Mozambique

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Mozambique signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 25 August 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. No implementing legislation is in place. In early 2007, Mozambique stated that a draft law was awaiting approval by parliament.^[1] It made the same statement in May 2006 and April 2005, and has not since reported on progress.^[2]

As of July 2008, Mozambique had not submitted its annual Article 7 report, due 30 April 2008, for calendar year 2007.^[3] Mozambique submitted its eighth report in early 2007, covering 2006.^[4]

Mozambique participated in the Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Jordan in November 2007, where it made statements on mine clearance and victim assistance. It also attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2008, making a statement on its request for an extension to its Article 5 mine clearance deadline.

Mozambique has not engaged in the discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2 and 3, regarding joint military operations with states not party to the treaty, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training. In June 2004, however, a government legal advisor told Landmine Monitor that Mozambique believes any mine that is capable of exploding from the contact of a person is prohibited by the treaty.^[5]

Mozambique is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. It participated in the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions in May 2008 and adopted the final treaty text.

Production, Transfer, Use, Stockpile Destruction, and Retention

Mozambique has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.^[6] Throughout the civil war, antipersonnel mines were imported from many countries and used by different parties to the conflict. Mozambique completed destruction of its stockpile of 37,318 antipersonnel mines on 28 February 2003, a few days before its treaty-mandated deadline.^[7]

Mozambique has not reported since early 2007 on the status of mines retained for training purposes. Mozambique’s Article 7 report indicated that it retained 1,265 antipersonnel mines at the end of 2006.^[8] The numbers and types of mines reportedly retained were inconsistent with the previous year’s report and do not appear to add up correctly. It is unclear how many mines were actually consumed (destroyed) in training activities.^[9] Mozambique 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 December 2004.

Landmine/ERW Problem

Mozambique is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), a legacy of nearly 30 years of conflict that ended in 1992.^[10] A much-criticized Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) from 2001^[11] has been superseded by three major surveys of the problem—two by HALO Trust and one by Handicap International (HI)—have reduced the total estimated mined area in Mozambique to approximately 12km².

Between March 2005 and 8 December 2006, HALO conducted a Mine Impact Free District (MIFD) survey in the four northern provinces of Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Zambézia, where it had been operating since 1994. On completion of the survey, HALO stated they had identified and cleared every known mined area in the four provinces: “That is not to say that there are no more mines remaining…. But…there are no more areas left to demine, nobody in the north of the country can point at an area and say ‘I think there are mines there.’”^[12] During the survey, HALO also identified and cleared 74 new suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) and found and destroyed 176 mines.^[13]

While the government of Mozambique accepts the findings of the MIFD,^[14] the National Demining Institute (Instituto Nacional de Desminagem, IND) has not officially declared the four northern provinces as cleared.^[15] After the survey they received reports of 146 sites containing residual unexploded ordnance (UXO) and mines from provincial authorities. In June 2008, IND was working with the Mozambique Armed Forces to visit and clear the 146 sites of ERW and individual mines, with the aim of completing the work by the end of the year.^[16]

In 2007, the government of Mozambique commissioned HALO to conduct a Baseline Assessment in the remaining six affected provinces: Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Sofala, and Tete.^[17] HALO visited 1,844 SHAs and identified 484 mined areas, 165 spot UXO sites, 33 mined roads, and six battle area clearance tasks. The other 1,192 sites in the national mine action database (not including roads) prior to the assessment were cancelled.^[18] The assessment included surveys of all remaining known mined areas in the south and central provinces, as well as the reconciliation and retrofitting of the national database. The results would determine the remaining tasks for Mozambique to meet its Mine Ban Treaty obligations.^[19]

In 2008, further sites were visited and 57 additional contaminated areas were identified for a new total of 541 mined areas amounting to 12.164km² nationwide across six provinces.^[20]

The Baseline Assessment reported that contaminated areas include the following:

• six battle areas comprising 81,000m² in total;
• roads on the border with Zimbabwe;
• infrastructure such as dams at Cahora Bassa and Chicamba in Tete province;
• the Beira-Machipanda railway in Manica province and the Limpopo railway in Gaza province; and
• 170 electricity pylons between Maputo city and the border with South Africa.

