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LM Report 2006

Democratic Republic Of Congo

Key developments since May 2005: In May 2006, the Democratic Republic of Congo told States Parties that it had completed the destruction of all stockpiled antipersonnel mines under its control that it had been able to identify, and thus fulfilled its treaty obligation. It also said it expected to find additional stockpiles of antipersonnel mines in the future, which it would destroy. There have been a few reports of rebel use of antipersonnel mines during conflict related to the demobilization process. In 2005, mine action in DRC received only three percent of funding requested through the consolidated appeals process and 22 percent of funding requested through the UN portfolio process. One mine action operator closed operations in DRC due to lack of funding. A total of 446,498 square meters of land and 60.6 kilometers of roads in inhabited areas of Equateur, Katanga and Orientale provinces were cleared during 2005; 1,172 mines, 28,337 items of unexploded ordnance and 49,288 other explosive remnants of war were destroyed. Mine risk education continued to be limited, but UNICEF for the first time received funding for activities in four provinces. In 2005, there were at least 45 casualties, including 14 people killed and 31 injured; less than in 2004 and much less than in 2003.

Mine Ban Policy

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 2 May 2002 and the treaty entered into force in the country on 1 November 2002.

In February 2002, a commission was created within the Ministry of Justice to prepare national legislation to implement the treaty.^[1] In May 2005, the DRC reported that the text of the law had been approved by the Presidency and sent to the governmental Commission on Politics, Defense, and Security for submission to the Council of Ministers.^[2] At a roundtable discussion on implementing the Mine Ban Treaty in the DRC, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Kinshasa on 6 and 7 December 2005, a representative of the Ministry of Justice reported that the legislation had not yet been considered by the commission. The representative reported that the vice president was committed to the adoption of a law before the end of the political transition process.^[3]

The National Commission to Fight Antipersonnel Mines was created on 6 May 2002.^[4] However, various government officials expressed concerns about the proper functioning of the commission,^[5] and in May 2005, the DRC reported that experts in the Cabinet of the Head of State had been designated to be in charge of the landmine issue.^[6]

The final declaration of the December 2005 roundtable criticized the confusion between the national commission and experts in the Head of State’s cabinet in the management of the landmines dossier, and especially the absence of a legal text clearly organizing the commission. The participants recommended reinvigorating the commission’s work by adopting a legal text to create a structure dividing political and technical components. They recommended giving the commission the responsibility to raise the finances needed to meet the stockpile destruction deadline of November 2006, adding representatives of civil society to the commission, and balancing the DRC delegation at conferences of States Parties with the participation by a variety of ministries.^[7]

The DRC attended the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia from 28 November-2 December 2005, and made interventions on stockpile destruction, mine clearance and victim assistance. It also participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2006 in Geneva, where it again made presentations on those three topics. The DRC did not attend the intersessional meetings in June 2005.

The DRC submitted its fourth Article 7 transparency report on 2 May 2006, covering calendar year 2005.^[8] It included a voluntary Form J with information on victim assistance and a general statement about the difficult political-military situation in the country and its impact on implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

On 8 December 2005, the DRC voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 60/80, calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty; the DRC was absent from the vote on similar resolutions the five previous years.

In November 2005, the DRC participated as an observer in the Seventh Annual Conference of the States Parties to Amended Protocol II (landmines) of the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

In December 2005, the national NGO Agence de Diffusion du Droit International Humanitaire en Afrique Centrale (ADDIHAC) held a two-day seminar on the status of Mine Ban Treaty implementation in the DRC.^[9] In August 2005, the national NGO Bannissons les Mines au Congo (BAMICO) organized a conference on the status of treaty implementation. In May 2005, BAMICO organized a workshop on the challenges of implementing Article 5 (mine clearance) of the Mine Ban Treaty, as well as a conference on reparations to victims of landmines.^[10]

Production, Transfer and Use

The DRC is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. In the past, both the government and rebels acquired mines from a variety of sources.^[11] Landmine Monitor has not received any allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by government forces since the DRC acceded to the treaty.^[12]

Stockpiling and Destruction

The DRC’s treaty-mandated deadline for completion of antipersonnel mine stockpile destruction is 1 November 2006. On 11 May 2006, the DRC told the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction that it had completed the destruction of all stockpiled antipersonnel mines that it had been able to identify. At the same time, it acknowledged that, due to the difficult situation in the country, it expected to find additional stockpiles of antipersonnel mines in the future, which it would destroy in a timely fashion. It noted that its stockpile destruction activities had been assisted and monitored by the UN.^[13]

In its presentation, the DRC did not explicitly say that it considered that it had fulfilled its obligation under Article 4 to destroy all stockpiled antipersonnel mines under its jurisdiction or control. The Standing Committee co-chair replied to the presentation by praising the DRC for its forthright approach, and stated that the DRC had completed destruction of all stocks under its control, but expected to find more at a later date. The ICBL said that it remained uncertain if the DRC was in fact declaring its Article 4 obligation fulfilled. The DRC replied emphatically that the co-chair was correct, that all the stockpiled antipersonnel mines known and under the control of the military structure and in military regions had been destroyed, and so the DRC has fulfilled its obligation. It reiterated that if more stockpiled mines were discovered later, they would be destroyed.^[14]

The DRC representative said in May 2006 that 2,864 stockpiled mines had been destroyed.^[15] This number includes mines held in military regions, mines recovered from non-state armed groups and mines abandoned across the country.^[16] Apparently, it only includes seven mines held by the armed forces, all Zimbabwean-made Claymore mines.^[17]

The DRC’s Article 7 reports seem to indicate that 2,662 stockpiled antipersonnel mines were destroyed from 2002 until the end of 2005, including 918 in 2005. The mines were destroyed by Mechem, Handicap International and Mines Advisory Group.^[18]

Between 24 April and 3 May 2006 in Kalemie, the NGO DanChurchAid destroyed nine stockpiled antipersonnel and 345 stockpiled antivehicle mines, which were handed over to DanChurchAid by the First Naval Region. Some of the items came from disarmed former combatants, though the navy did not confirm the quantity. The process was overseen by a liaison officer of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).^[19]

On 26 May 2005, Handicap International’s center for destruction of mines, munitions and unexploded ordnance near Bangboka Airport in Orientale province, partly financed by MONUC, was vandalized by unknown persons.^[20] The Ninth Military Region made an old quarry available, which allowed the center to continue its activities.^[21]

The completion announcement in Geneva came as a surprise to many, given the previous absence of reported progress in inventorying and destroying stocks. In the DRC’s Article 7 report submitted on 2 May 2006, the stockpile section is simply marked “non disponible” (not available).^[22] In its 2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) reported that continued fighting in some areas of the DRC was impeding the inventory and destruction of stockpiles.^[23] A representative of the DRC Ministry of Defense stated at the December 2005 roundtable discussions on treaty implementation that stockpile destruction was being hindered by delays in the creation of political, administrative and military institutions in the transition, due to the post-conflict situation in the country.^[24] In May 2005, the DRC noted that the nature of the conflicts taking place on Congolese territory and the diversity of the belligerents complicated the identification of uncontrolled stockpiles that could still be held by armed groups.^[25]

The DRC apparently does not intend to retain any mines for training or development purposes. Its May 2006 Article 7 report states “Sans objet” with respect to retained mines.^[26]

Non-State Armed Groups—Use, Transfer, Stockpiling and Destruction

An estimated 180,000 national combatants and an estimated 47,000 foreign combatants have been in the process of disarmament and demobilization in the DRC.^[27] The process is run under the National Commission for Disarmament and Reintegration (Commission Nationale de Désarmement et Réintégration, CONADER). In a June 2005 report, CONADER indicated it had so far recovered 973 antipersonnel mines among other weapons from 16,500 adult and 7,651 child ex-combatants.^[28]

The disarmament of Congolese combatants is governed by the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement and the Inter-Congolese Dialog.^[29] Separately, foreign combatants are disarmed and repatriated under the Dar es Salaam Accord.^[30] The armed groups party to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement have agreed to a prohibition on the use of landmines.^[31] There are no provisions specific to landmines in the other two accords. A separate accord between the DRC and Uganda prohibits military or logistical support to any non-state armed group.

As of mid-2006, the former combatants party to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement had been formally reintegrated into the new National Army. However, other Congolese groups have shown resistance to national demobilization and reintegration efforts, and virtually all foreign combatant groups have been resisting demobilization and repatriation. These groups have engaged in armed clashes with DRC armed forces and MONUC in 2005 and 2006, with a few reports of rebel use of antipersonnel mines.

