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Key developments since May 2000: From September to November 2000, some 3 million square meters of land in the Askeran and Martakert regions were cleared of mines. At the same time, the Defense Ministry cleared 270,000 square meters of arable land in the Hadrout region, which was handed over to the families of war disabled, including mine victims. In 2000, fifteen people fell victim to landmines.
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Nagorno-Karabakh is an autonomous region in the South Caucasus. In 1988 it voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, which resulted in armed conflict from 1988-1994. The region declared independence as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) on 2 September 1991. The NKR has not been recognized by the United Nations. On 12 May 1994 Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement, which is still in effect. Negotiations for the final settlement of the conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk group are still in progress. As a result of the conflict, parts of the region and Western Azerbaijan are plagued with landmines.
Statements from Nagorno-Karabakh political and military leaders indicate that it would not join the Mine Ban Treaty if it were eligible to do so. On 14 September 2000, Nagorno-Karabakh Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, A. Ghoulian, told the coordinator of the Nagorno-Karabakh Committee of the ICBL, “The lack of settlement of the conflict hinders Nagorno-Karabakh from joining the Convention unilaterally.”[1] The position of the Nagorno-Karabakh military is that as long as the potential for renewal of hostilities remains, mines are necessary; however, immediately after a final and comprehensive settlement is reached, it will be necessary to clear mines from the entire territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.[2]
The Nagorno-Karabakh Committee of the ICBL is educating the public through coverage in mass media about the Mine Ban Treaty, including stories in the newspaper Azat Artsakh.
According to Deputy Chief of the Field-Engineer Service of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, Lt. Col. Marsel Pogosian, Nagorno-Karabakh has never produced or exported mines, and has not purchased new mines since 1995.[3] The types and quantities of antipersonnel mines held in stockpile are unknown, but most likely are of former Soviet origin.
According to Lt. Col. Pogosian, since 1995 no new mining operations have been performed, with the exception of the line of contact.[4] On 18-19 May 2001, for the first time in the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azeri Colonel Elhan Husseinov and General Vitaly Balasalian from Nagorno-Karabakh, accompanied by the three negotiators from the OSCE’s “Minsk Group” (Carey Cavanaugh of the US, Nikolai Gribkov of Russia and Philippe de Suramaen of France), crossed the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the vicinity of the city of Agdam. The area of crossing was cleared of mines beforehand and later mined again.[5]
Approximately 150 million square meters of land, roads and forests must remain to be surveyed in Nagorno-Karabakh for future mine clearance.[6] Nearly 50 million square meters of this land is arable. The Minister of Agriculture Armo Tsaturian stated that 30% of the territory's agricultural lands are not being used because of the mine danger. He pointed out that these lands are the most productive areas in the valleys and foothills. The Minister also reported that 80,000 square meters of vineyards are also inaccessible because of the mines.[7]
In 1993, Nagorno-Karabakh created a Working Group on Mine Problems (WGMP), under the auspices of the Special Commission on Mine Issues. Its initial task was to begin to collect information on the landmine problem. Headed by a special representative of the prime minister its activities were expanded to include coordination among the various relevant ministries dealing with the various aspects of the mine problem including mine clearance, minefield marking and mapping, mine awareness activities, and provision of basic medical aid courses. Aside from the official structures, NGOs like the HALO Trust and ICRC are members of the WGMP. The Nagorno-Karabakh Committee of the ICBL was included in the WGMP by a Prime Minister's decree on 23 March 2000.
According to the head of the WGMP, Mels Akopdzhanyan, Nagorno-Karabakh has prepared a national mine clearance plan, but international assistance will be necessary to implement it.[8] Additionally, according to Lt. Col. Pogosian, an order from the Defense Minister obliging field-engineer units to carry out mine clearing of arable lands has been worked out.[9]
Special units of the Emergency Situations Department, jointly with HALO Trust and elements of Defense Ministry, carry out mine clearance in Nagorno-Karabakh. During the mine clearance operations the most frequently found mines are OZM-72, PMN-2, POMZ-2.[10]
In January 2000, HALO resumed operations in Nagorno-Karabakh. HALO conducted refresher training and equipment refurbishment for the existing humanitarian deminers in Nagorno-Karabakh, and conducted specialist training for the staff of the Department of Emergency Situations, before going on to establish its own independent Battle Area Clearance teams. Initially with support from Fondation Pro Victimis and Anti-Landmijn Stichting and subsequently with support from the Royal Netherlands Government, HALO has deployed three Battle Area Clearance teams which cleared a total of 97 mines and 4,587 UXO between June and November 2000. Between September and November 2000, three square kilometers of land was cleared of UXO by these teams in the Askeran and Martakert regions. In late 2001 HALO plans to augment the present capacity with two manual mine clearance teams.[11]
In 2000, Defense Ministry teams cleared 27 hectares (270,000 square meters) of arable land in the Hadrut region and handed it over to families of war invalids, including mine victims.[12] In addition to mine clearance, the marking of minefields is in progress, particularly in the central and northern regions of Askeran and Martakert.
