Key
developments since May 2001: The Armenian National Mine Action Center was
officially opened in March 2002. Two 80-person companies are being trained in
humanitarian mine action, including a Mine Detecting Dog section.
MINE BAN POLICY
Armenia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty and
maintains that it will not do so unless Azerbaijan agrees to join. During a
regional Landmine Monitor meeting held in Armenia from 8-10 November 2001,
researchers met with Vahram Gabrielian, Head of the Department for Arms Control
and International Security of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss
various aspects of the Mine Ban
Treaty.[1] According to
Gabrielian, the main reasons the government will not accede to the treaty are
its geopolitical situation, technical difficulties in complying with the treaty,
and insufficiently clear guarantees of international assistance for mine
clearance.[2]
Gabrielian suggested that a viable option might be to discuss a ban on
landmines, as well as issues related to mine clearance, within the context of
ongoing negotiations in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) Minsk Group and during bilateral negotiations with Azerbaijan. He stated
that Armenia would welcome simultaneous declarations by countries from the
region of moratoria on the use and transfer of antipersonnel mines. Gabrielian
said Armenia was ready for any other form of collaboration on the landmine
issue, including admitting Azeri combat engineers to be trained in the regional
mine action center in
Armenia.[3]
On 29 November 2001, Armenia voted in favor of United Nations General
Assembly Resolution 56/24M, which calls for universalization and implementation
of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Armenia did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001,
but did attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January and May
2002. The government had anticipated that many aspects of the landmine issue
would be discussed during an international meeting that had been scheduled to
take place in Armenia in November 2001, with the financial support of the OSCE
and Canada. Due to the tragic events in the United States in September 2001,
the meeting was postponed. It has been rescheduled for early October 2002, and
Armenia welcomes wide participation of international
NGOs.[4]
Armenia is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW); as with
the Mine Ban Treaty, Armenia holds that it cannot take unilateral steps it
believes would place it at a disadvantage in the
region.[5] Armenia did not
participate in the third annual meeting of States Parties to CCW Amended
Protocol II or the Second CCW Review Conference, both of which were held in
December 2001. In May 2001, Armenia said that it “is considering the
possibility to submit, on a voluntary basis the annual report required under
article 13 [of Amended Protocol II] and to contribute to improving the
coordination and effectiveness of global mine
action.”[6]
From 8-10 November 2001, the Armenian National Committee of the ICBL hosted a
regional meeting of members of the ICBL to prepare research for Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, as well as strategize on advocacy in support of the ban
on antipersonnel mines. The campaigners and researchers met with the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, visited Yerevan’s Center of Trauma, Orthopedics, and
Rehabilitation, and held a roundtable discussion with Armenia’s Deputy
Minister of Defense. They also conducted a field visit to the mine-affected
Tavush border region north of Yerevan.
PRODUCTION, TRANSFER, STOCKPILING, AND USE
Armenia is not believed to have ever produced or
exported antipersonnel mines. It states that it has not imported mines since
its independence. It claims that landmine stocks, left from the dissolution of
the Soviet Union, are
”negligible.”[7]
Although antipersonnel mines have previously been used by both Armenia and
Azerbaijan in the conflict,[8]
there have been no credible allegations of new use in this reporting period.
The Defense Ministry states that the military has been prohibited from laying
new mines.[9] According to the
Minister of Defense, during the conflict antipersonnel mines were, in the
overwhelming majority of cases, used by non-professionals and were not
mapped.[10]
LANDMINE PROBLEM
As mentioned in previous Landmine Monitor Reports,
the 900-kilometer line that divides the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, as well as large adjoining territories, is affected by antipersonnel
mines.[11] According to the
government, there are 50,000-80,000 landmines in the border
area.[12]
The Gegharkunik region, which includes the territory of the Lake Sevan basin,
has a 140-kilometer-long common border with Azerbaijan. Over 20 localities in
Chambarak and Vardenis district were an arena of warfare and more than 100
kilometers of mountainous areas to the east and south of Chambarak were
reportedly mined.[13] The mined
territories in Gegharkunik are estimated to cover 100 million square meters and
are designated as a “prohibited area.” An additional area of about
the same size is designated as a “risk area.” There is no civilian
access to those areas. Thus, 200 million square meters of arable croplands have
not been used for almost ten years.
