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Sub-Sections:
Georgia, Landmine Monitor Report 2008

Georgia

Mine Ban Treaty status

Not a State Party

Stockpile

Small

Contamination

Scattered mines and significant UXO contamination following the armed conflict with Russia in August 2008

Estimated area of contamination

Unknown

Demining progress in 2007

None reported

Mine/ERW casualties in 2007

Total: Unknown (2006: 31)

Estimated mine/ERW survivors

Unknown

RE capacity

Emergency RE being conducted as of September 2008

Availability of services in 2007

Unchanged—inadequate

Key developments since May 2007

Evidence was not found to confirm or discredit allegations of use of antipersonnel mines against both Georgia and Russia during the heavy fighting related to South Ossetia in August 2008. Each side has denied it. Both Georgia and Russia used cluster munitions during the conflict, causing numerous civilian casualties. The extent of the ERW problem was not known, but was expected to be significant.

Mine Ban Policy

Georgia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. The Ambassador of Georgia to Jordan attended the Eighth Meeting of States Parties held at the Dead Sea in November 2007 and a delegation attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2008 in Geneva. Unlike in previous years, Georgia did not make any statements regarding its views on antipersonnel mines and the Mine Ban Treaty.

In April 2007, Georgia said, “Georgia is well aware that the negative impact of landmines far outweighs their military value, and tries to make its possible contribution in facilitation of the process of elimination and eradication of this threat. …Georgia fully shares the principles and objectives of the Ottawa Convention and the concern of the international community regarding the challenge of anti-personnel landmines.”[1]

In September 2006, Georgia told States Parties, “Over the years, one of the principle reasons for not acceding to the Convention has been the existence of ... territories uncontrolled by the central authorities of the state and therefore, incapability to fulfill the obligations put forward in the convention. However,…discussions concerning the possibility of reconsideration of the above-stated position have started.”[2]

As it has done previously, Georgia voted in favor of the annual pro-ban UN General Assembly Resolution (Resolution 62/41) on 5 December 2007, calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

Georgia is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its original Protocol II, though it has not ratified Amended Protocol II, citing the same reasons as for not joining the Mine Ban Treaty.[3] Georgia is not party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

Georgia did not attend the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions in May 2008.

In November 2007, representatives of civil society and media from Georgia participated in a regional workshop, Towards an Anti-personnel Mine-Free South Caucasus, in Kiev, Ukraine, organized by the NGO Geneva Call in collaboration with the Ukrainian Peace Keepers Association.[4]

Use

Georgia has had an official moratorium on the use of antipersonnel mines in place since September 1996.[5] At the April 2007 intersessional meetings, Georgia stated, “Since that time, corresponding official structures of Georgia have been strictly refraining from use of anti-personnel mines. I have the chance to confirm my country’s firm resolution to keep this commitment in the future.”[6] In May 2005, the Ministry of Defense stated that the Georgian Armed Forces’ operational plan does not include mine use.[7]

Despite its denial of past use, it appears that Georgian Armed Forces used antipersonnel mines every year from 2001 to 2004.[8] Opposition forces and Russian peacekeepers also alleged that Georgian forces laid mines in South Ossetia in 2006 and 2007, and in Kodori Gorge in July 2006. Landmine Monitor has not been able to confirm the allegations.[9] In June 2008, South Ossetian authorities blamed Georgia for laying a mine which killed a boy outside Tskhinvali. Georgian authorities responded that the Russian mine type in the incident is not one held in their arsenal.[10]

There have been allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by both Georgia and Russia during the heavy fighting related to South Ossetia in August 2008. Each side has denied it.[11] At time of writing, Landmine Monitor had not been able to confirm or discredit the allegations. Human Rights Watch has confirmed that both Georgia and Russia used cluster munitions during the conflict, causing numerous civilian casualties.[12]

Production, Transfer and Stockpiling

Georgian officials maintain that Georgia has never produced, exported or imported antipersonnel landmines since independence.[13] Georgia inherited what is believed to be a small stockpile of antipersonnel mines from the former Soviet Union, but the exact size and composition of that stock remains unknown.[14] According to a Ministry of Defense official Georgia’s moratorium on use (see above) also covers production and transfer.[15]

