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Yemen, Landmine Monitor Report 2004

Yemen

Key developments since May 2003: In January 2004, the Yemeni government declared Aden governorate to be free of landmines. Yemen cleared about 2.8 million square meters of land in 2003, destroying 155 antipersonnel mines, 44 antivehicle mines, and 9,660 UXO. During survey operations in 2003, Yemen marked 2.37 million square meters of land. Mine risk education activities in 2003 reached about 75,000 persons, down from 227,000 the previous year. In 2003, a new orthopedic center opened in Mukalla in the remote Hadramont governorate. Draft implementation legislation was approved by the Cabinet in 2003 and was being considered for final approval by a special committee in March 2004. In June 2004, Yemeni officials reportedly accused a militant group of using antipersonnel landmines in clashes with government troops. A 2003 report to the UN Security Council said that landmines had been shipped from Yemen to Somalia.

Key developments since 1999: The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force for Yemen on 1 March 1999. A nationwide Landmine Impact Survey, completed in July 2000, identified 594 mine-affected villages in 19 of the country’s 20 governorates. By April 2004, at least 6,688,575 square meters of land, including 213 minefields, had been demined, accounting for 74 percent of the total area marked in Yemen for clearance; 11 of the 14 high-impacted and 67 medium to low-impacted communities had been cleared. From 1999-2003, mine risk education activities reached 341,980 people in 198 villages. Yemen completed destruction of its antipersonnel mine stockpile in April 2002. The Victim Assistance Department of the Yemen Mine Action Program was established in 2001. In January 2002, Presidential Law Number 2 established a care and rehabilitation fund for persons with disabilities.

Mine Ban Policy

Yemen signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 1 September 1998, and it entered into force on 1 March 1999. At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003, the Minister of State and Chair of the Mine Action Committee stated that the cabinet had endorsed legislation prohibiting landmines.[1] In March 2004, the Yemen National Mine Action Committee (NMAC) referred the draft domestic implementation legislation to a committee consisting of members from the Ministries of the Interior and Defense and headed by Parliament member Mohamed Yehia Al-Hawi for final approval.[2]

Yemen submitted its sixth annual Article 7 transparency measures report on 5 May 2004, covering the period from 30 April 2003 to 1 March 2004.[3]

Yemen was one of a handful of Arab governments to participate actively in the Ottawa Process and it was the first government in the Middle East to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty. Yemen has voted in favor of every annual pro-mine ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996. In November 1997, Yemen hosted the first landmine meeting to be held in the Middle East. It has participated in other regional, governmental meetings on landmines, including in Egypt in April 2000 and in Jordan in April 2004.

Yemen has been an active participant in the Mine Ban Treaty work program, attending every annual Meeting of States Parties, as well as every intersessional Standing Committee meeting. Yemen was co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee of Experts on Technologies for Mine Action from May 1999 to September 2000. It was co-rapporteur then co-chair of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies from September 2000 to September 2002.

Yemen has not engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2, and 3. Thus, Yemen has not made known its views on issues related to joint military operations with non-States Parties, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.

In 2003, the Yemen Mine Awareness Association (YMAA) published two issues of its quarterly newsletter, Al-Aman,[4] promoting the universalization, implementation and monitoring of the Mine Ban Treaty in Yemen, and throughout the region. YMAA distributes its newsletter to mine-affected villages and at national, regional, and international meetings.

Yemen is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but it attended the Fifth Annual Conference of States Parties to the CCW Amended Protocol II in November 2003.

Use, Production, and Transfer

The last reported mine use by government forces was in 1994. In June 2004, it was reported that an Interior Ministry official accused an armed militant group of Hussein Badr Eddin al-Huthi of using landmines in clashes with Yemeni troops.[5] The group was alleged to stockpile a “huge quantity” of antipersonnel mines.[6] A number of landmines were reportedly recovered by Yemeni forces from the group’s hideouts in Saada, near the border with Saudi Arabia.[7]

Yemen has stated that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. However, a 2003 report to the UN Security Council said that landmines had been shipped from Yemen (and Ethiopia) to Somalia. A UN panel of experts assessing the effectiveness of arms sanctions against Somalia noted that “explosives are readily available for purchase throughout [Somalia]. For the most part, these are obtained by dismantling landmines, large quantities of which have been delivered to Somalia in recent years principally from Ethiopia and Yemen.... The availability of explosives in Somalia is the direct result of large-scale violations of the arms embargo in recent years with respect to landmines.”[8]

