Table of Contents

Country Reports

LM Report 2006

Tajikistan

Key developments since May 2005: State authorities report destroying 80 antipersonnel mines in December 2005 seized during law enforcement operations. Tajikistan consumed 30 mines for training of deminers in 2005; this was reported using the new expanded Article 7 report format for retained mines. Swiss Foundation for Mine Action demining teams cleared 129,156 square meters in 2005, a big increase made possible by an expansion in demining capacity. A mine detection dog center opened in April 2006. Shortfalls in donor support jeopardized plans to achieve higher productivity in 2006. In May 2006, Tajikistan completed a victim assistance plan for 2005-2009. Casualties increased for the third consecutive year to 20. From 18 to 30 July 2005, the first camp for 32 child mine survivors was held, providing mine risk education and survivor assistance.

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Tajikistan acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 12 October 1999 and the treaty entered into force on 1 April 2000. In the past, the government has said that new legislation to implement the treaty domestically is unnecessary, as it relies on its criminal code to punish violations of the treaty.^[1] However, at the government’s request, the Tajik NGO Harmony of the World is reviewing existing laws and will make recommendations to the Ministry of Justice for amendments in order to harmonize national laws with the requirements of the Mine Ban Treaty.^[2]

Tajikistan submitted its fourth Article 7 transparency report on 14 March 2006, covering calendar year 2005.^[3] It includes extensive narrative text in voluntary Form J on victim assistance and mine action funding.

The Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection led the country’s delegation to the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia in November-December 2005. Tajikistan also attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2005 and May 2006, making presentations to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, and the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration.

Tajikistan is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines, but did not participate in the Seventh Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2005 and has never submitted annual national reports as required under Article 13. Tajikistan became party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war on 18 May 2006. 

Production, Transfer, Use, Stockpiling and Destruction

Tajikistan reports that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.^[4] The most recent use of mines in Tajik territory occurred in 2000 and 2001, when Russian and Uzbek forces placed mines at various border locations inside Tajikistan.^[5]

Tajikistan destroyed its stockpile of 3,084 antipersonnel mines inherited from the Soviet Union between 5 May 2002 and 31 March 2004, finishing just ahead of its treaty-mandated deadline.^[6] Tajikistan retained 255 antipersonnel mines for training purposes through 2010 when their shelf life expires.^[7] In March 2006, Tajikistan reported consuming 30 of the retained mines during 2005 for refresher training of survey and demining personnel.^[8] Tajikistan used the new formats adopted at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties for reporting on retained mines, and this was the first time Tajikistan reported consuming retained mines. Training for 150 demining and survey personnel and 12 mine detecting dogs is scheduled for 2006, but there is no indication of the types and quantities of the remaining 225 retained mines that will be used to support this activity.^[9]

Weapons, including antipersonnel mines, were widely dispersed among the general population during the 1992-1997 civil war. There have been occasional media reports of the seizure or discovery of hidden depots of firearms, explosives and munitions by Tajik forces.^[10] In December 2005, Tajik engineer troops destroyed 80 antipersonnel mines (60 POMZ-2, 16 OZM-72, 3 PMN, 1 PMN-2) seized by other state authorities during law enforcement operations.^[11]

Tajikistan is the only State Party to declare antipersonnel mines stockpiled by a non-State Party on its territory. It reported that approximately 18,200 antipersonnel mines of various types are stockpiled with Russian Ministry of Defense units deployed in Tajikistan.^[12] These stockpiles are not under the jurisdiction or control of Tajikistan.^[13] In each of its Article 7 reports, Tajikistan has reported that intergovernmental talks were underway to clarify and complete data collection regarding these Russian mines.^[14]

Landmine and UXO Problem

Tajikistan is contaminated with mines as a result of civil war in 1992-1997 and mine-laying along its borders by Russian and Uzbek forces.^[15] Landmines are said to have resulted in 91 people killed and nearly 100 injured since August 2000.^[16] Landmines also cause losses to livestock and deny access to scarce pasture and agricultural land, adding to the economic hardships faced by the population in a mountainous country where less than 10 percent of land is suitable for cultivation.^[17] Reportedly, there is no problem with abandoned explosive ordnance in Tajikistan.^[18] However, clearance data includes a small amount of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

The Tajikistan Mine Action Centre (TMAC) reports at least 25 square kilometers of contaminated land, but it is updating the database with new survey reports that indicate at least 50 square kilometers may be contaminated. TMAC expects that ongoing survey operations may raise this figure.^[19]

Minefields from the civil war are concentrated in the central Tavildra district and Rasht valley region and in the western part of Gorno Badakhshan province. Soviet forces laid minefields along the border with Afghanistan to deter cross-border infiltration by hostile armed groups and drug traffickers.^[20] Tajikistan’s State Border Protection Committee has maps of some minefields laid by government forces and by Russian troops on the Afghan border, but Tajik authorities say that in many border areas mines were dropped by helicopter, making it difficult to establish their precise location.^[21] Heavy snowfalls, avalanches, rock and mud slides also make the position of those mined areas difficult to locate.^[22]