HI’s survey identified an SHA in Cheringoma district in Sofala province covering an estimated area of 4km².^[21]

Mined areas and UXO in Mozambique, IND, July 2008^[22]

Previously, in 2006–2007, HI conducted a Comprehensive Survey in Inhambane, Manica, and Sofala provinces. The thirty-three districts in these provinces were surveyed by visiting each of the some 400 communities. A total of 651 previously unidentified SHAs were identified covering an area of 9km² along with approximately 200km of road.^[23] All survey reports are in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) format and were handed over to IND to enter into the national database. At IND’s request, HI provided its survey results to HALO to be included in the Baseline Assessment.^[24]

An explosion in March 2007 at an ammunition storage area (ASA) in Maputo spread ordnance across the Malhazine area of the capital killing 130 people (103 civilians and 27 military personnel) and injuring more than 500 others. Damage occurred in a 10km radius and affected about 300,000 people.^[25] A total of 4,979 houses destroyed during the explosions had been re-built as of March 2008.^[26]

Mine Action Program

Coordination and management

Mozambique does not have a mine action authority, despite the 2005 review recommending that it establish one. Instead, IND, established by decree in 1999, coordinates demining, risk education, and victim assistance at the national, provincial, and international levels, under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[27] As of May 2008, IND had 57 staff members: 42 based in Maputo and the other 15 in regional offices.^[28]

In October 2007, the governments of Mozambique and Norway invited all demining operators, IND, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and donors to a seminar to discuss the success of the National Mine Action Plan 2002–2006 and challenges for mine action in Mozambique. This included an assessment of progress towards fulfillment of Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty.^[29]

UNDP supported IND through a chief technical advisor until end-January 2008, and a technical advisor for operations until December 2007. In mid-June 2008, a new chief technical advisor arrived in Mozambique. UNDP does not plan to fill the technical advisor for operations position that had been vacant since December 2007. When the need arises, short-term consultants will be hired.^[30]

Status of strategic mine action planning

In February 2008, IND drafted a new National Mine Action Plan (NMAP) for 2008–2012. It is based on the results of the Baseline Assessment, lessons learned from the implementation of the 2002–2006 strategic plan, and the results of other surveys conducted by HALO and HI.^[31] The 2008–2012 NMAP seeks to contribute to Mozambique’s poverty reduction strategy for 2006–2009 in areas where demining is considered “a strategically crucial activity… and [by] ensuring that mines are cleared in the affected regions in order to (i) prevent and reduce the loss of human life and (ii) allow the implementation of economic projects, resettlement, and greater mobility of population groups.”^[32]

The Council of Ministers reportedly approved the NMAP in April 2008.^[33] The NMAP aims to establish sustainable mine action planning, coordination, and operational capacities and to fulfill international obligations, including clearing all known minefields.^[34]

Integration of mine action with reconstruction and development

The remaining SHAs are in agricultural areas and where economic development is planned. IND believes the demining of these areas would contribute to achieving the objectives of the government’s poverty reduction strategy.^[35]

Mine action evaluations

In 2005, the GICHD conducted a 10-year evaluation of the mine action program and made five recommendations, all of which have since been addressed to some extent,^[36] namely:

• reaching a common definition of “mine impact free” with demining operators;
• improving data management and reconciling existing mine information data sets;
• requiring that mine action needs are considered by ministries and agencies in the development of all major projects;
• allocating state funds for mine action through tenders involving commercial operators; and
• working harder with donors and other stakeholders to develop a new mine action strategy.^[37]

Demining

The two major clearance operators in Mozambique in 2007 were HALO and HI. Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) closed its mine action program in Mozambique in May 2007 after 13 years.^[38]