After a request from Landmine Monitor for clarification of this matter, Yemen responded: “We absolutely deny that our government, or any official representation in it, has a hand in sending any land mines to Somalia, and insist our government takes every precaution to abide by the rulings and basis of the international agreement that warns against the use and sale or manufacture of land mines. ... I am inclined to guess that it was acquired by illegitimate, unofficial methods, and by means outside of the law and fall within its reach. We as the first to be concerned with abiding by the rulings of the international agreement and find concerned parties to realize the situation and initiate adequate legal procedures to prevent such illegal actions.”[9]

Stockpiling and Destruction

On 27 April 2002, Yemen completed destruction of its stockpile of 74,000 antipersonnel mines with a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister, government representatives, media, and NGOs.[10] The stockpile consisted of mines manufactured by the former Czechoslovakia and former Soviet Union. Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States provided financial assistance to destroy the stockpile. The destruction, which started on 14 February 2000, was carried out by open detonation and suffered delays during 2001 due to a lack of funding and explosives.[11] It was completed well in advance of the March 2003 treaty deadline.

In November 2000, Yemen announced its intent to retain 4,000 antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes.[12] It has used 240 of the retained mines for the training of mine detecting dogs.[13] The Army does not possess Claymore-type mines.[14]

Landmine Problem and Surveys

Yemen’s landmine problem is the result of several conflicts, including the 1962-1975 war between the republicans and the royalists in the north and the 1963-1967 war of independence in the south. The majority of mines were laid along the border between north and south Yemen in the 1970-1983 leftist guerrilla war and in the southern governorates during the 1994 separatist war.

The Survey Action Center’s first nationwide Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) was completed in Yemen in July 2000 and identified 592 mine-affected villages in 19 of the country’s 20 governorates.[15] According to the survey, there were 1,078 mined areas covering a surface area of 923 million square meters, mainly in the center and south of the country. Approximately 828,000 Yemenis, or sixteen percent of the population, are affected by the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The LIS reported that most mine/UXO incidents occurred in the governorates of Ibb, Al-Dhale, Al-Baida, and Lahej.

The Landmine Impact Survey for Yemen cost a total of US$1,650,000 and funding was provided by Canada, Japan, Germany, the United States and the United Nations Foundation.[16] The year-long study employed 102 Yemeni nationals, twenty percent of whom were women.[17] Survey operations continued in 2003, during which workers marked 2,374,704 square meters of land.[18]

A five-year strategic plan was developed using the results of the survey to clear the fourteen high impact communities by 2004. As of June 2003, 11 of these communities had been cleared and declared safe.[19] Technical surveys of the four remaining high impact communities, covering an area of 22.5 square kilometers, have been completed.[20] As of June 2004, 11 of the highly impacted and 79 medium- and low-impacted communities had been completed and the affected land returned to the communities.

Mine Action Funding

Yemen has reported spending $9 million on mine action from 1999-2002.[21] In 2003, the Yemeni government provided $400,000 to the Yemen Mine Action Program (YMAP). International donors contributed at least $3.63 million to YMAP in 2003:[22]

  • Germany - $1,137,242 (€1,005,075), including €809,502 to GTZ and the German Embassy for the mine dog center in Sana’a, €106,590 to UNDP for a German expert to YEMAP, and €88,983 for additional equipment for the mine dog center.
  • Saudi Arabia - $1,000,000 for mine action activities including mine risk education.[23]
  • United States – $842,754, including $750,000 from DoS for mine clearance, mine awareness and victim assistance, and $92,754 from DoD.
  • Netherlands - $300,000 to the UNDP to support the national mine action program.
  • Italy – $226,300 (€200,000) through UNDP to establish an integrated mine action program.
  • Canada –US$118,503 (C$162,780), including US$116,465 through UNDP for capacity building in humanitarian demining.