Tajikistan’s population, however, is most affected by landmines laid by Uzbekistan’s security services in 1999-2001 to deter infiltration of the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan seeking to set up an Islamic state in the area.^[23] Mine incidents in the Sugd province bordering Uzbekistan accounted for 10 of the 19 mine casualties in Tajikistan in 2005.^[24] Action to clear the mines has been hampered by uncertainty over their location and a dispute with Uzbekistan over the border’s demarcation.^[25]

Mines may also be present on Tajikistan’s border with Kyrgyzstan. A Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense official said in July 2003 that all Kyrgyz-laid landmines on the border had been cleared.^[26] However, press reports in April 2004 suggested that there were still mines on the Tajik side of the border that had been emplaced by Kyrgyz troops.^[27] In the same month, Tajik inspectors reported finding antipersonnel minefields near the border, although it was not clear which country had laid the mines.^[28]

Mine Action Program

The regulatory authority overseeing mine action in Tajikistan is the government’s Commission on the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (CIIHL), chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for Security and involving representatives of ministries in all sectors affected by landmines. The Commission, which should meet at least every quarter, is responsible for setting policy, accrediting and regulating operators, coordinating mine action and approving all activities.^[29]

The Tajik Mine Action Centre, established in June 2003 with support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), is the CIIHL’s implementing agency. It is mandated by CIIHL to draw up plans in consultation with operators and to coordinate and inspect all mine-related activities, including assessment, technical survey, marking and clearance of mined areas, together with mine risk education and elements of victim assistance.^[30] It is also responsible for managing a mine action database and coordinating with donors. UNDP continues to provide technical advice to TMAC, and international donors provide funds to train, staff and equip TMAC.^[31]

Tajikistan aims to put demining operations now managed by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) under national management by 2007-2008 and recognizes a need to “progressively take financial responsibility for its own mine action program.”^[32] Discussions were under way with FSD on procedures for the transfer of management to national authorities.

TMAC completed preparation of national mine action standards based on the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) on 29 October 2005, and expected the government to embody these in legislation soon.^[33] An English-language draft of 25 chapters of standards was due to be translated into Tajik for use in the 2006 demining season.^[34]

Strategic Planning and Progress

CIIHL’s Five-Year Strategic Mine Action Plan 2004-2008 sets out a vision of making Tajikistan “safe from the negative humanitarian and economic impact of landmines.” This includes eliminating landmine casualties, ensuring economic activity is not impeded by either landmines or UXO and assisting the relevant authorities to provide physical, social and psychological support to survivors of mine incidents.^[35]

The plan’s objective is to clear all high and medium priority areas in the central region by the end of 2007, all low priority areas by the end of 2009, all high and medium priority areas in undisputed parts of the Tajik-Uzbek border “as soon as the political situation permits,” and all high and medium areas along the Tajik-Afghan border by 2009.^[36]

The plan emphasizes the need for survey in order to better define the extent of mine contamination. It gives priority to survey, marking and clearance of mines in Sugd province where the impact of mines is believed to be greatest. Operations would follow in economically important areas of the Afghan border as survey and clearance capacity became available. The withdrawal of Russian troops from the Tajik-Afghan border in 2005 opened up opportunities for demining operations there.^[37]

In 2005, TMAC planned to expand its operational capacity to six survey, four manual clearance and four mine detecting dog teams.^[38] By the end of 2005, however, TMAC had been unable to achieve this expansion due to a lack of funds.^[39]

The strategic plan envisaged expenditure on mine action of US$10.3 million in the three years to 2006 ($4.3 million in 2004, $2.6 million in 2005 and $3.4 million in 2006).^[40] However, TMAC reported in March 2006 that the total funding received since the start of the program in July 2003 amounted to only $5.3 million. Donor support fell about $1 million short of the plan in 2005, preventing it from proceeding with planned expansion in operating capacity. Of the $3 million sought by TMAC for 2006, it received pledges of $2 million but, as of May 2006, had received only $100,000.^[41]

As a result, TMAC had funds to support operations by only one of the FSD’s four clearance teams, raising concern that any donor funds eventually delivered in 2006 would arrive too late to support clearance operations (restricted by climate to May-November).^[42] Six mine risk education (MRE) projects planned for 2006 at a projected cost of $152,000 failed to attract donor support.^[43]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Tajikistan must destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible but no later than 1 April 2010. Tajikistan’s report on demining in 2005 acknowledges these obligations but adds that as its present capacity is insufficient to meet the 2010 clearance deadline, it needs to expand.^[44] Tajikstan noted in its Article 7 report of March 2006, that the period of four years until 1 April 2010 “is not enough for the completion of the foreseen scale of work (according to the original information of the general assessment in the country more than 25 mln sq.m. are considered to be mine-polluted)...it is necessary to extend the potential of mine programs for increasing speed of mine clearance.”^[45]

In May 2006, Tajikistan informed the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies of this situation, adding that “it is not difficult to check these statistics and come to a conclusion about the possibility to fulfill the obligation to clear all mines in time.”^[46] Accordingly, Tajikistan has warned that international assistance for the expansion of national mine action capacity “is needed now if we are to meet our obligations to the treaty.”^[47] TMAC has estimated it needs approximately $12 million over the next five years, “That could manage the mines problem almost completely if funds arrive in good time.”^[48]