HALO deployed its first demining team on 20 February 1994 in Zambézia province in northern Mozambique. Between 1994 and 2007, HALO cleared 552 suspected mined areas and destroyed 100,840 mines and 22,329 items of UXO.^[39]

HI has been conducting mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) activities in Mozambique since 1997 when they began operations in Inhambane province at the request of the provincial authorities. In 2004, HI initiated operations in Sofala and Manica provinces. Since 1997, HI has cleared more than 1,000 SHAs, including infrastructure such as schools, health posts, maternity facilities, water pipes, and reservoirs.^[40]

Since 2006, the Belgian research organization APOPO has been accredited by IND as a full demining operator in Mozambique. APOPO operations consist of 36 mine detection rats, a manual demining team that clears the area checked by the rats, and a mechanical Komatsu bush cutter. In 2004, the first group of rats passed official licensing tests according to International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) under supervision of the GICHD and IND.^[41] The rats work with a human deminer to sniff out and detect mines safely. With a maximum weight of six pounds (2.7 kg) the animals are too light to detonate mines. Using its extremely sensitive sense of smell, a rat can identify mines through vapor detection. Landmines typically emit a vapor signature that consists of the combination of vapor from their explosive contents such as TNT, DNT and RDX, as well as from their casing materials.^[42] To show that they have found a mine or other item of explosive ordnance, rats typically scratch the ground.^[43]

APOPO has been tasked by IND to clear Gaza province. In 2008, APOPO was clearing SHAs around the Limpopo railway line. Clearing the line itself is likely to be APOPO’s main task in the near future.^[44] In 2007, they cleared 43,600m² of land in Gaza province.^[45]

There are 12 international and national commercial demining companies accredited by IND for demining in Mozambique, but only one-quarter were employed on demining tasks as of June 2008.^[46]

Identifying hazardous areas

In 2007, HALO and HI completed surveys that reduced the total remaining contaminated area to 541 SHAs covering approximately 12km². The operational plan for 2008–2012 for all clearance operators, and the NMAP and IND strategic plan for resource mobilization are based on the survey findings.^[47]

Marking and fencing of affected areas

Mine/ERW-affected areas in Mozambique are generally not marked or fenced.^[48] Clearance operators post signs when they are working on a site.^[49]

Mine and ERW clearance in 2007 and 2008

IND reports that 2.07km² were cleared during 2007, of which roughly half was for humanitarian purposes and the other half, by commercial firms, was associated with development projects. No mines were found while conducting clearance for development projects. All 804 antipersonnel mines found and destroyed in 2007 were the result of humanitarian demining.^[50] The results of clearance in 2007 are summarized in the table below.

Demining in 2007^[51]

* No distinction is made between UXO and abandoned explosive ordnance.

Following the March 2007 explosions in the Malhazine ASA, the emergency response was led by the army, which asked HALO to work as its main technical partner. Thousands of pieces of UXO were recovered and transported to an isolated location, and destroyed in controlled demolitions; other ordnance, deemed too dangerous to move, was destroyed in situ. Clearance efforts ceased after several weeks but were restarted in mid-June 2007 following the death of two children and serious injury of a third. Later in June, five Mozambican soldiers were killed when ordnance they were transporting exploded; subsequently, a South African soldier assisting the Mozambicans was injured and a second reported “missing” following a further explosion.^[52]

In March 2008, HI was conducting clearance operations in Gondola in Manica province and Machanga in Sofala province and, pending the availability of funding, hoped to clear all known mined areas in Mabote and Zavala in Inhambane province; Buzi, Caia, Marínguê, Marromeu, and Nhamatanda in Sofala province; and Bárue, Guro, Macossa, and Sussundenga, in Manica province.^[53]

In June 2008, HALO reported plans to clear all known minefields in four of the six districts in Maputo province by the end of the year, with the exception of the electricity pylons in Boane, Matola, and Moamba districts.^[54]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Mozambique is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2009. On 6 May 2008, Mozambique submitted a request to extend its deadline to 1 March 2014 (although the operational plan to clear the remaining mined areas was due to be completed by 31 December 2013).^[55]

