Angola

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Angola signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 5 July 2002 and became a State Party on 1 January 2003. Angola has not formally reported any legal measures to implement the Mine Ban Treaty. In May 2006 the coordinator of the Inter-sectoral Commission on Demining and Humanitarian Assistance (CNIDAH), told Landmine Monitor that draft legislation to implement the treaty domestically had been sent to the national parliament.^[1] No further progress has been reported, and the draft legislation is not mentioned in Angola’s most recent Article 7 report.

Angola submitted its fourth Article 7 transparency report, which is undated but covers April 2006 to March 2007. Its previous report, covering January 2005 to March 2006, was submitted three months late on 3 August 2006.^[2]

Angola attended the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in September 2006 and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2006 and April 2007 in Geneva. At each meeting it made statements on mine clearance, victim assistance and stockpile destruction. Angola has not engaged in the discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2 and 3, and the issues related to joint military operations with states not party to the treaty, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training. It is particularly notable that Angola has not spoken on these issues, given its history of mine use and participation in joint operations.

Angola is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Production, Transfer and Use

Angola states that it has never manufactured antipersonnel mines.^[3] It is not believed to have exported in the past. Landmine Monitor did not find any instances of use of antipersonnel or antivehicle mines in 2006 or the first half of 2007. Since the end of the war in April 2002, there have been only sporadic and unconfirmed reports of new use of mines, with allegations aimed primarily at criminal groups.

Landmines are occasionally discovered or seized in Angola. In October 2006 the National Police and Armed Forces located a storeroom of weapons, including one antipersonnel mine, in Tempué commune, eastern Moxico province.^[4] In July 2006 police found an antipersonnel mine and two antitank mines in operations against 22 criminal groups in Huambo, Benguela, Bié and Kwanza provinces.^[5]

Stockpiling and Destruction

Angola completed destruction of its stockpile of antipersonnel mines on 28 December 2006, just ahead of its 1 January 2007 treaty deadline.^[6] The country’s last stockpiled mines were destroyed during a public ceremony in Luanda on that day. It destroyed 81,045 mines between October and December 2006. In 2003, apparently between September and December, Angola destroyed 7,072 stockpiled antipersonnel mines of 12 types, plus 227 “flares.”^[7]

Angola’s completion of its stockpile destruction program is notable considering that Angola previously expressed great concern that it could not meet its deadline. During the May 2006 Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction meeting, Angola asked States Parties to consider “a short extension period” for its stockpile destruction deadline.^[8] Such an extension is not provided for in the Mine Ban Treaty. However, at the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in September 2006, Angola announced that all stockpiles would be destroyed by the 1 January 2007 deadline.^[9]

A further complication arose when an inventory of stockpiles revealed a total of 83,557 stockpiled mines of 23 types.^[10] This was a large increase from the total of 52,119 mines of 13 types reported in Angola’s August 2006 and May 2005 Article 7 reports.^[11] The increase in mines was attributed to previously unknown stockpiles and technical errors that may have occurred previously in counting the mines.^[12]

It was initially reported that Angola intended to destroy only its original target of 50,659 mines by 1 January 2007, consistent with the official total reported to States Parties in Article 7 reports, in order to fulfill its Article 4 stockpile destruction requirement.^[13] After consultations with other States Parties, the UN and the ICBL, Angola agreed to press forward with destruction of all known stockpiled mines by the deadline.

Angola’s stockpile destruction program cost €1.765 million (US$2.2 million) and was funded by the European Commission (€1.5 million), the government of Angola (€170,000), and the UN Development Programme (€95,000).^[14] The program was managed by the Inter-sectoral Commission on Demining and Humanitarian Assistance in cooperation with the Angolan Armed Forces (Força armada de Angola, FAA), the National Demining Institute and UN Development Programme (UNDP).^[15]

Mines Retained for Research and Training

Angola decided to retain 2,512 antipersonnel mines under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty; this is considerably more than the 1,460 mines it previously stated it intended to keep.^[16] The total of 2,512 includes 13 types of mines not previously listed as retained, and the amounts of all 12 types previously listed have changed.^[17]

Angola has yet to provide details on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines, as agreed by States Parties at the First Review Conference in November-December 2004. It did not utilize in its 2007 Article 7 report the new expanded Form D on retained mines agreed by States Parties at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in 2005.