In May 2004, the UNDP pledged approximately $2 million to the demining program in Yemen, marking the beginning of the second phase of the national program of demining.[24]

International donors to the YMAP contributed approximately $15 million from May 1999 through 2002. Donors in this period in addition to the six above included Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The government of Yemen also contributes annually its national program, including funding for national staff salaries and benefits, social security, healthcare, insurance, and landmine victim assistance.[25]

Coordination and Planning

The National Mine Action Committee, chaired by the Minister of State (a member of the cabinet) and established in 1998, is responsible for policy formulation, resource allocation, and the national mine action strategy. The Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC) is responsible for coordination of mine action activities, and the activities of the Regional Executive Mine Action Branch (REMAB Aden). It also executes national mine action plans. The NMAC’s Mine Awareness Advisory Committee (MAAC) and a Victim Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC), were established in 1999 to assist with planning and evaluation of mine awareness and victim assistance activities.

The Minister of State issued a resolution to revive the Mine Risk Education Sub-Committee and a meeting was held on this matter on 18 April 2004. The Minister of State, chairman of NMAC, issued a resolution forming a National Program Management Committee, headed by the Minister of State and including donor countries and the Yemen Mine Awareness Association. The committee consists of sub-committees for victim assistance, mine risk education, and funding and public relations, as well as an operations committee led by the Deputy Chairperson and chief general staff.[26]

In March 2004, experts on mine clearance from Yemen attended the UN Development Program Mine Action Workshop in Jordan. The participants, who also came from Iraq, Sudan, and Somalia, discussed how best to conduct mine clearance to further their countries’ broader development goals.[27]

The Yemen Mine Action Program uses the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) as a tool for planning, data management, and reporting.[28]

Mine Clearance

A unit of the Engineering Department of the Ministry of Defense and a separate body, the Mine Clearance Unit of the Regional Technical Executive Unit, undertake mine clearance in Yemen. The Yemen Mine Action Program employed 936 personnel in 2003 in planning, training, logistics, mine survey, mine clearance, mine awareness, and survivor assistance. There are also three international technical advisors and seven national staff employed by the UN. The YMAP includes a Mine Dog Center, with eight Afghan dog experts contracted by YEMAC. In April 2004, a process to breed dogs for mine detection was initiated to sustain a minimum number of 36 operational dogs.[29]

In 2003, Yemen detected and destroyed approximately 155 antipersonnel mines, 44 antivehicle mines, and 9,660 UXO from 2,814,300 square meters of affected land.[30] Between January and April 2004, workers destroyed another 14 antipersonnel mines, nine antivehicle mines, and 2,000 UXO. Yemen stated in its 2004 Article 7 report that “lately” it has found Belgian-made M35 mines in high-impacted areas, but that its military is not trained to clear them.[31]

Between 2001 and March 2004, eleven high-impacted and 67 medium to low-impacted communities had been cleared of landmines and UXO and the land turned back over to the communities.[32] The Mine Action Program reported in February 2004 that a total of 6,688,575 square meters of land has been demined since 2001, accounting for 74 percent of the total area marked in Yemen for clearance.[33] By April 2004, 213 minefields had been handed over to local authorities.[34]

On 3 January 2004, Prime Minister Abdul Kader Bajamal declared the Aden governorate free of mines in a national celebration. Kassam Al-Agam, Minister of State, the Chair of the National Demining Office, the Governor of Aden, and other Ministers, Ambassadors, and NGOs attended the event.[35]

Mine Risk Education

In 2003, the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center conducted mine risk education (MRE) in affected villages in Saada, Ebb, Dhala, Taiz, Abyan, and Lahej. Eighteen local mine risk education committees were formed and workers trained 61 persons and distributed 131 games. The Mine Awareness Department implements MRE, using television and print media.

The Executive Mine Action Center reported that MRE activities in 2003 reached 74,980 people (38,332 men and 36,648 women) in 76 villages.[36] This marks a decrease from the 227,000 people who received mine risk education in 2002. Since 1999, mine risk education activities have reached a total of 341,980 people (205,282 men and 136,698 women) in 198 villages.[37]

Between January and June 2004, MRE workshops were held in 15 mine-affected villages targeting 33,545 males and 3,776 females, and 11,250 posters were distributed.[38]

Mine risk education in Yemen is mainly conducted through field visits and workshops in villages close to mined areas. There is ongoing coordination with key actors (Shiekhs, Imams, teachers, students, and journalists) at the governorate and village levels.

