Iran

Mine Ban Treaty

The Islamic Republic of Iran has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Iran has cited its perceived need for antipersonnel mines on its borders as the main reason for not joining the treaty.^[1] In a February 2006 letter to Landmine Monitor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Due to our expansive borders and problems resulting from narcotics and terrorist trafficking, our defense institutions are considering the use of landmines as a defensive mechanism."^[2]

Iran has abstained from voting on every annual UN General Assembly resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty since 1997, including Resolution 62/41 on 5 December 2007. Iran has never participated as an observer in the annual meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, and has not attended meetings of the intersessional Standing Committees in Geneva except in May 2001.

Iran is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.^[3] It did not attend the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions in May 2008.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, and Use

The Director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mine Action Center (IRMAC) told Landmine Monitor in August 2005 that Iran neither uses nor produces landmines.^[4] In September 2002, the Ministry of Defense declared, "The Islamic Republic of Iran, since the termination of its war [1988], has not produced anti-personnel mines."^[5] Iran is thought to have a large stockpile of antipersonnel mines, but no official information is available on its size and composition.

Iran exported a significant number of antipersonnel mines in the 1990s and earlier. An export moratorium was instituted in 1997, but it is not known if it is still formally in effect. In February 2006, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "It has been several years since Iran voluntarily halted export of anti-personnel mines."^[6]

In January 2008, media reports claimed that authorities seized stocks of Iranian-produced antipersonnel mines in Afghanistan's Farah province, as well as in other provinces in prior months.^[7]

Tajikistan, a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, reported that in 2007, two Iranian YM-1 antipersonnel mines were "transferred from the stockpiles of the force structures of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Tajikistan Mine Action Center for the purposes of destruction. The indicated antipersonnel mines were confiscated or detected by the force structures as a result of counter-terrorism activity."^[8]

In November 2006, the UN group monitoring the arms embargo on Somalia reported shipments of arms including landmines from Iran to combatants in Somalia in violation of the embargo.^[9] The type of mine, antipersonnel or antivehicle, was not specified. In response, Iran stated that it had not transferred any arms to Somalia.^[10] The two latest reports of the Monitoring Group, in July 2007 and April 2008, contain no allegations regarding Iranian transfers of mines.

Landmine Monitor received information in 2002, 2003, and 2004 that demining organizations in Afghanistan were removing and destroying many hundreds of Iranian YM-I and YM-I-B antipersonnel mines, date stamped 1999 and 2000, from abandoned Northern Alliance frontlines.^[11]

Militants in the Baluchi areas of Iran have carried out attacks using explosives, but few if any appear to have been antipersonnel mines or other victim-activated devices. In October 2007, an Iranian soldier reportedly was killed by an unspecified landmine "planted by thugs" in Piranshahr district close to the border with Iraq.^[12] In June 2007, an Iranian soldier reportedly died after stepping on a landmine during counter-insurgency activity against Kurdish militants.^[13]

On 5 December 2007, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) signed the Deed of Commitment administered by the Swiss-based NGO Geneva Call, pledging no use of antipersonnel mines. Geneva Call quoted the Secretary General of the PDKI, Mustafa Hijri, as stating, "Our Party considers the use of antipersonnel mines, which results in killing and maiming innocent people as an inhuman act, and strongly condemns it."^[14] The signature came after a mission by Geneva Call to Iraqi Kurdistan where it engaged all Iranian-Kurdish non-state armed groups.^[15]

The PDKI's declaration that it will forego the use of antipersonnel mines is the first by a non-state group in Iran. PDKI states that it halted all armed activities in 1997, but still maintains a militia. Landmine Monitor had not previously identified PDKI as a user of antipersonnel mines. However, in August 2008, PDKI showed Geneva Call a stockpile of more than 400 antipersonnel mines and said that it would destroy them as soon as possible. PDKI also admitted to previous use of antipersonnel mines prior to halting armed activities.^[16] On 1 September 2008, a stockpile of 392 PDKI antipersonnel mines was destroyed in Koya, northern Iraq. Mines destroyed included Chinese and Italian versions, as well as mines of Russian and United States design but of unknown manufacture.^[17]

Landmine/ERW Problem

Mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), especially unexploded ordnance (UXO), remain in Iran from the 1980-1988 conflict with Iraq, affecting particularly the provinces of Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, Khuzestan, Kermanshah and Ilam in the west and southwest of the country.^[18] According to one source, UXO found included (cluster) submunitions.^[19]

The extent of contamination is not known with any precision. Iran is said to have requested maps and information from Iraq, but none has so far been provided.^[20] In February 2007, the Minister of Defense said that: "the problem of mines is a national one, but regrettably 18 years after [the Iran-Iraq war], five provinces are still contaminated and some of our compatriots are exposed to danger."^[21] In April 2007, Brigadier-General Morteza Habibi, who heads Iran's mine action center, claimed that 9,000km² of land remained to be cleared in the five provinces. It was also claimed that 34,000km² had been demined since 1988.^[22] Another military official claimed that Iran would need the equivalent of US$324 million to clear all its mined areas.^[23] The southwestern region contains some of the world's richest oil and gas fields, and therefore the removal of mines and munitions to allow oil and gas exploration is one of Iran's top priorities.^[24]

The eastern provinces of Khorasan and Sistan-Baluchestan are also said to be affected by mines, especially in joint border areas with Pakistan and Afghanistan.^[25] Further details of current contamination were similarly not available.

