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Iraq has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It has not participated in any international diplomatic meetings on landmines in 2000 or 2001; it has not made any public statements on the antipersonnel landmine ban since 1997. In failing to pay its dues, Iraq has been ineligible to vote on UN General Assembly resolutions, including on landmines. Iraq is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
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Iraq is a known producer and exporter of antipersonnel mines and it remains the only known mine exporter in the world that has not instituted an export ban or moratorium, or at least made a policy declaration of no current export. However, there are no confirmed reports of Iraqi exports of antipersonnel mines in recent years. The majority of landmines used by Iraq in Kuwait and Iraqi Kurdistan were imported. No information is available on any use of antipersonnel mines in the past year.
In September 2000, an Iraqi diplomat said to Landmine Monitor, “How can we export landmines? We only export oil for food. We agree that this [landmines] is a humanitarian issue, but why should we care about this treaty when there are other weapons used against my country? We reserve our right to self-defense.”[1]
Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are found throughout Iraq as remnants of the Gulf War, the Iraq-Iran War, and two decades of internal conflict. Iraq may be considering allowing mine-clearing projects to commence in Iraq. According to a September 2000 UN Security Council report, there are “reports of bilateral discussions on the setting up of mine clearance activities.”[2] UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) clears mines and UXO found in the demilitarized zone but has not undertaken any systematic mine clearing projects.[3] It is not known if the Iraqi army or any other government agency is engaged in humanitarian mine clearance or awareness activities.
Mine clearance and mine awareness continues in Northern Iraq (also known as Iraqi Kurdistan, see separate entry). Iraq has repeatedly tried to interfere with the mine clearing projects. In 1998, Iraq called mine clearance efforts subversive and ordered the mine action NGOs to leave the country.[4] In April 1999, an unknown assailant killed a New Zealander working for the UN mine clearance program and the Kurdistan Democratic Party later arrested a person who claimed to have killed the worker on behalf of Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen.[5] In March 2001, Iraq was reported to be delaying approval of the entry of 198 metal detectors required for the clearance program into the country.[6] In May 2001, Iraq was reported to have rejected or not answered ninety-three visa requests for mine-removal workers.[7]
Mines and UXO located inside the country continue to inflict casualties. UNIKOM has evacuated a number of Iraqi civilians injured by mine explosions in areas near the border with Kuwait.[8] Since January 2000, UNIKOM has treated 87 people injured by mines and UXO.[9] In December 2000, one boy was reported killed and eight others injured by a landmine in the southern city of Basra.[10] In February 2001, a boy was reported killed by a Gulf War cluster bomblet in Karbala province while six children were wounded in an explosion in the Basra region.[11] Also in February 2001, two boys in western Iraq were wounded by a cluster bomblet while tending sheep.[12] On 15 March, a shepherd was reportedly injured when a UXO exploded in a field near Nassiriyia.[13]
The ICRC has started collecting data on mine and UXO casualties in southern Iraq as a preliminary step toward defining an appropriate mine awareness strategy. In 2000, the ICRC held discussions with the local authorities and the Iraqi Red Crescent on the object of the data collection, on future plans for mine awareness activities and in an effort to reach an agreement with the government; the next step will be an in-depth needs assessment, scheduled for July 2001.[14] The government is reported to provide mine survivors with medical and prosthetic supplies at Ibn al Kuff hospital and through designated medical centers.[15] The ICRC continues to provide support to four government run prosthetic/orthotic centers located in Baghdad, Basra and Najf and the Iraqi Red Crescent Center in Mosul. The ICRC reports that an estimated 3,000 patients per year receive ICRC prostheses, of whom over 50 percent are mine survivors.[16]
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[1] Landmine Monitor (HRW) interview with Saad A. O. Hussain, Counseiller of the Permanent Mission of Iraq in Geneva, 12 September 2000. Two diplomats from Iraq were present at the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, but not listed as an official observer delegation.
[2] Report of The UN Security-General pursuant to paragraph 5 of resolution 1302 (S/2000/857), 8 September 2000, p. 6.
[3] Chris Varcoe, “Keeping Peace on the Highway of Death,” Calgary Herald, 17 February 2001.
[4] US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, February 2001, Section 1(g).
[5] US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, February 2001, Section 1(g).
[6] Report of The UN Security-General pursuant to Paragraph 28 and 30 of Resolution 1284 (1999) and Paragraph 5 of Resolution 1281 (1999) (S/2000/208), 10 March 2000, p. 36.
[7] “Iraq is Undermining Aid Projects by Blocking Visas, UN Says,” New York Times, 1 May 2001.
[8] Report of The UN Secretary General on the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (S/2001/287), 28 March 2001, p. 2.
[9] Chris Varcoe, “Keeping Peace on the Highway of Death,” Calgary Herald, 17 February 2001.
[10] “Child Killed, eight injured in mine explosion,” Associated Press (Baghdad), 4 December 2000.
[11] “Child killed, six hurt by bombs dating back to Gulf War,” Agence France Presse (Baghdad), 9 February 2001.
[12] William Arkin, “America Cluster Bombs Iraq,” Washington Post, 26 February 2001.
[13] “Iraqi Shepard killed in explosion of Gulf War bomb,” Agence France Presse (Baghdad), 15 March 2001.
[14] Information provided to Landmine Monitor by the ICRC, 12 July 2001.
[15] Report of the UN Security-General pursuant to paragraph 5 of resolution 1302 (S/2000/857), 8 September 2000, p. 6.
[16] ICRC, “ICRC activities on behalf of Iraqi civilians 2000-2001,” 11 June 2001.
