Key developments since May 2003: Bangladesh became co-rapporteur of
the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction in September 2003. In June
2004, Bangladesh stated that it may have trouble meeting its March 2005
stockpile destruction deadline, due to lack of funding. The process of drafting
national implementation legislation is still underway. Bangladesh soldiers
continue to engage in mine clearance in Kuwait and with the UN Mission in
Eritrea and Ethiopia. In January 2004, UNHCR in Cox’s Bazar conducted a
formal Mine Risk Education training for its staff, in order to prepare them to
provide MRE to affected communities.
Key developments since 1999: Bangladesh became the first South Asian
country to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty on 6 September 2000, and it entered into
force on 1 March 2001. Bangladesh established a National Committee on
implementation of the treaty in August 2001. In its first Article 7 report,
submitted one year late in August 2002, Bangladesh for the first time reported a
stockpile of 204,227 antipersonnel mines. It plans to keep 15,000 mines for
training, the fourth highest total of all States Parties. Bangladesh became
co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction in September
2003. Bangladesh soldiers have been engaged in mine clearance in Kuwait and with
the UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia. In 2001, the Parliament adopted
Bangladesh’s first comprehensive disability legislation. Since 1993, 64
people have been killed and 131 injured in reported landmine incidents. No new
mine casualties have been reported since 2001.
Mine Ban Policy
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 7 May
1998, ratified it on 6 September 2000, and became a State Party on 1 March 2001.
It was the first State Party from the South Asia region. Announcing its
ratification at the Second Meeting of States Parties in 2000, Bangladesh
delegation stated, “Complete and general disarmament is a Constitutional
commitment for Bangladesh. We view disarmament as an essential complement to our
development priorities.”[1]
Initially Bangladesh showed little interest in the Ottawa Process. In early
1998, Bangladesh undertook an in-depth examination of the utility of
antipersonnel mines, which led to its signature of the treaty.
In August 2001, Bangladesh established the National Committee for the
Implementation of the Obligations of the Convention on the Prohibition of Use,
Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their
Destruction.[2] The Committee
continues to carry out its responsibilities ensuring fulfillment of treaty
obligations.[3] Bangladesh
reported in April 2003 that national implementation legislation was in its final
stage of preparation.[4] But in
March 2004, the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told
Landmine Monitor that the process of drafting national implementation
legislation was still underway, following the customary legislative procedures,
and that a Bengali translation of the legislation will be submitted to an
inter-ministerial meeting for vetting and then to the
Parliament.[5]
At the Fifth Meeting of State Parties, Bangladesh became co-rapporteur of the
Standing Committee Meeting on Stockpile Destruction. Bangladesh participated in
the intersessional meetings for the first time in May 2002 and has attended all
meetings since then.[6]
Bangladesh submitted its third annual Article 7 report on 28 April 2004,
covering the period from 28 April 2003 to 29 April
2004.[7]
In September 2003, Ambassador Hemayet Uddin stated, “I wish to stress
that universalization remains central to the realization of the Convention. We
believe more concerted efforts are needed in regions where many countries are
yet to become party to the Convention. The Asia-Pacific region remains a
challenge in this
regard.”[8] Bangladesh
participated in the Bangkok Regional Action Group (BRAG), which was formed by
States Parties from the Asia-Pacific region in September 2002 with the aim of
promoting landmine ban initiatives in the region in the lead up to the Fifth
Meeting of States Parties in Bangkok in September 2003. Bangladesh cosponsored
and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 58/53, calling for
universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, on 8 December 2003, as it did on all
similar UNGA resolutions in previous years.
Bangladesh ratified Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional
Weapons in 6 September 2000. It did not attend the Fourth and Fifth Annual
Conferences and has not submitted its annual report required under the Article
13 of Protocol II.