The non-governmental Yemen Mine Awareness Association carried out mine risk education reinforcement sessions in Aden, Laheh, and Abyan in July and August 2003. The YMAA applied for funding support through the Yemen Mine Awareness Committee and its projects were included in the 2003-2004 Mine Action Portfolio. YMAA mine risk education activities targeted men, women, and children in 50 mine-affected villages in Al-Dhala, EBB, and Hadramout. The YMAA and the Mine Awareness Department of the Yemen Mine Awareness Committee coordinate implementation and joint fieldwork. The department provides YMAA with vehicles and staff and the organization covers fuel, maintenance, and a per diem for staff

Landmine Casualties

In 2003, the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC) recorded 18 mine/UXO casualties (12 killed and six injured). It is possible, however, that not all mine casualties are reported, especially if people are killed or injured in remote areas. According to one media report, landmines kill or injure on average five Yemeni civilians a month.[39] The casualty rate appears to be relatively constant over the past three years. In 2002, 19 mine/UXO casualties (seven killed and 12 injured) from ten incidents were reported by YMAA.[40] In 2001, YEMAC registered five new mine survivors, while the Regional Executive Mine Action Branch in Aden reported ten people killed and eight injured in mine incidents.[41]

Casualties continue to be reported in 2004. On 10 February 2004, a 13-year-old girl herding sheep in the Al-Madou village in Al-Dhala governorate lost her right leg when a landmine exploded.[42] On 23 June, an eleven-year-old boy herding sheep was killed when he handled an antipersonnel mine in Al-Dhala.[43] On 15 July, two girls herding sheep in Guban district, Al-Dhala governorate were badly injured in a mine explosion.[44]

In April 2004, a deminer lost his leg in an accident during mine clearance activities in the Al-Nadra district, in the Ebb governorate.[45] In March 2002, two soldiers were injured in a mine accident during a training exercise at the Regional Mine Action Center in Aden, and in June, a deminer received serious injuries to his face and right hand when an antipersonnel mine exploded in Maresh village, Ebb governorate.

The Landmine Impact Survey completed in July 2000 recorded a total of 4,904 casualties in Yemen, of which 2,560 were killed and 2,344 injured.[46]

Mine/UXO casualties recorded by LIS as at July 2000[47]


Total
Killed
Injured
Recent Casualties[48]
178
57
121
Casualties of less recent date
4,726
2,503
2,223
Total
4,904
2,560
2,344

The LIS collected data on recent mine casualties and on casualties to date, which were markedly higher than any statistics previously collected. At the time, concerns were expressed that the numbers may not be accurate and could be as high as double the real figure. It is possible that the survey raised expectations of assistance and compensation, which induced people to register even though they were disabled from other causes.[49] Previously available figures from the Ministry of Interior indicated that between 1992 and 1996, 723 mine/UXO casualties had been reported in Yemen (an average of fifteen casualties a month), of which 204 were killed.[50]

The Yemen Executive Mine Action Center maintains casualty data in its IMSMA database. As new casualties are reported, and mine survivors identified and verified in the governorates, the data is added to the information already in the database from the LIS.[51]

Survivor Assistance

Health facilities are limited in most regions in Yemen, especially in rural areas where there are health clinics, but often staff, essential medicines, transport and other necessary facilities are lacking. Sana’a and other major cities such as Taiz and Aden have hospitals with surgical units capable of handling landmine injuries including amputations. Many landmine survivors live in remote mountainous villages and face difficulties in accessing services.[52]

The Landmine Impact Survey reported that of 121 ‘recent” casualties not killed immediately by their injuries, 103 received some form of emergency care (85 percent) and only four reported receiving rehabilitation after the incident (three percent); one survivor received no care. No survivors reported receiving vocational training.[53]

Landmine survivor assistance in Yemen is coordinated through the Victim Assistance Advisory Committee, the membership of which includes the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA), the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training, and international NGOs, Handicap International, and Movimondo; there is no representation from local NGOs.[54] In October 1999 a Rehabilitation Department was established within the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), in part to analyze the needs of people with disabilities and to coordinate at the national level. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) reorganized its Community Based Rehabilitation Program (CBR) in 2000 to be more responsive to the needs of landmine survivors.

