Table of Contents

Country Reports

LM Report 2004

Iraq

Key developments since May 2003: Fifteen major donors provided approximately $55 million for mine action in Iraq in 2003. In October 2003, the UN reported that available casualty data suggests Iraq is the country most affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war. The Iraq National Mine Action Authority and the Iraq Mine Action Center in Baghdad were established there in July 2003 and two Iraqi-run Regional Mine Action Centers were established in Erbil in the north and Basra in the south. Previous UN coordination bodies set up in May were evacuated, and in northern Iraq the UN Mine Action Program transitioned to the control of the RMAC and NMAA.

The UN contracted two organizations to conduct an Emergency Mine Action Survey from June 2003 to February 2004, with MAG surveying the northern governorates and MTI the southern governorates. VVAF began a national Landmine Impact Survey of Iraq in March 2004. In northern Iraq in 2003, MAG and NPA combined to clear 988,811 square meters of land, destroying 29,667 mines and 905,137 UXO. Through battle area clearance they reduced another 13.9 million square meters of land. Mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal in central and southern Iraq was carried out in 2003 and 2004 by numerous entities, including local authorities, national armies, commercial companies, and about ten NGOs.

The on-going security situation and instability in Iraq is a major obstacle to the provision of mine and UXO clearance, mine risk education, and adequate and appropriate care to mine survivors, especially in the center and south of the country. Most UN mine action staff withdrew from Iraq after the bombing of the UN Office in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, and many mine action NGOs and companies left the country in late 2003 and early 2004 due to security concerns, and have not returned. Since August 2003, there has been a dramatic increase in the use and sophistication of improvised explosive devices by Iraqi insurgents. In February and June 2004, Iraqi diplomats attended the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva.

In 2003, there were at least 2,189 new mine/UXO casualties in Iraq; a significant increase from 2002.

Key developments since 1999: The government of Saddam Hussein did not in any way engage in the global effort to eradicate antipersonnel mines. An Iraqi diplomat confirmed that Iraq continued to produce mines until 2003. The extensive mine and UXO problem in Iraq was exacerbated by the conflict in 2003 in which Iraqi forces used mines, US and UK forces used cluster munitions in populated areas, and hundreds of thousands of tons of ammunition were abandoned by Iraqi forces. The long-established mine action programs in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq were for the most part suspended in early 2003, but subsequently resumed and expanded into new areas. Mine action programs were initiated for the first time in central and southern Iraq after the main fighting ceased.

In northern Iraq, from 1997 to 2003, the UN Mine Action Program cleared more than 12.2 million square meters of land, destroying more than 79,000 UXO, 2,500 cluster bomblets, 11,000 antipersonnel mines and 560 antivehicle mines. In addition, the NGOs MAG and NPA cleared more than 3.7 million square meters of land, destroying more than 54,959 mines and 4,500 cluster bomblets. The Mine Action Program completed a Landmine Impact Survey in northern Iraq in 2002. In northern Iraq, as of the end of 2003, 13,672 mine/UXO casualties (4,551 killed and 9,121 injured) have been recorded in four northern governorates. Between 1999 and the end of December 2003, at least 3,333 mine and UXO casualties were recorded in northern Iraq. ICRC-supported centers fitted more than 11,956 prostheses (6,230 for mine survivors) since 1999. The construction of new rehabilitation and vocational training centers in Diana and Dohuk were completed in 2002/2003.

Mine Ban Policy

Iraq has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Iraqi officials have not articulated a policy on banning antipersonnel mines since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government in April 2003 and the re-assumption of sovereignty in June 2004. In February and June 2004, Iraqi diplomats attended the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva. While they made no formal statements, during discussions with ICBL members they made clear their support for the banning of antipersonnel mines and their wish for Iraq to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty.^[1] Between April 2003 and June 2004, the occupying powers, the United States (which is not a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty) and United Kingdom (which is a State Party), never articulated a Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) position on landmines.

Iraq did not participate in the Ottawa Process and its last official statement on banning antipersonnel mines in 1997 called for negotiations on landmines in the Conference on Disarmament. Iraq has not been eligible to vote on the annual UN General Assembly resolutions promoting the landmine ban since 1996. Iraq did not participate in any Mine Ban Treaty-related meetings until 2004. Iraq is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its landmines protocol.

The two major political parties in northern Iraq, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have both stated their support for the principles of the Mine Ban Treaty.^[2] In August 2002, both parties signed the Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment not to use, produce, or transfer antipersonnel mines.^[3] Between 1999 and 2002, Landmine Monitor reported separately on northern Iraq, which had been autonomous from Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling

Iraq began producing landmines in the 1970s. An Iraqi diplomat told Landmine Monitor in February 2004 that production continued in recent years, including during the lead-up to the invasion in 2003.^[4] Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq, any industrial production of mines that may have been taking place has, presumably, ceased. Iraq previously manufactured a copy of the Italian Valmara 69 bounding antipersonnel mine, at least one antipersonnel mine developed with Yugoslav assistance, one former Soviet model, and two older Italian mine designs. In addition to its own production, Iraq in the past obtained mines from Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Italy, Romania, Singapore, the former Soviet Union, and the United States.^[5]

Before the collapse of the former government, Iraq was the only known antipersonnel mine exporter that had not instituted an export ban or moratorium, or at least made a policy declaration of no current export. However, there was no confirmed evidence of Iraqi exports of landmines in recent years. In September 2000, an Iraqi diplomat said to Landmine Monitor, “How can we export landmines? We only export oil for food.”^[6]

The total size of Iraq’s mine stockpile is not known. Landmines, along with a full range of ammunition, were dispersed to storage locations across the country and subsequently abandoned as the Iraqi Army disintegrated in 2003. According to the US military’s chief engineer in Iraq, an estimated one million tons of conventional ammunition, including landmines, are located in unsecured storage depots across the country. A total of 105 of these locations, each containing more than 100 bunkers, have been identified.^[7] There are not enough security forces to guard all these depots and many are exposed to the elements making the explosives highly unstable.^[8] In Diwaniyah, 180 kilometers south of Baghdad, a storage magazine was discovered to contain 6,000 antipersonnel mines.^[9] An Iraqi diplomat said that Iraq had sizeable stocks of mines, but that many had been destroyed by Coalition forces in the war, and many had been looted after the conflict.^[10]

Use

Iraqi Use

Since August 2003, there has been a dramatic increase in the use and sophistication of improvised explosive devices (IED) by Iraqi insurgents, who take advantage of the easy access to ammunition, including landmines, to construct the devices. IEDs in Iraq are initiated by a variety of means, including both command-detonated and victim-activated techniques. Victim-activated IEDs are prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty. Many roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices are believed to be derived from munitions obtained from unsecured storage facilities, including the truck bomb that devastated the UN headquarters in August 2003.^[11]

Prior to the start of the war in March 2003 and during combat, the armed forces of the former government of Iraq mined road junctions, riverbeds, water supply points, and oil wells. Thousands of mines were emplaced around Kirkuk and Mosul, and along the front lines between Kurdish and Baghdad controlled areas.^[12] Mines Advisory Group (MAG) demining teams operating in Kirkuk found Valmara 69 antipersonnel bounding fragmentation mines, PMN antipersonnel blast mines, and VS 1.6 antivehicle mines laid extensively across nearly all routes and around strategic points.^[13] Mines were also encountered on the roads between Erbil and the cities of Kirkuk, Guwer, Mosul, and Makhmer.^[14]

UK forces encountered freshly emplaced antipersonnel minefields advancing towards Basra and newly laid mines were found on the road between Basra and Baghdad.^[15] In early April 2003, US explosive clearance teams cleared at least 500 antivehicle mines from the road surface on a 1.3-kilometer span of the highway linking Baghdad and the Baghdad airport.^[16] Iraqi forces were reported in late March 2003 to have deployed landmines along access routes to their positions around Al-Nasiriyah. British troops near the southern Rumaila oilfields found mines and booby-traps left by Iraqi forces.^[17] US troops entering Najaf in the last days of March encountered mines on roads and bridges into the city.

Coalition Use

Prior to the conflict, the US refused to rule out landmine use in Iraq, saying on one occasion that it might use mines to prevent access to suspected chemical weapon storage sites.^[18] By February 2003, the US reportedly had stockpiled 90,000 antipersonnel mines in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.^[19] Yet, there have been no confirmed reports of use of antipersonnel mines by the United States or other coalition forces during the conflict. US forces used command-detonated Claymore directional fragmentation munitions.^[20]

The widespread use of cluster munitions, especially by US and UK ground forces, caused at least hundreds of civilian casualties during the main fighting. US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that it used 10,782 cluster munitions, which could contain at least 1.8 million submunitions. The British used an additional seventy air-launched and 2,100 ground-launched cluster munitions, containing 113,190 submunitions.^[21] Cluster munitions were used in many populated areas throughout Iraq, including Baghdad, Basra, Hillah, Kirkuk, Mosul, Nasiriyah, and other cities and towns. Clearance NGOs noted that new types of unfamiliar cluster munitions were used and that additional training was necessary.^[22]

Landmine Problem and Survey

Iraq’s landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem is a consequence of four decades of internal conflict, the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran War, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 2003 Coalition invasion. One source notes that before the 2003 conflict, 220 million square meters of land in Iraq needed to be cleared, and landmines and UXO affected more than 1,000 communities.^[23] Much more is known about the landmine problem in northern Iraq because humanitarian mine clearance programs operated there for the past decade. More than 30 different types of landmines are found in Iraq.

