CIAO DATE: 9/00

Landmines: Africa's Stake, Global Initiatives

Background Paper
April, 1997

Africa Policy Information Center

The momentum for a comprehensive global ban on anti-personnel landmines is growing rapidly, and 1997 is a particularly decisive year. Africa is the most heavily mined continent, and African governments and non-governmental landmine campaigns are taking an increasingly prominent role in the global effort. The South African and Mozambican governments both announced comprehensive bans in February 1997, just as the 4th International NGO Conference on Landmines was convening in Maputo, Mozambique. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is being urged to quickly declare Southern Africa a mine-free zone, and non-governmental campaigns are gathering steam in many other African countries.

Around the world almost 70 countries have joined an initiative spearheaded by Canada that is expected to culminate in the signing of a treaty in December 1997. This treaty process, launched at a conference in Ottawa in October 1996, would impose a complete ban on anti-personnel landmines. In January, however, the Clinton Administration threw its weight behind stalled negotiations in the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. In this other forum any agreement requires a consensus, and is therefore subject to veto by opponents of a ban. If this UN negotiation track is followed, a landmines ban could be delayed well into the 21st century, while landmines proliferate and tens of thousands of civilians a year are killed.

While the White House has not definitively rejected the Ottawa process, and the US has sent a delegation to the most recent Ottawa process talks, the go-slow approach favored by most Pentagon officials still has the upper hand within the Administration. Until recently, similar reservations by the South African military also held back a totally consistent endorsement from the South African government. In February, however, they were overruled by President Mandela and his cabinet, in favor of unequivocal support for a ban (see statement below).

Administration officials say their preference for Geneva is justified because an agreement that does not include major producers of low-technology landmines, notably Russia and China, would have little effect on world production of landmines. In fact, the decision for the slow track also reflects substantial opposition from the US military establishment to a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel landmines. In previous negotiations, US officials have sought to exempt smart self-destructing landmines and have also argued for the continuing need to use landmines for defensive purposes in Korea. The White House, while expressing support for an eventual global ban, has in practice often deferred to the Pentagon and dragged its feet in international talks.

There are already more countries committed to attending the Ottawa talks than the 61 countries registered at the disarmament conference in Geneva. But the Clinton Administration is unlikely to get on the bandwagon unless public pressure builds significantly during this critical year.

The cost of delay will be high. Over 100 million of these deadly weapons are already in the ground, causing an estimated 25,000 civilian casualties each year. Low cost makes landmines a weapon of choice in new conflicts as well. It is estimated that for every mine cleared (at a cost of more than $300 each), twenty new ones are planted (at a cost of as little as $3 each).

The entire world would benefit from a comprehensive ban. For Africa, which has several of the most mined countries in the world and is the scene of ongoing conflicts, the early achievement of a ban is particularly urgent.

Rural People of Color Most Affected

It is often noted that landmines do not discriminate between soldiers and civilians, or between children and adults. More than 80% of estimated casualties are civilians.

In another sense, however, landmines do discriminate. Vulnerability to landmines is not random, but depends on who and where you are. The killed and maimed are predominantly poor people of color. Africa is the most heavily mined region in the world, followed by the Middle East, South Asia (mainly Afghanistan), and East Asia (mainly Cambodia and Vietnam). Post-Cold War conflicts—with the widespread use of landmines in the former Yugoslavia, for example—may modify the regional distribution somewhat. But new conflict zones in Africa also provide promising markets for sellers of landmines. The list of countries most victimized by landmines is headed by those that were Cold War battlefields in the 1980s. Angola and Mozambique, the most affected countries in Africa, suffered conflicts fueled by internal strife and by South African and superpower intervention.

Within countries, the people most likely to encounter mines are the rural poor, especially peasant farmers and their children. The disruption of transportation and agricultural production hits hardest the economies of those countries with large rural populations and little industrial infrastructure.

