Iraq
has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It did not attend any international
meetings related to the issue of landmines in 2001 or 2002. In failing to pay
its dues, Iraq has been ineligible to vote on UN General Assembly resolutions,
including the annual resolution promoting the Mine Ban Treaty. Iraq is not a
State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
In 2001, Iraq refused to issue visas to nearly 300 staff hired to work on
electrical systems and mine clearance projects in the Kurdish-dominated
north.[1]
Iraq is a producer of antipersonnel mines, although it is not known if
production is on-going or if it commences to meet specific requirements. Iraq
remains the only known mine exporter that has neither instituted an export ban
or moratorium, nor made a policy declaration of no current export. However, no
confirmed evidence has been found of Iraqi exports of landmines in recent years.
Iraq is assumed to have a significant stockpile of antipersonnel mines, but no
details are available.[2] There
were no reports in 2001 or 2002 about new use or renewal of old minefields in
Iraq.
LANDMINE PROBLEM AND MINE ACTION
Iraq is severely affected by mines and unexploded
ordnance (UXO) as a consequence of the Gulf War, the Iraq-Iran War and two
decades of internal conflict. Landmines and UXO continue to be a problem in the
north, as well as along the Iran-Iraq border throughout the central and southern
regions of the country.[3]
In the summer of 2001, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
conducted a survey in southern Iraq to assess the mine/UXO threat and evaluate
the need to raise awareness. It identified cluster bombs and other UXO as the
main threat.[4]
In April 2001, the ICRC began a comprehensive mine/UXO risk education program
by organizing four mine/UXO awareness days in three of the affected southern
governorates of Basrah, Al Muthanna and
Missan.[5] The mine awareness
days consisted of plays, lectures by civil defense personnel on the various
types of mines and UXO, first-aid training by the Iraqi Red Crescent Society
(IRCS), videos on the landmine and UXO problem, speeches from local authorities,
and victim accounts. Approximately 1,700 people attended these events. The
effort had the support of the respective governors, civil defense officials, the
education and health departments, and the police. The ICRC plans to further
develop mine risk education programs in southern
Iraq.[6]
There is no information regarding Iraq’s efforts to clear old
minefields in areas under its
control.[7] Mine clearance and
mine awareness activities continue in Northern Iraq (also known as Iraqi
Kurdistan, see separate entry).
LANDMINE CASUALTIES AND SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
Mines and UXO located inside the country continue
to inflict casualties, but information is limited. In 2001, at least 21 people
were killed or injured in reported mine/UXO incidents, including 19 children.
In February 2001, a boy was killed by a cluster bomblet in Karbala province, six
children were injured in an incident in the southern city of Basra, and two boys
were injured by a cluster bomblet while tending sheep in western Iraq. On 15
March, a shepherd was injured in a UXO incident near
Nassiriyia.[8] In the period
March to September 2001, the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM)
reported five separate incidents of casualties in the southern sector. Four
children aged between 6 and 12 years and one 18-year-old were injured; three
died as a result of their
injuries.[9] On 19 September
2001, three boys were killed in a mine explosion in the Al-Deer district of the
Basra province when a mine exploded while their father was plowing his land;
three of their cousins were
injured.[10]
In the period September 2001 to March 2002, a UNIKOM German medical team
carried out ten evacuations of Iraqi civilians injured by mine and UXO
explosions. During the period under review, a 12-year-old girl died as a result
of her injuries.[11]
In 2000, UNIKOM treated 87 people injured by mines and
UXO.[12]
The government is reported to provide assistance to mine survivors at Ibn al
Kuff hospital and through designated medical
centers.[13]
In 2001, the ICRC completed rehabilitation work on six hospitals and ten
primary health care centers as part of its integrated medical-emergency
program.[14] In 2001, the ICRC
also provided support to four government-run prosthetic/orthotic centers located
in Baghdad, Basra and Najef, as well as to the IRCS-supported center in Mosul
and the Norwegian Red Cross-supported center in Arbil. It also supported the
Baghdad Prosthetic/Orthotic
School.[15] In 2001, the ICRC
manufactured 1,168 prostheses for mine
survivors.[16] In addition,
four training courses for prosthetic/orthotic technicians and physiotherapists
were organized for Iraqi
staff.[17]
[1] Hassan Hafidh, “U.N. wants Iraq
to issue more visas for its staff,” Reuters (Baghdad), 29 January
2002. [2] In addition to its own
production, Iraq has obtained mines from Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt,
France, Italy, Romania, Singapore, the former Soviet Union, and the United
States. See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
931. [3] U.S. Department of State,
“Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001,” March 2002,
Section 1(g). [4] Laurence Desvignes,
“Red Cross/Red Crescent Mine Action Involvement in the Middle East,”
Journal of Mine Action, Issue 5.3, Fall 2001, p.
13. [5] Email to Landmine Monitor (HIB)
from Laurence Desvignes, ICRC Mine-Program Coordinator, 26 July
2002. [6] Laurence Desvignes, “Red
Cross/Red Crescent Mine Action Involvement in the Middle East,” Journal of
Mine Action, Issue 5.3, Fall 2001, p. 13.
[7] U.S. Department of State,
“Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001,” March 2002,
Section 1(g). [8] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 1008. [9] Report of the
UN Secretary-General on the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission for the period
from 28 March to 24 September 2001 (S/2001/913), 26 September 2001, p.
2. [10] “Gulf War mine kills
three, injures three – INA,” Reuters, 20 September
2001. [11] Report of the UN
Secretary-General on the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission for the period from
25 September 2001 to 20 March 2002 (S/2002/323), 28 March 2002,
p.3. [12] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 1008. [13] Report of the UN
Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 5 of resolution 1302 (S/2000/857), 8
September 2000, p. 6. [14] ICRC
(Geneva), Special Report, Mine Action 2001, July 2002, p.
37. [15] “Iraq: Baghdad (MOH),
Baghdad (MOD), Basra, Najef, Mosul, Arbil, 1993–2001,” ICRC Physical
Rehabilitation Programmes, Annual Report 2001. Accessed online at
http://www.icrc.org. [16] Information
provided to Landmine Monitor by the ICRC, 1 June 2002. The ICRC has said that
an estimated 3,000 patients per year receive ICRC prostheses, and of these, over
50 percent are mine survivors. ICRC Annual Report 2000, p.
198. [17] ICRC (Geneva), Special Report,
Mine Action 2001, July 2002, p. 38.
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