In June 2005, MONUC reported that the Union of Congolese Patriots-Lubamba (Union des Patriotes Congolais-Lumbamba, UPC/L) militia had laid mines between Berunda (135 kilometers west of Mahagi village) and Tapa (16 kilometers north of Berunda).^[32] The UPC/L is a Hema ethnic-based militia with whom Ugandan forces have been associated. The UPC/L became part of a new rebel entity, the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (Mouvement Révolutionnaire Congolais, MRC), which was formed in August 2005 under an agreement signed in Kampala, Uganda by members of several militias active in Ituri.^[33] MONUC troops and the DRC armed forces battled with MRC combatants during disarmament operations in Ituri in November 2005.^[34]

In June 2005, MONUC forces found and destroyed an unspecified type of mine among the abandoned weapons at an encampment near Mirhanda, south Kivu, that had been deserted by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda, FDLR).^[35]

According to the NGO Centre for the Resolution of Conflicts, the DRC armed forces and the local population reported in November 2005 that the Allied Democratic Forces/National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU) had started to mine the routes that they occupied, including the axis between Karuarma and Kamandi.^[36]

On 19 December 2005, the International Court of Justice issued its judgment on the case “Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda),” in which the DRC accused Uganda of illegal interventions and human rights violations within the DRC, including two claims of landmine use by Ugandan forces or militias backed by Uganda.^[37] The Court ruled in favor of the DRC and directed Uganda to pay reparations to the DRC; the judgment did not refer to the allegations of landmine use.^[38]

In July 2003, an arms embargo was imposed by the UN Security Council on the Ituri district and the provinces of North and South Kivu. In a January 2005 report, the UN Group of Experts monitoring the arms embargo said it was investigating several apparent cases of weapons, including landmines, being delivered to Ituri through Uganda in violation of Security Council Resolution 1552 (2004). The government of Uganda strongly denied the allegations contained in the report.^[39] A new group of five investigators was appointed in September 2005 to further monitor and report on the arms embargo.^[40] The report issued by the group on 27 January 2006 did not follow up on the references to landmines made in January 2005, and made no further reference to landmine transfers.^[41] On 31 January 2006, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the group of experts until 31 July 2006, with a report to it on the status of the embargo due no later than 10 July 2006.^[42]

Amnesty International provided Landmine Monitor with photographs taken in early 2005 of antipersonnel mines manufactured in the former Yugoslavia, as well as Claymore mines made in Zimbabwe, that had been in the possession of armed groups in Ituri and Bukavu.^[43] According to a July 2005 report by Amnesty International, Rwanda supplied weapons, including landmines, to Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie-Goma, RCD-Goma). Rwanda denied the allegation.^[44]

Landmine and ERW Problem

The Democratic Republic of Congo is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW),^[45] the result of armed conflict since 1996. The UN Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMACC) stated that, “mine warfare has been a feature of conflict in the country. It appears certain that most of the belligerents, including international allies, have laid mines extensively, especially along the successive confrontation lines. In addition, unexploded ordnance (UXO) is scattered in many places where fighting took place.”^[46] According to the government, “no [comprehensive] record or report of mine-laying exists.”^[47]

According to the Survey Action Center (SAC), “The landmine problem in the DRC extends diagonally from the northwest corner of Equateur province across the center of country through Kasai, generally following the frontline from the 1994-2002 conflict, to the southeast in Katanga province and then north along Lake Tanganyika up to Ituri district along the border with Uganda.”^[48] In addition, “available data at the UNMACC and from the NGO mine action operators indicates that 10 of the 11 provinces are contaminated with landmines and UXO.”^[49]

By the beginning of March 2006, 1,223 dangerous areas had been registered by UNMACC, compared to 828 registered as of 16 June 2005. Of the new total, 769 were suspected to be mined and 454 to contain UXO; 535 dangerous areas were located in Katanga, 243 in Equateur, 128 in South Kivu, 126 in Orientale, 53 in East Kasai, 46 in North Kivu, 38 in Maniema, 30 in West Kasai, 15 in Bas-Congo, five in Bandundu, and four in the capital, Kinshasa.^[50] It should be noted, however, that this does not mean that Katanga is the most affected, but rather that more survey activities were executed there than in other provinces.^[51] According to SAC, all mine action stakeholders in DRC recognize that the UNMACC database does not provide a complete picture of the mine/ERW problem and cannot be the basis for countrywide analysis or strategic mine action planning.^[52]

The UN acknowledges that the exact scope and nature of the mine and ERW problem remains difficult to assess, but points out that the “ever growing” number of victims and dangerous areas entered in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) is evidence of the impact on various communities. Furthermore, according to the UN, the army is now regularly reporting abandoned stockpiles, and the demobilization and community-reinsertion process has led to the recovery of many mines and items of ammunition from the militias.^[53]

In its annual overview for 2005, the UNMAS reported that landmines and ERW were threatening the safety of thousands of people in the country, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), returning refugees, peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.^[54] The UN has cited the return of refugees and IDPs as one of the factors―along with the national census and elections scheduled for 2006―requiring immediate mine action in DRC.^[55]

Mine Action Program

National Mine Action Authority: The National Commission to Fight Antipersonnel Mines was created on 6 May 2002, with ostensible responsibility for coordinating mine action at the governmental level, developing a mine action plan, writing Article 7 reports, promoting the Mine Ban Treaty, mobilizing international assistance and expertise, and educating the public on the danger of mines.^[56] Two “experts” were designated within the Presidency in December 2004; since then they have been acting as the UN’s national counterparts. According to UNMACC’s Program Manager, “they are representing the national structure at all international meetings and are closely working with UNMACC and the other stakeholders.”^[57]

The UN believes that the government “has showed a renewed interest for mine action and has recently expressed its willingness to move quickly towards the establishment of a national mine action structure.”^[58] Indeed, on 4 April 2006 at a ceremony to mark International Mine Awareness Day, the President’s “Chef de Cabinet” declared the willingness of the government formally to establish a National Mine Action Authority.^[59] On 10 May 2006, in a presentation to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, the DRC representative stated that the new structure would be placed directly under the Presidency of the Republic and would include a standing interministerial structure whose mandate would be to adopt a national plan of action together with a budget, to define priorities and to integrate them into the development sphere.^[60]

Mine Action Center: In the absence of a formal governmental regulatory body, UNMACC maintains de facto responsibility for planning, management and oversight of all mine action activities in the country on behalf of the government.^[61] UNMACC is reported to have continued providing support to demining partners, notably by supporting organizations in resource allocation, by prioritizing beneficiaries, and by ensuring that the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) are adhered to.^[62]

UNMACC uses IMSMA for storage of mine action information.^[63] The center is currently using version 3 of the system, which will be upgraded to the latest version after training in its use. As of May 2006, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) was awaiting a formal request from UNMACC for the training to take place.^[64]

MONUC was mandated by Security Council Resolution 1291 (2000) to “deploy mine action experts to assess the scope of the mine and unexploded ordnance problems, coordinate the initiation of mine action activities, develop a mine action plan, and carry out emergency mine action activities.” The resolution also mandated UNMACC, which was established in Kinshasa in February 2002 under MONUC auspices. The UNMACC Program Manager continues to report directly to the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in MONUC.^[65]

At the Standing Committee meeting on 10 May 2006, the DRC representative declared that the government would establish a permanent technical body, the national mine action center, to implement the national plan of action, to accredit demining and mine risk education operators, and to carry out quality control.^[66]

As of May 2006, no national legislation had been adopted to empower and regulate the mine action program, although it was said to be underway in November 2005.^[67] According to DanChurchAid, “Due to the sheer size and diversity of [DR] Congo, it is not possible to develop mine action standards that are applicable to the entire country, and the aim should be to provide common guidelines that should be regionally adjusted.”^[68]

Strategic Planning and Progress

To date, the country’s national mine action strategy has been defined by the UN and implemented by UNMACC. Its primary objectives have been to:

• Assess the scope of the problem and implement IMSMA as an information management tool;
• Coordinate mine action activities;
• Carry out emergency mine action activities in support of MONUC’s mandate; and,
• Assist the authorities to implement the Mine Ban Treaty and build a national capacity.^[69]

In late 2005, the UN believed there was insufficient comprehensive data to design a multi-year strategy for mine action in the country.^[70] An emergency impact survey was therefore one of the key projects seeking funding in 2006. As of March 2006 this had been partially funded and was due to start “very soon.”^[71]

In February 2006, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a Humanitarian Action Plan for the DRC, to coordinate UN activities for development and long term stability in the country. The plan, together with a poverty reduction strategy, created a framework for UN development assistance in the DRC for 2006 and 2007. The plan listed mine action as one of nine “priority intervention sectors for chronic crisis situations,” with health, nutrition and food security, shelter and non-food items, water and sanitation, protection, return and reintegration, and education. The plan clustered mine action with protection activities, for which the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has the lead mandate.^[72] UNHCR chairs the “protection” cluster; MONUC serves as co-chair.^[73]

The UN OCHA Humanitarian Action Plan included these goals for mine action:

• Ensuring emergency preparedness and capacity of authorities to respond to mine and UXO emergencies;
• Pre-positioning mine and UXO emergency equipment based on contingency plans;
• Conducting mine risk education and preventing mine/UXO accidents;
• Completing an overall assessment and mapping of the mine/UXO problem; and,
• Improving identification and demining in areas at risk, prioritizing access to fields, water sources and roads used by IDPs.^[74]