Landmine Monitor's Bangladesh researcher and ICBL country representative,
Rafique al Islam of Nonviolence International, was arrested in Cox’s Bazar
on 21 August 2004. He was held without charge for more than two weeks, then
charged and finally released on 19 September. The ICBL and others undertook a
concerted effort to ensure his safety and secure his release, with campaigners
taking action in 27 countries, and several governments making demarches. The
ICBL remains convinced that the charges are unfounded and continues to advocate
for the charges against Mr. al Islam to be
dropped.[9]
Production, Transfer, Use
In 2002, Bangladesh officially stated that it has never produced or exported
antipersonnel mines, nor “acquired any new arsenal in recent
years.”[10] Military
officials have repeatedly told Landmine Monitor that the Bangladesh Army has
never used antipersonnel
mines.[11] An Army official
reiterated to Landmine Monitor in 2004, “We never used mines inside the
country or on our common borders with Myanmar and India. We never supplied,
traded or developed this
technology.”[12]
Landmine Monitor has reported that in the past, the Myanmar military and Na
Sa Ka (special border security forces for Arakan state) laid mines on the
border, including inside Bangladesh
territory.[13] However, Myanmar
forces are not known to have planted new mines on the border since 2001.
More than half a dozen underground parties, identifying themselves as
Marxists and Maoists, are active throughout the country and some of them have
armed wings that are reported to be using bombs, booby-traps and
victim-activated improvised explosive devices
(IEDs).[14] There are also
reports that some of the Islamic militant organizations in the northern and
western regions of the country are using
IEDs.[15] Every month newspapers
report at least three or four incidents related to armed non-state actors
activities.[16]
There were several media reports in 2003 and 2004 that Bangladesh border
security forces working in the Naikongchary area of the Bandarban district of
Chittagong Hill Tracts recovered antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines from
the hideouts of foreign rebel groups in areas close to the border with Burma.
In January 2004, troops seized 32 antivehicle mines and seven antipersonnel
mines from “tribal
gunmen.”[17]
At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Amb. Hemayetuddin expressed deep
concern about non-state actors: “Another formidable challenge that
confronts us is the threat posed by non-state actors who continue to remain big
users of landmines, and yet remaining outside the purview of any legal
obligations. There is need to reflect on this lacuna in the Convention. We
believe that objectives of the Convention and its implementation should be
non-discriminatory.”[18]
During a Mine Ban Treaty meeting in February 2004, Bangladesh commended the
efforts made by Geneva Call on the NSA
issue.[19]
Stockpiling and Destruction
In its initial Article 7 report in 2002, Bangladesh for the first time
revealed details about its stockpile of antipersonnel mines. It declared a
stockpile of 204,227 antipersonnel mines manufactured by the former Yugoslavia,
China, Pakistan, the United States, India, and
Iran.[20]
The total for stockpiled mines and retained mines include Claymore-type
directional fragmentation mines (M18A1) that are not prohibited by the Mine Ban
Treaty if used only in command-detonated mode. In September 2003, Bangladesh
said, “The development of command-detonated mines, their use and sale
would be another source of concern, if not humanitarian, of strategic import.
