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Yemen

Yemen

2008 Key Data

State Party since

1 March 1999

Contamination

Antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, UXO

Estimated area of contamination

Remaining suspect hazardous areas total more than 520km2 as of the end of 2008. However it is thought that only some 12km2 would require full clearance; the rest would be cancelled or reduced by technical survey.

Casualties in 2008

20 (2007: 26)

Estimated mine/ERW survivors

At least 5,000

Article 5 (clearance of mined areas)

Deadline: 1 March 2015

Original deadline: 1 April 2009

Demining in 2008

Mine clearance: 5.23km2

Risk education recipients in 2008

210,559

Progress towards victim assistance aims

Slow

Support for mine action in 2008

Ten-Year Summary

The Republic of Yemen became a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 March 1999. It enacted national implementation legislation in 2005. Yemen destroyed the last of its known stockpile of 74,000 to 78,000 antipersonnel mines in April 2002. An additional 30,000 mines were found in November 2006 and destroyed in December 2007. Yemen initially retained 4,000 mines for training purposes, of which it has 3,760 left. In recent years, the government and rebel forces have occasionally traded accusations of new use of antipersonnel mines, but Landmine Monitor has not been able to confirm such use.

Yemen is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), primarily as a result of armed conflicts since 1962. Limited funding and the presence of mines in shifting sands as well as their depth (some may lie up to six meters below the surface of sand dunes) led Yemen to request a six-year extension to its Article 5 deadline for clearance of mined areas from April 2009 to March 2015.

There were some 5,000 mine/ERW casualties in Yemen, including at least 138 recorded by the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC) from 1999 to 2008. Mine/ERW risk education (RE) has been conducted since 1999 by YEMAC and the NGO Yemen Mine Awareness Association, working together to conduct community liaison, deliver community-based RE, train community leaders and teachers, and give direct presentations.

Assistance to mine/ERW survivors was limited to the YEMAC program which was predominantly medically oriented and limited in scope. From 2008–2009, the program’s functioning was hampered by a lack of funding and a lack of partnerships. As one of the 26 States Parties with a responsibility for significant numbers of survivors, Yemen set objectives for victim assistance from 2005–2009 but did not reach its target of assisting 2,000 survivors. Services for persons with disabilities in general were limited and highly centralized.

Mine Ban Policy

Yemen signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified it on 1 September 1998, and it entered into force on 1 March 1999. National implementation legislation was enacted on 20 April 2005.[1] Yemen submitted its 11th Article 7 transparency report on 31 March 2009, covering the period 31 March 2008 to 31 March 2009.[2]

Yemen participated in the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2008 and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2009. It made statements on mine clearance and victim assistance (VA) at both meetings.

Yemen elaborated its views on key matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1 and 2 of the Mine Ban Treaty in a letter to Landmine Monitor in April 2006, and again during the intersessional meetings in May 2006. It articulated strong positions mirroring those of the ICBL and many other States Parties.[3]

Yemen is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[4]

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and retention

Yemen has stated that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. In October 2005, the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia reported that the government of Yemen had transferred landmines to Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government in July 2005; the report did not specify if the mines were antipersonnel or antivehicle.[5] In a July 2006 letter to Landmine Monitor, Yemen strongly denied transferring mines.[6]

Landmine Monitor has reported that Yemen completed destruction of about 74,000 stockpiled antipersonnel mines on 27 April 2002.[7] In 2008, however, Yemen indicated that the number destroyed was actually 78,000.[8] Further clarification is needed. On 16 December 2007, Yemen destroyed an additional 30,000 POMZ-2 antipersonnel mines that were found in November 2006 in an old military warehouse undergoing transformation into a tourist site.[9]

In May 2007, it was reported that antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were among weapons purchased from the public in various parts of the country as part of a government arms reduction and arms collection program. The different types of weapons were in the hands of “regular civilians, tribal sheikhs and clans from around the country.”[10]

Mines retained for research and training

Yemen reported that, as of March 2009, it retained 3,760 antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes.[11] This is the same number of retained mines reported the year before. As it has in the past, Yemen reported using 240 mines to train mine detection dogs, but did not subtract this number from the total retained.[12] YEMAC told Landmine Monitor that the mines were not consumed (exploded) during the training.[13]

Yemen has not reported in any detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines as agreed by States Parties in 2004. It has not used the expanded Article 7 report Form D for reporting on retained mines agreed by States Parties in 2005.

Use

Since an insurgency started in June 2004, there have been a small number of reports and allegations of the use of antipersonnel landmines during conflict between government troops and rebel forces led by Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi in the northern mountainous Sa’daa governorate.[14] In this reporting period, the government and the rebels have accused each other of using antipersonnel mines.[15]

Landmine Monitor has not been in a position to assess the veracity of the claims of antipersonnel mine use by either side. Since early 2007, the government has imposed a ban on media travel in the north of the country and has severely limited access by humanitarian agencies. It has not published information regarding war casualties.[16]

Since 2004, the government has stated that Al-Houthi rebels possess large stockpiles of antipersonnel mines and have used them on occasion.[17] In November 2008, the official state news agency quoted police in Sa’daa saying that there are frequent civilian casualties caused by landmines laid by the rebels.[18] In September 2008, the army published a letter from rebel leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh stating his agreement to the conditions of a peace agreement, one of which was the removal of landmines.[19]

In August 2008, Al-Houthi representative Sheikh Saleh Habra claimed in an interview, “We often suffer from anti-personnel mines planted in our areas by the Yemeni army, but military officials have made no effort to remove these mines. We defused more than 400 mines, but thousands more still are planted in the ground.” He also stated that landmines have killed 100 women and injured more than 100 more as they grazed their sheep and goats near villages and refugee camps.[20]

It was reported in September 2008 that a member of the “Mine Clearing Committee” was injured by a mine in Haidan district in Sa’daa while removing antipersonnel mines allegedly placed by the army during conflict with the Al-Houthis.[21] In April 2009, the website of the Al-Houthi rebels claimed that the 105th Division of the Yemen Army laid antipersonnel mines between Maran and Malahit districts.[22]

Scope of the Problem

Contamination

Yemen is contaminated with mines and ERW, as a result of armed conflicts since 1962 (from 1962–1969, 1970–1983, and in 1994). Most of the mines were laid prior to uniļ¬cation in border areas between northern and southern Yemen. A Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) completed in July 2000 identified 592 mine-affected villages across 18 of Yemen’s 21 governorates. Of those, 14 communities were deemed high-impact.[23] As of the end of 2008, 10 of these communities had been cleared of contamination; in three clearance tasks had been suspended and the contaminated areas “permanently marked”; and the suspected hazardous area (SHA) affecting the final community had been cancelled.[24] The LIS estimated that SHAs covered 922km2, and subsequent demining identified a further 10 mined areas estimated to cover a total of some 600,000m2.