In August 2007, a Georgian Ministry of Defense spokesperson told the press that Georgian forces had recovered an undisclosed number of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines from a former Russian Army base in Akhalkalaki.[16]

Landmine/ERW Problem

Georgia is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of armed conflict over the breakaway areas of Abkhazia[17] and South Ossetia.[18] The conflict in August 2008 added ERW contamination, including (cluster) submunitions,[19] although the full extent was not known as Landmine Monitor was going to press. The majority of the mines in Georgia are said to be located near the Ingur river that divides Abkhazia from the rest of the country.[20] It is also claimed that mines have been emplaced in the Kodori Gorge on paths leading to Upper Abkhazia.[21] According to a Russian news source, on 17 June 2008 six bags of Russian-made mines and munitions were found by road constructors at a Georgian Ministry of Defense training center near Kodjori, about 30km from the capital, Tbilisi.[22]

HALO Trust surveyed Georgia, where military restrictions allowed, in 2004.[23] In effect this meant the area of “Red Bridge” was unable to be surveyed. HALO found an “immediate requirement for clearance” around Sagarejo military base due to a remaining PFM-1 mine threat in the woodland, used by locals, surrounding the base. However, as of July 2008, funding for the clearance project had not been secured.[24]

Following the armed conflict in August 2008, there was evidence of a potentially significant problem with unexploded ordnance (UXO) in South Ossetia and elsewhere in Georgia. Assessments prior to the conflict had concluded that the mine problem in South Ossetia was minor and its impact low.[25] Mine casualties, however, had continued to occur through June 2008 (see below section on Casualties).

The remaining problem in Georgia comes from mines laid around former Russian military bases. At least five bases are considered mine-affected, but lack of good record-keeping means that the total number may be higher.[26] All former Russian military bases on territory under Georgian control have been closed and transferred to Georgia; the last of these was handed over in November 2007.[27] According to the Ministry of Defense, Georgia plans to clear any affected areas.[28] There is also a former Soviet military base in Gudauta in Abkhazia, which continues to be used by the Russian military.[29]

Mine Action Program

There is no formal mine action program in Georgia, and no national authority responsible for mine action coordination.[30] According to the Ministry of Defense, however, Georgia is planning to elaborate a mine action strategy and to establish a mine action center. This center will be managed in accordance with “the relevant principles of the Mine Ban Treaty and CCW Amended Protocol II.”[31] As a consequence, two representatives of the ministry were invited by the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to attend the Eleventh International Meeting of Mine Action Program Directors and UN Advisors held from 13–18 April 2008 in Slovenia and Croatia.[32]

Demining

Clearance of populated areas, roads and railroads is the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while the special engineering unit of the Ministry of Defense is responsible for clearing military areas. Soviet standing operating procedures are currently used for any demining, which use a range of military breaching techniques,[33] although personnel are said to have been trained to NATO standards as well. In the future, Georgia would like to adopt mine action standards that meet the requirements of the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[34]

HALO has a Memorandum of Understanding for clearance in both Georgia and Abkhazia with the Georgian Government. This was exercised in mid-2007 when HALO conducted clearance of land previously under the control of Koda military base (20km south of Tbilisi). HALO cleared 40,000m2 of suspect land at the request of the Millennium Development Fund so a major road rehabilitation project could be implemented safely. Although no mines were found several items of UXO and stray ammunition were cleared.[35]

In May 2005, it was reported that the Joint Peacekeeping Forces (Russian, Georgian and North Ossetian) had drawn up maps of mined territories.[36] General Kulakhmetov, commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Force in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia, has called for more “guidance and decisiveness” from the Joint Control Commission[37] on a number of security issues, including mine clearance.[38] Some clearance was reported during 2006,[39] but according to the Georgian Ministry of Defense no demining took place within South Ossetia in 2007 or 2008 through end-March.[40] In 2007, Russian peacekeeping forces had informed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that they were ready to support demining operations, provided all parties to the conflict participated.[41]

Landmine/ERW Casualties

Due to a lack of comprehensive data collection, the total number of casualties in 2007 is not known. The ICBL Georgian Committee (ICBL-GC) reported that it had recorded casualties from South Ossetia and Abkhazia from media reports in 2007–2008, but details were not made available.[42]