DanChurchAid identified at least four major constraints on mine action programs in the DRC: disarmament programs, which disrupt mine action and endanger people’s lives; deterioration of infrastructure before and during the war, which makes some mine/UXO-affected areas inaccessible especially during the rainy season; movements of armed groups over large areas which has led to widely dispersed, random mine contamination; and lack of funding for mine action. Despite being the size of western Europe, the DRC has only three mine action NGOs and one commercial company; even they are inadequately funded.^[75]

Lack of funding may be due in part to the very limited picture of what the actual mine threat in the DRC is, due to the size of the country and the constraints noted by DanChurchAid. Data on the mine problem being gathered in 2005-2006 should be used for donor-advocacy purposes as well as for planning mine action.^[76]

The DRC government has drawn several lessons from mine action experience to date. First, the most appropriate response consists of technical and impact surveys followed by immediate clearance. Second, the existing capacity provided by international NGOs needs to be strengthened. Third, national capacity should be developed through support for national NGOs. Finally, advocacy activities should be continued to gather relevant information from civil society.^[77]

According to the UN, priorities for mine action in the DRC in 2006 were to support the safe deployment of peacekeeping personnel with MONUC, increase the amount of reliable data on the mine/ERW problem, establish a national mine action structure and build national capacity.^[78]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, the DRC must destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 November 2012. Despite the many challenges faced by mine action in DRC, the UNMACC Deputy Program Manager is confident that this deadline can be met.^[79]

In May 2006, the DRC president’s legal advisor in charge of mine action delivered a presentation on compliance with Article 5 to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies. He reported on the amount of clearance completed by the previous month, and the challenges faced by mine action in the DRC, as outlined above. No statement was made with regard to meeting the Article 5 deadline.^[80]

Evaluations of Mine Action

DanChurchAid commissioned an external evaluation of its mine action programs, which included its work in the DRC. The results of the evaluation, which was carried out by Channel Research in March 2006, were not available as of May 2006.^[81]

Demining

The main demining operators in the DRC are DanChurchAid, Handicap International, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and Mechem. The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action suspended its operations in June 2005.^[82] It had not restarted activities as of March 2006, despite submitting a proposal to the UN Portfolio of Mine Action Projects for 2006.^[83]

Identification of Mined Areas: Surveys and Assessments

There has been no nationwide general or landmine impact survey in the DRC. In March 2005, Survey Action Center conducted an advance survey mission for a landmine impact survey.^[84] This resulted in a proposal, subsequently included in the 2006 UN Portfolio of Mine Action Projects, to carry out preliminary opinion collection in 11 provinces.^[85] As of early 2006, however, US$200,000 was still lacking from the total project budget of $575,000, and the project remained on hold.^[86]

DanChurchAid continues to conduct an integrated mine action and HIV/AIDS program for internally displaced persons and war-affected communities in the DRC. In addition to HIV/AIDS activities and mine risk education, the program includes socioeconomic impact survey―the mapping of suspected dangerous areas and assessment of the impact of landmines and UXO on the affected population. This is done in order to prioritize mine action before deployment of clearance capacity.^[87] At the end of 2005, DanChurchAid was carrying out survey activities in Katanga and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Congo. In 2006, DanChurchAid planned to expand its survey operations to include Maniema province.^[88]

DanChurchAid survey activities were initiated in Tanganyika district in the north of Katanga province in March 2004. By February 2006, some 70,000 square kilometers of suspected areas in Tanganyika had been surveyed (Tanganyika has a total size of 124,000 square kilometers), and 126 mined areas and 270 UXO sites had been mapped. DanChurchAid reported that 150 communities had been covered by the survey and estimated that more than 200,000 people are affected by mines and ERW in the district.^[89]

According to a UN report at the end of 2005, Tanganyika was the first—and as of December 2005 the only—district to be completely surveyed in the DRC.^[90] In fact, 50,000 square meters of “very remote areas” in Tanganyika remained to be surveyed in 2006, mostly in Manono territory, which had been inaccessible due to military operations; survey of these areas is expected to produce more than 150 dangerous areas.^[91]

In July 2005, DanChurchAid began a survey of Kazimia and Baraka areas in Fizi territory in the southern part of South Kivu province. The survey team identified 90 areas with UXO and five areas suspected of being mined.^[92] In November 2005, a DanChurchAid team conducted a survey mission in Ubwari in South Kivu to identify and mark mined areas.^[93] By February 2006, an additional 39 communities had been surveyed across some 20,000 square kilometers.^[94]

An UNMAS-funded mission in early 2004 by Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) recommended that a 14-month emergency impact survey be completed in support of national elections scheduled for 2005. Due to funding constraints, this project was not implemented. However, with funding from the US Department of State, MAG started an Abandoned Ordnance and Hazardous Ordnance Site Survey in Katanga province in 2005; VVAF assisted with methodology development. The project developed an assessment tool that integrates information on the socioeconomic and humanitarian impact of abandoned and hazardous ordnance. It revealed that ERW affected 24.5 percent (39 out of 149) of the communities surveyed; 91 hazardous areas were recorded. In the Moba and Pweto subdistricts alone, more than 94,600 people lived in affected communities. Data collected and the survey tool were provided to UNMACC in late 2005. VVAF secured funding from UNMAS to extend the site survey project into the province of Equateur, starting in March 2006 for completion by August 2006, and implemented by VVAF with MAG providing logistical support.^[95]

Marking and Fencing

Reportedly, there has been some marking of mined and ERW-affected areas by demining operators using “local materials.”^[96] DanChurchAid, for example, reported that warning signs bearing text in Swahili have been put in the proximity of all the suspected areas it has identified. The warning symbol and text were painted on a zinc sheet that was purchased locally, measuring 40 centimeters by 30 centimeters, and it was used mainly because wood and similar material would not survive the weather conditions. Each benchmark of a dangerous area was marked by a red triangle on a permanent surface such as a stone, a building or a fruit tree.^[97]

By February 2006, about 700 warning signs had been put up around 489 surveyed dangerous areas. For certain dangerous areas, depending on size and visibility, two or three signs were put up. DanChurchAid did not have a technical survey component as of February 2006, therefore no fencing of mined areas had been carried out.^[98]

As DanChurchAid has been operational in a large area, the warning signs have been checked about three times a year, “depending on whether the surveyors cover the same route again. Generally the population is very cooperative and does not remove signs and as such we have never found a sign to be missing. The signs are normally replaced because they are damaged by natural elements; sun, wind and rain.”^[99]

Handicap International has engaged in permanent marking of affected areas that it does not intend to clear in the near future, using solid brick posts manufactured locally. As of November 2005, about 100 posts had been emplaced in its zone of operations around Kisangani.^[100]

Mine and ERW Clearance

In 2005, the four main clearance operators reported clearing a total of 446,498 square meters of land and 60.6 kilometers of roads in inhabited areas of Equateur, Katanga and Orientale. The clearance operations destroyed 1,172 mines, 28,336 UXO and 49,288 other items of unspecified ordnance.^[101] Around a quarter of the ammunition and abandoned explosives were destroyed by Mechem, and the remainder was destroyed by HI and MAG. More precise figures were not available.^[102] The number of antipersonnel mines destroyed was not included in the DRC’s Article 7 report for 2005.^[103] This and other details in the table below have been taken from UNMACC data.^[104]

Area (square meters) Cleared and Mines/ERW destroyed in DRC in 2005

Operator	Mine clearance	Antipersonnel mines destroyed	Antivehicle mines destroyed	UXO destroyed	AXO destroyed
HI	54,009	97	15	2,362	--
MAG	163,724	95	54	21,970	--
Mechem	228,765	816	93	3,869	--
DanChurchAid	N/A	0	2	165	--
Totals	446,498	1,008	164	28,366	49,288

Notes: DanChurchAid (DCA) carried out explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) in 2005, for which it does not record square meters cleared or released; data is for six operational weeks of 2005. The AXO destroyed was not broken down by mine operator.