The town of Chambarak claims annual budget losses of AMD7 million (about
US$12,500) and the population is said to lose AMD 40 million (about US$71,400)
because they cannot use the mined
farmland.[14] Similarly, the
local budget of the village of Vahan, whose location is the most dangerous,
sustains annual losses of about AMD5 million (about
US$8,900).[15]
In Ararat region, according to the regional administration’s estimates,
3 million square meters of privatized arable land next to the border are mined
and thus, are not used.[16]
On 6 November 2001, the Armenian National Assembly discussed the issue of the
land tax that thousands are required to pay even though their land is
mined.[17] On 21 February 2002,
the government decided to grant a land tax exemption to the residents of 147
borderline communities and to write off debts to local budgets on land
tax.[18]
In autumn 2001, following pressure by NGOs and the public, the National
Assembly passed its first reading of the Law On Borderline Territories,
which contains proposals and programs for rehabilitation of borderline
territories, including landmine clearance. In December 2001, a government
commission was established to examine the issues related to the country’s
mined agricultural lands. The Commission is headed by the Deputy Minister of the
Territorial Administration and Industrial Infrastructures, and among its members
are governors of the borderline regions and representatives of the
country’s ministries and agencies.
The issue of clearing the section of the Armenian-Georgian border near Krasny
bridge was discussed during a meeting of the Armenian Foreign Minister, Vardan
Oskanian, with the Speaker of the Georgian parliament, Nino Burjdanadzeh, in
Tbilisi in early February
2002.[19] According to the
Foreign Ministry, Armenian specialists helped clear mines near Krasny
bridge.
MINE ACTION FUNDING, SURVEY, AND ASSESSMENT
In 2001, Armenia received US$3.15 million in
humanitarian demining assistance from the United
States.[20] For 2002, the US
allocated $1.2 million for Armenia.
On 14 January 2002, two experts from the Office of Humanitarian Mine Action
Programs of the US Department of State were present at a monitoring mission on
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The mission was to carry out a preliminary
assessment of mine action needed to return two watercourses that ran parallel to
the old road to their original pre-war condition. The assessment found that the
project would take about three months to complete, but would require necessary
security guarantees from the authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan for the
duration of the work. The Armenian Ministry of Defense offered to organize a
meeting between the local authorities of Tavush (Armenia) and Kazakh
(Azerbaijan) regions and high-ranking military officers of both sides under the
chairmanship of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman to sign a
Protocol concerning the security
guarantees.[21]
The Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation is providing technical support to
RONCO to conduct a training needs assessment and train Armenian national staff
to ensure the National Mine Action Center is equipped to conduct a Landmine
Impact Survey to support national strategic mine action
planning.[22]
MINE ACTION
Armenia is determined to build its landmine
clearance capacity. The US began working with Armenia in 2000 to renovate
facilities, train staff of the National Mine Action Center, carry out mine risk
education and information management, and develop survey
capabilities.[23] Armenia also
intends to integrate mine detection dog teams into its mine action
program.[24]
In November 2001, RONCO, announced it would train and equip two 80-person
companies in humanitarian mine action, including a Mine Detecting Dog Section
and six to ten medical technicians. In addition, RONCO was to train National
Mine Action Center staff to manage and implement a comprehensive mine action
program.[25]
On 16 March 2002, the Armenian National Mine Action Center was officially
opened in Echmiadzin, 25 kilometers from the capital, Yerevan. Serzh Sargsian,
the Armenian Defense Minister; John Ordway, US Ambassador to Armenia; top
officers from the Armenian armed forces; as well as the heads of other foreign
embassies in Armenia, took part in the ceremony.
Minister Sargsian declared that the Center would be important both for the
Armenian armed forces and for residents of the country’s mined border
areas. Sargsian also noted the significance of the willingness to start mine
action in border areas, backed by confidence that war would not break out again
between Armenia and
Azerbaijan.[26] The US provided
$1 million for equipment for the center. Ten US military instructors were
scheduled to arrive in Armenia in summer 2002 to beginning training Armenian
deminers.[27]
In a November 2001 meeting with Landmine Monitor researchers, the Deputy
Minister of Defense had noted that since the ceasefire, minefield maps had been
drawn and he claimed that clearance could take place in all areas, except
Shurnukh in Goris.[28]
MINE RISK EDUCATION
In order to find out how well informed the
population is about various aspects of the landmine problem as well as attitudes
about the government’s position on accession to the Mine Ban Treaty, the
Armenian National Committee of the ICBL conducted a survey of 260 respondents in
four borderline regions of Armenia in December 2001 and January
2002.[29]
A little over 35 percent of the respondents have had landmine casualties
among their friends or relatives. The survey demonstrated that a majority of
respondents (over 63 percent) knew which areas were mined, but 19 percent did
not know, and the rest were not sure. Numbers varied significantly between
regions, with greater knowledge in more affected areas. The least informed (27
percent) were respondents in Vayots Dzor region, where very few areas are mined.