Landmine Monitor identified three people injured by mines in South Ossetia in 2007: two Russian peacekeepers and a civilian woman.[43] The two Russian soldiers were seriously injured on 15 January 2007, when their armored vehicle detonated a mine near Sveriakho (South Ossetia).[44] A Georgian disability NGO observed media reports of five casualties in South Ossetia in 2007, including two people killed.[45] However, the US Department of State reported that no deaths due to landmines were reported in the South Ossetia conflict zone in 2007.[46]

In 2006, Landmine Monitor identified 11 mine/ERW casualties in media reports. The ICBL-GC collected data from media reports on 31 mine/ERW casualties in 2006, but most reports lacked detail and could not be verified.[47]

Casualties continued to be reported in 2008. According to Georgian television news, on 3 April a 32-year-old police officer lost his right leg to a landmine near Tskhinvali in South Ossetia.[48] On 14 June 2008, a 14-year-old child died in a mine explosion in Ernegi village, also within the conflict zone.[49] In addition, a Georgian soldier was killed by what appears to have been a landmine in Iraq in June 2008; reports state, however, that it was unclear whether he stepped on the mine or if the device was command-detonated.[50] The extent of casualties from mines and ERW as a result of the armed conflict in August 2008 was not known as Landmine Monitor was going to press.

Data collection

There is no comprehensive or coordinated mine/ERW casualty data collection mechanism in Georgia. HALO ended its casualty reporting in 2005. It is not known if planned improvements on the ICBL-GC database have been made.[51] Mine incidents may also be recorded by the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior but are not centralized in a database, shared between the ministries or reported publicly.[52]

The total number of mine casualties is not known. ICBL-GC reported having recorded 383 casualties from 2001 to May 2007. However, although the reliability of the information gathered has been questioned,[53] no verification of the data was subsequently undertaken. HALO recorded 27 mine casualties in Georgia, excluding Abkhazia, between 2001 and 2005.[54]

It is estimated that there are more than 5,000 amputees in Georgia.[55] The Georgian Foundation for Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation (GEFPOR) has registered at least 357 amputee mine survivors, including survivors from past conflicts since World War II.[56]

Landmine/ERW Risk Education

No mine/ERW risk education was reported in Georgia in 2007 or 2008 to August. An emergency response to the August 2008 conflict had already been initiated by UNICEF as of September.[57]

Victim Assistance

The medical and rehabilitation sectors in Georgia suffer from lack of funding, poor infrastructure and equipment, inadequate and low-quality services, and corruption, which is particularly problematic for poor and vulnerable people, including persons with disabilities. Healthcare providers do not have ongoing medical training.[58] Rehabilitation services are provided through a network of NGOs and private organizations managed by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs (MoLHSA), which is responsible for the general coordination of disability services, including for mine/ERW survivors. In 2007, the MoLHSA and the Coalition for Independent Living (a coalition of disability NGOs) developed a concept paper on Social Integration of the People with Disabilities.[59]

The 1995 Law on the Social Protection of the Disabled has not been fully implemented. Persons with disabilities faced discrimination in employment, education, access to healthcare and other state services. Few if any public facilities or buildings were accessible to persons with disabilities in 2007, despite policies requiring accessibility, and mandatory fines for non-compliance.[60]

As of June 2008, Georgia had not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or its Optional Protocol.

In 2007, a World Bank Primary Health Care Development project increased access to primary healthcare centers in rural regions.[61]

The NGO Georgian Foundation for Prosthetic and Orthotic Rehabilitation (GEFPOR) in Tbilisi is the main provider of prostheses and physical rehabilitation in Georgia and is supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In 2007, production of prosthetics for mine/ERW survivors decreased to fewer than 6% (24 of 431) of the total compared to about 11% (34 of 310) in 2006 and 2005.[62] In total, 825 people benefited from services at the center.[63] Since 2005, GEFPOR’s budget has been supplemented by funding from the MoLHSA, donor contributions, and the sale of minor appliances. GEFPOR struggled to improve its fundraising opportunities in 2007. The ICRC reimbursed approximately one-third of the cost of services at GEFPOR in 2007, after reimbursing 50% of the cost in 2006.