Demining

Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) is the only demining operator in Tajikistan. The national demining program implemented by FSD employs 136 staff, including four survey and four manual clearance teams. Most operational staff are seconded from the Tajik Army Engineering Battalion, usually on two-year contracts.^[49] Others are drawn from the Tajik State Border Protection Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.^[50] Priority in demining operations is given to settled land with high or potentially high casualties, land used for agriculture, land needed for infrastructure and delivery of essential community services such as water and fuel, and land required for reconstruction.^[51]

In August 2005, FSD added one survey team and two manual demining teams, but the survey team was not deployed because of lack of funds.^[52] A mine detection dog center funded by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) opened in April 2006 and was due to take delivery in May or June of 12 dogs purchased by UNDP and trained, together with 13 Tajik handlers, by Afghanistan’s Mine Detection and Dog Center. The dogs will be used by survey teams for area reduction.^[53] Referring to the need to expand clearance capacity to meet the Article 5 deadline, Tajikstan’s Article 7 report stated that it was also planned to purchase machines for demining.^[54]

Identification of Mined Areas: Surveys and Assessments

Survey teams completed a general survey of mined areas in 2005 after completing assessments on Tajikistan’s western border with Uzbekistan and its southern border with Afghanistan. More than 300 communities were surveyed and 25 mined areas were discovered.^[55] Some information needed to be checked, but TMAC expected quality assurance and verification of the data to be completed in 2006.^[56]

In 2006, TMAC considered the need for a full landmine impact survey. Initial findings from a Survey Action Center visit in February were that the national program’s requirements could be “met by auditing the existing database and resurveying some of the larger suspected hazardous areas.”^[57]

Marking and Fencing

TMAC started a project to install hazard warnings signs in 2004, and by 2005, Tajik border forces had installed more than 2,200 large signs near the perimeter of suspect areas in Sugd province on the Uzbek border. FSD installed approximately 200 similar signs on the Afghan border. In 2006, two survey teams continued placing mine hazard warning signs on the Uzbek and Afghan borders. TMAC planned to complete marking suspect areas by 2008, subject to the availability of funds.^[58]

Mine/UXO Clearance

In 2005, TMAC reported that FSD teams surveyed and cleared 129,156 square meters, removing 1,357 mines and 461 items of UXO. Since demining operations started in 2004, a total of 183,611 square meters were cleared, destroying 1,361 mines and 710 UXO. Technical survey and mine clearance operations were conducted in Chorcharog, Shull and Lulikharvi (Rasht district), Yozgand (Tavildara district), Khaburobod Pass (Darvoz district) and Dashti Yazgulom (Vanj district).^[59]

The deputy head of Uzbekistan’s Border Guard announced in October 2005 that Uzbek security forces had started demining operations on its border with Tajikistan.^[60] Tajik officials welcomed the announcement, but complained that Uzbekistan was not cooperating on border demining and had provided no maps of mined areas or records of clearance conducted, making it impossible to inform local inhabitants of what areas are safe.^[61]

TMAC planned to increase mine clearance to at least 200,000 square meters in 2006 and to halve previous operating costs of $25 per square meter.^[62] However, the non-arrival of pledged donor funding allowed TMAC to deploy only one of four FSD demining teams.^[63]

In April 2006, FSD deminers started clearing a mined area close to a dam site on the Panj River near the border with Afghanistan. TMAC expected to complete the site’s clearance within two months.^[64] In Panj and Vanj districts, 13,345 square meters were cleared from January to 11 June 2006.^[65]

Deminer Safety: A French technical advisor employed by FSD was killed near the border with Afghanistan on 19 April 2006 during clearance operations he was supervising on land contaminated with PMN antipersonnel mines fitted with ML-7 antilift devices. A Tajik deminer working one meter away from the detonation suffered injuries to his hands and arms.^[66] The investigation reported that the accident was not caused by neglect, carelessness or misconduct and that the land had been identified as “very high risk.”^[67]

Mine Risk Education

In 2005, mine risk education (MRE) was implemented by the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan and by UNICEF. All MRE in Tajikistan is coordinated through TMAC. Tajikistan reported on MRE in its Article 7 report submitted on 14 March 2006.

The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, with technical and financial support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and UNDP, carried out MRE in 45 mine/UXO affected communities in the 14 most affected areas of Sugd province, Rasht district, Gorno-Badakhshan province and Tursunzoda district. This program has been ongoing since 2001.^[68] Ten MRE seminars were undertaken, and eight safe playgrounds were constructed in schools. Children from communities in Sugd helped to prepare billboards for the play areas, which explain how to recognize safe and dangerous areas. MRE volunteers organized a competition on the topic “Be Aware of Mines.”^[69] In March and July 2005, refresher training was given to 50 MRE volunteers.^[70] Financial assistance doubled in 2005 to $53,000 ($23,000 from ICRC and $30,000 from UNDP).^[71]

In June 2005, UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Education initiated an MRE project in four highly affected districts in Rasht district and Gorno-Badakhshan province.^[72] A six-day training of trainers workshop was conducted from 15-20 August in Rasht province. In September, UNICEF conducted a survey to ascertain children’s knowledge, attitude and practice of safety behaviour. This revealed that children in the four districts had a relatively good knowledge of safety behavior, but they needed encouragement and reminders to follow the safety rules.^[73] In the most at-risk areas of the four districts, 22 schools were identified; 24 teachers (including two women) became MRE focal points. Around 6,000 schoolchildren received MRE classes.^[74] An MRE manual was designed and translated into Tajik, for use as a reference document for school teachers and other educators. ^[75]