Mine Action Program

Coordination and management

Little recent information is available on Iran's mine action program. The National Mine Action Council (NMAC) was established in 2003 by the government (the legislative basis is not known). It consists of the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, health and medical training, the provincial governors general of the five mine-affected border provinces, the joint chief of command for the armed forces, IRMAC, national mine action NGOs, and operational demining units belonging to Iran's armed forces. NMAC is chaired by the Minister of Defense and is responsible for formulating policies, coordinating mine action and drafting operational protocols for demining units as well as mobilizing resources and procuring equipment.^[26]

IRMAC was created in 2003 to plan, coordinate and implement mine action in Iran. IRMAC is in charge of executing policies and ensuring quality assurance and quality control of mine action activities.^[27] IRMAC has five regional offices (one in each contaminated province).^[28] The relationship between NMAC and IRMAC is not known.

Strategic mine action planning

In February 2007, the Minister of Defense reportedly declared that a 40-year timetable for mine clearance was being reduced to five years.^[29] He further noted that "In view of the president's special attention to this matter, the ministry has given priority to mine clearance operations." He claimed that operations would be concluded in West Azerbaijan and Kurdistan provinces by 21 March 2007, and that one year later, the province of Kermanshah would be cleared of mines. Finally, he declared that, "in line with our schedule and taking into account the high level of contamination in Khuzestan and Ilam Provinces, these two provinces will be decontaminated by 1389 [2011]."^[30]

Demining

With exceptions such as commercial clearance for the purposes of oil exploration, demining in Iran has been conducted by the Iranian military. Landmine Monitor was unable to obtain information from Iran on demining progress for 2007 and to August 2008. In April 2007, demining for the previous 12 months was reported to have fallen short of targets, mainly due to the lack of demining equipment. According to a senior military official, "Other countries refuse to sell demining equipment to Iran due to the US sanctions."^[31]

The Chinese Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed a $2 billion agreement with Iran in December to develop the Yadavaran oilfield in Khuzestan province. A report said work to demine the area around Yadavaran, which holds as many as 18.3 billion barrels of oil in place and 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil, was 45% done as of January 2008 and would be completed by the middle of the year.^[32]

It is not known what quality assurance and quality control procedures are followed in Iran. In the past, the casualty rate among deminers has been very high. In 2007, IRMAC reported that 168 demining personnel had been killed and a further 697 injured over the course of eight years.^[33] This would represent the highest known casualty rate for deminers in the world.

Regarding another oilfield, at Azadegan, it was reported in January 2008 that two Iranian companies would carry out demining while the Park Persian company and the military would monitor operations.^[34] In 2006, it had been claimed that the Azadegan project involved an independent company (MACC International Ltd.) which would conduct quality management (monitoring and inspections) in accordance with the International Mine Action Standards.^[35]

Landmine/ERW Casualties

Landmine Monitor identified at least 40 mine casualties in Iran in 2007. Eighteen people were killed and 22 injured; nine were civilian, seven military, two police, three deminers, and 19 unknown.^[36] IRMAC reported 80 mine/ERW casualties from 21 March 2006 to 1 March 2007, half of whom were deminers.^[37] IRMAC later reported to the media there were 71 deminer casualties (38 civilian and 33 military) in 2006 and to mid-January 2007.^[38] Casualties are likely under-recorded to due to a lack of casualty data collection.

In 2008, IRMAC was reported as saying that "the latest figures indicated that this casualty rate had fallen to 1.5 a day."^[39] This represents the equivalent of some 550 casualties annually, the same rate that IRMAC reported in 2005.^[40] An Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) survey conducted in mid-2006 recorded more than 60 civilian casualties in a two-month period.^[41]

Casualties continued in 2008, with 17 casualties (five people killed and 12 injured) up to July. The casualties were six military, three police and eight deminers; no civilian casualties were identified.^[42]

Data collection

There is no comprehensive data collection system in Iran. The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Iran is unknown and under-reporting appears to be significant.

A national casualty surveillance system for targeting mine/ERW risk education (RE) and victim assistance (VA) programs was to be created in 2006 but no progress was reported by early 2008.^[43]

The ICRC and IRCS had planned to initiate research on mine/ERW casualties in partnership with the Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC) and IRMAC, but project planning ceased in early 2007.^[44] The project's first phase, an epidemiological evaluation of mine/ERW injuries in five provinces, was carried out and the results were published and distributed at a conference in March 2007 to be used for RE and VA planning.^[45] Several research institutes in Iran have conducted historical casualty data collection for research purposes.