In 2007, a four-year cooperation agreement was signed between GEFPOR and the ICRC to ensure that people with physical disabilities could continue to receive physical rehabilitation services. ICRC reported that the quality of services had improved through additional prosthetic-orthotic training.[64]

Prosthetic treatment at the Vladikavkaz Orthopedic Center in Russia was available in 2007 to patients from South Ossetia, including mine survivors, with material support provided by the ICRC.[65]

The NGO Association of Disabled Women and Mothers of Disabled Children (ADW) continued to provide assistance to persons with disabilities and their families, including mine/ERW survivors, in the Zugdidi region in 2007. ADW provided wheelchairs and crutches to four survivors, other physical therapy to five survivors and training and legal aid to 17 survivors. In addition, six survivors and their families received emergency material support and ADW supported education of one child mine survivor in 2007. ADW also undertook awareness-raising and advocacy activities to promote the rights of persons with disabilities.[66]

In 2007, ICBL-GC ran a vocational training project providing employment and small business skills to some 40 mine/ERW survivors and other people with disabilities including English courses, computer skills training and professional organizational management training.[67]


[1] Statement of Georgia, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007.

[2] Statement of Georgia, Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 21 September 2006.

[3] Statement of Georgia, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007.

[4] Geneva Call, “First Regional Workshop ‘Towards an Anti-Personnel Mine-Free South Caucasus’ a success,” Press release, Geneva,18 December 2007.

[5] The moratorium was proclaimed by then-President Eduard Shevardnadze at the UN in September 1996 and has been repeated by officials many times. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 792; and Note Verbale to the OSCE, 17 January 2001.

[6] Statement of Georgia, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007. Georgia has made similar statements previously. See Statement of Georgia, Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 21 September 2006; and Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 890.

[7] Interview with David Sikharulidze, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, 25 May 2005.

[8] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 706–707; and Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 968–969.

[9] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 826–827; and see also “South Ossetia: Georgian troops plant landmines and launch grenades at peacekeepers and civilians, destroy property,” Regnum News Agency, 8 September 2007, www.regnum.ru; and “Antipersonnel mines were found in Tskhinvali: A Georgian Trace,” WPS Defence & Security, 6 August 2007.

[10] “Separatists Accuse Georgia of Placing Mines in Conflict Zone,” transcript, Georgian Mze TV, 15 June 2008, www.redorbit.com.

[11] For allegations on both sides, see politicalminefields.wordpress.com. Georgia has provided the ICBL and others with a document titled “Bombed and Mined Areas During Russian Occupation (from August 7, 2008),” dated 26 August 2008, that alleges Russian use of antipersonnel mines in at least eight locations from 7 August to 21 August 2008. See also “Russian Troops Remain, But with Lighter Presence,” Washington Post, 21 August 2008; and Human Rights Watch interview with Batu Kutelia, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, 22 August 2008.

[12] See Human Rights Watch, “Georgia: Russian Cluster Bombs Kill Civilians,” Press release, 15 August 2008; “Georgia: Civilians Killed by Russian Cluster Bomb ‘Duds,’” Press release, 21 August 2008; and “Georgia: Join Treaty Banning Cluster Munitions, Government Acknowledges Using Weapon Against Russian Forces,” Press release, 1 September 2008.

[13] Statement of Georgia, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007. Georgia has said this many times in the past.

[14] Interview with David Sikharulidze, Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, 25 May 2005.

[15] Statement to ICBL Georgian Committee by David Nardaia, Head, Department on International Cooperation, Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, October 2006. A similar statement was made during the international workshop on Regional Cooperation and Confidence Building through Mine Action, Tbilisi, 4–6 October 2005.

[16] Pavel Belov, “Russians Leave Cesium and Landmines Behind in Georgia,” Kommersant, 17 August 2007, www.kommersant.com.

[17] See the report on Abkhazia in this edition of Landmine Monitor.

[18] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 827.

[19] See, for example, Human Rights Commissioner, Council of Europe, “HR Commissioner–End of his visit to Georgia and Russia,” 8 September 2008, www.egovmonitor.com; and “UN warns Georgia returnees of uncleared land mines,” AP (Geneva), 26 August 2008, www.iht.com.

[20] Statement of Georgia, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007.

[21] Email from Kartlos Koranashvili, Deputy Head, Department of International Relations and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ministry of Defense, 16 May 2008.

[22] “Russian mines found near Georgian Ministry of Defense training center,” ROSBALT, www.rosbalt.ru.