This would be another case of vertical proliferation establishing discriminatory
regimes and disparity between
countries.”[22]
Bangladesh’s treaty-mandated deadline for completion of stockpile
destruction is 1 March 2005. Bangladesh had planned to start its destruction
program on 26 May 2004 and finish by 31 December 2004. Bangladesh has outlined
a three-phase program to destroy 189,227 landmines: phase 1 to collect and
centralize the mines (by 15 May 2004) and to prepare them for demolition (by 15
August 2004); phase 2 to prepare the destruction site and transport mines to the
site (by 30 September 2004); phase 3 to carry out destruction at a rate of 2,100
antipersonnel mines per day (by 31 December
2004).[23] In January 2004, an
Army official told Landmine Monitor that the destruction site was ready and that
the Army only needed to collect the mines from different stockpile locations in
the country and centralize them in a single
depot.[24]
Destruction will be carried out at the Central Ammunition Depot of the
Bangladesh Armed Forces located in Sripur in the Gazipur district. Both
electric and non-electric methods of destruction will be
used.[25] On 22 October 2003, a
three-member technical assessment team from the Geneva International Center for
Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) visited Bangladesh to assess the destruction
process. According to the government, “they have found technical and
other safety and environmental standards to be
satisfactory.”[26]
At the June 2004 Standing Committee meeting on Stockpile Destruction,
Bangladesh reported that it had been unable to begin the destruction program
because the UN Development Programme (UNDP) had not yet provided funds, as per a
signed agreement, due to bureaucratic impediments. Bangladesh further stated
that with the lack of clarity regarding funding, as well as the onset of monsoon
season, it may have trouble meeting its destruction deadline. Bangladesh noted
that discussions were ongoing with UNDP and with Canada, which had offered
assistance.[27]
Bangladesh has chosen to retain 15,000 antipersonnel mines for training
purposes. This is the fourth highest number of retained mines among all States
Parties. In explaining the number, at the Fifth Meeting of States Parties,
Bangladesh’s Ambassador stated, “First of all, these are essential
for Bangladesh’s defence training needs, particularly in our specific
geo-political context. Secondly, we need to train our engineering battalions
for UN demining programs. In order to respond to the UN’s requirement, we
have been preparing several of our army battalions with mine clearing
capabilities.”[28] A
Bangladesh Army official told Landmine Monitor, “If we provide more
training we will have more expertise to send them [demining engineers] abroad
according to UN requirements, and this is the reason why we need such an amount
of antipersonnel mines for training
purposes.”[29]
Bangladesh’s April 2004 Article 7 report says the 15,000 mines are needed
“to impart general training to Bangladesh Army personnel and specifically
to assist engineering contingents to prepare for UN Peacekeeping
Missions.”[30]
Landmine Problem and Mine Action
In each of its Article 7 reports, the Bangladesh government has officially
declared that there are no mined areas or suspected mined areas in
Bangladesh.[31] However,
landmines are found along the border with Myanmar (Burma) in Chittagong Hill
Tracts (CHT), which is a hilly area running for 208
kilometers.[32] Mine-affected
areas are located in Ukhia and Ramu sub-districts in Cox’s Bazar district
and Naikongchari, Alikadam and Thansi sub-districts in Bandarban district. Most
of the people in these areas depend on forest resources for their subsistence.
Unexploded ordnance from World War II and from the liberation war of 1971 is
still found in different parts of the country and occasionally cause
casualties.
The Bangladesh Army has several battalions with mine clearing capabilities.
In September 2003, the Army had 243 personnel engaged in mine clearance in
Kuwait and 168 with the UN Mission in Eritrea and
Ethiopia.[33] They were still
active in those countries in 2004. Bangladesh soldiers also cleared mines in
Cambodia.[34]
In the past, Bangladesh border security forces conducted mine clearance along
the border with Myanmar.[35]
Bangladesh has asked Myanmar authorities to survey and assess the minefields on
the border area, but no joint action has been taken
yet.[36]
One of the rebel groups of Arakan who signed the Geneva Call Deed of
Commitment claimed that they cleared mines from pillar No. 36-44 along the
Myanmar-Bangladesh border in 2001; the mines were mostly Myanmar-manufactured
MM-1 and MM-2 types.[37]
Mine Risk Education
The Bangladesh government has provided no formal mine risk education, but has
recently recognized the need, and encouraged NGOs including Nonviolence
International-Bangladesh to introduce MRE in mine-affected
areas.[38] On 10 January 2004,
UNHCR’s Cox’s Bazaar sub-office conducted a formal MRE training for
its local and expatriate staff, in order to prepare them to provide MRE to
affected communities.[39]
Mine risk education activities have been carried out by Bangladesh’s
border security force (BDR), community leaders, village elders and imams of
mosques only in times of crisis when mine incidents increased. Two local NGOs,
as well as local journalists, have warned people about the danger of mines
through newspaper articles and seminars. During its field visits in 2003,
Landmine Monitor found that villagers, including children, continue to enter
mined areas in forests to collect wood and bamboo. Though many of them know
that there may be mines, they are not aware of the
risk.[40]
Landmines and UXO Casualties
In 2003 and early 2004, no new landmine casualties were
reported.[41] The last reported
mine casualties were in 2001. Since 1993, 64 people have been killed and 131
injured in reported landmine incidents. Of the deaths, ten occurred from 1993 to
1996, 17 in 1997, 13 in 1998, one in 1999, eight in 2000, and three in 2001; the
year of the incident could not be ascertained for 12 fatalities. Of the total
injuries, 124 people were injured up to 1998, one in 2000, and six in 2001.