Five TV spots with MRE messages were shown in 2005 by television stations in affected regions; they were also shown in MRE sessions.^[76] The UN booklet, Guidelines to Mine and UXO Safety, was translated and distributed (6,000 copies in Tajik, 3,000 copies in Uzbek).^[77]

A summer camp was held for child survivors from 18 to 30 July 2005 in the Kaltuch rehabilitation facility. It was organized by the local NGO Harmony of the World with financial assistance from Mines Action Canada. In total, 32 young survivors from 15 regions of Tajikistan participated in the camp (25 boys and eight girls). They received psychological support, physical rehabilitation, and seven volunteers provided MRE information and training.^[78] Twelve survivors participated in the MRE program as trainers.^[79]

Funding and Assistance

Tajikistan reported donor funding of $1,960,094 in 2005, consisting of €1,060,000 ($1,319,594)^[80] and $640,500 from three countries, the European Commission (EC), UNDP, OSCE, UNICEF, ICRC and Mines Action Canada. In 2004, Tajikistan reported receiving a larger amount, $2.3 million, from seven countries, EC, UNDP and OSCE.^[81]

Landmine Monitor identified $924,168 in mine action funding reported by three donors in 2005, a significant decrease from 2004 ($2.5 million contributed by six donor countries and the EC).^[82] Donors reporting funding in 2005 were:

• Canada: C$800,000 ($660,339), consisting of C$680,000 ($561,288) to UNDP for TMAC, and C$120,000 ($99,051) through OSCE for integrated mine action;^[83]
• Japan: ¥3,399,000 ($30,869) to FSD for hazardous area marking on the Tajik-Uzbek border;^[84]
• UK: £128,000 ($232,960) through UNDP for integrated demining.^[85]

In addition, in 2005, France continued to contribute to the FSD program by providing two military technical demining advisors.^[86] The Tajik government reported contributing $40,000 as Ministry of Defense expenses for providing FSD with equipment and training space.^[87]

According to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), Tajikistan received $1,979,895 through the 2005 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects, amounting to just over half of the $3,786,554 total appeal. The portfolio’s end of year report stated that by December 2005, TMAC did not have the means to finance running costs or pay the salaries of national staff.^[88]

FSD expended CHF2,123,767 ($1,645,438) in 2005, compared to CHF1,533,834 ($1,348,900) in 2004. OSCE coordinated funding and assistance from several countries and organizations for the FSD project. Contributions to FSD amounted to CHF1,435,958 ($1,112,542) for 2005, most of which came through OSCE; this represents a decrease of more than a third from CHF2,265,270 ($1,992,147) in 2004.^[89]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2005, there were at least 20 new mine/UXO casualties. TMAC recorded 19 new landmine/UXO casualties, including seven people killed and 12 injured. Landmine Monitor recorded one additional casualty, a man injured near the Afghan-Tajik border.^[90] This is a significant increase compared to the 14 mine casualties (seven killed and seven injured) recorded by TMAC in 2004.^[91]

Civilian mine casualties in Sugd province on the Tajik-Uzbek border accounted for 53 percent of total casualties, with four killed and six injured. In Rasht district, three children were injured while playing with UXO.^[92] In April 2005, a Tajik shepherd reportedly lost his arm when a mine exploded near him in the Gorno Badakhshan province on the border with Afghanistan.^[93] TMAC reported another four casualties in that region, with one killed and three injured (including two children).^[94]

In November, two border guards from military unit No. 2711 of the Tajik State Border Committee were killed in a UXO incident.^[95]

Casualties continued to be reported in 2006 with one person killed and one injured by 5 May.^[96]

The total number of mine casualties in Tajikistan is not known. TMAC collects data on mine casualties in cooperation with the ICRC and Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, by requesting information from official sources and questioning people in mine-affected communities. TMAC’s database contained records on 482 landmine/UXO casualties (31 women and 67 children), including 237 people killed and 245 injured since 1992; 20 percent were children. Nationwide data collection has not yet been fully achieved.^[97] In a June 2006 update, total casualty figures were given of 259 killed and 276 injured.^[98] As of May 2006, efforts were underway to integrate all available casualty data into the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA).^[99]

There are reported to have been 124 casualties on the Uzbek-Tajik border since 2000, including 69 killed,^[100] as well as at least 2,000 livestock killed.^[101] According to TMAC, most of the casualties were civilians. The local population is at risk while engaged in farming, grazing animals, gathering wood and other activities that are considered primary sources of income in their communities.^[102]