Landmine and ERW Problem

Angola is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of four decades of almost continuous warfare, making it the most mine-affected country in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the most mined countries in the world. Contamination comprises antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO).^[18] There have also been unconfirmed reports of cluster submunitions being used in Angola.^[19]

As of May 2007 the Angola Landmine Impact Survey (ALIS) was complete for all 18 provinces. The draft final report identified mine/ERW contamination in 1,988 localities affecting approximately 2.4 million people.^[20] The extent of the affected area is expected to be reduced by technical survey subsequently.^[21]

The ALIS provided an upper estimate of 1,239 square kilometers of contaminated area, with a lower estimate of 207 square kilometers.^[22] Every province in Angola is affected by mines and ERW. In assessing socioeconomic impacts of mine/ERW contamination, the ALIS found that agricultural resources were “blocked” throughout Angola: blocked roads affected the interior in particular, and blocked irrigated land occurred primarily in Moxico, Kuando Kubango, Lunda Sul and Uige. Blocked drinking water was reported to be a problem nationwide, but particularly in Moxico, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Kwanza Sul and Kwanza Norte.^[23]

There has also been an environmental impact; people hunting illegally, including farmers and demobilized soldiers, used military material such as mines and mortars which had a destructive impact on Angola’s natural environment.^[24]

In July 2006 the US Department of State’s Office of Southern African Affairs reported that landmines were among the “serious impediments” to carrying out elections in Angola.^[25] In August the National Demining Institute announced plans to increase its demining capacity to focus on clearance in support of much-delayed national elections, planned for 2008 (legislative) and 2009 (presidential).^[26] The First Minister of Angola reported that the national census planned for 2010 depended on survey and geographic localization of mined areas and demining of access routes to populated areas.^[27]

Mine contamination in the Kuando Kubango province of Angola was cited as one of the obstacles to creating the world’s largest game park and conservation area on the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Angola’s tourism minister said that, “What we want right now is to make sure that the funds are available for the demining to proceed as soon as possible….” He added, “But let’s not forget that at times also the question of landmines in Angola is overblown...there are specific areas where there were battle lines for a long time – that’s where you find the concentration. The priority right now is to demine a major part of the border that is between the countries,” he said.^[28]

Mine Action Program

There are two main national institutions for mine action in Angola. CNIDAH, the Inter-sectoral Commission on Demining and Humanitarian Assistance, created in 2001, is the national mine action authority with overall responsibility for strategic planning, coordination and supervision of demining, mine risk education and victim assistance.^[29]

The Executive Commission for Demining (Comissão Executiva de Desminagem, CED), established in December 2005, coordinates and manages the three national mine action operators: the National Demining Institute (Instituto Nacional de Desminagem, INAD), the Angolan Armed Forces and the National Reconstruction Office (Gabinete de Reconstrução Nacional, GRN). The CED is composed of representatives from these three operators, reports to the President of Angola, and is managed by the Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration. It functions exclusively at the operational level and participates in the planning process with the same status as other mine action operators. ^[30]

In 2006, 18 CNIDAH provincial operations rooms were opened to consolidate and coordinate programming.^[31] In April 2007 CNIDAH reported that with European Commission (EC) funding it would initiate in July 2007 the consolidation of its institutional capacities, to be completed in 2008.^[32] Although CNIDAH installed the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) in 2004 to consolidate ALIS data, it reported in April 2007 that IMSMA was not used fully for tasking of clearance and other operations.^[33]

UNDP has provided support to CNIDAH since 2003. It provided five technical advisors in Luanda and six field advisors to support CNIDAH regionally, through an EC-funded project due to end in December 2006 but extended for 2007. The extended project intends to implement Angola’s strategic mine action plan, collect, analyze and disseminate information to mine action operators, and strengthen national coordination and management capacity.^[34]

Angola took part in a Great Lakes Region project which highlighted Angola’s border areas with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo for regional mine action coordination and programming. The project seeks to increase mine detection, road and area verification capacities and mine action capacities of Great Lakes country’s training.^[35]

CED’s strategic plan included legislation to define the roles and responsibilities of the various mine action bodies; no such legislation had been adopted as of June 2007. ^[36]

Since 2004, a comprehensive set of national mine action standards has been in preparation, based on the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). As of April 2007, 26 standards had been produced and/or distributed, including five new standards promulgated in 2006.^[37]

Strategic Mine Action Planning

On 6 September 2006 the National Mine Action Strategic Plan for 2006-2011 was approved by Angola’s Council of Ministers. It has four mine action goals:

• to significantly reduce the risk to impacted communities and at-risk groups by 2011;
• to support national infrastructure investment and reconstruction;
• to ensure national mine action capacity is sustainable from national resources before major international assistance ends; and,
• to establish a world-class mine action program in Angola.^[38]

CNIDAH’s overall goal for 2007 was “to promote and improve the general level of results, more efficient use of available capabilities, and enhance the safety and quality of operational activities,” with three enabling objectives.^[39]

In August 2006 the Angolan government launched a revised demining program, which included the formation of 43 new demining brigades and distribution of equipment for mine action in 18 provinces. The brigades had consisted of 3,237 personnel divided into 18 brigades.^[40]