The Global Campaign

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a nongovernmental initiative which began in 1992, has gained strong momentum in only a few years. Consensus is growing around the world that these weapons should be outlawed, as chemical warfare was a generation ago. Studies such as Landmines: A Deadly Legacy (Human Rights Watch, 1993) and Hidden Killers: The Global Problem with Uncleared Landmines (US Department of State, 1993) have documented the worldwide scope of the problem. The use of landmines in Bosnia has reminded the Western world that these weapons can kill people in Europe as well as in far-off Third World countries. Veterans groups and former high-ranking military officers have noted the limited military value of anti-personnel landmines in wars between armies. The International Committee of the Red Cross, notoriously reluctant to take sides in politically controversial issues, joined the call for a total ban in 1994 in light of the unique humanitarian danger landmines pose.

A decade earlier, in 1983, an internationally negotiated landmines treaty imposed restrictions on the legal use of landmines in an effort to reduce harm to civilians. That convention has been totally ineffective.

Since then, landmines have become cheaper, harder to detect, easier to disseminate, and more effective in killing and maiming. Military planners in late Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts have often explicitly targeted civilians and the civilian economy. They have found landmines to be effective weapons in damaging these targets. The result is not only increased civilian casualties, but also rapidly escalating costs for supplying humanitarian relief and reconstructing war-torn areas once peace is restored. According to some estimates, ridding the world of all existing mine fields would cost at least $33 billion and take more than 1,000 years.

Forty-five countries, including the United States and South Africa, have already declared moratoria or permanent bans on landmine exports. In 1995 and 1996 international conferences in Vienna and Geneva reviewed the 1983 treaty, but failed to make progress toward a total ban on landmines. Instead, agreement was reached on limited new restrictions, such as requiring parties to keep maps of planted landmines and to use only smart mines built to self-destruct. Yet enforcing such restrictions would be far more difficult in practice than enforcing an unambiguous comprehensive ban.

In October 1996 the Canadian government convened a conference in Ottawa bringing together 50 full participant countries and 24 observers to plan for adoption of a total ban by the end of 1997. The International Campaign, now consisting of more than 650 nongovernmental organizations in more than three dozen countries, is working to gain the support of as many governments as possible for a comprehensive ban.

Landmines in Africa

According to the US State Department's 1993 study, Africa is the most mined region in the world, with 18 million to 30 million mines laid in 18 countries. Of the 17 countries around the world most severely affected by landmines, seven are in Africa.

By far the most seriously affected country is Angola, with estimates ranging from 9 million to as high as 20 million mines. Next is Mozambique, with more than a million, followed by four countries in the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan) with half a million to a million each.

Every country in Southern Africa, with the exception of Lesotho and Mauritius, has had people killed or injured by landmines. The Great Lakes region, previously not significantly affected, now has more than 250,000 mines in Rwanda, and there are fears that the ongoing conflict in the region may lead to much wider use of landmines. Other areas with significant numbers of mines include the Western Sahara and Liberia.

An estimated 70,000 Angolans have become amputees as a result of landmines, including both civilian and military victims. In Mozambique the National Mine Clearance Commission estimates that at least 40 people are killed by landmines each month.

South Africa, with an existing landmine production capacity, announced in October 1996 that it supported a global landmine ban and would ban export of mines. Although veterans groups across the political spectrum in South Africa have called for a ban on production and stockpiling as well, the South African Defense Force initially proved reluctant to take this additional step. South Africa has an estimated stockpile of about 300,000 anti-personnel landmines. In February, just before the opening of the Maputo conference, South Africa announced a total ban, including plans to eliminate its existing stockpile (see page 6).

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which held its annual conference last year in Cambodia, held this year's meeting in Maputo, Mozambique in February. The conference was hosted by the Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines, which has 17 nongovernmental organizations as members, and supported by parallel campaigns in other countries in the Southern African region. National movements, which have been established in Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, recently sent a joint letter to Southern African heads of state asking them to declare the region a mine-free zone, to adopt a permanent ban and to destroy all stockpiles.