Most of the mine casualties were wood and bamboo
cutters.[42] It is likely that
more landmine incidents have gone
unreported.[43] Many wild animals
including tigers, pigs and elephants have also been killed by
landmines.[44]
In addition, the Bangladesh Freedom Fighters’ Welfare Trust identified
148 people who lost limbs in antipersonnel mine incidents during the
independence war in 1971.[45] It
would appear that many civilians were also killed or injured by mines during the
war.[46] Research is currently
underway to prepare a comprehensive list of mine survivors in
Bangladesh.[47]
In its April 2003 Article 7 Report, Bangladesh stated, “A report on the
findings of reported cases of mine victims is being prepared through proper
investigation and will be submitted as a supplement to this
report.”[48] Information is
being collected from NGOs working on disability issues. As of March 2004,
information on 27 mine casualties had been
received.[49]
Casualties have also been reported as a result of unexploded ordnance (UXO)
dating back to World War II and the liberation war of 1971. In February 2002 in
Nhila, Cox’s Bazar, six people were injured by UXO, including four
children under the age of 13.[50]
In August 2003, three people were killed and three others injured in an
explosion in Gasbaria, about 30 kilometers south of Chittagong
city.[51] It is likely that many
more UXO incidents have gone unreported.
Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and
Practice[52]
Assistance to mine survivors remains scarce and is not part of national
policy or humanitarian programs, perhaps due to the relatively small number of
casualties, the remoteness of mine-affected areas, and a lack of campaigning and
advocacy for victim assistance. It seems that the government is now more
engaged in the issue of mine victim assistance with the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs and Social Welfare collecting information on landmine survivors
throughout the country.[53]
Interviews by Landmine Monitor with mine survivors revealed that some needed
replacement prostheses; others needed urgent medical care, which most of the
survivors could not afford.[54]
There are four main hospitals near the mine-affected areas: Cox's Bazar
government hospital, Naikongchari government hospital, Rabita hospital and
Memorial Christian hospital. All except Cox’s Bazar have reported
providing assistance to mine casualties in the past. Government hospitals
reportedly lack adequately trauma surgeons, surgical equipment and
supplies.[55] Military mine
casualties receive assistance at Army hospitals and facilities.
Rabita hospital, located at Maricha, the closest medical center to the
mine-affected area, resumed activities in December 2002 after a long
closure.[56] The only hospital
near the mine-affected area with specialized facilities including a prosthetic
workshop is Memorial Christian Hospital. Memorial Christian Hospital also
organizes medical camps every year for the distribution of artificial limbs in
different parts of the country, mainly in remote areas. In 1998, prostheses
were distributed in Ukhia (a mine-affected area), in 2001 in Cox’s Bazar
town, in 2002 in Bandarban, and in 2003 at
Patiya.[57]
Other centers identified as assisting mine survivors in the past are Hope
Foundation, Jaipur Foot, and the local NGO Bangladesh Rehabilitation Center for
Trauma Victims (BRCT).[58]
Handicap International-Bangladesh is planning to conduct a needs assessment in
the mine-affected areas and Chittagong Hill
Tracts.[59]
On 4 April 2001, the Parliament adopted Bangladesh’s first
comprehensive disability legislation, the “Bangladesh Persons with
Disability Welfare
Act-2001.”[60]
[1] Statement by Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed
Chowdhury, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh at the Second
Meeting of State Parties, Geneva, 12 September
2000. [2] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 97. [3] Statement by Amb.
