Key developments since May 2004: On 28 February 2005, Bangladesh
completed destruction of its stockpile of 189,227 antipersonnel landmines. In
December 2004, Bangladesh became co-chair of the Standing Committee on Stockpile
Destruction. Nonviolence International-Bangladesh conducted a three-day MRE
training program in Chittagong in the first half of June 2004.
Mine Ban Policy
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 7
May 1998, ratified it on 6 September 2000, and became a State Party on 1 March
2001. In August 2001, Bangladesh established a national committee to oversee
implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty.[1]
After reporting in April 2003 that domestic legislation to implement the
Mine Ban Treaty was in its “final stage of
preparation,”[2]Bangladesh
stated the draft law was still “under process” in May
2005.[3]A Ministry of Foreign
Affairs official clarified, “It has been sent for Bengali translation.
Last year we gave priority to the destruction of stockpiled mines. Now we will
work for national
legislation.”[4]
Bangladesh submitted its fourth Article 7 report on 29 March 2005, covering
the period from 25 March 2004 to 28 February
2005.[5]
Bangladesh attended the First Review Conference in Nairobi in
November-December 2004, where it made a statement during the high level segment
of the conference welcoming the efforts of Geneva Call and other organizations
in seeking “voluntary commitments of the non-state actors to the
Convention’s humanitarian
objectives.”[6]In April 2005,
a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told Landmine Monitor the government
would like to see non-state actors “included within the Treaty
regime.”[7]
In December 2004, Bangladesh assumed the position of co-chair of the
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction. It had served as co-rapporteur of
the committee since September 2003. During the June 2005 intersessional
Standing Committee meetings, Bangladesh made presentations on stockpile
destruction and mines retained for training.
Bangladesh is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its
Amended Protocol II. Bangladesh participated in the Sixth Annual Conference of
States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2004, and submitted its annual
report required by Article 13 on 19 October 2004.
On 19 April 2005, a Bangladesh district court dismissed charges filed
against ICBL campaigner Rafique Al Islam for lack of
evidence.[8]He was arrested and
detained from 21 August to 19 September 2004. The ICBL and several governments
had protested his innocence.
Production, Transfer and Use
Bangladesh has officially stated that it has never produced or exported
antipersonnel mines, nor “acquired any new arsenal in recent
years.”[9]An Army official
told Landmine Monitor in January 2004, “We never used mines inside the
country or on our common borders with Myanmar and India. We never supplied,
traded or developed this
technology.”[10]
More than half a dozen underground parties, identifying with Communist and
Islamist ideologies, are active within Bangladesh, and some of them have armed
wings that are known to use improvised explosive devices
(IEDs).[11]
In recent years, there have been reports of Bangladeshi border security
forces working in the Naikongchary area of Bandarban district in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts, recovering antipersonnel and antivehicle mines from hideouts of
foreign rebel groups operating along the Burmese border. In January 2004,
Bangladeshi troops reportedly seized seven antipersonnel mines and 32
antivehicle mines from “tribal
gunmen.”[12]According to a
variety of media reports, between February 2004 and February 2005, Bangladeshi
border security forces recovered a total of 33 mines, as well as plastic
explosives, gunpowder and various materials used for manufacturing explosive
devices, in the Naikongchary
area.[13]
Stockpiling and Destruction
On 28 February 2005, Bangladesh completed destruction of its stockpile of
189,227 antipersonnel landmines, just ahead of its 1 March 2005 treaty-mandated
deadline.[14]The destruction took
place over a period of 119 days, starting 2 November 2004, with about 1,590
mines destroyed daily.[15]
The Bangladeshi Armed Forces carried out the stockpile destruction at its
Central Ammunition Depot in Sripur, Gazipur district, using both electric and
non-electric methods of destruction. Bangladesh noted that the destruction site
was located away from human habitation, covering an area of four square
kilometers.[16]
The November 2004 commencement of stockpile destruction received widespread
media coverage, and the initial destruction of 750 antipersonnel mines was
witnessed by the high commissioners of Australia and Canada, the German
ambassador and journalists.[17]However, the final destruction ceremony received limited national
coverage, and apparently no dignitaries or other observers were present.