Controversial large estimates of the number and size of SHAs have plagued the mine action program in Mozambique since 2001 when the LIS estimated there were 561km² of contaminated area in the country. Since 2005, the estimated amount of contaminated area has steadily decreased to the current estimate of approximately 12km² and several road and infrastructure clearance projects.^[56]

The ICBL stated in June 2008 at the Standing Committee meetings that Mozambique’s extension request is well conceived and realistic. Clearance of the remaining mined areas may even require less than six years, given sufficient resources.^[57]

Landmine/ERW Casualties

In 2007, there were at least 47 new mine/ERW casualties in 14 incidents in Mozambique, including 22 killed and 25 injured. IND recorded 24 casualties in 11 incidents (14 killed and 10 injured). Ten of the casualties were children, eight were men and six were women. No information was provided on whether any of these casualties were military or clearance staff. Most casualties occurred in Zambézia province (12), followed by Maputo (7). Information on device types, activities, exact location and incident data was not provided.^[58] IND reported that the most likely causes of casualties were lack of awareness, illegal border crossing, opening of new paths for the movement of people and goods, and scrap metal collection.^[59]

Landmine Monitor identified 32 casualties reported in the media in 2007, of which 23 were not included in IND records. The remaining nine casualties, including at least six children from one mine tampering incident in Zambézia, might be included in the IND database but insufficient information was available to verify.^[60] The 23 casualties were all caused by ERW scattered as a result of the explosion at Malhazine in March 2007.^[61] Two of the casualties were South African military EOD experts,^[62] and 18 more were national military.^[63] The three remaining casualties were children.^[64] The deteriorating conditions of ASAs and their location caused at least 18 casualties prior to the March 2007 explosion. For example, in December 2006 five people were killed by what was said to be “unexploded ordnance [that] had been lying in fields since an explosion at the local depot in 2002.”^[65]

In 2006, IND recorded 35 mine/ERW casualties (19 killed and 16 injured).^[66] However, Mozambique’s Article 5 deadline extension request notes that there had been only 30 casualties (14 killed and 16 injured).^[67] As in previous years, inadequate data makes comparisons unreliable and it is possible that casualties are under-reported.^[68] With the exception of 2005 when 57 casualties were recorded, casualty rates, as recorded in the IND database, have been relatively constant since 2000 (between 14 and 30).^[69]

Mine/ERW casualties continued to be reported in 2008, with at least five new casualties in two incidents by June (two killed, three injured), including four children.^[70]

On 29 March 2008, one deminer from Mozambique was seriously injured in a demining accident in Cyprus.^[71]

Data collection

IND is responsible for managing casualty data, which it receives mainly through provincial authorities. Data is also collected by the police,^[72] the Mozambique Red Cross Society (MRCS) and hospitals,^[73] and IND quality assurance teams.^[74] Risk education (RE) focal points are trained in casualty data collection, but it is believed they do not collect this information.^[75] IND informs the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women and Social Action about recent incidents.^[76]

IND believed that casualties were under-reported, especially when incidents occur in remote locations, or when custom requires the dead to be buried as soon as possible. The limited data collection and verification capacity, as well as irregular exchanges of information, were also obstacles.^[77] In its Article 5 deadline extension request, Mozambique stated that some of its casualty data is “subject to confirmation” and that it does not represent “the real situation of surviving people of accidents with mines/ERW in Mozambique.”^[78] Casualty data and “assistance provided to registered landmine victims” is said to be recorded in IMSMA.^[79] However, the data provided to Landmine Monitor did not contain information on the incident date, age, civilian/military/deminer status, device type, activity, exact location, or assistance provided.^[80] The 2008–2012 mine action plan includes the objective to update and complete the database on mine survivors by 2010.^[81]