US Bans Exports, But Not Use

The US Congress, spear-headed in its efforts by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT.), has taken a leading role in advancing the cause of a total ban on landmines. The response of the Clinton Administration has been ambivalent. In a message to the United Nations in 1993, and most recently in January of this year, President Clinton has expressed verbal support for a global ban. The United States has adhered to a moratorium on the export of landmines since 1992, and the President announced in January that the export ban would become permanent. The United States has allocated almost $15 million a year for research on new demining technologies, and the budget to support demining operations in other countries has risen from $18 million in 1994 to $60 million in 1996.

The US government has been unwilling, however, to abandon its own use of landmines in Korea. Internal Pentagon studies show that a combination of alternative measures could replace the defensive use of landmines in Korea within the three-year phase-out period the Canadian treaty would allow. In international negotiations, nevertheless, the Administration has sought to find alternatives to an immediate ban, advocating more gradual measures that might result in a total ban by the year 2010.

By opting for the Geneva slow track rather than the Ottawa fast track this year, the President is giving up an opportunity for quick progress toward a ban by the majority of the worlds countries. Instead, he is pegging advance on the issue to measures that will be acceptable to hold-out countries such as Russia and China.

This negotiating course adopted by President Clinton, wrote Sen. Leahy in The New York Times (Jan. 19, 1997) risks delaying achievement of a real landmine ban well beyond his final four years in office. If the Geneva process does not show real progress by June, the Senator added, the United States should become an active participant in the Ottawa process. For more information, or to submit an endorsement to the campaign, contact: US Campaign to Ban Landmines (Mary Wareham, Coordinator), Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, 2001 S St, NW, Suite 740, Washington, DC 20009, Ph: +202-483-9222, Fax: +202-483-9312, E-mail: mary@vi.org. Much additional information is available on the International Campaign's web site at http://www.icbl.org and from the United Nations Mine Action Service
(http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/mine/).

 

Final Declaration of the 4th International NGO Conference on Landmines:
Toward a Mine Free Southern Africa
Maputo, Mozambique; 25-28 February 1997

Remembering the tens of thousands of men, women and children killed and maimed by landmines each year, and commending the courage and commitment of the humanitarian deminers who daily risk their lives to remove this deadly weapon from the ground, the following statement was issued on behalf of the more than 450 participants from 60 countries attending the 4th International NGO Conference on Landmines in Maputo, Mozambique:

• recognizing the urgent need for a comprehensive global ban on antipersonnel landmines and greatly expanded programs for mine clearance and victim assistance;

• noting that a comprehensive ban rests on the pillars of an international ban treaty, humanitarian mine clearance and victim assistance;

• recognizing the particular importance of this year as the international community moves toward the signing of a total ban treaty in Ottawa, Canada in December 1997;

• convinced that the Ottawa process is the most clear expression of the will of the international community as stated in the 10 December 1996 United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the conclusion of an international ban treaty "as soon as possible" and that other negotiating fora, such as the Conference on Disarmament, will not fulfill that will in a timely fashion;

• welcoming the initiative taken by the government of Austria in formulating a draft ban treaty and in convening the first international meeting in February of this year to discuss the elements of a comprehensive treaty to ban antipersonnel landmines;

• welcoming the important roles of the governments of Belgium and Norway in the Ottawa process in their hosting treaty negotiating sessions in June and September of this year;

• appreciating the preparatory work for this conference by the regional steering committee and the Mozambique Campaign against Landmines;

• noting the launching of new landmine ban campaigns in Angola, Kenya, Somalia, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the run-up to the conference;

• noting the successful pre-conference seminar held by the campaigns from the South and welcoming recommendations from the South to make consistent efforts to include southern campaigns in ICBL [International Campaign to Ban Landmines] planning meetings;

• welcoming the pre-conference announcement by the government of South Africa of its ban on the use, production, development, trade and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines;

• appreciating the opening of the conference by President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique as a clear expression of commitment by the government to a global ban on antipersonnel landmines;