Integration of Mine Action with Reconstruction and Development

Mine action was identified as a specific goal in the national Strategy to Combat Poverty (Estrategia de Combate à Pobreza, ECP) for 2004-2006. The ECP planned, improbably, for the destruction of mines and UXO on land with agricultural potential and close to populated areas by 2006.^[41] This was not achieved. Indeed, in March 2007 UNDP Angola stated that the Angolan ECP was “not compatible” with the current pace of demining.^[42] Although in May 2006 it was reported that the ECP would be extended to cover 2007, no new strategy had been reported as of April 2007. ^[43]

In August 2006 the Minister of Assistance and Social Reinsertion declared that demining priorities were roads, bridges, airports, ports, lighthouses, agricultural, mineral and forest areas, as well as the Benguela railway line and routes for transporting electricity.^[44]

Demining

Mine action operators active in 2006 included the Angolan Armed Forces, INAD, TeleService (an Angolan commercial company) and seven international NGOs: the HALO Trust, DanChurchAid, INTERSOS, Mines Advisory Group, Menschen gegen Minen (MgM), Norwegian People’s Aid and Santa Barbara Foundation.

Angolan Armed Forces mine action projects in 2006 and 2007 included clearance of the Benguela railway line between Luena, Moxico province and Kuito, Bié province to support reconstruction.^[45] This was estimated to cost $300 million, as part of China Eximbank’s $3 billion line of credit for Angola in 2005.^[46] The FAA also provided data from conflict areas to other mine action operators.^[47]

INAD expanded its capacity during 2006 to include 2,000 operational staff throughout the country.^[48]

HALO remained the largest international NGO operating in Angola in 2006, with operations in Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Kuando Kubango provinces. It had eight survey/combined teams, 66 seven-lane manual clearance sections, four road threat reduction teams, five mechanical mine clearance teams, and four combined survey, marking and mine risk education teams.^[49]

DanChurchAid operated in Moxico province in 2006 with manual mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD). The road survey system was decommissioned in September 2006.^[50]

INTERSOS closed its mine action program in Angola at the end of 2006.

Menschen gegen Minen (MgM) carried out projects in Bengo, Zaire, Kwanza Sul and Kunene in 2006. Projects included road and bridge clearance to support population movement and to provide access for the Electoral Commission, and area clearance to benefit returnees. In April 2007 MgM was awaiting funding to continue operations in Kunende.^[51]

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) operated 12 mine action teams, four rapid response units, five community liaison teams, four mechanical support units and a road threat risk reduction team; it operated in Moxico and Lunda Sul provinces in 2006.^[52]

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) carried out demining tasks in eight provinces in 2006 (Huambo, Kwanza Norte, Kwanza Sul, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Uige and Zaire).^[53] NPA provided training to 78 FAA staff officers in new methods of manual demining, safety and first-aid, types of mines, marking and humanitarian demining standards.^[54]

Identification of Affected Areas

Operators reported manual, mechanical and canine techniques for technical survey/area reduction in 2006. MgM reported using dogs and mobile brush cutters for area reduction tasks.^[55] HALO used manual demining techniques and rolling for technical survey.^[56] NPA reported that in 2006 it began piloting technical survey as a means of area reduction; suspected areas were checked by machines and divided into high, medium and low danger areas.^[57]

For general survey MAG reported using thematic GPS mapping of households, infrastructure and former military positions during community liaison to place settlements in relation to mine/UXO threats, and detailed conflict analysis to extract mine/UXO positions from conflict data.^[58]

Partial general survey of Angola was conducted between 1994 and 1998 by NPA with support from HALO, MAG and Greenfield Consultants (subcontracted by CARE International). Complete survey reports were issued on 14 provinces and partial reports on two more, but resumption of hostilities brought an end to the fieldwork. A 2006 study concluded that the general survey, although incomplete, was useful for international agencies as it included detailed reports of road conditions and surveyors’ assessments of the high, medium or low priority of hazards.^[59]

The nationwide ALIS started in September 2002 and by May 2007 all provinces had been surveyed, with distribution of the final report planned for September.^[60] HALO’s efforts to make realistic estimates of contaminated areas within the ALIS were extrapolated to other operators in the survey, resulting in the far more credible total estimate of 207 square kilometers of affected land.^[61]

In reviewing the ALIS findings as of March 2007, CNIDAH reported that if all current demining capacity were occupied by clearance of high-impact areas, the probability of higher threat to roads would require additional mine action capacity, and “This is compounded by the fact that largely current capabilities lack the technology and capacity to deal with the significant threat on Angola’s extended road network.”^[62]