Only about 11 percent of all those surveyed said that there were warning signs
around the mined areas, while approximately 63 percent had never come across
such notices and another 25 percent were not sure.
People were also asked which problems concerned them most, as residents of a
borderline region. Many respondents stressed the necessity of assistance for
people affected by landmines, in particular a land tax exemption (41 percent), a
change of tax policies (40 percent), and an increase in disability pensions.
Some 31 percent felt the rights of civilians injured by landmines should be the
same as those of military personnel.
In all the regions, those surveyed felt landmine clearance was progressing
very slowly, and only 37 percent of those interviewed were aware of such
efforts. Agricultural lands, particularly privatized land, as well as roads and
adjoining forests, are said to be a priority. With respect to who should
initiate and carry out mine action in the country, the majority of respondents
(58 percent) believed that should be the role of the Armenian government, 19
percent said local governments, a little over 12 percent said the United Nations
and other international organizations, including NGOs, and just under five
percent said Armenian NGOs.
The survey also sought to find out whether the residents of border regions
receive mine risk education. The responses indicated that schools do not
provide children with adequate information. Only 34 percent were confident that
such training is given at schools. Special courses, however, were not provided
in any of the regions.
Only 18 percent of respondents could recall mine risk education initiatives
that targeted residents in their houses. About 95 percent stressed the
necessity of providing the population with information about landmines and
precautions to take. Virtually no one had any doubts about the necessity of
communicating such knowledge to schoolchildren. Only 14 percent of respondents
regarded their knowledge as sufficient to identify a landmine and to take
measures to inform relevant authorities. Some 66 percent felt television to be
the most critical vehicle for raising awareness about landmines; the same
percent said they had never seen a single TV program on landmines.
LANDMINE CASUALTIES
There are no official statistics available on the
number of landmine casualties in Armenia. It would appear that the majority of
landmine casualties are young men drafted into the army. The Armenian National
Committee of the ICBL is compiling and verifying a database on landmine
casualties among Armenian
citizens.[30] As of April 2002,
the database contained information on 343 survivors, including both soldiers and
civilians injured in landmine incidents in 11 provinces of Armenia; of these
survivors, 228 were injured after the armistice was signed in May 1994. There
were five mine casualties reported in 2001.
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
Military mine casualties have greater access to
medical and rehabilitative facilities than civilian casualties, but generally
Armenia has an adequate material-technical base and qualified personnel for
specialized medical assistance, for producing prosthetic appliances, and for
rehabilitating and reintegrating landmine survivors. However, a lack of
adequate resources limits the capacity of existing facilities to adequately and
efficiently address the needs of landmine survivors.
Armenia has a wide network of health-care facilities. As of 1 January 2001,
there were 171 civilian hospitals and six military hospitals, including two in
Yerevan (the Central Clinical Military Hospital and the Yerevan Garrison
Hospital), a field military hospital in Vanadzor and Tavush, and two field
military hospitals in border areas. The largest specialized medical and
rehabilitation facilities are concentrated in Yerevan and include the Center of
Traumatology, Orthopedics & Rehabilitation, the A. Mikaelian Institute of
Surgery, the Research Institute of Health Science and Physical Medicine, the
First Aid Research Center, the Stress Center, the Center for Medical
Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, and the Yerevan Prosthetic-Orthopedic
Enterprise (POE).[31] Civilian
mine casualties can receive emergency care in military field hospitals. All
amputees, both military and civilian, can get their prosthetic appliances from
the POE.
In January 2002, the Yerevan Prosthetic-Orthopedic Enterprise stopped
providing assistance because of a lack of state funding. This is a repeat of
the situation reported in the previous year when the POE closed between October
2000 and February 2001.[32] On
8 May 2002, disabled veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh war staged a rally at the
Government Building to protest the fact that POE could not provide services to
persons with disabilities because the Government has not disbursed the funding
allocated for its operation. Commenting on the protest action, the chief
financial officer of the Ministry of Social Security stated that for the
previous seven months the POE had not received funding of about US$205,500
(AMD120 million) and, as a result, was unable to purchase materials to produce
prosthetic and assistive devices. The provision of services to persons with
disabilities could be resumed in a matter of days once the funding was
disbursed.[33]
DISABILITY POLICY AND PRACTICE
Armenia’s “Law on Social Protection
of the Disabled in Armenia” protects the rights of civilians with
disabilities, including landmine survivors. The rights of military landmine
survivors and their family members are covered by “On social security
system for military personnel and their family
members.”[34] At the
national level the coordination of disability issues is the responsibility of
the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Security, and the social security
division of the Ministry of Defense.