• welcoming the announcement at the conference by the government of Mozambique of its ban on the use, production, and trade of antipersonnel landmines;

• welcoming the participation in the conference by many regional and other governmental representatives;

• appreciating the important support for the conference by its patrons and donors;

• noting the widespread endorsement of the conference by political, religious and social leaders worldwide; and

• noting the widespread regional and international attention to the landmines crisis generated by the conference;
  
  The 4th International NGO Conference on Landmines,
  
  Calls on all governments:
  • to publicly commit to the objective of signing an international treaty banning all antipersonnel landmines in December 1997;

  • to actively participate during 1997 in the process of negotiating a simple, clear and unambiguous treaty that bans all antipersonnel landmines and not just those weapons "primarily" designed or adapted to be explod-ed by the presence, proximity or contact of a person;

  • to open all meetings of the Ottawa process to participation by an ICBL delegation, and additionally, to invite NGO representatives to form part of government delegations to these meetings;

  • to take unilateral and regional steps to ban anti-personnel mines to continue to build momentum toward the signing of the Ottawa treaty;

  • of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to take all measures to make the region a mine-free zone;

  • in Africa to implement the OAU resolutions urging a continent-wide ban on antipersonnel landmines, using appropriate fora such as the OAU landmine meeting in South Africa in May and the OAU Summit in Zimbabwe in June;

  • of mine-affected countries to follow the lead of Mozambique and take unilateral steps to ban antipersonnel landmines;

  • to increase greatly resources for mine clearance for all mine-contaminated countries, and particularly in those nations and regions that have banned the weapon in order to encourage other countries to do the same;

  • to increase greatly resources for victim assistance for all mine-contaminated countries;

  • who have produced and supplied mines to accept their responsibility and to assist with clearance and victim assistance programs; and

  • for the governments of mine-contaminated countries to develop and implement national mine clearance policies that are transparent and include the needs of all sectors of society.
  
  Calls upon members of the ICBL:
  • to present this declaration to their governments, at regional and continent-wide meetings such as upcoming SADC and OAU summits;

  • to press governments to participate in the Ottawa process and sign the ban treaty in December 1997;

  • to attend the treaty preparatory conferences in Brussels in June, Oslo in September and Ottawa in December;

  • to increase networking and communication among campaigns in the south and within regions;

  • to take the initiative to help generate and support new campaigns and pro-ban initiatives throughout their regions;

  • to broaden the base of participation by civil society in national campaigns by including organizations such as student groups, trade unions, women's organizations, professional groups, disability advocacy groups and others not yet actively involved in the campaign;

  • to make particular effort to empower landmine survivors to participate actively in national campaigns and speak out for a ban at international fora;

  • to give particular emphasis to the empowerment of landmine survivors ;

  • to increase networking and communication between campaigns in the north and the south, and take measures to ensure that campaigns in the south can fully participate in the Ottawa process;

  • to encourage national campaigns and NGOs to document the socio-economic impact of anti-personnel mines on their societies to provide critical information to raise public awareness to strengthen ICBL advocacy efforts for humanitarian mine clearance and victim assistance;

  • to begin strategizing and planning for campaign work beyond the signing of the comprehensive ban treaty in Ottawa in December 1997 in order to universalize the treaty, to ensure the complete eradication of landmines throughout the world and that assistance to mine victims be comprehensive to ensure their reintegration into society.

 

South African Government Policy on Anti-personnel Landmines
Press Statement by the Minister of Defence, the Hon. Mr. J. Modise: Parliament, 20 February 1997.

Members of the Media, Thank you for your attendance here today.

Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have called this press conference to announce the policy position of the South African Government on anti-personnel landmines.

I am pleased to inform you that, on my recommendation and motivation, Cabinet decided, on the l9th of February 1997, to ban the use, development, production and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines - with immediate effect.

We thereby fully endorse the conviction of the International Committee of the Red Cross, that, and I quote:

"The limited military utility of anti-personnel mines is far outweighed by the appalling humanitarian consequences of their use in actual conflicts. On this basis their prohibition and elimination should be pursued as a matter of utmost urgency by governments and the entire international community."