Handicap International used both mechanical and manual clearance techniques, Mines Advisory Group and DanChurchAid used manual deminers only, and Mechem used a combination of manual, mine detection dogs and mechanical assets in its demining operations.^[105] According to the government, in mid-2005 the number of personnel engaged in mine action in the DRC was not more than 77.^[106] During the reporting period, three operations officers were employed by UNMACC, and all were involved in quality assurance. A chief of operations was recruited in 2006, and it was planned to replace one of the operations officers with a quality assurance officer.^[107]

DanChurchAid reported that it cooperated closely with UN OCHA in Kalemie territory, Katanga province and attempted to shape its mine action policies to suit regional needs. The development needs in Katanga have varied from repatriation, to food security and infrastructure challenges. Accordingly, DanChurchAid’s mine action focused on facilitating the return of refugees and IDPs, and on opening access to productive lands and to infrastructure. For example, in order to encourage IDPs to return to their villages, DanChurchAid recruited IDPs as deminers to work in their original area of residence. DanChurchAid did not record the square meters for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) tasks in these areas as UXO has been found scattered and has not blocked large areas of land.^[108]

DanChurchAid clearance operations began in October 2005 with two “highly mobile” clearance teams which first conducted spot EOD tasks in Kalemie, Nyunzu and Kabalo territories in Tanganyika district, as previously identified and prioritized by the DanChurchAid survey teams. By February 2006, a total of 110 clearance tasks had been performed, benefiting an estimated 16,234 people in 41 villages; 234 UXO and two antivehicle mines were found and destroyed. The two clearance teams started manual minefield clearance in February and, by March, had cleared 8,904 square meters in Kabalo and Nyunzu territory.^[109] On 24 and 25 April, DanChurchAid destroyed the contents of an ammunition depot, including nine antipersonnel mines, 345 antivehicle mines and 306 pieces of explosive ordnance.^[110]

DanChurchAid planned to expand its capacity in 2006 with an additional EOD/survey team and two additional clearance teams, using funding from Europeaid received on 1 April. It was planned that in mid-2006 the tasks in South Kivu would be addressed by a joint EOD/survey team.^[111]

Handicap International was not involved in large-scale mine clearance operations in 2005. It focused on increasing the security of communities in a radius of 80 kilometers around Kisangani through battle area clearance and targeted mine and ERW clearance operations. For example, as many displaced people live close to the airport, ground preparation by machine was followed by manual clearance of 18,000 square meters in that area in 2005. In addition, battle area clearance operations were conducted around a water point used by the village of Bangboka.^[112]

In 2005, MAG deployed a Rapid Deployment Mine Action Team, funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), to clear immediate blockages reported by other organizations funded by ECHO; it also recorded information about clearance needs in the north. The team undertook clearance operations in Gbadolite, Kota Koli and Dongo. The Gbadolite mission destroyed 266 dangerous items at 14 sites. The team also intervened in Katanga province, where it verified and cleared transit routes between Kabalo and Nyunzu; in Pweto region, MAG cleared land for use as transit centers and waystations for 13,000 refugees returning from Zambia during the assisted repatriation program, due to commence in June 2006. Overall, MAG cleared over 2,500 square meters of land and carried out 43 tasks, destroying 527 items of UXO and 802 other dangerous items.^[113]

MAG has worked in Katanga province since 2004. It planned completion of the 12 million square meters which are its responsibility under UNMACC by the end of 2007. MAG became operational in Equateur province in March 2006, focusing work around the airport of Mbandaka and the outlying villages.^[114]

From January to May 2006, MAG cleared a total of 30,807 square meters of 13,228 dangerous items. In the same period, MAG surveyed 90 kilometers of road, completed 180 tasks and identified 130 dangerous areas.^[115]

The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) cleared “numerous dangerous remnants of war in various villages” in Fizi-Baraka region in a six week period starting in January 2005. After this, “Despite numerous fundraising attempts and negotiations with UN agencies and donor countries, there were no new funds forthcoming. Two months after suspending the operations, FSD was forced to lay off its staff in DRC and to move all vehicles and demining equipment into neighboring Burundi.”^[116]

There has been no evidence of “village demining” in DRC, according to the UN Deputy Program Manager.^[117] However, as a result of the Programme National Contre les Armes (PAREC), which promised people bicycles in exchange for their weapons, DanChurchAid found that the population began collecting UXO from surveyed areas and storing them in their houses. Reportedly, people became afraid once they realized the danger and threw the UXO in the bushes. When DanChurchAid conducted a survey in May-July 2005 in Kabalo area it found 111 dangerous areas, but when it started demining in November there were only 65 sites containing UXO and in those the numbers originally reported by survey had dwindled; the PAREC program was executed in Kabalo.^[118] In February 2006, UN OCHA reported that the PAREC program was coming to an end. Initial results reported that 40 antipersonnel mines had been handed in, among other weapons.^[119]

However, in 2006, another disarmament program of the National Commission for Disarmament and Reintegration (CONADER) started collecting explosive ordnance from former combatants in Kalemie area. Reportedly, some people handed UXO to family members who were combatants in return for the aid and start-up packages they receive on disarmament. DanChurchAid had conducted a survey in a village 25 kilometers south of Kalemie and found four items of UXO; when deminers arrived five days later to destroy the items villagers said that the UXO had been taken to Kalemie by combatants to exchange for cash in the disarmament program. DanChurchAid entered into negotiations with CONADER in Kalemie in an attempt to halt this practice.^[120]

There were no reports of any demining casualties in the DRC’s mine action program in 2005. All deminers are insured, with a maximum protection of $10,000. There is no information available on whether HIV/AIDS is prevalent among deminers.^[121]

Mine Risk Education

The DRC included information on mine risk education (MRE) activities in its Article 7 report, indicating that 49,172 people received MRE in 2005.^[122]

Organizations providing MRE in 2005 include DanChurchAid, HI, MAG, and UNICEF through national and international NGOs. Local and national MRE organizations included Humanitas Ubangui, the Church of Christ in the Congo (ECC-MERU),^[123] Synergie pour la lutte anti mine du Nord-Kivu (SYLAM) and TOSALISANA.

DanChurchAid reported reaching 41,301 people and HI reached 23,258 in 2005.^[124] In the first quarter of 2006, MAG delivered MRE messages in Katanga and Equateur provinces to a total of 23,648 people, as part of the UNICEF-funded project.^[125] The DanChurchAid teams during the same time period reached 14,861 people.^[126]

There was no fully functioning body for coordinating MRE at the national level as of May 2006, but coordination efforts were ongoing. UNICEF acted as the UN focal point for MRE in the DRC. In 2005, UNICEF received funding to develop and coordinate MRE in the DRC and to increase involvement of national NGOs.^[127] UNICEF planned to train 1,000 trainers in MRE in 2006, and to make MRE available to affected communities via schools, churches, and other community structures. UNICEF’s budget for MRE and other education in 2006 was US$1,030,000.^[128] Week-long trainings were held jointly with MAG in Mbandaka, Equateur province, for 18 MRE officers from TOSALISANA and Humanitas Ubangi, and with DanChurchAid for four local NGOs in Bukavu, South Kivu.^[129]

MRE providers in the DRC used a mix of lecture-style and community-based MRE including community liaison. NGOs worked according to International Mine Action Standards; national standards had not been drafted as of May 2006.

During 2005, DanChurchAid’s combined program of survey, MRE and HIV/AIDS education continued in northern Katanga and in South Kivu province, in close cooperation with national church partner ECC-MERU, with Danish funding.^[130] Since April 2004, the combined program has been conducted by 10 coordinators and a surveyor who also works as an MRE facilitator and HIV/AIDS educator.^[131] In 2005, DanChurchAid and ECC-MERU carried out 384 MRE sessions, reaching 41,301 people.^[132] In January-March 2006, they reached 14,681 people in 155 sessions. Whereas previously MRE depended on the progress of survey teams, in 2006 the DanChurchAid /ECC-MERU teams engaged in community liaison for the demining teams starting the first large mine clearance task in February.^[133]

A UNICEF grant allowed DanChurchAid to expand MRE from October 2005 until March 2006 by involving local partners Bureau Adventiste de Développement et des Urgences (ADRA) and Action pour le Développement Intégral des Communautés (ADIC).^[134] The teams reached 19,201 people in 14 schools, 54 villages and in transit centers and camps housing Congolese refugees returning from Tanzania.^[135]

Handicap International has provided MRE since 2001 in Kisangani, Orientale province, within a radius of 80 kilometers of the city. In 2005, the MRE team consisted of one coordinator and five MRE educators. They reached 23,258 people (6,870 men, 6,924 women, 9,464 children). HI employed a variety of MRE methodologies. The community-based approach aimed to create local committees to prevent mine and UXO accidents; committee members were volunteers who assisted in spreading safety messages, in collecting information on mines/UXO, and in helping to prioritize mine action interventions in a participatory and gender sensitive manner. A second approach, “active and permanent sensitization,” combined child-to-child and a child-to-parent methodology. A third approach used direct sessions to provide MRE to a variety of audiences.^[136]

MAG started operations in the DRC in July 2004. A training workshop for 18 participants from Tosalisana (Boende) and Humanitas Ubangi (Gbadolite) in basic MRE messages was implemented in Mbandaka, Equateur province, from 8-10 December 2005.^[137]

In January 2006, MAG had four community liaison/MRE teams accompanying its clearance/EOD teams. The teams undertook primary survey preparing dangerous area reports; they provided basic MRE and placed billboards and others signs in churches and on transit routes of returning Congolese refugees from Zambia. From January to May 2006, teams in Katanga visited 43 communities, reaching some 17,000 persons through MRE sessions;^[138] this UNDP-funded project ended on 31 March 2006. MAG extended its operations into Equateur province in 2006 with Swedish funding. After initial training, four deminers and four community liaison officers began operating in March 2006.^[139]

MAG reported that it also contributed to a series of radio broadcasts in Equateur and Katanga provinces to highlight the risks posed by mines and UXO, reaching an estimated 50,000 people.^[140]

Humanitas Ubangi and TOSALISANA provided MRE via schools and villages to 16,200 adults and 6,000 students in Equateur province, in February-March 2006, supported by UNICEF. Additionally, 58,000 returnees from Congo-Brazzaville and 50,000 IDPs in Equateur province were indirectly reached via community structures, local radio, churches and other communication means.^[141] TOSALISANA informed Landmine Monitor that they put traditional warning signs to mark dangerous areas.^[142]