The Victim Assistance Department of the Yemen Mine Action Program, established in 2001, provides emergency medical assistance to mine or UXO casualties. The department has developed a medical survey plan to follow up on results of Landmine Impact Survey, divided into three phases including a medical survey, diagnosis and assessment by medical specialists, and provision of medical and rehabilitative support. Implementation of the survey commenced in June 2001 and continued through 2004, with detailed information on landmine survivors identified entered into a database.[55] The YMAP covers all medical costs of the landmine survivors, including artificial limbs, and it is developing plans to facilitate economic reintegration of the survivors through vocational training and assistance in establishing small businesses.[56]

Since 2001, the Victim Assistance Department has opened 1,001 files on mine/UXO survivors; 603 survivors have been through the three phases of the program, including 52 survivors injured since 2001. In 2003, 229 survivors participated in the medical survey (44 in Lahej, 30 in Abyan, 45 in Taiz, and 110 in Aden) and 84 were examined and 30 received medical and rehabilitative support. In 2002, a total of 132 mine/UXO survivors received various forms of assistance including medical examinations; 27 received prostheses, 25 had corrective surgery, and two received wheelchairs.[57] From 27 February to 11 March 2004, three survivors were examined by surgeons, ENT, and orthopedic doctors in Aden Hospital. In Taiz, Mocha district, Makbana, and Al-Waziya, the third phase was completed, providing medical support to 69 survivors.[58] In 1999, a four-person US medical team specializing in eye injuries was brought in for consultation and training of staff at the Regional Mine Action Center and Aden Hospital and of 150 mine survivors examined, 38 received specialized treatment, including eight surgical operations.[59]

In 1999 the Italian Government Emergency Unit started a bilateral project, training Yemeni surgeons on surgical techniques to assist mine casualties at the Al Thowra hospital in Taiz. Two mine survivors, a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, were sent to Italy for specialized treatment in 2004.[60]

Since 2001, the ICRC has assisted the MoPHP’s National Artificial Limbs and Physiotherapy Center in Sana’a with the introduction of ICRC poly-propylene technology, and since 2003 a new center in Mukalla in the remote Hadramont governorate. Assistance includes the supply of raw materials, components, equipment, and on-the-job training for prosthetic/orthotic technicians. Since 2001, the ICRC-supported centers produced 1,155 prostheses, including at least 51 for mine survivors: 479 (ten for mine survivors) in 2003; 392 (41 for mine survivors) in 2002; and 284 in 2001. In addition, 650 crutches and 166 wheelchairs have been distributed.[61]

Handicap International (HI) supports two physical rehabilitation centers in Taiz and Aden (started in 2000), in cooperation with MoLSA and the MoPHP. HI continues to train orthopedic technicians, assistants and physiotherapists at the centers. Mobile teams regularly visit health services in the Aden governorate to facilitate access to orthopedic devices for people in remote areas. The Physical Rehabilitation Center in Taiz began operating independently in 2002 with occasional supervision from HI. HI also implements a program of disability awareness to assist the integration of people with a disability into their communities. In 2003, the two centers produced 139 above and below-knee prostheses. In 2002, the centers produced 1,661 orthopedic and assistive devices (19 for mine survivors), and provided 4,000 physiotherapy treatments; the Taiz center provided 768 devices and 3,060 physiotherapy treatments in 2001.[62]

The Yemen office of Rädda Barnen (Save the Children Sweden) supports a MoLSA community-based rehabilitation program to assist children with disabilities, including mine survivors, in the governorates of Aden, Lahej, Abyan, Taiz, and Ebb. Rädda Barnen-supported projects include medical assistance, community mobilization activities, and training. In 2003, 16 young mine survivors benefited from the program. Rädda Barnen phased out its involvement in the CBR program in 2003, but continues to support local CBR associations.[63]

Since 1999, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has operated the Landmine Victims and Other Severely Accident Disabled Adults community-based rehabilitation program in Hodeidah governorate. The project was due to end in July 2002 but was extended at the request of MoLSA. ADRA also operates a program to support disabled under-18-year-olds in the districts of Hais, Khokha and Jabel Ras in Hodeidah and in Makbana in Taiz governorate. In 2003, ADRA assisted 1,041 people, including 27 mine survivors. ADRA, in cooperation with MoLSA, also organized a workshop to raise awareness on disability issues in Hodeidah governorate. From 1999 to July 2002, the project assisted 76 mine survivors with assistive aids and vocational training; at least four mine survivors received loans to start up small businesses. ADRA refers people needing orthopedic devices to Handicap International. The projects are implemented through ADRA Canada with funding support from MoLSA, the Canadian International Development Agency, and private donors.[64]

