Nagorno-Karabakh
is an autonomous region in the South Caucasus. In 1988 it voted to secede from
Azerbaijan and join Armenia, which resulted in armed conflict from 1988-1994.
The region declared independence as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) on 2
September 1991. The NKR has not been recognized by the United Nations.
While Nagorno-Karabakh political and military leaders indicate they are
supportive of a global landmine ban, they indicate they would not join the Mine
Ban Treaty even if eligible to do so. The NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs Naira
Melkoumian said Nagorno-Karabakh “will be able to join it only after the
establishment of a peace treaty with
Azerbaijan.”[1] The
National Assembly of NKR has never discussed the issue of banning
landmines.[2]
PRODUCTION, TRANSFER, STOCKPILING, AND USE
Nagorno-Karabakh states that it has not produced,
exported, or imported landmines since its declaration of independence in 1991.
Landmine Monitor has been told that the mines in stock include PMN-2, POMZ-3,
and OZM-72 antipersonnel mines. Landmine Monitor has not received any reports
of new use of antipersonnel mines by Nagorno-Karabakh forces in the reporting
period.
LANDMINE PROBLEM
Mines were laid by both Azeri and pro-Karabakh
forces during the 1988-1994
war.[3] HALO Trust (HALO)
estimates that there are at least 10,000 mines in this territory in need of
urgent attention, plus a further 15,000 on the line of contact; to clear after a
peace deal.[4] Additionally,
according to HALO, unexploded ordnance (UXO) is “as great a problem in
Nagorno-Karabakh as mines,” affecting approximately 167
villages.[5]
Officials state that there may be over 150 million square meters of mined
territory in Nagorno-Karabakh. This includes roads, land, and forests that
remain to be surveyed for future mine clearance
operations.[6]
Much of the mined territory is reportedly agricultural land, with 37 million
square meters of arable land and 35 million square meters of pastures affected,
according to NKR’s Deputy Minister of
Agriculture.[7] Also, 80,000
square meters of vineyards are believed unusable as a result of
landmines.[8]
Landmines have also been reported to affect other areas of development. For
instance, the discovery of a minefield between the towns of Aghdam and Askeran
impeded plans to build a water pipeline to the nearby village of Khrmort. HALO
clear the area and work on the pipeline has subsequently
started.[9] According to HALO,
aid agencies in Nagorno-Karabakh have restricted their operations “due to
fears of mines on or just beside roads” and because of UXO located in and
around numerous rural
villages.[10]
The former head of NKR’s Mine Awareness Working Group (MAWG), Mels
Hakobjanian, identified the areas of Askeran, Mardakert, Martuni and Hadrout as
high-risk. Little is known about other areas. “It's very difficult to
figure out where the rest of the mines are,” Hakobjanian told an Armenian
journalist. “Even around Shushi, which is supposed to be clear, a car was
recently blown up by an antitank
mine.”[11]
MINE ACTION COORDINATION
Mine action in Nagorno-Karabakh is carried out by
a number of bodies. The HALO Trust is involved in training and humanitarian
demining. The Engineering Service of the Army and the Department of Emergency
Situations conduct some basic mine clearance. The International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) carries out mine risk education.
Coordinating this effort among governmental and NGOs is the
government’s Special Commission on Mine Issues, and its Working Group on
Mine Problems (WGMP). HALO, the ICRC, relevant government ministries, and the
Nagorno-Karabakh Committee of the ICBL are all members of the
WGMP.[12]
HALO established its own Mine Action Center (MAC) when it returned to
Nagorno-Karabakh in early 2000. The MAC compiles information regarding
landmines, UXO, and safe routes. It disseminates the information to all those
who need it, particularly other NGOs and international organizations working in
Nagorno-Karabakh.[13]
MINE CLEARANCE
Special units of the Department of Emergency
Situations and the Army’s Engineering Service carry out some limited mine
clearance in Nagorno-Karabakh, but are limited by lack of resources (the
Department of Emergency Situations has just two metal detectors).