Marking and Fencing of Affected Areas

ALIS data indicated that only 14 percent of suspected hazardous areas visited had been marked. CNIDAH recommended marking as a “significant opportunity,” as a cost-effective means of reducing the risk of mine accidents. NPA supported a local NGO, Fundação Serrão, to mark nine areas in Uige province, while NPA demining teams marked six areas in Malanje province. MgM reported marking of partially cleared areas around the village of Tenga in N’dalatando (Kwanza Norte). HALO marked 94 minefields in 2006.^[63]

Mine/ERW Clearance

CNIDAH reported clearance of 6,875,436 square meters of land and 1,277 kilometers of roads from all demining operations in 15 of Angola’s 18 provinces in 2006, resulting in the destruction of 3,848 antipersonnel mines, 312 antivehicle mines and 64,994 items of UXO. Most clearance took place in Moxico (2,199,035 square meters) followed by Zaire (1,711,936 square meters), Kwanza Sul (959,152 square meters), Malanje (948,245 square meters) and Bengo (449,800 square meters).^[64] CNIDAH did not provide details for each operator or for mined area and battle area clearance, therefore the following table includes partial data reported to Landmine Monitor directly by operators. These data differ significantly from the total reported by CNIDAH.

N/A = not available; SAA = small arms ammunition

Mainly manual demining techniques are used in Angola. Deploying and supporting mechanical mine clearance assets is difficult because of the size of the country and poor condition of roads and bridges. As infrastructure is reconstituted, it is expected that more mechanical demining assets will be deployed to speed up clearance.^[66] NPA reported using both manual and Aardvark mechanical assets in 2006.^[67] MgM reported using manual techniques as well as dogs, Aardvark, Casspir and mobile brush cutters for area reduction.^[68]

CNIDAH is mandated to conduct quality assurance on clearance operations prior to handover of land. Following complaints by several operators that delays by CNIDAH postponed the formal handover of land to the civilian population, CNIDAH trained 13 new quality assurance teams to start addressing the backlog of tasks awaiting quality assurance.

In July 2006 three FAA deminers were killed in Huíla province during clearance in support of a joint Angolan-Chinese development project.^[69] HALO reported one deminer was injured, and subsequently died of unspecified complications.^[70] Handicap International reported that one INAD deminer was killed in Bié province in December 2006.^[71]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Angola must destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but no later than 1 January 2013.

The ALIS sharply reduced the estimated area of contamination and defined areas of high, medium and low-impact for prioritization; technical survey is expected to reduce these areas further. However, demining operations cleared less than seven square kilometers of land in 2006, a significant decrease from 2005 (12 square kilometers).^[72] CNIDAH has acknowledged that the ALIS estimate of 1,304 square kilometers of contamination represents 130 years of clearance activities, based on a rate of 10 square kilometers per year.^[73] According to the draft ALIS report, “even if annual combined clearance of all operators were only 10 square kilometers, focused clearance of high and medium-impacted communities would require about six to eight years to complete, and the elimination of the entire contamination would require about 20 years. This is far below the one to two centuries often cited in the past required to finish the job.”^[74]

Mine Risk Education

At least 13 national NGOs and six international NGOs conducted mine risk education (MRE) in 2006 in Angola.^[75] The international NGOs were Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR Japan), CARE International, DanChurchAid, HALO, Handicap International (HI), MAG and INTERSOS, most of which worked with national NGOs. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supported MRE through the Angolan Red Cross Society in six provinces (Benguela, Bié, Kuando Kubango, Kwanza Sul, Moxico, and Zaire).^[76]

CNIDAH reported that 170,332 people received MRE in 2006, a large decrease from 2005 (440,334).^[77] MRE providers indicated a higher total of MRE beneficiaries, although data does not allow a calendar year total. UNHCR reported that more than 80 percent of returnees were trained in MRE and human rights.^[78]

The ALIS indicated that some affected areas of Angola were under-provided with MRE, and some communities were in urgent need of MRE due to recent mine/ERW casualties, for example in Lunda Norte.^[79] A UNDP review in February 2007 found that most national MRE providers were unable to formulate sound proposals for funding and so were declined support; of 23 proposals, only three were approved for funding.^[80]

UNICEF continued to provide support on MRE to national NGOs, and to the Ministry of Education. School-based MRE is part of the curriculum; it is taught as a part life skills education through 20,000 teachers, aiming at around 1 million schoolchildren. In 2006 school directors were trained in MRE for the first time. In 2006 UNICEF in partnership with national NGOs and international NGOs provided MRE in eight provinces; of the 193,545 recipients most were in Moxico (54,598), Uige (49,885), Kuando Kubango (34,435) and Malanje (30,156).^[81]