As of April 2009, Aden and Al Hodaida governorates had been cleared and handed over, with operations completed in Dhamar, Hajjah, Raymah, and Sana’a governorates,[25] but land was still to be handed over.[26] In Abyan, Hadramout, and Lahij governorates there are only four mined areas, but these include mines buried up to six meters deep in sand dunes over a total estimated area of 41.4 km2.[27]

Yemen reported that its total remaining SHA was more than 520km2 as of the end of 2008.[28] Based on YEMAC’s reports of land released since 2000 (almost 750km2), a more accurate estimate of remaining SHA comes to less than one-third of that figure (see Progress since becoming a State Party section below). Moreover, much of the remaining SHA is expected to be released without the need for clearance: Yemen’s Article 5 deadline extension request foresaw that, as of the end of 2008, only some 12km2 would require full clearance; the rest would be cancelled or reduced by technical survey.[29]

Casualties[30]

In 2008, Landmine Monitor identified at least 20 new mine/ERW casualties in Yemen, including seven people killed and 13 injured. Of these, YEMAC recorded nine new casualties (one killed and eight injured), but did not have access to the restive Sa’daa governorate and could not record casualties there.[31] Landmine Monitor identified the remaining 11 casualties, nine in Sa’daa and two in Al-Dhale. In 2007, 26 casualties were reported, including one antivehicle mine incident that caused 10 casualties.

Fifteen of the casualties in 2008 were civilians, one was a deminer, and the status of the remaining four was unknown. At least 13 of the casualties were children (10 boys and three girls), and nine of these occurred while tending animals. Two casualties were women. Seven casualties were caused by ERW, five by antipersonnel mines, two by antivehicle mines, and six by unspecified mines.

The United States Department of State reported that, “At least 60 people, including military personnel, were reportedly admitted to hospital with injuries resulting from mine explosions in Saada [Sa’daa].” It added that at least four people were killed in mine/improvised explosive device (IED) incidents in the Sa’daa region in 2008.[32] YEMAC said, however, that while landmines were used in the governorate, most of the military casualties were caused by remote-detonated IEDs and antivehicle mines.[33] Landmine Monitor media analysis confirmed that a significant number of casualties in Sa’daa and neighboring Amran governorate were caused by remote-detonated IEDs or deliberate ambushes of security forces. Landmine Monitor identified at least 11 military casualties due to remote-detonated devices in 2008.[34] None of these casualties were included in the totals above.

Médecins sans Frontières reported that it had not treated landmine injuries in Al-Talh and Razah hospitals in Sa’daa.[35] The ICRC reported treating one mine/ERW injured person in Sa’daa in 2008.[36]

Casualties continued to occur in 2009 with at least one person killed and eight injured to mid-July. YEMAC reported seven of these casualties (all injured) including five demining casualties. In one incident in May 2009, the ambulance accompanying demining teams in Hadramout governorate hit an antivehicle mine on the edge of a road used by the teams every day. The area had not been surveyed and was unmarked. The driver lost a foot and two of the other six passengers were slightly injured.[37] The other two casualties were a civilian man and woman. Landmine Monitor identified two boys injured while fishing.[38]

The Yemen Mine Awareness Association (YMAA) noted that one casualty in 2009 occurred when a shepherd walked into an uncleared area marked with white stones, which he thought meant the area was safe.[39]

Ten-year summary

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Yemen is unknown. According to the LIS, by 2000 there were 4,904 mine/ERW casualties (2,560 people killed and 2,344 injured). In May 2006, YEMAC estimated there were approximately 2,900 mine/ERW survivors.[40] Between 1999 and the end of 2008, YEMAC recorded 138 mine/ERW casualties, including 49 people killed and 89 injured. It is unknown if LIS casualties occurring in 2000 are included in these totals. Almost all casualties recorded by YEMAC from 1999–2008 were civilians (127) and 11 were deminers. At least 58 civilian casualties were children (35 boys, 22 girls, and one of unknown gender). Another 49 were civilian adults (38 men and 11 women), and for 20 people age information was unknown. Antipersonnel mines caused 50 casualties, antivehicle mines 29, ERW 56, and unknown devices caused three casualties.

In the past, YEMAC reported varying casualty figures. In March 2006, YEMAC reported 264 mine/ERW casualties between 2000 and 2005. Data provided by YEMAC to Landmine Monitor between 1999 and 2008 totals 159 casualties (63 killed and 96 injured).[41] In July 2009, YEMAC stated that the casualty database had been verified and erroneous recording removed.[42]

Landmine Monitor identified at least 26 additional casualties (nine killed and 17 injured) that occurred from 1999–2008, but were not included in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database held by YEMAC. Some were foreign nationals, such as three United Kingdom citizens in incidents in 2005. In recent years casualties were recorded in Sa’daa where YEMAC does not have access.[43]

Risk profile

Most casualties are farmers and herders and incidents are mainly caused by mines. In all years except 2005, children made up a significant percentage of the casualties, and women were a significant proportion. Many contaminated areas are not marked, as marking is only conducted along with clearance.[44] The rainy season is the most dangerous because flooding can shift mines. Economic reasons are the primary cause of ERW incidents such as scrap metal trade and entering contaminated areas to tend animals.[45]

Mine action program operators

National operators and activities

Demining

RE

Casualty data collection

VA

Aden Association for the Physically Disabled

     

x

Aden Association of People with Special Needs

     

x

YEMAC

x

x

x

x

Yemen Association for Landmine and UXO Survivors

     

x

YMAA

 

x

x

 

International operators and activities

Demining

RE

Casualty data collection

VA

Adventist Development and Relief Agency

     

x

ICRC

     

x

Save the Children

     

x

Program Management and Coordination

Mine action

The National Mine Action Committee (NMAC) was established in June 1998 by Prime Ministerial decree to formulate policy, allocate resources, and develop a national mine action strategy.[46] NMAC, chaired by the Minister of State (a member of the cabinet), brings together representatives of seven concerned ministries.