Despite several requests, no civil society representatives, including the
ICBL/Landmine Monitor representative, were invited to witness the commencement
event, destruction process or final destruction ceremony.
Bangladesh had planned to complete stockpile destruction by 31 December
2004. It attributed the delay to lack of funding. At the June 2004 meeting of
the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Bangladesh reported that it had
been unable to initiate the destruction program because the UN Development
Programme (UNDP) had not provided funds, according to a signed agreement, due to
bureaucratic impediments.[18]Subsequently, the government of Canada, through UNDP, provided the
assistance necessary,[19]reportedly
C$381,020 (US$292,709).[20]
Antipersonnel Mines Destroyed and Retained for
Training[21]
Discovery of old arms caches, including antipersonnel mines, are
periodically reported. In November 2004, in Tangil district, northern
Bangladesh, a “huge quantity of explosives dating back to the 1971 war of
independence” was found; it included live antipersonnel
mines.[24]States Parties have
agreed that newly discovered stocks of antipersonnel mines should be reported
and destroyed as soon as possible.
Mines Retained for Research and Training
Bangladesh is retaining 14,999 antipersonnel mines for training and research
purposes under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.
[25]This is the fifth highest
number among States Parties, and has drawn expressions of concern from the ICBL
and some States Parties. Bangladesh has described it as the “minimum
possible number.”[26]It
should be noted that it includes 2,499 M-18A1 Claymore-type directional
fragmentation mines that are not prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty if used only
in command-detonated mode. The number of retained mines has decreased by only
one since Bangladesh first reported in 2002, indicating that mines are not being
consumed (exploded) during training or research activities.
At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003, Bangladesh stated
that the mines were required for its “defence training needs, particularly
in our specific geo-political context,” as well as to train Army engineers
for UN demining programs.[27]In
its March 2005 Article 7 report, Bangladesh said that the Army requires the
mines to assist engineering contingents to prepare for UN peacekeeping
missions.[28]In May 2005, a senior
Ministry of Defence official reiterated to Landmine Monitor that the high number
of mines was required because Bangladeshi peacekeeping missions work in
mine-affected areas.[29]
At the June 2005 intersessional meetings, Bangladesh stated that it has 17
engineering units requiring a total of 11,900 antipersonnel
mines,[30]and that the other mines
are needed to train Army officers in four different
institutions.[31]Bangladesh noted
that it has kept the mines “to train its soldiers to defuse or destroy any
potential application of mines and not for mine deployment purposes.” The
number retained “would be enough for her to sustain mine awareness
training, clearance if required and destruction training programs in the future.
The testing of mine clearance equipment for example may also require the use of
anti-personnel mines.” Bangladesh also said that “while doing
Peacekeeping Operations the Peacekeepers frequently handle anti-personnel mines
for detection and demolition. Therefore training on antipersonnel mine handling
including breaching detection and destruction is a
necessity.”[32]
Landmine and UXO Problem
In its Article 7 reports, the government has reported that there are no
known or suspected mined areas in
Bangladesh.[33]But as previously
reported by Landmine Monitor, landmines can be found in the Chittagong Hill
Tracts, on 208 kilometers of the border with Burma
(Myanmar).[34]In commenting on
Landmine Monitor findings, the Bangladeshi Army said, “As you mentioned in
the Landmine Monitor Report we also learned that the mines were laid by the Na
Sa Ka [Burmese border security forces] but they [the Na Sa Ka] denied the
existence of any landmines along the
border.”[35]
Mine-affected areas are located in Ukhia and Ramu sub-districts of
Cox’s Bazar, and in Naikongchari, Alikadam and Thansi sub-districts of
Bandarban. Many rural inhabitants in these areas depend on resources found in
the forest for their subsistence and are therefore affected by the mine
contamination.
Unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned arms caches dating from World War II
and the liberation war of 1971 are also found in some parts of Bangladesh, from
which casualties are reported
occasionally.[36]
Mine Action
Bangladesh has no formal civilian mine action program, and it is not known
how or whether mine-related information is collected by the authorities. In
2001, Landmine Monitor reported that Bangladesh had asked Burmese authorities to
survey and assess the minefields on the border area, but no action has been
reported since then.[37]
The Bangladeshi Army has several battalions with mine clearance
capabilities. The border security forces have conducted mine clearance along
the border with Burma in the past. No further information has been reported on
the locations or mines encountered.