Another local NGO, Gapic-Center, informed Landmine Monitor that it has provided MRE and collected casualty data since 2003 based on training received from UNMACC. Gapic-Center activities focused on children in groups of 25-30 and sometimes also on women. It has been active in the five provinces (Kinshasa, Katanga, Maniema, East Kasia and South Kivu) and reached 10,500 people in 2005, including 6,900 children. In Orientale and South Kivu, Gapic-Center worked in partnership with local NGOs DERREG and ADF. Gapic-Center stated that its MRE activities were not coordinated by UNMACC or UNICEF.^[143]

Funding and Assistance

Landmine Monitor estimates that the DRC received a total of approximately $7.7 million for mine action in 2005, including UN peacekeeper funding.^[144] Eight countries and the EC reported contributing $4,864,770 to mine action in the DRC in 2005. Five countries and the EC donated $4,459,118 in 2004.^[145] Donors in 2005 included:

• Belgium: €378,222 ($470,848), consisting of €369,222 ($459,644) to MAG for mine action in the southeast and €9,000 ($11,204) in-kind for one-month UXO disposal mission;^[146]
• Canada: C$120,000 ($99,051) to UNMAS for impact assessment;^[147]
• Denmark: DKK5 million ($833,987) to DanChurchAid for MRE and victim assistance;^[148]
• EC: €940,000 ($1,170,206) to DanChurchAid for mine clearance;^[149]
• Germany: €350,000 ($435,715) to DanChurchAid for demining in Katanga province;^[150]
• Netherlands: €250,000 ($311,225) to UNMAS for mine clearance and MRE;^[151]
• Sweden: SEK9,370,195 ($1,254,209) to MAG for mine clearance;^[152]
• Switzerland: CHF150,000 ($120,395) to FSD for mine clearance; and,^[153]
• UK: £92,931 ($169,134) to MAG for integrated demining.^[154]

UN OCHA reported that the mine action activities were impeded by inadequate funding in 2005. Mine action in the DRC received only three percent of the funding requested through the Consolidated Appeals Process.^[155]

In 2005, the DRC significantly increased its appeal through the UN Portfolio of Mine Action. According to the Portfolio End-Year Review, of the $12,917,566 appealed for in 2005, $2,855,311 (22 percent) was received.^[156] The DRC reported receiving less than 10 percent of its appeal through the Portfolio in 2004.^[157]

In 2005, UNMAS expended a total of $3,568,207 on mine action in the DRC, representing a decrease from $4,436,150 in 2004. Of this, $743,022 was expended from Voluntary Trust Fund contributions and $2,825,185 from UN peacekeeping assessed funds not reported as mine action funding by donor countries. Contributions to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance received by UNMAS came to $733,310 in 2005, slightly less than the contributions expended.^[158]

FSD reported a total expenditure of just CHF197,953 in 2005 ($153,369), compared to CHF908,139 ($798,645) in 2004. In 2005, contributions received by FSD totaled CHF94,411 ($73,147)―less than the annual expenditure.^[159]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2005, there were at least 45 UXO casualties, including 14 people killed and 31 injured. UNMACC recorded 43 new casualties (14 people killed, 29 injured); at least 14 casualties were children under 15 years, and six casualties were female.^[160] Landmine Monitor recorded one additional incident injuring two people in Maniema province.^[161] This represents a decrease from 56 casualties recorded in 2004, and a significant decrease from the 247 mine/UXO casualties recorded in 2003.^[162]

UNMACC reports that in 2005, mines did not cause any casualties, cluster munitions caused one casualty, other UXO caused 34 casualties, and the cause of eight incidents is unknown.^[163] On 24 August, a seven-year-old girl was killed and two other children were injured by an abandoned grenade in Baraka, Fizi.^[164] On 26 November, a man was killed in Katelwa, Tanganyika, while trying to remove UXO from his field.^[165]

However, Landmine Monitor media analysis indicates that mines caused at least six casualties in 2005. On 21 October, two children died and a third lost a leg in an antipersonnel mine explosion in Runingu, South Kivu.^[166] On 3 December, a man and his 12-year-old son were seriously injured by a mine in Lubuto territory, Maniema province.^[167] On 10 December, a child injured by a mine was transported on a MONUC flight to Kisangani for emergency medical care at Kabondo General Hospital.^[168]

Casualties continued to be reported in 2006, with at least 11 casualties (two killed and nine injured). As of May, UNMACC recorded three new mine casualties, all males between 21 and 31 years, injured while traveling in South Kivu in February.^[169] However, media reported eight people were injured in the same antivehicle mine incident on 11 February.^[170] An incident was also reported in which two boys were killed and a girl was seriously injured after handling UXO in South Kivu.^[171]

Casualties are believed to be under-reported, as the DRC has no nationwide data collection mechanism. UNMACC collected information on mine casualties from 24 organizations, including MONUC, hospitals, NGOs and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).^[172] The total number of mine/UXO casualties in the DRC is not known. According to a MONUC official, about 2,585 casualties have been recorded.^[173] The government reports that partial results of a nationwide survey registered 1,002 mine/UXO casualties, of which at least 60 percent were men. Sixty percent of the casualties were aged between 16 and 45 years.^[174] As of May 2006, the DRC had recorded 1,850 casualties with a growing number under 20 years of age.^[175] Most casualties were registered in Equateur province (343), South Kivu (317), Orientale (134), North Kivu (115), Katanga (103), Maniema (97), East Kasai (82), West Kasai (14), Bas-Congo (six), Bandundu (five) and Kinshasa (four).^[176] However, there are limitations in data collection due to the lack of training, analysis, verification capacities and data collection guidelines. The government planned to organize data collection training in pilot provinces from 2006 to 2007.^[177]

As of April 2006, the UNMACC IMSMA database contained records on 1,798 mine/UXO casualties since 1964, including 790 people killed and 1,002 injured, with the status of six unknown. Four injuries and one death were the result of demining accidents. Of the casualties, 1,105 were male (61.5 percent), 441 were female (24.5 percent) and the gender of 252 (14 percent) was unknown. At least 213 casualties (11.8 percent) were children under 15 years. Antipersonnel mines were the cause of at least 651 casualties (36.2 percent), 70 were caused by antivehicle mines (3.8 percent), 140 were caused by cluster munitions (7.8 percent) and 570 by other UXO (31.7 percent); for 343 casualties, the type of device was unknown (19.1 percent). The majority of casualties (65.1 percent) occurred between 2000 and 2003. Casualties from mines, UXO and other devices were reported in all 11 provinces: Equateur, 479 (26.6 percent); South Kivu, 423 (23.5 percent); Katanga, 252 (14 percent); North Kivu, 218 (12.1 percent); Orientale, 162 (nine percent); Maniema, 150(8.3 percent); East Kasai, 97 (5.4 percent); West Kasai, 14 (0.8 percent); and one casualty each in Bandundu, Bas-Congo and Kinshasa.^[178] The database is continually being updated as new information is found on both new mine casualties and casualties from earlier years.^[179]

In October 2005, Médécins sans Frontières published the results of an epidemiological survey conducted in Kilwa, Inongo, Basankusu, Lubuto and Bunyeka, focusing on mortality, access to healthcare, vaccination and violence. Of the 986 families interviewed in Lubuto area, six respondents declared that at least one person in their family had been killed or injured by landmines in 2004 and 2005.^[180]

In December 2005, a joint UNHCR/UNMACC mission to Kisangani, Orientale province discussed the mine/UXO problem with UN OCHA, Caritas, HI, Congolese Medical Association for Peace (Association médicale congolèse pour la Paix, AMCP) and with mine/UXO survivors. UNMACC and AMCP then collected information on mine/UXO casualties in Orientale.^[181]

Survivor Assistance

At the First Review Conference in Nairobi in November-December 2004, the DRC was identified as one of 24 States Parties with significant numbers of mine survivors, and with “the greatest responsibility to act, but also the greatest needs and expectations for assistance,” in providing adequate services for the care, rehabilitation and reintegration of survivors.^[182] The DRC presented its 2005-2009 objectives to the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in November-December 2005. The objectives included: establishing a data collection and community-based monitoring system; reducing mortality rates by providing equipment, emergency evacuation and staff training; establishing physical rehabilitation centers and strengthening community-based rehabilitation programs; providing psychological support and capacity-building of social workers and psychologists; and developing vocational training centers and income-generating activities in mine-affected areas.^[183]

The DRC participated in the workshop Advancing Landmine Victim Assistance in Africa in Nairobi on 31 May-2 June 2005, which was hosted by the co-chairs of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, to assist States Parties to develop plans of action to meet the aims of the Nairobi Action Plan in relation to victim assistance.^[184]

At the Standing Committee meetings in May 2006, the DRC’s Ministry of Health, the focal point for victim assistance, summarized progress in 2006. The Ministry of Health has been designated coordinator of the community-based rehabilitation task force (which integrates national and international organizations) and given the responsibility of coordinating strategic plans for victim assistance.^[185]

The DRC submitted voluntary Form J with its annual Article 7 report, providing some details of victim assistance activities in 2005.