HALO reportedly significantly increased its staff and operations in
Nagorno-Karabakh in 2001 and 2002, as it increased its civilian personnel from
28 to 141.[14] HALO also has
three Battle Area Clearance (BAC) teams, which clear hundreds of mines and UXO
every month. In addition, HALO has two survey
teams.[15] In early 2002, two
new manual mine clearance teams were established with a US$378,000 grant from
the US Agency for International
Development.[16] HALO also
imported several new vehicles, including trucks, ambulances, and armored
demining vehicles.[17]
In 2001, HALO destroyed 441 antipersonnel mines, 145 antivehicle mines, and
13,536 UXO, according to Hakobjanian, the former head of MAWG. According to the
former head of the MAWG, as of early 2002, a total of 5 million square meters
out of 150 million square meters of contaminated land had been
cleared.[18]
MINE RISK EDUCATION
In 2001 and 2002, the ICRC continued the mine/UXO
risk education program in Nagorno-Karabakh begun in1999. The program is made
up of three projects: a mine awareness school program, the Community Based Mine
Awareness (CBMA) program, and the Public Education Campaign (PEC). The program
targets high-risk population groups such as children and residents of rural
communities, particularly agricultural
workers.[19]
For the school program, the ICRC developed a mine awareness curriculum that
was approved by MAWG in
2000.[20] The ICRC has worked
closely with the Ministry of Education to ensure that all school children in the
Nagorno-Karabakh are
reached.[21] Mine awareness
lessons have been incorporated into the curriculum of 228 schools, reaching
approximately 22,000 students. The ICRC regularly visits schools to evaluate
the lessons and distribute materials to support instruction. The ICRC has been
conducting a second round of distribution of mine risk education materials since
the beginning of the 2001/2002 school year to the 228
schools.[22]
In 2001, the ICRC initiated two child-to-child projects to reinforce the mine
risk education message taught in schools. In the summer of 2001, 120 children
were trained as puppeteers and taught how to build puppets and props and perform
puppet shows with mine risk education themes. Eight groups of fifteen children
then organized puppet shows at different camps in August 2001, reaching nearly
1,100 children. In late 2001, the ICRC traveled to remote villages in the
Shoushi and Hadrout regions to observe the school program and organize a tour of
the puppet groups in particularly mine-affected villages. The shows reached
about 600 children. In July 2001, another child-to-child project was initiated.
The ICRC trained 20 youth instructors (grades 7-8) from various regions of
Nagorno-Karabakh in mine awareness skills in order to assist teachers in working
with the youngest students and to carry out mine awareness activities outside of
school with both adults and
children.[23]
The CBMA targets rural populations living in villages encircled by
mined/UXO-contaminated areas. It aims to reinforce information available to
local communities largely by distributing message boards placed in mine-affected
areas to display preventative messages to warn residents of the danger. The
ICRC, in cooperation with NKR Civil Defense has distributed 95 message boards
since the project’s start in mid-2000. Billboards have also been placed
around 46 communities, reportedly reaching over 40,000
people.[24] At the rural level,
the ICRC cooperates closely with NKR emergency services.
The Public Education Campaign targets the public as a whole. From 1999 to
2001, the ICRC produced six mine awareness public service announcements in
cooperation with a local TV crew. The public service announcements were
broadcast regularly on television and reached an estimated audience of 50,000 to
60,000 residents.[25]
The ICRC has also conducted mine risk education activities for civil
servants. In early/mid 2002, it held a two-day mine awareness seminar,
organized jointly with the NKR emergency rescue service, for ten civil defense
workers. In this “train-the-trainer” seminar, the civil defense
workers were taught to train local volunteers in affected communities how to
make rural populations more aware of the dangers posed by mines and
UXO.[26]
The Nagorno-Karabakh Committee of the ICBL reported having taken part in all
mine-related activities, including an August-September 2001 mine awareness poll.
The poll found that, out of 300 respondents, 85% of the respondents are
acquainted with the mine problem; 63% know about the minefields in the places
where they live; 89% consider it necessary to cover the problem in mass media;
96% positively evaluate the school mine awareness program; and everyone surveyed
believes it necessary to clear the territory of mines.