Following the Coalition invasion, the Iraqi military abandoned large quantities of ammunition, often located in populated areas or adjacent to civilian objects. Abandoned ammunition, which includes bulk explosives and propellants, is considered to be the primary humanitarian threat to many communities in Iraq.^[24] In November 2003, it was estimated that approximately 600,000 tons of ammunitions remained unsecured across the country.^[25] Much of the ammunition is unstable and some people are undertaking amateur bomb-disposal instead of waiting for official clearance teams, increasing the danger to themselves and others.

The Iraq National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) estimates that there are 10,232 known contaminated areas across the country, but also notes that large areas have not yet been surveyed. In June 2004, NMAA said, “Without the complete information that a Landmine Impact Survey can provide, current data reflects more than 3,500 minefields, 2,200 sub-munitions strike sites, 1,300 UXO sites, 120 arms caches and 2,600 other hazards of a mixed variety.”^[26] The US State Department cited in July 2003 a figure of 2,500 minefields and 2,200 UXO locations.^[27]

The majority of the landmine contamination in Iraq is found throughout northern Iraq and along the border with Iran. A Landmine Impact Survey in the three Kurdish Governorates of northern Iraq, conducted by UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in 2002, indicated that about 20 percent of the population lives in affected communities.^[28] There are 3,444 minefields affecting 1,022 communities out of a total of 4,424 communities. Of the impacted communities, 49 were considered high-impact with a combined population of 154,620 persons.^[29] The greatest concentrations of minefields located along the border with Iran are in the Penjwin, Sharbazher, and Qaladiza districts.^[30] The border areas with Iran were off-limits in the past to UN teams, although MAG conducted significant demining operations there. UNOPS carried out impact survey activities in the five-kilometer zone bordering Iran in northern Iraq in June-August 2003.^[31]

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) contracted MAG/VVAF and MineTech International (MTI), through UNOPS, to conduct an Emergency Mine Action Survey (EMAS) in Iraq from 1 June 2003 to 29 February 2004. MAG/VVAF were responsible for the survey in the northern governorates and MTI in the southern governorates.

MAG/VVAF surveyed 1,760 communities in 11 districts in six of the seven northern governorates. A total of 290 (16.5 percent) affected communities were identified, with a total of 574 dangerous areas between them. All 11 districts were affected to some extent, with a total of 263,780 people living in the affected communities. Key blockages caused by mines and other ordnance were to grazing land in 154 communities (53 percent), crop land in 121 communities (42 percent), returnees in 68 communities (23 percent) and water resources in 62 (21 percent)^[32] The EMAS was conducted according to recognized emergency survey methodologies and the results recorded into IMSMA.

MTI surveyed 1,029 villages and collected data on 527 dangerous areas within proximity of the villages. The survey was completed in Missan governate, but surveys in Wassit, Thi Quar, and Babil governates were unfinished due to the security situation.^[33]

In July 2003, Handicap International carried out a survey that indicated that there are approximately 200 locations contaminated by UXO in Baghdad.^[34]

The Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation (VVAF) began a national Landmine Impact Survey of Iraq on 1 March 2004. This effort is funded by the US Department of State.^[35]

Demining organizations are recording all items found and destroyed on standardized international survey forms (danger area reports) that are returned to the Regional Mine Action Centers (RMACs) and included in an Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database. VVAF established IMSMA in Iraq under the auspices of both the United Nations and US Department of State, and has been providing Technical Advisors in support of this effort since February 2003. This procedure will eventually aid in creating a systematic clearance program in Iraq.^[36]

Mine Action Coordination and Planning

The Coalition Provisional Authority assumed responsibility for mine action in Iraq under its mandate as set forth in UN Security Council Resolution 1483. It established the Iraq National Mine Action Authority and the Iraq Mine Action Center (IMAC) in Baghdad, which became operational on 9 July 2003.^[37] These bodies are responsible for strategic planning and budgeting, project coordination, donor relations, mine risk education, setting national mine action standards, and maintaining the national mine action database. According to the US Department of State, by December 2003, sixty Iraqi civil servants, both men and women, had been assigned to key positions within both entities, receiving training from the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the Mine Action Unit of Cranfield University.^[38] The UN was assisting the NMAA and IMAC until UN staff withdrew from the country after the bombing of the UN Office in Baghdad on 19 August 2003.

Iraqi-staffed Regional Mine Action Centers have been established and have assumed the role of the Area Mine Action Coordination Teams which the UN set up in 2003. The responsibilities are divided into three regions: the Regional Mine Action Center–North (RMAC-N) located in Erbil, the Regional Mine Action Center–South (RMAC-South) located in Basra, and IMAC in Baghdad.^[39] RONCO, MAG and VVAF have been providing staff and supporting the establishment of these structures.^[40]

On 1 July 2004 the responsibilities for mine action coordination in Kurdistan was transferred to the Kurdistan Regional Government. RMAC-North is responsible for coordination in KDP areas north of the green line and the General Directorate of Demining for the PUK areas north of the green line. South of the Green Line the NMAA is the coordination body. There are plans to establish an RMAC-Centre North in either Mosul or Kirkuk.^[41]

The UN Mine Action Service, supported by UNICEF and UNOPS, coordinated UN mine action planning until February 2004, when that role was passed to the UNDP as the new lead UN agency.^[42] The Mine Action Coordination Team (MACT), which had assisted the NMAA to assume responsibility for standards, accreditation, quality assurance and priority setting, was disbanded. In northern Iraq, the UNOPS Mine Action Program transitioned to the control of the RMAC-N and the NMAA in Baghdad.^[43]

Due to the August 2003 bombing at the UN compound in Baghdad, most UN mine action staff evacuated from Iraq and relocated to Amman indefinitely.^[44] Because of the security situation in Iraq and the restrictions on UN staff, the United Nations and the NMAA have proposed a project where NGOs or commercial companies that do not have restrictions on their presence in the country provide mine action assistance to the NMAA in central and southern Iraq.^[45]

Mine Action Funding

A joint United Nations/World Bank needs assessment of Iraq issued in October 2003 estimated that it would cost approximately $234 million to fulfill the mine action needs in Iraq from 2004 to 2007, including $80 million for 2004 alone.^[46] The assessment forecast that under the current funding and strategy, it would take 18 years to free northern Iraq from landmines and UXO.^[47]

Donors poured mine action funding into Iraq in 2003, as agencies rushed in to initiate clearance projects, especially in the south. According to information gathered by Landmine Monitor, fifteen major donors provided about $55 million to mine action in Iraq in 2003: United States ($15.15 million), European Commission ($11.17 million), UK ($8.52 million), Canada ($3.64 million), Italy ($3.33 million), Sweden ($3.21 million), Germany ($3.14 million), Norway ($2.96 million), Denmark ($1.35 million), Greece ($1.13 million), the Netherlands ($975,000), Finland ($235,000), New Zealand ($182,700), Luxembourg ($113,150), and Australia ($88,500).^[48]

• The United States in its fiscal year 2003 provided $15.15 million specifically for mine action in Iraq. This includes $2.95 million the Department of State directly allocated for mine action,^[49] and another $12.2 million for mine action through its Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.^[50] In addition, the US has appropriated very large sums for activities with a mine action component, such as $100 million to the Defense Department to destroy conventional munitions in Iraq, and $61 million to the State Department for munitions clearance in Iraq. Moreover, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $317 million in contracts in fiscal year 2003 to secure and destroy abandoned enemy ammunition in Iraq, whose vast quantities and widespread presence constitute a major humanitarian threat there.^[51]
• The European Commission announced a €9.87 million ($11.17 million) grant in June 2003, to go toward mine-related humanitarian aid, including mine risk education, mine location data gathering, and some mine and UXO clearance, to be distributed through the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office.^[52]
• United Kingdom contributed £5,219,900 ($8.52 million), consisting of £4,357,378 to UNMAS for demining, £781,639 to MAG for demining in southern Iraq, and £80,883 to MAG for MRE preparedness.
• Canada’s CIDA contributed C$5 million (US$3.64 million) in 2003 for coordination of integrated mine action.
• Italy’s contributed €2.946 million ($3.33 million), including €2,446,171 via UNMAS for emergency mine action and clearance and €500,000 to UNDP for mine action, including victim assistance, in Nasariya where Italian troops are deployed.
• Sweden provided a total of SEK26 million ($3.21 million), including SEK9 million to MAG for mine/UXO clearance, and SEK17 million to SRSA for United Nations mine operations.
• Germany contributed a total of €2,773,521 ($3.14 million), including €1,581,427 to UNMAS and DCA for mine/UXO clearance in southern Iraq; €614,587 to HELP for mine/UXO clearance near Baghdad; €314,861 to HI for mine victim assistance and €244,768 for mine risk education in Baghdad region; and €17,878 for a mine/UXO clearance expert with the FSD.
• Norway provided NOK21,033,087 ($2.96 million), consisting of NOK5 million to NPA for mine action in northern Iraq, NOK12,983,087 to NPA for mine action elsewhere in the country, NOK3.02 million to Trauma Care Foundation/Tromsø Mine Victim Resource Center for victim assistance.
• Denmark provided DKK8.9 million ($1.35 million) to DCA for UXO clearance and capacity building in 2003.
• Greece provided €1 million ($1.13 million) to International Mine Initiative for mine/UXO clearance.
• The Netherlands pledged $975,000 for mine action in 2003, including $675,000 via Stichting Vluchteling to MAG for its northern Iraq activities, and $300,000 to Mine Action Coordination Teams in Baghdad and Basra.
• Finland contributed $235,000 in 2003 to UNMAS to assist with the emergency mine action.
• New Zealand contributed NZ$315,000 (US$182,700) in 2003 to UNMAS for emergency mine action.
• Luxembourg provided €100,000 ($113,100) to HI for emergency mine action.
• Australia committed A$136,102 (US$88,500) to CARE Australia for mine/UXO awareness.^[53]