HI continued its MRE project in Huambo, Bié and Benguela, with two national NGOs.^[82] HALO, in partnership with the Child Support Group, provided MRE in Huambo, Bié, Benguela and Kuando Kubango, reaching 70,350 people.^[83] MAG teams during 2006 reached 26,000 people including returning refugees in nearly 10 percent of impacted communities in the three provinces of eastern Angola.^[84] DanChurchAid provided MRE in Moxico province in 2006 (26,820 people) and January-April 2007 (6,826 people). ^[85] AAR Japan and its national partner continued MRE and community liaison in two municipalities of Lunda Sul and from October 2006 extended into two more municipalities; from August 2006 to April 2007 the team reached 4,713 people.^[86] In October 2006 the Angola Red Cross Society reported it had reached some 100,000 people in Bié from January to October 2006.^[87] CARE International conducted MRE in Bié from January to October 2006 which reached at least 26,903 people.^[88]

MRE providers used a wide variety of methods and approaches to education and training in 2006. A new MRE tool, a seasonal activities calendar, was produced by CNIDAH with UNICEF support, to identify risks that different groups face.^[89]

All MRE operators received new reports on mines and ERW from communities.

Public information continued to be part of an integrated MRE approach in Angola. UNICEF supported two MRE training workshops in May 2006 for journalists. In July the Angolan Red Cross Society provided an MRE seminar for journalists in Lunda Sul, to support MRE messages in publications and broadcasts, and HI gave an MRE workshop in Benguela to theatrical companies.^[90]

A sub-commission of CNIDAH coordinates all MRE in Angola; it includes representatives of UNICEF, ICRC, DanChurchAid, HI, MAG and at least 10 national NGOs. All MRE providers in Angola are accredited by CNIDAH and work to national standards based on International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).^[91] UNICEF serves as focal point for MRE among UN agencies.

A development-oriented MRE approach was initiated during 2006, using ALIS data to establish priorities. An LIS-type ranking system identified seven provinces with over 100 communities with high and medium needs for MRE: Moxico (229), Bié (185), Uíge (119), Kuando Kubango (112), Kwanza Sul (105), Huambo and Cunene (101 communities each). However, mine action operators in Moxico urged that the LIS information is updated, because abandoned but contaminated villages were being resettled by returning refugees.^[92]

UNICEF’s program of MRE capacity-building included a national meeting in May 2006 which introduced the shift in MRE methodology from an emergency to a development focus. In October CNIDAH organized a workshop on community-based MRE, using participatory methods to understand local threats and risk-taking behavior in order to find solutions to reduce risks.^[93] CNIDAH organized a follow-up seminar in March 2007; this was reported to be the first MRE seminar in Angola to take place near mine-affected communities. UNICEF supported both meetings.^[94]

Landmine/ERW Casualties

In 2006 there were at least 134 new mine/ERW casualties in Angola (23 killed and 111 injured), an increase from 2005 (101 casualties) but less than in 2004 (191 casualties).^[95] Most of the 2006 casualties were male (103); 15 were female (16 unknown). Four demining accidents (three from antipersonnel mines and one from an antivehicle mine) caused six casualties. Antipersonnel mines caused 58 casualties, antivehicle mines 20, unknown mines four, cluster submunitions two, other ERW 11 and unknown devices 39. Available data does not differentiate between adult and child casualties. Civilian casualties were recorded in 13 of the 18 provinces: Moxico (48), Huíla (39) and the remaining eight provinces reported less than 10 casualties each.^[96]

Casualties continued to be reported in 2007, with at least 21 new mine/ERW casualties as of 9 July 2007 (nine killed and 12 injured). All were male; seven were deminers injured in antipersonnel mine clearance accidents. Of the 14 civilian casualties, four were caused by antipersonnel mines, seven by antivehicle mines and three by ERW.^[97]

Data Collection

Due to lack of comprehensive data collection and inaccessibility of some areas CNIDAH believes that the actual number of casualties is higher than recorded. In September 2006 Angola stated that, “Currently there is a very limited range of data available in respect to mine victims.” Angola aims to improve this by accurately recording the recent casualties to assess the impact of the mine problem and measures to address the problem. There is also a need to “establish a national database for all victims old and new.”^[98]

Although data collection reportedly improved in 2006, there was inadequate identification, registration and analysis of casualties and survivor information. CNIDAH liaison officers collect casualty information mostly from mine action operators and health facilities. IMSMA, which had not been used since 2002 for casualty data entry, was used increasingly during 2006. But IMSMA reporting was not yet the norm.^[99] It is often difficult to trace the initial informant to verify or collect missing information.^[100]

Analysis of CNIDAH data since 2004 indicates that most casualties were caused by mines, with a decreasing number of antivehicle mine casualties. ERW caused 20 percent of casualties, as did unspecified explosive devices. Twenty-nine percent of casualties recorded by CNIDAH between 2004 and 2006 were fatalities.^[101] However, the ALIS found that 168 of 341 recent casualties (49 percent) died.^[102] Consequently, there appears to be considerable under-reporting of fatal casualties in CNIDAH surveillance.