The Italian NGO Movimondo’s assistance program provides training for Yemeni physiotherapists and nurses. The Italian government supported a three-year physiotherapy project, which includes the development of a physiotherapy curriculum, in coordination with the MoPHP in two health institutes in Sana’a and Aden.[65]

The Challenge Association for Handicapped Women’s Welfare assists about 500 women with disabilities, including mine survivors, in five governorates: Hajaa, Sa’da, Al Beida, Al Mahweed, and Ma’reb. Assistance includes medical referrals, psychosocial support, vocational and literacy training, economic assistance, and raising awareness on disability issues. The association has 1,500 women on its waiting list for services, but is limited by a lack of resources.[66]

The Vocational Rehabilitation Center for People with Special Needs in Aden provides various vocational training courses for between six months and two years for persons with disabilities in carpentry, office work, sewing, leatherwork, textiles, and the production of mobility aids.[67]

The Yemeni Association for Landmine and UXO Survivors is in the process of being formed. The first meeting is planned for September 2004. The association will provide vocational training and assistance to small income generation initiatives for 100 mine and UXO survivors; 50 percent of beneficiaries will be women. The planned program is supported by Japan.[68]

Since 2000, Yemen has provided information on activities relating to mine victim assistance in Form I of its annual Article 7 transparency report.[69]

Two mine survivors from Yemen participated in the Raising the Voices training program in Geneva in June 2004.

Disability Policy and Practice

Yemen has legislation to protect the rights of all persons with disabilities. Act 61 on the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled was issued in December 1999.[70] On 23 January 2002, Presidential Law Number 2 establishing a care and rehabilitation fund for the disabled came into effect. The fund will initially cover the costs of immediate medical care in hospital. In 2002, the fund supported the Aden Association of the Physically Disabled, a watchdog group that advocates for the rights of the disabled and provides training in office and computer skills, by covering the costs of their electricity and water bills, and paying for twelve people with a disability to work for five months with the Association.[71]

The government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Policy for the period 2003-2005 includes the objective of establishing training centers for persons with disabilities to facilitate their integration into society and economic activity.[72]