YEMAC was established in Sana’a in January 1999 as NMAC’s implementing body. YEMAC is responsible for coordination of all mine action activities in the country.[47] A Regional Executive Mine Action Branch (REMAB) and a National Training Center in Aden were also set up. Another REMAB was added in March 2004 in al-Mukalla (Hadramout governorate). REMABs are responsible for field implementation of the national mine action plan.

In May 1999, UNDP started a program to support YEMAC. In October 2003, the program moved from direct (UN) execution to national execution. Since the beginning of 2007, UNDP has provided support for resource mobilization (including procurements and recruitment services), and project quality assurance (QA). Support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) enabled the construction of a mine detection dog (MDD) center in Sana’a and training of MDD handlers.

Risk education

YEMAC’s RE department is responsible for planning and implementing RE, monitoring against national standards, and integrating RE into mine action. It has an office in Sana’a and a regional office in Aden. Its RE activities are recorded in IMSMA.[48] RE was discussed at NMAC meetings, and YMAA representatives attended three of these.[49] According to YMAA, however, the lack of coordination continued to result in poor RE progress in 2008.[50]

Victim assistance

YEMAC coordinates and implements VA activities under NMAC’s supervision. YEMAC has a Victim Assistance Advisory Committee comprised of various ministries to assist with planning, but the committee had no decision-making capacity and met infrequently.[51] Coordination between YEMAC and relevant government organizations or civil society is limited to referral of people to services and some limited information exchange with ministries.[52] YEMAC does not involve disability NGOs or disabled people’s organizations in its policy-making process.[53]

In 2008, YEMAC reported that it aimed to close its VA program by 2014, but it is unclear if any transition mechanisms are in place.[54] In its Article 7 report submitted in 2009, Yemen noted that “The National Mine Action Program has a plan to continue to do so [provide services] with all victims in Yemen.” YEMAC services were only available to mine survivors and not for other persons with disabilities.[55]

The Ministry of Public Health and Population and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs are in charge of disability issues. Both ministries are responsible for the physical rehabilitation sector, but did not coordinate adequately, hampering functioning of service-providing centers, which are dependent on ministry funding.[56] The Social Fund for Development and the Rehabilitation Fund and Care of Handicapped Persons (Disability Fund) finance projects and direct support to persons with disabilities.[57] The Social Fund for Development, an independent body under the Prime Minister, has a national disability program and is the only public institution working on disability policy reform and service delivery.[58] YEMAC does not envision cooperation with the Social Fund for Development or the Disability Fund “in the near future.”[59]

Data collection and management

The latest version of IMSMA was installed in YEMAC in August 2008.[60] However, problems accessing data have led to an older version being used for operationally.[61]

YEMAC maintains casualty data received through its field teams, hospitals, police, security departments, and other government bodies in IMSMA. Data from the LIS is also incorporated into the database. YEMAC is not able to collect casualty data in Sa’daa, but initiated casualty data collection in the neighboring governorate of Amran in 2009.[62] In 2008, it was said that there were one to three casualties per month (12 to 36 annually).[63]

Plans

Strategic mine action plans

The National Mine Action Strategic Plan was based on the LIS results and covered the period 2001–2005. The plan was revised in June 2004 for 2005–2009. The plan’s vision is to “put an end to the suffering of the people and the casualties caused by antipersonnel mines in mine-affected areas by the end of March 2009.” In March 2008, YEMAC updated its strategic mine action plan to cover April 2009 to September 2014, the extension period it sought in its Article 5 deadline extension request (see Progress since becoming a State Party section below).[64]

RE is part of the National Mine Action Strategic Plan 2005–2009, and in 2006 a new RE strategy was developed in response to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) livelihoods recommendations and in accordance with national RE standards. YEMAC has consulted stakeholders on the effectiveness of the plan, and concluded that it is appropriate and does not need revision.[65]

VA is included in the 2005–2009 plan and its main strategic objective is: “All landmine/ERW survivors should receive medical care, and the centre should provide them with corrective surgery, physical therapy, prosthetic devices, wheelchairs, eyeglasses and hearing aids, as needed…This objective will be met when all known survivors are registered and provided with assistance as per the centre’s medical and rehabilitation programme.”[66]

YEMAC operates a four-step program for VA: identification of survivors, medical examination, medical and rehabilitation treatment, and socio-economic reintegration. Socio-economic reintegration was added in 2004, but the remainder of the program is unchanged since it started in 2001.

In May 2009, YEMAC noted that there was no need to change the program, as it provided “tangible support” to survivors.[67] Nevertheless, psychological support and social reintegration are not included in the program because there was no funding for these components.[68] Additionally, YEMAC did not find psychosocial support a priority issue, as it thought this was provided by the family network,[69] even though an evaluation in 2006 showed that mental health care was needed.[70]

National ownership

Commitment to mine action and victim assistance

Yemen provides over 50% of program funds through in-kind contribution of staff, facilities, and social benefits for the national staff, said to be equivalent to US$3.5 million (€2.4 million) annually.[71] This support covers salaries for the deminers, insurance, social security, compensation, and field allowances, and office and training premises for the program.[72]

In a statement to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2009, YEMAC’s director noted that “there were no funds to carry out VA activities as planned,” and that he “could hardly manage to keep the YEMAC VA department open.”[73] YEMAC’s VA program operates entirely under national management and, since 2007, increasingly supported by national funding.

Although the YEMAC program was evaluated in 2005 as “...probably one of the best and most advanced in the world… due to strong support by the YEMAC Programme Manager,”[74] a further evaluation showed that the program’s “coverage to date is limited…” Most survivors had not heard of the YEMAC program and lived without appropriate medical and socio-economic support.[75]

YEMAC delegated the socio-economic reintegration part of its VA program to the NGO Yemen Association for Landmine and UXO Survivors (YALS) which has experienced financial difficulties. In its latest Article 7 report, Yemen noted that YALS was in great need of funds and had been struggling since 2006.[76] Even though several organizations exist to provide small loans and credits to vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, the YEMAC VA program did not attempt to link with them.[77]

National management

Yemen’s mine action program is fully nationally managed. UNDP continues to support the program, but there has been no international technical advisor since 2005.[78]

National budget

In 2008, the national budget allocation to YEMAC was cut due to the economic crisis, directly affecting RE and VA activities, as the government reportedly noted that funding provided was prioritized for clearance. The last international funding for VA was received in 2007.[79] International donors had been approached, but to no effect. YEMAC also noted that relevant ministries had generated some international funding for assistance to persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups but that this had not benefited mine/ERW survivors.[80]

The Social Fund for Development funded some 63 projects providing assistance to persons with disabilities (for an amount of $2.77 million).[81]

National mine action legislation and standards/Standing operating procedures

NMAC was established by decree in June 1998 and YEMAC was established in October 1998 as its implementing body. In 2006, the Yemen national mine action standards and YEMAC’s standing operating procedures were approved by NMAC.