Decades of armed conflict in the DRC have seriously damaged the healthcare system.^[186] Many services lack the financial resources, infrastructure and staff capable of treating landmine casualties and people with disabilities; there are fewer than 10 trauma surgeons in the DRC. Access to services is further reduced by long distances, security concerns and the inability of people to pay for services. Generally, it takes over 12 hours to reach a health center and up to 24 hours before a casualty is seen by healthcare professionals; in most cases, it takes at least 48 hours before emergency surgery and amputations are performed. There are no specialized schools for trauma surgery and many patients later require corrective surgery to prepare the stump for an orthopedic device.^[187]

ICRC, working with the Red Cross Society of the DRC, continued to assist hospitals and health centers in 2005-2006. At the end of 2004, the ICRC started handing over support to health centers in Orientale and Equateur to development-oriented NGOs and local authorities, in order to focus its activities in North and South Kivu provinces and, to a lesser extent, in Katanga and Maniema. In 2005, ICRC-assisted hospitals treated 51 war-injured people. ICRC continued training sessions on operation techniques and started 10-day trainings for final-year medical students in three universities.^[188]

Médécins Sans Frontières provided a range of assistance including support for hospitals and services through mobile health units and emergency response teams. It continued to work in the Bon Marché Hospital in Bunia, Ituri, treating war-injured; in June 2005, it began to support the hospital in Kanya, North Kivu, including its surgical department.^[189]

UNICEF support to the healthcare system included providing emergency drugs and equipment to 250 health centers.^[190] The International Rescue Committee supported emergency primary healthcare through field offices in Bas-Congo, West Kasai, East Kasai, South Kivu and Katanga.^[191]

In June 2005, MONUC started the renovation of the referral hospital in Mbandaka.^[192] In September 2005, the World Bank approved a $150 million credit to the DRC to support rehabilitation of the health sector.^[193]

Physical rehabilitation and prosthetic and orthotic centers and services are virtually non-existent or not functioning to capacity. Only two physical rehabilitation centers in Kinshasa and Goma are well equipped and can provide corrective surgery and on-the-job training for physiotherapists and nurses.^[194] There are four main centers available to mine survivors: in Kinshasa, the Rehabilitation Center for Physically Disabled (Centre de Réadaptation pour Handicapée Physique, CRHP) and Kalembe-Lembe Physical Rehabilitation Center; in Goma, Saint Jean-Baptiste Hospital and the Shirika la Umoja Center. The Yamak Center in Lubumbashi ceased activities in early 2004.^[195]

CRHP is the national rehabilitation center and provides physiotherapy services, prostheses, tricycles and other assistive devices. In 2005, ICRC supported all four physical rehabilitation centers, supplying raw materials and reimbursing costs of assessment, prostheses and orthoses, some physiotherapy services, and transport for people from Kabinda and Mbuji Mayi. In 2005, 583 patients were fitted with protheses (125 for mine/UXO survivors), 218 fitted with orthoses (34 for mine/UXO survivors), six provided with wheelchairs, and 861 provided with crutches and other walking aids in ICRC-assisted centers. As of March 2006, ICRC had 500 people on its waiting list for prostheses and orthoses; it was estimated that over 1,000 people need prostheses and orthoses.^[196]

Handicap International operates a community-based rehabilitation project for people with disabilities in Kinshasa, including the training of volunteers in the identification of persons in need of rehabilitation services and their referral to appropriate centers and resources. The project also provided training and small grants to start income-generating activities.^[197] Until July 2005, HI also provided technical support to CRHP through capacity-building and training.^[198]

The Simama Rehabilitation Center in Kisangani offers integrated services for people with disabilities, including specialized healthcare, physiotherapy, prostheses and vocational training.^[199] Other organizations assisting people with disabilities were noted in last year’s Landmine Monitor.^[200]

There are psychosocial support pilot projects in the DRC, but it is unclear who is nationally responsible for this aspect of survivor assistance; there is a lack of trained staff. Reportedly children with physical disabilities have access to education, and private and public vocational training centers exist in urban centers, despite their limited capacity. The economic and political situation makes it impossible for the government to support the creation of employment for mine survivors and other people with disabilities.^[201]

The UNMAS Portfolio of Mine Action Projects for 2006 contains two proposals for victim assistance projects: capacity-building for the victim assistance program at the Ministry of Health, and socioeconomic reintegration and awareness raising by Caritas and implementing partners in Orientale province.^[202]

Disability Policy and Practice

The DRC has no specific legislation for mine survivors, but acknowledges its obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty to provide assistance, and reportedly seeks legal advice to draft appropriate legislation. The legislative and policy goal of the government is to improve the quality of life of the disabled ensuring the same opportunities as the rest of the population. A 1975 law guarantees free healthcare, legal protection, social benefits, free public transport and equal opportunities in employment for people with disabilities, but the law is not fully implemented or applied.^[203]

A new constitution was approved by national referendum on 18 and 19 December 2005 and entered into force on 19 February 2006. It protects the rights of people with disabilities, including access to educational institutions and special protection measures for people with disabilities and promotion of the presence of people with disabilities within national, provincial and local institutions.^[204]

The Coordination Department of Rehabilitation Activities for People with Disabilities, supervised by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Family, is responsible for all issues relating to people with disabilities. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for issues relating to disabled military personnel.^[205] Some disabled people’s organizations and centers receive support from the state budget.^[206] Voter inscription centers and polling stations for the July 2006 elections were expected to give priority access to people with disabilities.^[207]

The Association of Centers for Persons with Disabilities in Central Africa (Association des Centres pour Handicapés d’Afrique centrale, ACHAC) advocates positive political choices with respect to people with disabilities. Handicap International provided support for the Bandundu-Équateur-Kinshasa section of ACHAC.^[208]