Medical services are provided free to persons with disabilities within the
framework of existing laws, but in reality the lack of state resources makes
access problematic. The desperate socioeconomic situation of the country has
resulted in the growing inaccessibility of medical services for a majority of
the population, including persons with disabilities.
[1] Interview with Vahram Gabrielian, Head
of the Department for Arms Control and International Security, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Yerevan, 8 November
2001. [2] Interview with Vahram
Gabrielian, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yerevan, 8 November
2001. [3]
Ibid. [4]
Ibid. [5] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
pp. 849-850. [6] Letter from Karen A.
Nazarian, Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of
Armenia to the United Nations in Geneva, to Ambassador Kalman Petocz, President
of the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II, 29 May
2001. Distributed as CCW/AP.II/CONF.3/INF.1, 1 June
2001. [7] Interview with Lt. General
Vagharshak Harutiunian, Minister of Defense, Republic of Armenia, 19 April
2000. [8] Landmine Monitor Report 2000,
p. 793. [9] Interview with General Yury
Khachaturov, Deputy Minister of Defense, Yerevan, 9 November
2001. [10] Statement of Armenian Defense
Minister Serzh Sargsian at the inauguration of the Armenian Mine Action Center,
16 March 2002. [11] Landmine Monitor
Report 2000, pp. 794-795; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
850-851. [12] Reply of the Republic of
Armenia to the Questionnaire on Anti-Personnel Landmines, Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, FSC.DEL/92/00, 29 March 2000, as reported in
Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
794. [13] Khosrov Khelgatian,
“Landmines will always be a hazard to life,” Zhamanaki
oughekits/Time guide (weekly), 8 September
2001. [14] Information provided by Hayk
Lazarian, Chambarak Mayor, , August
2001. [15] Information provided by Husik
Apressian, head of community, August
2001. [16] Information provided by
Bagrat Sargsyan, Secretary of Ararat Regional Governor’s Office, 12
February 2002. [17] “Questions
& Answers in the National Assembly,” Armenian Public TV Program, 6
November 2001. [18] Dzeragir/handwriting
(a weekly Armenian Public Television program), 4 March
2002. [19] Orakarg/Agenda, (Armenian
Public Television program), 17 February 2002, reporting on Vardan
Oskanian’s official visit to
Tbilisi. [20] US Department of State,
“To Walk the Earth in Safety, The United States Commitment to Humanitarian
Demining,” November 2001, p.
24. [21] Information provided by G.
Kocharian, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yerevan, 29 March 2002.
[22] Interview with William E. Barron,
Planning and Logistics Officer, Mine Action Program, VVAF, Yerevan, 21 February
2002. [23] US Department of State,
“To Walk the Earth in Safety,” November 2001, p.
24. [24] Information provided by G.
Kocharian, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yerevan, 29 March
2002. [25] See:
www.roncoconsulting.com/news/imas_programs.html. [26]
Interview with Armenian Defense Minister, Serzh Sargsian, on Haylur (news
program), Armenian Public Television, 16 March
2002. [27] ARMINFO News Agency, 16 March
2002. [28] Interview with General Yury
Khachaturov, Deputy Minister of Defense, Yerevan, 9 November
2001. [29] Some 60 people were surveyed
in Kapan and 39 in Goris, in Syunik region; 30 in Chambarak, in Gegharkunik
region; 56 in Eghegnadzor, in Vayots Dzor region; and 56 in Idjevan and 19 in
Noyemberian, in Tavush region. [30] The
database contains full details including the names and addresses of survivors,
both military and civilian. Data is collected mainly through medical and
rehabilitation facilities and interviews with survivors. See Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 853. [31] Data from the
Information and Analytical Center of Health Care Protection, 2001; Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, pp. 854-855. [32]
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
854. [33] Edward Gevorkian, Chief
Financial Officer, Ministry of Social Security, interview on Zham (news
program), Armenian television, 8 May
2002. [34] For full details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, p. 798.