Uncertainty about the future prevents mine action programs in many areas, especially along the line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
In 1999 the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh created the Mine Awareness Working Group (MAWG). Meetings convened regularly by the MAWG offer the opportunity to share information with other structures involved in the mine/UXO problem and to regulate their various activities. In 2000 the MAWG, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), organized 10 meetings.[13]
The ICRC has been operating in Nagorno-Karabakh since 1992. Its office in Stepanakert initiated mine action programs in May 1994. Since April 2000, the ICRC has had at least one experienced mine/UXO-awareness expatriate supporting mine/UXO awareness activities. ICRC coordinates its activities with the Ministry of the Education and Science and the WGMP.
The ICRC programs seek to educate the public, and in particular children, about the danger of mines. The ICRC has undertaken no major initiatives for adults as the Emergency Rescue Service for Community based Programs (CBMA) and the Civil Defense are well-established in communities and carrying out projects successfully. In response to suggestions by the two institutions, the ICRC supported their mine/UXO awareness program through a workshop with the local media on optimizing use of the media for the transmission of mine information to the general public, on television spots and fact sheets. The institution also supported the work of CBMA by providing 50 sign boards bearing mine awareness messages and posted in various regions of Nagorno Karabakh. A system for reporting mine sightings has been developed within communities, who report to the Civil Defence and HALO Trust.[14]
The ICRC CBMA's program for children centered around a puppet show, which was seen by over 16,000 children in 71 villages and 12 schools of Stepanakert. The well-received puppet show has been filmed on video for distribution to schools. In 2000, the ICRC CBMA's mine/UXO awareness program trained over 1,600 teachers (including trainers of trainers), visited 162 schools and sensitized 21,528 children. The ICRC supported the school mine/UXO awareness program by providing it with a broad range of materials including posters, photographs of mines/UXOs, stationery and other school supplies. The school program has inspired community-wide dissemination of information on the mine/UXO problem.[15]
The ICRC and the Nagorno-Karabakh officials created a map indicating the dangerous zones in the territory, which has been distributed among the village communities. The Commission on Mine Issues and the ICRC prepared a notebook for schoolchildren with illustrations of types of mines and UXO. Some 46,000 copies of this notebook will be distributed to schoolchildren. The Commission on Mine Issues has also prepared mine awareness videos, posters, and radio/television programs that are broadcast throughout Nagorno-Karabakh.
In 2000, according to Mels Akopdzhanyan, head of the WGMP, four people were killed and 11 people (including two children) were injured by mines in Nagorno-Karabakh. All were males.[16] At a session of the WGMP in June 2000, the following statistics were presented: in 1995, there were eighty-two mine incidents; in 1996, sixty-four; in 1997, twenty-five; in 1998, sixteen; and in 1999, thirty (including 28 males).[17] The ICRC has also reported that the number of mine/UXO victims dropped from 30 in 1999 to 15 in 2000. The ICRC indicates that in 1999, more than half of the victims (56.7%) were children. Although the local authorities are now entirely responsible for data collection on mine/UXO victims, the data are entered into the ICRC database for analysis and use in mine-awareness and clearance activities.[18]
All landmine victims receive free treatment in the medical institutions of Nagorno-Karabakh and are provided with prosthetic appliances if needed. Besides free medical services and free prostheses, all landmine survivors use social facilities and get monthly pensions, corresponding with their loss of capacity to work.