As in previous years, IRMAC did not respond to Landmine Monitor requests for casualty data. The Iranian Mine Victim Resource Center (IMC) was not able to collect casualty data in 2007 or 2008 due to financial constraints.^[46]

In 2006, the UN reported that since the early 1990s there had been approximately 10,000 casualties in Iran (some 4,000 people killed and 6,000 injured). During the same period more than 850 casualties among military deminers were reported.^[47]

Ministry of Interior data used by the IMC recorded 6,765 mine casualties in Iran (2,840 people killed and 3,925 injured) from 1988-2002 in five provinces.^[48] The Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center (STSRC) also recorded 990 people killed and 1,270 injured in incidents in Kermanshah province from 1994-2004. According to the STSRC, more than 95% of mine incidents it recorded resulted in civilian casualties and around 15% involved children.^[49]

Mine/ERW Risk Education

The groups previously identified as most at risk from mines/ERW were nomads, shepherds, and small subsistence farming communities in border areas.^[50]

Mine/ERW RE is coordinated by IRMAC, which established an RE committee in December 2005 that includes representatives from the ministries of defense, education, and welfare, the IRCS, and the ICRC.^[51] The IRCS is responsible for implementing RE activities in collaboration with IRMAC.^[52] In 2007, the ICRC, IRMAC, and the IRCS prepared a national action plan for RE.^[53] Details of the plan and its target groups were not available by August 2008.

IRMAC, the ICRC, and the IRCS hold monthly training programs designed to familiarize people with "the various types of landmines they might encounter, and their relative risks." Their joint activities include RE targeted at children.^[54] In 2007, the ICRC provided RE materials to IRMAC^[55] and in August the ICRC supported RE training for welfare organization managers in Kurdistan province. In December, the ICRC participated in a seminar held by Iranian NGO Mine Clearing Collaboration Campaign to raise awareness of mines/ERW among Iranian-based media.^[56]

In 2007, the IRCS office in Kurdistan provided RE to more than 50,000 people in Baneh, Divandareh, Marivan, Saghez, and Sanandaj regions.^[57] In April 2008, IRMAC and the Department of Welfare (Department of Behzisti) signed an agreement to start a new RE project in Kurdistan province. The program includes distribution of an RE booklet to schoolchildren.^[58]

In early 2007, a Department of Welfare RE project was said to include shepherds, nomads, and affected communities.^[59] The Zaynab Welfare Agency continued RE training programs for women in Ilam province. Most of the women trained are hired by private demining companies.^[60]

Victim Assistance

Little information is available on mine/ERW victim assistance (VA) in Iran. The IRCS has an extensive network of community-based first-aid, physical rehabilitation, and physiotherapy centers throughout Iran. In 2008, the IRCS office in Kermanshah opened new community-based first-aid centers.^[61]

Institutions providing medical and rehabilitation services to mine/ERW survivors included the Mehran Emergency Center, Ilam provincial hospital, Sanandaj Besat hospital in Kurdistan, the STSRC in Tehran, and the Kowsar Orthotics and Prosthetics Center. Military mine casualties receive medical care, rehabilitation, prosthetics, and a pension. Civilian mine casualties are assigned to a private or public facility. Specialized care and rehabilitation is available in large cities but can be difficult to access in the mine-affected rural border areas. Although financial assistance is often available through veterans' organizations, many survivors lacked physical rehabilitation and psychological support.^[62]

In April 2008, IRMAC initiated a new project to provide support, including social and psychological assistance for the families of mine casualties, specifically focused on deminers' families.^[63]

Victim assistance strategic framework

Policies created by IRMAC under the Ministry of Defense do not include any objectives on VA, but have the general aim of "raising the standards of victim assistance and integrating mine action activities with development projects."^[64]

The ministries of health and education provide medical services to mine/ERW survivors free of charge and the Ministry of Defense provides emergency evacuation if needed.^[65] The Department of Welfare provides services and support for persons with disabilities including mine/ERW survivors.^[66]

The Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs provides financial support, health services, rehabilitation and social programs, legal, and educational and cultural services to war veterans, including those injured by mines/ERW.^[67] The Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation provides support to mine/ERW survivors and several NGOs provide support or services to persons with disabilities including war veterans.^[68] In 2008, some veterans with disabilities expressed concerns that the Foundation for the Oppressed and War Disabled and other large foundations created for the care of war veterans and the underprivileged were not providing adequate care and support.^[69] In 2007, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said that some landmine survivors in Iran had not received compensation and called for financial aid for all survivors.^[70]

In 2004, Iran passed legislation on the rights of persons with disabilities. However, it was not known if the legislation had been implemented or if it explicitly prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities.^[71] As of 31 July 2008, Iran had not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or its Optional Protocol.