Survivor Assistance

At the First Review Conference in November-December 2004, Tajikistan was identified as one of 24 States Parties with significant numbers of mine survivors and “the greatest responsibility to act, but also the greatest needs and expectations for assistance” in providing adequate services for the care, rehabilitation and reintegration of survivors.^[103]  Tajikistan presented its 2005-2009 objectives at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in November-December 2005. In May 2006, Tajikistan completed a more specific time-based plan for achieving survivor assistance objectives for 2005-2009 that includes: developing a nationwide mine injury surveillance, data collection and information management including the health and socioeconomic status of survivors (by 2006); an up-to-date database on all disability services (2006); a coordination mechanism for mine victim assistance activities based on identified needs (2006); delivery and expansion of healthcare, rehabilitation, education and socioeconomic reintegration services, and awareness-raising campaigns (mid-2007); improved pre-hospital emergency response capacity by training healthcare workers (2007); national responsibility of the National Ortho Centre to provide long-term quality services (2007); and psychological support to at least 50 percent of registered mine/UXO survivors or their families (by 2008).^[104]

At the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in May 2006, Tajikistan stated that all relevant governmental agencies and NGOs were involved in the new victim assistance plan developed by TMAC, and that the plan would soon be presented for adoption by the government. A working group was created and meets on a regular basis; ministries are preparing budget documents; advances in disability legislation were expected in 2006-2007.^[105] TMAC recruited a victim assistance officer in 2005.^[106]

Tajikistan provided information on its victim assistance activities in Form I and Form J of its annual Article 7 report.^[107]

The mine action strategy for 2004-2008 acknowledges TMAC’s role in victim assistance, which includes ensuring that information is passed to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection so that mine survivors receive the appropriate treatment and rehabilitation, and encouraging the establishment of an advisory committee to help the ministry improve the provision of physical rehabilitation and psychosocial support for mine survivors. Ensuring that mine survivors have equal access to employment and educational opportunities is prioritized in the plan.^[108]

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is responsible for rehabilitation facilities. Mine casualties have the same rights to free medical services as the rest of the population. There are health facilities in the mine-affected areas, but some are reportedly rundown or not functioning. Casualties are transferred to the nearest hospital or clinic by ambulance, if one is available. The Ministry of Health lacks healthcare workers trained in emergency response in the mine-affected areas. The nearest facilities for specialized care are the central district hospitals; however, the mine-affected areas of Tavildara, Shahrinav and Varzob do not have specialized trauma care staff and others lack training in the latest developments in trauma care.^[109]

The Ministry of Health collects data on types of services provided from all healthcare facilities on a regular basis but there is no centralized database to record and analyze information due to a lack of resources.^[110]

Continuing medical care is available and there is access to corrective surgery in 40 percent of the districts; however, due to difficulties in accessing services and the lack of equipment and training of medical personnel, the services do not meet the needs of mine casualties. All citizens have the right to free emergency medical services, but must pay for secondary treatment. Some survivors face administrative, bureaucratic and other problems in accessing medical services such as issues obtaining passports and transit visas.^[111]

Basic assistive devices are available and most landmine survivors have access to physical rehabilitation services at the National Ortho Centre in Dushanbe, run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in cooperation with the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan with ICRC financial and technical assistance. There are three satellite workshops but these are in poor condition. However, there is no waiting list for the fitting of prostheses or orthoses.^[112]

The government has taken over more of the running costs of the National Ortho Centre, in accordance with the ICRC exit strategy; handover is to be completed by 1 January 2007. The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan coordinated transportation of patients to the center and follow-up for amputees from remote areas.^[113] There are over 1,500 registered amputees in Tajikistan.^[114]

In 2005, the National Ortho Centre assisted 435 people, produced 313 prostheses, 122 orthoses and 178 pairs of crutches, and distributed 78 wheelchairs; 34 mine survivors were provided with prostheses.^[115] Mine survivors and other people with disabilities from Sugd region reportedly face difficulties accessing the center due to the cost of purchasing passports to enable them to travel through Uzbekistan to reach the capital.^[116]

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection provided training to six prosthetic technicians in Yerevan, Armenia. After graduating, they were introduced to ICRC technology by an ICRC prosthetic technician at the Dushanbe center.^[117]

There is a physiotherapy school in Tajikistan, and ICRC provided on-the-job training for physiotherapists and orthopedic technicians. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection runs satellite orthopedic centers in Leninobad province, Kulob district (Khatlon province) and Khorog (Gorno-Badakhshan province); however, these centers reportedly lack capacity. Local wheelchairs are produced in Konibodom, 300 kilometers northwest of Dushanbe.^[118]

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection also established the 70-bed National Research Institute for Rehabilitation of Disabled People, which conducts research on disability issues and provides physical rehabilitation.^[119]

The Assistance to Landmine Survivors project was implemented cooperatively by the ministry, ICRC, UNDP and the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan. In 2005, UNDP and Italy provided $34,000 to the National Ortho Centre, which covered the cost of transportation for patients and their caretakers, and included meals and accommodation at the center’s hostel; 25 of those served under the project were mine survivors.^[120]

Tajikistan has no peer-to-peer support groups or mutual aid programs. Limited training for social workers was available through the School of Social Work in Stockholm, Sweden, and some psychological support is available at central district hospitals from trained psychologists; however, there is a lack of training for post-traumatic stress disorder. Child mine survivors have access to the education system; however, teachers are not trained in the special needs of children with disabilities. Some teachers participated in short seminars on the issue.^[121]