In 2006, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women and Social Action developed a casualty database, under IND coordination, to supplement existing capacity and improve coordination on victim assistance (VA) issues.^[82] However, it is unknown if the database is updated and ministerial information does not appear to be shared with IND.^[83] To address the situation IND planned to issue a letter to the provincial governors requesting that they collect district-level data on mine/ERW casualties.^[84]

The number of mine/ERW casualties in Mozambique is unknown. The United States Department of State estimated there had been approximately 10,000 casualties between 1992 and 1998.^[85] Other estimates are as high as 30,000.^[86] It is believed that neither is accurate.^[87] In its Article 5 deadline extension request Mozambique stated that both the estimated mine contamination and the estimated 10,000 casualties “dramatically overstated the severity of the problem.”^[88] The most comprehensive collection of casualty data remains the nationwide LIS, completed in August 2001, which recorded 2,145 mine/ERW casualties.^[89]

It is estimated that there are around 1.6 million persons with disabilities in Mozambique.^[90] The national census conducted in August 2007 included questions on disability;^[91] this data was not available at the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estatísticas) as of July 2008.^[92] Within the framework of the National Plan for Disability, a survey on the living conditions of persons with disabilities was conducted in 2007; results were still being processed in May 2008.^[93]

Landmine/ERW Risk Education

In its Article 5 deadline extension request, Mozambique noted that “Over time, the number of deaths and injuries from landmine and UXO accidents [has] fallen dramatically, suggesting a decreasing level of risk to civilians.^[94] A review of the RE programs in 2005 “concluded that there was no serious requirement for further MRE.”^[95] In 2007, RE was conducted in conjunction with clearance and in response to emergency situations. As in previous years, IND stated that RE was one of the weakest components of the mine action program as a result of unsuccessful attempts to raise funds for it.^[96]

In 2007, at least 503,100 people received RE;^[97] this was an increase compared to 382,878 people in 2006.^[98] This is mostly due to emergency RE activities conducted in response to the ASA explosion in Maputo (reaching most of the 300,000 inhabitants potentially at risk) and in response to flooding in some mine-affected provinces in February–March (49,100 people reached).^[99]

IND reported that, between 2002 and 2006, 702 RE agents were trained and more than 1.3 million people received RE messages.^[100]

IND is responsible for overall coordination, monitoring and reporting of RE activities. In 2008, Mozambique released a new national strategy for mine action covering 2008–2012, noting that “raising public awareness about the dangers of mines continues to merit government attention.”^[101] The plan had the following RE objectives: targeting RE at affected communities as identified by surveys; analyzing incident data to determine the most at-risk groups; and establishing community-based RE by 2010.^[102] The plan also noted that RE had been restricted between 2002 and 2006 because of “limited resources.”^[103]

Since 2007, IND identified scrap metal collection as an increasing risk factor^[104] and stated in June 2008 that RE activities were focused on preventing “elicit manipulation and commercialization of scrap metal including mines and [UXO] by civilians and former soldiers.”^[105] Even though HI was only aware of two incidents related to scrap metal in 2007, it included messages discouraging the practice in sessions for schoolchildren because some children are reportedly encouraged by their parents to help with scrap metal collection for financial reasons.^[106]

IND RE educators held 147 RE lectures for 94,477 people, an increase compared to 75 lectures for 35,134 people in 2006. This was mainly due to emergency RE after flooding and the ASA explosion. In 2007, IND also trained 402 volunteer RE agents and 50 MRCS staff, including teachers trained in 2004 who received refresher training. IND also distributed educational materials to schools in Zambézia and Nampula.^[107]

In 2007, APOPO, HALO, and HI provided RE in accordance with the IND requirement that RE be conducted as part of every clearance task.^[108] In conjunction with clearance activities, HI provided RE training to 209 community focal points in 2007. They also provided RE to an estimated 110,000 beneficiaries in 2007. However, as HI does not have a monitoring system to track the community focal points’ activities, it believed that they gradually stop providing RE.^[109] From 1 July to 15 August 2007, HI and “CinemArena” undertook an RE campaign in Sofala province; almost 44,000 people were reached. RE educators conducted on-site evaluations of presentations and an advertisement was broadcast on national radio and television warning against scrap metal collection.^[110] HI also provided emergency RE in response to flooding in Sofala and Inhambane.^[111]

