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Indonesia
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State Party since |
1 August 2007 |
|---|---|
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Treaty implementing legislation |
None |
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Initial Article 7 report due |
28 January 2008 |
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Article 4 (stockpile destruction) |
Deadline: 1 August 2011 |
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Contamination |
Occasional ERW or IED; no mined areas |
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Mine/ERW casualties in 2006 |
Total: 5 from unknown devices (2005: 0) |
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Casualty analysis |
Killed: 1 Injured: 4 |
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Availability of services in 2006 |
Increased but inadequate |
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Key developments since May 2006 |
Indonesia deposited its instrument of ratification on 20 February 2007 and became a State Party on 1 August 2007. It was conducting an inventory of its stockpiled antipersonnel mines. |
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Indonesia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997. Almost exactly nine years later, the Indonesian parliament approved the Law on the Ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty on 7 December 2006, and the President signed the ratification law (Law No. 20/2006) on 29 December 2006.[1] Indonesia deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN on 20 February 2007, and the treaty entered into force on 1 August 2007.
Indonesia has not yet indicated what national implementation measures it intends to adopt to fulfill Article 9 of the treaty. Indonesia’s first Article 7 transparency report will be due by 28 January 2008. A representative said in March 2007 that Indonesia had already started the process to comply with the Article 7 obligation.[2]
Indonesia participated as an observer in the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2006, where it announced that one week earlier it had submitted the draft law for ratification to parliament.[3] At the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in April 2007 Indonesia made its first statement as a country that had ratified the treaty. Indonesia also participated in the Regional Conference on Mine Action and Implications for Peace and Development from 12-14 March 2007 in Phnom Penh.
Indonesia has voted in favor of every pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996, including—for the last time as a state not party to the treaty—UNGA Resolution 61/84 on 6 December 2006, calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Production, Transfer, Use, and Stockpiling
Indonesia has stated that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.[4] Landmine Monitor has received no reports of use of antipersonnel mines or improvised explosive devices in Indonesia in 2006 or 2007.
In 2002 Indonesia stated that it had a total of 16,000 antipersonnel mines stockpiled at different sites.[5] In 2004 the Ministry of Defense said that number should not be considered as verified.[6] Indonesia has reported several times since then that an inventory of the stockpile is in progress.[7]
In April 2007 Indonesia told States Parties, “Our Ministry of Defence will dispatch teams to the respective regional military commands across Indonesia to calculate the actual number of our land mine in the stockpile [sic]. Based on the findings, a plan will be set on how and when the destruction of stockpile to be carried out. The Team is expected to do their job in June 2007.”[8] Earlier, in March 2007, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said Indonesia was re-confirming the number held in stock, but was still uncertain.[9] The same official told Landmine Monitor that Indonesia was committed to identifying all of its stockpiled antipersonnel mines in its first Article 7 transparency report, due in January 2008.[10]
In March and April 2007 Indonesia said that it would welcome international support for implementation of the treaty, and in particular for stockpile destruction.[11] This echoed comments made in May 2006.[12]
Indonesia has indicated on several occasions that it intends to retain some antipersonnel mines for training purposes. In April 2007 it said that it that would decide on how many to keep after it knows the actual number in stock.[13]
Landmine/ERW/IED Problem
Indonesia has declared that it is not mine-affected.[14] However, interviews conducted in 2004 by the Indonesian Campaign to Ban Landmines with local residents in Ambon showed that civilians believed that some improvised explosive devices (IEDs) remain hidden.[15] Since May 2006 recoveries of or incidents involving explosive remnants of war (ERW) have been reported in Aceh province; presumably they are remnants of the conflict between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian Army, or from World War II.[16] At least eight explosive items were found between May 2006 and May 2007.[17]
Landmine/ERW/IED Casualties
In 2006 there were at least five new casualties in Indonesia. On 27 August 2006 a 12 year-old boy was killed and four other boys seriously injured by an unidentified explosive device near a former Indonesian Army post in Bireuen Regency (east of Banda Aceh).[18] No casualties were reported in 2005.[19]
Casualties continued to occur in 2007; on 11 January 2007 in Pante Bidari district, East Aceh, two boys and two men were treated in the local hospital after they struck what probably was a rocket-propelled grenade with a stone.[20]
The total number of mine/ERW/IED casualties in Indonesia is not known. Few casualties have been reported in recent years, but Landmine Monitor identified at least 38 mine/ERW/IED casualties between 2001 and 2006, with 10 killed and 28 injured.[21]
Survivor Assistance
The Ministry of Social Welfare is responsible for provision of services to people with disabilities in Indonesia. However, most services are conducted by local and international NGOs.[22]
Medical care for casualties is available in government hospitals and health centers in Ambon and Aceh. Jesuit Refugee Service and the Protestant Church of Maluka (Gereja Protestan Maluku-Moluccas, GPM) also provide healthcare. However, several decades of conflict resulted in services incapable of meeting the needs of people with disabilities.[23] Physical rehabilitation services are available at branches of the National Rehabilitation Centre for the Physically Handicapped and several other organizations. There is a shortage of adequately trained orthotic and prosthetic technicians.[24] Basic psychosocial services are available through primary healthcare centers and specialized centers. Counseling training increased as a result of the 2004 tsunami and 2005-2006 earthquakes.[25]
In an effort to upgrade capacity of trained orthotic and prosthetic technicians from level three to level two, both Handicap International (HI) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued to sponsor the training of five technicians in Pakistan (two) and Cambodia (three) for placement in prosthetic workshops throughout Indonesia.[26] HI upgraded the equipment at these institutes.[27]
Yayasan Kristen untuk Kesehatan Umum (Yakkum) produces prostheses in its center in Yogyakarta, delivers prostheses to health centers throughout the country, and provides training for health workers and technicians.[28]
Numerous national and international organizations provide assistance to people with disabilities, including survivors.[29] Although the Constitution of Indonesia obliges the government to provide care for people with disabilities, legal provisions are not clearly defined or enforced; people with disabilities face discrimination in employment.[30] On 30 March 2007 Indonesia signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities but not its Optional Protocol which allows the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention. Indonesia has stated that it plans to ratify the Convention.[31]
[1] For many years Indonesia said the only obstacles to ratification were the difficult circumstances in the country and other more urgent priorities. Since early 2002 ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty was under consideration by an interdepartmental working group. On 7 June 2005 the group reached a consensus in favor of ratification. On 12 October 2005 the President of Indonesia issued his consent to start the process for ratification. On 9 March 2006 representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Indonesian Armed Forces agreed on a draft ratification law. The draft law was submitted to the Ministry of Legal and Human Rights Affairs on 23 March 2006 for final revision, and then submitted to the parliament on 11 September 2006. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 820.