Program evaluations

An evaluation of UNDP support to the Yemeni mine action program in 2005 recommended that Yemen should conduct a socio-economic assessment of the use of released land. This was carried out in 2006. Based on the results of the assessment, YEMAC planned to establish a department to promote socio-economic development of cleared areas. This had not occurred as of August 2009.[82]

Demining and Battle Area Clearance

Mine clearance in Yemen is undertaken solely by the Engineering Forces of the Ministry of Defense who are seconded to YEMAC. YEMAC uses a variety of demining tools: manual deminers, MDDs, and, since early 2007, demining machines. A backhoe demining machine, delivered to YEMAC by the US Department of Defense for testing, has been used since January 2007. The machine is intended to clear antipersonnel mines deeper than 1.5 meters in desert areas but, as most minefields consist of both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, it has not proved particularly efficient.

The major obstacles to demining in 2008 and 2009 were said to be shortfalls in funding and security concerns in some affected areas.[83] On 11 February 2009, the directors of YEMAC and the Croatian Mine Action Center signed a cooperation agreement in Cairo. Under the agreement, Croatia will offer modern clearance equipment to Yemen.[84]

Identifying hazardous areas

Land release on SHAs is conducted by YEMAC through technical survey. YEMAC never releases any land without technical survey and QA. QA teams must visit every suspected mined area to cross-check the information.[85]

Demining and battle area clearance in 2008

YEMAC has reported mine clearance of 5.23km2 in 2008 and no battle area clearance, despite destroying a significant quantity of UXO.

Demining in 2008[86]

Demining operators

Mine clearance

(km2)

Antipersonnel mines destroyed

Antivehicle mines destroyed

UXO destroyed

Area released by survey

(km2)

Demining Units

2.48

Survey Teams

1.85

34.80

MDD teams

0.90

Break-down of items destroyed, by operator, was not available at time of publication.

Quality assurance/Quality control

There is no independent quality management system of demining operations. YEMAC has a QA section to verify the quality of its clearance.[87]

Progress since becoming a State Party

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Yemen was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2009. Despite concerns about the reliability of its data,[88] Yemen has made significant progress in mine clearance since becoming a State Party to the treaty. On 31 March 2008, however, Yemen submitted a request for a six-year extension to 1 March 2015. On 6 November 2008, it submitted a revised request but did not change the extension period sought.

Yemen cited a series of factors for its failure to meet its 1 March 2009 deadline, including shortfalls in funding (especially in 2003, 2005, and 2006) and the presence of mines in shifting sands as well as their depth (some up to six meters below the surface), as well as its mountainous areas and problems using mine detectors in the ferrous soil.[89]

In granting Yemen’s extension request, the Ninth Meeting of States Parties noted that while the extension “seemed workable,” success in implementation would be “very much tied to securing donor support.” The meeting also noted the “value of further clarity regarding the extent of Yemen’s remaining challenge and on steps taken by Yemen to overcome the technical challenges that have posed as impeding circumstances in the past.”[90]

Thus, Yemen still needs to provide accurate data on the remaining area to be cleared and to confirm that no mined areas will be excluded from the demining program during the extension period. Previously, Yemen had claimed that certain mined areas would be “permanently marked” due to the “impossibility” of clearance.

Demining from 1999–2008[91]

Year

Mine clearance (km2)

Area released through survey (km2)

2008

5.23

34.80

2007

2.64

218.08

2006

2.01

179.93

2005

1.74

41.85

2004

2.73

140.07

2003

2.94

38.03

2002

1.87

40.12

2001

1.28

47.78

2000

0.58

6.16

1999

0.10

0

Risk Education

The only organization which had an RE program in 2008 was YEMAC, which consists entirely of military staff, and is funded by the government.[92] YMAA did not have a program due to lack of funding, but YMAA members delivered emergency RE in response to incidents.[93]

The total number of RE recipients for 2008 of 210,559 is a very significant increase on previous years; 80,931 people were reached in 2007 and 45,524 people in 2006.

In accordance with the National Mine Action Strategic Plan, most affected areas were reached. RE was conducted year-round for 12 days each month.[94] Priority-setting was based on the LIS but, since 2008, recent casualties and emergency situations have been given higher importance in determining RE priorities.

YEMAC delivered RE using child-to-child and woman-to-woman methods in homes, through direct presentations to men at social gatherings, and through plays, films, and posters. Survivors also participated in delivering RE messages.[95] YEMAC conducted RE in 132 villages in the following governorates: Abyan, Al-Bayda, Al-Mahra, Hadramout, Ibb, Lahij, and Ta’izz. The total population reached in communities and schools was 109,558 males and 101,001 females. YEMAC also trained teachers in workshops at the district level,[96] although there is no formal RE program with the Ministry of Education.[97]

YEMAC has eight male and two female RE facilitators.[98] Most female beneficiaries were girls at school, but few women received RE.[99]

Community liaison is conducted before, during and after demining. A handover ceremony is conducted, and YEMAC demonstrates that clearance has been conducted by walking or driving over the land. This builds community confidence, which had been reported by GICHD in 2006 to be lacking.[100]

Most materials used by YEMAC in 2008 were produced by YMAA about four years earlier, and included posters, booklets, stickers, and games, and they were shared with other implementing organizations.[101] YEMAC uses models for explanations and gives out material during presentations. YEMAC distributed 57,200 posters during presentations in 132 villages.

Challenges included reaching remote desert areas with a scattered Bedouin population, a lack of funding, and addressing high-risk behaviors resulting from poverty.[102] UNDP visits the field every three months to monitor RE. [103]

RE has been conducted since 1999 by YEMAC and YMAA working together. It was coordinated by YEMAC, through the Mine Awareness Advisory Committee until 2007, when YMAA stopped its program due to lack of funding. By March 2009, a total of 1,094,879 beneficiaries were reported to have received RE.[104] YEMAC conducted RE and community liaison. YMAA trained community leaders to pass RE on to their communities and to report contamination to the demining unit, and produced RE materials. YMAA also conducted child-to-child training.