Although mine/UXO clearance operations in Bangladesh itself are limited (or
unreported), Bangladesh has continued to support mine clearance activities in
other countries. Bangladeshi Army battalions seconded to UN peacekeeping
missions possess mine clearing capability. At the First Review Conference in
Nairobi in November-December 2004, Bangladesh stated that it “...has
remained actively involved in demining and mine-clearance activities in Asia and
Africa including in UN peacekeeping
missions.”[38]According to
the Inter Service Public Relations Office, in 2005 a total of 8,389 Bangladeshi
soldiers were serving in 12 peacekeeping missions and doing mine clearance in a
number of different countries.[39]As part of UN peacekeeping operations in Sudan, Bangladesh was due to
provide the United Nations Mission in Sudan with two demining companies in
2005.[40]
Since September 2003, the Army has deployed 243 personnel for mine clearance
in Kuwait and an additional 168 with UN missions in Eritrea, Ethiopia and
Côte d’Ivoire, which reportedly were still active in 2005.
Bangladeshi soldiers also cleared some mines in
Cambodia.[41]
Mine Risk Education
There continue to be no reports of formal mine risk education (MRE)
conducted by Bangladeshi authorities. However, they have recognized the need
for MRE and encourage NGOs to introduce MRE in mine-affected areas.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Country Representative for
Bangladesh stated that MRE is a part of the security training provided to its
staff on a regular basis. UNHCR also offered to train or arrange training for
MRE trainers, for specific groups of people at risk: “MRE is a part of our
program but the necessity for conducting training varies from country to
country. Here mine incidents are very isolated, despite this, if the government
wants us to introduce MRE we
will.”[42]
The UNHCR sub-office in Cox’s Bazar conducted a mine safety briefing
for local and expatriate staff in January 2004. UNHCR undertakes protection and
repatriation of Rohingya refugees from the Arakan State of Burma. The refugee
camps are in a mine-affected region near the Burmese border. The training was
completed in one day by UNHCR’s regional security officer, imparting
low-risk behavior in mine-affected
areas.[43]
Nonviolence International-Bangladesh conducted a three-day MRE training
program in Chittagong in the first half of June 2004, with the financial support
of Geneva Call. The intention was to train 15–20 trainers from affected
communities to carry out further MRE work among people living in the
mine-affected border areas.[44]
However, during field visits in
2003[45]and in March 2005, Landmine
Monitor found that people, including children, enter suspected mined areas,
including hillsides on the Burmese side of the border, in order to collect
forest resources. When questioned about the presence of mines in the area and
about the risk, the woodcutters and traders replied that they believed the risk
had been reduced. Their reasons varied but included a belief that the mines had
been washed out by heavy rain during the last three monsoons, or that the
Burmese border security forces had perhaps cleared the mines they had planted.
Villagers have few other options than collecting what they can find in the
forest and believe that as long as there are no new mine explosions, there may
be no more mines in the area.[46]
Landmine Casualties
In 2004 and early 2005, no new landmine casualties were
reported.[47]The last reported
mine casualties were in 2001. In May 2005, one man was injured in a UXO
explosion while digging in a residential area of Teknaf
town.[48]It is likely that more
mine/UXO incidents have gone unreported.
The total number of landmine casualties in Bangladesh is not known. Between
1993 and 2001, at least 64 people were killed and 131 others injured in reported
landmine incidents.[49]The
Bangladesh Freedom Fighters’ Welfare Trust has identified 148 people who
lost limbs in antipersonnel mine incidents during the independence war in
1971.[50]Casualties have also been
reported as a result of UXO dating from World War II and the liberation war of
1971.
Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and
Practice[51]
Assistance to mine survivors remains scarce and is not part of national
policy or humanitarian programs. However, the government acknowledges that
there are mine survivors in Bangladesh, and reports that Australia, Canada,
Japan and Italy have shown an interest in providing assistance for their
care.[52]As of March 2004, the
government had collected information on 27 mine
casualties.[53]
There are four main hospitals near the mine-affected areas. Military mine
casualties receive assistance at Army hospitals and facilities. However, the
only hospital with specialized facilities, including a prosthetic workshop, is
Memorial Christian Hospital, which organizes medical camps every year for the
distribution of artificial limbs in different parts of the country, mainly in
remote areas, including in Cox’s Bazar town in 2004 and Ukhia in
2005.[54]One mine survivor
received a free prosthesis in Ukhia in January
2005.[55]
Other centers, which have assisted mine survivors in previous years, include
Hope Foundation, Jaipur Foot, Bangladesh Rehabilitation Center for Trauma
Victims and Handicap International-Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has legislation to protect the rights of persons with
disabilities, including mine
survivors.[56]
[1] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 97. [2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 29
April 2003. [3] Email from Ismat Jahan,
Director General, UN Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2005.
Bangladesh also reported the draft law was “under way” in December
2004 and “under consideration” in February 2005. Statement by Maj.
Gen. Syeed Ahmed BP, High Commissioner to Kenya, Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free
World (First Review Conference), Nairobi, 2 December 2004; Article 7 Report,
Form A, 28 February 2005. [4] Telephone interview with Ismat
Jahan, Director General, UN Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, 28 May
2005. [5] The submission date listed on
the report is 28 February 2005, but Landmine Monitor uses the submission date
posted by the United Nations. The other Article 7 reports were submitted: 28
August 2002; 29 April 2003; 28 April 2004. [6] Statement by Maj. Gen. Syeed
Ahmed BP, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 2 December 2004. [7] Email from Ismat Jahan,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, 25 April 2005. [8] “Charges against Rafique
Al Islam dropped!” ICBL website update, 21 April 2005. [9] Statement by Bangladesh,
Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 17 September 2002. [10] Interview with Lt. Col.
Mamun Ur Rashid, GSO-1, GS Brigade, Army Headquarters, Dhaka, 25 January
2004. [11]Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 99, identified two armed Bangladeshi groups, the Prity group and
the United People’s Democratic Front, as having used booby-traps and IEDs.
See also, Haroon Habib, “Islamic Militancy: The Shadow Lengthens,”
Daily Star, 29 December 2003. According to Landmine Monitor’s
analysis of local print and electronic media reports, a total of 24 explosions
attributed to the armed wings took place in different parts of the country
between 21 May 2004 and 28 February 2005; however, landmines were not
specifically cited in any of the incidents. See for example, “Three
injured in bomb blast,” Daily Independent, 17 February 2004;
“3 children injured by exploding bomb while collecting vegetables,”
Daily Janakanta, 18 February 2004; “Bomb found in Mymensingh, blast
at Sirajganj,” Daily Independent, 23 February 2004; “Two
bomb-makers killed in Khulna blast,” Daily Independent, 25 February
2004. [12] “Bangladesh troops
seize mines after gun battle,” Reuters (Bandarban), 1 January 2004;
“Deadly device seized in CHT,” Daily Star, 2 January 2004.
[13] See, for example,
“Naikongchari is the Main Spot in Bandarban, 183 heavy, sophisticated arms
recovered in a year,” Daily Star, 11 May 2005; “Huge arms
cache seized from deep CHT forest,” Daily Star, 24 November
2004. [14] Article 7 Report, Form G, 29
March 2005. [15] Interview with Lt. Col. Md.
Nazrul Islam, Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR), Ministry of Defence, 28
April 2005. [16] Article 7 Report, Form F, 29
March 2005. [17] See, for example,
“Bangladesh starts destroying landmines under international treaty,”
Associated Press (Sreepur, Bangladesh), 2 November 2004;
“Mines-Demolition,” United News of Bangladesh, 2 November
2004. [18] Statement by Ismat Jahan,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction,
Geneva, 24 June 2004 (Landmine Monitor notes); “Meeting Report,”
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 24 June 2004. [19] Presentation by Bangladesh,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 15 June 2005. Bangladesh
also thanked the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining for its
assistance. [20] Emails from Elvan Isikozlu,
Mine Action Team, Foreign Affairs Canada, June-August 2005. Average exchange
rate for 2004: US$1 = C$1.3017. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange
Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2005. [21] Table compiled by Landmine
Monitor from Article 7 Report, Forms B, D, G and H, 29 March 2005. [22] NDP-2 is not a common
nomenclature. This is likely Pakistan’s P2 Mk 2 mine. [23] In June 2005, Bangladesh
revised the M18A1 number to 2,499, and the total retained number to 14,999.