Three quarters of casualties identified by the ALIS were male and three quarters of males were aged 15-44 years. Among female casualties, 86 percent were aged 15-44 years; more than half of them were gathering wood/food/water or farming at the time of the incident.^[103] Nearly 75 percent of recent casualties occurred in five provinces: Moxico, Bié, Kwanza Sul, Malanje and Lunda Norte. Most of those killed or injured while traveling were not from the communities where the incidents occurred, which resulted in a lack of detail about these casualties.^[104]

The cumulative number of mine/ERW casualties in Angola is not known. Angola has stated several times that there are an estimated 80,000 survivors.^[105] However, in 2006 the Ministry of Social Affairs said that 70 percent of 89,170 registered people with disabilities were mine/ERW survivors.^[106] This would amount to approximately 62,500 people.

The Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) supported by the World Bank identified 20,600 disabled Angolan Armed Forces soldiers within a group of 28,000 ready for demobilization in Angola (74 percent).^[107] The National Disabled People’s Association reported having 30,000 members as of August 2006.^[108] In March 2007 the Angolan Association of Disabled Ex-Soldiers was responsible for 25,000 people in 16 provinces.^[109]

Survivor Assistance

The number of mine/ERW survivors and people with disabilities is significant in Angola, and access to services is limited. Since the end of conflict in 2002 economic and political resources have been dedicated to reconstruction, demobilization of ex-combatants, and resettlement of refugees and displaced people, which has delayed programs for mine/ERW survivors and people with disabilities.^[110]

Angola has a system of social security that covers people with disabilities; however, to benefit, a person must have contributed to the national insurance scheme. Benefits are available to disabled ex-combatants, according to the level of disability.

Few Angolans have access to healthcare and the public health situation has declined significantly due to conflict and a lack of resources. Many health facilities are rundown and staff are unequally distributed (most are in the capital Luanda).^[111] There are private clinics, but these are unaffordable for most survivors.

Rehabilitation services are located far from mine/ERW-affected areas, and lack staff and equipment. Limited transport and financial resources hinder access to services for rural survivors. It is estimated that only 25 percent of the needs are being met by existing facilities. In September 2006 Angola stated that, through its data collection efforts, it hoped to assess rehabilitation needs of survivors and subsequently perform a general review of the sector to address the needs. However, orthopedic centers in the country were largely dependent on external funding.^[112]

Most people with disabilities face physical and social barriers that hinder their full participation in society. Psychosocial support programs are limited and exist only at the community level. Staff expertise is lacking to ensure the comprehensive reintegration of survivors; disability awareness among the general public is low. Many survivors do not have access to education. Few mine/ERW survivors are able to earn a living. This situation is further hampered by high general unemployment, illiteracy and large numbers of disabled of working age. Some vocational training programs are provided by the government and NGOs but most services are in Luanda or provincial capitals.^[113]

Angola has legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities, but it is not effectively implemented. An updated draft Protection Law for Disabled Persons on the table since 2000 had not been approved as of May 2007.^[114]

As of July 2007 Angola had not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or its Optional Protocol, despite expressing its intention to do so in May 2006.^[115]

Progress in Meeting VA24 Survivor Assistance Objectives

At the First Review Conference in November-December 2004, Angola 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.^[116]

Angola presented its 2005-2009 objectives for the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in 2005.^[117] At the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in September 2006 and at the April 2007 Standing Committee meetings, a survivor assistance expert reported on revised objectives, and progress and challenges in achieving these objectives. Most of the deadlines were in 2007, and some may have to be extended. Most revised objectives appear to be less ambitious than the previous ones, especially for data collection and physical rehabilitation. They are not all SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) objectives. In April 2007 it was announced that the National Plan on Victim Assistance 2007-2011 should be finalized by September 2007. Progress included: strengthening of the National Rehabilitation Program, funding for rehabilitation, training of liaison officers and increased coordination among actors.^[118] Coordination between sectors was highlighted as one of the program’s weaknesses in September 2006, despite the existence of a multi-sectoral coordination group.^[119]

Angola received support from the Mine Ban Treaty’s Implementation Support Unit (ISU) in 2007; an international consultant was recruited to develop the survivor assistance plan.^[120]

In September 2006 CNIDAH organized a national workshop on laws and policies for the protection of people with disabilities. The same constraints were identified as in Angola’s presentation at the Seventh Meeting of States Parties: lack of registration and analysis of data on people with disabilities, lack of specialized staff, poor coordination between sectors, poor implementation of existing laws, communication, transportation, as well as architectural and social barriers. The workshop made recommendations for inclusion in the national plan.^[121]

Angola did not use the voluntary Form J to provide information on victim assistance in its 2007 Article 7 report.