Access to employment by landmine survivors is exacerbated by high unemployment in Tajikistan. In 2005, direct assistance in the form of income generation opportunities was provided for mine survivors in six districts, including three in Sugd district and three in Rasht valley. Under the program, 458 people from 72 survivors’ families received two sheep or goats for their future use or benefit; basic foodstuffs, fodder for the animals and seed stock for planting crops were also provided. The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan established a five-year plan for repayment of juvenile breeding pairs in order to extend the opportunity to 18 families in 2007, and to another 18 in 2008. The budget was $20,000 ($15,000 from UNDP and $5,000 from Italy).^[122]

The Centre for Training and Reintegration of Former Military Personnel promotes economic reintegration of ex-combatants, including mine survivors. Occupational rehabilitation of other people with disabilities is also carried out in a special residential school in Dushanbe, where young people receive training in accounting, information technology, tailoring, shoe and TV repair.^[123]

Disability Policy and Practice

Tajikistan has legislation protecting the rights of people with disabilities, including mine survivors, to medical care, physical rehabilitation, socioeconomic reintegration and pensions.^[124]

In 2005, the government allocated more than $30,000 for pensions for mine survivors or the families of those killed in a mine explosion.^[125] Other benefits are also available, including the provision of municipal services and electricity.^[126]

Tajikistan’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper contains provisions that should benefit persons with disabilities, including improving the quality of medical services, improving the pension system, developing a unified rehabilitation structure comprising medical, educational and vocational-professional aspects, improving the quality of prosthetic and orthopedic devices, training of prosthetic/orthotic technicians, and vocational training for people with disabilities.^[127]