Landmine Monitor estimates that funding for mine action in Iraq totaled about $149 million from 1999 to 2003 (about $10 million in 1999, $23 million in 2000, $30.4 million in 2001, $30.6 million in 2002, and $55 million in 2003). Last year, Landmine Monitor identified about $111 million in mine action funding from 1993 to 2002. The vast bulk of the funds went to the former Mine Action Program for northern Iraq, under the jurisdiction of the UN, from 1997-2002. These funds came entirely from the UN Oil for Food Program. Additional funds were provided directly to the two NGO demining organizations working in northern Iraq, MAG and NPA. In 2002, the UN program received $27.3 million. MAG and NPA received about $3.3 million in 2002. The UN Oil For Food Program ended in November 2003, as stipulated by UN Security Council Resolution 1483.^[54]

Mine Clearance

Before the coalition occupation of Iraq, the only mine action programs were in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Since early 2003, demining has been carried out in northern Iraq by two international NGOs and a few local Kurdish mine action NGOs. A number of different actors conducted emergency mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) in central and southern Iraq following the end of major hostilities in early 2003. However, the majority of mine action NGOs pulled out of Iraq in late 2003 and early 2004 due to the deteriorating security situation. By September 2004, none had returned. The continued fighting has resulted in an ever-increasing number of clearance and EOD tasks. There is no official compilation available of the total amount of land demined in Iraq in 2003 or 2004.

Northern Iraq

The Mines Advisory Group was the only demining NGO to remain active during the hostilities in early 2003 and it has since continued to work as the largest mine action agency in the country. It has expanded the scope of it operations both above and below the green line that formerly divided the autonomous northern Kurdish Iraq from the rest of the country. Norwegian People’s Aid expanded its operations in northern Iraq after the 2003 conflict, while UNOPS closed down its Mine Action Program in early 2003 and transferred its data to the NMAA. Local Kurdish mine action NGOs established by the UN program, such as Aras, continue to operate.

MAG has conducted survey and demarcation, mine clearance, battle area clearance (BAC), explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), mine risk education (MRE), and data collection and analysis in northern Iraq since 1992.^[55] As of August 2004, MAG employed 635 staff (418 technical, 18 management and 199 support staff and deployed 21 Mine Action Teams, ten Community Liaison Teams, two Mine Detecting Dog (MDD) teams (each consisting of a dog handler and two dogs), two bulldozers, and an Armtrac 100 clearance machine from operation bases in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Where security allows, MAG works across all seven of the northern governorates, with particular focus on sites along or south of the former green line: Dahuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Diyala, At Tamim, Salah Ad Din and Ninawa. MAG enters field data into its IMSMA database and as of August 2004, planned to incorporate the information into the database held by the RMAC-North.

In 2003, MAG teams cleared 935,941 square meters of contaminated land and destroyed 29,667 landmines, 4,387 cluster bomblets and 875,285 other items of UXO. MAG’s EOD/BAC efforts cleared or visually reduced 12,934,68 square meters of affected land. From January-August 2004, MAG manually cleared 790,000 square meters of land, conducted battle area clearance on 10,132,788 square meters, and destroyed 3,885 landmines, 1,163 cluster bomblets, and 62,290 other UXO.

Between 1999 and 2003, MAG cleared 120 minefields or 2,627,462 square meters of affected land, reduced another 1,516,393 square meters, and destroyed a total of 51,866 mines, 4,500 cluster bomblets, and 9,241,196 UXO.^[56] From its inception in 1992 to August 2004, MAG cleared 31,085,560 square meters and destroyed more than 125,546 mines, 5,890 cluster bomblets, and 1,285,266 other UXO.^[57]

In 2004, MAG received funding support from US Department of State, Netherlands, Sweden, UK (DFID), ECHO, UN, SPAS, Stichting Vluchteling, Roots of Peace and Adopt-A-Minefield.

Following the end of major hostilities in 2003, Norwegian People’s Aid reorganized and expanded its operations in northern Iraq, where they had been working since 1995 in the sub-district of Mawat in Sharbazher district in Suleymaniyah governate.^[58] Activities following the conflict included rapid response teams and an expanded operations into new northern areas. These expanded operations included two teams in Halabja/Hawraman in the Sulaimany province and two EOD teams operating in Khanaqin in the Diala province, which expanded further south into Balad Rooz and Naftkhana until security concerns in late 2003 required them to pull back. The teams were entirely led by national staff, and in 2003 16 male and eight female demining team leaders were trained. NPA mine risk education activities benefited 1,280 people in 2003. In 2003, donors including Norway, the United States, and the Swiss Labor Association provided $1,295,775 to NPA.

In 2003, NPA manually cleared 52,870 square meters of affected land, did battle area clearance of 1,012,700 square meters, and destroyed 293 antipersonnel mines, eight antivehicle mines, and 29,852 UXO. In the first half of 2004, NPA cleared 76,406 square meters of affected land, did BAC of 60,100 square meters, and destroyed 315 antipersonnel mines, 146 antivehicle mines, and 43,600 UXO.

From 1999 to 2003, NPA manually cleared a total of 447,947 square meters of affected land, conducted BAC of 2,972,086 square meters, and destroyed 3,093 antipersonnel mines, 31 antivehicle mines, and 56,283 UXO.^[59]

Between 1997 and 2003, UNOPS was responsible for the northern Iraq Mine Action Program, using funds provided through the UN Oil for Food program. In this period, more than 12.2 square kilometers of land in the three northern governorates were cleared, destroying over 79,000 UXO, 2,500 cluster bomblets, 11,000 antipersonnel mines and 560 antivehicle mines. More than 7.9 million square meters of cleared land was handed over to the local population and another 24 million square meters of contaminated land was marked. More than 1,300 national deminers and supervisors were trained and deployed in northern Iraq.^[60] Local Kurdish demining NGOs were established in northern Iraq by mid-2002, and were carrying out demining activities with UNOPS support.^[61] In the lead-up to the March 2003 war, the UN Mine Action Program withdrew all international personnel from Iraq and suspended clearance activities, but continued marking, risk education and survivor assistance activities.^[62]

Prior to the handover of the UNOPS mine action program to the NMAA and the CPA, Mine Clearance Teams (MCT) cleared and returned a significant amount of land to the local population in three northern governorates.^[63] Under UNOPS’s guidance, local NGOs carried out UXO and mine clearance, destruction, and land marking work in Dahuk, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah.^[64] By early October 2003, these MCTs cleared 18 minefields in Sulaymaniyah, nine in Erbil and 11 in Dakuh.^[65] It was reported in April 2004 that the local Kurdish organization, Aras, had cleared one-third of the 130,000 square meter contaminated area in Grdasoor, which lies between Kirkuk and Erbil.^[66]

Local mine clearance operators established under the UN program that continue to work in northern Iraq include: the NGOs Kurdistan Organization for Mine Awareness (KOMA) and Tiroj Demining Organization (TDO), and the company Zozik in Dahuk governorate; the NGOs Aras Demining Organization (ADO) and the Kurdistan Organization for Mine Awareness (KOMA-North), and the companies Ararat and Zozik in Erbil governorate; and the NGOs Bawajy Demining Organization (BDO), KOMA, and Pirmam Demining Organization (PDO), KOMA-South and the companies Ararat and Khabat companies in Sulaymaniyah governorate.^[67]

In northern Iraq, the Kurdistan Army Command cleared mines left by retreating Iraqi forces, destroying almost 600 antivehicle and antipersonnel mines laid on the main road between Erbil and Kirkuk.

Southern Iraq

Mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal in central and southern Iraq was carried out in 2003 and 2004 by deminers from various entities, including local authorities (Iraqi Civil Defense Organization), national armies (Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Slovakia, Ukraine, US, and UK), commercial companies (RONCO Consulting Corporation and MineTech International), and numerous NGOs. By early 2004, however, the majority of NGOs (DanChurchAid, Handicap International, HELP, and MAG), as well as the commercial company Mechem, had suspended their operations in this part of the country or had pulled out completely due to security problems. Some NGOs initiated mine clearance programs in 2003 that have since been completed (International Mine Initiative, InterSoS, and NPA).

British and US forces deployed mine and EOD teams during and after the main military campaign of 2003 to clear primarily civilian areas and areas directly endangering coalition troops. The clearance activities focused on submunition strike sites and Iraqi ammunition stockpiles.^[68]

Within the Iraqi Civil Defense Organization, certain members specialize in EOD, while also performing other duties, such as firefighting. Since the 2003 conflict began, these EOD activities have focused on removal of submunitions and other UXO. The US military has been reluctant to share explosives necessary for mine/UXO destruction with CDO members, as their training has been deemed generally inadequate.^[69]

As part of the US’s three-year Iraqi mine clearance program, the CPA and the US State Department created the 110-person non-governmental Iraqi Mine/UXO Clearance Organization (IMCO), which has manual deminers, mine detecting dogs, medical technicians, and logistic and administrative support personnel.^[70]

In the Polish-controlled southern sector of Iraq, 82 Slovak deminers cleared mines in 2003 from over 150,000 square meters of land, including Karbala, the border with Iran, and Hilla.^[71] As of May 2004, there were 105 Slovak military engineers working to dispose of mines and UXO in southern Iraq.^[72] Ukrainian and Kazak peacekeepers under Polish command reportedly destroyed more than 64,200 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, and 15,200 UXO between 27 August 2003 and 3 March 2004.^[73] Soldiers from Central American nations under Polish command, including deminers, mostly from the Nicaragua, carried out mine clearance in south-central Iraq, reportedly destroying over 22,000 tons of explosives by April 2004.^[74]

In 2003, deminers from the US State Department’s Mozambique-based Quick Reaction Demining Force worked in Hilla, where they had cleared more than 27,600 square meters of land of 922 mines and 92 UXO by the end of July 2003, and near Baghdad, where they had surface-cleared in excess of 1.1 million square meters and destroyed over 1,200 UXO by the same date. The Greek NGO, International Mine Initiative, completed clearance of a 20,000 square meter minefield alongside a major road near the city of Hilla in December 2003, about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad.^[75] The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and private donors funded the clearance.