Hemayet Uddin, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 16 September
2003. [4] Article 7 Report, Form A, 29
April 2003. [5] Interview with Ismat
Jahan, Director General, UN Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, 9
March 2004. [6] Bangladesh attended all
of the annual Meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, except for the
third meeting held in Managua in September
2001. [7] Bangladesh submitted its
initial Article 7 report, due on 28 August 2001, one year later on 28 August
2002 (for 5 March 2001-10 March 2002), and an annual update on 29 April 2003
(for 10 March 2002-29 April 2003). [8]
Statement by Bangladesh, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 16 September
2003. [9] See ICBL’s website, www.icbl.org , for extensive information about
the case, and actions taken in
response. [10] Statement by Rabab
Fatima, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, 17 September
2002. [11] See past editions of Landmine
Monitor Report. Also, in its statement to the Fourth Meeting of States Parties,
Bangladesh asserted, “The Bangladesh army is a not user of
landmines.” [12] Interview with
Lt. Col. Mamun Ur Rashid, GSO-1, GS Brigade, Army Headquarters, Dhaka
Cantonment, Dhaka, 25 January 2004. [13]
For further details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
433. [14] Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p. 99, identified two armed Bangladeshi groups, the Prity group and the United
People’s Democratic Front, as having used booby-traps and IEDs.
[15] Haroon Habib, “Islamic
Militancy: The Shadow Lengthens,” The Daily Star, 29 December
2003. [16] For example, “Three
injured in bomb blast,” The Daily Independent, 17 February 2004; “3
children injured by exploding bomb while collecting vegetables,” The Daily
Janakanta, 18 February 2004; “Bomb found in Mymensingh, blast at
Sirajganj,” The Daily Independent, 23 February 2004; “Two
bomb-makers killed in Khulna blast,” The Daily Independent, 25 February
2004. [17] “Security tightened in
Bandarban,” The Daily Independent, 28 August 2003; “Several foreign
militant groups are active inside the jungle of Naikongchari and Ukhia,”
The Daily Pratom Alo, 17 November 2003; “Bangladesh troops seize mines
after gun battle,” Reuters (Bandarban), 1 January 2004; “Deadly
device seized in CHT,” The Daily Star, 2 January 2004. From 1994 to 1996
the border security forces recovered and destroyed 63 antipersonnel mines
according to information supplied by the Sector Headquarters, Chittagong, in
2000. [18] Statement by Bangladesh,
Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 16 September 2003.
[19] Intervention by Ismat Jahan,
Director General, UN division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the First Session
of the Preparatory Committee of the Review Conference, Geneva, 13 February
2004. [20] Article 7 Report, Forms B, D,
and G, 28 April 2004. The same information in is the 2002 and 2003
reports. [21] NDP-2 is not a common
nomenclature. This is likely Pakistan’s P2 Mk 2
mine. [22] Statement by Bangladesh,
Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, Thailand, 16 September
2003. [23] Article 7 Report, Annex A, 28
April 2004. The original “Outline Plan of Destruction” has changed
only with respect to the timeline and destruction rate per day. See Landmine
Monitor Report 2003, p 107. [24]
Interview with Lt. Col. Mamun Ur Rashid, Army Headquarters, 25 January 2004.
[25] Article 7 Report, Form F, 28 April
2004. [26] Ibid. Also, interview with
Lt. Col. Mamun Ur Rashid, Army Headquarters, 25 January 2004.