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[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 14 March 2005; email from Peter Isaacs, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Chief Technical Advisor, Tajik Mine Action Centre (TMAC), 15 September 2004. The 1996 Law on Armaments expressly regulates all issues related to the registration, shipment, transport, acquisition, transfer and storage of armaments and munitions on the territory of Tajikistan. Article 7 Report, Form A, 3 February 2003.
[2] UN, “Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2006,” New York, pp. 391-400, www.mineaction.org.
[3] Tajikistan submitted its initial Article 7 report on 3 February 2003, covering calendar year 2002. The report had been due on 28 September 2000. It submitted its second report on 4 February 2004, for calendar year 2003, and third report on 14 March 2005, for calendar year 2004. All reports are in Russian.
[4] Article 7 Report, Forms E and H, 3 February 2003.
[5] Article 7 Report, Form C, 3 February 2003. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 790.
[6] Article 7 Report, Form G, 14 March 2005. The text in Forms A, D and F cites a total of 3,029 mines destroyed, but the detailed listing in Form G adds up to 3,084. This includes: 1,591 POMZ-2; 633 PMN; 436 OZM-72; and 424 MON-100 mines.
[7] The numbers and types of mines initially retained were: POMZ-2M (100); PMN (50); OZM-72 (50); MON-100 (50); and MON-200 (5). Article 7 Reports, Form C, 3 February 2003 and 14 March 2005.
[8] A total of 10 each PMN, POMZ-2 and OZM-72 were destroyed during this training. Article 7 Report, Form D1b, 14 March 2006.
[9] Article 7 Report, Form D1c, 14 March 2006.
[10] See for example, “Russian troops find large arms cache on Tajik-Afghan border,” Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 29 July 2004.
[11] Article 7 Report, Forms F and G, 14 March 2006. It is interesting to note that PMN-2 antipersonnel mines were not part of Tajikistan’s original stockpile, but have been reported to be emplaced in mined areas in Tajikistan.
[12] Article 7 Report, Form B, 3 February 2003.
[13] Interview with Jonmahmad Rajabov, Deputy Head of the Board of Constitutional Guarantees of Citizens Rights, Executive Board of the President, Geneva, 5 February 2003. In another interview in Geneva on 13 May 2003, he stated that Tajik forces are under a separate command and control structure and would refuse orders by Russian forces to lay mines.
[14] Article 7 Reports, Form B, 3 February 2003, 4 February 2004 and 14 March 2005.
[15] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, Dushanbe, 16 May 2006.
[16] TMAC, “Consolidating Capacity Building for the Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme,” Version 2, Dushanbe, December 2005, p. 4.
[17] Commission on Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (CIIHL), “Five-Year Strategic Mine Action Plan 2004-2008 (revised),” Dushanbe, April 2006, p. 3; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 555; TMAC, “Consolidating Capacity Building for the Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme,” Version 2, Dushanbe, December 2005, p. 5.
[18] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, Dushanbe, 16 May 2006.
[19] UN, “Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2006,” New York, pp. 391-394; email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 7 May 2006, and telephone interview, 20 April 2006.
[20] CIIHL, “Five-Year Strategic Mine Action Plan 2004-2008 (revised),” Dushanbe, April 2006, p. 3.
[21] “Uzbekistan had no right to mine Tajik border – official,” BBC Monitoring Service, 23 April 2006.
[22] Email from Peter Isaacs, UNDP/TMAC, 15 September 2004; “Tajik-Uzbek border mine problem ‘alarming’ – clearance specialist,” BBC Monitoring Central Asia (Dushanbe), 11 September 2003; “Mines make childhood dangerous pastime in Tajikistan,” Agence France-Presse (Dushanbe), 24 April 2004.
[23] CIIHL, “Five-Year Strategic Mine Action Plan 2004-2008,” Dushanbe, 2004, p. 3.
[24] TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, Dushanbe, February 2006.
[25] Only 85 percent of the Tajik-Uzbek border has been defined, according to Tajikistan’s March 2006 Article 7 report.
[26] Interview with Col. Daniyr Izbasarov, Director, Engineer Department, Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense, Bishkek, 3 July 2003. The Ministry of Defense reportedly said in 2001 that one remote minefield remained, which would be demined in the future. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 689.
[27] “Mines make childhood dangerous pastime in Tajikistan,” Agence France-Presse (Dushanbe), 24 April 2004.
[28] “Jordan’s Queen Noor attends mine-clearing drill in Tajik south,” Tajik Radio, 16 April 2004.
[29] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 16 May 2006.
[30] Email from Peter Isaacs, UNDP/TMAC, 15 September 2004; interview with Jonmahmad Rajabov, Project Manager, TMAC, Dushanbe, 28 April 2005; and CIIHL, “Five-Year Strategic Mine Action Plan 2004-2008,” Dushanbe, 2004.
[31] Interview with Jonmahmad Rajabov, TMAC, Dushanbe, 28 April 2005; email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 16 May 2006.
[32] Statement by Tajikistan, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[33] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 7 May 2006.
[34] TMAC, “Consolidating Capacity Building for the Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme,” Version 2, December 2005, Dushanbe, p. 13.
[35] CIIHL, “Amendments to the five-year strategy for the Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme,” Dushanbe, April 2006, p. 4.
[36] CIIHL, “Amendments to the five-year strategy for the Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme,” Dushanbe, April 2006, p. 10.
[37] UN, “Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2006,” New York, pp. 391-394.
[38] CIIHL, “Five-Year Strategic Mine Action Plan 2004-2008 (revised),” Dushanbe, April 2006, pp. 7-9.
[39] Telephone interview with William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 20 April 2006.
[40] CIIHL, “Five-Year Strategic Mine Action Plan 2004-2008 (revised),” Dushanbe, April 2006, p. 8. These sums did not include expenditure on mine risk education or victim assistance.
[41] Interview with Jonmahmad Rajabov, TMAC, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[42] Ibid.
[43] Telephone interview with William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, Dushanbe, 20 April 2006.
[44] TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 4.
[45] Article 7 Report, Form J, 14 March 2006.
[46] Statement by Tajikistan, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[47] TMAC, “Consolidating Capacity Building for the Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme,” Version 2, Dushanbe, December 2005, p. 3.
[48] “Tajikistan: deminers call for more funds,” IRIN, 2 March 2006.
[49] Telephone interview with William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, Dushanbe, 20 April 2006.
[50] TMAC, “Report on TMAC activities in 2005,” Dushanbe, 2006.
[51] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 7 May 2006; TMAC, “Amendments to the Five-Year Strategy for the Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme,” Dushanbe, 6 April 2006, p. 6.
[52] TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 2.
[53] “New demining dog center launched,” IRIN, 4 April 2006; telephone interview with William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, Dushanbe, 20 April 2006; TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 4.
[54] Article 7 Report, Form J, 14 March 2006.
[55] Interview with Parviz Mavlonkulov, Project Manager, TMAC, Dushanbe, 20 March 2006; TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 2.
[56] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 7 May 2006.
[57] Email from Mike Kendellen, Director for Survey, Survey Action Center, 11 May 2006.
[58] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 7 May 2006; TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 2; Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006.
[59] TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan National Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p.2.
[60] “Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan: landmine threat along Uzbek border removed,” IRIN (Osh) 31 October 2006.
[61] Article 7 Report, “General State of Affairs,” 14 March 2006; see also “Tajikistan has no proof Uzbekistan is clearing border mines,” Itar-Tass (Dushanbe) 21 April 2006.