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Yemen is unknown, but is at least 2,458. From 2008–2009, VA was severely hampered by financial difficulties, as noted above.[105] The survivor organization YALS also noted that the activities implemented ignored many needs of survivors. Survivors were not included in planning or implementation of VA activities.[106] It was also remarked that the assistance provided by YEMAC took time and that “survivors had to wait for their turn, even if they need urgent support.”[107]

YEMAC noted that the Social Fund for Development and the Disability Fund only assist those persons with disabilities registered at either fund, but that many survivors are not registered because they live in remote areas.[108]

Service provision for persons with disabilities in Yemen is weak, primarily urban-based, and largely inaccessible to those who need it. Cross-sector initiatives such as community-based rehabilitation (CBR) are virtually non-existent.[109] The ICRC noted that, “Many people remain without services, especially in rural areas where there is a near total absence of disability support services, including health education and rehabilitation.”[110] For women access is even more limited.[111]

Health and rehabilitation services are highly centralized and mainly located in the major cities (Aden, Sana’a, and Ta’izz) and many persons with disabilities needed to travel long distances for assistance. The centralization of services was a major obstacle to receiving care. Transport and accommodation costs were unaffordable for many, and even more challenging for women who often needed a male caretaker to accompany them. Medical assistance was of variable quality.[112]

Patients had difficulties maintaining their orthopedic appliances, given the distances to physical rehabilitation centers.[113] Only one physical rehabilitation center operates in the remote Hadramout governorate.[114] The Ta’izz rehabilitation center, which did not receive assistance, was not functioning at capacity in 2009,[115] and it has not functioned well since Handicap International (HI) handed the center over in January 2005.

Psychosocial support activities for mine/ERW survivors were very limited and their importance not recognized. Some limited services were only available in the main cities.[116] Existing economic reintegration programs for survivors and other persons with disabilities were weak and few persons with disabilities had access to educational and economic opportunities.[117] According to NMAC, a newly-opened bank provides credit to vulnerable groups and poor people, but no agreement has been reached for the bank to include mine/ERW survivors in its mandate.[118] Employment quotas stipulate that 5% of government jobs should go to persons with disabilities and by law disabled students are exempt from paying tuition fees. It is unknown to what extent these laws are implemented and schools are often not accessible.[119] Mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities receive a pension, but this was insufficient to maintain a reasonable standard of living.[120]

Yemen has legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, but it is unknown whether it is enforced and discrimination remained.[121] On 26 March 2009, Yemen ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol.

Progress in meeting VA26 victim assistance objectives

Yemen is one of the VA26 group, composed of 26 States Parties with significant numbers of mine survivors and “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. Yemen prepared its 2005–2009 VA objectives for November 2005 and in April 2007 it presented its four-phase program as the plan to achieve its objectives.[122] The plans or objectives have not been revised since, and do not cover all components of VA, as the program is very medically oriented, and the economic reintegration component largely defunct.[123]

Yemen reported on VA in Form I of its Article 7 reports submitted from 2005–2009; it also reported on VA during meetings of States Parties from 2005–2009 and at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings from 2005–2007 and in 2009.[124] These statements were limited to statistical updates on the number of people assisted in the first three phases of the YEMAC program.

In 2008, as in previous years, Yemen did not reach its target of assisting 500 persons per year with medical care, and of reaching 2,000 people with physical rehabilitation between 2005 and 2009. In its Article 7 report submitted in 2009, Yemen stated that some 2,033 survivors had been interviewed since 2001, 1,530 had received medical examinations, and 1,638 provided with medical/rehabilitation services (compared to 1,447 people interviewed, 1,165 medical examinations, and 1,313 services provided to the end of 2007).[125] The target to assist 500 people with economic reintegration from 2005–2009 was not reached due to financial and capacity issues at YALS; some 202 people received vocational training from 2005–March 2009. [126]

Progress on needs assessments and infrastructure improvements by the Ministry of Public Health and Population, which had a deadline of 2006, the establishment of six vocational training centers, or disability awareness-raising was not reported or identified.[127]

A VA expert was present at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in 2007 and at meetings of States Parties in 2007 and 2008.

Victim assistance activities

In 2008, YEMAC assisted 230 survivors with medical and rehabilitation services, and some 288 medical procedures were carried out. An additional 12 survivors obtained physical rehabilitation assistance at the Aden Rehabilitation Center without YEMAC support. Since 2001, some 1,339 mobility devices have been provided.[128] Yemen also reported that community-based rehabilitation projects were training more field staff to expand coverage to all priority areas.[129]

In 2008, the ICRC continued to provide raw materials and components, as well as training to three physical rehabilitation centers (Sana’a, Aden, and Hadramout). It provided financial support to set up a mobile clinic in Sa’daa. Through ICRC-supported centers, 7,652 people were assisted in 2008; 1,216 prostheses were produced (400 for mine/ERW survivors), and 3,967 orthoses (76 for mine/ERW survivors). Seven prosthetic-orthotic technicians were sponsored for training in India.[130] The ICRC also provided war-surgery training in Sa’daa, but movement restrictions in the governorate hampered medical service provision. Two ICRC-supported hospitals assisted 74 weapon-injured in 2008, including one mine/ERW casualty.[131]

In 2008, the Aden Rehabilitation Center received patients from Abyan, Aden, and Lahij and conducted outreach services in these governorates. The center treated 2,326 people in 2008, produced 104 prostheses (44 for mine/ERW survivors), and distributed 2,255 assistive devices in 2008. It also carried an average of 680 physiotherapy sessions per month.[132]

The Aden Association of People with Special Needs continued to provide vocational and marketing training and income-generating opportunities, with financial support by the Disability Fund and the Social Fund for Development. In 2008, 45 persons with disabilities received training and employment, and the association assisted four persons with disabilities in obtaining government jobs.[133]