A team of some ninety EOD experts from MineTech International (MTI) was contracted by UNOPS and has been operating in Iraq since May 2003.^[76] As of June 2004, MTI has four EOD teams and four manual clearance teams operating in the Basra and Missan governorates in southern Iraq. In 2003, MTI cleared almost four million square meters of land. By February 2004, MTI had destroyed or cleared approximately 1,162 tons of ammunition, 492,033 items of unexploded ordnance, and 33,024 landmines.^[77]

The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action supported the World Food Program’s humanitarian efforts in Iraq from mid-April 2003 to October 2003, with the aim of opening roads and warehouses and providing for the safe passage of emergency assistance. FSD deployed emergency response teams to Basra, Baghdad and Erbil, where they were integrated into WFP sub-offices and tasked directly by WFP’s field security officers. In 2003, FSD sent 16 international staff to the region, who then recruited and trained 74 national deminers. FSD teams cleared offices and infrastructure, food storage warehouses, mills and roads. FSD also provided mine and UXO safety training courses to more than 380 UN personnel and NGOs. FSD withdrew after the bombing of the UN office.^[78]

Norwegian People’s Aid established a one-year emergency mine action program in Baghdad in June 2003, deploying three teams, each comprised of an NPA technical advisor, an Iraqi Civil Defense officer and 10 national staff. By the time the program concluded in June 2004, the teams had cleared 226,714 UXO from Baghdad and the surrounding areas.^[79] The three teams and their equipment were transferred to the Iraqi Mine Clearance Organization in June 2004.^[80] NPA's southern division was funded by Norway with NOK 13 million ($1.95 million) and by ECHO with €1 million ($1.13 million).^[81]

The Danish Demining Group (DDG) deployed four Quick Response Teams consisting of Scandinavian and Afghan deminers to conduct emergency clearance and EOD operations.^[82] It started training EOD teams on 1 August 2003, evacuated Iraq in September 2003 due to security concerns, but returned to Basra a month later with plans to expand in 2004. In 2003, DDG cleared a total of 2,760,000 square meters. Its 2003 budget of €1,660,000 ($1.88 million) was provided by ECHO.

The Italian NGO InterSoS deployed two clearance teams, each with seven experts from Italy and Bosnia, in the three northern districts of Basra (Al Midaina, Al Qurna, and Shatt al Arab) between 28 May and 27 November 2003.^[83] ECHO funded the six-month project that destroyed a T55 tank full of dangerous UXO, 115 cluster bomblets, and another 80,122 items of ordnance, including landmines, UXO and ammunition.^[84] In 2003, InterSoS received €800,000 ($905,000) from ECHO for the Basra emergency clearance project.^[85]

The Danish NGO, DanChurchAid (DCA), operated out of Basra with Action by Churches Together (ACT) from 30 April 2003 to 7 February 2004. It closed down after a roadside bomb attack on one of its vehicles in Basra on 31 January 2004.^[86] Before ending its work, DCA provided emergency battle area clearance and EOD in which it destroyed more than 60,000 landmines and UXO. DCA received a total of $3,464,000 from Denmark (DANIDA), ECHO, ACT and private donors such as the Mennonite Central Committee.^[87] Handicap International (HI) deployed two British and 15 Bosnian deminers to Iraq in July 2003 to clear approximately 200 sites between Baghdad and Najaf, but as of April 2004, the French arm of HI suspended its work.^[88] The German relief organization HELP deployed four deminers to Iraq in October 2003 to train 30 local Iraqi deminers and clear sites around Baghdad, with contributions provided by the Germany and private donations.^[89] In April 2004, HELP pulled its non-Iraqi staff out of the country due to security concerns.^[90]

The Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) deployed a five-person EOD team to Basra, to support the UNMAS MACT and the IMSMA database, with funding provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.^[91] In October 2003, all personnel were relocated back to Sweden due to the security situation.

The South African demining company, Mechem, conducted demining as part of the UN Oil-for-Food program, which concluded in November 2003. Mechem withdrew shortly thereafter due to security concerns.^[92]

It is unclear to what extent Iraqi forces engaged in mine clearance activities in Baghdad-controlled Iraq before March 2003. According to MAG, prior to the 2003 war the Iraqi Army was responsible for clearing landmines; Civil Defense Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams removed aircraft bombs, cluster submunitions, and projectiles; while a division of the secret police handled booby-traps, car bombs, and such devices.^[93]

Mine Risk Education

A variety of agencies have conducted Mine Risk Education (MRE) activities, including the Civil Defense, HI, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Iraqi Red Cross Society (IRCS), InterSoS, Kurdistan Organization for Mine Awareness, MAG, Save the Children Alliance, and UNICEF.^[94] Two of these, InterSoS and HI, suspended their activities in April 2004 due to security concerns. UNOPS reports that in northern Iraq, from 1997-2003, the Mine Action Program provided MRE to more than 290,000 people.^[95]

MAG continued providing emergency mine risk education to at-risk groups in southern Iraq, operating out of Basra, until December 2003 when funding provided by UNICEF ran out, In 2003 included 82 direct MRE sessions, 78 in Basra Governorate and 4 in Thi-Qhar Governorate, with 28,413 direct beneficiaries. In addition, teams worked on materials development for a mass MRE campaign. MAG also conducted rapid assessment in Thi-Qar and Al-Muthanna governorates in June 2003.

MAG has been the main mine risk education provider in northern Iraq since 1993. In 2003, MAG undertook 2,635 field visits for community liaison, MRE, and related activities, reaching 1,409,246 direct beneficiaries, including 248,337 MRE beneficiaries.^[96] Between 1999 and 2003, MAG carried out a total of 18,266 field visits for community liaison, MRE, and related activities, reaching a total of 1,631,54 direct beneficiaries, including 423,298 MRE beneficiaries (half of them in 2003 alone).

MAG has been working with the Ministry of Education to develop MRE into the school curriculum and training teachers. MAG also developed a religious leader program and, with the Ministry of Awqaf, developed MRE messages for Friday prayers. These programs have focused upon the Kurdish areas.^[97]

According to UNMAS, UNICEF plays the lead role in mine risk education activities in Iraq;^[98] however, the UNICEF MRE Officer was based in Jordan as of May 2004.^[99] In 2003, UNICEF conducted an emergency survey in central Iraq in 56 geographical sectors in the Baghdad governorate. The results will be used to prioritize MRE activities. UNICEF also conducted an emergency mass media campaign, which included TV spots, radio messages, newspaper advertisements, posters, leaflets, and school calendars. UNICEF and MAG are working closely with the NMAA to develop local capacity to conduct mine risk education, develop MRE standards for Iraq, and to conduct mass media campaigns.^[100] From 1 December to 4 December 2003, a NMAA workshop was held in Erbil to develop a national MRE strategy.^[101] In 2004, MAG provided MRE support to NMAA, with funds provided by US Department of State.

The local NGO Kurdistan Organization for Mine Awareness conducts community-based MRE in the three northern governorates of Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.^[102] Tools used include direct training, puppet shows, drama videos and games.^[103]

InterSoS teams launched mine risk education campaigns in primary schools in and around Basra in August 2003.^[104] Nine direct presentations were made, reaching a total of 3,127 students. Another 25 schools, totaling 8,663 students, were needs-assessed. Two Italian and four local staff members carried out these MRE activities.^[105] The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is providing mine awareness training to Iraqi refugees returning over the border from refugee camps in Iran. InterSoS also assisted in this training.^[106] NMAA reported in April 2004 that InterSoS had suspended all MRE activities because of the security situation.^[107]

Handicap International launched emergency mine risk education activities in Baghdad in May 2003.^[108] The HI program began with a mass media campaign. Tools used included folders, posters and radio spots.^[109] MRE folders were field-tested at the beginning of April among Iraqi refugees in Jordan; 200,000 copies of the folder were produced and disseminated through religious and community leaders, NGOs and UN agencies.^[110] In April 2004, because of the security situation, HI suspended its mine action activities.^[111]

The Civil Defense delivers MRE messages through its centers throughout the country.^[112]

Save the Children Alliance has been conducting mine risk education for school children in Baghdad, Basra and in the north.^[113] As of early 2003, it had sponsored 14 MRE summer camps for more than 8,500 children and completed a health, safety and landmines awareness project that reached over 15,000 children and adults in southern Iraq.^[114]

The ICRC has been involved in the provision of mine risk education since April 2001.^[115] In January 2002, the ICRC signed an agreement with the Iraqi Red Crescent Society and developed MRE in the four southern governorates. In early 2003, more than 400 IRCS volunteers in 15 governorates were trained to carry out field surveys and alert the population in contaminated areas. Tools used included posters, leaflets and radio spots.^[116] Information gathered on contaminated sites was “relayed to the Coalition forces/occupying powers that were urged to address the issue immediately.”^[117] The ICRC and the IRCS have since conducted a mine risk education campaign in Fallujah and the surrounding areas.^[118]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