Ladies and Gentlemen, in adopting this position, the South African Government, through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is reinforcing efforts to bring about a universal ban on these mines and their complete elimination.

We will resolutely pursue this objective, and do everything possible to encourage and influence governments and international institutions to adopt this position.

Our commitment in this respect is a matter of record since our accession to office.

In 1994 we announced a moratorium on the export of all landmines.

This was followed, in 1996, by a complete ban on exports of all forms of landmines.

And yesterday, the 19th of February 1997, this commitment was taken a step further when Cabinet decided on a total prohibition on the use, development, production and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines—with immediate effect.

In terms of this decision, we will be preparing to destroy our stockpile of existing anti-personnel landmines, which amount to 160,000.

We will be retaining a very limited and verifiable number of anti-personnel landmines, solely for training specific military personnel in de-mining techniques and for research into assisting the de-mining process.

All de-mining training and research will be carried out under the strictest government supervision and control.

I must stress, that until all countries have co-operated in eliminating all stockpiles of anti-personnel landmines, there is no guarantee that they may not be used.

As long as the threat exists, our National Defence Force must be capable of dealing with the need to de-activate and clear this menace, and to neutralise it if we are confronted by it in an operational situation.

It therefore follows that we must maintain the capability and skill required to perform that task.

Cabinet's decision reflects our determination to help rid the world of the problem of anti-personnel landmines.

Each month these mines kill or maim some 2,000 victims around the world—the vast majority of whom are civilians.

Their indiscriminate use has had a devastating effect - internationally, in Africa and in our region.

In Angola, the number of amputations, resulting from anti-personnel mines, is, tragically, one of the highest in the world, and in Mozambique, thousands of these mines remain uncleared.

The injuries from these mines impose an intolerable burden on civil society and a severe constraint on reconstruction and developmental needs.

A heavy responsibility lies on the more developed countries, capable of producing this weapon, to cease production, export and use.

This grave international problem can only be addressed by concerted international action to restrict the availability and use of landmines, and to alleviate the suffering they cause. We believe it is possible to confront the menace, and South Africa will do everything possible to assist in the eradication of anti-personnel landmines from the face of our globe.

On a practical level:

At the UN International Meeting on Mine Clearance, held in Geneva in 1995, South Africa pledged assistance to training programmes for the UN Stand-By Capacity for mine clearance—involving management of de-mining, mine lifting and mine awareness.

Regionally, we signed a Declaration of Intent with the Government of Mozambique in 1995, whereby both governments will co-operate in de-mining efforts.

And South Africa is assisting Angola through the training of de-mining personnel for the Angolan De-Mining Institute.

Furthermore, a South African company specialising in de-mining, is involved in de-mining activities in Angola in co-operation with the United Nations.

In March 1996, we became a State Party to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (and Protocols)—CCW—Which amongst other things, restricts the use of landmines.

In additional to the aforementioned measures, South Africa is a signatory to the Ottawa Declaration of October 1996—working for a global ban on anti-personnel landmines.

And South Africa was one of the original co-sponsors of the December 1996 UN General Assembly Resolution - supported by 155 countries—on "An international agreement to ban anti-personnel landmines."

The ban I have announced today is an integral part of our Government's overall commitment to the promotion of international peace and security.

With this announcement, we give our fullest support and endorsement of the Fourth International NGO Conference of Landmines, which will be held in Maputo, Mozambique, from 25-28 February 1997.

I pledge that we will do everything possible to help rid the world of the menace of the anti-personnel landmine. I thank you.

 

Declaration of National Red Cross Societies of Southern Africa
Maputo, 27 February 1997

Immense long-term human suffering has been caused by the use of tens of millions of anti-personnel landmines in the countries of Southern Africa over the past two decades. Mines have already killed or maimed tens of thousands of men, women, and children in the region and inflicted deep and prolonged wounds on societies and economies. Even though peace and stability are returning to the region, millions of uncleared landmines remain a major obstacle to post-conflict development and reconstruction and will continue to claim innocent lives and limbs for years to come.