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[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2003.
[2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 2 May 2005.
[3] “Rapport General de la Table Ronde sur la Mise en Œuvre de la Convention D’Ottawa Sur L’Interdiction des Mines Antipersonnel en RDC du 06 au 07 Decembre 2005,” provided to Landmine Monitor by Pardieu Mayenikini, Executive Secretary, Agence de Diffusion du Droit International Humanitaire en Afrique Centrale (ADDIHAC).
[4] In French, it is the Commission Nationale de lutte contre les mines antipersonnel. Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2003, citing Ministerial Decree No. 0001, 6 May 2002.
[5] Interview with Blaise Baise Balomba, Member of the National Commission to Fight Antipersonnel Mines, Kisangani, 15 March 2005; telephone interview with Emery Zulu Kilo Abi, Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 April 2005.
[6] Article 7 Report, Forms A and J, 2 May 2005. It cited letters dated 21 October 2004 and 13 April 2005. The areas of responsibility and levels of authority between the national commission and the cabinet experts are not clear.
[7] “Rapport General de la Table Ronde sur la Mise en Œuvre de la Convention D’Ottawa Sur L’Interdiction des Mines Antipersonnel en RDC du 06 au 07 Decembre 2005.”
[8] Previous Article 7 reports were submitted on 30 April 2003, 21 June 2004 and 2 May 2005.
[9] “Rapport General de la Table Ronde sur la Mise en Œuvre de la Convention D’Ottawa Sur L’Interdiction des Mines Antipersonnel en RDC du 06 au 07 Decembre 2005.”
[10] See www.societecivile.cd/membre/BAMICOASBL, accessed 10 March 2006.
[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.196.
[12] The government has acknowledged using antipersonnel mines in the past, before acceding to the Mine Ban Treaty. Landmine Monitor has also cited credible allegations of use of antipersonnel mines in the DRC in the past by forces of the governments of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 343-345.
[13] Presentation by DRC, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 11 May 2006 (notes by Landmine Monitor/HRW).
[14] Ibid.
[15] Slide 9 from DRC presentation, “Article 4: Destruction des stocks de mines antipersonnel,” Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 11 May 2006. Also notes by Landmine Monitor/HRW. This included: 1,122 Z1 Claymore; 509 PMA 2; 478 PRB M35; 394 TS 50; 140 SB33; 91 No. 4; 74 M2A4; 37 MK 2; 18 POMZ; and 1 No. 2 R1M1.
[16] Slide 7 from DRC presentation, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 11 May 2006. Also notes by Landmine Monitor/HRW.
[17] Slides 5 and 6 from DRC presentation, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 11 May 2006. Also notes by Landmine Monitor/HRW.
[18] Article 7 Reports, Form G, 2 May 2005 and 2 May 2006. This includes 1,091 Z1 Claymore; 509 PMA 2; 481 PRB M35; 236 TS 50; 140 SB33; 91 No. 4; 73 M2A4; 36 MK 2; and 5 POMZ.
[19] MONUC Press Release, “Destruction of military material in Kalemie,” 25 April 2006, www.monuc.org; email from DanChurchAid, 9 May 2006. The navy initially contacted the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which then contacted DanChurchAid to conduct the demolition.
[20] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 21 au 27 mai 2005,” www.reliefweb.int, accessed 23 March 2006.
[21] Email from Catherine Vasseur, Program Director, HI, DRC, 19 June 2006.
[22] Article 7 Report, Form B, 2 May 2006. In the previous year’s Article 7 report, the DRC stated that an inventory of stockpiled antipersonnel mines was ongoing and that it expected to be able to provide a total stockpile number in the next report. Article 7 Report, Form B, 2 May 2005.
[23] UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” p. 142. The portfolio noted that the DRC army was regularly reporting abandoned stockpiles.
[24] “Rapport General de la Table Ronde sur la Mise en Œuvre de la Convention D’Ottawa Sur L’Interdiction des Mines Antipersonnel en RDC du 06 au 07 Decembre 2005.”
[25] Article 7 Report, Form J, 2 May 2005.
[26] Article 7 Report, Form D, 2 May 2006.
[27] Force estimates from Institute for Security Studies (South Africa), “Post-war Defence Integration in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” ISS Paper No. 119, December 2005, www.iss.co.za.
[28] The time period of this collection was unspecified. UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone, “Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration (DDR) and Stability in Africa: Conference Report,” Freetown, 21-23 June 2005, p. 17. It is not known how this number corresponds to the stock destruction reported by the DRC.
[29] The Armed Forces of the Congo (Forces Armées Congolaises, FAC), Congolese Rally for Democracy and its various factions (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie, RCD, RCD-ML, RCD-N) and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (Mouvement pour la Liberation Congolais, MLC) fall under the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. The Mai Mai (indigenous militias) and the RCD-Goma fall under the Inter-Congolese Dialog.
[30] Union of Congolese Patriots (Union des Patriotes Congolais, UPC), Party for the Unity and Safeguarding of the Integrity of Congo (PUSIC), Patriotic Forces of Resistance in Ituri (Forces Patriotiques de Résistance en Ituri, FPRI), People’s Armed Forces of Congo (FAPC), Front for National Liberation (Front des nationalistes Intégrationnistes, FNI) and some other smaller armed groups, are all known to have received support previously from Uganda or Rwanda.
[31] Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, Article III: Principles of Agreement, para. 13, prohibits the laying of mines of whatever type.
[32] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 11 au 17 juin 2005.”
[33] UN OCHA, “43 dead in latest drive against rebels,” 17 November 2005, www.reliefweb.int, accessed 23 March 2006; “New Congolese rebels cause worry,” BBC News (online edition), 20 July 2005, news.bbc.co.uk, accessed 20 March 2006.
[34] Approximately 300 MRC rebels were reported to have fled into Uganda during the campaign, where some were reportedly disarmed by the Ugandan army. “300 Congolese flee into western Uganda following fresh fighting,” Xinhua News Agency, 17 November 2005.
[35] “Le camp des Fdlr à Mirhanda détruit par la Monuc,” Le Potentiel (daily newspaper, online edition), 22 June 2005, www.lepotentiel.com, accessed 23 March 2006.
[36] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 19 au 25 novembre 2005.”
[37] See the Uganda report in this edition of Landmine Monitor for more details on allegations of mine use.
[38] International Court of Justice, “Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo V. Uganda),” 19 December 2005, www.icj-cij.org, accessed 20 March 2006.
[39] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 287.
[40] UN Security Council, “Letter dated 2 September 2005 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council,” S/2005/566, 6 September 2005, www.un.org, accessed 20 March 2006.
[41] UN Security Council, “Letter dated 26 January 2006 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the President of the Security Council,” S/2006/53, 27 January 2006, www.un.org, accessed 20 March 2006.
[42] “DR Congo: Resolution 1654 (2006) adopted by the Security Council at its 5360th meeting, on 31 January 2006 (S/RES/1654),” www.reliefweb.int, accessed 23 March 2006.
[43] Z-1 Claymore mines were found in the hands of an unidentified armed group in Ituri by MONUC in 2003. Mines made in the former Yugoslavia were recovered from the RCD-Goma in South Kivu. Both were photographed in the possession of MONUC in early 2005 by Amnesty International. Sent to Landmine Monitor on 3 November 2005.
[44] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 287.
[45] Under Protocol V to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, explosive remnants of war are defined as unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance. Mines are explicitly excluded from the definition.
[46] UN, “Country Profile: Democratic Republic of Congo,” www.mineaction.org, accessed 3 August 2005.
[47] Statement by Néhémie Mwilanya Wilondja, Legal Advisor to the Presidency responsible for the implementation of the Ottawa Convention, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006. Unofficial translation by Landmine Monitor.
[48] SAC, “Advance Survey Mission Report, Democratic Republic of Congo, 7–17 March 2005,” in email from Mike Kendellen, Director for Survey, SAC, 8 July 2005.
[49] SAC, “General Plan for the Preliminary Opinion Collection in the DRC,” September 2005, p. 1. With the adoption of the new constitution in February 2006, DRC’s provincial boundaries changed; there are now 26 provinces. This year’s edition of Landmine Monitor uses the old provincial boundaries.
[50] “La Mise à Jour des Statistiques de la Situation des Mines/UXO en RDC, Mars 2006,” www.macc-drc.org, accessed 10 March 2006.
[51] Email from Eva Veble, Program Officer, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April 2006.
[52] Email from Mike Kendellen, SAC, 26 July 2005.
[53] UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” p. 142.
[54] UNMAS, “Appeal 2006,” New York, p. 23.
[55] UN, “Country Profile: Democratic Republic of Congo,” updated 28 December 2005.
[56] Ministerial Decree No. 0001 of 6 May 2002; Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2003.
[57] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, Deputy Program Manager, UNMACC, Kinshasa, in email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, New York, 17 March 2006.
[58] UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” p. 142.
[59] Article 7 Report, Form A, 2 May 2006.
[60] Statement by DRC, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006; information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[61] UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” p. 143.
[62] Ibid.
[63] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 290.
[64] Email from Jean-Paul Rychener, IMSMA Regional Coordinator for Central and Southern Africa, GICHD, Geneva, 22 May 2006.
[65] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, New York, 23 September 2005.
[66] Statement by DRC, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006; information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[67] UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” p. 143.
[68] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, Humanitarian Mine Action Socio-economic Impact Officer, DCA, Kalemie territory, Katanga province, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February 2006.
[69] UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” pp. 143-144.
[70] Ibid.
[71] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[72] UN OCHA, “Action Plan 2006 – Democratic Republic of Congo,” 13 February 2006, pp. 15, 37.
[73] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[74] UN OCHA, “Action Plan 2006 – Democratic Republic of Congo,” 13 February 2006, pp. 46-47.
[75] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February 2006.
[76] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April 2006.
[77] Statement by Néhémie Mwilanya Wilondja, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006. Unofficial translation by Landmine Monitor.
[78] UNMAS, “Appeal 2006,” (undated but 2005), New York, p. 23.
[79] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[80] Statement by Néhémie Mwilanya Wilondja, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006. Unofficial translation by Landmine Monitor.
[81] Emails from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April and 1 May 2006.
[82] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 292-293.
[83] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006; UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” p. 156;
[84] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 291.
[85] UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” p. 155.
[86] Email from Mike Kendellen, SAC, Washington DC, 23 February 2006.
[87] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April 2006.
[88] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February 2006.
[89] Ibid.
[90] UN, “Country Profile: Democratic Republic of Congo,” 28 December 2005.
[91] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April 2006; information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February 2006.
[92] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March, by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February 2006.
[93] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 17 au 23 septembre 2005” and “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 26 novembre au 2 décembre 2005,” see also www.kongo-kinshasa.de, accessed on 22 March 2006; email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April 2006.
[94] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February and 25 April 2006.
[95] Email from William Barron, Director, Information Management and Mine Action Program, VVAF, 22 June 2006; email from Tim Carstairs, Director of Policy, MAG, 6 July 2006.
[96] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, in email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, New York, 17 March 2006.
