement the treaty domestically was unnecessary, as it relied on its criminal code to punish violations of the treaty.[2]

Tajikistan regularly attends Meetings of States Parties, including the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014, and more recently the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018. Tajikistan also attended the intersessional meetings in Geneva in May 2019, where it submitted an Article 5 mine clearance extension request.[3]

Tajikistan promoted the Mine Ban Treaty in its region, calling for a “Central Asia region free of mines,” and a “Mine Action Regional Coordination body in Central Asia.”[4] It also hosted the Dushanbe Workshop on Progress and Challenges in Achieving a Mine-Free Central Asia on 7 and 8 July 2009, the third in a series of regional conferences.[5]

Tajikistan is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It is also party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. Tajikistan is not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, use, stockpile destruction, and seizures

Tajikistan has reported that it never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.[6] The most recent use of mines in Tajik territory occurred in 2000 and 2001, when Russian and Uzbek forces placed mines at various border locations inside Tajikistan.[7]

Between 5 May 2002 and 31 March 2004, Tajikistan destroyed its stockpile of 3,084 antipersonnel mines it inherited from the Soviet Union.[8] Tajikistan initially retained 255 antipersonnel mines, and had indicated it would use these until 2010 when their shelf life expired. Tajikistan reported that it consumed the last of these mines in 2007.[9] Though the end of 2014, Tajikistan did not report any mines retained for training and research. However, in April 2017, Tajikistan’s Article 7 report listed 37 mines retained for training and research, with no information on the origins of the mines.[10] Tajikistan reported maintaining 37 antipersonnel mines for training and research through the end of December 2018.[11]

In 2009, Tajik authorities seized a total of 16 PMN-2 blast mines during “anti-criminal operations” and subsequently destroyed the mines.[12] In 2008, Tajikistan reported two instances where mines were “confiscated or detected…as a result of counter-terrorism activity.”[13]

Tajikistan reported in 2008 that a total of 49,152 PFM-1S remotely-delivered blast mines[14] and 100 “blocks” of POM remotely-delivered fragmentation mines[15] were transferred by Tajik border protection forces to Russian forces in Tajikistan sometime in 2006 for destruction after being discovered following the completion of its stockpile destruction program.[16] These stocks were destroyed in October 2006 by the order of the Russian Federation Federal Border Service.[17]

Tajikistan is the only State Party to declare antipersonnel mines stockpiled on its territory by a state not party to the treaty. It reported that approximately 18,200 antipersonnel mines of various types are stockpiled with Russian Ministry of Defense units deployed in Tajikistan.[18] These stockpiles are not under the jurisdiction or control of Tajikistan.[19] In each of its Article 7 reports since 2003, Tajikistan has reported that intergovernmental talks are “currently underway” to clarify and complete data collection regarding these Russian mines.[20]



[1] Interview with Jonmahmad Rajabov, Director, TMAC, Dushanbe, 5 February 2008. The amendments are to the following laws: “On State Armaments Order”; “On Circulation of Explosive Materials for Civil Purposes”; and “On Arms.” The amendments resulted from a project started in 2006, in cooperation with the Tajik NGO Harmony of the World. The ICRC provided funding for the project, but did not review the recommendations. Email from Eve La Haye, Legal Adviser, Arms Unit, ICRC, 29 July 2008.

[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 14 March 2005. The 1996 Law on Weapons expressly regulates all issues related to the registration, shipment, transport, acquisition, transfer, and storage of armaments and munitions on the territory of Tajikistan. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 3 February 2003.

[3] Presentation of Tajikistan, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, 22 May 2019.

[4] Statement by Bakhtiyor Khudoyorov, Minister of Justice, Second Review Conference, Mine Ban Treaty, Cartagena, 3 December 2009.

[5] Five states from the region participated along with eight donor states and several international and national NGOs. The workshop also included a parallel program for victim assistance experts from Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

[6] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Forms E and H, 3 February 2003.

[7] Ibid., Form C, 3 February 2003.

[8] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form G, 14 March 2005. The text in Forms A, D, and F cite a total of 3,029 mines destroyed, but the detailed listing in Form G adds up to 3,084. This includes: 1,591 POMZ-2; 633 PMN; 436 OZM-72; and 424 MON-100 mines.

[9] Tajikistan consumed 30 mines in 2005, 120 mines in 2006, and 105 mines in 2007. The mines were used for refresher training of survey and demining personnel. For more details, see, Landmine Monitor Report 2008, pp. 662–663.

[10] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2017.

[11] Ibid., 2 April 2019.

[12] Ibid., Form B2, 30 April 2010.

[13] Ibid., 3 February 2008.

[14] TMAC has confirmed that this is the number of individual mines. It likely represents 768 canisters each containing 64 individual mines.

[15] According to the form “each block [of POM mines] has several clusters [canisters] and each cluster has several mines. We have not determined the number of clusters that each block includes. This means, that each block has several mines.” Typically, a KPOM-2 canister has four mines, but it is unclear how many canisters are in a block.

[16] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form B, 3 February 2008. Tajikistan used the optional form B2.

[17] Order #21/6/8-5609, dated 1 September 2006. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form B2, 3 February 2008.

[18] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form B, 3 February 2003.

[19] Interview with Jonmahmad Rajabov, then-Deputy Head of the Board of Constitutional Guarantees of Citizens Rights, Executive Board of the President, in Geneva, 5 February 2003. In another interview in Geneva on 13 May 2003, he stated that Tajik forces are under a separate command-and-control structure and would refuse orders by Russian forces to lay mines.

[20] See Form B of each Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 16 November 2020

In 2019, international mine action contributions to the Republic of Tajikistan totaled some US$2.2 million, similar to contributions in 2018.[1]

Tajikistan has not reported any national financial contributions to its mine action program since 2012, when it provided $700,000.

International contributions: 2019[2]

Donor

Sector

Amount

(national currency)

Amount (US$)

United States

Capacity-building and clearance

$1,500,000

1,500,000

Norway

Clearance and risk education

NOK6,000,000

681,810

Total

 

N/A

2,181,810

N/A=not applicable.

Since 2015, international support toward mine action activities in Tajikistan has remained fairly stable and totaled some $11 million.

Summary of contributions: 2015–2019[3]

Year

International contribution (US$)

2019

2,181,810

2018

2,191,729

2017

2,131,554

2016

2,195,692

2015

2,713,952

Total

11,414,737

 


[1] Email from Ingrid Schøyen, Senior Advisor, Humanitarian Affairs, Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2020; and US Department of State Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA), “To Walk the Earth in Safety 2019,” 2 April 2020.

[2] Average exchange rate for 2019: NOK8.8001=US$1. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 2 January 2020.

[3] See previous Monitor reports. Total contribution for 2017 was revised following new data reported by the United States.