The National Red Cross Societies of southern Africa together with the entire International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, have direct experience in caring for the innocent casualties of anti-personnel mines: our doctors, surgeons, and volunteers have treated many of the victims and Red Cross physical rehabilitation centres have fitted artificial limbs to thousands of mine amputees. We shall continue to implement programmes of mine awareness to try to reduce the number of landmine incidents. But without a dedicated and comprehensive effort to tackle the root of the problem our best efforts can only mitigate the horrible effects of this weapon.

We are firmly convinced that the appalling human, social and economic impact of anti-personnel landmines far outweigh their limited military utility. We therefore call upon all countries of southern Africa:

1. to participate actively in the Ottawa Group of pro-ban States;

2. to support the early conclusion of an international treaty prohibiting the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of anti-personnel mines;

3. to initiate the establishment of a zone totally free of anti-personnel landmines in southern Africa; and

4. to adopt and implement national legal prohibitions of anti-personnel mines. We would like to stress the urgent need for countries of the region to work together and in co-operation with the international community to strengthen programmes of humanitarian mine clearance, mine awareness and assistance to the victims of landmines. We support the initiatives of governments of the region to work together actively to prevent conflicts and to bring existing conflicts to an end through dialogue and other peaceful means.

Red Cross Society of Angola * Botswana Red Cross Society * Baphalali Swaziland Red Cross Society
Lesotho Red Cross Society * Madagascar Red Cross Society * Malawi Red Cross Society
Mozambique Red Cross Society * Namibia Red Cross Society * South African Red Cross Society
Tanzania Red Cross Society * Zambia Red Cross Society * Zimbabwe National Red Cross Society

 

Landmine Survivor's Stories

Elizete Manhiça, Maputo Province, Mozambique

As usual, Elizete Manhiça woke up early on the morning of March 13, 1996 to tend her small farm. While gathering dry grass, she felt a strange object. She took a hoe and beat the land to remove the object when it exploded, blowing her back a distance. She tried to stand, but was not able. Help came after hearing the explosion and Elizete's cries for help. However, she died on the way to the hospital. Because of the explosion, her three children are now orphaned—their father had died during the war.

"Alfaitataria dos Irmãos do Kunje," Angola

Domingo Rodrigues, Joaquim Pintos and Cecília Segunda live in Kunje, near Kuito, Angola. Rodrigues, 24, stepped on a landmine in June 1993 while fighting during the nine-month siege of Kuito. Pintos, 22, was injured while looking for cassava in the fields for his wife and baby daughter. Segunda, 29, a mother of seven, was walking over to a friend's house, then to the river. "Vida de mutilado pesa (living as an amputee is a burden)," said Rodrigues in 1995. "We don't want charity, we want work, but we can't work the land, we can't gather firewood to sell in the market, we can't join the Army. What is left for us?"

They found something to do. Together with seven other amputees, and US$500 in seed money borrowed from the Irish NGO Concern they set up a tailor shop in 1995. The group shows a remarkable will to be self-reliant, to channel their bitterness into action. The shop was their idea. They insisted on writing the proposal, justification and cost-analysis themselves. Today, the "Alfaitaria dos Irmãos do Kunje" (tailor shop of the brothers of Kunje) turns out smart uniforms for the Halo Trust deminers and the ICRC workers at the orthopeadic centre, and trousers and dresses for adults and children.

Marieta Pedro, Murrupula, Nampula Province, Mozambique

Marieta Pedro, 24, from Murrupula district, supported her three children by making pottery. In October 1996, she activated a mine while picking clay at the edges of Nibessine river, which was not suspected to have landmines. She woke two days later in the hospital with no recollection of the incident. She continues to make pottery, helped by her children and some friends who gather the clay. Her husband left her to live with another woman, and she is often alone. Once, she even thought of suicide but could not bear the thought of abandoning her children.