From 2008–2009, YALS received some limited support from the Social Fund for Development, but YEMAC was not able to provide assistance.[134] In 2008, 48 survivors received vocational training from YALS, eight were assisted in setting up small businesses, and 12 received assistance to access education. YALS also conducted awareness-raising, follow-up of its graduates, and recreational trips for its members. Aside from financial difficulties, YALS noted that reaching survivors in remote areas (where most live) and lack of services in these areas were challenging. Additional obstacles were high illiteracy rates, particularly among women, and cultural constraints preventing women from receiving training.[135]

The Aden Association for the Physically Disabled received funding from Save the Children to carry out inclusive education and advocacy on the CRPD in 2008.[136]

Save the Children continued to support three disability associations in Sana’a and the community-based rehabilitation network in Abyan, Aden, and Ibb, as well as in the Kharaz camp for Somali refugees, where it assisted 80 children with disabilities. Save the Children also organized a regional consultation on the CRPD in cooperation with the Arab Human Rights Foundation (AHRF) and published a CRPD implementation guide in December 2008.[137]

In 2008, the AHRF initiated a psychosocial unit in Sana’a, which was accessed by a few survivors.[138]

Support for Mine Action

Yemen has reported a total cost estimate of $31,216,667 (€21,198,334) for completing mine clearance during 2009–2014.[139] This does not take into account costs required to fulfill RE and VA obligations. Yemen’s contribution to mine clearance during the extension period is projected to approximate $18.8 million, while international assistance is expected to be an estimated $10.5 million and funds from other sources to total roughly $1.9 million.[140] NMAC is responsible for the allocation and management of national funds for mine action.[141]

National support for mine action

As of November 2008, Yemen reported national funding to mine action in 2008 to be $3.6 million.[142] Yemen reported providing $3.5 million (€2.4 million) to mine action in 2007. From 1999 to 2008, Yemen reported a total of $50,277,298 (€34,141,856) in funding from all sources, of which $35,700,220 (€24,242,985) or 71% came from Yemen’s national budgets.[143] In its strategic plan for completing mine clearance, Yemen projected reduced government funding in 2009 ($2.8 million) followed by a return to current levels. It noted that the government had assumed a 10% annual inflation rate in setting its annual funding levels. Government funds were projected to account for some 60% of total required funds. In addition to the 34% required from international sources, Yemen must identify “resources available from other sources” for the remaining 6% of required funds, or almost $1.9 million.[144]

International cooperation and assistance

In 2008, three countries—Germany, Italy, and the US—reported providing $1,005,172 (€682,583) to mine action in Yemen. Reported mine action funding in 2008 was approximately 9% less than reported in 2007. Funding at current levels is insufficient to meet the annual amount projected by Yemen as required to carry out its mine clearance strategy during the extension period—ranging from $1.25 million in 2009 to $1.9 million from 2010 to 2013—which does not directly address RE or VA needs.[145] In its revised Article 5 extension request, Yemen reported that shortages in funding have occasionally caused the delay or suspension of mine action activities, including the replacement of equipment, deployment of explosive ordnance disposal units and QA and monitoring teams, and restructuring of clearance units.[146] YMAA reportedly suspended all activities during 2008 due to a lack of funding.[147]

Yemen reported receiving $1,331,000 in funding in 2008, including $1,031,000 from the European Commission (EC) and $300,000 from UNDP. [148]

2008 International Mine Action Funding to Yemen: Monetary[149]

Donor

Implementing Agencies/Organizations

Project Details

Amount

US

From the Department of State

Equipment replenishment

$500,000

Germany

UNDP

Support of MDD center

$357,912 (€243,048)

Italy

UNDP

Capacity building

$147,260 (€100,000)

Total

$1,005,172 (€682,584)

In February 2009, Croatia signed a cooperative agreement with Yemen, under which Croatia will provide equipment to support clearance operations in Yemen, and the two countries will exchange technical expertise in areas related to treaty implementation. The types of equipment and value of in-kind support were not reported.[150]


[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 March 2007. On 16 December 2004, the Yemeni Parliament endorsed national implementation legislation and on 20 April 2005, Presidential Law No. 25 was issued to bring the legislation into force.

[2] Previous reports were submitted on 31 March 2008, 30 March 2007, 3 May 2006, 7 April 2005, 30 March 2004, 10 April 2003, 27 April 2002, 8 September 2001, 14 November 2000, and 30 November 1999.

[3] For details, see Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 782. Yemen supported the view that any mine (even if it is called an antivehicle mine) equipped with a sensitive fuze or sensitive antihandling device that causes the mine to explode from an unintentional act of a person is considered to be an antipersonnel mine and therefore prohibited. It supported the view that the Mine Ban Treaty prohibits the transit and foreign stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. Regarding the issue of joint military operations with states not party to the treaty, Yemen stated the view that it is prohibited to participate in any activity related to the use of antipersonnel mines.

[4] For details on cluster munition policy and practice, see Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice, Mines Action Canada, May 2009, p. 262.

[5] For more details, see Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 783. In addition, a May 2006 report by the UN Monitoring Group said that in August 2005, traders at the Bakaraaha arms market in Somalia reportedly purchased mines and other arms from a Yemen arms trading network, and a 2003 report said that mines had been shipped from Yemen to Somalia.

[6] Letter from Amb. Abdulla Nasher, Embassy of the Republic of Yemen to Canada, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Stephen Goose, HRW, Landmine Monitor Ban Policy Coordinator, 24 July 2006.

[7] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 522, and subsequent editions. In its 2001 and 2002 Article 7 reports, Yemen reported a stockpile of 78,000 mines, including 4,000 to be retained for training. Its reporting on the destruction of the mines has contained discrepancies, but appeared to total about 74,000. Yet its Article 7 reports have usually cited the figure of 78,000 destroyed.

[8] Email from Mansour al-Azi, Director, YEMAC, 31 August 2008; Article 7 Report, Form G, 31 March 2008, which reports total destruction of 108,000 mines, including the 30,000 mines destroyed in December 2007. The Article 7 report submitted in 2009 also contains this information.

[9] Article 7 Report, Form G, 31 March 2008; Article 7 Report, Form B, 30 March 2007. Yemen also informed States Parties during the meeting of the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction on 23 April 2007 about the discovery of the 30,000 mines, and indicated they had been handed over for destruction by the end of 2007. Notes by Landmine Monitor/HRW.

[10] Saddam al-Ashmouri, “Weapon buy-backs showcased in Sana’a,” Yemen Times, 29 May 2007, www.yementimes.com.