Survivor Assistance Strategic Framework

The Support and Social Reintegration Sub-Commission of CNIDAH coordinates and monitors mine/ERW survivor assistance activities. It is made up of representatives of the ministries of health, labor, social action and education, UN agencies, ICRC and NGOs. It meets once a month. CNIDAH reported in 2005 that survivor assistance would become a stronger pillar of mine action and the government pledged more funding. Some funding pledges were reported in 2006-2007. The subcommission adopted a survivor assistance questionnaire to assist in the creation of the National Plan on Victim Assistance 2007-2011. The ICRC and physical rehabilitation NGOs also work with the Orthopedic Coordination Group.^[123]

Assistance to mine survivors is a part of the Ministry of Health’s National Program for the Rehabilitation of People with Physical and Sensorial Disability (Programa Nacional de Reabilitação da Pessoa Portadora de Deficiência Sensorial Motora, PNR). The PNR was amended and extended for the second time to 2007 to grant more time for implementation. In 2006 revised objectives were drafted. Relevant ministries will cooperate with the PNR to analyze “difficulties in the sector and to create strategies to overcome them.”^[124] CNIDAH acknowledged that despite significant EC funding, the PNR “struggled to implement a reliable programme,” and did not carry out all of its planned activities.^[125] Since it was created in 2001, the PNR has not managed well the nationalization of the physical rehabilitation centers in Angola. Areas of continuing weakness include preparation of annual budgets for the centers and in stock and raw material management (tasks previously carried out by expatriate advisors).^[126]

The Ministry of Social Action and Reintegration is responsible for issues relating to people with disabilities such as food aid, housing, wheelchairs and socioeconomic reintegration. The Ministry of Labor’s National Institute for Education and Professional Training and the National Institute for Support of Disabled People works with NGOs to support mine survivors with vocational training and micro-credit programs.^[127]

It is not known how many mine/ERW survivors and people with disabilities received assistance in Angola in 2006. ICRC-supported centers provided physical rehabilitation to 6,081 people (837 survivors).^[128] Handicap International undertook 358 home visits, referring nine people with disabilities to services.^[129]

By November 2006 Veterans for America (VFA, previously Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation) produced 495 mobility devices, repaired 142, provided physiotherapy to 295 people and psychosocial support to 510 (number of survivors unknown).^[130]

The rehabilitation center in Menongue, run by INTERSOS until the end of 2005, was not operational in 2006.^[131] In November 2006 VFA ceased support at the regional rehabilitation center in Luena, Moxico–the province with the highest number of recent casualties recorded in the ALIS; it had planned to support the center until at least 2008. In September 2006 a CNIDAH observer mission reported that the Luena center lacked funds for service provision, staff payment and food. Despite a capacity to assist 50 people, at the time of the observer mission only four were being assisted.^[132] CNIDAH provided limited funding; salaries for 2005 were paid in December 2006 but a sustainable solution had not been found by May 2007.^[133]

Eight of the nine functioning rehabilitation centers in Angola were supported by international agencies and NGOs: three by ICRC, three by Handicap International (HI), and two by the German Technical Corporation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, GTZ). The Gabela Orthopedic Center in Kwanza Sul province was the only center managed completely by an external operator, namely GTZ.^[134]

In 2007 the PNR and ICRC conducted a successful trial of a wheelchair by the UK-based NGO Motivation which is adapted to rugged terrain. An assembly line for this wheelchair was planned at the three ICRC-operated centers in the second half of 2007.^[135]

Handicap International’s 2005-2008 community-based rehabilitation program aims to develop a network of disabled people’s associations that can provide services and develop vocational training and formal education programs. HI created or revitalized six rehabilitation centers and established six teams of four service providers in each intervention zone.^[136] HI carried out a survey in 2006 identifying 2,659 people with disabilities in five municipalities, including 166 landmine survivors.^[137]

In 2005 HI started a project to support existing local socioeconomic structures and enable people with disabilities to gain financial autonomy and social inclusion in cooperation with authorities and local organizations of people with disabilities. By December 2006, 192 people with disabilities had participated in this project (43 percent mine survivors).^[138]

The Center for the Promotion and Development of Communities (Centro de Apoio a Promoção e Desenvolvimento de Comunidades, CAPDC) provides psychosocial support to people with disabilities in eastern Angola, with support from the German NGO Medico International. CAPDC created a training program on psychosocial interventions for mine survivors and organized workshops on trauma counseling in Moxico, Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul for health and social workers, teachers and MRE providers. Approximately 150 people participated.^[139]