There is no comprehensive or systematic nationwide data collection mechanism in Iraq and the security situation and on-going conflict makes it impossible to provide an accurate picture of the number of people killed or injured by landmines, unexploded ordnance and cluster munitions throughout Iraq. Hospitals reported a significant increase in admissions caused by incidents involving mines and UXO in the aftermath of major hostilities in 2003.^[119] The limited information available gives an indication of the scope of the problem, particularly in northern Iraq where data collection systems had been established prior to the conflict. The UN suggests that, based on the available casualty data, Iraq is currently the most UXO and landmine-affected country in world.^[120]

The mine/UXO casualty rate in northern Iraq rose considerably in early 2003 during and immediately after the major hostilities, with at least 1,796 new mine and UXO casualties recorded in 2003. According to UNOPS, the casualty incidence rate reached almost 200 per month in northern Iraq after March 2003.^[121] UNOPS also reported that the number of mine and UXO casualties during March and April 2003 increased by 90 percent compared with the same period in 2002.^[122] From 1 March to 31 December 2003, MAG recorded 1,167 new mine and UXO casualties (134 killed and 1,033 injured) in seven governorates of northern Iraq; 581 were children and 34 were women. Landmines were the cause of at least 215 casualties.^[123] MAG believes data remains incomplete for some governorates. In 2003, the Italian NGO Emergency’s two surgical centers in Sulaymaniyah and Erbil admitted 147 new mine casualties and 482 UXO casualties.^[124] In comparison, in 2002, 457 new mine/UXO casualties were recorded in northern Iraq.  UNOPS recorded 279 casualties (17 people killed and 262 injured) in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, including 111 children.^[125] MAG recorded another 32 new mine/UXO casualties (three killed and 29 injured) in Kirkuk and Dohuk, and 96 new mine/UXO casualties (22 killed and 74 injured) in Sulaymaniyah in 2002.^[126]

Very limited data is available for other parts of the country. In May 2003, it was reported that in Basra alone, around five people each week were being killed or injured by unexploded ordnance.^[127] In June 2003, the UN MACT reportedly established a mine/UXO casualty monitoring system through 82 public health centers in the Basra governorate.^[128] Data collected in the southern governorates of Basra, Thi-Qar, Missan and Muthanna found that mines and UXO caused 324 casualties over a six-week period from 16 June to 1 August 2003. Of 215 casualties reported to June 2003, 65 (30 percent) were children under five-years-of-age. The majority of incidents involving children were caused as a result of playing or tampering with UXO.^[129] It is not known if the monitoring system is ongoing.

In April 2003, an Iranian BBC photojournalist was killed when he stepped on a landmine in Kifri; a BBC producer lost his foot in the same incident.^[130]

Refugees from the first Gulf War (1991) and many Iranian Shiite Muslims attempting to cross the heavily mined Iraq/Iran border region to return home or to visit religious sites in Iraq fell victim to mines in 2003. (See Iran report) Casualties reported in the media in 2003 include an Iraqi refugee killed in July in a mine incident near the Iran-Iraq border.^[131]

The mine/UXO casualty rate in northern Iraq appears to have reduced in 2004, with MAG reporting an average casualty rate of twenty people per month in early 2004.^[132] The Italian NGO Emergency’s surgical center in Sulaymaniyah admitted eight new mine/UXO casualties in the first two months of 2004.^[133] Casualties reported in the media include two people killed and more than 12 injured in a landmine explosion near the city of Kirkuk on 26 March.^[134] On 7 May, one Polish and one Algerian national were killed, and another Pole injured in a landmine incident on the Baghdad-Hilla road. All were part of a Polish television crew.^[135] In June, two US civilian truck drivers were killed in two separate landmine incident.^[136]

Landmines and IEDs have reportedly killed 142 Coalition soldiers up to 15 April 2004.^[137] Between mid-March and December 2003, the media reported at least 13 US soldiers were killed and 53 injured in mine, cluster bomb and UXO incidents and accidents. Two British soldiers were killed and one injured in separate UXO and landmine incidents in March, May and November, one fatality occurred during an EOD operation.^[138] From January until the end of June 2004, the media reported at least six US soldiers were killed and six injured, one Polish soldier killed, and five British soldiers injured, in mine, cluster bomb and UXO incidents.^[139] During the 1991 Gulf War, landmines, UXO and cluster munitions killed 34 US servicemen and injured 143 others, or 13 percent of all casualties; at least 81 casualties were caused by landmines.^[140]

The total number of mine casualties in Iraq is not known. According to MAG to the end of December 2003, 13,672 mine/UXO casualties (4,551 killed and 9,121 injured) have been recorded in the four northern governorates of Dohuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk, with casualties reported as far back as 1950. The vast majority, however, occurred since 1990, and about 67 percent were attributed to landmines.^[141] Between 1999 and the end of December 2003, at least 3,333 mine and UXO casualties were recorded in northern Iraq. According to UNOPS, landmine and UXO incidents caused an average of 30 casualties per month in 2001, 31 per month in 2000, and 56 per month in 1999.^[142]

Prior to the outbreak of war, a German medical team attached to UNIKOM conducted several evacuations of Iraqi civilians seriously injured by mines and UXO near the Iraq/Kuwait border, including 25 people in the period March 2001 to March 2003. In 2001, at least another ten people were killed or injured in mine/UXO incidents in other regions of the country. In 2000, UNIKOM treated 87 people injured by mines and UXO.^[143]

In 2002, a deminer was killed and another five injured in mine clearance accidents in northern Iraq.^[144]

Survivor Assistance

The health system in Iraq was once among the best in the Middle East region. However, conflict and more than a decade of economic sanctions seriously impacted on the quality of care available; only about four percent of healthcare facilities benefited from any rehabilitation or reconstruction from 1990 to 2003. The Ministry of Health is responsible for a network of 240 hospitals and 1,200 primary health clinics, and some specialized services for persons with disabilities. Medical and rehabilitation facilities are reportedly inadequate to treat the injured and sick, or meet the needs of persons with disabilities. Some facilities lack running water and constant electricity supplies, equipment has not been properly maintained, and there is a lack of well-trained and experienced healthcare workers.^[145]

Several specific issues have been identified as limiting services for the rehabilitation and reintegration of persons with disabilities including: a shortage of raw materials, equipment and rehabilitation aids; a lack of transport to existing facilities; the need to update and upgrade the knowledge and skills of rehabilitation specialists; an absence of community-based rehabilitation programs; a lack of psychosocial support programs; and the need for vocational training programs and income generation opportunities.^[146] The on-going security situation and instability in Iraq is a major obstacle to providing adequate and appropriate care to mine survivors and other persons with disabilities.

Between 1999 and March 2003, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) completed rehabilitation work on ten major hospitals and 15 primary health care centers as part of its integrated medical emergency program. Widespread looting in April 2003 saw several hospitals ransacked and stripped of beds, surgical equipment and supplies. Subsequently, the ICRC worked to re-equip hospitals and restore medical services. More than 60 urban hospitals received substantial quantities of medical supplies and equipment.^[147]

The Italian NGO, Emergency, runs two surgical centers for civilian war victims in Erbil (since 1998) and Sulaymaniyah (since 1996) and provides emergency medical care at a network of 24 first-aid posts throughout northern Iraq. Two first aid posts were opened in April 2003 in Kirkuk public hospitals. In 2003, the two surgical centers admitted 3,489 people, including 155 mine casualties and 482 UXO casualties: 2,231 people were assisted in 2002 (117 mine casualties); and 2,154 in 2001 (119 mine casualties). A third Emergency Surgical Center is being constructed next to the Al Husayin Hospital in Karbala. In 2003, Emergency also provided the Al Kindi Hospital in Baghdad with medicines and supplies to resume activities.^[148]

The Norwegian NGO, Trauma Care Foundation (TMC), runs a program training local healthcare workers in emergency first aid. A study in 2001 carried out by TMC in northern Iraq found that 70 percent of mine survivors suffered chronic pain long after the mine incident. The TMC encouraged mine survivors and their families to establish self-help groups that were then able to access income-generating programs. It was found that for many of the survivors in the study their pain problems were alleviated once they were earning an income to support their families. The training manual, “Save Lives, Save Limbs” was distributed in the Kurdish language in 2003.^[149] The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs funds the program.

The Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) works in Iraq to raise awareness and facilitate access to emergency assistance for casualties of the war.^[150] Other international NGOs and agencies providing medical relief and support to casualties of the conflict include International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières, Merlin, Save the Children, UNICEF and Voluntary Relief Doctors.