LANDMINE CASUALTIES
In 2001, four people were killed and 14 injured in
reported landmine and UXO
incidents.[27] None of the
casualties were children. This represents a small increase from 2000 when four
people were killed and 11 injured, including two children. New landmine and UXO
casualties had been steadily decreasing since the ceasefire in
1994.[28] In 1995, there were
86 landmine casualties, 64 in 1996, 25 in 1997, 16 in 1998, and in 1999, 30
people were reported killed or injured, of which more than half were
children.[29]
On 5 November 2001, three Azerbaijani servicemen were injured after one of
them stepped on a mine while crossing the line of contact between Azerbaijan and
Nagorno-Karabakh.[30]
HALO Trust estimates that mine and UXO incidents have caused more than 900
deaths and injuries since the 1994
ceasefire.[31]
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
The health-care system in Nagorno-Karabakh has
been seriously affected by the general economic situation, and by a lack of
resources and skilled staff. The American Red Cross implements the ICRC’s
primary health-care program. In 2001, the rehabilitation of 43 health
facilities in Mardakert/Agdara and Martuni/Khocavend was completed and work has
begun on upgrading 23 health facilities in the Hadrut district. The ICRC
provided an emergency stock of drugs and surgical materials and arranged
training for two surgeons in
war-surgery.[32]
All landmine survivors receive free treatment in the medical institutions of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Physical rehabilitation, prosthetics, and psychosocial
support services are available but their resources are
limited.[33]
[1] Meeting between Nagorno-Karabakh
Committee of ICBL and Minister of Foreign Affairs Naira Melkoumian, and Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Masis Mailian, 1 and 2 February 2002.
[2] Correspondence from NKR National
Assembly Deputy V. Atanesyan to NK Committee of ICBL, 19 December
2001. [3] HALO Trust Website, “The
Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh,” http://www.halotrust.org/cauc.html#C,
(viewed 19 July 2002). [4] Email to
Landmine Monitor (HRW) from David Frederick, Caucuses Desk Officer, HALO, 1
August 2002. [5] HALO Trust Website,
“The Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh”.
[6] “Azerbaijani president
requests Bush's aid in resolving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Associated
Press, 28 March 2002; Onnik Krikorian, “Clearing the Killing
Fields,” Transitions Online, 20 June
2002. [7] Onnik Krikorian,
“Clearing the Killing Fields,” Transitions Online, 20 June
2002. [8] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p.973. [9] Email from David Frederick,
HALO, 1 August 2002. [10] HALO Trust
Website, “The Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh.”
[11] Onnik Krikorian, “Clearing
the Killing Fields,” Transitions Online, 20 June
2002. [12] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
pp. 972-977. [13] HALO Trust Website,
“The Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh.”
[14] Email from David Frederick, HALO,
1 August 2002. [15] HALO Trust Website,
“The Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh,” viewed 19 July 2002; Onnik
Krikorian, “Clearing the Killing Fields,” Transitions Online, 20
June 2002. [16] Email from David
Frederick, HALO, 1 August 2002. [17]
Ibid. [18] Onnik Krikorian,
“Clearing the Killing Fields,” Transitions Online, 20 June
2002. [19] “Mine-Awareness
Programme in Nagorny Karabakh,” ICRC Website, (viewed 9 April 2002) at:
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/592BFE?OpenDocument&style=custo_final. [20]
“The ICRC in Azerbaijan,” ICRC Website (viewed 19 July
2002). [21] Onnik Krikorian,
“Clearing the Killing Fields,” Transitions Online, 20 June
2002. [22]
Ibid. [23] “Mine-Awareness
Programme in Nagorny Karabakh,” ICRC Website, 9 April
2002. [24] “Armenia/Azerbaijan:
Spreading mine awareness in the Nagorny Karabakh territory,” ICRC Website,
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/5BJCB6?OpenDocument&style=custo_final. [25]
“Mine-Awareness Programme in Nagorny Karabakh,” ICRC Website, 9
April 2002. [26]
“Armenia/Azerbaijan: Spreading mine awareness in the Nagorny Karabakh
territory,” ICRC Website. [27]
Information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of NKR, 19 March 2002.
[28] “Azerbaijani president
requests Bush's aid in resolving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Associated
Press, 28 March 2002. [29] Information
provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of NKR, 19 March 2002.
[30] “Three Azerbaijani
Servicemen Injured By Land Mine,” AP/Mediamax/Eurasianet, 6 November 2001
accessed at
http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/azerbaijan/hypermail/200111/0015.html. [31]
Onnik Krikorian, “Clearing the Killing Fields,” Transitions Online,
20 June 2002; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
894. [32] ICRC, “ICRC Special
Report, Mine Action 2001,” Geneva, July 2002, p.
30. [33] For details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, pp. 976-977.
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