An orthopedic hospital, the Orthopedic–Technical Prosthetic Center, was established in Stepanakert in 1994 and has been operational since October 1995. From 1995 to 2000 the Center was fully financed by the German department of International Christian Solidarity (ICS). Since 2000, the German organization, “Hoffnungszeichen (Sign of Hope),” has supported the Center instead of ICS, and since 2001, the Ministry of Social Security, financed 50% of the Center’s work. In May 2001, 396 patients were registered at the Center. All amputees receive prosthetic appliances and replacement prostheses at the expense of the sponsor and the state. Prostheses are replaced every 2 years.[19] From January to November 2000, eleven new prostheses were fitted and twenty-six old prostheses replaced at the Nagorno-Karabakh Prosthesis Center.[20]
Since 1994, the Belgium Committee of Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has operated the “Psychological Rehabilitation Center” for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. MSF financed the repair of rooms, equipment and the training of local specialists. From 1994 to May 2001, 4,532 people (adults and children) received and are continuing to receive psychological aid at the Center. The disabled person undergoes labor expert examination, and can then address the Ministry of Social Security attached to the Medical and Labor Expert Commission.[21] Medical and labor expert examination of the disabled person determines the degree of loss of capacity for work, and based on this information the Ministry of Social Security fixes monthly pensions, which amount to around US$30-$50.[22] In the case of a family, this amount is hardly enough to cover the cost of public utilities and minimal subsistence.
In 1994 a non-governmental public organization of disabled veterans, “Vita,” was established. The main focus of its activity is social rehabilitation and reintegration of the disabled, and the search for sponsors and funds for organizing treatment of the disabled abroad. The organization is self-financed and has a small clothing factory and shop, where the disabled themselves or members of their families work. There are no other non-governmental organizations functioning in this direction in Nagorno-Karabakh.[23]
The authorities, however, periodically organize various activities directed at the social-psychological rehabilitation of disabled people. For example, from 16 to 18 May 2001, through the mediation and assistance of a number of Ministries, private enterprises and the directorate of the Youth Palace, sporting contests among the disabled, musical contests, and an exhibition selling the works of art made by the disabled themselves, were organized.[24]
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[1] Meeting between the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the coordinator of the Nagorny-Karabakh Committee of the ICBL, 14 September 2000, covered in Azat Artsakh (Independent Karabakh, newspaper), 16 September 2000.
[2] Discussions with soldiers and members of the special mine clearing regiment, including Lt. Col. Anatoly Galayan, Commander of the mine-clearing regiment, Nagorny-Karabakh Ministry of Defense, in late 1999 and early 2000.
[3] Lieutenant-Colonel Marsel Pogosian, Deputy Chief, Field Engineer Service, at a meeting of the Working Group on Mine Problems (WGMP), 21 November 2000.
[4] Ibid.
[5] “Mines cleared, uneasy commanders eye Nagorno Karabakh peace,” Agence France Presse, 24 May 2001; Mamed Azerogly,“Karabakh, site of conflict?” reporting for Kavkaz Center, 22 May 2001.
[6] Program of the Nagorny-Karabakh Special Commission, presented at the 8 June 2000 meeting of the WGMP.
[7] Azat Artsakh (independent Karabakh, newspaper), 4 April 2000.
[8] Mels Akopdzhanyan, head of Working Group on Mine Problems, at a meeting of the WGMP, 21 November 2000.
[9] Lieutenant-Colonel Marsel Pogosian, Deputy Chief, Field Engineer Service, at a meeting of the Working Group on Mine Problems (WGMP), 21 November 2000.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Richard Boulter, Desk Officer Europe, The HALO Trust, 26 July 2001.
[12] Lieutenant-Colonel Marsel Pogosian, Deputy Chief, Field Engineer Service, at a meeting of the WGMP, 21 November 2000.
[13] Information provided by the ICRC, 11 July 2001.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Interview with Mels Akopdzhanyan, head of WGMP, 14 May 2001.
[17] Meeting of the Working Group on Mine Problems, 8 June 2000.
[18] Information provided by the ICRC, 11 July 2001.
[19] Interview with Babayan Levon, Director of the ”Orthopedic-Technical Prosthetic Center,” 15 May 2001.
[20] Information provided by Head of the Prosthesis Center L. Babayan.
[21] Interview with Lalayan Anait, head of the Psychological Rehabilitation Center, 16 May 2001.
[22] Interview with Kocharian Karina, Chairman of the town MLEC (medical labor expert commission), 24 May 2001.
[23] Interview with Ishkhanian Hrachik, Chairman of the Organization of Disabled Veterans “Vita,” 24 May 2001.
[24] Interview with Zakharian Nona, Director of the Youth Palace, 18 May 2001.