[11] Article 7 Report, Form D, 31 March 2009. The retained mines consist of 940 PPMISR-2, 940 PMD-6, 940 POMZ-2, and 940 PMN.

[12] Article 7 Report, Form D, 31 March 2009. Yemen reported the use of 240 mines for training every year from 2003 to 2007, without changing the total number retained. Only in its March 2008 Article 7 report did Yemen subtract the mines used for training, indicating they were consumed, and lowering the number from 4,000 to 3,760 mines.

[13] Email from Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, 31 August 2008. He stated that the 240 mines used for MDD training annually will only be subtracted when they are destroyed.

[14] The government accused rebels of using antipersonnel mines in June 2004. There were two unconfirmed reports of the use of antipersonnel mines, allegedly by army forces, in April 2007. The rebels have accused the army of laying mines since late 2007, and the government has alleged rebel use on a few occasions. See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 747; Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 729; and Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 865.

[15] In 2008 and 2009, armed clashes intensified despite a peace deal brokered by Qatar in February 2008. An agreement was reached in Doha on 1 February 2008 aimed at implementing an earlier cease-fire agreement, also mediated by Qatar, signed by the two sides in June 2007.

[16] See for example, HRW, Invisible Civilians: The Challenge of Humanitarian Access in Yemen’s Forgotten War, (New York: HRW, 19 November 2008), pp. 13–14; and see also, Maysaa Shuja al-Deen, “Media absent from Yemen’s forgotten war,” Arab Media & Society, Issue 8, Spring 2009.

[17] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 747; and Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 865.

[18] “Landmine takes off leg of 17-year-old girl in Saada,” Yemen News Agency (Sa’dah), 5 November 2008, www.sabanews.net.

[19] “Al-Houthi confirms commitment to peace conditions,” Mareb Press, 7 August 2008.

[20] Mohammed Bin Sallam, “Anti-personnel mines kill hundreds of goat herders,” Yemen Times (Sa’dah), Volume 16, Issue 1,186, 3 August–1 September 2008, yementimes.com.

[21] Mohammed Bin Sallam, “Al-Houthi undertakes to abide by ceasefire agreement,” Yemen Times (Sa’dah), Volume 16, Issue 1,191, 18–21 September 2008, yementimes.com.

[22] “The media office of Mr. Houthy denies any relation with Mahazer accident and condemns the Government’s violation to the detainees and their families,” Al Menpar, 14 April 2009, almenpar.net.

[23] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, p. 2.

[24] Article 7 Report, Forms C and F, 31 March 2009.

[25] Ibid, Form F.

[26] Email from Ahmed Alawi, Information Management System Officer, Operations Department, YEMAC, 20 August 2009.

[27] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, p. 6.

[28] Article 7 Report, Form C, 31 March 2009.

[29] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, p. 12.

[30] Unless noted otherwise, casualty data (1999–15 July 2009) provided by email from Ahmed Alawi, YEMAC, 15 July 2009.

[31] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, Sana’a, 6 March 2009.

[32] US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Yemen,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009.

[33] Interviews with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009 and Sana’a, 6 March 2009.

[34] “Two soldiers were martyred and five injured in a landmine,” Saba Net (Mareb), 16 April 2008; “Bomb attack kills three police in Yemen,” Agence France-Presse (Sana’a), 16 April 2008; and Hammoud Mounassar, “Yemen says fighting over but revels seize village,” Agence France-Presse, 17 July 2008.

[35] Interview with Médecins Sans Frontières personnel, Al-Talh Hospital, Sa’daa, 19 March 2009.

[36] ICRC, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 27 May 2009, p. 367. No further information was available and the casualty was not included in the total mentioned above.

[37] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[38] Landmine Monitor media monitoring from 1 January to 31 July 2009. “Two Yemeni fishermen killed in landmine explosion,” Earth Times (Sana’a), 28 May 2009.

[39] YMAA, “Report of 1st of March Actions in Yemen,” Aden, 1 March 2009.

[40] Presentation by Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 8 May 2006.

[41] See previous editions of Landmine Monitor: 1999: one, 2000: 12, 2001: 18, 2002: 21, 2003: 18, 2004: 17, 2005: 23, 2006: 17, 2007: 23, and 2008: nine.

[42] Email from Ahmed Alawi, YEMAC, 15 July 2009.

[43] See previous editions of Landmine Monitor: 2005: 12, 2007: three, and 2008: 11; see Landmine Monitor Report 2008, pp. 753–754; and Landmine Monitor Report 2006, pp. 792–793.

[44] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 29 May 2009.

[45] Ibid.

[46] Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009.

[47] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, p. 2.

[48] Email from Aisha Saeed, Director, YMAA, 30 April 2009.

[49] Ibid.

[50] Ibid.

[51] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[52] Ibid.

[53] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Saleh al-Dahyani, Director, YALS, 23 July 2009; interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009; and response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by YMAA, 20 July 2009.

[54] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Dr. Fouad al-Shamiri, Head, Victim Assistance Department, YEMAC, 3 August 2008.

[55] Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009.

[56] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Saleh al-Dahyani, YALS, 23 July 2009; and response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by YMAA, 20 July 2009.

[57] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 7 May 2009, p. 64.

[58] Social Fund for Development, “Health & Social Protection Unit,” www.sfd-yemen.org; and see also Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 759.

[59] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[60] Email from Ahmed Alawi, YEMAC, 13 August 2008.

[61] Ibid, 21 July 2009.

[62] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, Sana’a, 6 March 2009.

[63] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, p. 10.

[64] Ibid, p. 13.

[65] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 29 May 2009.

[66] UN, “2008 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” New York, November 2007, p. 460.

[67] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[68] Ibid.

[69] Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 757; and “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties/Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November–2 December 2005, APLC/MSP.6/2005/5, 5 April 2006, pp. 221.

[70] B. Pound et al., “Departure of the Devil, Landmines and Livelihoods in Yemen, Vol. I, Main Report,” GICHD, Geneva, 2006, p. 33.

[71] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, p. 11.

[72] Ibid, p. 10.

[73] Statement by Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[74] GICHD, “Mid-Term Outcome Evaluation for Strengthening National Capacity for Mine Action in Yemen-Phase II,” Geneva, 2005, p. 24.

[75] B. Pound et al., Departure of the Devil: Landmines and Livelihoods in Yemen,Vol. I, Main Report,” GICHD, Geneva, 2006, pp. viii, 33.