Victim Assistance

IND’s evaluation of the 2002–2006 mine action plan found that VA was the weakest component of the program and that it would require ongoing attention from all stakeholders.^[112]

Mozambique’s healthcare infrastructure is weak and has to cope with a high disease burden, as a result of almost 30 years of armed conflict and repeated natural disasters. There is a shortage of trained medical staff, particularly specialized technical staff. Services in rural areas are particularly limited.^[113] Local health centers can only provide first-aid; specialized medical services are only available at provincial and central hospitals.^[114]

Rehabilitation services are available in 10 centers in provincial capitals, mostly far away from mine-affected areas; all but one are operated by the government. With government funding, the centers provide free services to war-disabled people, but access is limited because many people cannot afford transport or accommodation costs.^[115] One NGO representative said that existing services do not meet the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities, nor do these people know about existing services.^[116]

Psychosocial support opportunities are limited.^[117] Persons with disabilities expressed concern over the lack of access to socio-economic opportunities and employment, particularly in the formal sector.^[118] Plans to develop quotas in public sector employment and to integrate persons with disabilities into existing training and income-generating projects were announced in 2007–2008.^[119] In November 2007, Mozambique also stated that access to inclusive education had increased for children with disabilities.^[120] In 2007, veterans with disabilities complained about not receiving their pensions.^[121]

Mozambique has legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, but discrimination was common. In 2007, no budget had been allocated for implementation of the National Plan of Action on Disability for 2006–2010 (Plano Nacional de Acção da ”rea da Deficiência, PNAD) approved in 2006.^[122] The Mozambican Association of Women with Disabilities (Associação Moçambicana de Mulheres Portadoras de Deficiência) added that persons with disabilities do not benefit from the plan as it lacks real legislative power.^[123] Mozambique signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 March 2007 but not its Optional Protocol. As of 31 July 2008, Mozambique had not ratified the convention although in February, it was reported that the ratification process had started.^[124]

Progress in meeting VA25 victim assistance objectives

Mozambique is one of 25 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.^[125] As part of its commitment to the Nairobi Action Plan, Mozambique presented its 2005–2009 objectives at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in 2005.^[126]

In 2006, Mozambique said it hoped to report on the development of a strategic plan for VA at the Eighth Meeting of States Parties in November 2007,^[127] but the plan was not presented by the VA expert who was present, and the progress document (mid-term report) noted that, “Mozambique has a national plan of action for the disability sector [the unimplemented 2006–2010 plan]. The sections relevant to VA are under review.”^[128] Mozambique did not provide an update at the Standing Committee meetings in June 2008 and did not include a VA expert on the delegation.

Therefore Mozambique’s 2005–2009 objectives remain incomplete and mostly non-SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).^[129] In 2007–2008, progress was reported related to some objectives, mainly the establishment of an inter-sectoral technical group (including the ministries of women and social action, health, education and culture, and labor as well as civil society) to monitor and implement the national disability plan. Other limited progress was: approval of a regulation on accessibility of buildings, increased access to and training on inclusive education and small-scale socio-economic reintegration programs, and strengthening of the community-based rehabilitation network.^[130]

Victim assistance strategic framework

The 2008–2012 mine action plan reaffirmed IND’s coordinating role in VA, but this role was limited to casualty data collection to facilitate first-aid and reintegration.^[131] Previous responsibilities for donor liaison were not retained.^[132] In its Article 7 report for 2006, Mozambique stated that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women and Social Action shared responsibility for VA under IND’s coordination.^[133] IND stated that, in practice it is not able to coordinate VA as it is an agency, not a cabinet-level ministry, and that the ministries are not responsive to its directives.^[134] The survivor group Mine Victim Assistance Network (Rede para Assistência às Vítimas de Minas, RAVIM) is not included in planning or coordination of VA activities.^[135]