In August 2006 the Angolan National Association of Disabled Persons (ANDA) in Luanda inaugurated the first counseling center for its members. ANDA planned to set up counseling centers in all provinces.^[140] ANDA continued the Come Along (Vem Comigo) rehabilitation and reintegration program for people with disabilities; between 2002 and 2007, it assisted 2,050 people with disabilities and their families^[141]

The local NGO League of Support for Reintegration for Disabled People (LARDEF) provides socioeconomic reintegration, employment and empowerment programs in Luanda, Benguela and Moxico.^[142]

For further details of these and other organizations providing assistance to people with disabilities in Angola, see Landmine Monitor Report 2006.^[143]

Funding and Assistance

In 2006 Landmine Monitor identified international donations totaling $48,108,122 (€38,293,499) for mine action in Angola from sixteen countries and the EC, an increase of 34 percent from 2005 ($35,771,510 provided by 17 countries and the EC).^[144] Donors contributing funds in 2006 were:

• Australia: A$1 million ($753,500) to UNICEF for mine action;^[145]
• Canada: C$144,245 ($127,195) to UNICEF for MRE;^[146]
• Denmark: DKK9 million ($1,514,700) to DanChurchAid for integrated mine action in 2006-2007;^[147]
• EC: €12,373,663 ($15,545,033) consisting of €2,942,975 to MAG for mine clearance, €2,999,285 to INTERSOS for mine clearance, €3,099,933 to HALO for mine clearance, €3,099,974 to MgM for mine clearance, and €231,496 to HI for victim assistance;^[148]
• Finland: €966,000 ($1,213,586) consisting of €150,000 to HALO for mine clearance, €400,000 to ICRC for victim assistance, and €416,000 to FinnChurchAid for mine clearance;^[149]
• France: €940,000 ($1,180,922) consisting of €240,000 for mine clearance in Huambo, and €700,000 to various implementing organizations for victim assistance;^[150]
• Germany: €2,412,185 ($3,030,428) consisting of €73,969 to SAC for impact survey, €311,005 to DanChurchAid for road clearance, €606,199 to MgM for mine clearance in Kunene, €665,000 to GTZ for physical therapy and rehabilitation, and €756,012 to Santa Barbara Foundation for mine clearance in Benguela;^[151]
• Ireland: €525,000 ($659,558) to HALO for mine clearance;^[152]
• Italy: €534,500 ($671,492) for mine clearance and capacity-building;^[153]
• Japan: ¥696,352,609 ($5,988,632) consisting of ¥9,903,753 to CAPDC for victim assistance, ¥28,448,856 to AAR Japan for MRE, ¥194,000,000 to INAD for mine clearance, and ¥464,000,000 to UNDP for capacity-building of INAD;^[154]
• Netherlands: €2,624,186 ($3,296,765) consisting of €900,000 to NPA for mine clearance and EOD, €600,000 to HALO for mine clearance, €124,186 to HI for victim assistance, and €1 million to MAG for mine clearance;^[155]
• Norway: NOK20,630,000 ($3,218,280) consisting of NOK2,630,000 to NPA for the ALIS, and NOK18 million to NPA for mine action;^[156]
• Spain: €460,000 ($577,898) consisting of €160,000 to NPA for mine clearance, and €300,000 to UNDP for victim assistance;^[157]
• Sweden: SEK8 million ($1,085,600) to NPA for mine clearance;^[158]
• Switzerland: CHF670,000 ($534,660) to HALO for mine action;^[159]
• UK: £994,832 ($1,833,873) consisting of £217,658 to HALO for road verification, and £777,174 to MAG for mine/UXO clearance;^[160]
• US: $6,876,000 consisting of $5,876,000 from the Department of State, and $1 million from USAID/Leahy War Victims Fund.^[161]

The 2006 end-year review of the UN’s Portfolio of Mine Action Projects reported that Angola received 31 percent ($18,582,914) of funds requested through the appeal process in 2006.^[162] The 2007 Portfolio includes nine project appeals for Angola totaling $12,664,866, of which $6,334,715 had been funded by November 2006.^[163] UNDP reported a budget of $4,162,820 for five programs in 2006. The 2007 budget was $5,477,865.^[164]

National Contribution to Mine Action

Angola allocated $2.5 million to support the mine clearance program in 2006, which according to CNIDAH was directed to training and equipping new mine clearance teams.^[165] Previously, INAD reported a $3 million national allocation for 2005.^[166]

Landmine Monitor sent a questionnaire to authorities in Angola requesting details of national funding of mine action in 2006; no response had been received by mid-2007.