[2] Statement by Ramadansyah Hasan, Officer for Conventional Weapons Issues, Department of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of International Security and Disarmament Affairs, Phnom Penh, 14 March 2007. Landmine Monitor notes.
[3] Statement by Indonesia, Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 21 September 2006.
[4] For example, Statement by Indonesia, Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 21 September 2006.
[5] Statement by Col. Bambang Irawan, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 30 May 2002. At one point the stockpile numbered 22,000 mines, but Indonesia destroyed mines that became unstable. Indonesia imported most of the antipersonnel mines in the early 1960s from the United States, former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav mines are PROM and PMA types. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 564.
[6] Interview with Col. Bambang Irawan, Ministry of Politics and Security, 5 March 2004. This was reiterated in May 2006: interview with Anne Kusmayati, Ministry of Defense, Geneva, 9 May 2006. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 564.
[7] In August 2005 a Foreign Affairs official told Landmine Monitor that “relevant authorities are currently verifying the exact number of active mines from its existing stockpile, bearing in mind that some of the landmines are considered old.” In May 2006 a Ministry of Defense official said that a request had been sent to the Operational Assistant of the Armed Forces to determine the precise number of active antipersonnel mines. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 821.
[8] Statement of Indonesia, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007.
[9] Statement by Ramadansyah Hasan, Directorate of International Security and Disarmament Affairs, Phnom Penh, 14 March 2007. Landmine Monitor notes.
[10] Email from Ramadansyah Hasan, Directorate of International Security and Disarmament Affairs, 26 March 2007.
[11] Statement by Indonesia, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007; Statement by Ramadansyah Hasan, Directorate of International Security and Disarmament Affairs, Phnom Penh, 14 March 2007. Landmine Monitor notes.
[12] Statement by Anne Kusmayati, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 9 May 2006. She stated that Indonesia needed to recalculate the exact number of mines and set up a process for destruction, noting that Indonesia has no expertise in this and would welcome assistance with stockpile destruction.
[13] Statement of Indonesia, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 23 April 2007. Indonesia told the February 2004 Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction that it intended to retain 10,000 mines. This would be among the highest number retained by any State Party. In August 2005 an official said, “The number of landmines Indonesia wishes to retain for training purposes will be informed at a later stage.” Letter No. 701/PO/VIII/2005/48, from Hasan Kleib, Department of Foreign Affairs, to Landmine Monitor (HRW), 29 August 2005.
[14]Statement by Col. Bambang Irawan, Ministry of Defense, 30 May 2002; see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 564.
[15]See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 903.
[16] Email from Stephen Leopold Almsteier, Safety Advisor, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Board, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Banda Aceh, 5 April 2007.
[17] Summary of Serambi News (Aceh), received by email from Stephen Leopold Almsteier, ADB, 5 April 2007.
[18] “TP Meledak, Satu Bocah Tewas” (“The Tube of the Launcher Exploded, One Child Was Killed”), Serambi Online, Bireun, 28 August 2006, www.serambinews.com, accessed 29 July 2007.
[19] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 822.
[20] “Peluru GLM Meledak, Lima Warga Kritis” (“Bullets GLM [grenade launching machine] Exploded, Five Critical Residents”), Serambi Online (Langsa), 13 January 2007, www.serambinews.com, accessed 29 July 2007.
[21] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 902.
[22] Interview with Mr. Jaimun, Community-Based Rehabilitation Coordinator, Yakkum, Yogyakarta, 1 April 2007.
[23] AusAID, “Health Assistance Rehabilitation-Aceh Program,” www.indo.ausaid.gov.au, accessed 29 July 2007; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 904.
[24] Telephone interview with Tyshar Wali, Deputy Country Director, Handicap International, Yogyakarta, 1 April 2007; ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme-Annual Report 2006,” Geneva, April 2007, p. 9.
[25] World Health Organization, “Indonesia earthquake: Health Cluster Bulletin No. 7,” ReliefWeb, www.reliefweb.int, accessed 29 July 2007.
[26] Telephone interview with Tyshar Wali, HI, Yogyakarta, 1 April 2007; ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme-Annual Report 2006,” Geneva, April 2007, p. 9.
[27] Telephone interview with Tyshar Wali, HI, Yogyakarta, 1 April 2007.
[28] Interview with Mr. Jaimun, Yakkum, Yogyakarta, 1 April 2007.
[29] Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, “Country Profile: Indonesia,” accessed 29 July 2007.
[30] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2006: Indonesia,” Washington, DC, 6 March 2007.
[31] Interview with Mr. Jaimun, Yakkum, Yogyakarta, 1 April 2007.