[1] Statement of the Minister of State for the Republic of Yemen, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 16 September 2003.
[2] Interview with Rashida Al-Hamadani, Secretary of the National Mine Action Committee, Sana’a, 3 April 2004.
[3] See Article 7 reports submitted: 10 April 2003 (for the period 27 April 2002 – 10 April 2003); 27 April 2002 (for the period 8 September 2001 – 27 April 2002); 18 September 2001 (for the period 14 November 2000 – 8 September 2001); 14 November 2000 (for the period 30 November 1999 – 14 November 2000); 30 November 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997 – 30 November 1999).
[4] Interview with Aisha Saeed, Chairperson, Yemen Mine Awareness Association, Aden, 3 March 2004.
[5] “Yemeni forces kill 46 rebels, wound 35 others,” Saba News Agency, 25 June 2004.
[6] “Yemeni mediators work to calm deadly clashes with sectarian preacher,” Agence France-Presse (Yemen), 26 June 2004.
[7] “Yemeni forces kill 46 rebels, wound 35 others,” Saba News Agency, 25 June 2004.
[8] “Report of the Panel of Experts on Somalia Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1474 (2003),” delivered to the President of the Security Council on 4 November 2003 (Ref. S/2003/1035), paras. 136-137, pp. 31-32.
[9] Reply from the Government of Yemen by Mansour Al-Azi, 21 September 2004.
[10] Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 March 2004. For more details, see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 522. There are discrepancies in accounting for Yemen’s stocks and destruction, but in its 2002 and 2001 Article 7 reports, Yemen reports a stockpile of 78,000 mines (58,500 POMZ-2; 16,000 PPMiSR-2; 2,000 PMN; and 1,500 PMD-6). It retained 4,000 of those mines for training purposes (1,000 of each), leaving 74,000 to be destroyed.
[11] Statement by Mansour Al-Azi, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 10 May 2001; Article 7 Report, Form F, 14 November 2001.
[12] Yemen initially kept 1,000 each of PMN, POMZ-2, PMD-6, and PP-Mi-Sr-2. Article 7 Report, Form D, 14 November 2000.
[13] Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 March 2004. Yemen used 60 of each of the four types retained. It first reported this in its 10 April 2003 report, so no mines have been consumed in the most recent reporting period.
[14] Interview with Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen Executive Mine Action Center, Sana'a, 11 March 2002.
[15] Al-Mahweet was the only governorate declared mine-free. See Survey Action Center/Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, “Landmine Impact Survey: Republic of Yemen,” Washington , DC, October 2000.
[16] Survey Action Center, “Landmine Impact Survey: Republic of Yemen, Executive Summary,” p. 3.
[17] US Department of State, Office of the Spokesman Press Release, “Successful Completion of the First Landmine Impact Survey in Yemen,” 4 October 2000.
[18] Report presented by the Yemen National Mine Action Program, Executive Mine Action Center, to the intersessional Standing Committee meeting, Geneva, 11 February 2004, p. 7.
[19] MASG Newsletter: Yemen, June 2003.
[20] Interview with Faiz Mohamed, Quality Assurance Advisor/Trainer, UNDP, Sana’a, 13 July 2003; “Mine Action Report 2002: First in Mine Action,” brochure, December 2002.
[21] Mine Ban Treaty Resource Mobilization Contact Group, “A review of resources to achieve the Convention’s Aims,” Presented by Norway to the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, 25 June 2004. Yemen reports US$1 million in 1999, US$1.5 million in 2000, US$3 million in 2001, and US$3.5 million in 2002.
[22] See individual donor country entries in this Landmine Monitor Report 2004, unless otherwise noted.
[23] Yemen Article 7 Report, Form I, 30 March 2004. This was the last US$1 million installment from a three-year, US$3 million donation from Saudi Arabia.
[24] Interview with Jamal Jarallaha, Project Coordinator, UNDP, Sana’a, 6 April 2004; interview with Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen Executive Mine Action Center, Sana'a, 7 August 2004; “NCD & donors discuss demining program,” Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (Yemen), 10 May 2004.
[25] Yemen Executive Mine Action Center, “Annual Report 2002.”
[26] Interview with Rashida Al-Hamadani, Secretary of the National Mine Action Committee, Sana’a, 3 April 2004.
[27] “UNDP Mine Action Workshop Highlights Importance of De-Mining Efforts,” IPR Strategic Information Database (Jordan), 2 March 2004.
[28] Interview with Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen Executive Mine Action Center, 6 April 2004.
[29] MASG Newsletter, May 2004, p. 13.
[30] Interview with Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen Executive Mine Action Center, Sana’a, 6 April 2004. Another report states that 2,809,235 square meters were cleared in 2003. Report presented by the Yemen National Mine Action Program, Executive Mine Action Center, to the intersessional Standing Committee meeting, Geneva, 11 February 2004, p. 7.
[31] Article 7 Report, Form H, 30 March 2004.
[32] Interview with Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen Executive Mine Action Center, Sana’a, 6 April 2004.
[33] Report presented by the Yemen National Mine Action Program, Executive Mine Action Center, to the intersessional Standing Committee meeting, Geneva, 11 February 2004, pp. 5-6.
[34] Interview with Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen Executive Mine Action Center, Sana’a, 6 April 2004.