Presentation by Bangladesh, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
15 June 2005. [24] “Workers uncover cache
of independence war explosives in Bangladesh,” Agence France-Presse
(Dhaka), 6 November 2004. [25] Presentation by Bangladesh,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 15 June 2005. Previously,
Bangladesh cited a figure of 15,000. Article 7 Reports, Form D, 28 August 2002
and 29 March 2005. The difference is one M18A1 mine (2,499 instead of
2,500). [26] Presentation by Bangladesh,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 15 June 2005. [27] Statement by Bangladesh,
Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 16 September 2003. [28] Article 7 Report, Form D, 29
March 2005. [29] Interview with Lt. Col. Md.
Nazrul Islam, Ministry of Defence, Dhaka, 31 May 2005. [30] “Bangladesh and the
APM Convention,” paper circulated by Bangladesh during the intersessional
Standing Committee meetings, 13-17 June 2005. The engineering units need mines
for “minefield breaching training” and “training on
neutralization and destruction techniques.” [31] Presentation by Bangladesh,
Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 17
June 2005. The four institutions are: School of Infantry and Tactics; Engineer
Center and School of Military Engineering; Ordnance Center and School; Central
Ordnance Depot. [32] Presentation by Bangladesh,
Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 17
June 2005. [33] Article 7 Report, Form C, 29
March 2005. [34] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 434. [35] Interview with Lt. Col. Md.
Nazrul Islam, Ministry of Defence, Dhaka 31 May 2005. [36] “Workers uncover cache
of independence war explosives in Bangladesh,” Agence France-Presse
(Dhaka), 6 November 2004; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p.
164 [37] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 435. [38] Statement by Maj. Gen. Syeed
Ahmed BP, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 2 December 2004. [39] Interview with Lt. Col. Md.
Nazrul Islam, Director, Inter Service Public Relations, Ministry of Defence,
Dhaka, 31 May 2005. [40] “MASG field trip to
Sudan 25-28 April 2005,” MASG Newsletter, May 2005. [41] Interview with Lt. Col. Md.
Nazrul Islam, Ministry of Defence, Dhaka, 31 May 2005. [42] Interview with Christopher
B.C. Lee, Country Representative, UNHCR, Dhaka, 28 April 2005. [43] The training was conducted
by the UNHCR security officer for the Asia Pacific region, John Campbell, and
included the Landmine Monitor researcher for Bangladesh, who gave a briefing on
the landmine problem in the country. UNHCR sub-office, Cox’s Bazar, 10
January 2004. [44] Email from Nonviolence
International-Bangladesh, 2 June 2005. [45] Landmine Monitor researcher
visited mine-affected border areas in November and December 2003. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 165. [46] Interviews with people in
various villages close to the Burmese border in the Ukhia sub-district of
Cox’s Bazar district and in Naikongchary sub-district of Chittagong Hill
Tracts, March 2005. [47] Field visit by Landmine
Monitor in March 2005, and visits to hospitals and interviews with doctors in
March and April 2005. [48] Interview with local
residents in Teknaf, 20 May 2005. [49] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 165. [50] Interview with Shawkat Nabi,
Director Welfare, Bangladesh Freedom Fighters’ Welfare Trust, Dhaka, 22
April 2004. [51] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 166. [52] “Bangladesh and the
APM Convention,” information compiled by Mahbub-Uz-Zaman, Bangladesh
Permanent Mission to the UN Offices and the International Organizations in
Geneva, for the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 13-17 June
2005. [53] Interview with Ismat Jahan,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 9 March 2004; see also Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 165. [54] Interview with Kamal Ahmed,
Physical Rehabilitation Center, Memorial Christian Hospital, Malumghat, 12 May
2005. [55] Interview with mine
survivor, Ukhia, 21 March 2005. [56] The Bangladesh Persons with
Disability Welfare Act, 2001.
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