Mozambique does not have a national VA action plan although IND announced plans to develop one in its 2007 annual report^[136] and had established a working group for this purpose in February 2007.^[137] The working group focal points from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women and Social Action meet irregularly and reportedly meetings are limited to information sharing.^[138]

The Ministry of Women and Social Action is responsible for development and implementation of disability policy and psychosocial and socioeconomic reintegration activities, including a community-based assistance program.^[139] The National Institute for Employment and Professional Training within the Ministry of Labor offers vocational training for persons with disabilities and should promote their economic integration.^[140]A National Council on Disability was expected to be established by the end of 2008.^[141]

Assistance activities

In 2007, hospitals in Mozambique treated 8,036 persons with disabilities (84 mine survivors). The 10 orthopedic centers run by the Ministry of Health produced 3,088 and repaired 1,172 mobility devices (number of beneficiaries unknown).^[142] Some 200 young mine/ERW survivors received socio-economic reintegration support and 6,058 children had access to inclusive education.^[143]

In 2007, the MRCS’s Jaipur Orthopedic Center in Gaza reduced its production of prostheses and orthoses by almost 50% compared to 2006. Reasons for this included difficulties in staff retention due to low salaries and long import procedures for raw materials.^[144] In 2007, it assisted 239 people with physical rehabilitation (80 survivors);^[145] 81 prosthetic fittings were made.^[146] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) provided technical training and conducted monitoring visits. Continued SFD support was under review in early 2008. Disability and Development Partners and the German and Portuguese national Red Cross societies also supported the center.^[147]

As follow-up to its pilot survey of mine/ERW survivors in Maputo province in 2006, RAVIM assisted 39 survivors in accessing rehabilitation services. RAVIM received financial support from HI.^[148]

In 2007, HI raised awareness about the UN disability convention and the national disability plan, and provided support to RAVIM for people injured in the March 2007 ASA explosion.^[149]

Organizations of persons with disabilities are diverse and active, but generally poorly funded and dependent on external financial support.^[150]

Support for Mine Action

Mozambique has reported a cost estimate of $6.4 million (approximately €4.7 million) per year for completion of its Article 5 obligations—including the costs of survey, mine clearance, land release, coordination, and maintenance of IND—during the period from May 2009 to 2014.^[151] This amounts to a total estimated cost of $32 million. Although Mozambique did not provide a specific breakdown of costs, it cited $5.8 million annually as the cost for mine clearance itself.^[152] IND has stated that it will need US$28 million over five years to meet its extension deadline.^[153] The estimated amounts do not include the cost of surveying and, if necessary, clearing the SHAs along the border with Zimbabwe.^[154] Landmine Monitor is not aware of any comprehensive long-term cost estimates for fulfilling VA obligations in Mozambique.

National support for mine action

Mozambique reported contributing $1.3 million from national funds to mine action in 2007, and as of May 2008 stated its commitment to provide $1.3 million annually for fulfillment of its Article 5 obligations.^[155] IND has reported a government commitment to providing $6.5 million for national coordination, and believes the remainder will be needed from international donors for clearance, quality assurance, and information management.^[156]

International cooperation and assistance

In 2007, 10 countries reported providing $3,483,411 (€2,540,596) to mine action in Mozambique. Reported mine action funding in 2007 was 44% less than reported in 2006. The US contributed approximately $2.7 million in 2006, compared to $465,000 in 2007. Norway’s contributions to Mozambique decreased by approximately $938,000 in 2007 compared to 2006. Switzerland and Norway cited the end of project terms as the rationales for reduced funding. Mozambique reported $2.7 million in international contributions in 2007, down from $6.2 million in 2006 and $15 million in 2005. In spite of this decline, it stated that the average annual funding from 2005 to 2007 “exceeds expected average annual needs [for mine clearance] during the extension period.”^[157]

2007 International Mine Action Funding to Mozambique: Monetary^[158]