[35] “Aden Declared Free of Mines,” 14th October newspaper (Aden), 3 January 2004.
[36] Report presented by the Yemen National Mine Action Program, Executive Mine Action Center, to the intersessional Standing Committee meeting, Geneva, 11 February 2004, p. 11.
[37] Article 7 Report, Form I, 30 March 2004. See also Report presented by the Yemen National Mine Action Program, Executive Mine Action Center, to the intersessional Standing Committee meeting, 11 February 2004, p. 11, for the statistics for 1999-2003.
[38] Interview with Nabil Rasam, Director, Mine Awareness Department, Sana’a, 7 August 2004. 3 April 2003.
[39] Nasser Arrabyee, “Riyadh pledges $2m for Yemen demining drive,” Gulf News, 2 October 2002.
[40] YMAA collects reports of mine incidents through the media, security authorities, sheiks, and villagers. Survivor assistance staff also collects data while interviewing mine survivors. For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp. 497-498.
[41] Interview with Kaid Thabet Mokbel, Head of Medical Survey Team, Victim Assistance Department, Regional Executive Mine Action Branch, Aden, 9 May 2002.
[42] “Injury of a child girl in Al-Dhala governorate,” Al-Ayam (Aden newspaper), 12 February 2004.
[43] “Mine explosion – Al-Dhala Kills a boy,” Al-Ayam, 23 June 2004.
[44] “Injury of two girls in a mine explosion in Al-Dhala,” Al-Ayam, 16 July 2004.
[45] “A Deminer Injured in Al-Nadra, Ebb governorate,” Al-Ayam, 15 April 2004.
[46] Survey Action Center/Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, “Landmine Impact Survey: Republic of Yemen, Executive Summary,” Washington, DC, October 2000, p. 15.
[47] Survey Action Center/Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, “Landmine Impact Survey: Republic of Yemen,” Washington, DC, October 2000, p. 15.
[48] Recent casualties relate to incidents in the 24 months before the end of data collection in May 2000.
[49] Landmine Survivors Network, “Victim Assistance Programs in Yemen and Lebanon – 2002,” Washington, DC, pp. 18-19.
[50] UNMAS, “Joint Assessment Mission Report: Yemen,” 21 September 1998, p. 9.
[51] Email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen National Mine Action Committee, 9 August 2004.
[52] Aisha Saeed, Senior Program Officer, Rädda Barnen, response to socio-economic reintegration questionnaire, 13 September 2004.
[53] “Landmine Impact Survey: Republic of Yemen,” p. 21.
[54] Interview with Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen National Mine Action Committee, Sana’a, 6 April 2004.
[55] Article 7 Report, Form I, 7 April 2004.
[56] Republic of Yemen, presentation to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 10 February 2004.
[57] Yemen Mine Action Center, “Annual Report 2002;” interview with Kaid Thabet, National Mine Action Program, 25 January 2003.
[58] Interviews with Abobaker Abbas, Director, Medical Department, Sana’a, 3 January and 4 April 2004.
[59] Interview with Jane Brouillette, Rädda Barnen, 17 February 2000.
[60] Interviews with Abobaker Abbas, Director, Medical Department, Sana’a, 3 January and 4 April 2004; interview with Tzveta Dermendgeva, Victim Assistance Coordinator, Aden, 7 March 2004; and email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen National Mine Action Committee, 9 August 2004.
[61] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, 9 March 2004, p. 26, and “Annual Report 2002,” June 2003, p. 10; and ICRC Special Report, “Mine Action 2001,” July 2002, p. 39.
[62] Handicap International, “Activity Report 2003,” Brussels, 15 July 2004, p. 25; “Activity Report 2002,” 10 June 2003, p. 26; “Activity Report 2001,” 23 August 2002; p. 26; Handicap International, “Orthopedic Aid Production per Country Program 2003,” report prepared for ISPO by Technical Support Department, Brussels, undated; and interview with Laila Bashumaily, Director of Special Needs Center and Supervisor, HI Prosthetic Workshop, Aden, 15 January 2003.
[63] Aisha Saeed, Senior Program Officer, Rädda Barnen, response to socio-economic reintegration questionnaire, 13 September 2004; Interview with Souad Al-Hibishi, Program Officer, Rädda Barnen, Sana’a, 23 January 2003.
[64] Rachel C Chandiru, Project Director, ADRA Yemen, response to Landmine Monitor Survivor Assistance questionnaire, 9 August 2004; and interview with Tania Nelson, Director of Community Based Rehabilitation Project, ADRA, Sana’a, 23 December 2002.
[65] Interview with Nasser Hizam, Public Relations, Movimondo, Sana’a, 24 December 2002.
[66] Landmine Survivors Network, “Victim Assistance Programs in Yemen and Lebanon – 2002,” Washington, DC, pp. 32-34.
[67] Ibid, pp. 38-39.
[68] Email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Mansour Al-Azi, Director, Yemen National Mine Action Committee, 9 August 2004; response to questionnaire on socio-economic reintegration projects by Mansour Al-Azi, 3 August 2004.
[69] Article 7, Form I, 14 November 2000; Article 7, Form I, 8 September 2001; Article 7, Form I, 27 April 2002; Article 7, Form I, 10 April 2003; and Article 7, Form I, 30 March 2004.
[70] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 869-870.
[71] Telephone interview with Ehab Mohamed Salem, Chairperson, Aden Association for the Physically Disabled, 9 May 2002; and information provided by Ehab Mohamed Salem.
[72] “Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP): 2003-2005,” Republic of Yemen, 31 May 2002, p. 86.