[27] Statement by Ismat Jahan, Director
General, UN Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Standing Committee Meeting on
Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 24 June 2004 (Landmine Monitor notes); Standing
Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Meeting Report, Geneva, 24 June
2004. [28] Statement by Bangladesh,
Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 16 September
2003. [29] Interview with Lt Col Mamun
Ur Rashid, Army Headquarters, 25 January
2004. [30] Article 7 Report, Form D, 28
April 2004. [31] Article 7 Reports,
Forms C and I, 28 April 2004, 29 April 2003, 28 August
2002. [32] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 434. [33] Statement by
Bangladesh, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 16 September
2003. [34] Interview with Lt. Col. Mamun
Ur Rashid, Army Headquarters, 20 April 2004.
[35] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000,
p. 447, and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 435.
[36] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p.435. [37] Telephone interview with
Katherine Kramer, Geneva Call, Geneva, 12 April
2004. [38] Interviews with the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Armed Forces Division officials, January 2004.
[39] John Campbell, security officer,
UNHCR, Asia Pacific region, conducted this training and the Landmine Monitor
researcher for Bangladesh gave a briefing on the landmine problem in the
country. UNHCR sub-office, Cox’s Bazar, 10 January
2004. [40] Landmine Monitor visited
mine-affected areas in November and December 2003.
[41] Field visit by Landmine Monitor in
November and December 2003; interview with doctors working at Cox’s Bazar
District Hospital, 12 March 2004. [42]
Sources include BDR official papers, local newspapers, the NGO Bangladesh
Rehabilitation for Trauma Victims, interviews with mine-affected villagers from
10-17 January 2002, and interviews with leaders of NSAs, 27 March
2002. [43] Interview with Maksud Ahmed,
Journalist and President of Rangamati Press Club, Rangamati, CHT, 10 January
2004. [44] Interview with villagers
and community elders in mine-affected villages; interview with Maj. Mazaharul
Islam, Second in Command BDR, Naikongchari, 25 December
2000. [45] Interview with Shawkat Nabi,
Director Welfare, Bangladesh Freedom Fighters’ Welfare Trust, Dhaka, 22
April 2004. [46] Dr. Amzad Hossain,
Professor and Head of Orthopedic and Trauma surgery, Dhaka Medical College
Hospital, has information on civilian mine casualties in Dinajpur district where
he fought during the 1971 war of independence.
[47] The Japan Campaign to Ban
Landmines provided a small grant to Nonviolence International Bangladesh to
conduct research on mine survivors from the war of independence, survivors on
the Bangladesh-Burma border, and children and women injured by IEDs. Bangladesh
Freedom Fighters’ Association is also providing
information. [48] Article 7 Report, Form
I, 29 April 2003. [49] Interview with
Ismat Jahan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 9 March
2004. [50] “Explosion of abandoned
bomb of WW-2: 6 got injured,” The Daily Cox’s Bazar, 19 February
2002. [51] Interview with local
residents in Gasbaria on 20 August 2003. Local police claim that the object was
an old gas cylinder while local people claim it was an old bomb mistakenly
collected by a metal seller thinking it was a gas cylinder. The object exploded
as it was being cut. [52] For more
details see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp.
101-102. [53] Interview with Ismat
Jahan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 9 March
2004. [54] Interviews with mine
survivors from 18-20 November and 23-26 December
2002. [55] Interview with Dr. Rahim
Ullah, Director and Surgeon, Rabita Hospital, 10 January
2000. [56] Interview with doctors at
Rabita hospital, 22 December 2002. [57]
Interview with Kenneth James, Director of Medical Maintenance, Memorial
Christian Hospital, Malumghata, Cox’s Bazar, 14 February
2003. [58] Field visits by Landmine
Monitor to the mine-affected areas in 2001, 2002, and
2003. [59] Interview with Anne Pignard,
country representative, HI-Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1 March
2004. [60] “Bangladesh Persons
with Disability Welfare Act, 2001.”
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