[76] Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009.

[77] Email from Rashida al-Hamdani, Member, NMAC, 27 July 2009.

[78] Telephone interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, 12 August 2009.

[79] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[80] Ibid.

[81] Social Fund for Development, “Newsletter,” Edition No. 44, October–December 2008, p. 10.

[82] Telephone interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, 12 August 2009.

[83] Ibid.

[84] “Yemen, Croatia sign cooperation agreement of mine action,” Yemen News Agency (Cairo), 11 February 2009, www.sabanews.net.

[85] Telephone interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, 20 August 2009; and see Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, p. 9.

[86] Email from Ahmed Alawi, YEMAC, 21 July 2009.

[87] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, pp. 9–10.

[88] For example, on several occasions Yemen has reported to Landmine Monitor different figures for clearance and land released by survey for the same years.

[89] Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2008, pp. 3–4.

[90] Decisions on the request submitted by Yemen for an extension of the deadline for completing the destruction of anti-personnel mines in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, Ninth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 28 November 2008.

[91] Email from Ahmed Alawi, YEMAC, 21 July 2009. This data does not match with information previously provided to Landmine Monitor and it has not been possible to reconcile this data with earlier reports.

[92] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 29 May 2009.

[93] Email from Aisha Saeed, YMAA, 30 April 2009.

[94] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 29 May 2009.

[95] Ibid.

[96] Ibid.

[97] Email from Aisha Saeed, YMAA, 30 April 2009.

[98] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 29 May 2009.

[99] Email from Aisha Saeed, YMAA, 30 April 2009.

[100] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 29 May 2009; and see Landmine Monitor Report 2007, 733.

[101] Email from Aisha Saeed, YMAA, 30 April 2009.

[102] Interview with Mansoor al-Azi, YEMAC, Sana’a, 6 March 2009.

[103] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, Geneva, 29 May 2009.

[104] See Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009.

[105] Email from Rashida al-Hamdani, NMAC, 27 July 2009.

[106] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Saleh al-Dahyani, YALS, 23 July 2009.

[107] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by YMAA, 20 July 2009.

[108] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[109] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by YMAA, 20 July 2009; and see also Landmine Monitor Report 2008, pp. 756–757.

[110] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 7 May 2009, p. 64.

[111] US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Yemen,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009.

[112] HI, “Voices from the Ground: Landmine and Explosive Remnants of War Survivors Speak Out on Victim Assistance,” Brussels, 2 September 2009, p. 219; see also Landmine Monitor report 2008, p. 757.

[113] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 7 May 2009, p. 64.

[114] Ibid.

[115] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[116] Email from Rashida al-Hamdani, NMAC, 27 July 2009.

[117] HI, Voices from the Ground: Landmine and Explosive Remnants of War Survivors Speak Out on Victim Assistance, Brussels, 2 September 2009, pp. 221–222.

[118] Email from Rashida al-Hamdani, NMAC, 27 July 2009.

[119] Ibid; and US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Yemen,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009.

[120] B. Pound et al., “Departure of the Devil: Landmines and Livelihoods in Yemen, Vol. I, Main Report,” GICHD, Geneva, 2006, p. 174.

[121] US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Yemen,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009.

[122] “Mid-Term Review of the Status of Victim Assistance in the 24 Relevant States Parties,” Dead Sea, 21 November 2007, pp. 155–156; and statement by Dr. Fouad al-Shamiri, YEMAC, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 April 2007.

[123] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 759; and Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009.

[124] Co-Chairs of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, “Status of Victim Assistance in the Context of the AP Mine Ban Convention in the 26 Relevant States Parties 2005–2008,” Ninth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 28 November 2008, pp. 17–18; and Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009.

[125] Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009; and information provided by Dr. Fouad al-Shamiri, YEMAC, Sana’a, 23 March 2008.

[126] Article 7 report (for period from 31 March 2008 to 31 March 2009), Form I, 31 March 2009.

[127] Yemen has not reported on these objectives since it submitted the objectives in 2005, nor did not include an update on progress towards these objectives in its responses to Landmine Monitor or its Article 7 Reports in 2005–2009. See for example, statement of Yemen, Ninth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 28 November 2008; Article 7 report, Form I, 31 March 2009; and Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 759.

[128] Interview with Dr. Fouad al-Shamiri, YEMAC, Sana’a, 7 March 2009, as in previous years Yemen reported varying figures in its Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009; and in its statement to the Ninth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 28 November 2008.

[129] Article 7 Report, Form I, 31 March 2009.

[130] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 7 May 2009, p. 64; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 27 May 2009, p. 367 (contains the exact number of survivors assisted).

[131] ICRC, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 27 May 2009, p. 367.

[132] Interview with Abdullah al-Duhaimi, Director, Aden Rehabilitation Center, Aden, 28 February 2009. The statistics for mobility devices and persons assisted are included in those reported by the ICRC.

[133] Interview with Afrah Abdo, Deputy-Director, Aden Association of People with Special Needs, Aden, 25 February 2009.

[134] Interview with Mansour al-Azi, YEMAC, in Geneva, 26 May 2009.

[135] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by and interview with Saleh al-Dahyani, YALS, Sana’a, 23 July and 1 March 2009.

[136] Interview with Aref al-Olaqi, Chairperson, Aden Association for the Physically Disabled, Aden, 25 February 2009.

[137] Information provided by Aisha Saeed, Senior Program Coordinator, Save the Children, Aden, 25 February 2009.

[138] Interview with Rajaa al-Masabi, Chairperson, AHRF, Sana’a, 6 March 2009.

[139] Article 5 deadline Extension Request (Revision), 6 November 2008, p. 14.

[140] Ibid, p. 13.

[141] Ibid, p. 7.

[142] Ibid, Annex III, p. 41.

[143] Ibid.

[144] Ibid, p. 7.

[145] Ibid, p. 13.

[146] Ibid, p. 4.

[147] Article 7 Report, Form I, submitted 31 March 2009.

[148] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety 2009,” Washington, DC, July 2009; Germany Article 7 Report, Form J, 27 April 2009; and email from Manfredo Capozza, Humanitarian Demining Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2 March 2009.

[149] Article 5 deadline Extension Request (Revision), 6 November 2008, Annex III, p. 41.

[150] “Yemen, Croatia sign cooperation agreement of mine action”, Yemen News Agency (Cairo), 11 February 2009. www.sabanews.net.