[97] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April 2006.
[98] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006.
[99] Ibid.
[100] HI Belgium, “Appui Communautaire Autour de la Problematique des Mines/U.X.O. dans la Region de Kisangani, 2003-2006, Rapport d’Activités Intermediaire, Période du 1er Novembre 2004 au 31 Octobre 2005,” p. 20.
[101] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMAC, Kinshasa, in email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, New York, 17 March 2006. The smaller figures given in UN OCHA’s 2006 plan of action do not cover the full calendar year; UN OCHA, “Action Plan 2006 - Democratic Republic of Congo,” 12 February 2006, p. 21; email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 16 June 2006.
[102] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 16 June 2006.
[103] Article 7 report, Form G, 2 May 2006.
[104] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, in email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, New York, 17 March 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, in email of 25 April 2006.
[105] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[106] Statement by DRC, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[107] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, New York, 1 May 2006; email from Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 2 May 2006.
[108] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February 2006.
[109] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February and 25 April 2006.
[110] Emails from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April and 1 May 2006.
[111] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 25 April 2006.
[112] HI Belgium, “Appui Communautaire... Kisangani, 2003-2006, Rapport d’Activites Intermediaire, Periode du 1er Novembre 2004 au 31 Octobre 2005,” p. 20.
[113] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 6 July 2006.
[114] Ibid.
[115] Emails from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 18 May and 6 July 2006.
[116] FSD, “Annual Report 2005,” Draft, May 2006, Section 3.7.
[117] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[118] Email from Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 8 March 2006.
[119] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 11 au 17 février 2006,” Tanganyika.
[120] Information provided by Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 14 February 2006, and by Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 21 February and 1 May 2006.
[121] Information provided by Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 March 2006.
[122] Article 7 Report, Form I, 2 May 2006. DRC, however, in its presentation in Geneva reported 46,000 people reached by HI and 25,000 by DCA. Presentation by DRC, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[123] ECC-MERU = Eglise du Christ au Congo. MERU is a department of the ECC (Ministère de l’Eglise du Christ au Congo pour les Réfugiés et les Urgences).
[124] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 8 May 2006 (the Article 7 report states that DCA MRE activities reached 39,886 people); email from Micheline Magwamb, MRE coordinator, HI, DRC, 10 May 2006 (the Article 7 report states 3,458 people). MAG did not provide its own MRE data to Landmine Monitor for 2005; the Article 7 report stated 3,828 people received MRE from MAG. Article 7 Report, Form I, 2 May 2006.
[125] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 19 May 2006.
[126] Email from Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 23 May 2006.
[127] UNMAS, “Country Sheet DRC,” updated 28 December 2005, mineaction.org, accessed 18 May 2006.
[128] UNICEF, “Humanitarian Action: Democratic Republic of the Congo,” p. 2.
[129] Annelise Dennis, “Teaching People About the Dangers,” MAG News, February 2006, pp. 10-11; emails from Doudou Luemba, Emergency Project Officer, UNICEF, DRC, 27 April and 2 May 2006 and from Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 23 May 2006.
[130] DCA, “Country Profile, DR Congo,” 6 November 2005, www.dca.dk, accessed 16 May 2006.
[131] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 8 May 2006; email from Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 23 May 2006.
[132] Email from Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 4 April 2006. Children are persons younger than 18 years.
[133] Email from Eva Veble, DCA, Copenhagen, 8 May 2006.
[134] Email from Pamela Zintatu Ntshanga, DCA, Katanga, 23 May 2006; emails from Doudou Luemba, UNICEF, DRC, 27 April and 2 May 2006.
[135] UN OCHA, “Monitoring des Actions Humanitaires en RDC, 08 au 14 oct 2005,” p. 11.
[136] Email from Micheline Magwamb, HI, DRC, 10 May 2006.
[137] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 6 July 2006.
[138] Ibid.
[139] MAG, “MAG DRC, Donor Update,” March 2006, p. 2.
[140] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, UK, 19 May 2006.
[141] Emails from Doudou Luemba, UNICEF, DRC, 27 April and 2 May 2006.
[142] Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Gregoire Bokungu, President and MRE-instructor, TOSALISANA, 15 February 2006.
[143] Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Jean Mukatshung-Yav, General Director, Gapic-Center, 29 January 2006.
[144] Includes $2,825,185 in UN peacekeeping assessed funds not reported by donor states.
[145] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 294.
[146] Article 7 Report, Form J, 26 April 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: €1 = US$1.2449, used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[147] Mine Action Investments database; email from Carly Volkes, DFAIT, 7 June 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = C$1.2115. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[148] Mine Action Investments database; email from Rita Helmich-Olesen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31 March 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = DKK5.9953. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[149] Emails from Laura Liguori, Security Policy Unit, Conventional Disarmament, European Commission, June-July 2006.
[150] Germany Article 7 Report, Form J, 27 April 2006; Mine Action Investments database.
[151] Email from Ellen Schut, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 7 April 2006; email from Brechtje Paardekooper, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 April 2006.
[152] Sweden Article 7 Report, Form J, 2 May 2006; emails from Sara Brandt-Hansen, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, March-May 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = SEK7.4710. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[153] Email from Rémy Friedmann, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 April 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = CHF1.2459. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[154] Email from Andrew Willson, Department for International Development, 20 March 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: £1 = US$1.820. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006. UNMAS reports a contribution of US$200,000 to VTF from the UK. This has not been included in the 2005 total. UNMAS, “Annual Report 2005,” p. 61.
[155] UN OCHA, “Action Plan 2006 - Democratic Republic of Congo,” 13 February 2006, p. 21.
[156] UNMAS, “2005 Portfolio End-Year Review,” p. 2, www.mineaction.org, accessed 20 May 2005. With regard to differences between Portfolio End-Year Review reporting and the total of donor reported contributions, it is worth noting that MAG and DanChurchAid did not appeal through the Portfolio of Mine Action Projects in 2005.
[157] UNMAS, “2004 Portfolio Overview,” p. 2.
[158] UNMAS, “Annual Report 2005,” p. 65; UNMAS, “Annual Report 2004,” p. 35.
[159] FSD, “Annual Report 2005,” p. 32. FSD exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = CHF1.2907. FSD exchange rate for 2004: US$1 = CHF1.1371. FSD, “Annual Report 2004,” p. 10.
[160] Email from Claude N. Mushid, IT Officer, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 May 2006.
[161] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 17 au 23 décembre 2005.”
[162] UNMACC, “Statistiques de la situation de mines/UXO en RDC (mois d’avril 2006);” see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 295; Landmine Monitor 2004, p. 352.
[163] Email from Claude N. Mushid, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 17 May 2006.
[164] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 20 au 26 août 2005.”
[165] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 26 novembre au 2 décembre 2005.”
[166] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 15 au 21 octobre 2005.”
[167] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 17 au 23 décembre 2005.”
[168] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 10 au 16 décembre 2005.”
[169] Email from Claude N. Mushid, UNMACC, Kinshasa, 4 May 2006.
[170] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 11 au 17 février 2006.”
[171] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 23 février au 3 mars 2006.”
[172] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 295.
[173] “DR Congo has 2,585 landmine victims,” PANA, Kinshasa, 25 November 2004; presentation by DRC, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 2-3 December 2004.
[174] “Final Report of the Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, “Victim Assistance objective of the State Parties that have the responsibility for significant number of landmine survivors,” Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 143.
[175] Presentation by Masuga Musafiri, Director of Rehabilitation, Ministry of Health, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[176] “Final Report of the Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 143.
[177] Presentation by Masuga Musafiri, Ministry of Health, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[178] UNMACC, “Statistiques de la situation de mines/UXO en RDC (mois d’avril 2006).”
[179] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 295. The continuous updating explains the increased casualty data for 2003 and 2004.
[180] Médécins Sans Frontières, “Access to healthcare, mortality and violence in Democratic Republic of the Congo,” www.msf.org.au, accessed 20 March 2006.
[181] UN OCHA, “Monitoring de la situation humanitaire en RDC, du 26 november au 2 december 2005.”
[182] UN, “Final Report, First Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, Nairobi, 29 November-3 December 2004,” APLC/CONF/2004/5, 9 February 2005, p. 33.
[183] “Final Report of the Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 143-148.
[184] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 296.
[185] Interview with Masuga Musafiri, Ministry of Health, Geneva, 11 May 2006.
[186] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 296.
[187] “Final Report of the Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 144-145.
[188] Email from Dominique Liengme, Head of Delegation, ICRC, Kinshasa, 13 March 2006.
[189] Médecins Sans Frontières, “International Activity Report 2005,” www.doctorswithoutborders.org, accessed 23 March 2006.
[190] UNICEF, “Humanitarian Action: Democratic Republic of the Congo,” www.unicef.ca, accessed 20 March 2006.
[191] International Rescue Committee (IRC), “The IRC in Democratic Republic Of Congo,” www.theirc.org, accessed 20 March 2006.
[192] MONUC, Hebdo Newsletter, No. 155, 28 July-5 August 2005, www.monuc.org.
[193] World Bank, “DR Congo receives US$150 million grant,” Washington DC, 1 September 2005.
[194] “Final Report of the Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 145-146.
[195] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 354.
[196] Email from Dominique Liengme, ICRC, Kinshasa, 13 March 2006; ICRC, “Special Report: Mine Action 2005,” Geneva, May 2006, www.icrc.org, accessed 17 May 2006, p. 21.
[197] Email from Floribert Kabeya, Assistant Project Manager, HI, Kinshasa, 25 July 2005; email from Romain Kombe, HI, Kinshasa, 3 August 2005; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 354-355.
[198] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 297.
[199] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 355; Centre de Revalidation Simama, www.simama.org.
[200] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 298; “Directory of development organizations 2006,” www.devdir.org/africa.htm, accessed 20 March 2006; www.societecivile.cd, accessed 23 March 2006; email from Dominique Liengme, ICRC, Kinshasa, 25 April 2006.
[201] “Final Report of the Meeting of State Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 147.
[202] UNMAS, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” pp. 157, 159.
[203] “Final Report of the Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 148.
[204] Projet constitutionnel, www.cei-rdc.org/offres/project_constitution.pdf, accessed 2 May 2006.
[205] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 355-356.
[206] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-3 December 2005, p. 148.
[207] Email from Carole Kraemer, Programs Manager Central Africa, International Foundation for Election Systems, Washington DC, 20 January 2006.
[208] HI, “Handicap International’s activities in Democratic Republic Congo (DRC),” www.handicapinternational.be, accessed 20 March 2006.