The ICRC provides support to five prosthetic/orthotic centers located in Baghdad (3), Basra and Najef, as well as to the Iraqi Red Crescent/Norwegian Red Cross-supported centers in Mosul and Erbil, and the school for prosthetics and orthotics in Baghdad. Assistance is no longer provided to the war-damaged former Ministry of Defense Center in Baghdad. ICRC support includes renovating facilities, providing materials and components, and training prosthetic/orthotic technicians and physiotherapists. Activities in 2003 were affected by the security situation, with all expatriate staff leaving by October. The ICRC continues to monitor the physical rehabilitation program and provide materials and components. Since 1999, the centers fitted more than 11,956 prostheses (6,230 for mine survivors), produced 7,443 orthoses (at least 14 for mine survivors), and distributed more than 7,908 crutches and 54 wheelchairs, including at least 925 prostheses (470 mine survivors), 670 orthoses (eleven for mine survivors), 834 crutches and 25 wheelchairs in 2003. Of all those provided with orthopedic devices at the centers in 2003, at least 701 people were assisted for the first time.^[151]

In northern Iraq, the UNOPS Victim Assistance Program was integrated into the MAP and provided a network of services to mine/UXO survivors, including support for four prosthetic/orthotic centers (Dohuk, Diana, Halabja, and Sulaymaniyah), seven orthopedic outreach centers, three rehabilitation centers, two emergency surgical hospitals, and 20 first-aid posts; all of these received funding under the UN Oil for Food program. The aim of the program was to provide comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation for mine/UXO survivors and other persons with disabilities. The construction of rehabilitation and vocational training centers in Diana and Dohuk were completed in 2002/2003. Since the program started in 1997, 380,813 services ranging from medical treatment, prostheses, and rehabilitation, were provided to mine/UXO survivors and other persons with disabilities. From 1 January to 31 May 2003, the UNOPS network assisted over 1,500 new patients, produced over 560 prostheses and orthoses, provided over 13,400 physiotherapy treatments, and recorded 27,800 out-patient visits. In 2002, a total of 1,305 prostheses (about 795 for mine/UXO survivors) were provided; 1,239 prostheses (about 650 for mine/UXO survivors) were fitted in 2001. The UNOPS Victim Assistance Program assisted 5,000 to 6,000 people each year at an annual cost of around US$4 million; approximately 927 Iraqi nationals are employed in all funded programs. Over 60 percent of employees working in the rehabilitation centers have a disability.^[152] The program was handed over to the CPA on 21 November 2003. No details of activities since May 2003 were made available to Landmine Monitor.

In Sulaymaniyah, Emergency’s Center for Rehabilitation, Prostheses and Social Reintegration provides physical and social rehabilitation programs and vocational training and support to establish small businesses and cooperative workshops. In 2003, the center provided 2,546 physiotherapy treatments (2,199 for mine/UXO survivors), fitted 568 prostheses (318 for mine/UXO survivors), repaired 1,565 prostheses (1,352 for mine/UXO survivors), distributed 186 walking aids (102 for mine/UXO survivors) and eight wheelchairs (one for a mine survivor), and modified 15 houses (13 for mine/UXO survivors); 512 prostheses and 118 crutches were provided in 2002. In addition, the cooperative workshops directly benefited 47 people, including 39 mine/UXO survivors. Emergency is co-implementing rehabilitation and vocational training services with the Dohuk and Diana prosthetic limb centers. Emergency employs 835 national staff. From September 1999 to December 2003, all programs were fully funded by UNOPS.^[153]

The Prosthetic Limb Center (PLC) in Dohuk in northern Iraq since 1999, opened new facilities in late 2003. The PLC was once funded by Emergency and the UN Oil-For-Food program, but responsibility for funding was turned over to the CPA after the Oil-For-Food program ended. The PLC provides physiotherapy, prosthetics and assistive devices, community-based rehabilitation, and vocational training. The PLC employs over 90 staff; many are mine survivors. In December 2003, 14 students were enrolled in vocational training programs in carpentry, metalwork or sewing. Since 1999, the PLC has assisted almost 11,500 people.^[154] Under the UNOPS program, mine survivors received vocational training for six months after the fitting of prostheses to improve their employment opportunities.^[155]

Handicap International runs two orthopedic centers in Sulaymaniyah and Halabja, and two satellite units in Penjwen and Kalar. Following the conflict, international staff withdrew temporarily, but the centers continued to operate. In 2003, the centers produced and distributed 286 lower-limb prostheses, 353 orthoses, 91 assistive devices and 600 walking aids, repaired 1,724 orthopedic devices, and provided 3,187 physiotherapy sessions. In 2002, the centers produced 568 prostheses; and 425 prostheses in 2001. Social workers are available to provide psychosocial support to aid in the reintegration of persons with disabilities into their community. HI also assists in the training of prosthetic technicians and assistants, and raises awareness on the rights and needs of persons with disabilities. HI continues to operate a mobile team composed of a technician and a physiotherapist, which is able to reach isolated villages to ensure adequate follow-up.^[156]

In June 2003, HI sent 300 emergency prostheses to the Baghdad Institute for Medical Technology, which had been ransacked during the war. The institute is the only center for training orthopedic technicians in Iraq. In 2003, 12 Iraqi physiotherapists from six different Baghdad area hospitals received training from HI. In October 2003, HI’s operations extended to the Al Kanat orthopedic center in Baghdad.^[157]

The Norwegian Red Cross (NRC), in cooperation with the ICRC, has supported two prosthetic centers in the cities of Erbil and Mosul in northern Iraq since 1994. Due to the security situation and difficult working conditions, especially in Mosul, activities have been scaled down and only Iraqis are currently working at the centers. Approximately 90 people per month are assisted through the two centers; 97 percent are men, two percent are women and one percent children. Between March and December 2003, the two centers assisted 597 people, including 367 mine/UXO survivors. In 2002, 1,479 people (546 mine/UXO survivors) were assisted; and 1,061 people (596 mine/UXO survivors) in 2001. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NRC financially support the centers. The NRC/ICRC planned to gradually hand over control of the centers to local partners in 2005, but the war has postponed this option indefinitely.^[158]

The Norwegian NGOs Tromso Mine Victim Resource Center and Trauma Care Foundation continue their work in Iraq, providing emergency and continuing medical care; rehabilitation, prosthetics and assistive devices; employment and socio-economic reintegration; and assistance with legislation and national planning.^[159]

The Dutch NGO Acorn supports the Sulaymaniyah Children’s Rehabilitation Center and satellite physiotherapy units in each of the ten district towns of Sulaymaniyah governorate. Acorn has plans to develop a four-year degree course in physiotherapy at the university in Sulaymaniyah.^[160]

In December 2003, the US-based Wheelchair Foundation sent 280 wheelchairs, donated by church and private contributions, to Iraq for distribution to casualties of the war, including mine survivors. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, in coordination with the US State Department, provided the transport while the NGO Life for Relief is overseeing the distribution. More wheelchairs will be sent in 2004.^[161]

In 2002, the UNDP implemented a “Community Based Rehabilitation for the Disabled” project in Iraq to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups. As of June 2002, more than 400 micro-credit programs had been started. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare established a National Fund for Micro-finance to support the economic integration of persons with disabilities.^[162] The current status of the program is not known, or if any mine survivors have benefited.

In the past other organizations identified as providing programs for persons with disabilities in northern Iraq include the Rozh Society for Disabled People, the Helena Center, and the Handicapped Union (local NGOs). However, the current status of these programs is not known.

In June 2003, it was reported that the role of victim assistance in the UN MACT would be reviewed. Issues to be considered included mine casualty reporting; planning of national victim assistance services, and the UN policy on mine action and victim assistance.^[163] The UN’s “Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2004” includes a project for the “Establishment of Operational Capacities in Mine Clearance and Victim Assistance” to be implemented through national and international NGOs.^[164] No further details are available. NMAA’s role in victim assistance is reportedly limited to monitoring other organization’s activities.^[165]

Disability Policy and Practice

The 1980 Iraqi Social Welfare Law No. 126 recognized the right of all persons with disabilities to rehabilitation services, and other medical, educational and economic rights.^[166] Under the new “Law of Administration” for the Transitional Government existing laws remain in force, and the rights of individuals to healthcare and social welfare is reiterated.^[167]

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for issues relating to persons with disabilities. Facilities are also provided by the Ministries of Health, Defense, and Education.^[168]