[23] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 708.

[24] Email from Matthew Hovell, Caucasus and Balkans Desk Officer, HALO, 2 July 2008.

[25] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 828.

[26] Statement of Georgia, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007; see Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 827; and Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 891.

[27] Telephone interview with Kartlos Koranashvili, Ministry of Defense, 23 June 2008.

[28] Email from Kartlos Koranashvili, Ministry of Defense, 16 May 2008.

[29] Ibid.

[30] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 828.

[31] Email from Kartlos Koranashvili, Ministry of Defense, 16 May 2008.

[32] Interview with John Flanagan, Acting Director, UNMAS, Šibenik, 16 April 2008.

[33] Telephone interview with Kartlos Koranashvili, Ministry of Defense, 23 June 2008.

[34] Email from Kartlos Koranashvili, Ministry of Defense, 16 May 2008.

[35] Email from Matthew Hovell, HALO, 2 July 2008.

[36] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 828.

[37] The Joint Control Commission, composed of Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian representatives, monitors implementation of the 1992 agreement that ended the conflict in South Ossetia.

[38] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 828.

[39] Ibid, p. 829.

[40] Email from Kartlos Koranashvili, Ministry of Defense, 16 May 2008.

[41] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 828; and “Peacekeepers may help demining Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone,” ITAR-TASS World Service, 19 January 2007.

[42] Telephone interview with Mamuka Gachechiladze, Executive Director, ICBL-GC, 11 June 2008.

[43] International Crisis Group, “Georgia’s South Ossetia Conflict: Make Haste Slowly,” Europe Report No. 183, p. 16, 7 June 2007; and “From the North Caucasus South Ossetia braces itself for war: digging trenches, laying mines,” WPS (Moscow), 29 May 2007.

[44] Email from Zurab Gabunia, J-3 Operations, Ministry of Defense, 24 June 2008.

[45] Emails from Madona Kharebava, Head, ADW, 1 and 7 April 2008.

[46] US Department of State, “2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Georgia,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2008.

[47] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 829.

[48] Email from Madona Kharebava, ADW, 7 April 2008; and “Policeman blown up by landmine in conflict zone in Georgia,” REGNUM, www.regnum.ru. Reports of the incident were broadcast on Rustavi 2 and the Georgian Broadcasting Channel.

[49] “14-year-old child blown up on mine in Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone,” www.newsgeorgia.ru.

[50] “Georgian soldier killed by land mine in Iraq: Defense Ministry,” International Herald Tribune (Tbilisi), 5 June 2008, www.iht.com.

[51] Telephone interview with Mamuka Gachechiladze, ICBL-GC, Tbilisi, 11 June 2008.

[52] Interview with George Dolidze, Deputy Director, Department for Security Policy and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Geneva, 4 June 2008.

[53] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 984.

[54] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 829; and Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 973.

[55] ICRC, “Annual Report 2007,” Geneva, 27 May 2008, p. 259.

[56] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 829.

[57] Lisa Schlein, “UNICEF Leads Campaign To Get Displaced Children In Georgia Back To School,” VoA (Geneva), 5 September 2008, www.voanews.com.

[58] Simon Gabritchidze, “An Analysis of Recent Health System Reforms in Georgia: Future Implications of Mass Privatisation and Increasing the Role of the Private Health Market,” Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw and the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, Tbilisi, June 2007, pp. 2–3; US Department of State, “2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Georgia,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2008; and see also Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 829–830.

[59] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2007,” Geneva, May 2008, p. 47.

[60] US Department of State, “2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Georgia,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2008.

[61] World Bank, “Georgia, Country Brief 2007,” www.worldbank.org.

[62] Email from Didier Reck, Regional Head of Physical Rehabilitation Programmes, ICRC, 2 June 2008.

[63] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2007,” Geneva, May 2008, p. 47.

[64] Ibid; and ICRC, “ICRC activities in Georgia: January to November 2007,” 14 December 2007, www.icrc.org.

[65] ICRC, “Annual Report 2007,” Geneva, 27 May 2008, p. 259; and ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2007,” Geneva, May 2008, p. 47.

[66] Email from Madona Kharebava, ADW, 1 April 2008.

[67] Telephone interview with Mamuka Gachechiladze, ICBL-GC, 11 June 2008.