[62] Statement by Tajikistan, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[63] Interview with Jonmahmad Rajabov, TMAC, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[64] “Tajik-Afghan border mine clearance starts with Swiss help,” Asia-Plus News Agency (Dushanbe) cited by BBC Monitoring Central Asia, 11 April 2006.
[65] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 19 June 2006.
[66] “Mine kills French soldier in Tajikistan,” Agence France-Presse (Dushanbe), 19 April 2006; emails from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 19 April and 7 May 2006.
[67] TMAC, “Board of Inquiry Report into Mine Accident on 19 April 2006,” received by email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 7 May 2006.
[68] TMAC, “Preparing for the First Review Conference, Communicating elements of plans to implement Article 5,” p. 4; email from Aziza Kataeva, UNICEF, Dushanbe, 24 April 2006; ICRC, “Special Report Mine Action 2005,” Geneva, p. 15. The 14 districts are Asht, Isfara, Kanibadam, Pyanjakent, Taboshar, Shahriston, Nurabad, Rasht, Jirgital, Tajikobod, Tavildara, Darvoz, Vanj and Tursunzoda.
[69] Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006; Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, “Annual report on MRE activities for 2005,” 27 February 2006; ICRC, “Special Report Mine Action 2005,” Geneva, p. 15.
[70] Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, “Annual report on MRE activities for 2005,” 27 February 2006.
[71] Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006.
[72] The four districts are Rasht, Tavildara, Vanj and Darvoz (Badakhshan province).
[73] Email from Aziza Kataeva, UNICEF, 24 April 2006.
[74] In Darvoz district 1,553 schoolchildren, in Vanj district 1,261, in Rasht district 2,361 and in Tavildara district 304. Email from Aziza Kataeva, UNICEF, Dushanbe, 24 April 2006.
[75] Email from Aziza Kataeva, UNICEF, 24 April 2006.
[76] Ibid.
[77] Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006.
[78] Ibid; TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 5; UNDP, “Opening of a Summer Camp for Survivors of Landmine Accidents,” Press Release, 25 July 2005.
[79] Email from Bakhtiyor Begmuradov, Coordinator, ICBL Tajikistan, Dushanbe, 25 April 2006.
[80] Average exchange rate for 2005: €1 = US$1.2449, used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[81] Article 7 Report, Form J, 14 March 2006; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 558-559.
[82] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 558-559.
[83] Mine Action Investments database; email from Carly Volkes, DFAIT, 7 June 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = C$1.2115. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[84] Emails from Kitagawa Yasu, Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines, March-May 2006, with translated information received by JCBL from Humanitarian Assistance Division, Multilateral Cooperation Department, 11 May 2005 and Conventional Arms Division, Non-proliferation and Science Department, 11 April 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1= ¥110.11, US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[85] Email from Andrew Wilson, Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department, Department for International Development, 20 March 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: £1 = US$1.820, US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[86] Article 7 Report, Form J, 14 March 2006; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 792.
[87] Article 7 Report, Form J, 14 March 2006.
[88] UN, “2005 Portfolio End-Year Review,” New York, p. 5.
[89] FSD, “Annual Report 2005,” pp. 31, 34; “Annual Report 2004,” p. 10. FSD exchange rates for 2005: US$1 = CHF1.2907; for 2004: US$ = CHF1.1371.
[90] “Demining delayed due to lack of money,” IRIN, 26 April 2005; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 559.
[91] Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006; TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 1.
[92] Ibid, p. 60; Ibid; “Tajikistan: Year in Brief 2005 - Chronology of key events,” IRIN, 12 January 2006.
[93] “Demining delayed due to lack of money,” IRIN, 26 April 2005; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 559.
[94] Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006, p. 60; TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 1.
[95] Ibid; Ibid; “Tajikistan: Year in Brief 2005 - Chronology of key events,” IRIN (Dushanbe), 12 January 2006.
[96] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 7 May 2006. This includes the French deminer killed and the Tajik deminer injured on 19 April.
[97] TMAC, “Fulfilling the Aims of the Ottawa Convention’s Nairobi Action Plan in Relation to Landmine Victim Assistance, The Government of Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action for the period 2005-2009,” (hereafter noted as “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan 2005-2009”), Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 1.
[98] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 19 June 2006.
[99] Email from Abdulmain Karimov, IMSMA Database Management Officer, UNDP, 4 May 2006.
[100] “Uzbekistan had no right to mine Tajik border – official,” BBC (Dushanbe), 23 April 2006.
[101] UNDP, “Tajikistan: A country on the Move, Mine Action Profile,” Dushanbe, undated, p. 2.
[102] TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 1.
[103] UN, “Final Report, First Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction,” Nairobi, 29 November-3 December 2004, APLC/CONF/2004/5, 9 February 2005, p. 33.
[104] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action for the period 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, pp.1-8; UN, “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 196-201.
[105] Statement by Tajikistan, Standing Committee Meeting on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[106] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action for 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 1.
[107] Article 7, Forms I and J, 14 March 2006.
[108] CIIHL, “Five Year Strategic Plan: 2004–2008.”
[109] UN, “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 196-201; TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 2. Shahrinav and Varzob are not noted earlier as mine-affected areas.
[110] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 1.
[111] Ibid, pp. 2-3.
[112] UN, “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 198-199; TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 4.
[113] Article 7, Form J, 14 March 2006; TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 5; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 560-561.
[114] UNMAS, “Country Profile: Tajikistan,” 4 January 2006.
[115] Emails from Warqa Okhoniyozov, Vice President, Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST), 8 and 10 May 2006; ICRC, “Special Report, Mine Action 2005,” Geneva, May 2006, p. 23.
[116] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p.3; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 560.
[117] Email from William Lawrence, UNDP/TMAC, 19 June 2006.
[118] ICRC, “Special Report, Mine Action 2005,” May 2006, p.23; TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, pp 4-5.
[119] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 4.
[120] Article 7, Form I, 14 March 2006, p. 62; TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” May 2006, p. 5; TMAC, “Report on the process of implementation of Tajikistan Mine Action Programme in 2005,” Dushanbe, February 2006, p. 3.
[121] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 5; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 561.
[122] Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006; TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 6; emails from Warqa Okhoniyozov, RCST, 8 and 10 May 2006.
[123] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 6; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 796.
[124] Details of legislation protecting the rights of the disabled including mine survivors were provided in Tajikistan’s Article 7 Report, Form A, 14 March 2005; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 796; US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Tajikistan,” Washington DC, 8 March 2006.
[125] Article 7 Report, Form I, 14 March 2006.
[126] TMAC, “Tajikistan’s victim assistance objectives and plan of action 2005-2009,” Dushanbe, May 2006, p. 7.
[127] Ibid, pp. 8-9; “Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper,” Dushanbe, June 2002, pp. 14, 38.