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[1] Landmine Monitor (HRW) interview with Mowafak Ayoub, Director, Disarmament Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 10 February 2004.
[2] Letter to UN Secretary-General from Masoud Barzani, President of the KDP, 3 October 1999; letter to UN Secretary-General from Jalal Talabani, PUK General Secretary, 26 January 2000.
[3] Geneva Call, “NSA Newsletter,” June 2003, p. 4. The deputy head of the PUK, Adnan Mufti, signed the deed after some amendments. “Kurdish PUK-led government signs mine-banning treaty,” Al-Sulaymaniyah Kurdistani Nuwe, 11 August 2002.
[4] Interview with Mowafak Ayoub, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 February 2004. He said that production facilities were destroyed during the air war.
[5] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 931.
[6] Landmine Monitor (HRW) interview with Saad A. O. Hussain, Counseiller of the Permanent Mission of Iraq in Geneva, 12 September 2000.
[7] Weapons estimate for Iraq at 1 million tons,” Knight Ridder/Milwaukee Journal, 19 October 2003.
[8] “US forces battle against time to get to weapons depots before militia does,” Agence France-Presse, 17 May 2004.
[9] MAIC, James Madison University, “Landmine Situation in Iraq,” 27 April 2004.
[10] Interview with Mowafak Ayoub, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 February 2004.
[11] “U.N. bomb was made from old munitions, FBI says,” Associated Press (Baghdad), 20 August 2003.
[12] Information provided to Landmine Monitor by Tim Carstairs, Director for Policy, MAG, 7 June 2004.
[13] MAG, “MAG in Iraq—First in, last out,” ReliefWeb, 19 April 2003.
[14] Muhy-al-Din Qadr, “Over 1,000 mines removed from just three liberated areas,” Brayati (KDP newspaper), 26 April 2003. Article republished by BBC, 28 April 2003.
[15] Tim Butcher, “Marines plan the siege of Basra,” Daily Telegraph (UK), 31 March 2003; “US Landmine Experts Begin Removal Work in Iraq,” Voice of America, 24 May 2003.
[16] “US forces clear mines from road linking airport to Baghdad,” Agence France-Presse, 11 April 2003.
[17] Lindsay Taylor, “Basra and Baghdad,” Channel 4 News (UK), 25 March 2003.
[18] US Department of Defense, “Background Briefing On Targeting,” 5 March 2003.
[19] Alexander G. Higgins, “Campaigners fear use of land mines in Iraq,” Associated Press, 6 February 2003.
[20] US Central Command, “CENTCOM Operation Iraqi Freedom Briefing,” 31 March 2003.
[21] HRW, “Off Target: The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in Iraq,” December 2003, p. 6.
[22] MAG, “MAG Report to Landmine Monitor, 1 June 2003-30 June 2004,” 3 August 2004.
[23] MAIC, JMU, “Landmine Situation in Iraq,” 27 April 2004.
[24] UNMAS, “Update on Iraq,” 14 May 2003; MASG, Newsletter: June 2003, Annex 5, p. 17.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Email from Jenny Reeves, MRE Technical Advisor, Iraq National Mine Action Authority (NMAA), 23 June 2004.
[27] US Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Humanitarian Demining Programs, “The US Humanitarian Demining Program in Iraq,” 2 July 2003.
[28] UN/World Bank, “Joint Iraq Needs Assessment,” October 2003; email from Charles Downs, Division Chief, Mine Action Unit, UNOPS, 24 July 2003.
[29] UNOPS, “UNOPS Implemented Programme in Northern Iraq, under SCR 986 (Oil-for-Food), Terminal Report, Consoldiated,” 31 March 2004, p. 9.
[30] MAIC, JMU, “Landmine Situation in Iraq,” 27 April 2004.
[31] UNOPS, “Iraq: Situation Report 6 June 2003,” ReliefWeb, 6 June 2003 and 7 August 2003.
[32] MAG, “MAG Report to Landmine Monitor, 1 June 2003-30 June 2004,” 3 August 2004.
[33] Jo Foster, “On the Ground in Iraq,” Journal for Mine Action, Issue 8.1, June 2004.
[34] HI, “Handicap International’s activities in Iraq,” ReliefWeb, 15 August 2003.
[35] VVAF’s Information Management & Mine Action Program (iMMAP) is implementing the survey. Email from Joe Donahue, Program Director, VVAF, 1 October 2004.
[36] InterSoS, “InterSoS Mine Action teams in Southern Iraq,” ReliefWeb, 15 September 2003; information provided by Tim Carstairs, MAG, 7 June 2004.
[37] UN/World Bank, “Joint Iraq Needs Assessment,” October 2003.
[38] US DOS, “Progress in Clearing Iraq’s Landmine Legacy,” 12 December 2003.
[39] MAG, “Programs: Iraq,” accessed 25 May 2004.
[40] Ibid.
[41] Email from Tim Carstairs, Director of Policy, MAG, 4 October 2004.
[42] UNMAS E-Mine website, “Country Update, Iraq,” accessed 28 May 2004.
[43] US DOS, “Progress in Clearing Iraq’s Landmine Legacy,” 12 December 2003.
[44] UNMAS, “Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2004,” November 2003, p. 225.
[45] UN, “Capacity Development for Mine Action in Iraq 2004,” “MRE in Iraq 2004,” and “Establishment of Operational Capacities in Mine Clearance and Victim Assistance 2004,” at: www.mineaction.org .
[46] UN/WB, “Joint Iraq Needs Assessment,” October 2003.
[47] Ibid.
[48] In some cases, funding is for a donor’s fiscal year, rather than calendar year 2003. Unless a US$ figure was provided by the donor, Landmine Monitor used the average annual exchange rates for 2003 calculated by the US Federal Reserve, available at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g5a/current, accessed 12 October 2004.
[49] “Congressional Budget Justifications: Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2005, Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related programs (NADR) appropriation,” 10 February 2004, pp. 154 – 158.
[50] Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004.
[51] Email from John Stevens, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US DOS, 23 September 2004.
[52] European Commission appendix in Landmine Monitor Report 2004; European Commission External Relations, “Iraq: Commission grants EUR 10 million to combat landmines,” 5 June 2003.
[53] AUSAID, “Australian humanitarian aid to Iraq updated 21 Jan 2004,” ReliefWeb, 21 Jan 2004.
[54] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, Executive Summary, p. 58. The 2002 figure for the UN is from: Email from Charles Downs, UNOPS, 24 July 2003.
[55] Unless otherwise noted, MAG data is from Response to Questionnaire submitted by email from John Wallace, International Partnerships Manager, MAG, 20 August 2004.
[56] In 2002, MAG cleared 411,097 square meters of affected land, reduced a total of 247,907 square meters; and destroyed 2,508 mines and 4,333 UXO. In 2001, MAG cleared 377,930 square meters of land, including 160,340 square meters reduced; and 3,506 mines and 10,592 UXO were destroyed. In 2000, MAG cleared 434,087 square meters of land; reduced a total of 277,754 square meters; and 7,636 mines, five cluster bomblets, and 6,530 UXO were destroyed. In 1999, MAG cleared 468,407 square meters; reduced another 830,392 square meters of land safe; and destroyed 8,549 mines, 108 cluster bomblets, and 29,128 UXO.
[57] Email from Tim Carstairs, Director of Policy, MAG, 4 October 2004.
[58] All information from NPA is from this source unless otherwise noted: Email from Sherko H. Rashid, Program Manager, NPA, 17 June 2004.
[59] In 2002, NPA cleared a total of 43,882 square meters of land as well as an additional 565 square meters through BAC, and destroyed 257 antipersonnel mines, two antivehicle mines and 195 UXO in the operations. In 2001, NPA cleared 100,391 square meters of land, destroying 394 antipersonnel mines, an antivehicle mine, and 164 UXO. In 2000, NPA cleared 152,232 square meters, did BAC of 272,643 square meters, and destroyed 1,381 antipersonnel mines and 5,796 UXO. In 1999, NPA cleared 98,572 square meters of land, BAC 1,280,271 square meters, and destroyed 768 antipersonnel mines, two antivehicle mines and 20,276 UXO.
[60] UNOPS Appendices in Landmine Monitor Report 2004 and Landmine Monitor Report 2003. See also UNOPS, “Programme in Northern Iraq, Terminal Report,” 31 March 2004, pp. 7-10.
[61] UN Office of the Iraq Oil-for-Food Program, “Landmine Mapping and Clearance,” (undated). In its appendix to this Landmine Monitor report, UNOPS reports that it established “four local manual demining NGOs, two MRE NGOs, [and] three local Mechanical contractors.... Transfer of all manual teams took place by mid-2003 and all dog teams were planned to be transferred by October 2003.”
[62] Email from Charles Downs, UNOPS, 24 July 2003; UNOPS Appendices in Landmine Monitor Report 2003 and 2004.
[63] MAIC JMU, “Landmine Situation in Iraq,” 27 April 2004.
[64] UNOPS, “Iraq: UNOPS-MAP Situation Report 7 August 2003,” ReliefWeb, 7 August 2003.
[65] UN, “Iraq Update,” 8 October 2003.
[66] “Iraqis comb northern hills for unexploded mines,” Reuters, 8 April 2004.
[67] UN MAP, “Annex IIIb: Resource Distribution per Governorate” in draft Terminal Report. Emailed from Michael P. Mersereau, Senior Portfolio Manager, Mine Action Unit, UNOPS, 16 September 2004.
[68] Email from Charles Downs, UNOPS, 24 July 2003.
[69] Interview with Bonnie Docherty, researcher, Human Rights Watch, Washington DC, 11 July 2003. Docherty conducted a mission to Iraq in May 2003.
[70] US DOS, “Progress in Clearing Iraq’s Landmine Legacy,” 12 December 2003.
[71] “Slovaks clearing Iraq of mines,” CTK Business News, 3 November 2003; “Part of Slovak engineering troops move to Iraqi-Iranian border,” CTK Daily News, 12 October 2003.
[72] “Slovakia hopes to train Iraqi soldiers in de-mining,” CTK, 20 February 2004; “Communist Party Want Discuss Withdrawal of Slovak Troops from Iraq,” SITA, 6 May 2004.
[73] “Defense Ministry Completes Rotation of Peacekeepers in Iraq,” Ukrainian News, 3 March 2004.
[74] US DOS, “Central American Troops Make Important Contribution in Iraq,” 21 April 2004.
[75] International Mine Initiative website, www.demining.gr accessed 8 September 2004.
[76] Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 609
[77] Jo Foster, “On the Ground in Iraq,” JMA, June 2004.
[78] FSD, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, pp. 9-10; MAIC JMU, “Situation in Iraq,” 27 April 2004.
[79] Email from Borge Hoknes, Technical Advisor/Administration, NPA, 7 June 2004.
[80] Ibid.
[81] Email from Erik Tollefsen, Technical Advisor MA, NPA Oslo, 28 June 2003.
[82] Email from Michaela Bock Pedersen, DDG, 23. April 2003.
[83] InterSoS, “Mine Action teams in Southern Iraq,” ReliefWeb, 15 September 2003.
[84] InterSoS, “Mine and UXO clearance in heavily-infested areas,” 16 September 2003; see Italy country report in Landmine Monitor Report 2004.
[85] See Italy country report in Landmine Monitor Report 2004.
[86] Unless otherwise noted, the information on DCA is from: Email to Landmine Monitor (NPA) from Richard Connah, Project Manager, DCA (Amman, Jordan), 25 February 2004.
[87] See Denmark country report in Landmine Monitor Report 2004.
[88] Reuters AlertNet, “NGOs in Iraq pull out, say sieges create aid crisis,” 15 April 2004.
[89] “HELP starts Mine Clearance Iraq,” Reuters, 2 October 2003.
[90] “German aid agency flies last foreign workers out of Iraq,” AFP, 12 April 2004.
[91] MAIC JMU, “Situation in Iraq,” 27 April 2004.
[92] Ibid.
[93] MAG, “Iraq Update,” 6 June 2003.
[94] NMAA, “MRE Organizations in Iraq,” May 2004.
[95] See UNOPS appendix in Landmine Monitor Report 2004.
[96] Response to Questionnaire by MAG, 20 August 2004.
[97] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 4 October 2004.
[98] UNMAS E-mine website, Iraq Country page, accessed 28 May 2004.
[99] NMAA, “MRE Organizations in Iraq,” May 2004.
[100] UNICEF, “Things that go Bang!” Issue Number 11, December 2003.
[101] MAG, “Iraq Update,” 6 December 2003.
[102] NMAA, “MRE Organizations in Iraq,” May 2004.
[103] Blake Kent, “Organization teaches mine awareness,” Iraqi Destiny, 24 June 2003.
[104] InterSoS, “Mine and UXO clearance,” 16 September 2003; See Italy entry in this report
[105] Ibid.
[106] Ibid.
[107] NMAA, “MRE report April 2004” (undated).
[108] UNMAS, “Update on Iraq,” 22 May 2003. See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.610.
[109] Email from Sophie Bonichon, MRE Coordinator, HI Lyon, 25 February 2004.
[110] HI, “HI agit avec l’UNICEF pour prévenir les accidents par mines et par munitions non explosées,” Lyon, 24 April 2003.
[111] HI, “HI évacue ses effectifs internationaux de Bagdad,” ReliefWeb, 14 April 2004.
[112] NMAA, “MRE organizations in Iraq,” May 2004.
[113] Save the Children Fund, “Iraq emergency statement 29 September 2003,” ReliefWeb, 29 September 2003; SCF, “SCF is working to improve children’s lives, help rebuild war-torn neighborhoods,” ReliefWeb, 23 February 2004.
[114] SCF, “Meeting the needs of Iraqi children and families,” ReliefWeb, 5 November 2003; SCF, “SCF is working to improve children’s lives,” ReliefWeb, 23 February 2004.
[115] Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.672.
[116] ICRC, Special Report Mine Action 2003, Geneva, August 2004, p. 48-49.
[117] Ibid, p.49.
[118] ICRC, “Iraq bulletin—6 June 2003,” 6 June 2003; UN Assistance Mission in Iraq, “Iraq: Situation Report – Week in Review, 24-30 May 2004,” ReliefWeb, 3 June 2004.
[119] ICRC Special Report, “Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, August 2004, p. 47.
[120] UN/WB, “Joint Iraq Needs Assessment,” October 2003, p. 5.
[121] UNOPS-MAP, “Terminal Report: Mine Action,” 31 March 2004, p. 2.
[122] “UN Update on Iraq,” email from Richard Kollodge, UNMAS, 15 May 2003.
[123] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 5 October 2004.
[124] Response to LM Questionnaire by Donatella Farese, Desk Officer for Iraq, Emergency, 4 March 2004. Casualties recorded by Emergency and not included in the MAG statistics.
[125] Email from Ibrahim Baba-Ali, Mine Victim Assistance Manager, UNOPS MAP, Erbil, 24 June 2003.
[126] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 22 July 2003; MAG-Iraq, “Mines & UXO’s Victims Statistics: January 1991–May 2003,” fax from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 20 June 2003. MAG does not collect data from the Emergency Surgical Hospital in Sulaymaniyah. MAG recorded 45 casualties in Erbil but these statistics have not been included in the total of new casualties in 2002.
[127] Andrew Marshall, “UK troops lecture Iraqi pupils on unexploded bombs,” Reuters, 17 May 2003.
[128] UN Update on Iraq, email from Richard Kollodge, UNMAS, 12 June 2003.
[129] UN/WB, “Joint Iraq Needs Assessment,” October 2003, p. 4.
[130] “BBC cameraman killed by landmine in Iraq,” Reuters, 2 April 2003.
[131] “UN to Limit Iraqi Refugee Repatriations from Iran,” IranMania.com, 10 July 2003. See Iran country report in Landmine Monitor Report 2004 for more details.
[132] MAG, “Landmine charity MAG clears over one million mines and bombs in Iraq since the war and says the work must continue,” Press Release, 25 March 2004.
[133] Information provided to Landmine Monitor by Emergency Sulaymaniyah surgical center, April 2004.
[134] “Iraqi Guerillas Kill 2 in Mosul,” Voice of America, 27 March 2004.
[135] “TV crew members killed by land mine in Iraq – Polish official,” Polish Radio 1, 7 May 2004.
[136] “Civilian truck drivers from Florida, Georgia, killed in Iraq,” Associated Press, 22 June 2004.
[137] Melinda Liu, John Barry and Michael Hirsh, “The Human Cost,” Newsweek, 3 May 2004.
[138] Landmine Monitor analysis of 54 media reports for the period: 19 March-30 December 2003.
[139] Landmine Monitor analysis of 18 media reports for the period: 1 January-2 July 2004.
[140] “Military Operations: Information on US Use of Land Mines in the Persian Gulf War,” GAO-02-1003, United States General Accounting Office, September 2002, pp. 14-16.
[141] Email from Tim Carstairs, MAG, 6 October 2004.
[142] For more details on casualties see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 611; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 846; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 1053.
[143] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 611; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 672-673.
[144] Email from Ibrahim Baba-Ali, UNOPS, 24 June 2003.
[145] Iraqi Ministry of Health website, available at www.mohiraq.org (accessed 13 September 2004); UN/WB, “Joint Iraq Needs Assessment: Health,” Working Paper, October 2003, pp. 5-7; WHO, “Briefing Note on the Potential Impact of Conflict on Health in Iraq: March 2003,” 20 March 2003, pp. 8-11; “Limbless victims of Iraq’s conflicts soldier on,” Reuters (Baghdad), 4 August 2004.
[146] World Rehabilitation Fund, “Situation Analysis of Different Social Welfare Issues in Iraq,” New York, 13 October 2003, pp. 27-29.
[147] ICRC Special Report, “Mine Action 2003,” Geneva, August 2004, pp. 47-48.
[148] Response to LM Questionnaires by Emergency, 4 March 2004, 11 March 2003, 24 April 2002.
[149] Presentation by Dr. Torben Wisborg, Trauma Care Foundation, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 13 May 2003; Trauma Care Foundation, Tromsoe Mine Victim Resource Center, “Annual Report 2002,” pp. 7-8.
[150] Email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Marla Ruzicka, founder, CIVIC, 28 August 2004. CIVIC’s goal is to see legislation implemented in the United States to provide assistance to innocent Iraqis who were harmed as a result of military operations in Iraq.
[151] Statistics for 2003 are incomplete due to security situation. ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, 9 March 2004, pp. 16 and 26; “Annual Report 2002,” June 2003, p. 10; “Annual Report 2001,” 14 April 2002; “Annual Report 2000,” 31 March 2003; “Annual Report 1999,” 31 March 2000, p. 11.
[152] Emails from Ibrahim Baba-Ali, UNOPS, 24 June 2003 and 30 May 2002; UNOPS, “Mine Action Programme, Northern Iraq: Fact Sheet,” 8 April 2003. Further information on two centers providing this total number of prostheses is included below in the reports on activities of the NGOs Emergency (Sulaymaniya) and Handicap International (Halabja).
[153] Response to Questionnaires by Emergency, 4 March 2004, 11 March 2003, 24 April 2002; Email from Ibrahim Baba-Ali, UNOPS, 30 May 2002.
[154] UN OCHA, “Focus on help for war wounded and landmine victims,” ReliefWeb, 17 December 2003.
[155] UN OCHA, “Widespread landmines pose danger to returnees,” ReliefWeb, 12 June 2003.
[156] Email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Dr. Bryar, Rehabilitation Coordinator, HI Kurdistan, 26 August 2004; HI, “Activity Report 2003,” Brussels, 15 July 2004, p. 24; For more details on activities in 2002 and 2001 see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 614 and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 847.
[157] HI “Activity Report 2003,” Lyon, 12 August 2004, p. 17; HI, “HI’s activities in Iraq,” Press Release, 15 August 2003; HI, “HI maintains its teams and activities,” Press Release, 13 October 2003.
[158] Response to LM Questionnaire by Mette Buchholz, Regional Coordinator MENA/Americas, Norwegian Red Cross, 24 August 2004; For details on activities in 2002 and 2001 see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 614 and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 847. The statistics for these two centers are included in the total ICRC statistics for Iraq.
[159] Intervention by Norway, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 13 May 2003. Landmine Monitor notes.
[160] “NGO works for better disability care in north,” IRIN, 10 March 2004.
[161] Donna Mills, “Defense Department Supports Wheelchair Donations in Iraq,” American Forces Information Service News, 19 February 2004.
[162] “The UNDP in Iraq: A Fact Sheet,” available at www.undp.org/dpa/journalists/UNDP_in_Iraq.pdf, accessed 12 October 2004.
[163] “UN Update on Iraq,” email from Richard Kollodge, UNMAS, 20 June 2003.
[164] UNMAS, “Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2004,” pp. 226 and 228.
[165] Iraq Mine Action website, available at www.iraqmineaction.org.
[166] UNICEF, “Situation Analysis: Iraq,” Reliefweb, 28 February 2002.
[167] Article 14 and Article 26, “Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period,” 8 March 2004, available at www.cpa-iraq.org.
[168] WRF, “Situation Analysis,” 13 October 2003, pp. 47-48.